’My assistant is trying to kill .’
’I am only lucid for about ten minutes each day. I am writing this diary to leave the truth behind for soone, anyone.’
’The symptoms are worsening. Who would believe that a Venomology Professor is being slowly poisoned, that my mind is shutting down from the drugs? Shafully, it is true. I was careless. There are still so many poisons in this world that I do not know.’
’Her demands grow bolder. Today, she demanded my professor’s ID. Even drugged, I am proud that I denied her. I imdiately ca to my lab, hid the ID inside the sli, and drank a mory-erasing potion to delete only that mory. She will not get her hands on it.’
’I can no longer defy her. She ordered to ignore my colleagues’ pleas for to retire and to entrust my classes to her. I have been robbed of the chance to teach my beloved students.’
’She no longer bothers to hide her identity from . She is a Priest of Efnel. She has ordered to live in my lab instead of my ho, likely fearing that during a mont of lucidity, I might fess up the truth to soone. Still, she is unaware of my ten minutes of clarity, nor that I am writing this diary. If she discovers this, I am as good as dead.’
’She has ordered to write my will. She dictated every word. This will be my last entry. I pray that soone—anyone—will visit this lab alone when she is gone. I have set the sli’s password to detect the saliva of the speaker; it will open for anyone but Francesca.’
’By the ti you read this, I will be a dead man. I beg you. Please, stop Francesca. She is planning sothing truly terrible.’
The diary trembled in Simon’s hands. At last, everything made sense. The entire situation had unfolded according to Francesca’s ticulous script. She had already succeeded once.
’But this ti will be different. I will stop her, no matter what it takes,’ He decided.
With a hardened expression, Simon bolted from the lab.
’Pier! Are you close?’
[Damn it, I’m almost there! A fog barrier has been erected around Kizen; it’s slowing down!]
Simon decided he would et Kajan after rendezvousing with Pier. But first...
Clutching the diary, he changed course.
---
First floor of the Mana Bullet Firing Range.
Kamibarez fired a relentless stream of Blood Flow Bullets from her fingertips. Approaching plant monsters shrieked as they exploded into pieces. But she was fading fast, the constant use of her magic draining her blood.
’Hah, there’s no end to them.’
After splitting from the others, she had put on Kajan’s glasses and scoured the building. In an empty lecture hall, she found it: a bizarre, Jet-Black box, wrapped tightly in magically enchanted bandages and locks. It had to be the ‘Desolater’. The perception-distorting magic was powerful; without the glasses, the box was nearly invisible.
But as she approached, magic circles flared to life. Vines erupted from the floor and ceiling, and bipedal, flower-shaped monsters sward out to attack her.
"Ugh!"
She covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve as a toxic gas spewed from the ceiling. The flower-monsters shook their petals, launching volleys of poisonous seeds.
She threw herself aside as another volley flew past, striking the back wall and causing it to crumble.
"Aaaghhhh!"
A vine shot down from the ceiling, coiling around her leg and hoisting her into the air. As a monster took aim, she prepared to defend herself.
’Ugh!’ Just as she began to draw blood for a barrier, the vine was severed, and she dropped to the floor. It was the blade of the Overlord.
’Simon’s summon!’
Simon appeared, planting himself in front of her and stomping his left foot.
‘Open Gate!’
Five tallic blades erupted from the ground, forming a solid wall that intercepted the poison bullets with a series of dull thuds.
"Are you okay, Kami?"
"Ah!" she cried out, pointing upward. "Watch out!"
A volley of poison bullets arched over the Overlord’s blades. Simon instantly pulled her into his arms and dove away. The floor where they had been standing sizzled and began to lt. Stunned for a mont, they scrambled out of the lecture hall.
"S-Simon! How did you—!"
"Kami, I’ll handle the bomb. I have a new task for you." Simon pulled Lang’s diary from his coat and pressed it into her hands. "Leave Kizen right now. Go to the Mausoleum where the professors are. This diary is the proof we need. You have to bring Lady Nephthys and the others back."
"B-But...! I can’t just run away and leave you all behind!"
"You’re not running away," Simon said, gripping her shoulders, his voice like an incantation. "You’re going to save us."
She had to be the one to go. Finding a TA and convincing them would take too long. But she trusted him, and the path to the Mausoleum was just north of campus. He also couldn’t deny his selfish motive.
