Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 89: Episode

Serne stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. "Even you must realize how absurd that sounds. Why should I help you?"

"I’ll owe you one," Simon replied simply, swinging himself up onto the back of Lorraine’s skeleton horse.

With just those words, he nodded to Lorraine. She pulled on the reins, and the skeletal steed soared fearlessly into the sky.

’...Nonsense.’

Serne’s expression turned to ice as she raised a single feather. It dissolved into a magic circle, transforming into a massive siege ballista aimed at the retreating figures.

’You’re not very good at politics, are you?’

Simon’s voice echoed in her mind.

’Your way only creates more enemies.’

She fell silent.

Serne ground her teeth. Sophistry. She had always been the predator. The weak had only two choices: submit or be devoured. For someone whose mental abilities were unparalleled, the thoughts of others were an irrelevant variable.

And yet.

’My way is... clumsy?’

Her gaze drifted back to the sky, where Simon and Lorraine were riding together, deep in conversation.

---

"A monster went berserk, you said?" Lorraine asked over the rushing wind.

"Yeah." Simon nodded. "By any chance, have you heard anything about me from Lady Nephthys recently?"

"Huh? What about?" The genuine confusion in her eyes was all the answer he needed. Nephthys hadn’t told even Lorraine about the Legion. It was their secret. Well, theirs and one other person’s now, but that couldn’t be helped.

"It’s nothing," he said, changing the subject. "A famous treasure hunter was a guest lecturer for Class A, and this monster was in his presentation. It’s not in the official guidebook."

Lorraine considered this for a moment.

"It could be an artificial monster, one not native to this island."

"That’s a possibility."

As Simon briefed Lorraine, the berserk replica of Vickrum grew closer. It was now nearly twenty meters tall and had already crossed the river into the southern part of the island.

"This is insane!"

"What the hell is that thing?!"

Students who had been quietly hunting in the outer regions scattered in panic. The replica stomped through their midst, its kicks overturning the earth and uprooting trees. It was a walking catastrophe.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

The creature paused, its massive head swiveling to look down at a screaming female student. It lifted its giant foot.

"Oh...!"

Paralyzed with terror, the student could only watch as the giant’s sole blotted out the sky.

Just then, a figure bravely shot toward the descending foot. Taking a deep breath, he threw a powerful punch.

The replica’s colossal body staggered, losing its balance and stumbling backward.

"Ooooh!"

"Nice one, Brad!"

The figure, of course, was not Brad, but Erzebet in his form. A magic communicator was fitted in her ear, connecting her to the operations headquarters and the other teaching assistants. As she landed, the rescued student cried out in awe.

"Thank you for saving me!"

Erzebet, channeling her inner Brad, tapped her forehead with her index finger and gave a light flick.

"It’s dangerous here. Get back."

"Yes!" The student, cheeks flushed, glanced back a few more times before disappearing into the forest.

’Oops, that’s not Brad’s style, is it?’ Erzebet thought. Brad was a simple musclehead. Taking a moment to recalibrate her persona, she activated the communicator. "This is Assistant Brad. Relaying intel gathered through combat." Even to her own ears, the voice imitation was perfect. "The target is highly sensitive to human sounds. Running is fine, but screams or shouts will draw its aggression. Relay to all students."

—"This is HQ! Good work. Relaying immediately."

—"You figured that out already? Why are you so competent all of a sudden?"

—"Right? I thought your brain was just another muscle."

Judging by their reactions, the real Brad wasn’t exactly known for his sharp intellect. Erzebet cleared her throat and said gruffly, "All assistants below me, shut your traps."

—"Ahaha! That’s our Brad!"

"And HQ, one more thing," Erzebet continued. "We must avoid direct engagement and focus all efforts on student rescue..."

As she spoke, another assistant was already flying toward the replica.

—"Hey, Brad!" It was Karis, the Jet-Black Dynamics assistant. — "I know what you’re thinking, but none of the students can take this thing down. I’ll just handle it!"

He soared into the air and swung his scythe. A crescent of energy over ten meters long flew out, slashing across the replica’s back.

—"Okay! I got i—!"

The replica turned, completely unharmed, and threw a lightning-fast punch.

The speed was incredible. Karis was sent flying hundreds of meters, crashing into the ground with bone-jarring force.

—"Ugh! Ah, damn it! This bastard hits so hard!" The anguish in his voice was palpable.

"That’s what I told you, Senior Karis," Erzebet muttered before addressing HQ again. She looked up at the rampaging monster. "It has regenerative abilities. I repeat, avoid combat at all costs and focus on rescuing students."

—"Copy that."

Erzebet had once been Vickrum’s comrade; she knew its capabilities. Deactivating the communicator, her expression grew complicated. ’Looks like things have gotten messy for my Legion Commander.’

If the replica went completely berserk, no one could stop it. Persuasion had clearly failed, which left only one option: eliminate it with minimal collateral damage. If a student died, Kizen headquarters would launch a full-scale investigation, and that would complicate everything.

’First, I need to rendezvous with the Commander.’

