My eyes tracked the mages as they cast spell after spell. Flinging them down the hall and at their targets. None of them seemed to care about how fast or how much mana they were throwing into each spell. Almost as if they didn’t care about how much mana they were using or how long they were going to st.

  Then there were those closer to the front. Their bodies blurred as whatever was on the other side started to reach them in mass. Or at least I assumed that was the case. Given the odd neon pink liquid that coated and spshed off their weapons. Everywhere the liquid stuck, it seemed to glow and bubble.

  Seeing all this, I realized I was out of my depth. There was no way I would be able to keep up with all these people. At least the creatures were just as outcssed. Even when the horrific things started to climb the walls en masse, someone either destroyed the group or scraped them off the wall. Given the amount of body parts that were ripped off and left behind, it wasn’t like the creatures were just barely holding themselves to the surface.

  Suddenly, as if the gods of karma felt that the group was doing too well, the fighter with the bite wound started to scream bloody murder. His voice hit octaves and volumes that I didn’t know it could given his frame. As he screamed, he flung himself toward the ground where he started to writhe.

  Hands, bone white as they ratcheted their hold on his knives, scrabbled at his skin. The edges of his weapons dug into his armor and skin as he tried to get at something. I stood there, frozen and unsure of what to do as two of the others raced toward him. They tried, and failed, to hold his arms back as he continued to work at his flesh.

  Just as a pair of medics raced up, his back arched and he let out a gurgling cry before falling still. The medics cast spell after spell. After the fifth spell, the medic giving orders shook her head. “He’s gone.” As she said that, another pain-filled cry filled the space. Not from one of the fighters in front of me, but from another group. It was quickly followed by two more. As the two medics rushed to get up and move toward their new targets, the fighter's body started to twitch and spasm.

  We all watched as lumps formed in various pces. Some were rger than others, yet each grew and moved. I watched in horror as the flesh ripped and tore, throwing viscera all over as creatures made their way out of their host. They were small, only as rge as my fist, but they continued to grow as they raced toward the nearest person.

  I was sure that the two medics moved as fast as they could, yet the creatures still managed to get one of them. At first, only one of the bugs tched onto her leg causing her to stumble. This allowed more creatures to cross the distance and tch on. I watched as the things burrowed under her flesh. Digging in like ticks.

  My ears ached as someone near me screamed while I poured as much fire into the space as I could. Burning the creatures, the body of the fighter, and even the medic. Given the multiple colors filling the space, I wasn’t the only one either.

  Finally, someone grabbed my arms, yanking them down and cutting off the stream of fire. I didn’t even recall lifting them. I fought against their hold as their other hand lifted up and covered my mouth. The moment they managed to get their hand over my mouth, the screaming dulled from ear-splitting to a muffled yell.

  “You got them.” Through the tears that filled my eyes, I could not see the speaker. “Save your rage and mana for the rest of the creatures. Can you do that?” I nodded. “Good girl.” Whoever it was released me. By the time I managed to wipe away the tears in my eyes, save for the charred chunks on the ground nearby, the area near me was clear.

  My tail whipped around in fear and anxiety as I looked toward where the line of people fought with the creatures. Shockingly two more of them were missing. Something told me they were not simply hiding or fighting deeper in the room. How many of them would die before this was all over?

  As I watched, I realized that the line of fighters had been pushed back and were now using a constricted section in the hall as a choke point while allowing them to all stay closer to one another. As I watched, all but one were focusing their attacks forward. Killing everything that crawled down the hall.

  The st person focused on the space around them. As a creature approached from above or from behind something, they killed that creature. They managed to keep everyone there from being bitten by them and turned into something like an incubator of sorts.

  My head swiveled to take in the other groups. All but one looked to be doing just as well. Unfortunately, that st group was down to one person who was standing, fighting for their life as they were being swiftly overwhelmed by the creatures. Given the bloody lumps lying nearby, covered in a swarming mass of creatures, the rest of their team was no longer alive.

  For a full three seconds, I debated with myself on what to do. If I stayed where I was, I would be safer and more likely to survive. Then again, what would happen when that st person fell and those creatures swarmed the next group over? They would likely fall just as fast, if not faster given that no one else seemed to have noticed the team's destruction.

  The person who had told everyone that they would move people around as needed was gone. They had either run away or were fighting for their lives. Seeing this and knowing that there was no choice, I made my decision. I would either hold the creatures off on my own, or I would die. Hopefully not before someone else noticed and managed to reorganize everyone for the slog this fight was turning into.