In the future he’d seen, Francesca had murdered her. He had failed to protect her. The mory of Francesca’s cold gaze sweeping over Kamibarez in class was still burned into his mind. Her death had beco a trauma, and he knew he couldn’t focus as long as she was in danger.
"Please, Kami."
But the choice was hers. If she refused, he’d have to find soone else.
She opened her mouth to argue, then bit her lip and broke into a sprint. She knew as well as he did that there was no more ti to waste.
"Please! Please be safe! If anything happens to you, Simon, I’ll resent you for the rest of my life!"
"I will. Don’t worry."
Clutching the diary to her chest, Kamibarez raced toward the Mausoleum. Simon slowly rose to his feet.
’Poisonous monsters.’
Dealing with them without Pier would be tricky. Fortunately, their primary directive seed to be guarding the Desolater, so they didn’t pursue him into the hallway. He saw a few students chatting as they walked by, completely oblivious. It looked like any other day. Simon ran up to them.
"Hey, you."
The girls jumped, startled. Without ti for apologies, Simon got straight to the point.
"Does anyone have a zombie in their Subspace? Summoned or not, it doesn’t matter."
They exchanged puzzled glances.
"I’m a Summoning major, so I have one," the girl on the right said, retrieving a clean, bandaged goblin zombie from her Subspace. It had been preserved.
"I’ll buy it for one Gold. Deal?"
"Huh? Seriously?"
Simon tossed her a Gold coin, then hoisted the goblin corpse over his shoulder.
"And you two, get out of here. A Priest has infiltrated Kizen."
He said it just in case, but they shot him a look reserved for madn.
’Right. This is the expected reaction.’
Telling them to run was pointless. To them, Kizen was an impregnable fortress, one of the safest places in the world. The idea of a terrorist attack was unthinkable. Giving up, Simon ran back toward the lecture hall.
"Phew."
He laid the zombie on the floor, brought the gray ring on his left hand to his lips, and commanded, "Prince! Can you hear ? It’s an ergency. I need you to possess this zombie. Now!"
He touched the ring to the corpse’s chest.
A bolt of black lightning descended from the ceiling, striking the zombie. Its body contorted, turning pitch black as its form twisted and reshaped itself into Prince, clad in a regal blue suit and wearing his crown.
[I was wondering when you’d call.]
"You’re aware of the situation, right?"
[Yeah, yeah.]
Prince cracked his stiff neck.
[Ugh, this body sucks. I hate possessing sothing that’s been preserved.]
"No ti to whine. Follow ."
Simon and Prince entered the lecture hall.
"Can you handle this?"
[Who do you take for?]
Prince started walking.
[Oh, this brings back mories. It’s been a long ti, Kizen.]
The plant monsters unleashed a torrent of poisonous seeds. Prince strode forward, letting the projectiles pepper his body harmlessly.
’Ka-boom! Kabooooom!’
Even under a buckshot-like assault, he walked calmly, hands stuffed in his pockets, wading through the thick poison gas without a hint of hesitation.
’Good!’
Simon clenched his fist. Most curses and poisons were useless against the Zombie Prince. He had been a nightmare as an enemy, but as an ally, he was incredibly reassuring. Vines lashed out, but he tore through them just by walking. Thorny monsters clung to him, but they couldn’t even slow his stride. Unscathed, he ripped through the vegetation with a grin.
[So this is the main body, huh?]
Having brute-forced his way through, Prince found the massive plant monster guarding the Desolater. Its petals opened like a Venus flytrap and snapped shut, swallowing his upper body.
Simon cried out in alarm.
"Prin—!"
’Pow!’
Prince’s arm punched straight through the monster’s head. He grabbed it, ripped himself free, and slamd the creature into the floor.
’KABOOOM!’
The ground shook with a deafening roar. Ignoring the poison raining down, Prince stomped the monster into a pulp.
[Persistent little thing.]
He raised a clenched fist and brought it down in one devastating blow. The monster’s main body exploded with a wet pop. The remaining plants and vines went limp, dribbling green fluid.
Having reduced his enemies to mulch, Prince casually dusted off his hands, lifted the Desolater, and asked.
[Where to next, Legion Commander?]
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