Alitia: Welcome to Millenia

XLI: Fall of a Heroine

Acadia was a school of warriors. This fact still hadn't changed, even with the war going on. The school of heroines had always been an impressive sight to behold, perhaps because its leader was one of the greatest heroines to ever exist as far as history is concerned.

However, this couldn't save the school from the doom that awaited it when the Shadows started to come.

The students of Acadia had been preparing to go somewhere else to keep from being overwhelmed. The battle involving the DJ at the start of the year had shown everyone that Acadia was an easy place to attack, and if the glass dome above the school broke, it could cause some serious damage. To keep such a thing from happening, the students were going to head elsewhere.

The call from Alitia had not yet come through. Despite Zylphia's attempts to communicate to Altina what the plan was, the school was on high alert, so much so that Altina didn't get the chance to contact her.

Altina had heard already that the war had started thanks to one of the escaped witches. The senior witch had texted a student of Acadia what was going on, and from there, the information got to Altina. The heroine was now leading her school into battle, ready to save everyone within the walls of the academy.

Every student was running around, not willing to let their school fall, and hearts pounded with anticipation. Altina's primary phone in her office remained unanswered, as the woman who owned it was too busy to hear it.

Altina was in the courtyard with a few of the third-year students of Acadia. The senior heroines were ready to fight back, but the younger students weren't going to be able to fight back given their inexperience. They couldn't do much in a war. This was a war, a realization that hit many of the students belatedly.

Altina knew the Shadows were coming about two minutes before they came. The glass dome over Acadia shattered when the creatures finally arrived, and screams echoed throughout the courtyard as glass slashed at skin to create cruel cuts. Altina didn't waver at all, instead merely clutching her blades, one in each hand.

Iago didn't show himself at first. Instead, he merely pointed the Shadows forward, letting them do the work for him. Shadows washed over Acadia, scuttling up over the walls. Iago had broken the glass with a quick, powerful sphere of energy to allow them to come inside.

Swords slashed, axes hacked, and spears impaled. Arrows rained upon the creatures, and the Shadows fell down quickly, turning to sludge before vanishing into the grass. Every weapon imaginable, whether it be a knife or a whip, was in use by some student or another. The Shadows were destroyed time and time again, each time turning to black liquid. The grass was covered in the sludge in a matter of minutes, and heroines stepped on the liquid without an issue when they realized they couldn't get around it.

Altina was truly a spectacle on the battlefield, just as she had been back when Acadia was attacked all those months ago. It felt like the attack on Acadia, the first major appearance of the Possession Master, was years in the past despite having been relatively recent. Altina still fought the same, with powerful slashes as she flew through the air.

More heroines were transforming now. Even if they couldn't use magic in other ways, heroines and heroes could still transform, and in the case of feminine people, fly with wings. Leaths had magic, albeit passive magic that manifested their power inside of them, and it showed itself now that they were transformed to increase their power for the battle ahead.

Altina was leading the charge, and she showed no signs of letting up. If she was growing tired, she refused to let it show for the sake of morale. Her students would not fall so long as she still drew breath. She couldn't let them get hurt, and she let this fuel her as she went forwards in the fight.