The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School
"Hmm."
Serne smiled softly.
The skeletons of the legion and the corpse spiders surrounded her without any gaps.
Although she was overwhelmingly outnumbered, 27 to 2, she showed no signs of distress.
"Well, this is quite an enjoyable pastime. Allow me to entertain you, Commander."
She extended her slender, long index finger straight out.
Sarak.
An unusual pure white feather appeared at the tip of her finger.
Simon was intensely focused, observing every one of her movements. 'That is Serne's unique ability.' A power that only a select few chosen ones can possess in this continent.
It was not black magic, divine magic, or pure magic, but an extraordinary 'superpower.' It was on a different level than the Black Hand used by Haren Cock.
She lightly twirled the feather in her hand and threw it.
"Fast!" Simon gritted his teeth and drew his shortsword to swing it.
Clang! The metal and the feather collided, but it was the metal that shattered.
Still, the feather barely changed direction, grazing Simon's cheek and embedding itself into a tree behind him.
Thump! In that brief moment, Simon felt a burning pain as if he were in a sulfur hell, before returning to reality.
It was less than a second, but his entire body reacted, releasing endorphins to alleviate the pain.
'What is this?' Cold sweat poured down his back.
Serne spoke.
"This is my power. I can imbue emotions into this feather."
Simon turned to look back.
The tree where the feather was lodged twisted its branches.
Perhaps feeling as if it were being eaten alive by pests, the trunk began to synthesize substances to repel the insects and released a scent to attract their natural enemies into the air.
Simon caught a whiff of a pungent, sap-like smell.
If the plant kingdom reacted this way...
"I can convey not only primary emotions like joy, anger, and pleasure, but also fear, a desire for domination, and even apathy."
She summoned new feathers from her hands.
Six feathers danced above her palm.
"If the opponent is human, I can make them crawl like a dog with just one feather. Would you like to see?"
The real assault began.
The feathers flew at a terrifying speed, and Simon, startled, leaped to evade.
Each time a feather struck the ground, a loud sound echoed.
Sarak! She grasped one feather that blossomed from her fingertips.
The feather turned pitch black and shot out at a speed greater than before.
The moment Simon landed, the black feather reflected in his eyes.
Zhak! At that moment, Pier jumped in front of Simon and cleaved the feather with his great sword.
"Kuhuh! Are you okay?" "Indeed, the reaction speed of the Ancient Undead is frightening," Serne murmured.
Pier readied his pure white great sword.
"What will you do, boy?" Simon rose with a serious expression.
"I will fight."
As soon as he finished speaking, Pier's body shot forward like an arrow.
Serne grinned and threw a feather.
Pier's body flashed upward before abruptly changing angle and slashing downward.
She raised the feather she held in her opposite hand above her head.
Kaga-gaga-gaga-gaga! The sword and feather clashed, creating intense sparks.
Before long, the feather transformed into a defensive magic circle.
"I wandered around without a thought, but I never expected to face an Ancient Undead here."
"Hmph!" Rough flames surged in Pier's eyes.
Bang! Pier's great sword tore through the barrier, and in that gap, Serne fled backward. 'Web!' As Simon widened his eyes, the scattered corpse spiders all shot out webs at once.
She leisurely stepped back, avoiding them with a light step, as if floating slightly in the air.
"Spearmen, advance!" Chwaaa! The skeletons lying in ambush in the bushes hurled their spears.
Five spears flew toward Serne's torso, but she lay flat on the ground to evade.
"How bothersome."
Pababababak! The feathers that blossomed from her body obliterated all the surrounding skeletons.
Just as she stood up again, Pier's massive strike came crashing down.
Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah! A precise combination that left no room for error.
As Serne dodged into the air to avoid the firepower, the corpse spiders rushed in from both sides, moving like a pendulum.
Serne deftly shot feathers to take down the spiders and ascended higher into the air. 'Indeed, imbuing emotions into the feathers is not everything.' Simon bit his lip as he watched.
