Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 113: Episode

A mountain of dust erupted as trees were torn from the earth. Through the chaos, Erzebet, disguised as a Priest, fled for her life.

’I feel like I’m being hunted by a wild beast,’ she thought.

While patrolling the Forbidden Forest under Simon’s orders, she had spotted a suspicious man. He wore a nondescript brown robe, the hood pulled low in a clear attempt to hide his identity, and he was furtively scanning his surroundings. She suspected he was the Priest Simon had warned her about.

She immediately dispatched a corpse spider to summon Simon and Pier, but the man was already preparing to leave the forest. She had no choice but to act alone. As planned, she transformed into a Priest and approached him, intending to use formal pleasantries to extract information.

Instead of information, she was met with a flurry of fists.

Startled, Erzebet ducked. Boulders the size of houses and entire logs came hurtling toward her. Her opponent was undoubtedly human, yet he possessed a monstrous strength that rivaled an Ancient Undead’s.

’I have no choice.’

She disliked fighting, but she was out of options. Spreading her palms, she unleashed dark blue spiderwebs from her fingertips.

She crossed her arms, and the webs pulled taut, splintering the nearby trees with a deafening crack. As the forest collapsed into a tangled mess, the Priest shot upward. He spun like a top, his right arm lashing out, and immense claw-like gashes tore through the air toward Erzebet, leaving deep scratches across her legs.

She staggered, a jolt of pain shooting through her. In that instant, the Priest landed and charged. Erzebet threw her arms wide, scattering a net of spiderwebs in every direction. It was a deadly trap, designed to slice through bone and flesh on contact, but the Priest dodged each strand with inhuman agility, closing the distance with terrifying speed.

’He really is a beast!’

She twisted her palms outward and crossed her arms again. The web reversed its position in mid-air, ensnaring the man. Blood sprayed as the threads bit into his flesh. A triumphant smirk touched her lips.

Suddenly, the sole of a boot filled her vision.

The kick connected squarely with her forehead. She was sent flying hundreds of meters, smashing through a line of trees before crashing into the dirt.

"Ugh!"

Before she could even push herself up, the Priest was on her, straddling her chest. His fist blotted out the moon as he raised it high.

"My, my," Erzebet managed, forcing a smile. "I’m a lady, so if you could just spare my face—"

’Smack!’

The impact snapped her head to the side.

A merciless, patternless barrage rained down on her. As she absorbed the blows, Erzebet twitched a single finger.

The robed Priest was yanked violently into the air. A nearly invisible thread had wrapped around his neck.

[I told you to spare my face, you bastard!]

The flesh of her face peeled back, revealing monstrous, crimson eyes.

[Die!] she shrieked.

The thread pulled taut. The Priest clawed at his throat, choking, then suddenly swung his right arm through the empty air.

A tremendous shockwave blasted outward, uprooting every tree in a wide arc to his right. One of them must have been her anchor point, because the thread around his neck went slack. He instantly tore it free and landed on the ground.

He spat a glob of red saliva onto the dirt and slowly rose to his feet. Erzebet scowled, preparing to draw on her Jet-Black.

"Erzebet!!"

It was Simon’s voice. Her tense expression instantly lit up.

’Legion Commander! You’ve come to save me!’

The Priest, however, reacted just as quickly, ignoring her completely and sprinting toward the sound of Simon’s voice.

’Oh no!’

Erzebet scrambled to follow, but she couldn’t match his speed. Simon was still just a student; he couldn’t possibly defeat this monster.

In the blink of an eye, the Priest covered hundreds of meters. He spotted Simon, who was also cloaked in a robe, and launched himself into the air with a flying kick.

Simon reacted with startling agility, twisting his head aside as the Priest’s foot sliced through the air where his skull had been a moment before. The Priest landed, his posture betraying a hint of surprise.

’Thump!’

The surprise was fleeting. He stomped, the ground cracking beneath his foot, and charged straight at Simon. Gritting his teeth, Simon threw his arm back.

"Pier!!"

Pier’s bones, having already arrived from the ruins, shot forward and assembled around Simon’s right arm. He thrust his armored fist forward.

Their fists collided in mid-air, unleashing a massive shockwave.

It was the Priest who was thrown back.

Simon exhaled sharply and settled into a combat stance.

The Priest began a bizarre, weaving approach, his body dipping and swaying at impossible angles. It was impossible to track his movements.

Simon decided to press the attack, lunging forward and swinging his bone-clad arm. The Priest ducked under the blow with fluid grace, circling behind Simon to aim a kick at the back of his head.

’Thwack!’

But it was the Priest who recoiled in pain. Just before the kick landed, Pier’s skull had formed a helmet around Simon’s head. The Priest spun instantly into a low kick, but again, Pier’s bones were faster, forming a greave to protect Simon’s leg.

