REAPER SCANS
Necromancer Academy's Genius Summoner
[Translator - Ramen]
[Proofreader - Artethrax]
Chapter 362
The hostage exchange.
Simon stood alone in the wide field. Or at least it looked like he was alone.
Hidden behind a curtain enchanted with an illusion was Serene, Kajann, and the student council president—Fantasus.
"…Is this really effective?"
Kajann tapped the curtain with a disapproving scowl. Sitting next to him with her knees together, Serene beamed,
"Of course! It may look flimsy, but this enchantment blocks sound, prevents detection spells, and even stifles our inherent auras. Don't underestimate the Ivory Tower!"
"Yes, yes! It's a wonderful illusion barrier!"
Fantasus gave a thumbs up.
"Hiding like this reminds me of my first mission evaluation back in my first year! Yes, it was a drizzling dawn that day."
Despite his intimidating appearance, Fantasus was a rather talkative type. Serene and Kajann let his story go through one ear and out the other, then looked at each other.
"The condition we gave was for him to come alone, but the Magnus Legion wouldn't leave themselves so open, right?"
"Of course. And even if the hostage exchange goes smoothly…"
A grimace formed on Kajaan's lips.
"The higher-ups ordered us to capture Magnus."
"Your higher-ups sure give tough orders, huh?"
Serene smiled slyly.
"Don't you have any intention of working for the Ivory Tower instead of Kizen?"
"No."
"Wow~ You meanie. Can't you at least look at me when refusing?"
"No."
While the two were passing time with conversation, Fantasus suddenly stopped his endless draw, then whispered that the mana flow in the air had changed.
'Flow?'
Just as he mentioned, it felt like there was some slight disturbance in the world around them.
A door appeared in the air.
'He's here!'
Simon's eyes widened.
A door had suddenly appeared in midair. It looked more like an ordinary door than a large gate.
Creeaak…
The door opened to what looked to be pure white, stained by the black silhouette of someone slowly stepping closer.
Then, the figure walked through the open door, his distinct features becoming vivid.
Long hair trailed down to his back, whiter than even his pale skin. Covering the man was a mottled gray bathrobe, still slightly damp as water dripped down onto his bare feet.
He looked like he had just come out of a bath.
'So that is…'
Tension threatened to swallow Simon whole.
A man who could not be controlled.
The culprit of countless incidents and convenient accidents that have threatened to tear entire kingdoms apart.
Someone who would kill lords and kings at even the slightest displeasure.
He had even killed a professor during his student days at Kizen.
He was the Commander of the Fifth Legion.
'Magnus Alban.'
He held something like a chain in one hand.
Clank!
The chain suddenly went taut as Magnus pulled, dragging another figure out of the door.
'!'
The creature was half human, half bird.
His entire body was covered with rotten, feathered wings, and his feet split into three like a bird's claws. However, his face was that of a middle-aged man, but although he had no beak, his eyes glinted like a hawk's.
It was also clear that he was not in good shape. Blood was gushing out of numerous fresh wounds, and a strong stench filled the air around him.
He was Akemus, an Ancient Undead of the former Seventh Legion. The king of aerial combat and captain of the 'Skullwings'—undead made from harpies.
Yank!
When Magnus pulled the chain again, Akemus staggered closer, as the chain was tied around his neck.
Simon felt a thick anger rising from Pier's thoughts.
"Hmm…"
Magnus looked at the zombie butler tied up in the spider web, and then glanced around.
"I'm sure I told you to come alone?"
Not even taking a moment to think or show concern, Simon replied,
"The same could be said for you."
Magnus smirked. Simon also grinned.
Deep in the core of the Dark Territory.
Two Legion Commanders looked at each other and slowly began to laugh.
The calm before the storm.
Bellowing laughter from the two men echoed across the vast field, replacing the eerie silence with extreme tension.
If either of the two opened a subspace, the entire field would end up covered with undead and turn into a battlefield.
"Rude bastard."
