Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 150: Episode

"Calm down, Simon! Don’t let her provoke you!" Kajan’s shout rang in his ears.

Of course, he had no intention of falling for it.

Simon’s gaze, now cold and steady, drifted toward the ceiling where countless black crosses hung, poised to strike.

He remembered that night. The first time he’d faced Francesca, he had been helpless. He had run frantically, thrown a single pebble, and left the real fighting to Pier.

’I wonder how much I’ve grown since then.’

As Simon bent his knees into a charging stance, Francesca swiped her palm downward. The Jet-Black crosses suspended from the high ceiling descended as one.

They slammed into the floor, each impact letting out a deafening roar.

While Simon and Kajan dodged the falling crosses, Francesca calmly operated the command center’s control panel.

"By the way, you two," she called out, her tone conversational. "Aren’t you being a little reckless, just charging in like this?"

Countless mana screens flickered to life around her, displaying views of the entire Kizen campus.

"Since you’ve come all this way," she said with a chilling smile, "I’ll show you something interesting."

"What are you up to?!" Kajan demanded.

"Explosion," she commanded.

As her thumb and middle finger met, Kajan and Simon flinched, instinctively dropping into defensive stances. She cast a leisurely glance at the watch on her wrist. "Right on schedule. Well then."

She snapped her fingers, the signal to ignite the Desolaters’ magic circles. But, just as they had anticipated, nothing happened. In the fleeting moment of her confusion, Simon surged forward, his greatsword scything through the air. She leaped high to evade the blow, but Kajan vaulted even higher, clenching both fists and hammering down as if driving a colossal nail.

A shield of pure Jet-Black erupted to block his fists. In that same instant, poisonous smoke spewed from magic circles that unfurled at Francesca’s sides, engulfing Kajan.

"Kajan!" Simon cried out.

"I installed the Desolaters before class started. You mean to tell me you removed all of them?" Stepping back, a grim smile touched Francesca’s lips. "How chilling. It feels as though you’ve seen my future."

Simon’s knuckles white around the hilt of his greatsword. Just then, Kajan emerged from the toxic cloud, apparently unharmed, and cracked his neck.

’Hmm, so poison has no effect on him? What a peculiar constitution,’ she mused. She had saturated the room with a paralytic agent, yet both Kajan and Simon remained unaffected. The corners of her mouth lifted into a smirk. If these two were Kizen’s last hope, then crushing them head-on would be a most satisfying conclusion.

Once again, countless black crosses formed across the high ceiling.

[Boy! Be careful!] Pier’s voice echoed in his mind.

"Unfortunately, no one is coming to save you," Francesca declared. "Not even Nephthys can break through my barrier."

She had erected a holy barrier around Kizen. A Priest’s barrier, specialized for defense, was on another level of strength and stability entirely compared to a necromancer’s. Forged from holy power, it was inherently resistant to Jet-Black. Between a Priest and a necromancer of equal skill, the one who controlled the barrier held an overwhelming advantage.

"Struggle all you like before the power of a god, you minions of Nephthys."

With a sharp rip, Kajan tore off his uniform as the poison began to melt the fabric, baring his torso. The raw, scar-covered muscles rippling across his frame were a testament to his imposing power.

"Simon," he said, his voice low and steady as he held out a fist. "This is the final battle."

Simon managed a faint smile and bumped his own against it. For the first time, they would fight as one.

"Yeah," Simon agreed. "Let’s go."

The moment their fists met, they shot apart, leaving shimmering afterimages just as the black crosses slammed into the floor where they had stood. The two moved like phantoms, weaving across the command center.

’Internal Jet-Black Eruption!’ Simon thought, igniting his power.

Droplets of pure Jet-Black sizzled off his skin as his physical abilities skyrocketed. He began to weave through the crosses raining down like a torrential storm, his movements now fluid and unhurried. With Francesca at the epicenter, Kajan closed in from the left and Simon from the right.

Kajan moved first. Leaping dozens of meters like a lithe predator, he unleashed a powerful kick. As expected, Francesca raised a Jet-Black shield to block it. In the same instant, Simon blurred behind her like a flash of light, his greatsword whistling through the air. She ducked under the blade, but Kajan was already on her, charging in with a roar.

His savage punch was deflected by the edge of her hand, but he immediately retracted his arm and unleashed a blinding flurry of blows. Francesca met his assault with a grin, countering with her own martial arts. A rapid staccato of sharp cracks and dull thuds filled the air as their limbs blurred into a tangled dance of offense and defense, too fast for the eye to follow. Kajan moved like a man without bones, his body twisting in impossible ways as he unleashed a chaotic barrage. Francesca, calm and precise, used the blade of her hand to parry each strike, her style preemptive, deflecting his attacks before they could build momentum.

Francesca’s leg shot out, striking Kajan’s knee and shattering his balance. As her fingertips darted toward his heart for the finishing blow, Simon’s greatsword descended upon her head. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and leaped back.

"Haaaaah!" Simon roared.

