Chapter 85

Chapter 85

The sun started to rise.

Meilyn, who was lying on the ground with Simon’s robe covering her like a blanket, sat up with a groan.

After taking a moment to collect herself, she glanced around the cave.

“……Simon?”

Simon was nowhere to be seen.

All that remained was a bonfire with red embers lying dormant inside and fruits scattered around it. She saw a note from Simon along with a kebab-like thing that was ready to grill.

{Sorry, for personal reasons, I’m leaving first.}

She made a sour face after reading the note.

“……Hmph. It’s not like I wanted to team up with you either.”

After saying that out loud for no reason, she pouted and ignited the bonfire’s flames.

‘Be careful, Simon.’

* * *

“Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!” 

At the same time, Haren Cork and his team were scouring the jungle.

‘Where did that bastard go?’

Haren, who saw Simon enter Kera Island from across the bridge, chased after him immediately, but eventually lost him in the complex and dense jungle environment and the monster attacks.

It wasn’t really a good situation.

Luckily, he was able to get a chance from ‘them’, but at this rate, he may have to go back to Kizen empty handed.

‘Tsk.’

Haren put his hand in his inner pocket and fiddled with the feathers. He already used two of the five.

He scratched his head angrily and looked back.

“Hey, what are you doing? Find harder, bastard!”

“Y-Yeah! I’ll do my best!”

With his nose on the floor and pretending to sniff, the male student couldn’t even dare make eye contact with Haren. 

The other team members who watched this happen were very confused about the situation.

That was because…

‘……Why can’t Malcolm do anything against that loser?’

The student sniffing the ground was none other than that Special Admission No.1, Malcolm Randolph, who won even against Hector.

All the team members here saw Malcolm and followed him. Haren was no exception, coming here due to Malcolm’s power and strength.

But at some point, there seemed to be a sudden change in the master-slave dynamic.

Haren didn’t even lead the team to the center. He was just wandering around the forest, saying that he needed to find Simon Polentia, the Special Admission No.1

“Wait, Haren.”

Unable to bear it anymore, a female student approached Haren.

“How long are we gonna do this? It’s already the third day. It’ll be dangerous if we don’t make it to the mansion now. The entire central island will soon be a battleground!”

Haren picked at his ears.

“You’ve been damn noisy since a while ago. If you don’t like it, get out of my team.”

“Your team? Since when was this your team? The leader of this team is Malcolm!”

“Ah, is that so?”

Malcolm smiled perversely and looked behind him.

“What do you think, Malcolm?”

As soon as Haren asked…

Thud!

Malcolm lay face down, forehead planted on the ground and butt sticking up into the air.

“Obviously you’re the leader, Haren! You’re our only leader!”

“Ahaha!”

Seeing Malcolm’s unusual attitude, the female student bit at her lip.

‘Something’s odd, no matter how much I think about it.’

Her name was Amelie. She was in the same Class M as Malcolm, and she was also his group member.

It was unimaginable that Malcolm, someone with great pride and a competitive spirit, would show such an attitude.

“Tell me honestly, you did something to Malcolm, didn’t you?”

At Amelie’s question, Haren just shrugged.

“What kind of rubbish are you talking about? You think I did this? He’s just doing that because he likes me.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

She activated her core and readied her hands. A magic circle was drawn in her palms in an instant.

“Turn Malcolm back right now!”

“Ah… This is ridiculous.”

Haren scoffed.

“Hey, have some common sense. Is there any dark magic that brings your opponents to their knees? Well, maybe, but could a first-year student use such a powerful mind-control spell?”

“……”

No one could refute those words, not even Amelie.

Things such as saying Haren must’ve used some kind of trick, or that he robbed Malcolm of his spot. It was all nothing but speculation. The most frustrating part was that Malcolm himself, the one surrendering the position, didn’t give any explanation.

‘But that woman… It’s annoying that she keeps following around and being grumpy about it.’

