In an instant...
As soon as the Void Assassin appeared in front of Dan, a spark shot into the air. It didn't come from Dan, but from higher up.
The director of the academy, Ilaris Draven, appeared in a tree. His hands were glowing with lightning. In an instant, thick bolts of lightning rained down from the sky, forming an electric cage around the Void Assassin, preventing him from vanishing or escaping.
The assassin growled and used his dagger to attack the lightning bolts, setting off one of them. But before he could escape, Ilaris moved very quickly, like a flash of lightning, coming down from the sky.
The director waved his hand, and the wind blew strongly, gathering around the assassin like a swirling whirlpool. The assassin didn't back down. He plunged his dagger into the ground, creating a dark void that absorbed part of the attack.
At that moment, an arrow flew from far away, cutting through the darkness.
The arrow came from a tree branch where the deputy director was standing. He was looking at something, and his bow was shining a white light.
The arrow hit the assassin directly in the chest, but it didn't go through. Instead, it bounced back as if the body wasn't real.
"He's switching between matter and emptiness!" The Director shouted as he dodged a sudden attack from the Assassin, who rushed forward quickly.
The assassin bumped into Ilaris, and the attack moved back a little. But the pressure was so strong that Dan was knocked back two meters, his knee hitting the ground.
Ilaris shouted:
"Fall back, Dan!"
Then he used a fistful of lightning to blow up the ground, shocking the whole place. He didn't give the assassin a chance to run away.
Fireballs appeared around the director , but this was no normal fire. It was a fast-moving fire, combined with wind and lightning, that exploded in waves.
Trees were twisted, the ground shook, and the forest became a living hell.
But in the smoke, the assassin appeared.
He was partially burned, and half of his body was corroded, but he was still standing.
"He's putting up with all this...?" Dan muttered, stunned.
The director replied.
"He's not completely fine, but if we don't break him now, we won't get another chance."
The vice principal lifted his bow once more.
The lights gathered around him, forming a single arrow... as bright as the sun.
Just as the assassin is about to attack the principal again...
The arrow shot out.
The vice principal fired an arrow of light at the assassin's head, but he caught it with his bare hand.
"..."
The light between his fingers slowly disappeared.
"It can't be..." the deputy whispered, shocked.
The assassin didn't surprise them. He attacked the manager again.
Ilaris moved quickly, but this time it wasn't enough.
The assassin appeared behind him right away, and he stabbed the principal in the side with his dagger.
Ilaris gasped, and lightning vibrated around his body, but he didn't fall. He took a few steps back, pressing on his wound, his breath coming in short, sharp breaths.
At that moment...
For Dan, time stood still.
He saw the director moving his feet quickly and was bleeding from the side. The lightning was slowly going away from his body.
He saw the vice principal slowly raise his bow in the distance.
He saw the assassin...
That dark entity that doesn't belong in this world, getting ready to attack again.
"If I don't do something now, the Director will die, and we'll all die afterward."
He clenched his fist. He felt pain in his chest from the previous blows, but it didn't matter.
He remembered what he had gone through since coming into this world, his loneliness, his indecision...
I won't run anymore.
He ran straight towards the assassin, his eyes showing that he was determined to survive.
"Idiot!" The director yelled, but Dan didn't stop.
The assassin raised his hand, and in an instant-
"Shhhh..."
His hand went into Dan's body from the front and came out through his back.
Everything froze.
Dan's blood was all over the floor.
But Dan didn't fall. He grabbed the assassin's hand that had pierced him and looked straight into his eyes. His eyes were filled with blood.
Then he smiled.
"You're an idiot... I fell into the trap."
The assassin was confused.
In an instant, another arrow pierced his forehead from the side. It wasn't fatal, but it slowed him down for a second.
The assassin pulled his arm out of Dan's body as he tried to escape, but it was too late.
One second... that was all it took.
Ilaris stood firm, even though he was bleeding and in pain. His hand was raised, and lightning gathered in his palm.
The lightning got stronger, and a long spear made up of layers of lightning and fire appeared. It vibrated as if the sky itself was roaring.
"You are dead."
He let it go.
The spear went through the assassin's chest, right to his heart.
A strange, inhuman scream filled the forest... and then the entity disappeared into ash and darkness.
Dan fell to his knees, then to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth.
Ilaris ran towards him and screamed: "Dan!"
But he didn't respond. He just had open eyes and a faint smile on his face, as if he was relieved... for the first time.
He knelt beside him, reached out, and felt the boy's neck.
There was a pulse... faint, but there.
The director breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyes showed he was still nervous.
"He's still alive, but he's in a bad situation."
The vice-principal came over, looked at Dan's body, which was spread out on the ground and covered in blood.
"That kid... he acted crazy."
Ilaris replied, pressing the wound in Dan's chest to stop the bleeding:
"He acted bravely... if he hadn't distracted the assassin, we wouldn't have succeeded."
He took out a an artifact from his cloak and put it on Dan's chest. The artifact started to feel warm, and a faint blue light appeared over the boy's body.
"This won't make him completely well, but it will keep him alive until we get to the academy ."
Dan whispered in a quiet voice without opening his eyes:
"Did he... die?"
The director leaned toward him quickly.
"Who? The assassin? Yes, we destroyed him together."
Dan's lips moved slightly, and he smiled a little, even though there was blood on his face:
"That's good..."
Then he passed out.
At illaris's signal, a field of lightning and light appeared around Dan's body, slowly lifting him into the air.
"We'll take him to the inner sanctum. Only there can we treat him."
As they started to move, the Director looked at where the Void Assassin had disappeared. The shadows weren't fully gone, but they were gradually fading...
He then looked at Dan's body, which was still suspended. Blood was flowing slowly from the body.
"Who are you, kid, and what did you bring here?"