Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 91: Episode

As consciousness slipped away, Simon began to free-fall.

"Simon!" Lorraine cried out.

Just as she pulled on the reins to save him, the living bandages that had restrained the Vicrum lashed out in every direction.

"Ugh...!"

The bandages tore through the landscape, shattering cliffs and slicing clean through entire trees. Some even flew toward the central Kera Island. Lorraine quickly deployed a defensive magic circle and swung her ebony sword to cut them down, while Serne sent her feathers to intercept them. The TAs also moved swiftly to manage the aftermath. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Simon!" Lorraine yelled again, her voice tight with panic.

"Don’t worry," Serne said, extending her right arm toward Simon’s falling form. A faint light flickered from the feathers still attached to his back. "I’ve configured the remaining feathers to slow his descent. He won’t be injured when he lands."

"Thank you."

Serne scoffed, her eyes flashing with disbelief. "I helped him, so why are you thanking me? Don’t be ridiculous."

Lorraine blinked, a puzzled look on her face.

---

Simon landed on the southern shore of the island. One person found the unconscious boy faster than anyone else.

’Hahaha! And here I thought I was done for. Talk about a lucky break!’ Haren Cork thought, sprinting toward Simon’s location.

He had nearly died just moments ago. The effect of Serne’s feather must have worn off, because Malcolm had snapped out of his trance. If Haren hadn’t noticed and bolted, Malcolm’s retaliation would have been the end of him.

’Tsk, the rest of my school life is going to be a pain.’

If the rumors were true and all of Class M was Malcolm’s clique, he had just made an entire class his enemy.

Still, Haren had an ace up his sleeve.

’If I can just pull this off, I’ll get to join Serne’s faction!’

What could Special Admission No. 10 do to him once he was under the protection of Special Admission No. 2, the successor of the Ivory Tower? Better yet, if things went well and he became one of Professor Bahil’s direct disciples, no one would be able to touch him.

The recent commotion had cleared the southern island of most students, allowing him to cross the bridge without interference. Once on the island, Haren pushed through the undergrowth, advancing without hesitation until, at last...

"Found him!"

There he was. Simon, lying completely unconscious in a patch of grass.

"What a windfall...! Huh?"

Haren recoiled. Someone was already there. He was tall, with shoulders as broad as a boulder.

’He-Hector!’

It was undoubtedly Hector Moore from Class A.

As Hector slowly turned his head, Haren swallowed hard. He remembered hearing rumors that this guy was targeting Simon, too. If that was true, there was room for negotiation.

"Ahaha! Hey! You here for Simon, too?"

Hector merely looked down at Haren, his face an emotionless mask.

"Let’s make a deal," Haren said, his lips curling into a smirk. "You let me finish him off. In return, you can have all of Simon’s Tonguepad points."

"Or what, do you want the glory of taking down Special Admission No. 1? Fine, fine. You can spread the rumor. Just let me land the final blow..."

Hector strode toward Haren. Sensing the ominous shift in the air, Haren backed away.

"W-Wait! What are you doing?! I said I’d give you everything!"

Hector advanced swiftly. Haren urgently summoned his Black Hand to shield himself.

Hector’s fist connected with a sickening thud. Stumbling back from the impact, Haren dropped to one knee, gagging. A crater-like dent marred the center of his Black Hand.

"...You worthless scum."

A Subspace opened beside Hector, and sticky, foul-smelling scales began to crawl up his right arm. Haren could only stare, dumbfounded. ’Why is he doing this? I thought Hector hated Simon.’

"Hey, wait! Stop for a second! Do you even know whose orders I’m following—!"

Hector’s lips curled. "I don’t need to know."

His fist, now encased in black scales, shot out with a shockwave. Haren’s will to fight had already been shattered. Realizing he was no match, he immediately turned and fled.

Hector didn’t bother to give chase as Haren vanished into the forest. His gaze fell upon Simon, still unconscious on the grass.

’You think I’d settle our score with a fucking cheap shot?’ Hector ground his teeth.

"Simon!"

Just then, Lorraine appeared in the sky, riding her skeletal horse. Leaping from its back, she rushed over and knelt beside Simon, checking his condition. He was merely unconscious from exhaustion; thankfully, he wasn’t injured.

Then she spotted Hector standing a short distance away. Her eyes filled with caution as she pulled Simon closer.

’This is a problem.’ Simon had faced Serne and then immediately fought the Vicrum without rest. With his stamina and Jet-Black reserves depleted, even she couldn’t guarantee a victory against Hector. Her gaze shifted to Hector’s transformed right arm.

However, after glaring at them in silence, Hector simply turned his back and disappeared.

