Chapter 47

Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Chapter 47

At the entrance of the abandoned castle, a dozen people who seemed to be on the verge of being eaten by spiders were caught in a spider’s web and hung like cocoons. Looks like these were the people who had disappeared from the territory.

A corpse was also found on the floor, and it was the same kind of desiccated corpse as the ones found at the scenes of the incidents.

It seemed inevitable that Elizabeth was, as expected, behind the missing cases.

“Person! It’s a person!”

Some people in the territory found Simon at that moment.

“H-Help me! Please let me out of this!!” 

“The spider monsters are trying to eat us!”

Large amounts of clamor broke loose.

Simon nodded calmly, pulled out his sword from the subspace, and cut the cobwebs.

“Please help too, Pier.”

[Heh. What a bunch of useless bastards.]

As Pier clicked his tongue and swung his greatsword, the five people hanging from the spider’s web fell.

Because they fell while hanging upside down, groans could be heard from everywhere.

Simon said while making a wry smile,

“Pier, be gentle.”

[I don’t want to waste my time on such pathetic bastards!]

Still, Pier swung his sword once more and dropped the people to the floor.

After using his shortsword to cut the spider’s web binding a person, Simon handed the sword to them.

“Please release the rest of them with this. We’ll go hunt those spider monsters.”

“Th-Thank you so much!”

“We’ll never forget what you have done for us!”

While they freed each other from the webs, Simon and Pier started moving back into the abandoned castle. 

[Boy! Aren’t you too merciful towards captives for a Necromancer?]

Simon asked, tilting his head,

“Then what should a Necromancer do?”

[Obviously, you should kill them every time you see them! Raise them up as a skeleton to use as your power!]

“……I told you that, in Kizen, killing people to turn them into undead is prohibited.”

[This place is the site of an accident, and there’ll be no witnesses. So what’s wrong with it? Aren’t you the type of person who’s not bound by such notions?]

Simon scratched the side of his head and smiled bitterly.

“The truth is, there’s a saying that my father always told me, you see.”

[What is it?]

“Do not turn into a monster.”

Pier shut his mouth after getting startled by those words.

“And he said that it’s very important to set a line to not become a monster.”

The corners of Pier’s lips rose up terribly.

[An advice that can be given because it’s Richard, huh?]

“What?”

[Kuhehehe! No, it’s nothing! If that’s your will, I, as the Marshall of the Legion, will gladly respect it!]

The two passed through the hallway and entered the spacious area of the old castle.

The windows were a destroyed mess, and the moonlight shone through them. It was a place full of dust and cobwebs.

And…

“……”

You could see Elizabeth sitting on a large chair and drinking tea in the distance.

[Kuhehe! Did you give up on running away?]

Pier spoke while raising his sword. She took a light sip of her tea and smiled with her eyes.

[Not really, Pier. Since you have sensed my jet-black, you would chase me to the ends of the continent no matter where I run, right?]

[You know it very well!]

[Then I just thought I’d have to get rid of you here.]

She snapped her fingers.

Spiders rushed in through the ceiling and broken windows. Simon and Pier quickly stood back-to-back.

[And now that you’ve released my toys, I think I’ll need a new one.]

She licked her lips and looked at Simon. 

[I think it’ll be a pleasant entertainment if I tease that Kid of Kizen you’re taking care of in front of you, don’t you think?]

The moment Pier frowned and was about to open his mouth, Simon reached out and stopped him.

“It’s fine, Pier.”

[Boy!]

“I’m the Commander of the Legion. I’ll try to talk to her from now on.”

Simon strode forward.

The spiders made screeching sounds and prepared to jump at any moment, but Simon didn’t mind them.

“Captain of the former Legion, Elizabeth.”

[……?]

She looked at Simon with curious eyes.

“I’m making a formal proposal. Please join my Legion.”

[Hah.]

She let out a small laugh.

