Dust billowed from the spot where Wichasha had been sent flying into the wall.
"Amazing, Kami! You’ve really been training hard!" irin exclaid in admiration.
Kamibarez bead and nodded. "Yes! I can’t keep lagging behind you three, after all."
"Kami," Dick said, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "No one here thinks you’re lagging behind."
Everyone turned to look at him, surprised by his uncharacteristically serious tone.
"You’re the type to put a lot of pressure on yourself. Have a little more confidence."
"Okay, thank you, Dick!"
Simon gave Dick a friendly pat on the back. irin, on the other hand, scoffed cynically. "On the contrary, it’d be nice if you felt a little more pressure. Always so laid-back."
"Ahem, how could a re hound understand the leisure of a cheetah?"
"Hey! Did you just call a dog?!"
Just then, Wichasha rose from within the billowing dust. He looked remarkably unscathed as he rolled his head and shoulders. The four’s expressions hardened slightly, seeing that he seed to have taken almost no damage.
Dick tried to act nonchalant. "Ahem. Okay, I’ll admit he’s worth half a Hongfeng."
"If you don’t focus, I’ll fold you in half," Wichasha growled. He closed his eyes and spread his arms. A sticky, web-like Jet-Black flowed out and spread across his body. It was the first ti they had seen him use black magic, and all four tensed up.
’Here it cos,’ Simon thought.
It was the symbol of a Combat Magic major: the ‘Black Robe’. Unlike the typical transformation into full tal armor, Wichasha’s took the form of what looked like animal fur covering his entire body.
He placed both hands on the ground like a beast, then kicked off, rushing forward with a series of crackling sounds.
Simon, reacting first, stomped his foot hard. The bones scattered from the previous battle floated into the air, their sharp ends pointing forward.
‘Bone Nail’
The bones flew, trailing Simon’s indigo-black magic. Wichasha evaded them by running along the wall, then charged, causing the wall to crumble. The four simultaneously retreated to dodge the formidable charge. Wichasha, of course, leaped toward his target: Simon. It was like being charged by a giant grizzly bear.
But once again, his charge was halted by a sudden tension. A transparent net had been spread in front of him, held taut by Dick, irin, and Kamibarez, their internal Jet-Black circulation pushed to the max.
"...You brats!"
"We know damn well you’re after Simon," Dick giggled, tossing a lit mana lighter. The floor where the three had been standing was soaked with oil. "It’d be a failure as a necromancer not to use that, right?"
However, Wichasha’s response was just as formidable. He switched from internal Jet-Black circulation to internal Jet-Black eruption, then stomped the ground once to greatly increase his charging force. The three holding the net were dragged forward instead.
"Whoa!"
Dick barely managed to dive and catch the mana lighter, while the girls tumbled to the floor. Having broken through the shield, Wichasha reached Simon.
’Open Gate!’
Six Overlord blades poured out, but Wichasha easily deflected the attacks with his Black Robe and slamd his fist into Simon’s guarding arm.
Simon’s body was sent flying dozens of yards into a wall.
’Ugh! How can he... even when I blocked it...!’
At this rate, his claim of fighting Hongfeng wasn’t a bluff.
"Hey, commoner! Move it!" irin gritted her teeth and created a series of ice spears in the air.
"Coming!" Dick replied. As he passed by, tapping each spear once, the already dark spears turned as black as coal. At irin’s command, the ice spears shot out with a piercing sound, but Wichasha didn’t even dodge, simply walking toward the fallen Simon. The black spears bounced right off his Black Robe.
‘Exhaust’
This ti, a curse hastily prepared by Kamibarez shot out. Wichasha just sent his arm back, grabbed a handful of Jet-Black, and swung it.
’Clang!’
The way he created a wave of Jet-Black to shatter the curse was truly the work of a pro. He was too skilled.
‘Heal.’
Simon sent his right arm, which wouldn’t move properly, behind him and secretly used divinity to heal it. After quickly administering first aid, he brought his right arm forward again. The mont he resud his internal Jet-Black circulation, Wichasha was charging at him.
