Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 441: Episode

Malcolm and the red-haired boy faced off. Malcolm’s surprise melted into a crooked smile. “What’s the meaning of this, attacking me out of the blue?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?” the boy retorted, not backing down an inch. “We already received intelligence that the Randolph Gang is targeting the Parona Peninsula. Your objective is almost certainly the ‘Deimos Skull’ in the museum. And as it happens...” The sword he held glinted in the sunlight. “The son of the Randolph Gang’s boss is here on the scene himself. Is any further explanation necessary?”

“...This is ridiculous.” Malcolm shrugged. “Then do you know this? Before I was a member of the Randolph Gang, I was from Ki—”

’—It’s over. Do not return to Lok Island.’

His father’s voice echoed in his mind. The word ‘Kizen,’ which he would normally have uttered with pride, died on his tongue. His fists trembled.

’Damn it.’ He was no longer a student of Kizen. He was just a cheap criminal, a gangster. The reality of it pierced him to the core.

“Yeah, fuck it,” he spat. “I don’t care anymore.”

A low ’hiss’ of Jet-Black filled the air as an afterimage flickered around him, and five perfect duplicates scattered across the ground. It was impossible to tell the real from the fake; their appearance, posture, and even the rise and fall of their chests were identical.

The red-haired boy looked flustered for a moment before slashing at the Malcolm in the center.

The central figure burst into a cloud of black dust. The remaining four Malcolms grinned.

“Moving the main body at the moment of casting is basic. Aren’t you being a little naive?”

With another soft ’hiss’, the four Malcolms split again, becoming eight. The eight became sixteen.

“Damn it!” The boy, now completely surrounded, glanced around frantically.

The sixteen Malcolms spoke in unison. “That sword tells me you’re just some riffraff mercenary hired by the Lord of Parona. But...”

The doppelgangers rushed him at once, their footsteps a rapid tattoo on the pavement.

“This time, you’ve picked the wrong opponent!”

“I am no riffraff!” the boy roared, charging forward to meet them. With fluid, economical movements, he cut down two duplicates, then ducked to evade an attack from behind. Pivoting on his back foot, he spun his body in a powerful arc. “My name is Arthur Bleman!”

His sword flashed like a crescent moon, and six doppelgangers disintegrated into dust.

He shot forward like a bullet, the air whistling past him as he came to a stop in a wide-swinging stance. Behind him, countless sword wounds appeared simultaneously on the remaining doppelgangers.

His sword slid into its scabbard with a soft ’shing’. “Though I am unworthy, I have inherited the title of Mercenary King!”

The moment the sword was sheathed, the wounds on the doppelgangers flashed, and they all exploded into dust.

’...This bastard,’ Malcolm thought, scowling. That was definitely Jet-Black. ’A necromancer?’ And for someone so young to be the Mercenary King... he’d heard rumors, but he was sure the name had been different.

“Give up!” Arthur yelled, launching another strike. Malcolm’s body, still lost in thought, was split in half. Arthur clicked his tongue and turned to see ten more Malcolms standing in the exact same pose.

’I don’t know if he’s the real Mercenary King, but this Arthur guy is stronger than I thought. Taking him down quickly will be difficult.’ As he mulled it over, his gaze flickered toward the museum. ’Especially if Simon Polentia hears this commotion and comes down. It’ll be over. I have to retreat.’

“I won’t fall for the same trick again!” Arthur shouted gallantly, extending his left arm. Ink-like Jet-Black flowed from his palm, scattering into the air and coalescing into a magic circle.

<Moon Head>

Arthur gripped his sword with both hands and slashed through the circle. A silver-tinged wind swept out in a wide arc.

All the doppelgangers caught in the blast vanished with a faint whoosh.

“Ugh!”

Malcolm’s real body was among them. He felt sharp stings as shallow cuts appeared on his arms and legs, splattering blood.

’This bastard! He even has an area-of-effect attack!’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

“Found you!” Arthur stomped the ground and charged. Since Malcolm was still within the range of the blade wind, any new doppelgangers would be instantly destroyed.

“...I have no choice,” Malcolm muttered, pulling a small bottle from his clothes. “You seem to have investigated the Randolph Gang thoroughly, so you must know what this is.”

Arthur’s eyes widened in horror. ’A liquid bomb!’

It was the Randolph Gang’s signature explosive, designed to detonate in response to Jet-Black. Without hesitation, Malcolm channeled his power into it.

A high-pitched whine filled the air as a blinding flash erupted from the bottle. Arthur slammed on the brakes, skidding to a halt. “W-Wait! If you do that, you’ll be caught in it, too!”

Malcolm’s figure was obscured by the brilliant light, but a bitter smile was just visible on his face. “It’s fine. I’m sick and tired of this life anyway.”

“N-No!”

A deafening roar ripped through the air as the liquid bomb exploded. The shockwave threw Arthur off his feet. He scrambled to plant his sword in the ground for stability and looked up.

“Malcolm Randolph!”

Thick black smoke billowed from the site of the explosion. Arthur stood there for a moment, stunned, before dropping to one knee.

“You fool!” he roared, slamming his fist into the ground. “You could have just paid for your crimes in prison! Why would you take your own life? Was your life so worthless that you could just throw it away?”

He screamed, but only silence answered.

“I was only planning to subdue you! I was lying about taking your head! Why?!” He struck the ground again and again in self-reproach. After a long moment, he activated the crystal on his arm with a hollow expression.

A blurry silhouette of a woman appeared.