  My eyes drifted closed as I connected to my mana. It reacted to my call, moving as I wanted as I pushed it into a series of spells. I dragged on my colr’s reserves of mana as my mana pool drained like a stone. My Multitasking skill got a workout as I activated Mana Sense, Body Fortification, all while forcing my mana into a series of fireballs.

  As a deep, throbbing pain started at the back of my head, twinkling lights sparkled around me. While each was bright to my eyes, they were even brighter to my Mana Sense. They followed me as I leaned forward, pumping my legs as I charged forward. My bde was an inch off the ground as it sliced through the air, glowing as I activated two more skills.

  Almost no resistance met the edge of my bde as I cut through the first group of creatures. A shimmering crescent wave ripped out of the weapon, cutting a swath of the creatures in two. It managed to even get the two squirming masses of creatures, killing most, if not all, of the creepers.

  One of my feet, with a little help from my earth manipution, pnted itself into the ground. It provided one hell of an anchor to pivot from. Taking my forward motion and turning it into a rapid arc. At the same moment, all of the twinkling stars shot outward.

  If I had the mental capability I would have targeted each to its own creature, but I was already mentally straining under the load I was subjecting myself to. With each moment, the strain was making my headache worse. So, instead, I simply carpet-bombed the pce. A wave of fiery damnation started from me. The wave rapidly made its way down the hall as more fireballs hit the ground and lost containment.

  It was a good thing one of my feet was firmly rooted to the spot because the wave of destruction generated one hell of a shockwave. Air roared around me as visible ripples flowed through the walls. Even with my ears ft to my face, the noise was deafening as the smell of burning bodies grew overwhelming.

  You would think the wave of death and destruction that I had managed to wrought would be enough to kill everything in front of me, but it only eliminated the army that had stopped here to eat. While my eyes were closed against the dust and fire, my nose was useless, and my ears were deafened, my Mana Sense told me that those I had killed were simply an entre. The main course was on its way. Each of which were rger, stronger, and seemed a bit pissed given their ck of survival instinct.

  As one, they charged into the fires, not caring as their companions burned and crisped around them. Without my mana controlling and empowering the fires, said fmes were already starting to flicker and vanish. When the first of the army of death reached me, I pushed more mana into my mind and got to work. Pain fred throughout my body as I forced my body to work harder, to move faster, to do more. Every muscle burned as I sliced, diced, and otherwise made a mess of the area around me.

  Fireballs flickered here and there when I managed to find enough mental power to cast the spell without losing ground to the creatures. While each cast was risky, it allowed me to rid the area of one group of creatures or another.

  Still, the number of creatures grew. Going from a small stream of the things, to a veritable swarm. Unlike before, the swarm was made of various sizes. When I first noticed this, I nearly lost my rhythm and had to fight to not get overwhelmed as I mentally wondered just how many people had been killed for such a rge number to appear.

  Suddenly, someone yanked me backward. I barely had time to stop my swing as I tried to kill my attacker. Their eyes were wide with fear as they turned and ran for the hospital. Not once letting me go as they dragged me behind them. As soon as we passed through the door, three people worked as one to cast something that warped the air and hurt my head.

  They finished it just as the first creature charged into the doorway. As if it had hit a solid wall, the creature stopped dead on the threshold. Those behind it crashed into and crushed the creature in front of it as the things continued forward. Given the looks of concentration and swath pouring off the three castors, this was likely a st stand of some kind.

  “BRACE FOR FLASH!” The yelled scream was muffled and confused me. Around me, people cried out as they covered their eyes. What did the speaker mean by fsh? Was it like a fshbang? If my brain didn’t hurt and my body wasn’t screaming for mercy, I might have had time to think about what was going on. To figure out what they meant and why. Instead, I simply copied those around me.

  Which was lucky for me. Lucky given the fact that I managed to get my eyes covered just as a bright light flooded the world around me. It didn’t come from any one pce. If anything, it seemed as though the entire world was made of light. My Mana Sense didn’t react to it so whatever it was was purely physical. Likely a side effect of a spell or device.

  The light didn’t just stop, it continued to build. As it did so, the air itself heated up. My skin and mouth rapidly dried as the air sucked the moisture from me. The heat caused my body to sweat but even that vanished nearly as fast as it formed. I had no clue what was causing whatever this was, I just knew that it was powerful and likely would kill me any moment. At least I managed to kill as many creatures as I had.