’Clack. Click. Clack.’

Like puzzle pieces snapping into place, the Bone Armor was covering Simon’s body. The Priest gathered himself to charge again.

There would be no second mistake.

This time, Simon seized the Priest’s arm, pulling him close and drawing back his left fist. The Priest gritted his teeth, channeling Jet-Black to his face as a shield, fully intending to shatter his attacker’s knuckles on impact.

In a fluid motion, the bones of Pier’s armor flowed from Simon’s right hand to his left.

"Woah—!"

With a thunderous impact, the Priest was sent flying, crashing through a line of trees until he vanished from sight. He coughed up blood, struggling to push himself off the forest floor. In the distance, Simon, now fully clad in Bone Armor, was already charging toward him, his Shadowless Cloak billowing in his wake.

By a hair’s breadth, the Priest threw himself aside, narrowly dodging Simon’s punch, and extended his right hand. Jet-Black shimmered, coalescing into the form of a spear. As Simon’s charge ended, his feet digging into the earth to slow his momentum, the dark spear shot toward his exposed back.

Simon simply extended his left arm, now sheathed in Pier’s bones.

’Restore!’ he commanded inwardly.

Pier’s greatsword materialized in his grasp. With a twist of his wrist, Simon spun at the waist, slashing through the air.

The Priest ducked in alarm. Pier’s devastating slash tore the Jet-Black spear in two before continuing onward, splitting the trees behind it clean in half.

A cold sweat slicked the Priest’s skin. ’He’s strong. Stronger than anyone I’ve ever faced.’ But he couldn’t stop here. He bent his knees again and lunged at Simon.

But Simon refused to meet him head-on. Instead, he stomped his foot hard on the ground, kicking up a thick, choking cloud of dust. The Priest’s vision was completely obscured, forcing him to a halt. Just then...

A Legion-enhanced skeleton burst through the dust cloud, its sword swinging. The Priest dodged, taking a single step back.

This time, blades sliced at him from behind and from his flanks. In an instant, over ten skeletons had materialized, surrounding him.

’Clatter! Clack!’

The Legion skeletons charged all at once. The fight had suddenly devolved into a chaotic melee, but the Priest moved with preternatural speed, showing no sign of panic. As if he had eyes in the back of his head, he evaded the storm of spear thrusts and sword strikes, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks in every direction. The skeletons’ bodies shattered with sickening cracks.

Then, the bone fragments scattered across the ground began to rise into the air. With his free hand, Simon was casting another spell.

‘Bone Nail!’

Distracted by the skeletons, the Priest was suddenly pierced in several places by the razor-sharp bone fragments. He grimaced, trying to break out of the encirclement, but...

Something sharp raked across his back.

[I won’t let you get away.]

The entire area had become a labyrinth of dark blue spiderwebs. Erzebet, her webs laced with venom, had sealed the space around the Priest.

From the trees above, corpse spiders spat down more webs or descended along the shimmering strands.

From the front, the skeletons formed an impenetrable wall, their weapons a blur of motion.

Even when he shattered a skeleton, its fallen bones would twitch and rise to attack him again. Caught in the Legion’s perfectly coordinated assault, the Priest could find no escape. He had lost too much blood, and his stamina was plummeting. In this dire situation, there was only one gamble left.

’Take out the leader first.’

Kicking off the ground, the Priest launched himself recklessly toward Simon. Erzebet’s webs bit deep into his flesh, drawing fresh blood, but he ignored the pain, enduring the skeletons’ attacks as he threw a desperate punch at the necromancer controlling them.

Simon quickly raised his greatsword to block.

’Baaaaang!’

The greatsword and the fist clashed with explosive force. The moment he landed, the Priest swiftly slammed his other fist into the earth.

The ground beneath them buckled and sank. Caught off guard, Simon staggered, his balance broken. The Priest recovered first, immediately gathering Jet-Black into his right fist, poised to strike Simon’s face—

A spray of blood erupted. A massive, blade-like appendage had shot up from behind, slashing clean across the Priest’s back.

"Ugh!"

Losing his balance had been a feint. With his other hand, Simon had sprung his trap.

‘Alright, Overlord!’

As the Priest’s movements seized up, Erzebet’s webs coiled around his arm. Simon leveled his greatsword at the man’s neck.

[Give up,] Simon spoke coldly, his voice amplified by Pier through the Bone Armor. [You’ve lost.]

Covered in his own blood, the Priest let out a long, ragged sigh. Then, he reached up and pulled back the hood that had obscured his face.

Simon’s eyes widened in utter shock.

[You’re...!]