In the end, Kai entered the academy from the west. A huge crack in the academy wall let him avoid the main gate.
The western part of the academy had always been the residence of formal dark magicians. Yet when Kai stepped into this area, the entire academy was deathly quiet—only the distant sounds of battle from the city echoed, making the academy a rare haven of peace instead.
Kai knew little about the academy's western district. Over the past few years, he had barely ventured beyond the vicinity of his mentor Mosido's residence; trespassing on other formal dark magicians' territories was unthinkable. Though he suspected the quiet houses might hold items the magicians had left behind, he didn't let this distract him and headed straight for Mosido's home.
When Kai arrived, the door was closed as usual. Staring at the white door, he was transported back to the days when he visited his mentor daily for experimental tasks. He took his identity medal from his spatial ring, pressed it against the door, and a surge of elemental energy flowed—unlocking the door silently.
Inside, the residence was in disarray, with every room emptied. There was no trace of Mosido, his senior brothers, or senior sisters. The large experimental tables, alchemical equipment, and even the alchemical golem that cleaned the place were all gone.
"Master and the others must have left in time," Kai murmured, sitting on a white chair on the second floor—the same room where they once ate together, now empty except for him. "But I didn't sense Master's battle aura among the dark magicians breaking out of the city. Could he have escaped with Vice-Dean Martin?"
Another deafening "boom!" and a tremor of elemental energy from the city interrupted his thoughts, urging him to move on. Finding nothing at Mosido's, Kai rushed through the academy's teaching buildings toward the apprentice dormitories. Unlike his fruitless search at his mentor's, he was certain Lena would leave him a message at their dorm if she was alive.
The academy remained quiet, but as Kai neared the dormitories, he began to see bodies—mostly apprentices, plus some dark creatures and underground subhumans. Since most intermediate and advanced apprentices had been sent to the Sand World on missions, nearly all the dead apprentices here were low-level.
Near the outer dormitory buildings, Kai spotted a female corpse in the grass by the road. It was Tidi, a low-level apprentice who had pestered him several times before. Half her body was charred, as if hit by a fire-element spell. The sight reminded Kai of his friends Merry and Fatty Baus, and he hurried toward his dorm, his heart tight with anxiety.
The familiar dorm building brought no warmth—instead, the dark, silent corridor filled him with hesitation and fear. Not fear of danger, but fear of an unbearable truth. Still, he reached his door, and when he pushed it open, he saw a pink note that made his heart race. Lena rarely used pink, but Kai knew her well enough to recognize the tenderness hidden beneath her exterior.
He rushed to read the note, which Lena had clearly left recently. It told him she was safe and overflowed with concern for him. True to his belief, Lena had never doubted he was alive—she even mentioned a well-hidden secret passage in northern Menzoberranzan, told to her by her mentor Felena, and that she would escape through it with Felena.
"Northern city?!" Kai glanced outside. Though Menzoberranzan was underground, three of its sides were hollowed out; only the north connected to a towering stone wall, with the massive fluorite vein above it. He tucked the note into his chest, took one last look at their dorm, and left.
After exiting the dorm building, Kai didn't take his original route out of the academy. The chaos in Menzoberranzan was fading—aside from huge rocks falling from the sky, the dark magicians' resistance grew weaker. Surface knights and magicians were heading for the academy to finish clearing it (and likely collect spoils). Kai couldn't be sure all of them would be as approachable as Bakda and Midici, nor could he explain his presence here. Crossing the academy westward would only waste time and risk running into them—and Tidi's dead face flashed in his mind.
Just then, a dull "boom!" came from White Crow Forest near the dorm—a huge rock had fallen, though luckily the forest didn't catch fire. Kai glanced at the forest and headed deep into it. It looked much as he remembered—lush green, though fallen trees and craters showed it had been touched by war. No place in Menzoberranzan was truly safe now.
At the eastern edge of the forest, where the treetops met the academy wall, Kai saw a massive irregular rock wedged between them. After judging he could climb over it, he cast a Lightness Spell on himself—then a faint "coo" came from behind the tree trunk.
