Thirty seconds later.
The crimson blood domain vanished.
The suffocating pressure disappeared from the training grounds as suddenly as it had arrived.
For a brief moment, no one moved.
Then, the sound of ragged breathing filled the silence.
Across the vast training ground, the top-ranked students of Celestias Academy's first, second, and third years lay sprawled across the stone floor. Some were flat on their backs, staring blankly at the sky. Others were curled on their sides, their hands pressed against their chests as though trying to make sure their hearts were still beating.
Many of them looked as though they had been only a breath away from death, their pale faces and battered bodies making it clear just how close they had come.
And, in truth, they had.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
Cold sweat soaked through their clothes.
Their faces were pale, their eyes unfocused, and some were still gasping as though the air had not yet returned to their lungs.
