Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 299: Episode

"Isn’t that Agent Seiwyr over there?"

Seiwyr, who was trying to sneak out the back door with his office belongings, flinched.

"It is Agent Seiwyr, right?" Simon led the charge as the rest of the team swarmed him.

"E-Everyone...!" Seiwyr wished the ground would swallow him whole, but he had missed his chance to escape.

"Hm." Dick eyed the bundle in Seiwyr’s hands and spoke coldly. "Looks like you got fired from Vengeance."

Seiwyr flinched, then hung his head low. Gone was the man who used to confidently flick his bangs back while recounting his heroic tales. In his place was a man with hollow eyes, sunken cheeks, a messy beard, and dry, withered hair. He looked like a completely different person.

"What happened to you?" Simon asked.

With his head bowed, Seiwyr finally explained. He had been investigated by the Dark Alliance. While the incident had ultimately benefited the Alliance by weakening the Holy Federation’s influence, the crime of fabricating official duties was a serious one. In the end, he was permanently expelled from the world of necromancy.

"P-Permanently expelled..." The kind-hearted Kamibarez looked on with pity, but Dick, his hands shoved in his pockets, said coolly, "You got what you deserved."

Seiwyr flinched again.

Meirin chimed in. "For once, I agree with a commoner. I’ll never forgive you for hiding that communication crystal until the very end."

Under their combined assault, Seiwyr’s head drooped like a withered flower. "I... I have no words for you all. It was all because of my greed and rash actions... I shall live the rest of my life in penance. My apologies."

’Hmm.’ Seeing the once-arrogant man groveling so pathetically, Meirin couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him, regardless of his crimes.

"Seiwyr." Just then, Agent Block and his secretary approached. Seiwyr’s head sank even lower.

"Farewell."

"You caused nothing but trouble, but you worked hard while you were here."

The two offered a surprisingly simple send-off.

"I have no words for either of you, either... My apologies." Seiwyr trudged out of the building.

Block sighed as he watched him go. "Bittersweet."

Dick raised an eyebrow. "I thought you’d be relieved."

"He caused trouble constantly and cost the organization a fortune, but we kept him around for a reason. He was useless at everything else, but his illusion magic was second to none."

The secretary nodded. "Exactly. He should have been content with intelligence work, but he kept trying to bite off more than he could chew. That’s what led to this."

"Alright, enough about him. You students should get to Kizen before it’s too late. I’ll see you off."

Meirin stood with her arms crossed, a very serious expression on her face.

"Meirin?"

"Ah, right." The others were already following the secretary. She forced a smile. "Kami, I need to use the restroom before we teleport."

"Okay, sure."

Meirin started toward the restroom, but then abruptly changed course and slipped out the back door Seiwyr had used. She saw his slumped figure walking away in the distance.

"Mr. Seiwyr, a word."

Seiwyr turned. "A-Agent Meirin?"

"Here." She pulled a business card from her inner pocket and held it out to him. He took it, bewildered.

"...What is this?"

"You said you can’t be a necromancer anymore, right? Then you need to find another path." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. "It’s the business card of the director of the Langerstine theater. Take this, go to the grand theater, and find him. Tell him Meirin Villenne sent you. He’ll understand."

’He was useless at everything else, but his illusion magic was second to none.’

Meirin agreed with Block. Especially when they first went to Kelso, the sheer number of priest illusions he had created, and how he had pretended to block all their attacks himself... in a way, it was impressive. Everyone but Simon had been completely fooled. And his looks... he was a bit of a greasy pretty-boy, but he was handsome enough. He might be a failure as a necromancer, but didn’t he have incredible talent as a stage actor?

"Go and beg him for any job he’ll give you. He’ll let you in."

Seiwyr stared at the card, looking dazed. It seemed the thought of acting had never once crossed his mind.

"Th-Thank you for your concern. But how does a Kizen student have connections in the theater world...?"

"Ack! Don’t ask me that!" Meirin’s face flushed red as she shouted, then she turned and fled.

Staring blankly after her, Seiwyr looked down at the card again.

’Langerstine Luiba Grand Theater. Director Luiba.’

’A second life...’

His gaze remained fixed on the card.

---

"We’re finally back at Kizen!" Dick shouted, throwing his arms in the air.

Before them was the familiar hill of the teleportation circle, and below, the sprawling Kizen campus.

"Great work, everyone!"

"You too!"

They exchanged bright smiles and congratulations.

"Ugh, a little fresh air is nice for a day or two, but the Neutral Zone is just too bleak! Kizen is the best!"

Simon laughed. "When we were heading there, didn’t you say Kizen felt stuffy and it was nice to get out?"

"Your feelings before and after you use the restroom are always different."

