As the orb held aloft by the girl began to glow, a massive figure appeared before the school gate, howling in anguish.

[■■■■■■■■-!!!!!!!!!]

“Uh… Huh… What?”

Next to me, the girl emitted a strange sound, lost for words in this incomprehensible situation. My heart echoed her feelings.

Drawing in a breath, I focused on the monster.

A pair of horns poked out from its head.

Its skin glistened black.

Muscles bulged beneath its skin.

At first glance, it resembled a water buffalo.

The problem was that its height easily surpassed two meters.

The roar of the beast, bursting out of what had just been empty air, was as heavy and vast as its body.

My skin prickled.

I could feel my body stiffen involuntarily at the roar of a predator so much larger than myself.

“What the heck is that… ?”

“There wasn’t anything like that just a moment ago…”

Had they heard the monster’s roar? The kids who had been looking elsewhere rushed over.

The class president and the spear guy murmured in shocked voices, while the shield guy stood silent, all their faces filled with horror.

This was clearly not a low-level monster—at least a mid-tier or higher.

The oppressive aura it radiated sent shivers down my spine. The monster didn’t appear weakened after crossing the barrier.

I could see a purplish aura undulating over its body.

That ominous color reminded me of the girl’s hair, now obscured by the massive silhouette.

Somehow, it seemed certain that she was the one who had summoned the monster.

Monster and girl.

The word “witch” flickered across my mind, but I bit my lip and denied it, insisting it couldn’t be true.

In the last episode of [The Sacred Knight of the Academy], witches only appeared as enemies once.

All the barriers that existed across the world had inexplicably vanished, forcing Yoon Si-woo and Silvia to flee with a small group of survivors who had lost their last stronghold.

What blocked their way was the “Witch of Gluttony,” which had been sealed in a damaged state and revived, as it couldn’t be fully annihilated even after being hunted down.

Defeating the resurrected witch might just restore peace to the world, or so they thought, yet both Yoon Si-woo and Silvia had ultimately knelt before this final boss of the world—the witch.

History textbooks stated that all witches had been exterminated ages ago.

Thus, the girl who had summoned the monster couldn’t possibly be a witch.

She must not be a witch.

If she really were a witch and intended to kill us, the chances of survival for everyone here were practically nonexistent.

Lost in horrifying thoughts, the monster stirred.

The gateway, hidden behind the beast, came into view.

The girl was nowhere to be found.

Only a single black orb lay alone where she had stood.

Turning my head to look around, I didn’t even see a shadow of anyone near the gate.

Where did she go?

In my wandering gaze, I spotted a building in the direction the monster was moving.

The gymnasium.

Several teachers and students peeking outside upon hearing the roar seemed frozen, staring at the monster.

The door was still open.

Now was not the time to worry about the mysterious girl.

The monster seemed aware of the abundance of prey inside the gym, slowly advancing while keeping its eyes fixed on it.

I anxiously glanced towards the gym entrance.

Some classmates, realizing we were on the roof, pointed their fingers toward us.

Could it be that they weren’t closing the door because of us outside?

Even though they were all facing death, was now really the time to think about someone else’s life?

I figured the monster believed we were trapped, moving leisurely, but we had no time to jump down and enter the gymnasium.

If we couldn’t get in, we might be in danger, but that wasn’t the concern at the moment.

We needed to tell them to close the door without worrying about us.

But even shouting from here wouldn’t reach the gym.

In that moment, a thought struck me, and I shook the shoulder of the girl frozen at my side.

“Tell them to close the gym door! Right now!”

The immobilized girl seemed to snap out of it, and her eyes focused.

She cupped her hands around her mouth and, gathering all her strength, shouted toward the gym.

Moments later, the large door of the gym began to lower and close.

Suddenly, the monster, which had been moving leisurely, started to pick up its pace.

With its massive size, each stride seemed to gain instant acceleration.

“Close it faster!”

“Please…!”

The monster was accelerating while the door shut slowly.

The children yelled at the door, urging it to close.

No matter how much they cried out, the door wasn’t going to close any faster; it was all they could do.

Everyone’s voices were filled with anxiety.

They were undoubtedly imagining the horrendous things that would happen if the door didn’t close in time.

Standing among the shouting kids, I clasped my trembling hands together, praying for it to close quickly.

The door had been built to protect people.

It needed to close to fulfill its purpose!

It seemed as if our desperate wish was heard, for the door closed with a heavy thud just before the monster arrived.

“It’s shut!”

“Phew, thank goodness!”

The anxious kids erupted in cheers.

I, too, exhaled in partial relief.

However, even with the door closed, the monster did not halt its charge.

It didn’t slow down; in fact, it was picking up speed.

No way, I thought, as a deafening noise erupted.

BOOM!

A colossal sound thundered as something solid collided with the door.

The girl who had been sitting on the ground, unable to keep her legs stiff, fell over.