Frowning, Kai walked around and found an owl, its feathers soaked in blood, lying in a pool of blood. Its beak twitched slightly—it was still alive.
"Qi?" Kai asked. The academy's owl supervisors all had black backs and white chests, but Qi had one red feather among its white chest feathers. Though half its body was covered in blood, Kai recognized it instantly—from familiarity and the aura they'd shared over the years.
Qi was in terrible shape. Its chest heaved and beak twitched, but it could barely respond to Kai—only faint "coos" escaped, and its dim eyes showed a longing for life. Qi had helped Kai before; they were friends. He couldn't leave it.
He took out his last intermediate recovery potion from his spatial ring. Knowing magical beasts had different physiques than humans, and that one intermediate potion wouldn't heal Qi's wounds, he also pulled out several low-level potions. He poured the intermediate potion into Qi's beak, then applied the low-level ones to its wounds.
After a moment, Qi's cloudy eyes cleared slightly, though blood still oozed from its wounds (just more slowly). Regaining some consciousness, Qi turned its eyes and spoke in human language: "You didn't have to help me. I'm done for."
Magical beasts were far tougher than humans—though Qi was only half-human height, as a quasi-tier magical beast, it was condensed with power. Having lived over a hundred years, it knew its condition: a pierced heart valve. It was a miracle it was alive, but its life force was fading fast.
Kai said nothing. In two years, everyone he cared about—his mentor, seniors, Lena, Baus, Merry—had vanished, their fates unknown. After two years alone in the Sand World, he cherished anyone close to him now. Even Qi, a magical beast, made him emotional for seeing a familiar face. The cost of helping Qi (save the precious intermediate potion) was nothing.
Qi, touched by Kai's silence and concern, said slowly: "Take my magic crystal. I hope it helps you."
Before Kai could reply, a series of thunderous "booms!" shook the air—the entire fluorite vein above Menzoberranzan began to collapse! Earlier, Level 3 Magician Martin's large-scale meteor spell had disturbed the earth veins; though fluorite shards had been falling, the collapse now reached deep fractures.
Kai didn't know how big the vein was—only that it provided faint light to the entire city and surrounding underground spaces. He knew fluorite held heat, released faster when rubbed—which explained the earlier flaming rocks. Now, the meteor shower was larger and more intense—the city would be buried under the vein.
Worse, as a large section of the vein peeled off, a bright crimson glow appeared above the city—like a red blotch in darkness!
"What is that?!" Kai gasped.
"Coo… Above Menzoberranzan, beyond the fluorite vein, there's a magma sea," Qi coughed, spitting up blood. "It's the perfect barrier between surface and underground. The Dean chose this spot to build the city for its concealment." Having lived over a hundred years, Qi knew the city's early history.
Sure enough, after Qi spoke, crimson lava began flowing from the vein's gap. At first it trickled, but soon—sped by gravity and falling fluorite—it spread, painting the sky red. An apocalypse unfolded, unexpected by Kai, the Holy Tower magicians, and the knights.
"Crash!" Scorching lava rain poured down. Smaller and more flammable than rocks, it was harder to dodge and more destructive. In seconds, fires broke out everywhere—even in White Crow Forest, where several drops of lava ignited the southern part.
"The Dean is really destroying Menzoberranzan completely?" Kai whispered. He'd faced danger twice, and lived in fear at the academy—all because of the Dean and dark magicians. If the Dean hadn't frantically destroyed the Sand World's spatial passage, he wouldn't have been stranded there for two years.
Qi let out two faint "coos." Kai had barely any hope left—with the vein collapsing and magma pouring down, even Tier 1 formal magicians risked death, let alone an apprentice like him.
"Coo… If I wasn't so hurt, I could carry you out," Qi said, flapping its wings weakly. "But now… run. Find the Holy Tower magicians—they might save you. I saw them take in low-level and entry-level apprentices earlier." It truly cared about Kai, but its blood loss and weakness left it unable to help.
