Nightmare in the Daytime

The alarm bells rang throughout the school building, emitting a sound that no one in this era had ever heard.

MAGEDHON… MAGEDHON… MAGEDHON!!!

A sign that chaos is imminent! Chaos is coming! No, the truth is that chaos is already on its way. The lives of millions of people around the world are at risk. Calamities and natural disasters will strike human life like raindrops in a heavy storm. And the worst part of all these worst-case scenarios is that humanity no longer has an umbrella to protect them.

Great chaos is about to unfold. The curtain will rise to begin the drama of a tragedy. Monsters, demons, and the evil sorcerers, their masters who have slumbered, will awaken from their decayed resting shields after being put to sleep by the "Magaidh" hundreds of years ago. The era of modern human civilization will end. It will revert to something truly ancient and unimaginable.

What is the cause? Can humanity once again escape the fate that threatens to destroy them? What challenges and suffering will they face in the future?

*

"Disperse according to the guard formations agreed upon by your class leaders!" A middle-aged woman wearing traditional Javanese attire called a kebaya, covered by a black cloak, shouted, pointing towards the crowded school hallway filled with uncontrollable students. This situation was truly beyond their wildest imaginations! It wasn't included in any of the disaster mitigation drills they had ever conducted.

Unlike the other students who were running chaotically in all directions due to the confusing situation, the teenage boy remained calm as he approached the plump woman and asked, "Madam Anggrek, I have a question."

She looked at the student before her with a doubtful expression. "Who are you?"

He touched his chest as he introduced himself, "I am Ihatra, a student from Darmana Olivander Dormitory."

The woman, who wore cat-eye framed glasses, immediately noticed the color of his tie; green. Not a color that would attract any attention in this school. She quickly turned away, intending to leave. "Return to your group at once! If you can't be useful, at least don't get yourself killed and cause trouble for the other students," she advised with a sarcastic tone.

Greph. Ihatra tried to grab the woman's wrist. "I want to ask you something, Madam Anggrek!"

"And I don't want to answer," she replied indifferently, quickening her pace towards another vulnerable part of the school to cast protective spells and observe the situation should those embodiments of nightmares appear.

Ihatra was left alone amidst the bustling students, each moving swiftly towards their own objectives. Students with yellow ties were busy setting up magical barriers in the still-weak sections. Students with red ties were engaged in fierce combat against the mysterious creatures that had breached the defense gates. Meanwhile, students with blue ties stood out, chanting lengthy spells with various purposes.

It was no surprise that a student with a green tie seemed so overlooked in a situation that demanded practical skills. But he wouldn't give up. He kept running against the flow of other students, determined to find a place where he believed there was a way out of the problem they were facing.

"Hey, look at that student with the green tie," said a second-year student with a blue tie, discussing the worst-case scenarios that might occur today with a few of his similarly blue-tied friends.

"Why is he running against the flow?"

"He must not have received his class leader's instructions properly."

"Do the students from the green dorm even have anything on their minds besides doing useless things?"

One of them almost burst into laughter at the mocking comment. However, the situation quickly calmed down when a slim girl, standing 167 cm tall, with neatly styled black hair in a long wavy middle part and straight bangs that made her face look even more adorable, approached.

"What are you all doing?" she asked with a gentle yet authoritative tone. Despite her charming and cute appearance, she exuded an undeniable sense of firmness and responsibility.

The student who had initially diverted their attention from the chaos easily replied, "We were just commenting on how useless anything done by students from Darmana Olivander Dormitory is. Wouldn't it be better if they were all put together in a pit so they wouldn't cause problems for anyone else?"

The girl immediately stepped closer and firmly said, "Just do what Argani instructed you to do!"

They all fell silent instantly and resumed discussing their defense plan as dictated by their class leader.

"Where are you going, Kasyaira?" asked a female student. She knew that someone as popular as Kasyaira probably had other important matters to attend to. Or at least, she should have.

"I'm going to do what I believe is right," she answered resolutely as she continued on her way.

"Wow, she's really terrifying."

*

Ihatra had reached the farthest part of the main educational building. There was no one else around, and the stone corridors he walked through had nearly lost all their light since neither electricity nor natural light reached there, even though it was still midday.

He raised his hands and recited a spell, "Lux venit!"

Ctash. Only a small spark appeared, hardly producing any light at all. He let out a sigh of despair without realizing it. No wonder he was part of the weakest dormitory, constantly belittled and bullied.

"What are you doing here?" a voice asked from behind him.

Ihatra turned his head and saw three students with red ties standing with hands on their hips and arms crossed in front of him. Tap tap tap. Unconsciously, he took a few steps back, gripped by the trauma of past experiences.

"Farel, Raditya, Yudha… why are you here? Shouldn't Balangga Menachem Dormitory students be on the front lines of the school's defense?" he asked, swallowing hard and hoping they would return to their assigned duties.

Duaakh. Farel, the curly-haired student with a ponytail, kicked Ihatra's shoulder, causing him to fall. He answered, "Why should we bother doing something that doesn't earn us any credit?"

His two friends immediately high-fived, grinning with satisfaction.

Raditya, the student with a fringe haircut, added, "We're not volunteer workers, you know."

Then Yudha, the student with an undercut haircut, said, "We'll come out at the last moment when the other students are exhausted and emerge as heroes."

"Euuhh."

"For now, we just want to play with you," Raditya said, stomping on Ihatra's hand as if trying to extinguish a cigarette.

"HAAAAAKKHH!" screamed Ihatra, his curtain haircut now messy and dusty.

Yudha stepped closer to stomp on Ihatra's temple. "Come on, cry like a girl!"

Not wanting to be left out, Farel began kicking Ihatra's stomach repeatedly. Duukh duukh duukh! Their laughter accompanied the kicks. HWA KHA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

"Please, stop…" Ihatra pleaded weakly, trying to suppress the pain throughout his body to avoid coughing up blood again.

In the dim, gray stone corridor, none of them realized that a greater threat was looming.

"Hey, I have a great idea," Raditya said.

"What?" Farel responded, raising an eyebrow.

With eyes wide open and a devilish grin, Raditya said to his two friends, "How about we just end this useless kid's life?"

Hearing those words, he screamed in his heart, IF ONLY I HAD NEVER GONE TO THE MAGIC SCHOOL THAT DAY!