Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 362: Episode

A few dozen meters from where Simon stood, Serne, Kajan, and President Phantastus were gathered behind a curtain of illusion magic.

"...Are you sure this thing is effective?" Kajan asked, prodding the shimmering curtain with a look of displeasure.

Serne, sitting beside him with her knees neatly together, beamed.

"Of course! It may not look like much, but this is black magic that provides soundproofing, magic resistance, and even conceals our presence. You shouldn’t underestimate the Ivory Tower!"

"Indeed, indeed! A splendid illusionary barrier!" Phantastus declared with a thumbs-up. "Hiding out like this reminds me of my first mission evaluation back in my first year! Yes, it was a dawn with a light drizzle falling."

Contrary to his imposing appearance, Phantastus was quite the talker. Serne and Kajan let his story drift past them as they looked at each other.

"The condition was for him to come alone, but he won’t, will he?" Serne murmured.

"Of course not. And even if, by some miracle, the exchange goes smoothly..."

Kajan’s expression hardened.

"My orders are to capture Magnus."

"Your superiors certainly give some unreasonable orders," Serne remarked with a sly smile. "Have you ever considered working for the Ivory Tower instead of Kizen?"

"No."

"Wow, so cruel. Won’t you at least look at my face when you reject me?"

"I’d rather not."

While they bickered, Phantastus announced that the flow of mana in the air had shifted. ’The flow?’ He was right. A change was occurring. A door was materializing in midair.

’He’s here!’

Simon’s eyes narrowed. A single door had appeared out of thin air, looking less like a grand gate and more like an ordinary bedroom door.

’Creeeak—’

It swung open to reveal a stark white void. From beyond it, someone emerged with slow, deliberate footsteps. He had white hair that fell to his back, deathly pale skin, and a simple gray gown draped over his frame. His chest and collarbones were bare, and he was barefoot, water dripping from his body as if he had just stepped out of a bath.

’That man is...’

Tension coiled in Simon’s gut. Uncontrollable. The mastermind behind countless atrocities. A homicidal maniac who killed on a whim. The 5th Legion Commander, who had even murdered a professor during his time as a student at Kizen.

’Magnus Alban.’

He held a chain in one hand. With a sharp tug, he dragged someone out from within the doorway. Simon’s eyes widened. It was a creature of black feathers, half-human and half-bird. Decaying wings shrouded its body, and its legs were split into three talons.

Its face was that of a middle-aged man, and though it lacked a beak, its eyes burned with the intensity of a raptor. It was in terrible condition, bleeding from numerous wounds and reeking of poison. This was Akemus, the Ancient Undead formerly of the 7th Legion—the king of aerial combat who commanded the Skullwings.

’Twang!’

Magnus yanked the chain again, and Akemus staggered, the spiked collar digging into his neck. Simon felt a visceral rage emanating from Pier’s consciousness.

"Hmm—"

Magnus glanced at the bound Zombie Butler before letting his gaze sweep across the area.

"I’m quite certain I told you to come alone."

"I was about to say the same thing," Simon retorted, his expression unreadable.

Magnus’s lips twisted into a grin. Simon mirrored the expression. The two Legion Commanders, the very core of the Dark Alliance, stared each other down and slowly began to laugh. It was the calm before the storm.

Their voices echoed across the vast plain, saturating the air with a tension so thick it was almost suffocating. The moment either of them opened their subspace, this field would be swallowed by a black tide of undead and transformed into a battlefield.

"You disrespectful little bastard," Magnus sneered, clicking his tongue. "I am your senior, both as a Legion Commander and at Kizen. We’re practically in a direct line of succession."

"I’ve never had a senior like you," Simon shot back. "More importantly, why do you keep targeting me?"

"You already know, don’t you?" Magnus scoffed. "I will possess every single Ancient Undead in existence."

’Just as I thought.’

That was likely why Magnus hadn’t exposed Simon as the ’Traitor Legion Commander.’ He couldn’t risk the title passing to another necromancer if Simon were arrested. Ironically, Magnus’s unwavering ambition was the one thing Simon could count on.

"You said you’d possess every Ancient Undead?" Simon watched him, his eyes wary. "Even if it means reducing the total number of Legion Commanders?"

"Oho, worried about disrupting the power balance with the Holy Federation? A commendable thought, but..."

A corner of his mouth lifted.

"It’s no problem at all. I’ll simply do the work of seven by myself."

Simon’s face contorted in disgust. ’What kind of lunatic is this?’

"Did you know? There used to be more than seven Legion Commanders," Magnus said, pacing the barren ground in his bare feet. "The number of Saintesses, on the other hand, has always been fixed at seven. And when one dies, a new one is born. It’s not the same for us. When a ’Manager’ is destroyed, the number of Legion Commander positions dwindles." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"That’s all the more reason—!"

"However," Magnus cut him off. "In the past, it took two or three of us to face a single Saintess. Now, we’re considered their equals. The gap is closing. Do you know why?"

Simon remained silent. This was the first he had ever heard of such history.

"It’s obvious! It’s because a single Legion Commander now commands multiple Ancient Undead! As you know, we have no ’limit to our numbers’. Whether seven of us command seven armies or one of us commands seven armies, the result is the same! When all the Legion Commanders finally become one..."