“Alright, sure. I’ll give you a hint.”

“……?”

“But don’t tell others, alright? Come here.”

When Haren beckoned her over, she became quite alert.

“Amelie, don’t go!”

Said a male student standing behind Amelie.

“I don’t know what did it, but Malcolm is gone. It’d be better to separate with these guys, even now—”

“Nah, I’ll go.”

Amelie strode closer to Haren.

She needed to know the nature of the curse placed on Malcolm. It’d be better if he tried to use that power on her.

Amelie had a rare constitution among Necromancers, one which prevented curses from working on her.

If he placed a curse on her, she could analyze it using that. And if something went wrong, she had five allies behind her.

As Amelie approached Haren, he gave a sly smile.

“Get a little bit closer. As I said, the others shouldn’t listen to this.”

“……”

Her irritation was bubbling within her, but she had to endure it to save Malcolm.

Amelie closed her eyes tight and came close to Haren. Then, Haren grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Kyah!”

“Amelie!”

The male student watching this happen immediately drew his jet-black sword.

But nothing he was expecting really happened. Haren really did only whisper a few words in her ear, and she nodded her head before stepping back.

“Yaaaawwwwwnnnn, I’m so bored.”

Said Haren before looking at Amelie.

“Hey, woman. Sit like a dog.”

“………!!”

At those words, fury filled the faces of the surrounding teammates.

“You bastard! You just crossed the—!”

However, Amelie really did squat on the spot, sticking out her tongue like a dog. Everyone’s faces turned pale.

“What did I do? She’s just doing what I’m telling her to.”

Haren shrugged and giggled.

“Now, try dancing for me this time.”

“Amelie! Don’t do it!”

As Amelie stood up to really do it, one of her teammates grabbed the back of her arm.

“What’s wrong with you?! Please, come to your senses!”

“Hahahahahaha!”

Haren held his sides with laughter.

“This is fucking comedy! It’s hilarious!”

“Hareeeeeeeen!”

In the end, the male student couldn’t hold it back and grabbed his jet-black sword,  rushing toward Haren.

Whack!

A rod flew in from the side, smashed the male student’s face, and blew him away. The other students stepped back, their nerves clear on their faces.

“Oh my, maybe you forgot who’s by my side.”

Next to Haren saying that stood Malcolm ready to fight, moving his rod with vicious force.

“Meh, I don’t want to use more feathers, and they don’t seem like they’d listen.”

Haren gestured at them.

“Just get rid of everyone, Malcolm.”

At those words, Malcolm rushed in like a demon.

It didn’t take long for all the remaining students to be left lying on the floor.

* * *

Translator – Ramen

Proofreader – Artethrax

* * *

Meanwhile.

Simon returned to the very spot where he fought Meilyn, looking for clues. But nothing could be found.

‘Why did Big Krum appear specifically then?’

Simon was thinking about the battle with Meilyn.

Was he provoked by the noise from a fierce fight? But to think of it that way, the whole island was in battle.

Was he only sensitive to fire? That was also a bit obscure.

‘Pier, do you have any ideas?’

[……]

The talkative Pier had barely said a word after seeing Big Krum.

“Is there something wrong?”

[Mm. Nah, it’s nothing. If I had to think of something, the biggest reason why Big Krum grows bigger is Fury. In other words…]

‘You’re saying he might be hostile to me, right?’

Simon crossed his arms.

If Krum was hostile, he thought for a moment that it might be a similar case to Elizabeth, who had a grudge against the Legion. 

But that didn’t quite track either. Big Krum was so loyal to the Legion that he sacrificed himself.

[By the way,]

Pier’s clone opened his mouth.

[I’d have to go out of the subspace and check to know for sure, but the atmosphere of that guy was a bit different from the Big Krum I knew.]

‘Mm.’

[You better be careful, Boy. I have a bad feeling about this.]

‘Okay. Let’s search carefully as we get closer to the center.’

Simon moved forward without hesitation.