’Focus.’
Resolve settled in Simon’s eyes. ’Among my skills, the only one that can definitely damage the Black Robe is Corpse Explosion.’
He pulled a zombie from his Subspace. ’He has no intention of killing . Whether it’s a punch, a kick, or a body slam, if I can just take one hit without losing consciousness, I can use the zombies to hold him and set off a Corpse Explosion. If I can just get rid of the Black Robe, the other three will finish him.’
The zombies moved to the left and right, and Simon stood firmly in the center. Wichasha, clad in his Black Robe, charged at Simon like a tank that feared nothing.
’Please, just don’t let pass out...!’
Simon’s eyes widened as he stared at the fist coming straight for him.
At that mont, the approaching fist stopped, as if by magic, right in front of Simon’s face.
"You’re pushing yourself, Special Admission Number One."
At the sight of the woman smiling with a flick of her tongue, both of their eyes widened simultaneously. Spiky, long, gray-brown hair like a hedgehog’s, tattered clothes, gri, and stains visible everywhere. And even the dangerous chemical sll.
"Professor Byulya!"
At his shout, the three who had been rushing to save Simon also stopped in their tracks.
"B-Byulya, you say?"
"That person is?"
Wichasha’s fist trembled. He was only being held by the wrist, but he couldn’t move. He imdiately swung his free left arm at Byulya.
’Thwack.’
Byulya blocked that fist with her other arm. With their arms locked, she thrust her head forward and spat in Wichasha’s face. The mont the green saliva touched Wichasha’s face, an enormous amount of steam, reminiscent of a steam engine, billowed out with a sizzling sound.
"Aaaaargh!"
Wichasha clutched his face and staggered back, letting out a continuous scream of unbearable pain.
"How is it?" Byulya stuck out her tongue and placed her index finger on it. Then, as she dragged her finger along her tongue and out into the air, a sticky, viscous liquid stretched out, forming an inverted arch. "The taste of my saliva?"
Droplets fell from the viscous arch, lting the floor and creating a cloud of smoke. Wichasha, who had been writhing in agony, finally seed to calm down, panting for breath with one hand covering half his face. "...You filthy woman!"
"Oh, that hurts a little."
The surrounding Hupa tribesn had already been subdued by the swarm of rats and crows she had brought with her. Simon, panting, managed a smile. "You really ca, Professor!"
"Take your friends and stay far away."
Simon rejoined the other three. irin let out a disgusted laugh. "Spitting? Does a Kizen professor really use such a low-class attack?"
Kamibarez covered her flushed face with both hands. "It’s... it’s embarrassing."
And for good reason. To the students, Byulya’s attire was a bit provocative. Like a wild person, she seed to feel no need to cover her body with clothing, her tattered rags tied tightly around her. While no private parts were exposed, bits of skin were visible here and there, and the curves of her female form were apparent.
’She’s just an exhibitionist!’ That was irin’s final assessnt.
"Fine, this is better," Wichasha growled. His Jet-Black began to surge with a frightening intensity they had never seen before. "The situation has gotten ssy, but in the end, we face each other like this. Kidnapping students, setting traps... leaving all that troubleso stuff aside, in the end, all I had to do was defeat you."
"Yeah, right. If that’s even possible, I an," Byulya taunted.
Wichasha’s Black Robe began to ripple and undergo a second transformation. "I will no longer hold back for the sake of taking you alive!"
His aura was completely different from when he was fighting the students. The Black Robe, which had been like animal fur, sharpened and completely enveloped his body without a single gap. At the sa ti, he clenched both fists and drew them upward.
‘Martial Arts - Bayonet Attachnt’
The mont his fists moved, Byulya bent at the waist. The wall behind her showed a smooth cross-section, then was sliced as if by a master swordsman. She looked back at the collapsing building wall and laughed heartily. "Isn’t that Hongfeng’s technique?"
"There is no ownership in the art of fighting!" Wichasha stomped on the ground, and Jet-Black rippled out like on the surface of water as his body began to shoot out in all directions. This ti, it was an upgraded version of ‘Jet-Black Stepping’.
