Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 202: Episode

"An explosion? What just happened?"

"U-undead!"

Having breached the building with a Corpse Explosion, Simon immediately opened his Subspace, unleashing skeletons and zombies upon the Hupa men. The undead, unhindered by the poor visibility, easily attacked the humans, throwing the battle into complete chaos.

Meanwhile, Simon reached for Meirin. "I’ll untie you now."

The Overlord’s blade smoothly severed the ropes binding her arms and legs. Now free, she rubbed the raw marks on her wrists and stared at Simon with a strange expression.

"Huh?"

When Simon shot her a quizzical look, her face flushed, and she shrieked, "Why did Sir Pion come instead of—! No, that’s not what I meant! I mean... thank you for saving me."

Simon couldn’t quite follow her flustered rambling, but he understood the "thank you" at the end and smiled.

"That was quite a grand entrance," a voice called out, coughing from within the thick dust. This time, it was Dick.

"Dick? Turn around. I’ll untie you."

"I’m fine." The ropes binding Dick’s arms slithered loose and coiled into his hands. He had used an enchantment on them. He easily untied his legs as well and rose leisurely from the dust.

Meirin pointed at him, her arm trembling. "Wh-what! You could have untied yourself this whole time?"

"Of course," Dick replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"They’re over here!" a Hupa warrior bellowed, charging through the haze with his sword raised.

Dick let out a wicked laugh and pulled a rope taut in both hands. "No more holding back, Chief!"

He threw the rope. It was tied in a noose that instantly wrapped around the man’s neck and cinched tight.

"Ugh!"

The warrior’s face contorted in pain. He dropped his sword and clawed at the rope. At that moment, Dick yanked hard, pulling his opponent in and driving a knee into his chin. With a sickening sound, the man’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.

"Dick! There’s another one on your side!" Simon yelled, kicking off a wall like a martial artist and smashing another warrior’s head with a roundhouse kick.

"Wow, I could never do that in a million years. Still—"

"Raaaaaah!" an enraged Hupa swordsman roared, raising his weapon.

Dick summoned a sword from his Subspace, feigning a sword fight, then slyly threw his lassoed rope at the man’s legs. As the sword swung toward him, Dick slid between the man’s legs and pulled hard on the rope. The man, already off-balance, fell flat on his face and was dragged across the ground.

"The weak have their ways."

Dick snapped his fingers. A piece of metal on the ceiling, now remotely enchanted, tore loose and crashed down on the man’s head.

’Thud!’

As dust billowed, Dick retrieved his rope and stepped back.

"Don’t panic!" Wichasha shouted. "Special Admission Number One, Simon Polentia, is here! You can let the other two escape or kill them, but you must capture him!"

The Hupa tribe’s primary target had never been Dick or Meirin, but Simon. Kizen was such a massive organization that kidnapping two first-year students would barely make them blink. But capturing Special Admission Number One was a different story. He was not only a symbol but also a student Nephthys had personally scouted—one Kizen was backing with high expectations. If they could capture him, even Kizen and Nephthys would be forced to the negotiating table.

"Capture him!"

The Hupa warriors surged toward Simon.

Looking weary, Simon was about to summon his Overlord when Meirin stepped forward. "Leave it to me."

The magic circle she had placed on the ceiling was complete. She closed her eyes and raised her arms as if stretching, crossing them above her head. The circle pulsed with a magnificent light. The sight of her lowering her arms with swan-like grace was like watching her perform as Almacharina at the theater.

"Just get out of my sight, you goddamn bastards!" she roared, swinging her arms toward the enemies.

‘Cruel Blizzard’

A blizzard spell, reinterpreted with Jet-Black elemental magic. A storm of black snow poured from the magic circle, sweeping away the charging Hupa warriors.

"Ugh!"

The large warriors were buried and pushed back by the blizzard, and the sudden indoor snowstorm threw everyone into confusion.

"Everyone, calm down!" Wichasha roared. He grabbed a nearby cauldron and, with monstrous strength, hurled it at the ceiling. The cauldron shattered the roof and the magic circle with it.

As the spell was canceled, Meirin staggered, feeling the backlash of Jet-Black. Simon quickly rushed to her side, grabbing her shoulder to support her.

"The blizzard stopped!"

"Go now!"

Seizing the opportunity, the Hupa tribesmen pushed through the black snow and charged. Even in her pain, Meirin extended her right arm, but Simon caught her wrist and lowered it, nodding as if to say it was all right. His expression was relaxed.

"Uh?" A few of the Hupa, sensing something was off, hesitated.

’The... the wind is red?’

Wichasha, noticing the anomaly before anyone else, shouted, "Damn it! Right now—!"

It was too late. A red wind, thick with the scent of blood, began to swirl, lifting the densely packed tribesmen off their feet.