---

"Hold on tight, Simon!" Lorraine yelled.

Riding the skeleton horse, she extended her arm behind her. The empty air split open like a monstrous maw, revealing silhouettes with the same burning red eyes as hers.

Pillars of crimson light shot out, piercing the replica’s torso again and again. Riddled with holes, the creature raised its right arm to swat them out of the sky.

"Hya!" Lorraine yanked the reins, sending the skeleton horse into a sharp dive as the massive arm swept through the space they had just occupied.

It was a close call. Simon brushed his wildly whipping hair from his eyes.

"Lorraine! To your side!"

Lorraine’s eyes widened in alarm.

The replica’s other leg was already swinging toward them. A kick from that massive body! She pulled frantically on the reins, but the skeleton horse was too slow to react.

"Simon! Brace for impact!"

He covered his head with his arms, but just before the blow landed, a feather shot past them and unfolded into a defensive magic circle.

The giant’s leg slammed into the barrier, its momentum slowed just enough for the skeleton horse to escape the attack’s range.

’This ability... could it be...?!’

Simon turned his head. Countless feathers were now swarming the replica, zipping past its body.

Fountains of blood erupted from a thousand tiny cuts. The feathers then flew back, returning to a platinum-blonde girl hovering in the air.

"Serne!"

"Hmm." She touched her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Just as I thought, physical attacks are useless."

The replica’s body was already healing, the countless wounds closing as if they had never been.

"Then how about this?" The feathers coiled around her hand shot forward, embedding themselves all over the creature’s body. The emotion imbued in them was ‘Calm’—the effect of twenty feathers’ worth. It was an amount that would have rendered a normal human vegetative.

However...

’—AAAAAAAAARGH!’

The replica only grew more enraged, swinging a fist at Serne. She frowned, ascending higher into the sky.

"This is why I hate mindless undead."

Even Lorraine and Serne, two of the most skilled first-years at Kizen, were at an impasse. As their assault faltered, the Vickrum scanned the ground, its gaze once again sweeping for the students below.

"At this rate, we’ll never get rid of it," Lorraine muttered.

To buy the others time to evacuate, they had to keep its attention fixed on them. She unleashed a torrent of dark fire, forcing the Vickrum’s gaze back toward her. The creature swatted at the flames irritably.

’Whoooosh!’

The skeletal horse dove low, skimming the treetops to evade the blow as the forest blurred beneath them. Just as Lorraine pulled the reins to ascend, a voice crackled from her Tonguepad.

—’This is a broadcast from Operations HQ.’

’They’re not canceling the exam now, are they?’ Simon thought, his expression hardening as he awaited the rest of the announcement.

—’An unidentified monster attack is ongoing on the southern island of the Kera Archipelago. All students on the southern island will be subject to a compulsory random teleportation to other islands. Upon arrival, you will be granted five minutes of damage immunity.’

Simon let out a sigh of relief. A sound strategy, he had to admit.

—’Students who wish to refuse the teleportation, please input the refusal signal on your Tonguepad. In this case, Operations HQ will not be held responsible for any problems that may arise.’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lorraine and Simon entered the refusal signal.

"Simon!" Lorraine cried, her voice sharp with surprise. "You need to get back to the central island and finish the exam! This is Kizen’s problem..."

"No. I’m staying."

After all, this was his fault, too. Simon stared at the Vickrum, his jaw set. Across the southern island, pillars of blue light erupted as students were teleported to safety.

"Simoooooon!"

Simon glanced down at the sound of his name. Erzebet, transformed into her brawny Brad persona, was waving from the top of a tree.

"Lorraine! I’m going down for a moment!" he called out.

"What? Wait! That’s insane—!"

But Simon had already leaped from the skeletal horse.

"I’ll signal you again!" he shouted back.

"Simon!"

As Simon plummeted from the sky, Erzebet launched herself from the tree. She caught him in her arms as if he weighed nothing and landed lightly on the ground.

"Ta-da!" she announced with a flourish.

Simon, now cradled in the arms of a burly, muscle-bound man, let out a weary sigh. "You didn’t have to do that. I can get down on my own."

"Heh. My Legion Commander is so modest."

As she set Simon down, a turquoise orb descended from the sky. Simon reached out and caught it.

—’Simon! Can you hear me?’

It was Lorraine’s voice. Looking up, he saw her circling on the skeletal horse, holding an identical device.

—’It’s a mana communication device. Press the button at the bottom to talk. I don’t have much mana left, so use it sparingly.’

"Ah, okay."

Lorraine immediately steered her steed back toward the Vickrum.

"By the way, Legion Commander," Erzebet began, "what exactly is happening?"

"Ah, well..."

After switching off the device, Simon quickly explained the situation. She nodded grimly as he finished.

"So it’s a fake Vickrum."

"Yeah. We have to take it down before things get any worse."

"But how can we possibly deal with a monster that has regeneration and the abilities of a giant?"

[Bwahahaha!]

They both looked down. Pier’s miniature clone, dangling from Simon’s uniform, was radiating a smug confidence.

[I have a way!]