Simon and his group put more distance between them before they could get caught up in the battle between the two powerhouses. Her pupils moved like a chaleon’s. "What a useless stunt."
Wichasha, moving in afterimages, appeared behind Byulya and threw a straight punch—a technique of pure annihilation, holding nothing back.
"Huh...!"
But suddenly, a high-mass smoke erupted from thin air and pushed Wichasha’s body back. As if being buried in an inflating balloon, Wichasha was sent flying without being able to put up any resistance.
’What? There was no sign of a magic circle or anything!’
Just as Wichasha was forced to retreat, a germ-like mass flew to his face faster than he could back away and exploded.
’P-poooooof!’
"Ugh!"
Covered in the explosion, bluish pus-filled sores ford all over his body. It was useless even if he covered his nose and mouth with his Black Robe and protected his skin. Soon, the sores on his skin were crushed by the Black Robe and burst, causing excruciating pain. Yellowish fluids trickled out from the gaps in his Black Robe.
"Damn it!"
A venom-type black magic. Once hit, the situation would only get worse with ti. Wichasha closed the distance again and swung his fist, but Byulya was easily dodging by just swaying her upper body as if dancing.
"Ugh!"
A groan escaped Wichasha’s lips, and purple phlegm trickled out. His eyes were half-glazed, and his vision was spinning dizzily. It felt like every ti he swung his arm, various diseases sprung from Byulya’s body and lodged into him. Unable to endure it any longer, Wichasha gave up his assault and retreated.
"...You coward! What kind of trick are you pulling!"
"Coward?" Byulya raised a hand to cover her forehead and eyes, then threw her head back, her shoulders shaking as she giggled. Her witch-like laughter sent shivers down everyone’s spines. As she shook with laughter, colorful grains of sand fell from her body and rolled on the floor.
Simon’s eyes widened. "...Sweat?"
"Ah, that’s hilarious." As she swept her bangs from her forehead, the beads scattered like they were carried by the wind. Wichasha didn’t dare approach, and Simon and his group took another step back. Their bodies had an extre rejection reaction. They knew instinctively that substance was extrely dangerous.
"You don’t get it, do you?" Byulya said, looking at the hesitating Wichasha. "How you’re supposed to fight ."
"Uhh...!"
"Standardized patterns are a sin. They’re boring. You just charge in and look for the opponent’s mistakes or miscalculations. In that case, the person who has more information and preparation wins. What fun is there in a fight like that?" Byulya’s head turned toward the students. "This is your first lecture. A necromancer has to be different. You have to land an attack that the opponent could never imagine. If you do that, you beco a ‘freak’. So what if you’re a bit of a freak? A victorious weirdo is better than a corpse that lost, right?"
"Ugh!" Wichasha wrapped his body even more tightly in his Black Robe and charged.
"On the other hand, look at this guy." Byulya, who easily dodged the rough punch by just twisting her waist, raised the corner of her mouth. "Punching. Kicking. Grabbing. Just basic skills anyone can do if they were born with two hands and two feet, and therefore, skills anyone can predict. He should at least add so variations like Hongfeng, but this guy is too straightforward."
Ducking under the thrown punch, she brought her index finger to Wichasha’s side. "It’s always guys like this who whine about being a coward."
’Shwaaaaaak!’
As if striking a match, the Black Robe tore in the direction her index finger had passed, and a purple liquid seeped into his skin.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"And justify their own lack of originality."
Wichasha, despite the pain, threw a punch, but the floor he was standing on with his left foot suddenly lted and tilted, throwing off the direction of his punch. This ti, he charged with both arms open to grab her, but her body turned into a poisonous mist and disappeared, reappearing behind Wichasha.
"Ugh!"
Seeing her raise her right arm straight in front of her, Wichasha imdiately crossed his arms in a defensive stance, but instead of from the front, the grains of sand on the floor shot up and exploded.
Finally, Wichasha dropped to one knee, blue liquid pouring from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
"This is," she said, placing a hand on her hip with a bewitching smile, "a real necromancer’s fight."
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