As he moved toward the center, the frequency of monster appearances certainly decreased, but traces of Kizen students appeared with more and more regularity.

It was the third day now.

Since all the students had lots of points stored in their tongue pads, it reached the point where it was easier to rank high by hunting students instead of hunting any monsters.

Splash.

Simon stopped in his tracks. The source of the noise very quickly went quiet.

As Simon nervously looked around, he saw someone hiding behind a tree.

‘……What is that?’

Someone was hiding behind a tree, but Simon could see their hands. It looked like they were holding it.

He wondered what the point of hiding was if they were doing that.

“If you’re here for me, then come out.”

Then, the person who’d been hiding behind the tree stepped into view.

“……”

Seeing their face, Simon’s face turned pale, and eventually went white.

Although she wore a Kizen school uniform, her face was one that couldn’t appear in this situation. No, she shouldn’t have been here at all.

“Why… are you here…?”

The expelled student from Efnel who he met on a mission.

Ellen Zile.

She was waving her hand while smiling.

As Simon took a step closer, she quickly turned her back and ran into the woods.

“Wait!”

Simon hurriedly chased after her. When Simon followed her into the depths of the forest, gasping for air, Ellen was squatting, looking at a flower in full bloom on the ground.

As Simon approached, she gave a smile and ran away again.

‘Who in the world is pulling this kind of prank?!’

His head was spinning. He could tell from a glance that she wasn’t the real Ellen, but he couldn’t help but chase her.

Ellen climbed up trees, danced like a ballerina, and even put her hands together and prayed.

No matter how much Simon ran, he couldn’t catch up with her.

And finally…

“Huff! Huff!”

He reached an open space in the forest.

“……!”

What he saw in front of him was a tragedy.

Nearly 20 Kizen students were crawling on the ground, screaming in pain.

“H-Hel—!”

Smash!

A blood-red spear fell from the tree and pierced through the student’s body. He fell limp as he screamed as though he really had been pierced by a spear.

Soon after, force teleportation occurred, leaving only the lump of mana spat out by the tongue pad.

Stab! Smash! Thud!

A scene resembling the Holy Federation’s depictions of hell unfolded before him. Screams resounded like a harmony.

Nearly twenty students got knocked out without even being able to lift a finger. The students disappeared one by one, leaving only the mass of mana left by the tongue pads.

“Stop! Stop it!”

One student shouted to the sky,

“Why are you doing this to us?! What wrong did we do to deserve this?!”

At that moment, his tight chains wrapped around his body and fixed him to a frame.

That frame was a bloodstained cross. During the Hundred Years’ War, Efnel would kill a Necromancer by crucifying them on a red cross. 

A symbol of death.

The cross ascended into the sky, and the sharp spears waiting in the air thrust into him.

Terror filled the student’s eyes as he cried out, a mixture of tears and snot running down his face.

“Stooooooooooooooooop!”

Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! 

Countless spears stabbed into him, and his body went limp. The barrier of the protective suit disappeared, and forced teleportation occurred.

At the last minute, Simon saw a feather fly out and touch the student’s forehead.

The students who still survived were struggling on the ground. Then, they too were caught by chains, this time being tied to huge guillotines, their necks fixed in place.

“Stop! Stop! Please!”

“I’ll do anything! Please, save m—!”

The guillotine fell without a second of mercy, and the screams fell silent.

“……”

Simon looked at that scene with a cold expression. Then, he raised his head.

A person seen only as a silhouette in the darkness sat comfortably on a tree and enjoyed the sight. It was as though they were watching a show.

“They’re all just massive crybabies.”

From the darkness, a beautiful voice resounded.

“They’re all wearing protective suits, and it’s not like they’re really dying anyway. Plus, I’ll wipe their memories when they go back.”

“……”

Simon’s fist tightened.

“Why are you doing this?”

In the dark, the ivory-haired girl smiled eerily.

“……For fun?”

——