Magnus chuckled to himself.
"I am your senior Commander and your senior at Kizen. You should be treating me with double the respect."
"I never had a senior like you."
Without backing down, Simon retorted,
"More importantly, why do you keep targeting me?"
"You already realized, did you?"
Magnus sneered.
"I will obtain all the Ancient Undead in the world."
'…As expected.'
The reason Magnus didn't reveal that Simon was the 'Commander of the Legion of Betrayal' to the public must have been because for that single reason.
After all, he didn't want the title as Commander to be passed on to some other, stronger and more experienced necromancers after Simon was captured.
Ironically, it was Magnus' clear faith in his ambition to ruin Simon that let Simon feel at ease.
"You said you will possess all the Ancient Undead, right?"
Simon met Magnus' eyes, refusing to give an inch.
"Even if your ambition reduces the total number of Legion Commanders?"
"Oho, are you thinking about the balance of power with the Holy Federation? A commendable thought. However…"
Magnus, already grinning from the bout of hysterical laughter, let his demonic smile tear open the side of his mouth.
"…It does not matter. I just have to handle the role of all seven by myself."
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Ramen
Proofreader - Artethrax
Join our discord for updates on releases!
* * *
Simon frowned. What kind of crazy bullshit was Magnus spouting now?
"Did you know? There used to be more than seven Commanders."
Magnus walked barefoot across the wasteland.
"On the other hand, the number of Saintesses has always been fixed at seven. A new Saintess is born when the last one dies, but that's not the case with Commanders. If a 'Marshall' is destroyed, the number of Commanders also decreases."
"If that's the case, then there's even more of a reason—!"
"However."
Interrupted Magnus.
"In the past, it took two to three Commanders to deal with one Saintess. Yet now, Commanders and Saintesses are seen as being almost equal. The gap is closing. Can you guess why?"
"…"
Simon had never heard any such story before. He kept his silence.
"It's obvious! Now, every Commander owns multiple Ancient Undead! As you know, we Commanders have no 'limit'. Whether seven Commanders each lead one armies or one leads seven armies, it's the same! When all the Commanders finally become one…"
Magnus' eyes gleamed with ambition.
"They will become the king of all undead, not just their Legion! They will become a being who can win the long war against the priests!"
Simon sighed deeply.
"That's just your opinion."
"You just don't get it yet because you're still a rookie. You need to see the world—broaden your horizons—and learn much, much more."
Magnus tapped the side of his head with his finger.
"In that sense, shall I teach you one thing as your direct senior? The true way to use Ancient Undead?"
"!"
At that moment, the Zombie butler tied up in spider webs and curse talismans rolled his eyes back and twisted his body in agony.
Simon looked at him in surprise.
Snap!
Crunch!
The zombie butler began to swell to the size of a giant. At the same time, the spider webs started to loosen.
"Simon!!"
Before Simon knew it, Kajann had already pulled back the illusion curtain and had started shouting.
"Negotiations are off! Capture that bastard!"
"Ah, yes!"
The moment Simon fixed his grip on the Greatsword of Destruction…
[Blerrrrrrrrgh!]
The bloated butler spewed a whitish liquid from his mouth.
Simon quickly stepped back. Like white paint permeating through clear water, it covered the entire field in an instant.
Not just Simon, but also Magnus and Kajann found themselves inside the freshly white space.
"What the—?!"
Crrunnnch.
Crrrrrrack.
Soon, countless zombies began to rise from the white floor. They were the elite troops from the zombie butler that had troubled them in Pentamonium, zombies known as 'white oni'.
'There are this many of them at once?!'
"Hahahahahaha!"
This time, the madder of the two Commanders laughed on his own, his skinny body shaking violently from the intensity of it.
As Magnus laughed, a flash of light appeared in the sky, and Fantausus the student council president came down.
{Fantasus Original - Wrathful Wave}
Swaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
As a black wave swept over the sky and started to crash down, Magnus just smiled and looked up while bringing his hands back inside his gown.
