“Malcolm, tell how to stop the Nagas.”
Malcolm, bound and defeated, just squeezed his eyes shut.
Simon’s eyebrows rose.
“If you’re not going to talk, then I’ll just—”
“The Nagas are being drawn to a device that emits an artificial wave.”
’What?’ Simon blinked.
“Go northeast from the museum, and you’ll find a small mountain. Climb it and look south. You’ll see a flat forest. The device is there. It’ll be easy to find if you just look for where the Nagas are gathered.”
He said nothing.
Seeing Simon’s dumbfounded expression, Malcolm flared up.
“What! What’s with that look? I just risked my life giving you that information!”
“No, it’s just... you told much more easily than I expected.”
“It was a whim. Now get lost!”
Simon nodded once, then stood and walked away. Malcolm watched him go, nervously biting his lip. The mont Simon reached the window, he called out urgently.
“Hey, hey! Wait!”
Simon turned.
“You have to untie ! I gave you the information!”
“You could have been lying.”
Simon grinned, placing a foot on the windowsill.
“And besides, you still have to answer for knocking out those innocent guards.”
“Hey, hey! Wai—!”
Simon leaped out the window without a backward glance. Malcolm stared after him, dumbfounded, before letting his head fall with a hollow laugh.
“So you’re just done with now that you’ve gotten what you wanted? Fuck.”
First, he’d preached like a saint, and now, this cold pragmatism. That was probably Simon Polentia’s greatest strength. He’d never heard of a single Kizen student who had successfully backstabbed him. Even Special Admission No. 7, Elisa Celine, had been thoroughly crushed for the attempt.
Malcolm looked up at the ceiling and sighed.
’”I know. You’re working as hard as anyone.”’
’”Your ti to rise again will co.”’
“Fuuuuuuuck...”
A strained groan escaped his lips. Ten minutes passed. As he agonized, a resolute light ignited in his eyes. It was ti. Ti to escape from his damn father’s shadow.
“Right.”
Malcolm’s mouth worked silently for a mont. Then, blood began to trickle from his lips. It was a technique he’d learned auditing the new Venomology professor’s class.
“I won’t give up.”
The blood flowing from his mouth was ‘blood poison.’ With the poison coating his mouth, Malcolm lowered his head and began to gnaw at the ropes binding his shoulder.
’I won’t give up.’
---
After leaving the Deimos Museum, Simon scrambled up the mountain. As water dwellers, the Nagas’ mobility on land was poor, so they hadn’t bothered with the ascent. He reached the summit unopposed.
’There it is!’
Just as Malcolm had described, a flat forest spread out below, with a dense concentration of Nagas in one area.
’So that’s where the device is.’
As Simon moved forward to get a closer look, he heard a rustle in the bushes.
“Co out.”
There was a mont of silence, then the bushes parted, and a boy jumped out.
’This kid?’ It was the sa mysterious red-haired boy he’d bumped into twice already. This was the third ti.
“Ha, hahaha! H-Hello?”
The boy laughed awkwardly, scratching his head.
“We et again! How did you know to co here?”
Instead of answering, Simon lowered his stance, preparing for a fight.
Seeing the Jet-Black shimring in his hands, the red-haired boy yelped.
“No, wait! Why are you so wary of ?”
“You really expect not to be?” Simon retorted coldly. “The first ti was a coincidence. The second ti, I lost Malcolm because of you.”
“Th-That’s because I was chasing Malcolm, too!”
So he knew Malcolm. Simon filed that away.
“And now, you just happen to appear at the exact location I learned about after capturing Malcolm. How can I not suspect you’re a spy for the Randolph Gang?”
The red-haired boy looked utterly betrayed.
“I’m not! It’s a huge misunderstanding!”
“But you’re just as suspicious.”
The conversation halted. A woman’s voice was emanating from a bracelet on the boy’s wrist.
“We were the ones who got obstructed while chasing Malcolm. Besides, you just admitted you learned this location ‘from Malcolm.’ Gang mbers don’t just spill vital information when they’re caught. For all we know, you’re the one in league with the Randolph Gang.”
“Aack! W-Wait. Both of you, stop fighting!”
At this rate, they’d get nowhere.
“Fine. Let’s identify ourselves,” Simon said, shrugging off his outer robe to reveal his Kizen uniform. “My na is Simon Polentia. I’m a second-year at Kizen.”
The red-haired boy’s eyes widened.
“Wow! Kizen! You’re from Kizen!”
“That uniform could be a fake.”
Simon silently raised a fist glowing with Jet-Black and tapped his uniform jacket. The barrier shimred into existence.
“Then it’s my turn...!”
The red-haired boy pulled out a naplate.
“My na is Arthur Bleman! I’m the rcenary King! The Lord of Parona hired to protect his domain from the Randolph Gang!”
Simon tilted his head.
“rcenary King?”
“Yes! Yes! You’ve heard of , right?”
“I thought he was an old man.”
“That’s my grandfather. He retired due to an injury, and the other rcenaries appointed to his position.”
He closed his eyes and clenched his fist.
“I swear on my grandfather’s na! I will save the Parona Peninsula!”
He still had his doubts, but there was no ti to argue.
“Alright. Just stay back and...”
“Simon! Let’s join forces!” Arthur proposed. “Honestly, I didn’t have the courage to break through that Naga swarm alone! You’re strong, right? I could tell from bumping into you!”
