I Refuse the Tragic Ending

They began moving toward the connected branches.

Kael intercepted the undead that managed to get past Quinn’s barrier. He attacked their joints and used their own momentum against them, knocking them away whenever they approached the students’ route.

Above him, the first student stepped onto a branch connected to the silk network.

He gripped the nearest strand with both hands and carefully transferred his weight. The webbing stretched beneath him, but the reinforced anchor points held.

”Keep moving!” Kael ordered. ”Don’t stop in the middle.”

The student continued.

Another followed, supporting a classmate whose leg was injured. Their progress was slow, and every movement required concentration. The branches swayed under their combined weight, while the silk trembled with each step.

Quinn moved alongside them, inspecting the strands and reinforcing any section that began to sag.

The arrangement was holding, but only just. A student near the rear lost his footing. His boot slipped off the branch, and his body lurched into the gap. He cried out as his legs dropped into open air, leaving him hanging from the silk.

The student behind him froze.

”Help me!” the dangling student shouted.

”Grab the branch!” Jeannette ordered.

”I can’t reach it!”

Kael looked up.

The student’s weight was pulling the silk downward, placing additional strain on the nearest anchor point. If the connection failed, he would fall directly into the clearing.

”Quinn, reinforce that section!”

The spider raced toward him and rapidly layered silk around the supporting strand. The webbing tightened, arresting the sag before it could worsen.

”Pull yourself up!” Kael shouted.

The student gritted his teeth and struggled to reach the branch. His fingers caught its edge, and with help from the person behind him, he managed to haul himself back onto the narrow perch.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

”Keep moving!” Jeannette urged. ”We cannot stop here!”

The students resumed their crossing.

Kael’s attention shifted toward the lower branches.

The undead were tearing through the barrier.

One creature had ripped its arm free and was dragging itself through the tangled silk. Others climbed over its back, forcing their way toward the tree. Their combined weight pulled the webbing taut, and several branches began to bend under the strain.

Kael could hear the wood creaking.

The escape route was becoming increasingly unstable. He had to prevent the undead from reaching the students before the remaining connections failed.

Kael sprinted toward the trunk and leaped onto a low branch. An undead reached for him, its fingers brushing his boot. He drove his sword through its wrist and kicked it away before turning toward the next creature.

His blade struck the creature’s shoulder, disrupting its grip. It fell backward, colliding with the undead beneath it.

The brief opening allowed several students to advance.

But another creature immediately began climbing over the fallen bodies.

Kael’s jaw tightened.

There were too many.

He glanced toward Quinn, who had moved to one of the main anchor points. The spider was wrapping a thick bundle of silk around a large branch, then extending the remaining strands toward a neighboring trunk.

Kael understood what it was preparing.

They could not keep the entire structure intact while the undead continued climbing. Instead, they needed to redirect the creatures’ weight and bring down the weakened lower branches after the students had crossed.

”Quinn, secure the upper connections first!” Kael called. ”Don’t pull until everyone is clear!”

”Qiu!”

Quinn hurried to the next anchor point.

Kael continued holding the undead back while watching the students progress through the canopy. Most had reached the surrounding trees, but several remained near the middle of the route.

Jeannette was among the last. She had stopped to help an injured girl whose legs could barely support her weight. Keeping one arm around the girl’s waist, Jeannette guided her across a particularly narrow branch.

”Almost there,” she urged. ”Just a little farther.”

The injured girl nodded, but her trembling hands betrayed her exhaustion.

Behind them, an undead forced its way through the lower barrier. Its fingers caught the trailing end of Jeannette’s cloak.

She stumbled.

The injured girl cried out as their combined weight shifted toward the edge. Jeannette managed to catch a branch with one hand, but the girl slipped from her support and began sliding off the narrow perch.

Kael’s heart lurched.

He was too far away to reach them.

”Quinn! Pull the support beneath them!”

The spider reacted instantly.

Its legs braced against the trunk as it hauled on the reinforced silk. The sagging section snapped upward, catching the injured girl’s weight before she could fall. The sudden tension also tore Jeannette’s cloak from the undead’s grasp, sending the creature tumbling backward.

Jeannette seized the opportunity.

She pulled herself upright, caught the injured girl beneath the arm, and dragged her onto the safer branch.

”Keep moving!” Kael shouted.

Jeannette did not look back. She supported the girl and continued toward the surrounding trees, refusing to stop until both of them reached solid footing.

Only then did Kael allow himself to look away.

The remaining students were almost clear.

”Everyone, move farther along the branches!” He ordered. ”Stay away from the clearing and keep your distance from the main trunk!”

They obeyed, helping one another advance through the canopy.

Kael retreated toward the edge of the clearing, sword raised as he watched the final section of the escape route. Most of the undead were now tangled in the lower webbing, but their struggles continued to strain the branches.

