The once dark and cold night flashed with the glowing lights of elemental magic. The portals- too many to count and too dark to glimpse through- opened throught the academy grounds and unleashed the army of the underworld, the smell of death and decay seeping from within.

Chanyeol, Rose and I ran forward, launching ourselves in the battle without as much as a second thought. Our endless training and mystic instincts kicked in and we had but one purpose: protect the academy and send these invaders back to hell.

As I looked around however, I noticed that our numbers weren’t as impressive as what I thought they would be. It appeared that to every five Grim Ones there was only one Mystic and if it weren’t for the fortunate lack of dead bodies littering the ground I would have thought we were doomed.

I closed my eyes for a brief second and relished in the buzz of magic that rushed through my veins as I summoned my fire. My body felt warm, buzzing with energy and ready to unleash my pent up emotions.     I had no idea where this power came from seeing as how I was so desperate to get to bed not even five minutes ago, but I was not about to complain. The second I opened my eyes again, a portal opened up right next to me and I was faced with six shadowy figures slithering out from the depths of the underworld. My heart skipped a worried beat but as my fingertips sizzled with fire, I recovered from my hestitation and launched.

Flames, as volatile and destructive as they were these past couple of days, burst out of my palms and headed directly towards the first Grim One. It was making its way towards me, the stench of death surrounding it and the dark aura of black magic hovering over its hands, when it was suddenly engulfed in fire. A shriek so loud and so shrill I thought I’d go permanently deaf left the creature before it was nothing but a pile of ash on the ground. I thought my attack would deter the others or at least stall for a moment but they didn’t even hestitate, the soulless, bottomless pits where their eyes should have been gazed into nothing as they advanced.

I had to think fast. To the rest of the academy, I was still Lilith, which meant I only had access to two elements: Fire and Water. Taking a deep breath and regretting it immediately due to the stench, I held my hands palms up and aimed them at the two creatures in the lead. Fire headed straight for the one of the right and met his attack head on, resulting in an explosion of opposing forces. I didn’t hestitate however and summoned my flames again, this time aiming for its heart, or where the thing should be. It went right through the creature’s chest and blew it up in seconds. Water, at the same time, rose from my left palm and took aim. In any other circumstance, regular water would have been of no use against the Grim Ones, but seeing as how this water was essentially made of elemental magic, it had a fatal effect on the creatures that were nothing but darkness. The grim one I was aiming for dodged the stream of water but in its haste it was burnt by a few rogue flames from my other attack. It shrieked -again putting my senses in grave danger- and faltered slightly, giving me a chance I couldn’t afford to miss. I summoned the stream again and as the creature was mid shriek I aimed the water straight down its throat. It choked and gurgled for a few tense seconds, making disgusting noises that riveled the stench in its ability to summon my gag reflex and finally exploded into a pile of ash and smoke. I silently thanked the universe for making them essentially shadow and energy, because I did not even want to imagine what that explosion would have looked like if they were made of flesh. Glancing around me, I noticed that the other three Grim Ones were nowhere to be found and I couldn’t help the dread that sent a shiver down my spine as I wondered where they might be.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Chanyeol and Rose standing over two piles of ashes as they each took on a new threat. I was about to sprint towards them when pain like nothing I have ever felt before erupted through my left shoulder. The force of the attack sent me straight to the ground, rocks and branches poking my back ans shredding my coat. I skidded to a stop and grunting, I lifted myself up to my knees. My coat was tattered and its shoulder was singed and frayed and with another grunt I took it off to inspect the damage to my flesh. My arm was red and tender and my shoulder erupted in pain when I moved it but thankfully nothing was broken and I was still alive. I looked to my left where the attack came from and gulped when I saw the Grim One standing over me, a sizzling electricity surrounding the ball of magic in its hands.

I tried to stand but my left arm gave up and I fell back down on the rocks. I stared up at the creature, my mind in a haze of panic and despair; I was utterly and completely paralyzed with fear as my eyes were fixed on the spehere of dark energy. I closed my eyes, preparing for the pain that was about to consume my being as flashbacks of the night of my attack invaded my mind. I could see the creatures hovering around me, their cloaked figures surrounding me from every angle. I was so lost in that memory that my heart almost stopped when the familiar shriek of death pierced the air around me. Opening one eye, I sighed and leaned back on the ground when I saw the pile of ash scattered beside me.

