Chapter 207

Chapter 207

Simon's mind raced as he tried to make sense of his current situation.

First, there was the strange explosion, which distressed the Nether Whale and rocked the boat they were in. Then, he blacked out and woke up somewhere on the beach in a sea full of blood.

He needed more information. He slipped off his waterlogged school jacket and shoes before starting walking.

The soft sand felt good on his bare feet as he waded through the shallows and onto the white sand. As he walked further, the terrain started to fill with trees and grass.

Being raised in a rugged mountain range, Simon's eyes were first drawn to the vegetation, looking from the trees to the grass to the blooming flowers.

'This is'

These were plants native to Roke Island.

To be more precise, this specific ratio of species was found in the western part of Roke Island. He knew it well because of how much Hong Feng made them travel all over the island.

'Does that mean we somehow arrived at Roke Island?'

He looked back and saw a vast expanse of ocean as far as his eyes could see.

He heard the crashing of waves. It seemed like he did make it to the island.

'Now, let's think again.'

They'd been 'attacked' by someone while traveling to the island by Nether Whale. The Nether Whale crashed, and Simon was knocked unconscious. But somehow, he managed to get carried by the waves to the edge of Roke Island.

That was the most natural series of events he could extrapolate at this point.

'Of course, there are too many strange elements for me to just accept it, though.'

Simon set his shoes on a nearby rock and wrung his school uniform as dry as he could before shaking it out.

It was damp, but that couldn't be helped. It was then that he also realized that the famous 'Protection Enchantment' that was supposed to be on his Kizen uniform was gone.

He then also drained the water from his shoes, crumpled up some nearby leaves known for how much water they soaked up, laid the leaves on top of his shoes, and then put them back on.

There was no time for him to idly wait for his clothes to dry.

'I need to look for my groupmates.'

It was just then, when Simon was about to walk away.

[Grrrrrrrrrrriiiiiing!]

He heard a sound that was a strange mix between a growl and metal scraping on metal. He stopped and immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

It was just a thicket of bushes.

Except something was coming out from it.

'A monster? Or a wild animal?'

Simon tensed up and prepared himself for battle.

When he saw what appeared from the darkness, a gasp of surprise escaped his mouth.

'No way.'

It was a white monster with gaping, black holes where its eyes should be. He knew very well what this was.

He felt like he'd been hit in the head with a hammer. How could he forget what had happened just two months ago?

"The monsters from the Prima Materia!"

It was as if the long-forgotten nightmare of the Saintess incident had been forcibly dredged back to the surface.

He wished he was dreaming the moment he saw it standing on all fours before him.

[Grrrrruruuuugh!]

The pure white monster pounced.

His useless thoughts were quickly silenced in favor of his mind scanning for openings and weaknesses.

'I'll finish it with the Overlord right away.'

Simon stood in place and drew out two tentacle blades.

One stood like a wall in front of him to block the monster's attack, and the other rose from the ground, waiting for the monster to be momentarily stunned from having its attack blocked.

Fwiiiiisssh!

Everything went just as planned.

The blade pierced the monster's stomach, heaving it into the air.

Simon then pulled one of his skeleton's shortswords out of his subspace and wielded it himself, jumping blade-first and slicing through the monster's misshapen neck.

The white head fell from its body, and it all disintegrated into ash, which dissolved further into nothingness.

Landing back on the sand, Simon threw his shortsword behind him. His subspace opened up and swallowed the sword whole.

No one was killed, but many students were injured, and even more still suffered from nightmares.

But instead of nursing their wounds and traumas, Kizen did something else.

They viciously dug their heels in and demanded that the students face their past head-on and overcome it.

"Now, now, now! How long are you going to sulk in your great uniforms? Get a grip. If you don't want to die, pull yourselves together and fight!"

Evangelos raised his voice, waving his cane.

"I mean, no lives were lost! Sure, something so small can still be considered traumatic to some! I guess it is indeed the time of peace, huh? You'll see far worse in the field. For the babies who can't even handle this"

Evangelos' eyes flashed.

"you have no right to call yourselves Kizen!"

The staff, who'd been silently watching Evangelos, felt shivers go down their spines.

Just then, Evangelos turned his head and said,

"I want you all to stay alert and monitor the student's mental states and behaviors. Any babies who fail to handle the situation and themselves will be removed immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"Pant! Pant!"

Simon swung his leg through the air. The monsters hit in the head by the jet-black-reinforced roundhouse kick went limp and scattered into thin air.

He had to have killed ten of them by now.

'There will be no end to this.'

Realizing he needed a clear course of action, Simon ran through the two scenarios in his head.

Either Efnel attacked Kizen and stole the Prima Materia to create endless monsters

Or Kizen was just staging this whole thing to test the students.

Simon leaned a little more toward the latter. Not overthinking it, the timing and circumstances felt too contrived.

What were the chances that the great Kizen would lose the Prima Materia again and the fact that Efnel's unprovoked attack had come on the exact day of the opening ceremony?

Simon also believed that the anti-war Saintess Israfil would've somehow prevented such a breach of peace. Unless the pope's mind had suddenly changed?

'But don't they need a priest to create these white monsters? How did Kizen create them?'

That thought wormed doubt into his mind, but he shook his head and put it aside. He would never get a solid answer just mulling things over.

What was certain was that, either way, he had to get to Kizen.

If it was a test, it would be over when he arrived, and if it was indeed an attack, he needed to get to the command center on campus and stop the priests from using the Prima Materia.

'Alright, let's go.'

Determined, Simon started walking.

He was more worried about the other three than he was about the strategy, but he didn't know where they were or if they were even on the island.

For now, he could only trust in their abilities as fellow Kizen students.

[Grrrrrrrrinnnggg]

[Gigigi]

But he hadn't walked far when he spotted Prima Materia monsters again.

A group of seven of thema roughly even mix of small, medium, and largerushed toward him.

'I don't have time to deal with them all. More will spawn and my stamina will be running thin.'

Simon unleashed a blast of jet-black from his leg and plowed straight into the group of monsters.

He dodged the small ones' attacks and climbed on top of the medium ones. The medium and large ones immediately aimed their fists at him, but he jumped once more, grabbing onto a large one's arm and swinging up onto its shoulder.

Thankfully, they didn't seem that intelligent. As the monsters got tangled with each other, Simon leaped back off.

'Bone Armor!'

His subspace opened up, and two skeletons clung to Simon.

'Forward!'

Using the absolute command, he used the skeletons' attraction to form a glider-like object.

Simon quickly flew through the air, leaving the tangled monsters behind him.

'Whether this is a test or an actual emergency, I'm going to end this madness as soon as possible!'

He headed toward Kizen in the shortest distance possible, ignoring the small fry.