"The commander truly is on a different level!"
Serne waved her hands like a conductor.
The bodies of the feathers fluttering in the wind disassembled into pitch black and transformed into magic circles.
More than twenty multi-casting spells that would leave even active necromancers in awe were as easy for her as a mere gesture.
Each feather served as a means of attack, a vessel for emotions, and a magic circle.
With twenty magic circles summoned, she smiled.
"Dark Flare."
"...... What?" Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah! Twenty black flames erupted from the magic circles, turning the ground into a wasteland.
The bodies of the skeletons and corpse spiders were swept away by the overwhelming firepower, bursting apart without mercy.
Kuuung! Simon narrowly avoided a direct hit, but more than half of his barrier gauge was gone. '......
Is that all Dark Flare? This doesn't make sense!'
Special case 2, Serne Aindar had already far surpassed the level of a student. [How lukewarm.] At that moment, Pier, who had soared into the sky, appeared behind Serne.
Kwaaaang! With a shockwave, her body fell to the ground.
And even faster, Pier, who had landed first, swung his great sword.
Bang! Serne transformed the feather into a shield to block, and Pier continued his frenzied assault.
"Kuh!" Serne, sacrificing feathers one after another to defend, retreated a distance and spread her palm.
The feathers fluttering in the air transformed into black magic circles, surrounding Pier. [Hoo-wup!] Pier's eyes sparkled.
The pure white great sword transformed into a single trajectory, leaving countless sword paths in the air.
Soon, all the magic circles densely covering the sky were torn apart. [You have definitely surpassed the level of a student!] Pier kicked off the ground and leaped up. [But you're still just a student!!]
The pure white great sword came down with the intent to cleave Serne's forehead.
"You've fallen into my trap."
The great sword stopped just in time.
Twenty feathers were embedded all over Pier's body.
"I lured your attack while raising the feathers I had laid on the ground."
She approached with light steps and tapped his skull with her finger.
But Pier showed no reaction.
"Twenty feathers of lethargy. Normally, my power wouldn't work on the undead, but since you're an Ancient Undead, you survived. Having existed for a long time, you think and feel like a person."
She turned her head to look at Simon.
"Now, Commander? Your best card has been sealed. Now......."
Simon smiled slyly.
"That's your wishful thinking."
[Hehe! Kuhuhuhuhuh!] Hearing Pier's laughter, Serne turned around.
The feathers that had been attached to Pier fell off with a plop. [Indeed, I have emotions, girl! But I won't be shaken by something so trivial!] Kuuuuuuuu! A dark blue darkness erupted from Pier's body like an explosion. [My will is not weak!!] Pier, having dispelled Serne's power with sheer will, gripped his great sword tightly.
Serne hurriedly retreated and sent out feathers to deploy a defensive magic circle. [No more tricks! Die!] Pier's great sword scattered light in all directions.
<Maengya> Kwaaaah! The strike split the world in half, causing a massive explosion.
It was larger than any strike Simon had seen from Pier before.
"Kuh!" The fierce backlash uprooted trees and plants.
Simon covered his face with his arm and stared straight ahead. '......
Pier! It would be troublesome if you really kill her! She's the heir of the Ivory Tower!'
[Worrying is pointless.] Pier shouldered his great sword and spoke. [That monster is beyond your imagination.] Kuuuuuuuu- Just as Pier said, as the smoke cleared, Serne revealed herself.
Simon was taken aback.
Three wings sprouted from her left shoulder.
"It's been a long time since I've shown this form."
Only one wing, while the right side had none.
This was the true nature of her ability.
The pitch black wave felt incomparable to before.
'Pier.
Can you use that technique one more time?'
[Kuhuh! Of course!]
'If I can draw Serne's attention...'
"But we."
Serne pointed behind her.
"Are we going to keep fighting like this?" Simon's eyes widened.
The barrier Serne had set up around them had cracked due to Pier's strike.
