"S-Save... us..."
The voice didn't come through the air. It rattled directly inside my head, a twisted mix of a crying child, a dying man, and a screaming woman.
Beside me, two second-year students collapsed onto their knees. Their swords clattered against the ground, their hands clawing wildly at their ears as thin streams of dark blood trickled from their nostrils.
"Ugh—!"
I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached. A sharp, burning pain shot through my head. My Soul Perception was always on, I couldn't turn it off. Right now, it was forcing me to feel every bit of fear, pain, and hopelessness coming from the students around me.
Dozens of terrified souls were screaming all at once, all tangled together by the dark energy pouring off the monster in front of us.
It was too much. Too many feelings. Too much noise.
My vision blurred. Something warm and wet dripped down from my nose. I wiped it with my sleeve... it was blood.
