Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 123: Episode

Against the backdrop of the darkened city, Simon and his friends ran frantically through the streets, panting heavily.

"Keep it up, Kami!" Simon yelled over his shoulder.

"Yes! You too, Simon!" she called back.

Just minutes ago, the streets had been empty. Now, the number of zombies had exploded as if they had materialized from thin air, pouring in from every direction. Hordes swarmed from each alley, and some even burst out of the houses they had just searched.

"What’s going on?" Meirin shouted. "Zombies are coming out of places we already checked!"

"We must have missed them! Just run!" Dick yelled back.

As the four of them sprinted down the street, zombies closed in from all sides, tightening the net. The sheer number of them swarming in the darkness was enough to make one’s head spin.

"There are more ahead!" Kamibarez cried out.

Simon and Dick exchanged a quick glance and nodded. Drawing swords from their Subspaces, they dashed ahead of the girls.

They became a blur of motion, weaving through the undead. The head of one zombie flew into the air. Dick’s cut was shallow, forcing him to spin back and plunge his sword into the creature’s back.

"Ugh!" He shuddered in disgust as black blood splattered his face.

"Meirin!" Simon called.

"I know!"

Black flames erupted in both her hands. She hurled them into the alley between two houses, setting it ablaze. The zombies charging from the alley flinched. Some recklessly leaped into the fire and were consumed, while others turned back or even jumped clean over the inferno.

"Now!" Meirin shouted.

Taking the chance, the four of them picked up their pace. As they fled, they fell into a natural rhythm. Simon and Dick wielded their swords, cutting down zombies from the front. Meirin created intermittent walls of fire on their flanks to block off pursuit. Kamibarez kept the rear in check with her Blood Flow Bullets.

"Oh my god!" Dick glanced back, his eyes widening as if they would pop out. The horde chasing them had swelled to well over a hundred. Every time one of Kamibarez’s bullets hit, dozens were swept away screaming, only for new zombies to trample over the fallen and surge forward like a raging wave.

Sweat dripped from Simon’s brow. At this rate, their stamina would give out, and they would be caught. They needed a place to catch their breath, even for a moment. His eyes gleamed with focus. As his gaze swept frantically across their surroundings, it locked onto the roof of a nearby mansion.

The hesitation was brief, the action swift.

’Come forth.’

Simon opened his Subspace and summoned four skeletons, immediately activating Bone Armor.

’Clack! Clack!’ The skeletons disassembled, their bones snapping onto the limbs of Simon and his friends.

"Aaaagh! What is this!" Meirin shrieked, clamping her legs together.

"It’s my black magic! Just bear with it for a second!" Simon panted.

"Jeez, you scared me! Warn me next time!"

Though panting for breath, Simon managed to equip all four of them. Full armor would have required two skeletons per person, and controlling eight at once was beyond him. Instead, he armed only their lower bodies.

"Everyone, line up next to me! Legs together!"

The four of them awkwardly gathered beside him. Dick glanced back and let out a hollow laugh. "Oh boy. I don’t know what you’re planning, but you’d better do it fast!"

"They’re still coming from the front! We’re going to be surrounded!" Kamibarez warned.

Failure was not an option. Simon heightened his concentration and activated the Subspace in his left ring.

’Open Gate!’

Overlord tentacles shot out from the ground, launching upwards like catapults and sending the four of them hurtling into the air.

"Woaaaaaaah!"

"Woooow!"

They flew. Soaring through the air, they looked down to see the zombies swarming over the spot where they had just stood. A hill of bodies formed in seconds. The thought that they might have been crushed beneath it sent a chill down their spines.

’All the way to the roof in one go!’

The Bone Armor pulled at their bodies. The skeletons’ power alone wasn’t enough for true flight, but it extended their airtime after the Overlord’s launch. The mansion was right in front of them.

"Grab on!" Simon yelled.

Three of them caught the edge of the roof. But Kamibarez, being shorter, missed her grip and began to fall.

"Kami!!" Meirin screamed.

"I’ll go." Without a second thought, Simon let go of the roof. He kicked off the mansion wall, blasting Jet-Black like a booster.

The wall crumbled as his body shot forward. He wrapped his arms around Kamibarez, who was curled into a ball with her eyes shut tight, and angled his feet downward.

’Open Gate!’

A Subspace opened on the building’s wall, and the Overlord’s blades shot out in a line. Simon landed on them with both feet, bending his knees to absorb the impact as if sitting in an invisible chair.

