I Ended Up in a Magic Academy

Chapter 9: A Lunatic in Disguise

The narrow crawlspace smelled of damp stone. After a moment, Shayna's eyes slowly fluttered open, the dazed look in them gradually fading as the lingering effects of the Undead Minotaur wore off.

We were still safe in the hiding spot where we had taken refuge from the beast thanks to the mist Seiren had created for us.

I watched them both, and then I noticed Shayna was finally waking up.

"Can you talk?" I asked. I tried to keep my voice steady, but the adrenaline was already humming in my ears.

She gave a weak, shaky nod.

"Good. Use your Dispel spell on yourself," I said, then gestured toward Seiren. "After that, cast Dispel on her."

She's been acting tough, but I can tell she's barely holding it together with pure willpower. Seiren flinched, her eyes snapping to mine in surprise. She hadn't realized I'd noticed her trembling hands.

She just sat still as the golden light from Shayna's palms washed over them, melting away the heavy, suffocating weight of the undead curse.

"Alright," I said, leaning forward. "The monster is Class 5, but we're taking it down."

Shayna's face immediately went pale. "But… we're just first-years," she said, her voice shaking.

"We're S-Class first-years," I replied, trying to sound confident. The academy doesn't give us the S rank for nothing. We can do this.

They just stared at me in disbelief, as if I had completely lost my mind. Now they looked genuinely terrified. Even Seiren, who was usually calm and composed, didn't seem convinced.

That definitely didn't work. I let out a quiet sigh and dropped the act.

I looked at them again, my voice calmer this time. "Hey… just work with me, alright?" I said with a smile. But for a split second, something slipped, my real self peeking through before I could hide it again.

Both girls noticed it and looked at me, but neither of them said a word. They simply stared at me for a moment. Then, slowly, they nodded.

"Wait," Seiren interrupted, her voice finally regaining its sharp edge.

"There's something you need to know. When a monster turns undead, a Demonic Crystal forms somewhere on its body."

She took a breath before continuing.

"It's the source of its life. It can appear anywhere—its hand, thigh, even its foot. If we break that crystal, the whole monster disappears." She straightened slightly.

"I can use a frost spell. The cold will react with the Demonic Crystal's heat. It'll start glowing dark purple through the ice—that's how we find it."

Now that was useful. "Perfect. That's our target."

I paused for a moment, then added, "Here's how we're going to do this." Of course… I already knew where the undead's weak point was. I just didn't feel like saying it yet. After all, It'd be boring if it died too quickly.

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"Shayna, you use your brightest light magic. Undead monsters hate light. It won't kill it, but it'll blind it and make it vulnerable for a split second. That's our window."

"Seiren, the moment it's blinded, freeze the floor with a Frost spell, the one you described earlier to expose the Demonic Crystal. Once we see the purple glow, I'm going in."

I stood up and spun my staff, which transformed into a blade as I poured magic into it. The wind began to howl around the steel.

If only I could learn the Cold Flame right now, man that would be awesome. I shook the thought away.

I looked at them, and for a split second, I probably looked a little too excited. I then pulled the crystal device from my pocket and gave the glass a tap. Still no signal. Great. It was already 6 PM, meaning we were stuck for at least two more hours, the soonest the instructors could force the dungeon seal and get us out of here.

I looked back at the two girls and said, "I'm going to lure it here," I whispered, motioning for them to stay low. "This place is a maze, and it's faster than us. We're going to let it find us."

But in a dungeon like a maze, the one who waits is the one who controls the fight.

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They moved into position at a narrow T-junction as I signaled Shayna to hide behind a thick stone pillar, our secret weapon, our human flashbang, while Seiren slipped into the shadows of a nearby alcove crouching low with her hands hovering just above the ground ready to freeze everything the moment I gave the signal, leaving me as the bait.

I exhaled slowly and used my wind magic to sharpen my movements, pushing my speed to the limit as I ran through the corridor like the wind itself, feeling the vibration of its footsteps thump closer through the ground as the air turned cold and rot filled my nose, a grin almost slipping out before I bit it back, thinking not yet, until I finally saw it.

The undead noticed me and charged, no longer just a Minotaur but something worse with a torn body of exposed muscle and bone, two shriveled pale humanoid heads growing from its neck and long slimy tentacles sprouting like parasitic worms that wrapped around its skull as if puppeteering the dead beast, before it let out a wet, gurgling roar.

The undead was following me exactly as planned as I raced back to the group and yelled "Now!" while Shayna stepped out with her eyes squeezed shut and threw her hands forward.

"HEAVEN'S FLARE!"

A blinding explosion of holy light filled the hall like a sun going off in a closet, making the monster shriek as the light scorched its rotting flesh and it stumbled with its tentacles flailing wildly while I shouted, "Seiren, now! Find the spot!"

Seiren slammed her palms onto the stone. A wave of jagged frost raced across the floor, turning the ground into a sheet of glass.

As the ice climbed up the Minotaur's legs, a dark, pulsing purple light began to throb through the frost on its left thigh.

The Demonic Crystal.

"Found it!" Seiren shouted, her face pale from the effort.

The monster was blinded, frozen, and exposed as I lunged forward with wind howling around my blade, everything slowing in my mind as I saw the fear on the girls' faces, the twitching tentacles, and the pulsing purple target on the Minotaur's thigh, knowing one hit would end it, but as I closed the distance, a dark, itchy thought flickered in the back of my mind that if I ended it now… the fun's over.