Magnus’s eyes burned with ambition.

"We will be more than a mere legion. We will be the king of all undead! The one being who can finally win the long war against the priests!"

Simon heaved a long sigh.

"That’s just your twisted fantasy."

"You’re still a rookie. You don’t get it yet. You need to learn more. Broaden your horizons."

Magnus tapped his own forehead.

"So, as your direct senior, allow me to teach you something: the true way to use an Ancient Undead."

At that moment, the Zombie Butler’s eyes rolled back into his head. He began to writhe in agony. Startled, Simon glanced at him.

’Crack! Snap!’

The butler’s body began to swell to a monstrous size, the spiderwebs binding him straining and snapping.

"Simon!!" Kajan yelled, bursting through the illusionary curtain. "The negotiation is off! Get him!"

"Right!"

Just as Simon raised the Greatsword of Ruin...

"Aaaaaaaaargh!"

The bloated Zombie Butler spewed a viscous white liquid from his mouth. Simon leaped back as the substance spread across the plain like white paint dropped on clear water, instantly engulfing the entire area. Not only Simon, but Magnus and Kajan were also caught within the white expanse.

"What the—!"

Countless zombies began to claw their way out of the white ground—the same elite ’White Ghouls’ that had given them so much trouble at Pentamonium. ’So many of them at once!’

"Hahahahahaha!" Magnus roared with laughter, throwing his shoulders back.

Just then, a flash of light split the sky, and President Phantastus descended.

<’Phantastus Original – Raging Waves’>

’Whoooooooosh!’

As a black tidal wave blotted out the sky, Magnus simply tucked his hands into his gown, grinned, and tilted his head back.

’Kajak! Kajak! Kajak!’

His shadow swelled, erupting into countless shadow monsters with gnashing teeth that rose up to meet the crashing wave.

’Kwakwakwakwak!’

Sea and shadow collided. The violent clash of the two forces was like a vision of the apocalypse.

"So you’re the one," Magnus said, his eyes shining with a languid light as he looked at Phantastus. "The ’masterpiece’ the Witch of Death has been touting lately. To think you could make me sleepy... impressive."

’Thwip!’

Magnus’s gaze snapped away. Simon was charging him, the Greatsword of Ruin held high.

"Haaaaaaaaah!"

"Tough, aren’t you?" Magnus smirked, raising a hand.

The fanged shadows swirled around it, coalescing into a grotesque black sword. The distance between them vanished.

’Claaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!’

The moment their swords met, the world seemed to tremble. Clouds parted and the very earth groaned. Simon felt a pain so intense he thought his arms would be torn from their sockets, but he roared through it.

"Now, Prince!"

’Thump!’

Prince appeared in a flash, grabbing the bound Akemus and sprinting away.

[Haha! Akemus is ours now!]

With one hand holding back Phantastus’s wave and the other locked in a stalemate with Simon, Magnus just chuckled.

"Ah, it’s fine. I genuinely came here to make an exchange."

"What?"

’Gurgle, gurgle.’

The now-limp Zombie Butler was sinking into the white swamp.

"I’ll return Akemus. He doesn’t listen to me anyway, and eventually..."

His eyes glinted with a terrifying light.

"[They will all be mine.]"

With those final words, Magnus’s body sank into the white swamp and vanished. Simon’s greatsword and Phantastus’s wave slammed into the ground where he had been, but they only succeeded in cracking the earth.

"He got away!" Phantastus shouted in frustration.

As Magnus disappeared, the white swamp receded, and the plain returned to normal. Simon wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked back.

[Akemus! Snap out of it! Akemus!]

Prince was shaking the unconscious undead, trying to rouse him. Simon rushed over, and Erzebet emerged from her hiding place to join them.

’This is brutal.’

Signs of torture were everywhere. Akemus was covered in black blood, and the collar around his neck was spiked on both the inside and out. His body was a canvas of burns and deep scratches. Simon swallowed hard. ’He endured all this and still refused to join Magnus’s legion?’

The thought had barely formed when Akemus’s eyes shot open. In a flash, his arms flew up, grabbing Simon’s shoulders and pulling him close. The startled Simon was yanked forward, but Pier sent a mental signal to reassure him. As Akemus’s large face drew near, his deep, reddish-brown eyes scanned every inch of Simon’s.

[...Ah.]

Those eyes began to tremble with overwhelming emotion.

[You are the spitting image.]

"Pardon?"

[You are the spitting image of Lord Richard.]

In Akemus’s mind, an image of a young Richard in his Kizen uniform was superimposed over Simon.

[Forgive my disloyalty, Young Master!]

’Thud!’

His massive body moved. He prostrated himself, slamming his forehead into the ground with a resounding crack.

[I, Akemus, have been far too late in rejoining the 7th Legion.]

Simon’s eyes filled with a mixture of emotion and relief. Pier finally let out a booming laugh, while Prince and Erzebet exchanged faint, knowing smiles.

"You’ve been through so much, Akemus. For now, please rest."

Opening his extra-large subspace, Simon nodded to Pier, who approached and helped Akemus to his feet.

[It is good to fight alongside you again, Akemus!]

Akemus nodded.

[The feeling is mutual, my old comrade.]

At last. The fourth Ancient Undead had rejoined the 7th Legion.