Creeping Crystal

Amy panted heavily and leaned against the wall after this very close encounter. Thank god for the teachers dropping the defenses, otherwise she would've been stuck there with no way out. She quickly got up to see that they are in front of the stone doors again. That figure is not sapient but it will follow its instinct, ready to hunt them down. She quickly head to the hidden trap door where she closed it shut after checking if the abyssal curse is in effect.

She then turn to the boys, their bodies slowly deteriorating, she cannot leave them here. She needs to get them out. She heard approaching footsteps and quickly teleported them all out of there.

*

Amy tossed away her third bottle of potion while purifying their bodies in her own room as they are lying on the floor. She started curing them the moment she successfully teleported to her room. The sun is already up and they are still not completely cured or conscious. But she has no intention of stopping. If she stopped even momentarily then they might die. Her eyes blinked in exhaustion as she used four times as much magic than she could conjure up.

How could this have happened? How did they find the labyrinth? Why did these two enter it? Will anyone find out? What's gonna happen now? How could they get away with this?

In the manga, the magic academy was built over the labyrinth to keep the creature at bay. There was no method of destroying it, only that the large collective of magic gathered at the academy was enough to keep it down. Magic is a concept but this thing has a consciousness and lives to feed off of others.

 For anyone bold enough to go into the labyrinth, they would surely die by having their magic drained. If it gets strong enough, it might even break out of its prison.

Aron was the only person who has the ability to purify the crystals and would've killed the damn thing if it weren't for the Cambion.

The Cambion called it the 'Creeping Crystal' because of its ability. He absorbed it and became significantly more stronger much to the horror of the humans who watched it happen. Anyone who is touched by the being would have crystals growing out of their body as it sucks their magic. Their blood begins to crystalize from the inside which is an extremely painful way to die.

Rufus and Leon are not dead but to be honest, she is more scared than ever and as time passes, the more unsure she is at saving them. She fed them remedies to clear out the miasma that seeped into their bodies, replenish their blood as the crystals are crumbling bit by bit. She even shoved marbles, made exclusively for her pet projects, into their bodies so that it would purge the crystals from the inside and prevent it from spreading further. 

The creature was definitely toying with them until they had collapsed otherwise they would've already been dead upon her arrival. That would explain how they managed to survive even after encountering it. Upon noticing a newly discovered prey, it began lunging at her. She would've been in their predicament too if she hadn't used the circle to get them out of there.

She turned to Leon who shows sign of a fast recovery but she kept going. Until she is absolutely sure she purged the crystals then she will never stop. 

"Ugh,"

Much to her surprise, Rufus woke up first. He doesn't seem completely alert though. "Amar - " he then stopped to see the strain on her face. "What's going on?" he asks weakly.

"I saved you." she muttered angrily, not meeting his eye. "You're lucky that I found you."

"Leon-" With much struggle, he turn his head to Leon next to him and his worry shifted into relief. "Thank you." he said in a grateful tone and as she looked at Rufus, he was staring at her with an expression matching his tone. His usual fixed smile looks small but less rigid.

Something in her subconscious has made her feel as much as grateful for Rufus. The fact that he is alive made her extremely relieved.

"I should say the same thing for you." she says while she is still working.

"What happened?" he asked but before she could respond, there is a tap at her door.

"Hey, it's me. Can I come in?"

Amy was almost happy to hear who it is. It is Melissa.

"Come in."

She came in to see a shocking sight. "What the-"

"Please don't ask. I am way too tired to have a lengthy conversation." She exasperated.

*

Rufus, completely purified of the crystals, fell asleep together on the bed next to Melissa while Amy continued curing Leon. Melissa examined Rufus and assured her that Rufus has no sign of any of the creeping crystal in him. For some reason, Leon continues to suffer. She gave him energy that is enough to kill a person and her stock of rejuvenation potions are dropping to an insane low. She looked at a nearby clock. Potions will start in the next half hour.

"Fuck," she muttered as she noticed that her power is weakening but before she could grab another bottle, she heard snickering. She looked at Leon who seems to be smiling, with much effort, at her. 

"You said a bad word."

Startled, she shouted, "Leon!"

The others woke up too and got off the bed awkwardly upon noticing the other sleeping next to them and gathered around Leon.

"About time." Rufus yawned. "How do you feel?"

"Great!" Leon replied with a toothy grin, "Really great actually" he looked at Amy who is still hard at work. "How long have you been going at this?"

"Hours!" she scowled, "It has been almost ten hours!" She then stopped as Melissa motioned her to stop and observe Leon. Amy is tired to even keep this up for another hour. The last bottle she drunk is already losing effect.

Leon's complexion is not pale anymore and every bit of the creeping crystal is now gone. Amy grabbed another potion bottle and drank it one last time. She then grabbed her schoolwork and looked at the time.

"By the way, how did you find us? We thought we're gonna die." Rufus asked.

"No time for questions. We're gonna be late for class." She pointed at her clock and everyone sprinted out of the room. Even Leon, who just came out of a life threatening event, is now at full energy.

Amy lazily used Hecate to teleport to the nearest checkpoint to the class and began tiredly walking.