REAPER SCANS
Necromancer Academy's Genius Summoner
[Translator - Ramen]
[Proofreader - Artethrax]
Chapter 363
Having reclaimed Akemus, Simon teleported safely back to Roke Island.
After reporting to Jane that he and his peers had returned, Simon quickly passed through the Forbidden Forest and entered Pier's ruins.
"Everyone, come out!"
Simon grabbed the air behind him and vigorously flung his subspace open.
Crash!
As if they had been waiting, Pier, Akemus, Elizabeth, and Prince basically toppled out from the massive subspace. Skeletons and corpse spiders accompanying them spilled out as well and scattered across the depths of the ruins.
[Finally, we're home!]
Elizabeth stretched her stiff back. She then looked at Simon with eyes full of intense desire.
Simon felt a chill run down his spine.
[I believe I accomplished great feats during this mission.]
"…Y-You're right. You did really well."
[I'll be expecting a reward, alright?]
As she licked her undead lips, Simon felt a chill run down his spine.
[No!]
Turning his head to what was tugging on his clothes, Simon saw Prince.
[I did well, too! He has to play with me first! Oh, I developed a new handshake at the mansion, y'know? This is how you do—!]
Thud!!!
Both of the nagging Ancient Undead fell silent.
Akemus, who had approached soundlessly, lay prostrate on the floor, crying out in anguish.
[Forgive my disloyalty for joining the Legion late, young master!]
Simon waved his hands in front of himself with an awkward smile.
"I-I told you, it's fine! There was nothing you could have done!"
[To think Richard had a son who has grown up so much! Being unaware of such a fact, I spent my time in vain, hidden away in the countryside!]
It felt like another troublesome undead had joined them.
As that thought flashed across Simon's mind, Pier—the closest to normal among the four—chuckled.
[Shut up and prepare to form the skull-wing troops, Akemus! You saw the might of the Fifth legion, did you not? The Seventh legion needs to be much stronger than it is now!]
Of course, Pier was still more eccentric than most necromancers.
Eventually, Simon stepped in.
"F-First, let's treat Akemus' body."
Being an Ancient Undead, Akemus had self-healing abilities, but there were still parts of him that hadn't healed.
First, they removed the stakes that stabbed deep all over his body. He must've been in tremendous pain, but Akemus remained stoic.
[Be careful, Boy!]
As Simon tried to pull out a stake stuck in Akemus' thigh, Pier stopped him.
[This is a cursed item.]
"Ah."
Pier pulled out the stake with his own bare hands instead, dropped it to the floor, and stomped down on it.
With a loud crack, black smoke seeped out from the wood. It transformed into the shape of a skull, then slowly dissipated.
[Cursed stakes. Magnus sure does have a bad taste.]
Said Elizabeth. She was wiping the black blood from Akemus' face with a handkerchief.
Akemus gritted his teeth and silently endured the stakes being removed from his body. Then, making eye contact with Simon, he again cried, overwhelmed with emotion.
[Young master! I can't just let matters slide after all! Please punish my disloyalty first, and—!]
[Can you stop moving?]
Simon and Prince chuckled as Elizabeth pulled Akemus' head back with a spider web.
And so, after removing all the embedded stakes and cleaning off the caked blood, Akemus finally looked somewhat presentable.
[Young master, I shall prepare for the contract now.]
A black orb flickered between his ribs when Akemus grabbed his chest and opened it wide.
Half of it was black, and half of it was red. Seeing this, the other Ancient Undead suddenly let out deep sighs.
[You foolish friend.]
Pier also shook his head. Simon blinked, not understanding why the atmosphere had suddenly shifted.
"What's wrong, everyone?"
Pier closed his eyes.
[…Now I understand why Magnus tortured him so relentlessly.]
"What?"
[Akemus hasn't been 'conscripted' yet.]
Simon's eyes widened.
When Simon first explained his plan to Pier—capturing Magnus' Ancient Undead and exchanging them for Akemus—it was assumed that Magnus had already conscripted Akemus. That he had already become part of Magnus' Legion.
Given Magnus' greed, they assumed he would've done this immediately upon acquiring Akemus. Then Pier, as the Marshall, would've had to take his time to undo it.
However…
[Akemus resisted.]
Akemus' core had half his own jet-black, and the other half was Magnus', fighting fiercely for control. He had been refusing conscription solely with his will.
[In any case…]
Elizabeth crossed her arms and sighed.
[Humans can never understand us, you see?]
Ancient Undead were beings so inexplicable that even scholars have given up researching them.
They possessed a certain missing emotion and often contracted with a Commander, a necromancer, to fulfill it.
In the case of the Spider Queen, Elizabeth, the emotion was love.
For Prince, it was amusement.
Simon thought it might be loyalty for Akemus, their newest captain.
It was natural that Akemus put up a strong resistance when Magnus had tried to forcibly take control of him and he valued loyalty.
'Oh, but how am I supposed to fulfill loyalty?'
While Simon was pondering this, Pier was examining Akemus' core and said to Simon,
[Boy! Akemus isn't in great condition, but I believe it is better to conscript him now so he can recover quickly.]
"Yes, understood."
As Simon approached, Akemus went to one knee.
[I have waited for this moment every day I was captured. It is a great honor.]
"I'll be counting on you, Akemus."
Said Simon, and he placed his hand on Akemus' core and channeled his jet-black.
"Ugh!"
[Urk!]
Jet-black instantly began swirling around the both of them.
Elizabeth's eyes widened.
[Pier, this is—!]
[Damn it…!]
The dark-blue flames that took the role of Pier's eyes burned bright with fury.
[Of course Magnus wouldn't just hand over Akemus so easily!]