Kai looked at the worsening lava rain, then north. Though he wasn't far from the north, his speed couldn't match the city's destruction—survival was nearly impossible.
After urging Kai, another gush of blood poured from Qi's wing. Its consciousness faded, and its breath grew weaker. For Qi, there was a small mercy: it might die before the flames reached it.
Overwhelmed by despair, Kai muttered, "Is there really no way?"
As if hearing him, Qi—with its last thread of consciousness—whispered: "If you had a Tier 1 energy crystal, I could devour it to suppress my wounds. But those are rare even for formal dark magicians… How could you have one?"
"A Tier 1 energy crystal?" Kai's spirits lifted. "I don't have one—but I have this!" He held up a dazzling fiery-orange energy crystal, so bright it made people squint. Even Qi, half-unconscious, felt its abundant elemental energy. Its cloudy eyes cleared, and it let out a single "coo?"
"Whoosh!" In Menzoberranzan—where meteorites fell and lava rain poured—a small dark figure broke through the chaos, flying over the northern city. Qi, having eaten a fifth of a Tier 2 energy crystal, had recovered noticeably. But energy crystals weren't a cure-all; Qi was only using the crystal's massive earth-element energy to suppress its wounds and hold on. In time, old injuries would flare up, and the energy would backlash—but for now, it needed to find safety fast.
It was a pity Kai only had earth-element crystals. Wind-element ones (more compatible with Qi) might have let Qi break through to Tier status—a level equal to formal magicians—after this battle.
"Are you sure there's a hidden safe passage in the north?" Qi asked, carrying Kai and dodging falling dangers.
"Lena wrote it in her note. I trust her," Kai said firmly.
"Fine—you saved my life. I'll take this risk with you," Qi said, flapping its wings to speed up.
Three sides of Menzoberranzan were hollowed out; only the north connected to the stone wall. Normally, they'd flee the other three ways (as the Holy Tower magicians and knights were doing). If there was no passage in the north, they'd burn to death in the ruins.
Danger loomed. Kai searched most of the northern stone wall but found no passage—anxiety gnawed at him. A stream of lava rain streaked past; Qi's skillful flying saved them, but Kai felt its heat and sulfuric stench.
Suddenly, something in his chest stirred. He pulled out the black handle Mosido had given him. Guided by its faint hint, he pointed to a spot below: "There!"
Qi flew over quickly. The ruins ahead didn't discourage Kai—instead, the handle's hint grew stronger, and his heart raced. He chanted and cast Intermediate Fire Hand; even injured, Qi let out a wind blast. Fire and wind cleared the ruins, and a narrow passage—barely two meters tall—appeared.
"Coo… There really is a passage," Qi said in surprise.
"Let's go!" Kai urged.
As Kai and Qi entered the secret passage, and the city descended into chaos and destruction, two people in Menzoberranzan still thought of Kai.
"Tch—we're too late?" Silver-armored Knight Bakda said, holding a spear in one hand and a spherical object in the other. By the firelight, the object was revealed to be the head of Tier 1 Dark Magician Kayserson—his eyes wide, unblinking. It was Bakda's trophy; he'd get merits and rewards when he returned to the Knight Hall.
Standing with Bakda in front of a stone building ruin was White-robed Magician Midici. He walked to the ruin, examined the walls (tilted outward), and shook his head: "Not necessarily. That kid has some tricks up his sleeve."
Another "boom!" rang out. Now, not just fluorite shards and lava rain fell— the entire magma sea was pouring down! Its leading edge dripped from the sky, about to hit the city.
"We should go," Bakda urged. "Even with your elemental form and my bloodline body, we can handle the lava for a while—but I don't want a magma bath. And we need to arrange the underground humans outside the city soon. I hope we brought enough airships."
"We did," Midici said, picking up his staff. "The Dawn Holy Tower responded to my report. The Tower Master is interested in that Tier 4 creature in the Sand World. Too bad I have to go back to report first—another team will come. I'd love to see a battle between Tier 4 beings… Let's go!"