The other three covered their ears, grimacing in pain.

A tremor began in the gymnasium, traveling through the earth and reaching the roof of the main school building.

The monster’s terrifying strength seemed to ripple through the ground up to the roof.

Though my body was unwilling to move, I had to check the situation, so I looked down.

The shockwave stirred up dust, clouding my vision.

Through the dusty haze, I caught a glimpse of the monster, snorting as it huffed and puffed.

The dust slowly began to settle.

The gym door that the monster had slammed into remained, fortunately, intact.

As the gut-wrenching tension released to an extent that I almost forgot to breathe, I found myself sitting on the ground, burying my face between my knees.

The construction supervisor had confidently proclaimed that even ordinary monsters couldn’t leave a scratch.

I felt like giving him a round of applause.

The kids who had been ear-blocking in pain seemed to have improved somewhat, peering over the rooftop railing and exhaling sighs of relief as they helped the girl who still couldn’t get up.

For now, it seemed the people inside the gym were safe.

It might be okay if we stayed hidden on the roof, out of the monster’s sight.

Just as I cautiously entertained that thought, the girl, now helped up by others, looked down.

I could see her expression shift from relief to confusion and anxiety.

I stood up to look down too.

The monster was slowly turning and walking toward the school gate.

Was it planning to go outside? The monster stopped midway between the gym and the gate, then turned back towards the gym.

And it slammed the ground.

Once again, a tremendous sound echoed.

Like before, the monster threw itself against the gym door and slowly turned again.

The door was still intact.

“What… What is this? That monster is foolish. No matter how hard it hits, that sturdy door isn’t going to break, right?”

“Haha, right? It can’t possibly crack it… It’s gonna be fine, right?”

The girl and the spear guy raised their voices, gazing at the still-intact door, forcing awkward laughter to dispel their anxiety.

The noise echoed again.

The first sound suggested it might be alright.

The second made me a bit anxious.

By the third, my heart was pounding like crazy.

The faces of the kids who had been laughing were now tense.

I wanted to believe it was just a trick of my mind, but it looked like the solid door now had cracks that hadn’t been there before.

They had said that an average monster couldn’t even scratch it.

Yet, yet…

No matter how you looked at it, this monster didn’t seem ordinary at all.

Another massive sound rang out.

This time, following that noise, a faint but sinister sound was unmistakably clear.

It was the sound of hope fracturing.

The kids’ faces drained of color.

If the door broke, it was evident that countless citizens inside would perish.

Everyone was shaking.

Countless thoughts must have been racing through our minds.

The silence that settled among us felt like a reflection of the fear and despair we were experiencing.

And the one to break that silence was the class president who spoke a single sentence.

“…If we let it keep banging like that, it’s gonna break through.”

All eyes turned to the class president.

She voiced what we had all been thinking.

Her voice quivered, but her gaze remained unwavering.

In her brightly shining eyes, it seemed we all understood what she meant.

We, the ones outside, should become the bait.

The president’s gaze shifted to the spear guy, Daniel.

“We have no choice. Damn it.”

Daniel bit his lip, gripping the spear he carried tightly.

The president then turned her gaze toward the shield guy, Andre.

Andre nodded silently and retrieved the shield from his back.

The president’s eyes finally focused on the girl, Jessie.

Jessie looked at the president with trembling eyes and said,

“…That thing is at least a mid-tier monster. If it attacks us, we might die, no, we will die. It’s not a training exercise; if we die this time, it’ll be for real!”

Jessie yelled at the president, frustration lacing her voice.

The president listened without saying a word.

Then Jessie, trembling, said to the president with teary eyes,

“I… I don’t want to see anyone die again. Even in my dreams last night, I saw what happened during that training… Hic, it’s so scary…”

Jessie, who was sobbing, sniffed a few times before taking a deep breath and trying to stop her tears.

“I understand… but it’s something we have to do… I’ll go too.”

Jessie wiped her teary eyes with her sleeve.

Then the president turned around and our eyes met.

My hands were trembling.

Honestly, I was scared.

I was so afraid to fight that part of me wanted to just run away.

But I thought about the people who might die if the monster broke through the gym door.

The grandma I helped carry luggage for might be inside.

The researchers and supervisor with whom I had shared laughs might also be inside.

I reached into my uniform pocket and pulled out the now crumpled bear-shaped band-aid.

The boy who gave me that might also be inside.

After staring at the band-aid for a moment, I put it back in my pocket.

I took a deep breath.

I’m not going to die.

I’m just going to draw attention.

I nodded at the president.

Then the president, May, unsheathed her sword and said,

“Let’s go.”

She turned and took the lead, and we followed behind her.

I could see the legs of those walking ahead trembling ever so slightly out of fear.

Despite the fear, no one suggested we run away.

Though we were just students and not that strong.

They were still heroes.

The small heroes stepped off the rooftop.