Sweat dripped from his brow as he looked up. Like a staircase, more of the Overlord’s blades protruded from the wall at regular intervals. Without hesitation, Simon launched himself, his right foot finding the second step. He immediately extended his left to the third.

Dick and Meirin watched in awe, gasping at Simon’s wild, almost animalistic agility. He scaled the Overlord’s staircase and landed safely on the roof. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief. He looked down at Kamibarez, still in his arms, and gave her a gentle smile.

"Sorry. You must have been really scared."

Kamibarez, her face flushed red, trembled with her hands clasped tightly together. "I-I’m sorry."

"This isn’t your fault. I miscalculate— Ugh!" His legs finally gave out, and Simon collapsed to his knees.

"Simon! Simon! Are you okay?" Kamibarez cried.

"Ah, my legs just gave out for a second."

"Is everyone okay?!" Dick and Meirin rushed over.

---

[Ooh, not bad.]

Atop a ruined building, a boy with pale, gray skin tossed a stone up and down in his palm. His eyes were fixed on Simon and his group as they caught their breath on the mansion roof.

[I cannot let them escape so easily.] He slowly moved his palm. At his command, the zombies, who had been milling about in confusion, began to march purposefully toward the mansion. The boy giggled, watching the students’ panicked expressions as if enjoying a private show.

A zombie crawled up behind him with a low growl. The boy scowled, like a child whose game had been interrupted.

[What is it? I am busy.]

’Grrrr.’

[Skeletons? It is not the first time they have done such a thing.]

’Grrrr.’

[Is it different this time?] The boy turned, listening more closely. [Hmm. If Manus is involved, this could become a nuisance.]

Deathland was currently caught in a tense standoff between two undead factions: the boy and his zombies, and the newly emerging ’Manus’ and his skeletons.

[Whatever. Let them do as they please. I have more pressing matters.] The boy’s gaze returned to the Kizen students. [A Legion Commander in Deathland. And Pier. It is obvious what they are after.] He spread his arms wide. In the darkness, an ant-like swarm of zombies began to advance. [I will destroy the Legion with my own hands.]

---

In the catacombs beneath Deathland, a figure carefully wiped a sword blade with a cloth. He was draped in fabric patterned with red flowers, but his body was nothing more than white bone—a skeleton.

"Do you know the legend of the Zombie Prince, Manus?"

The skeleton turned its head. Leaning against a wall was an old man, two cigars clamped in his mouth at once. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"They say the body of the Zombie Throne lies dormant somewhere in Deathland. Get your hands on the crown it wears, and you can control all the zombies here. You’ll gain ownership of this entire land."

The skeleton looked back down, focusing on his sword.

[Not interested.]

"I know you very well," the man said, unfolding his arms and slowly approaching. "You want to destroy Kizen and this Dark Alliance, don’t you? Don’t you want revenge?"

Manus fell silent.

The old man’s tongue flickered like a snake’s. "Then you must first take control of Deathland. Wasn’t this territory once yours to rule?" The man’s lips curled. "Oh, former Swordmaster of the Empire."

In an instant, Manus’s sword was at the man’s throat. The man stiffened, but he didn’t stop talking.

"Your showdown with the Prince is inevitable. And you possess the overwhelming power to change the tide of battle single-handedly. What are you hesitating for?"

As the man said, Manus had reached the level of an Ancient Undead.

He finally spoke. [Where is the crown?]

"I’ve found it." The man rubbed his palms together, a greedy smile spreading across his face. "And for some reason, the Zombie Prince has left his post. It’s the first time in nearly ten years. This is a chance that won’t come again."

Manus slowly lowered his sword, but his sharp, piercing gaze remained fixed on the man.

Kizen. The axis of evil that had destroyed his homeland of Talhern, an empire that had boasted a long and proud legacy. Their schemes had reduced him to a skeleton of bare bones, but the only thing that sustained his will in this cursed existence was the burning desire for revenge.

"The Rose Troop’s Return threw the continent into terror by turning all fifty thousand of the Empire’s elite soldiers into undead," the old man mused. "But just imagine... completing your revenge on Kizen with an army of your own former subjects, all turned into undead. Isn’t the mere thought of it magnificent?"

Manus turned his head to look at the man again. [Why are you helping me?]

"As I’ve said, I too have a grudge against Kizen. A common enemy! It’s simple logic, isn’t it?" The man gave a chilling smile. "That is all there is to it."