King Goblin's roar changed the situation. With a silent order, the entire horde below ceased its scattered assault on the other students. As one being, the remaining hundreds of monsters turned and converged on the slope, completely isolating the two elite teams. The trap had closed. Hakime, Loïd and their teammates found themselves back to back, surrounded by a wall of grimacing flesh and corrosive mist.
The other students, down the ravine, had a sudden and unexpected respite. The pressure stopped. Marcus, the defender, looked around, panting. "They... they leave us?"
"No," scolded another, his face covered in soot. "They focus on Loïd and Hakime."
For a while, fear and indecision reigned. Then a student stood up, his gaze moving from terror to a new determination. "This is our chance! Either we run away or we help them!"
The sight of both teams fighting for their survival higher, attracting the full attention of the enemy, gave rise to a sense of shame and solidarity. They were no longer rival groups, but the last ramparts of humanity in this ravine.
"Let's form a line!" cried Marcus, regaining his courage. "Let's move on! We join them!"
Upstairs, hell was personal. Hakime, Loïd and their teams now formed a tight defensive circle, back to back. The initial mistrust had given way to a vital necessity.
"Skydream, your fire on the groups on the left!" ordered Hakime, his voice carrying in spite of the din.
"I don't need your orders!" retorted Loïd, but he obeyed, throwing a torrent of blue flames that reduced a dozen goblins to ashes.
"Griffin, the ice!" Creates a dam on the right to slow them down!"
Elara, without a word, did what was required, a wall of thorny ice rising from the ground to hinder a load of slime.
The coordination was rough, full of friction, but it worked. They were the anvil and the hammer, forced to work together. Kaito used his magnetism to trip the goblins, exposing them to Arthur's blades or Conor's mass. Lyra and the other heir to Loïd's team covered the rear, slaughtering monsters that tried to infiltrate.
The hours passed. The battle became a nightmare of endurance. The sun had disappeared, replaced by the glow of power and fires. The mist of laziness, concentrated by numbers, was eating away at their energy faster than they could regenerate it.
But they were holding on. And each slain monster poured its corrupt ether into the furnace.
Arthur reached level 9, becoming a real blade hurricane, so fast that he seemed to teleport. Conor, at level 9, had become a living fortress, his Ironskin resisting blows that would have pulverized a tank. Level 9 Lyra no longer created shards, but sharp glass storms, controlling the battlefield around her.
Loïd roared as he reached level 8. His fire had become a force of nature, white-blue and so hot that it melted the rock. But even he, with his slower growth, was beginning to weaken.
Hakime struggled with the fury of despair. He was the only one who didn't go up that fast. As his friends and even Loïd's team reached higher levels, he climbed each step with an infuriating slowness. He reached level 4, and then, in a superhuman effort, level 5.
When level 5 was reached, something in him unlocked. An innate knowledge flooded his mind. It was a defensive technique, a natural application of its light to protect itself.
Unlocked skill: Aegis of Light.
Without hesitation, he activated power. A armor of pure, sparkling, solid light instantly enveloped his body. He felt an immediate influx of power. His stamina, strength and agility increased by 50%. The fatigue that overwhelmed him vanished, replaced by renewed vigour.
"I can hold on!" he shouted to his teammates, his voice now full of strengthened authority. Now!"
Revigoré, he became the spearhead of their counter-attack. His Aegis allowed him to throw himself into the melee, his spear and light working together to open a breach. Seeing this, Loïd roared and redoubled his efforts, his flames clearing the path that Hakime was opening.
Below, the counter-attack of other students, though less spectacular, was equally vital. They were moving slowly but surely, cleaning up the remaining monsters and also leveling up, reinforced by the ether and the hope of rescuing their comrades.
The battle had turned. The sacrifice of the two elite teams had broken the momentum of the horde and given the others time to pull themselves together. Now, it was all the students who were advancing, united by the fight, pressing the horde from all sides. King Goblin, on his ridge, no longer looked amused. He roars, no longer to order, but with rage. His tide was breaking on the anvil of human resistance.