Once the collapse began, the barrier crumbled with a loud crack.
This was troublesome.
As the barrier broke, they now entered the line of sight of the observers above. 'Oh no, come back!' Simon pulled an imaginary lever.
The skeletons and corpse spiders surrounding Serne quickly entered the void space.
Serne, realizing it was not good to show her wings, also hid them back into her body.
"Pier can come in too." [Me too?] Pier's expression hardened. [It's not about revealing my identity! That woman's feathers can easily turn a human into a cripple!] "It's okay. I have a plan."
Simon fiddled with the artifact necklace given to him by Nephthys around his neck.
"I'll leave the void space open. Let's go in first, and if I happen to be in danger, come out."
[Hmm, be careful!] Pier entered the void space, and Serne's barrier completely vanished.
Perhaps due to the devastation around them, the observers in the sky began to move.
"Hoo."
Now only Simon and Serne remained.
Simon lightly adjusted his school uniform tie.
"At this rate, your so-called last option has gone down the drain, hasn't it?"
The option to eliminate Simon and bury anyone from obtaining the legion was now impossible, as Kizen's eyes were wide open and watching.
"Indeed. Then how about this?" Serne plucked a feather and placed it against her cheek.
"In a fit of anger, I'll play with you as I please and then fail the exam. I'll erase your memories."
"Hah."
The wind blew.
A feather fluttered down and landed at Simon's feet. - You will lead a painful life at Kizen from now on.
The feather transformed into a magic circle, and her voice echoed. - Unforeseen misfortunes will pile up.
You will fail the exam, mess up your practical assessments, and when you get expelled from Kizen and lose their protection, I will come to find you.
How about it? Isn't it a legal and wise method of persuasion?
Simon chuckled and placed his hands on his hips.
"You're persistent. Have you done this to other kids until now?" She blinked her eyes, smiling as if to say she didn't understand.
It was obvious.
She would drop a promising talent from the school and then slyly recruit that disheartened student into the Ivory Tower.
A method of siphoning off talent.
Of course, it would be a problem if caught, but for her, it wouldn't matter if she got expelled from Kizen.
According to Meilin's words from yesterday, Serne had come to study here due to a pact with Kizen.
Special admission was an enormous privilege, but viewed diplomatically, this situation was peculiar.
A large organization like the Ivory Tower had to send an heir outside.
To put it bluntly, it felt like a prince or princess being held hostage.
It was only natural for her to dislike Kizen.
Serne's goal was likely complete independence from the Ivory Tower.
'I feel like I've gotten involved in something complicated.' Kizen was not just a simple school.
It was a place filled with talents that would one day influence the Dark Alliance and the continent.
To lay the foundation for the continent, to sketch out plans, various interests and intrigues must be lurking within this school.
There would be many power struggles in the future.
Each time, how would it be wise to respond? A new challenge had been presented to Simon once again.
"Serne."
"Yes."
"There are people who won't yield to your methods."
Simon slowly took his stance.
"Your way only increases your enemies."
"How dare you preach in front of me?" Serne raised her arms.
Twenty feathers flowed from her arms, fluttering in the wind and gathering at the center.
"I am the next head of the Ivory Tower. I will divide the continent and usher in a new era."
As she pointed her finger, the feathers shot out like bullets.
Just as Simon was about to step on the pitch black to evade, whoosh! The air distorted, and someone stepped in front of Simon.
The person made a simple motion, as if shaking off their arms.
Paan! With just that, all the feathers that had surged toward him vanished without a trace.
"I just heard an interesting story—" The voice alone sent shivers down Simon's spine.
"Who got expelled from Kizen? Who's ending their protection?" With black hair flowing, a chilling red-eyed gaze glared fiercely.
"Simon is under my protection. The dog of the Ivory Tower."
Lorraine, a strong candidate for the next head of Kizen and a rising pillar of the Dark Alliance, had joined the fray.