My Mistress’s Breasts Make Me OP!

The semi-transparent wall begins to crack dangerously, until...

—CRASH!

It shatters into countless fragments, like glass struck by a stone, right before my eyes, my heart pounding with dread.

Those crimson beams that destroyed the barrier around the dorm… yes, this is without doubt Sanguis magic—the magic of vampires! How can that be?! Unless...

«Those bastards from Nova Aetas are among them! I repeat: those bastards from Nova Aetas are among them!»

A soldier's panicked voice reaches me, confirming what I feared. Normally, in a fight between those creatures and vampires, I am sure the vampires would prevail, but now...?

I waste no time and run beside Kimberly, while the little winged demons, no longer blocked by the barrier, swarm out of the windows.

Luckily, they don't seem very smart. I notice this as I glance into the rooms of other familiars while running down the corridor toward the stairs. Several times, two or more of them try to enter at the same time and end up stuck in the small windows.

Meanwhile, panic reigns in the dormitory. Waves of boys and girls, men and women, run in every direction, bumping and shoving us, knocking us down as desperate cries fill the air.

«We have to... we have to find Aron!» Kimberly cries through her tears, holding my hand so we don't get lost in the crowd.

«Right now, we just need to find somewhere to hide!» I reply firmly.

«No, we have to look for Aron first! I have to protect him... I... I can't let those creatures kill him!»

Kimberly suddenly stops, forcing me to stop too. But despite her determination, I hold firm to my decision.

«Do you think I don't want to find him? Remember, Gerard is with him, and I want to protect that giant just as much as you want to protect Aron. But this isn't the time to worry about others! We don't know what kind of creatures they are or how strong they might be! If we waste time looking for them, we could die without achieving anything!»

My fingers slip from Kimberly's.

«If you want to look for him, I can't stop you, but you'll go alone!» I shout. Then my voice softens. «Listen, Kimberly... I promise we'll look for them afterward, but first we need to find a safe place to hide – somewhere those damned things can't reach us. Once we're there, we'll plan the search. For now, wandering around won't help; this place is huge, and they could be anywhere.»

Kimberly wipes her tears and takes my hand again – a faint, almost trusting smile appears on her face.

«All right, Lyon, I trust you!»

With difficulty, we reach the stairs to the lower floors. Unfortunately, my knowledge of the dormitory is limited – besides my room – to the cafeteria. That's surely where the familiars are gathering, and fighting the demons in such an open space will be easier.

«Lyon, behind you!» Kimberly shouts in alarm.

I turn – too late – but her reflexes are sharper than mine. I barely catch a glimpse of the winged demon's horrid body a step away, its spear aimed at my back. Kimberly tears its chest open with a powerful punch – her body wrapped in an aura of Vis energy, controlled with exceptional precision. No wonder she's climbing the ranks so quickly.

«T-Thanks...» I whisper weakly, still shaken from the close call.

«You don't need to thank me,» she replies – the sadness and melancholy in her eyes gone, replaced by a steady, focused gaze. «Instead, be more careful! Next time I might not react so fast.»

She drags me down the stairs with desperate strength, skipping two steps at a time – now she is the one in control of the situation.

«Where were you planning to go?» she asks without slowing down.

«I was thinking... the cafeteria,» I answer hesitantly. «It'll be easier to defend ourselves there, without the narrow walls of the corridors or rooms getting in the way.»

«Bad choice,» Kimberly says. «Your reasoning isn't wrong, but it has a flaw: it's too obvious, and everyone will already have thought of it. That will be the place everyone runs to, drawing all the demons there and forcing them to fight in a huge, crowded space, tripping over each other.»

Her reasoning is flawless.

«So... what do you suggest we do?»

«We'll hide in the basement!» she declares firmly.

The basement... yes, I've been there once. It's a wing of the dormitory mostly used for storage, a huge cellar – the only place in the building with artificial lighting, since there are no windows, but...

«Are you sure? The corridors and rooms down there are much smaller and narrower than those upstairs. What's the point of running from here only to hide in an even worse place?»

«You just answered yourself, don't you think? It's a place that, in theory, puts us at a disadvantage, and that's exactly why few will think of choosing it as a refuge. And without windows, we only need to block the single entrance to keep them out. But...» Kimberly's voice grows serious. «...once we're down there and the door is shut, we won't be able to get out until it's over. And as I already said, I don't intend to let Aron die! Surely – like everyone else – he'll be heading to the cafeteria. We'll find him – at any cost – and then we'll take shelter in the cellar!»

Forcing our way through the crowd, we manage to clear almost all the floors separating us from the cafeteria, while those little devils keep springing out from everywhere. From time to time we have to stop and fight them – summoning my sword now would only get in the way, and the Blood Words would cause more casualties among the familiars than the demons, so I'm forced to fight bare-handed. Fortunately, they're weak and fragile creatures.

When we reach the fifth floor, a violent explosion shakes the entire building, triggering a massive collapse. The whole staircase caves in on itself – luckily we're on the landing between the fifth and fourth floors, so we manage to throw ourselves into the corridor and avoid the collapse, but many others aren't so lucky and are crushed under the rubble.

Now, where the staircase stood, a deep chasm yawns behind us, dropping straight to the ground floor, while in front the horde of demons advances menacingly. There are too many, far too many to face. Besides Kimberly and me, only about ten familiars remain. What can we do?

I stare at the chasm, about fifteen meters deep, worry gnawing at me. Could my body, even with my powers, survive a jump like that? Thinking about it won't help, since in the end, jumping is still our only option.

Kimberly, staring hard at the chasm, seems to be thinking the same. We both stand on the edge of the drop. We trade a quick look, a silent agreement, as if to give each other courage. I gather Vis energy in my legs, and...

...an instant before the jump, a new tremor shakes the entire dormitory. We lose our balance and plunge into the chasm.

I, despite everything, manage to hold on to a precarious balance – I might still land without breaking apart. But Kimberly... that tremor completely throws her off, sending her tumbling headfirst.

I have to... I have to think of something to save her!

«Hold on to me!» I shout, wrapping my left arm around her waist as she clings tighter, locking her legs around my torso.

«Blood Word: Weapon!»

The scarlet sword forms in my right hand with startling speed, and I drive it with all my strength into the wall. A deafening metallic screech pierces my ears, sparks bursting from the crack, but somehow I manage to stop our fall less than a meter from the ground. Had I taken even half a second longer to summon it, Kimberly would surely be dead.

«Thank you, Lyon, you saved me...» she murmurs, her breath ragged with fear.

«You don't need to thank me,» I reply in a pompous tone, as if delivering a dramatic line from a movie. «Instead, be more careful! Next time I might not react so fast,» I add, echoing her earlier warning.

«I'd say now we're even,» Kimberly replies with a faint, amused smile. A brief moment of lightness – a way to ease the weight of the death and destruction around us.