“Are you okay?” Kira’s voice was like music to my ears. I lifted my head up and stared at my best friend who looked more like a vengeful angel of death than the blue haired mystic I was so used to. Her hair flew about her face, her face streaked with ash and her jeans ripped at the knees. I took the hand she gave me and stood up, wincing slightly as I did. The pain had already subsided to a dull ache and I rolled my shoulder in an attempt to dispel it.

“Yeah, I’m good.” I shoved my white locks away from my face. “Thank you.” I beamed, throwing my arms around Kira and squeezing her tight.

“You’re lucky that thing missed the first time.” She sighed. Behind her, Baekhyun, Suho and Gabriella finished off another group of Grim ones together and ran towards us. I checked on all of them, happy to note that there were close to no injuries on them and then we all made our way to Chanyeol and Rose.

“Is it just me, or are we seriously outnumbered?” I asked once we were all in no immediate danger.

“I noticed it too.” Chanyeol nodded. “It’s like half of us are not even here.”

“You guys haven’t heard?” Suho glanced between us.

“Hear what?” Rose asked.

“This isn’t the only attack.” Kira sighed. “Four other simultaneous attacks were launched on the kingdoms. Someone weakend their wards some time these past couple of weeks enough to allow the portals to open. Half the faculty and council members were dispatched to the four kingdoms to help.”

Silence dawned on us as we processed the severity of the information. Someone, most likely the traitor, managed to slip into the four kingdoms and weaken their protective wards then orchestrated 5 simultaneous attacks all while the royal council was in the midst of a full blown investigation to flush them out. How was that even possible? How did they manage to evade being discovered and plan all of this? And most importantly, why were they doing this at all?

Our moment of contemplation didn’t last long. In less than a split second two new portals materialized right in front of us and through them drifted a new wave of the dark creatures. With the new knowledge of the perile the kingdoms were in, we knew we had no hope of back up and it was up to us to save the island. This time, I didn’t allow for hesitation to cloud my mind because one second could change everything.

Fire, water, earth and air mingled together, the field of energy that the seven of us summoned lit up the starless night. Magic fed on magic and we worked together, power like nothing we’ve ever experienced pulsing through our bloodstream as more and more bodies dropped and ash drifted into the air. Soon we were joined by Kiseop and his friends, and then Hyuna and her clique showed up. Our group of seven turned into a small army as we moved further into academy grounds, and despite the wreckage and destruction, we were happy to note that we didn’t lose a lot of mystics. It seemed that our training was paying off.

“Something doesn’t feel right.” Kira murmered.

We were standing in the middle of the school’s garden, the air felt heavy and humid and the silence that surrounded us was ominous.

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun asked, his voice low and careful.

"It all feels too… easy.” Rose interfered.

“Maybe we’re just really well prepared this time?” One of Kiseop’s friends, Eli, shrugged unsurly.

Just as we were about to move, one colossal portal appeared. The air around it crackled with electricity, the once dark garden now lit up in the metallic shimmer that announced the arrival of more creatures.

“You were saying?” Kira glanced at Eli.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Gabbie yelled over the noise of the static.

The vile stench of death hit us like a tidal wave as over a hundered Grim Ones drifted through the open gate that connected our island to the dark realm. Our group, barely half that number with more than a dozen untrained freshmen, would not last long under an attack of this magnitude especially not after what we’ve already tackled. My body tensed as I tried to contain my magic. The elements within me were bursting at my fingertips and as I joined my classmates in their defence against the Grim Ones I half wondered if I could make a difference if I were able to unleash all of it.

We split up into four groups, covering all angles and ensuring no one got past our circle of protection. To my surprise, the lower classmen were holding up better than I thought despite their lack of battle training. Unfortunately that did not mean we were immune. Our numbers were slowly but surely dropping as we took on more and more of the Grim Ones and soon enough we were half of what we started out as.

It seemed like their numbers were endless, like no matter how many we killed or blew up into thin air, more and more kept coming from that god forsaken portal. My senses were overwhelmed, close to shutting down even due to the disgusting smell they brought with them and the loud noises that surrounded us, that it wasn’t un