Dark clouds, dark mist, dark whispers.

A never-ending stream of Others kept charging the barrier, and all the while, the grinning demon hopped and raved its mad dance in their midst.

It was bizarre and preposterous, but not a single student laughed. Even someone with the brainpower of an ass hair would know that something terrible was incoming.

Yet they couldn't do anything now. They would have to deal with whatever appeared.

"Highest alert!" Jiang Qing'e called. "Be ready for anything!"

Outside the purified spot, the demented howling of the monsters was deafening. Inside, a tense silence.

Finally, the grinning demon was done with its dance, and its grin seemed to deepen even further.

Rows upon rows of gleaming,...