"Wh-what!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"

’Whoooooooooosh!’ Out of nowhere, a red tornado raged through the room. The Hupa warriors, along with debris and other objects, were all swept up into the whirlwind. Red blood, rotating with the vortex, flew like flower petals, slicing their skin. Painful screams erupted from all directions.

"Wh-what is this?" Meirin asked, her voice trembling. If they had moved just a little farther, they would have been caught in it as well. "Who did this?"

"Who do you think?" Simon smiled and pointed.

Through a collapsed section of the wall, Kamibarez entered, panting for breath.

While Simon had been making his entrance, she had been preparing this wide-range blood-flow magic. Stained with blood, she raised her palm.

"Stand down. I won’t take your lives."

As she spoke, she clapped her hands together. The blood-red tornado dispersed with a pop, sending the warriors caught within it flying in all directions. Their bodies broke through the wooden walls and went limp. Some flew out of the roof, while others collapsed onto the dirt floor, unconscious.

Nearly twenty men were neutralized in an instant.

Wichasha’s expression hardened. The tide of battle had completely turned.

The four students, led by Simon, walked forward, their red neckties fluttering in the wind. They looked nothing like mere teenagers. The Hupa warriors, having lost their will to fight in the face of such overwhelming power, unknowingly took a step back.

"W-we really shouldn’t have messed with Kizen!"

"It’s not just the professors! Even the brats are like this...!"

Simon stopped and looked at Wichasha. "Now," he said, his voice cold, "are you ready to pay the price?"

A long smile spread across Wichasha’s lips. "So this is why the world goes on about Kizen, huh. No wonder."

He took off the ornament on his shoulder and threw it down, then tore the lion’s hide from his head and tossed it to the floor. "Do you know Hongfeng, a professor at Kizen?"

It was the second time Simon had been asked that question today. This time, Meirin retorted angrily, "How dare a commoner with no pedigree speak her name so casually?"

"Hongfeng and I are from the same plains. We clashed often before she went to Kizen. Our record is six to six," Wichasha stated, a massive amount of Jet-Black energy beginning to overflow from his body. "Do you, who merely receive Hongfeng’s teachings, truly believe you can defeat me—one who has fought her with my life on the line?"

He slowly lowered his stance, placing both hands on his knees. Simon also clenched his fists and lowered his stance, but suddenly, Meirin and Kamibarez stepped in front of him.

"Huh?" Simon looked at them, puzzled.

"Simon! Step back!" Kamibarez cried.

"This guy is after you," Meirin added. She spread her right hand, and Kamibarez shaped her hand like a gun.

Wichasha charged, the floor sinking under his feet. Instantly, Kamibarez fired a Blood Bullet. He casually deflected it with a swing of his arm. Next, a magic circle unfolded from Meirin’s palm.

‘Wall of Ice’

A wide wall of ice shot up in front of them, but Wichasha simply swung his fist.

With a loud roar, a hole was punched through the barrier. Simon grabbed Meirin and pulled her back hard.

"Ugh!"

A huge arm broke through the ice, grabbing the empty air where she had just been.

Instead of pulling his arm back, Wichasha ran sideways, shattering the rest of the ice as he broke free. "Just as your friends said!" he roared, charging at Simon from the side like a bison. "My goal is accomplished as long as I capture you!"

Simon calmly watched the rushing fist, then tilted his head. With a chilling whoosh, the fist cut through empty air.

’He dodged that so easily?!’ Wichasha thought, stunned.

Simon’s body, having tilted, rotated into a roundhouse kick. Just as Wichasha raised his arm to guard his face...

He couldn’t move. A rope had been hooked to his right arm and connected to the wall. Dick, who had secretly moved behind him, grinned and made a V-sign. The bottom of Simon’s shoe filled Wichasha’s vision.

With a smack, Wichasha’s nose was crushed, and blood spurted out. His body bent to the side. "Ugh!"

This time, Meirin’s left arm moved. Her specialty—‘multi-casting’ with both arms. The magic circle she had prepared with her left hand released a torrent of ice, grabbing Wichasha’s body as he was thrown back and forcibly freezing him to an ice chair.

Kamibarez, her eyes red, charged into the opening.

Her small, delicate fist touched Wichasha’s abdomen.

’What is this?’ Wichasha wondered, then his eyes widened. The blood on her fist had drawn a blood-flow magic circle on his abdomen. She clenched her fist again and thrust it toward the circle.

‘Blood Impact’

The moment the magic circle on her fist touched the one on his abdomen, a huge blood explosion erupted, shattering the ice and sending Wichasha flying.

He crashed into a wall, and a deafening explosion echoed from beyond their sight.

"Nice!"

A unified cheer erupted from all four of them at once. Simon and Meirin high-fived, and Kamibarez let out a sharp breath, her arms falling neatly to her sides.