’He’s just leaving?’

As the bewildered Lorraine blinked, Simon let out a groan and stirred.

"Simon! Simon! Can you hear me? Simon!"

Shaking him gently, Lorraine retrieved a potion from her Subspace and pressed it to his lips.

---

’Shit!’ Panting, Haren was frantically fleeing from Hector.

’I can’t give up like this! Never!’

Simon was down for the count, helpless. He could be taken out with a single touch. Was he supposed to give up just because one person got in his way? That’s unacceptable.

If he couldn’t face Hector alone, he had to find allies. He pulled one of the feathers from his pocket. Only two remained. The last one had to be used on Simon.

’Isn’t there anyone around?’

As Haren frantically pushed through the undergrowth, his foot hit something.

’Ah, shit, you scared me!’

It was a monster’s corpse. No wonder he hadn’t seen any; they were piled up here like a mountain. Even Grade 3 monsters, the island’s apex predators, lay limp and lifeless. They were nothing more than masses of flesh, beaten so brutally their original forms were unrecognizable.

And in the middle of the carnage, a male student in a Kizen uniform was resting on a rock.

’There’s a chance!’

He didn’t know why the student had remained on the southern island instead of teleporting out, but he looked strong. Haren took a deep breath, judged the distance, and threw Serne’s feather. It stuck squarely to the student’s back.

Haren cheered inwardly and stepped out from his hiding spot.

"Hey, get ready!"

At Haren’s shout, the student slowly turned. His hair was a faded gray, and a jagged scar cut clean through his bloodshot right eye. A dangerous aura rolled off him in waves.

’He looks vicious. Was there a guy like this among the first-years?’

The student scratched the scar by his eye. "What do you want?"

"Who are you? Name."

"Kajan Edvalt."

Kajan Edvalt? He’d never heard the name.

"Alright, Kajan. We’re going to hunt down Simon Polentia."

"The guy’s unconscious, but Hector Moore is with him, getting in the way. You draw Hector’s attention while I sneak around from behind and finish Simon off. Any questions?"

Kajan slowly rose to his feet. "You’re targeting Simon Polentia?"

"Uh, yeah! And I’m not taking questions! You will unconditionally follow my—!"

Kajan began to stride toward him. Haren felt a cold sweat trickle down his back. ’What is this? Why does this feel like deja vu?’

"W-Wait! Stop! Stop right there!"

But Kajan ignored his command. The hair on the back of Haren’s neck stood on end.

’Ah, shit! Why isn’t it working? That woman! If she mixed in some cheap feathers, she should have...!’

"You were acting so cocky because of this?" Kajan reached behind his back and plucked off the feather. He then flicked it toward a Grade 2 monster, a Raker, hiding in the nearby bushes.

The feather struck the Raker squarely. The monster began to pant, then flopped onto its back, exposing its belly to Kajan.

’What? The effect is working just fine...!’

Haren’s jaw dropped. Someone was immune to Serne’s mental abilities?

"W-Wait, just listen to me for a second!" he shouted, waving his hands frantically. "Okay, my bad! I was wrong! Let’s make a deal! Seeing how hard you’ve been hunting, you must need points, too. Just help me take down Simon! I’ll give you his points, plus half of mine...!"

"Your premise is flawed," Kajan stated, clenching his fist. A sinister Jet-Black began to flicker in his hand. "If you’re targeting Simon, I can’t just stand by."

Haren flinched and backed away. Then, a sudden surge of indignation made him shout.

"Damn it! You too?!" He was dumbfounded. "What the hell is Simon to all of you?! Professor Bahil! Serne! Hector! What’s so special about that bastard that you’re all making such a fuss?!"

Kajan replied nonchalantly, "He’s my roommate."

"R-Roommate?"

"It’s been a while since I’ve had a decent one. He doesn’t stick his nose in my business, and he’s quiet right up until he goes to sleep. Hence," a thick killing intent emanated from Kajan, "if Simon gets kicked out of Kizen, I might get stuck with another noisy bastard in my room."

"What kind of bullshit have you been spouting this whole time?!" Haren roared, charging forward and thrusting out his Black Hand.

But it was stopped cold by Kajan’s single, upraised index finger.

"...Huh?"

Kajan grabbed the Black Hand and pulled with immense force, dragging Haren’s body helplessly toward him. Haren’s eyes filled with sheer terror.

"Don’t touch him. Trash."

Kajan’s forehead slammed into Haren’s like a hammer striking a nail, driving his face into the ground. The blow completely shattered his protective barrier, and even his emergency one sparked and fizzled out. As the unconscious Haren was force-teleported away, Kajan turned his back without a second thought.