Gnash Gnash Gnash!
His shadow swelled, growing in size before splitting into countless shadow monsters with physical eyes and teeth, ripping apart jet-black like it was sinew.
Sea and shadow, both endless yet finite, tried to swallow the other whole.
Where they met, nothing remained. It was like the end of the world.
"So you're the one."
Magnus looked at Fatansus, his drooping eyes glinting with understanding.
"The 'masterpiece' the Witch of Death has been promoting lately, huh? To make even me feel sleepy… Indeed, you're pretty good."
Dash!
Magnus turned his head to see Simon charging straight toward him, the Greatsword of Destruction raised up high.
"Haaaaaaaaaa!"
"Sure, you're pretty tough!"
When Magnus smirked and raised his hand, a toothed shadow wrapped around it. Soon, an otherworldly black sword appeared in his hand.
Then, the distance between the two closed.
Claaaaaaaaaang!
The moment the two Commanders' swords clashed, the world shook. Clouds were split in half behind them, and for a moment the planet stopped spinning.
Pain tore through Simon's arms, but he powered through it to shout,
"Prince, now!!"
Grab!
Prince, who had appeared out of nowhere, was running off with the tied-up Akemus.
[Bwahaha! We'll be taking Akemus!]
Clatter!
Blocking Fantasus' wave with one hand and clashing swords with Simon with the other, Magnus smirked.
"Oh~ It's fine. I really did come here to exchange hostages, after all."
"What?"
Gloop. Gloop.
The limp zombie butler began to disappear into the white swamp.
"I shall return to you Akemus. He refuses to listen to me anyway, and eventually, someday…"
A horrific gleam passed over his manic eyes.
[All will be mine.]
As soon as he said that, Magnus sank into the white swamp as well and disappeared.
Simon's greatsword and Fantasus' wave struck the ground where he had vanished, but only the innocent ground split apart.
"We missed him?!"
Shouted Fantasus in regret. As Magnus disappeared, the white floor also cleared up, and the surroundings returned to normal.
Simon wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked back.
[Akemus! Wake up! Akemus!]
Prince was shaking the unconscious Akemus to wake him up. Simon quickly ran toward them, too. Elizabeth, who had been hiding nearby, joined soon after.
'…How cruel.'
Signs of torture were visible everywhere.
His entire body was covered in black blood, and he had a necklace around his neck made of thorns that were still buried deep into his flesh. What wasn't bleeding was burned, and a myriad of scars resembling those on Kajaan from drinking potion after potion painted the undead's entire body.
Simon gulped.
'He endured such torture and still refused to join Magnus' Legion?'
As soon as Simon had that thought, Akemus' eyes snapped open.
'!'
He raised his arms, grabbed Simon's shoulders, and pulled him strongly toward himself.
Simon froze up in surprise, being suddenly pulled in by what was effectively a stranger, but Pier signaled him to relax.
Akemus' large face came close, and his deep amber eyes began to study Simon's face thoroughly.
[…Ah.]
Then, those amber eyes started to shake with emotion.
[You look just the same.]
"What?"
[You look just the same as Commander Richard.]
In Akemus' eyes, the image of Richard in a Kizen uniform when he was young overlapped perfectly with Simon.
[Please forgive my disloyalty, young master!]
Thud!
His large body moved to lie prone on the ground as he banged his forehead hard against the dirt.
[I, Akemus, am terribly sorry for joining the Seventh Legion late.]
Simon's eyes filled with emotion and relief. Pier finally burst out laughing, and Prince and Elizabeth exchanged subtle smiles.
"You did well, Akemus. First, take care of yourself."
Opening a massive subspace, Simon nodded at Pier. Pier then approached to support Akemus.
[It's a pleasure to fight alongside again, Akemus!]
Akemus nodded.
[I feel the same, old comrade.]
Finally, a fourth Ancient Undead had joined the new Seventh legion.
——
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