C11 Night Raid at UNILAG

UNILAG campus buzzed with night energy—students eating shawarma beside faculty buildings, music thumping from distant speakers, the soft hum of generators masking the unease spreading through the city.

But Akin felt the tension under the surface. Like the air itself was holding its breath.

Zara had warned him.

“The Serpent’s cult likes schools. Too many young minds. Easy to turn into soldiers.”

Akin, Zara, Aramide, and Chisom walked into the Faculty of Arts building together. They pretended to laugh, their bags slung casually, but each step echoed like a countdown.

Aramide clutched the wrapped Tear inside her bag.

Akin watched every hallway corner.

Zara tracked the shadows.

Chisom scanned for spirit signatures using his custom goggles.

They reached the courtyard.

Then the lights went out.

Screams erupted.

Akin’s senses sharpened instantly. His heart thudded in rhythm with the glowing mark beneath his shirt.

Chisom hissed, “Multiple! Coming from every direction!”

Zara pushed Aramide behind her. “Defensive triangle! Now!”

Shapes emerged from the darkness—students with glowing eyes and twisted expressions. Their uniforms were torn, their movements jerky and unnatural.

Cult puppets.

One of them grinned at Akin, a grin stretched too wide. “Star Child…”

Zara moved first, her arms slicing the air. A wave of compressed wind struck the puppets, sending them tumbling like leaves.

Akin breathed deeply, summoning his inner fire.

The mark blazed.

He thrust his hand outward, releasing a burst of golden energy that knocked down the first wave.

But more kept coming.

Dozens.

Aramide trembled. “They’re not themselves. Someone is controlling them!”

Akin grit his teeth. “Then we break that control.”

Chisom hurled a device into the air. It exploded in a flash of blue light, revealing shimmering chains of spirit energy wrapped around the students’ necks.

“Spirit bindings,” Chisom said. “Break the chains, free the host!”

Zara nodded. “I’ll pin them down. Akin—your fire.”

They surged forward.

Zara spun, summoning a cyclone of air that lifted the puppets into the air and slammed them into walls, holding them still.

Akin darted through the chaos, striking each binding with concentrated golden flame, shattering them one by one.

A puppet boy gasped when freed and collapsed into Akin’s arms.

Another girl crumpled, her eyes clearing of corruption.

Aramide knelt beside her, whispering soothing words as she held the Tear, letting its glow calm the girl’s trembling spirit.

The final wave of puppets surged in.

Akin blasted them back.

Zara held their line.

Chisom threw device after device.

Aramide steadied their souls.

And then…

The air changed.

A chill swept through the courtyard.

Something landed on the roof above them.

A tall figure stepped out of the darkness.

He wore a serpent mask.

The symbols on his cloak glowed with cold blue fire.

“Akin Olaoluwa,” the man said, his voice like a cracked drum. “You break my puppets. You defy destiny. You refuse your place.”

Zara hissed, “A Serpent Priest.”

Akin stepped forward. “Who are you?”

The man bowed mockingly. “I am Ikori. Herald of the Serpent of Ages. And I’ve come to collect what belongs to us.”

His gaze fell on Aramide.

“The Oracle.”

Akin’s body moved without thinking.

He stepped in front of her.

“You’re not touching her.”

Ikori’s laughter slithered across the courtyard. “You will die protecting her. Just as you did before.”

He raised his hand.

A surge of dark power shot toward them.

Akin braced for impact—

But Zara leapt in front of him, creating a barrier of spinning wind.

The explosion rocked the entire courtyard.

Chisom yelled, “Everybody run!”

Akin grabbed Aramide’s hand.

Zara followed, blood dripping from her lip.

Ikori’s voice echoed behind them, triumphant and hungry:

“You cannot run from destiny!”