[Didn’t you hear what I was talking about with Pier? I have no intention of re-joining the Legion that had already abandoned me once. Furthermore…]

The tip of her index finger pointed at Simon.

[You’re telling me to work under a Necromancer who has no fundamentals like you, and was just chosen by Pier getting nostalgic of his past? I hate such vulgar jokes.]

[Pft! Bwahahahahahahah!]

Suddenly, Pier’s loud laughter broke loose from behind. Elizabeth’s expression stiffened up terribly.

[What’s so funny, Pier?]

[Hehehehehe! I chose him because he resembled Richard? How ridiculous! You don’t know anything about him!]

A question mark appeared on her face.

“I guess there’s no need to hide it anymore.”

Simon put his hand on his chest and continued.

“I’m the son of Richard Polentia and Anna Polentia, Simon Polentia.”

[……!!]

Her face distorted beyond expression.

[Richard and Anna’s……!]

The worst enemy who had forsaken her, and the woman she hated more than anyone else.

The child born between the two.

The traces of the two uniting.

“I’m saying it again, Elizabeth.”

As if adding fuel to a burning fire, Simon coldly said,

“You once belonged to my father.”

[……Stop.]

“So, as his son and as Commander of the Legion, it would be natural for me to retrieve you.”

[Stoooooooooop!]

Something that she hid somewhere in her heart.

Something she wanted to keep buried, the thought that she ‘forgot’ about already.

Those rotting emotions exploded and took over her head.

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!]

Elizabeth twisted her entire body painfully.

Her fingernails scratched and tore at her neck and shoulders, blood gushing out. Her body spread out, and six huge legs protruded from her thighs and side, stepping down to the floor.

The mask covering her face disappeared, a woman with monster-like eyes taking its place.

Her upper body was a human’s, and her lower body was a spider’s. This was the true form of Elizabeth as an undead.

[Die! Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!]

Elizabeth, who lost her mind and went out of control, jumped straight at Simon.

If she couldn’t get rid of this terrible remnant right now, she thought she’d go crazy. Her nails formed up with jet-black grew longer, going straight at Simon’s neck.

And Simon just stood there expressionlessly.

[Well done, Boy!]

Flap!

In an instant, Simon’s vision was covered by Pier’s back and his cape. A loud and clear sound of something being slashed was heard through the cape.

Soon, the cape went down, and revealing Pier wielding a greatsword and Elizabeth falling to the floor with four of her legs severed.

‘A chance!’

This time, Simon moved. He held a spear that came out from the subspace in his hand.

‘Jet-Black Enchantment.’

The tip of the spear was dyed in jet-black. Pier smiled before stepping aside, and Simon leaped out like lightning, thrusting his spear.

Pssshk!

But it didn’t fully penetrate. Elizabeth held the tip of the spear with her right arm to hold it. Simon brutishly trampled on Elizabeth’s face and put more force on the spear.

“This is the last chance.”

Simon said in a cold voice,

“Are you going to join the Legion, or are you going to perish?”

* * *

* * *

[Hmph!]

She stretched out her still remaining legs like a gimlet. Pier quickly jumped in front of Simon.

Slaaaash!

[Kuugh!]

It was so powerful that Pier’s plate armor ripped like a piece of paper. Simon clenched his teeth and put strength on the tip of his spear.

The corpse spiders were approaching to rescue their master between the human and two undeads fighting.

And right above that…

Whiiirr!

A white light emerged. Seeing that, Pier shouted,

[Dammit! Dodge!]

Soon, the light expanded at an incredible speed and landed on the floor.

A dazzling scattering of light spread out and tore apart the surrounding.

Ruuuuumble!

[Tsk!]

Pier, retreating from the explosion’s radius, went to a knee and put Simon down.

The spiders caught in the explosion disappeared without a trace. Elizabeth was leaning against the wall gasping for breath. Looks like she somehow dodged, even with half of her legs slashed.