Simon glanced at the writhing horde. It didn’t really matter who Arthur was. As long as Simon was confident he couldn’t be outplayed, he could make use of him.
“Just don’t fall behind.”
“Haha! I won’t!”
---
Countless Nagas sward around the Randolph Gang’s wave emitter. With each pulse it sent out, the creatures raised their heads and shrieked.
But then...
A sudden noise made the monsters turn as one. Several hundred ters away, two boys were charging toward them.
’Thud!’
Simon stomped the ground and launched himself into the air. In his hand, held in a perfect throwing stance, was a crackling violet spear.
’’
The violet spear sliced through the air, carving an unpredictable trajectory as it tore through the Nagas.
“Haaaaap!”
Arthur followed close behind, his sword a silver blur. It flashed multiple tis, and five Nagas collapsed in a spray of blood.
“Keep moving, Arthur!”
“Right!”
Simon pulled more Chaos Spears from the magic circle on his body and hurled them in rapid succession. The sky beca a canvas of violet trajectories, each one ripping through the densely packed Nagas.
Arthur, who had just decapitated a Naga from the side, exclaid in admiration.
“Amazing! That’s incredible black magic!”
Power surged into Arthur’s grip.
“I can’t be outdone!”
While Simon cleared huge swathes of enemies with raw firepower, Arthur used his precise swordsmanship to pick off the stragglers. They were a surprisingly effective team.
Blood and monstrous screams filled the air. The sight of two boys carving a path through a forest of over a thousand Nagas was a dazzling spectacle.
“Simon!”
When a spear Simon threw veered sharply to the right, Arthur shouted.
“Sorry, but shouldn’t you focus on what’s in front of us?!”
“Sorry, I can’t control it.”
Exploding spears. Piercing spears. Splitting spears. The effects were random. So wiped out dozens of Nagas, while others barely pierced a single one. The difference in power was extre.
’Get used to the variables!’ Simon gritted his teeth and threw another. ’Don’t be surprised if I kill one, and don’t be surprised if I kill twenty! Just focus on the task!’
His training with Richard in Leshill had paid off. There were no duds. Every spear he threw took down at least one enemy.
Arthur watched, his mouth agape. The world was dyed violet, and at its center was Simon, the conductor of this chaotic symphony.
’So this is the power of a Kizen student!’
When Simon’s pace slowed for a mont, Arthur surged forward.
’What is that?’
Arthur sheathed his sword and pulled a long, serpentine weapon forged from the vertebrae of so massive beast out of his Subspace.
“Hraah!”
’CRASH!’
The segnted sword, its bony plates connected by a wire, swept through the surrounding Nagas, extending and retracting like a whip. Clouds of dust billowed with each devastating swing. It was crude, but its destructive power was undeniable.
’So Arthur is a necromancer after all.’ It was like watching soone swing several of Simon’s Overlord legs fused together. So kind of restoration magic held the bones together.
“Hah! Hah!”
The weapon was powerful, but after only a few swings, Arthur shoved it back into his Subspace.
“A-as expected, the third sword is tough...! Hah!”
’He has two more of those?’ Simon let out a dry laugh and placed a hand on the magic circle at his side.
“Co forth.”
’’
A one-of-a-kind chaos summoning spell. A spectral reaper, its form reminiscent of a jester from a deck of cards, erupted from Simon’s shadow, a massive scythe in its grasp.
The Reaper raised its hand, and all the Chaos Spears embedded in the ground shot into the air. Long blades materialized alongside them, transforming the ‘Chaos Spears’ into ‘Chaos Scythes’ with a series of sharp clicks.
The Reaper’s scythe carved through the air, unleashing a flurry of Chaos Scythes that danced through the Naga ranks.
“Simon! Straight ahead, one o’clock!” Arthur bellowed. “It’s the wave emitter!”
“I see it.”
“I can break it from this distance!”
Arthur raised his sword, channeling Jet-Black into the blade. The mont the abyssal energy t the steel, it transmuted into a silver light that pulsed with an otherworldly luster.
’Arthur Original – Giant’s Gate’
A crescent of pure sword energy tore across the ground and slamd into the wave emitter. But—
’Clang!’
A shimring barrier flared to life around the device, deflecting Arthur’s attack and causing it to dissipate into nothing.
“Damn, it has a barrier?”
“I’ll cut through it! Cover !” Simon commanded.
He had exposed his back to Arthur several tis now, yet the man had never taken the opening. Convinced of his loyalty, Simon now trusted him completely.
He focused solely on the path ahead. He and the Chaos Reaper plunged into the swarm, their blades a whirlwind of death amidst the encroaching Nagas. Simon then summoned a Chaos Scythe into his own hand.
As he imbued it with Chaos, the scythe shimred with a violet light and began to expand, soon matching the massive size of the one the Reaper wielded.
With Simon on the left and the Chaos Reaper on the right, they slashed at the emitter in a perfectly synchronized X-pattern.
’Craaaack!’
The barrier shattered like glass, leaving the emitter completely exposed.
“Arthur!” Simon yelled.
“On it!”
Charging in right behind them, Arthur beca a silver blur as he rushed past the emitter. The sword held high above his head swung down, cleaving the emitter in two with perfect precision.
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