Unlike Kajan’s rapid strikes, each of Simon’s blows was a heavy, crushing force. His greatsword cleaved the air around her. Francesca dodged with sharp, economic movements before a blade of Jet-Black formed over the back of her hand, and she began to trade blows with him directly.

The vibration that shot up Simon’s arm from the impact was horrifying. ’Is she really a Venomology TA?’ he wondered in disbelief. Her martial prowess was astounding for someone supposedly specialized in poisons. No, this was something else entirely—not mere martial arts. This was the combat style of the Priests, a discipline perfected for defense and counters.

After parrying Simon’s greatsword, Francesca closed the distance in a heartbeat, thrusting her blade at his neck. But before it could connect, Kajan’s fist slammed into her face. With a choked gasp, she was sent flying, crashing hard against the floor.

"You okay?" Kajan grunted.

"Yeah!"

Simon readjusted his grip on his greatsword while Kajan raised his fists in a ready stance. Cackling, Francesca pushed herself to her feet, wiping a trickle of blood from her lip with a smirk.

"Keep it coming," she taunted.

Once more, the two shot toward her from left and right. Twin flashes of light weaved through the falling crosses, instantly flanking her.

"Hnngh!" Kajan grunted.

"Haaaaah!" Simon yelled.

Their arms and legs became a dazzling, deadly whirlwind. Fists and steel crossed as strikes and slashes tore through the air. Francesca, caught in the eye of the storm, was forced entirely onto the defensive, and shallow cuts began to appear on her body. Kajan’s punch finally broke through her guard, snapping her jaw to the side. As her body lifted from the impact, Simon’s instep whipped around from behind, hooking her face and slamming her back down to the floor.

Simon immediately raised the Greatsword of Ruin for a finishing blow, but she kicked his hand away and slid backward across the floor.

"Raaah!" Kajan shouted, closing the distance before she could recover, his form blurring as he unleashed another furious volley.

’POW!’

The momentum had shifted. Kajan’s attacks were no longer being deflected; they were landing clean. An elbow smashed into her nose. A straight punch buried itself in her abdomen. As she weathered the storm of blows, she managed to grab his ankle to counter when—

’Open Gate!’ Simon commanded.

A blade from the Overlord erupted from the floor, slashing across her shoulder. For the first time, raw fury flashed in her eyes.

"You bastards...!"

Kajan threw another punch. She moved to strike his wrist with the edge of her hand, but he instantly feinted, dropping his stance low. From behind him, Simon emerged, greatsword raised high. She threw herself into an impossibly low crouch to dodge, and a few strands of her long red hair fluttered to the ground.

’So close!’ Simon thought, frustrated. He had aimed for her neck, but the blow had missed by a hair’s breadth. Still, her desperate dodge had left her wide open. Simon raised a finger. The Overlord surged from beneath Kajan’s feet, launching him skyward.

Airborne, Kajan arched his body, spreading his arms wide and tilting his head back until his legs nearly touched his spine. His eyes glinted with killing intent.

’Kajan Original: Fang.’

He crossed his outstretched arms, and ten horrifyingly long claw marks were gouged into the very air. The floor and walls of the command center split apart as, in the same instant, deep wounds tore across Francesca’s body. The highest claw had ripped open her throat. Fountains of blood erupted from her neck, chest, and abdomen. The cut to her throat was clean and deep.

’A direct hit!’ Simon clenched his fist.

Kajan landed, panting heavily as he stared at the result. Francesca stumbled, her hand rising to the gushing wound on her neck. She stared blankly at the ceiling, a look of disbelief on her face. Simon deactivated his Internal Jet-Black Eruption, gasping for breath. The strain was immense; he felt as if his own power would have torn him apart long before she could have killed him.

"To think creatures like you were passing as students." She let out a weak, rattling laugh, then her head tilted to the side with an audible creak. "I certainly can’t win with Francesca’s power. But tell me, don’t you find it strange?"

A chilling premonition washed over Simon. It was so. Something was terribly wrong.

"There were necromancers guarding this place far stronger than you two," she continued, her voice gaining an unnerving strength. "But now, they’re all dead. Why do you think that is?"

A pure white flame erupted from her body. Simon’s eyes flew wide.

’Holy Power!’

The sacred flame sealed the grievous wounds from Kajan’s attack, leaving only faint scars in its wake. From the fire, a white garment materialized, draping itself over her body.

"You think I’ll just stand here and watch!" Kajan roared, dragging his exhausted body forward to charge.

She merely sneered at his effort and snapped her fingers.

Kajan gasped, cut off before he could speak.

An explosive torrent of white flame surged from her, blasting Kajan off his feet. As the holy fire clung to him, he let out a rare, agonized scream, thrashing on the ground.

[The truth is, I am not Francesca. My name is Flema.]

Her red hair began to turn white, and her eyes grew cloudy and distant.

[I am one of the seven pillars that protect Efnel.]

Simon’s face went deathly pale. A hollow laugh from Pier echoed in Simon’s mind, utterly blindsided by this revelation. As she ascended into the air, she became completely wreathed in white fire. This was no mere Priest of Efnel. This was the Dark Alliance’s greatest, most feared enemy.

[I am the Saintess of Purification.]