At the very last moment, I shifted my weight just slightly and changed the blade's direction so that instead of piercing the crystal, it sank into the monster's rotting thigh muscle just beside the core.

"Emil! What are you doing?!" Seiren's voice cracked through the hall, sharp with panic, as I jumped back and watched the undead beast closely.

The two pale human-like heads on its neck twitched violently as the parasitic tentacles reacted instantly, snapping into motion with frightening speed before whipping downward to coil around the Minotaur's left leg and forming a thick living shield over it, writhing and hissing as they layered over the exposed area and buried the purple glow beneath wet, pulsing flesh.

The creature's blindness was fading as it brought its massive hooves down in a violent stomp, shattering Seiren's ice instantly into a spray of glittering shards before releasing a roar so loud it felt less like a sound and more like a blow to the chest that shook the air itself.

"It's protecting it!" Shayna cried, her voice cracking, "The weak point is covered! What should we do now?!" as I pulled my blade back, wiped black slime from my cheek, forced my expression into frustration and lied that it moved and the tentacles were faster than they looked so I couldn't get a clean angle, though inside my heart was pounding for a completely different reason.

The monster had just become far more dangerous as its weak point was no longer exposed but protected and reinforced like a fortress while it went into a frenzy, though a small dark smile tugged at the corner of my mouth hidden behind my "concerned" face.

The Minotaur lowered its massive head, the tentacles on its skull snapping like whips as it became no longer mindless, those two pale heads watching us as if studying every movement we made, while I shouted without turning back, "You two need to run! Find a way to break the seal or hide until the rescue comes, just leave this to me!" as I thought inside, hoping they would listen. Please just go… so I can enjoy this fight properly.

But they didn't move, "No!" Shayna shouted, tears forming in her eyes, as she gripped her staff tightly, "We're not leaving you!" and "I still have mana," Seiren added stubbornly, stepping beside her, "I'm not running."

Seriously… they were ruining everything as I barked, "Did you not hear me? Do you actually want to die?!" making them flinch while I pointed at the monster and shouted, "Look at it! It's ten times worse now because I made a mistake! I should've finished it earlier!"

I stepped closer, my shadow falling over them while locking my eyes on the undead, and said in a lower voice, "So listen carefully… this is my fault. I'll fix it. Just stay alive and get out of here. Let me handle the rest." For a moment, they just stared at me like they were seeing someone they didn't recognize. Then I turned my focus back to the undead in a hurry because the monster didn't wait. With a wet, horrible sound, its tentacles stretched longer, snapping through the air like living spears.

"Back off!" I shouted, jumping forward.

CRACK!

One slammed into the floor, shattering stone.

CLANG!

I blocked another with my blade and let myself slide back, making it look like I was barely holding on.

To them, it looked like I'm struggling.

"Emil!" Shayna screamed, light flickering in her hands, and I shouted back, "Don't! Save your mana! You'll need it to escape!" as three tentacles came at once and I blocked, deflected, and ducked through them in one smooth motion while wind whistled past my ears before I let myself get pushed back into the wall.

THUD.

I coughed loudly, pretending I had lost my breath, and the monster paused, thinking it had me as the two pale heads on its neck slowly bared their teeth in a twisted grin while all the tentacles twisted together, forming one massive spear aimed at my chest.

I narrowed my eyes. The attack shot forward. At the last second, I twisted. The spear missed and slammed into the stone wall behind me—stuck.

Perfect opening.

I swung wildly, spraying black blood everywhere, making it look like I was panicking.

"I… I can't…" I gasped, leaning on my blade. "Go! While it's stuck!" I kept up the act perfectly—every block, every stumble, every breath.

Seiren finally grabbed Shayna's hand and pulled her back into the shadows of the hallway. Before they ran, she looked over her shoulder one last time.

"Emil… please hold on," Seiren said quietly. "We'll do everything we can to break the seal and get the instructors to rescue you as soon as possible." She knew it was almost impossible. A sealed dungeon wasn't something they could open on their own.

But she didn't have any better words. Not when their classmate… their companion… might be facing death in there.

I didn't turn around. I didn't want them to see the look on my face. It wasn't a look of fear or a look of a hero. It was a wide, hungry grin.

I scanned the area, confirming my suspicion: the camera was dead. Perfect timing. The Minotaur let another gurgling roar. It snapped its tentacles in the air like whips, ready to turn me into a snack.

"Don't worry about me!" I called out, making my voice sound brave and heroic one last time. 

In my head, I was excited. Two hours is plenty of time to play.

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Behind them, Emil's figure grew smaller and smaller, until he was swallowed completely by the darkness of the dungeon.

Shayna and Seiren finally reached safety—far enough from the monster's presence, but still trapped near the sealed dungeon exit.

Seiren fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a small magic crystal. Her hands shook as she tapped it.

"…It's still only 6:30 PM," she whispered, her voice breaking.

Shayna was already on the ground, sobbing quietly, her strength completely gone. Seiren knelt beside her, trying to steady her, trying to be the one who stayed calm.

But the reality finally sank in.

The seal wouldn't break yet. The instructors couldn't reach them. And the monster was still inside with Emil.

Seiren's breath trembled.

Her eyes turned red, then quietly tears fell as the composed student everyone relied on cried beside Shayna for the first time without being able to hide it, and as the minutes dragged on without hope, the darkness and silence of the dungeon swallowed them whole.