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Ramen
Proofreader - Artethrax
Join our discord for updates on releases!
* * *
The moment Simon touched Akemus' core, Magnus' remaining half of the jet-black rampaged, pushing against both of their jet-black.
Simon also received a shock, momentarily leaving him dazed.
[Hold on, Boy!]
Shouted Pier.
[If you fall here, Magnus will end up controlling Akemus! No! In the worst case, the core may explode!]
Exploding a core was the central idea of Corpse Explosion, and the explosions grew exponentially the more jet-black was available.
So if Akemus', an Ancient Undead's, core exploded, not only would it kill him, but Pier's ruins would be turned into Pier's crater. Needless to say, none of them were likely to survive.
Simon gritted his teeth and placed his other hand on the core.
[Y-Young master!]
"Please hold on a little longer!"
Simon's eyes gleamed.
Akemus had endured many hardships waiting for Simon and his father's Legion. Simon could never give up on him.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Simon's dark-blue jet-black surged fiercely, engaged in a desperate battle against the reddish jet-black left by Magnus.
Even without Magnus around, the two Commanders still clashed over a single Ancient Undead.
[Kuuugh!]
As the opposing Commanders' jet-blacks clashed without yielding even an inch, Akemus, who had been calm even while stakes were being pulled out of his flesh, clutched his core and cried out in pain.
If this continued, the core could explode.
'I need to…!'
Every single drop of jet-black within Simon's body was drawn in.
'…drive it all out at once!'
Shadows were thrown across the room as dark-blue light blanketed the surroundings and engulfed Akemus' core. Faint cries quickly transformed into screams of agony as Akemus felt the organ that acted as his heart shaking from the immeasurable pressure building up within.
Then, finally…
Hissssssssssssssss…
Jet-black scattered like mist from the core, dissipating into the air. Red jet-black. Magnus'.
"Haaa…"
Simon helplessly flopped down to the floor, having lost strength in his legs, so Elizabeth and Prince quickly ran in and supported Simon from either side.
[…]
Akemus opened his eyes.
He slowly clenched and unclenched his fists, then spread his wings.
Flaaaaaap!
Swiiiiiiish!
The rotting wings, with missing feathers exposing even bones, were replaced by dark-blue feathers made of jet-black that glistened in the night.
They were truly beautiful.
[I, Akemus…!]
He respectfully knelt before Simon, placed his fist on the floor, and wrapped his wings around himself. It was a position of humility, yet it also spoke volumes of dignity.
[Having been granted new life as an undead, I pledge my eternal loyalty to you, young master!]
Simon greeted the pledge with a smile.
"Welcome to my Legion."
The other Ancient Undead cheered and congratulated him as well.
With this, Simon had successfully acquired a new Ancient Undead.
* * *
After adding Akemus to the Legion, they took a short breather.
Simon actually planned to return to Kizen and sleep in his comfortable dorm bed, but he was too tired to move. In the end, he decided to sleep here tonight.
[Well, now it's time for a reward!]
Elizabeth looked at Simon with a mischievous gaze. Another chill shot down Simon's spine, jolting him upright.
As she wrapped herself in spider webs, her appearance began to change.
A black jacket, a burgundy tie, and a fluttering skirt. It was the female Kizen uniform. Her hair also turned into a lush pink.
She had taken the appearance of 'Elizabeth Webber', her Kizen student disguise.
[Now…]
She knelt on the floor and patted her thighs.
[Please come here.]
Simon scratched his cheek awkwardly, barely stammering out,
"…Y-You won't do anything, right?"
Elizabeth let out a short scream of delight, as if finding Simon acting so timid to be adorable.
[Do you not trust me?]
'Absolutely not.'
Simon maintained a wary gaze.
[Ohoho! I do have boundaries of my own, y'know? I'll simply protect you until you turn twenty, so don't worry.]
For an Ancient Undead, three years was but a speck of time. She had decided to wait, knowing there were other things that she could only enjoy at Simon's current age.
"…Then what happens after I turn twenty?"
Elizabeth licked her lips like a predator watching its prey.
[Curious?]
Simon quickly shook his head. For his own mental health, he decided not to ask further.
Still, it was true that Commanders had to give 'rewards' to maintain their relationships with their captains.
Simon stiffly approached and lay his head on Elizabeth's lap. When he glanced up at her, it was quite an embarrassing angle, so he turned his body sideways like a curled-up shrimp.
[You'll be sleeping here today, alright?]
[Hey! Me too! I want to play with Simon, too!]
Prince joined in. He lay down next to Simon and began to try out his new handshake.
Simon let out a small laugh. It felt like he was dealing with playful kids, not Ancient Undead.
[Those two haven't changed a bit…]
Said Akemus.
Akemus and Pier, the more reserved ones, were talking about the Legion.
[We need aerial forces as soon as possible, Akemus!]
Akemus nodded in response.
[I'll create a nest as soon as I recover, old friend.]
Simon looked at Akemus.
"Nest? What's that?"
[It's a biological structure that produces a massive number of skull wings, young master. I can create one by tearing off a part of my body.]
Simon's eyes widened in excitement.
"Am I dreaming?! Mass prod—!!"
Annoyed, Elizabeth pinched Simon hard on the cheek.
[You're becoming like Pier, Commander. Don't get distracted.]
[Hey! Simon! You're supposed to focus on the game!]
It truly felt like babysitting.
With tired eyes, Simon followed along with Prince's strange moves.
This could continue until dawn.
'Oh, come to think of it…'
As Simon was busy moving his hands, a thought suddenly passed through his mind.
'I need to hurry up and spend the 30,000 gold I just got.'
What could be more enjoyable than thinking about spending money?
Simon began to form grand plans for once he returned to Kizen.
——
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