Everyone chuckled. Meirin glanced at her wristwatch.

"We have plenty of time. Let’s get a good rest today and meet up tomorrow, refreshed. Dismissed!"

Simon headed for the men’s dormitory, while Meirin and Kamibarez went to the women’s. Dick, worried about his business, decided to head straight for Rochest.

’It feels like I’ve been away for months.’

As Simon entered the dormitory, he noticed it was unusually quiet. It seemed most of the students on their dispatch evaluations hadn’t returned yet. He walked up the stairs to the fourth floor, the familiar scene felt just like coming home.

’Huh?’

But something was wrong. A trail of blood stretched across the fourth-floor hallway. Simon’s relaxed expression vanished, replaced by a grim seriousness. The fine hairs on his body stood on end as tension coiled in his gut. Holding his breath, he slowly followed the crimson path.

’Ugh.’

As luck would have it, the trail led directly to Room 409. His face taut, Simon gripped the doorknob.

’Open Gate.’

Six Subspaces tore open around him, the Overlord’s blades ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Then, he opened the door.

The first thing he saw was a body collapsed on the floor. A man with gray hair lay in a pool of his own blood.

"Ka-Kajan!"

Simon dropped to one knee and shook his roommate’s shoulder.

"Get a hold of yourself! Kajan!"

"He wouldn’t listen to reason."

A third voice echoed through the otherwise empty room. A shiver ran down Simon’s spine as he slowly raised his head.

The room had been empty—Simon was sure of it. But now, long hair fluttered in the breeze from the open window. Someone was sitting on the sill.

With hair long enough to be mistaken for a woman’s, a slender jaw, and a chilling voice, the figure spoke.

"He insisted on fighting when I said I’d just wait. In any case—"

The worst possible crisis had arrived.

"I wanted to meet you, Simon Polentia."

The viscous, cloying feel of that Jet-Black... Simon had never seen him before, but he knew. The man wielded the same dark power as Talaje, the Ancient Undead he had fought before.

Magnus Alban. The 5th Legion Commander was right in front of him.

Ice flooded his veins, his thoughts grinding to a halt. They say shock can steal your voice; now he knew it was true. He felt the blood drain from his face, his lips cracking with sudden dryness. One wrong move... and he was dead.

[Be careful, boy,] Pier’s voice echoed in his mind, sharp and serious. [He has you in a chokehold. You need to create an opening to access your Subspace. If I can get out, I can fight him.]

Summoning the Legion on school grounds would mean forfeiting his life at Kizen, but this was a matter of life and death. Steeling his resolve, Simon lifted his head.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice tight with hostility. The man had attacked his roommate; it was a natural reaction.

"I recently received a very interesting report," Magnus replied, ignoring the question. "They say an incomplete Saintess of Purification was born in a place called Kelso in the Neutral Zone, and an unidentified wanderer was the one who defeated her. And while only that wanderer broke through the barrier, they found traces of a large-scale battle. Isn’t that fascinating?"

"So, I sent my subordinate to investigate." The corner of his mouth curled into a smirk. "And they detected a wavelength identical to that of an Ancient Undead I’ve been desperately searching for."

Simon swallowed, his throat painfully dry.

"At the time, most of my surveillance was focused on a little girl named Lorraine, but then something like that happened. Meaning, it wasn’t her. And as it happens, your name was among the students assigned to that mission." Magnus leaned forward, his eyes boring into Simon’s. "The name I’ve been keeping an eye on—Simon Polentia!"

Perceiving Magnus’s movement as an attack, the Overlord’s blades, which had been lying in wait, shot out from Simon’s Subspace.

’Clang! Clang!’

But the blades slammed into an invisible wall, halting their advance.

"Hmm." Magnus casually caught one of the blades that had rushed his face and examined it. "I don’t feel the power of a Legion in this."

Simon’s roundhouse kick sliced through the air, aimed straight for Magnus’s chin. Magnus caught the kick with a single, languid finger, his expression one of pure boredom.

"Not something so predictable," he drawled. His other hand shot toward Simon’s neck. "Show me your real power. If you don’t, you die right here—"

A crimson awl of bone descended from the ceiling, piercing the back of Magnus’s hand and pinning it in place. Magnus lifted his head, his expression unchanged.

"What’s this?"

In that instant, a figure clad in crimson Bone Armor materialized in front of Simon.

The man’s kick sent Magnus, who hadn’t budged an inch, flying backward through the window in a shower of shattered glass. Simon stared, his eyes wide with shock. The skull mask covering the figure’s face fell away, revealing a familiar, scruffy visage.

"It’s dangerous. Stay back," Professor Aaron ordered.

"Professor Aaron!" Simon cried out, his voice filled with disbelief and relief.