“What a waste~ That was perfect timing, though!” 

Everyone’s eyes turned. A girl with staff was seen from behind the collapsed wall.

[How dare a priest like you…!]

Elizabeth stretched out her hand violently. The spiders on the ceiling jumped straight at her.

“Well, I guess I can’t help it~”

As she swung her staff lightly, daggers of light flew and lodged themselves in the spiders’ bodies. The spiders twisted and screamed as though in pain.

‘She’s strong after all.’

Simon’s expression hardened.

“The old evil spirits, and disgusting swarms of spiders. I shall annihilate all of you in this place!”

She took something like a jewel from her pocket, threw it over her head, and hit it with her staff right as it dropped.

As the jewel broke, a huge amount of divinity erupted like an explosion.

“Goodbye!”

Whaaaaaaaaaap!

The expanding white light soon turned into countless daggers of light and scattered in all directions. Simon and Pier quickly escaped by hiding behind the pillar.

Heavy daggers of light indiscriminately stabbed down on the floor, and the corpse spiders splattered into blood.

‘……This is hard.’

Simon bit his lip.

Elizabeth should be captured, not killed. Dealing with her alone was already difficult, but the spiders kept on flocking, and there was even the Efnel student.

[Boy! Now that it has come to this, we need to deal with that priest first!]

“Can we win?”

[Heh! The divinity just gets in the way, but one strike is enough for that level!]

Simon nodded.

Elizabeth was basically captured. They’d cut off her legs and sealed her mobility.

Pier hid behind the pillar.

“Oh my!”

At that moment, the priest spun her staff and smiled. Her gaze was directed at Elizabeth.

“Looks like your legs are in pain!”

Elizabeth had daggers of light stabbed all over her body, unable to dodge them with her injured legs.

As the priest stretched out her staff, a pure-white magic circle came into sight, and a spear made of divinity appeared from within.

“Mission accomplished!”

Whiiish!

The spear of divinity flew at a frightening speed. While Elizabeth was staring blankly at it…

Staaaab!

[Ah……?]

It was something that shouldn’t have happened. Simon stood in front of her with his arms outstretched. Elizabeth’s eyes shook frantically.

“Kugh……!”

The divine spear went straight through Simon’s back and out his chest.

There was no physical damage, but for something with a core in its body, like a Necromancer or natural undead, divinity was more lethal than a deadly poison.

[Wh-Why did you…?]

Elizabeth was still in shock.

Simon fell to his knees. His vision flickered with the excruciating pain.

Slowly, his vision darkened, and Simon collapsed.

* * *

Crackle crackle.

Simon slowly opened his eyes to the sound of a bonfire burning.

‘……?’

The atmosphere was so quiet, the chaos a while ago felt awkward. As he moved his head, he suddenly saw a multi-eyed corpse spider right in front of him.

Simon sat up in surprise.

[Shh. Shhhhk……!]

But the spider didn’t attack. Rather, it rubbed its face on Simon’s arm and looked up at him as if asking if he was okay.

[Oh! Are you awake, Boy?]

Pier, who was sitting on the floor with his greatsword sticking on the ground, smiled.

Simon got up with blank eyes and looked around.

They were still inside that abandoned castle.

Those terrifying spiders were quietly crawling around the floor. Pier also didn’t seem to attack the spiders.

And…

‘……Elizabeth.’

She had returned to her human form. She turned her head away as soon as she made eye contact with Simon.

Simon remembered that she was badly injured, but fortunately, she appeared okay.

“Cough! Cough!”

The sounds of coughing rang out from above.

When he raised his head, that priest was hanging upside down from the ceiling, bound in a spider’s web.

“Y-Young master!”

Because of the smoke from the bonfire coming from below, she was gushing out tears and snot.

“Please save me! Uhuhuhuhu! Cough! Cough!”

Simon let out a silly laugh.

What the hell was going on…?

——