The wood groaned again.

Quinn reached the final anchor point and secured its silk around a thick limb. The spider then positioned itself near the opposite end of the network, ready to pull.

Kael checked the surrounding branches one last time.

Every student had reached the trees beyond the clearing.

”Now!”

Quinn pulled with all its strength. The reinforced silk tightened around the lower branches. Several weakened limbs finally gave way beneath the combined weight of the undead, snapping one after another.

The creatures crashed to the ground in a tangled mass of broken wood and silk. The impact shook the clearing.

Kael immediately backed away, keeping his sword ready in case any of the undead managed to climb back up. He did not wait to see whether the fallen branches would hold them for long.

The students were out of immediate reach, and the surrounding trees provided a route away from the clearing.

”Move! Follow my direction!” He ordered. ”We leave now.”

No one argued.

Kael followed the group into the canopy, remaining at the rear to watch for pursuers. Quinn hurried ahead, extending fresh strands between the branches whenever the natural gaps became too wide to cross safely.

Only after they had put considerable distance between themselves and the clearing did Kael lower his sword. His breathing was heavier than before, and his forearm numbed from repeatedly striking the undead. He flexed his fingers around the hilt, making sure he could still maintain a firm grip.

The encounter had consumed valuable time and energy.

The students had not lacked courage. They had simply run out of options.

Kael looked over the group. Several were injured, and nearly all appeared close to exhaustion. The few who could still move comfortably were supporting those who could not. Jeannette remained beside the injured girl, checking that she could maintain her grip as they moved.

Kael approached them.

”Can you keep going?” He asked.

Jeannette nodded, though her expression remained tense.

”Yes. Most of us can manage, but a few have almost no mana left. We’ve been fighting for what feels like hours.”

”How long have you been trapped in that tree?”

”I don’t know.” She glanced toward the clearing behind them. ”We climbed up when they surrounded us. We thought we could wait for help, but they never stopped coming.”

Kael studied her face, looking for signs that she was concealing a more serious injury. He found none that he could identify immediately, but that did not mean she was unharmed.

”We’ll compare what we know once we’re somewhere secure,” he said. ”For now, stay close to the others. If you notice anything approaching, tell me immediately.”

Jeannette nodded.

”Understood. And Grayford...”

He turned toward her.

”Thank you. If you hadn’t arrived, we wouldn’t have made it.”

Kael glanced toward the crimson sky visible through the canopy.

”Save your thanks until we’re somewhere safe. We haven’t escaped yet.”

He did not intend to sound harsh, but the distinction mattered. They had survived one encounter. That did not mean the danger had passed.

The undead could still be following them, and the strange barrier that had appeared over the forest suggested that something far more dangerous was still looming.

At that moment, the two slightly older people approached.

”Hello, we are the overseers of this team. Are you perhaps an elite student of the freshmen?” One of them, a male, asked.

Kael shook his head.

”No. I’m not.”

The two overseers looked stunned.

”Uh, then. Perhaps close to becoming one, I suppose,” said the female overseer this time.

Kael helplessly shook his head again.

He smiled faintly and said, ”I’m sorry but I’m nowhere near being a significant student.”

”Ahem! I think we should keep moving while the undead are trapped in the webbing barrier.”

Jeannette suddenly interrupted. She knew of Kael’s status in the academy, but that didn’t erase the truth that he risked his life to save them.

”You’re right. Just follow me. I knew of a safe place.”

No one objected.

He needed to bring them to a safe zone, so that Mira and the others could assess their injuries, and determine whether there were other survivors nearby. Only then could he decide what to do next.

He looked toward Quinn, which had already begun extending silk between the next set of branches.

Later, when everyone’s feet finally landed on the ground, all of them let out a sigh of relief they didn’t think they were holding the whole time.

”Alright, follow me, I’ll bring you to the safe zone!” Kael told them.

There wasn’t time to rest and everyone was well aware of that. The webbing barrier had bought them time, but it would not hold the undead indefinitely.

He had rescued the students without defeating the entire horde.

He could not afford to fight every enemy he encountered. Sometimes, it meant recognizing when a fight was unnecessary and finding another way forward.

Kael tightened his grip on his sword and continued toward the safe zone.

The forest remained unnaturally quiet beyond the occasional sound of snapping branches and distant growl. The silence offered no reassurance. If anything, it made him more cautious.

He had found one group of survivors, but there could be others scattered throughout the forest. Some might still be fighting. Others might be hiding, injured and unable to move.

Kael intended to find as many as he could. But first, he had to get this group somewhere secure.

He quickened his pace.

Quinn jumped on his shoulder, looking exhausted.

”Qiu...”

He rubbed its head.

”Good job, little savior.”

”Qiu.”

”All right, remind me to give you something nice when we get back.”

”Qiu!”

The white spider looked extremely excited all of a sudden.