—Hey, Mercenary King. I was waiting for your report. Did you get Malcolm?

“I-I’m sorry,” Arthur stammered, his voice choked with tears as he held up the crystal to show her the scene. “Malcolm Randolph took his own life. I could have stopped him! I could have stopped him!”

The artifact was apparently a two-way communication device. The woman in the crystal stared at the explosion in silence for a moment.

—...You idiot.

“Huh?”

—That’s just a smoke bomb!

Arthur shot to his feet in surprise. “R-Really?”

—Yes! What kind of bomb in the world just billows out smoke like that and does nothing else?

When Arthur swung his sword to clear the smoke, Malcolm was gone without a trace. Just as she had said, the surrounding area was barely damaged.

“Huh? Huh? That can’t be right...” Arthur muttered, looking utterly bewildered.

—What do you mean, it can’t be right?!

“His profile said to be careful of a dangerous liquid bomb! There was no mention of a smoke bomb! I swear!”

—Ugh! You frustrating blockhead!

“If it had warned me about smoke bombs, I wouldn’t have been fooled!”

—Are you sure you’re not the Idiot King instead of the Mercenary King?!

Arthur hung his head dejectedly as the woman fumed.

—I can’t believe this! Find Malcolm before he causes any more trouble! Now!

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

---

Meanwhile, Simon’s group had left the museum and was walking through the market.

“Ugh! That was fun!” Meirin declared, stretching her arms over her head as she led the way.

Simon turned to Dick. “Where to next?”

“I was thinking we’d head to Whale’s Hill.”

Kamibarez blinked. “Isn’t that where we’re going tomorrow to watch Deimos pass?”

“It is, but the view is amazing even without the whale. I thought we could go for a walk.”

“No way! If we’re going there tomorrow anyway, let’s just go back to our room!” Meirin said, her eyes sparkling. “Honestly, my head was bursting with student council ideas the entire time we were in the museum! Let’s have a meeting!”

“...We haven’t even officially started yet. Aren’t you being a little too enthusiastic?” Simon asked.

“Of course, I have to be!” Meirin’s shoulders squared with pride. “I’m going to carry this 330th Student Council! I’ll make it the best in Kizen’s history, one that will be talked about for years to come!”

“I’m already getting tired,” Dick groaned. “Simon, if you’re president in our third year, let’s get a quieter vice president. Like Lorraine.”

“As if you’ll even be at Kizen by our third year, you 400th-ranked commoner!”

“You two, please stop fighting!” Kamibarez pleaded.

Watching the familiar scene unfold, Simon smiled.

“Get your cold ice cream here.”

Just then, a merchant walked by with an ice cream container strapped to his back. Meirin’s face lit up.

“Anyone else craving something sweet?”

“Sounds good,” Simon agreed.

“Mister!” Meirin called out, running over.

The merchant spotted her. “Welcome, pretty student.”

“Four ice creams, plea—”

A spray of hot blood erupted from the merchant’s body, splattering across Meirin’s face. Behind her, the expressions on Dick and Kamibarez’s faces hardened.

A dry, chittering sound echoed nearby.

A green, reptilian creature with long, sharp claws stood over the fallen merchant, its eyes glinting. As it advanced on Meirin, she stood frozen, a statue of shock.

Simon reacted first. His kick connected with a solid thud, knocking the monster’s arm skyward. A split second later, Dick drew a dagger from his belt and threw it. The enchanted blade sank into the monster’s flesh, followed swiftly by Kamibarez, who leaped forward, her purple hair flying.

<Blood Strike>

A magic circle flared on her palm as she slammed it into the monster’s abdomen with a deafening boom, sending it flying into a nearby building. Meirin’s eyes flashed with fury as she finally broke free of her shock and thrust her arm forward.

<Ice Bolt>

A sickening crack echoed as a volley of ice shards impaled the monster, killing it instantly. Meirin, who had cast the spell on pure reflex, staggered and sank to the ground.

“M-Meirin!” Simon cried, rushing to her side.

She held up a hand, signaling she was okay. “Sorry. I was just startled.” Muttering this, she waved her hand again. A series of magic circles materialized in the air, launching more ice shards upward.

Blood rained down from the sky. Simon looked up in alarm to see several other green monsters, which had been surrounding them, now impaled on massive ice spikes.

“Haaah!”

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

At the sight of the monster corpses, tourists and merchants screamed and fled in a panic.

“Hah, that was a shock,” Meirin grumbled, getting to her feet and approaching one of the fallen creatures. “It’s a Naga. They live in the sea but can walk on land. Weak ones are rank-2 threats, strong ones go up to rank-3. But why are they in the city?”

Kamibarez closed her eyes, sniffing the air. “Simon! I smell the same blood everywhere. The Nagas are launching a surprise attack on the entire Parona Peninsula!”

After a moment’s thought, Simon turned to Dick. “Any ideas?”

“Let’s see.” Dick stood up. “Basically, Nagas give absolute obedience to a being called the ‘Naga Queen’—their alpha, so to speak. They only respond to her wavelength, which is why they aren’t affected by the call of Deimos, the Ruler of the Sea.”

Meirin picked up where he left off. “So for some reason, one or more Naga Queens have come to the peninsula. They might have even formed an alliance.”

“Alright,” Simon said, his voice firm. “Everyone, change into your Kizen uniforms. We’ll split into three groups and protect the civilians.”

“What about you, Simon?” Meirin asked.

“I’ll cover a wider area to find and take down the queen. And...” The image of the man in the museum flashed through his mind. “There’s something I need to confirm.”