Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 147

Chapter 145

“Kajann…!”

Simon’s eyes teared up with emotion.

Having been mentally driven to the edge of a cliff, he felt grateful that there was someone who knew the truth and believed in his words unconditionally.

“Let me check first.”

Kajann spoke.

“The priest must be Professor Francesca, right?”

Simon quickly came to his senses and nodded his head.

“Yes.”

“Alright. First, let me share the information I learned. Her barrier covers the entire first-year campus.”

Kajann took out several detector-looking tools from his subspace.

“I tried to communicate with Nefthis through a crystal ball, but of course, it was blocked. If the barrier is fully active, not just communication but also the entire outside world must be completely cut off.”

Kajann turned to Simon again.

“The opponent is a professor, and she must’ve prepared this barrier over at least several years. Even if other professors come, it wouldn’t be easily destroyed.”

Simon nodded.

“How far does it reach?”

“At a minimum, it covers the entire first-year campus. Her plan must be to completely annihilate the over-900 first-years.”

…Just imagining it made Simon shudder.

A terrorist attack that killed every first-year student. This would deal far more damage than just killing the future leaders of the Dark Alliance.

Kizen’s reputation would plummet, and their absolute control would be doubted.

The nobles of the Alliance who lost their children in vain would run amok with anger, and the Alliance would be torn to shreds as anti-Kizen factions arose. Neutral forces testing the waters would then contact Efnel, and Nefthis, blinded by rage, could be willing to engage in an all-out war with the Holy Federation.

This single attack could plunge the continent into war.

Simon felt the weight of this all sinking onto his shoulders.

“Let me explain what I saw.”

Then, just as he was about to continue…

“Simon!”

Camibarez was coming down the stairs. Meilyn and Rick also followed.

“Cami! Why didn’t you leave yet?”

Asked Simon, bewildered. Clasping her hands firmly together, she walked in front of Simon. A slight scowl had formed on her face.

“Remember what I said the morning after seeing the priest in the Forbidden Forest?”

Simon flinched.

“I promised to cooperate with you, Simon! Please, let us help.”

“But this is too dangero—!”

“Oh, shut up! You’re not the only one who knows danger, you realize?”

Meilyn strode toward Simon.

“Why did you hide such an important matter even from us?”

“I know, right? My pride cannot stand for this.”

Rick followed behind.

“Rick…!”

“You didn’t want to involve us in this mess. Well, I get why.”

Rick grinned.

“But what should I do? We’ve heard everything from Cami, and we’re dying to involve ourselves, you know?”

“Just shut up and spit it out already, Simon.”

Meilyn strode forward and shoved her head in front of Simon.

“Who is the priest, and what are they plotting in Kizen?!!”

“…”

Simon hesitantly looked back at Kajann. He nodded.

“We didn’t have enough manpower, anyway. And as long as the priest’s scheme impacts Kizen, everyone is already involved. It’s amazing in of itself to have helpers who believe in what you say.”

“Of course!”

Simon let out a small sigh and quickly explained everything. He spoke so frantically that he wasn’t sure if they could even understand him, but he focused on conveying as much information as possible.

“So Professor Francesca is…!”

Camibarez was so shocked her face went blank. Meilyn clicked her tongue.

“I knew it. That woman had to be at least a little bit treacherous.”

“Who was it who wept after hearing her speech, again?”

“Shut uuup!”

Did they really believe him?

Simon felt his heart tingle a little. Looking past all this mess, he realized that his life in Kizen wasn’t in vain.

Kajann then spoke up.

“Let me explain a bit more using what I know. I’ve been chasing the priest for a long time, and I’ve been acting as if all the professors and assistants were suspects. Of course, I also prepared for if Francesca was the priest.”

“Ah…!”

“Considering Simon’s description of the explosion in his story, it seems certain that it’s a curse bomb known as a ‘desolator’.”

“A curse bomb?”

“That’s right. You know how you all recently went to Death Land?”

Kajann’s eyes gleamed.

“That was the work of curse bombs.”

* * *

* * *

Everyone’s jaws dropped.

Then, the priest was planning to detonate that dangerous curse bomb in the middle of Kizen? If that happened, not only would the students die from the explosion, but those lucky enough to survive would also turn into zombies.

Rick interrupted again.

“How did Francesca get hold of such a dangerous weapon?”

“Desolators are kept in the basement of this building, in the ‘hidden hazardous commodities storage’. Only Kizen’s Professor of Poisonous Alchemy and Nefthis can enter. She likely killed Lang to become the Professor of Poisonous Alchemy herself.”

It perfectly matched Simon’s guess.

All three of them shuddered at the terrible truth. To think that her love and care for Lang was all acting.

“Simon, do you remember exactly where each of the explosions were?”

“Yes!”

Simon’s eyes shone with intelligence.

“In order of occurrence, it was the Magical Bullet Shooting Range, the Magic Technology Academy, the first-year boys’ dormitory, and the central first-year learning center.”

“She spread them around well.”

Kajann looked back at the three of them.

“You guys will have to stop the bombs. It’s something you’ll have to risk your lives for. If your determination is half-assed, just run away before the barrier is fully form—”

“I’ll go to the boys’ dormitory.”

Rick answered before Kajann finished his sentence.

“I’ll go to the Magic Technology Academy, then. My club members are there.”

Said Meilyn.

“I-I’ll go to the shooting range!”

Decided Camibarez. Kajann nodded.

“Straightforward, just how I like it. It’d be impossible for you guys to disassemble a desolator’s magic circle with your skills, so use a simpler method. Put the desolator in your subspace.”

“What?”

“I confirmed that Kizen’s desolators are operated by an ignition magic circle. If you place them in a subspace, a private dimension, the ignition command is completely neutralized.”

Rick looked at Simon in bewilderment and pointed at Kajann. He was questioning what kind of person Kajann was.

Kajann cleared his throat and said,

“I’m from the Thieves Guild.”

“…Woah, no wonder!”

Somehow, Rick felt like Kajann gave off a familiar feeling. It was because he was a fellow student who dealt with information.

Then, Meilyn smirked.

“So the better one was here~”

“Wh-What are you talking about? Hey, in the end, the merchant wins. Information guilds sell their knowledge for money.”

“Enough with the chit-chat. Take these.”

Kajann gave everyone the same glasses he gave Simon.

“If the explosion occurs in just two hours, it’s likely that she already planted the desolators. They must’ve been hidden by recognition-hindering magic or something. Wearing these glasses neutralizes such spells and allows one to see through them.”

Meilyn grumbled after taking the glasses and wearing them.

“I felt this a while ago, too, but why is the design so lame?”

“Meilyn, Kajann is a repeater. He’s older than you.”

“They’re so cool, senior!”

She quickly changed her tune.

“It’s fine. Just call me Kajann. We don’t have much time, so move quickly.”

“Yes!”

The three went to their chosen locations, and whoever finished first would go to the learning center.

Simon and Kajann came down the stairs leading to the basement together.

Tap.

Tap.

It was still the Nights of Erebus, so all the lights were off. A gloomy atmosphere filled the dark basement. The two moved silently.

“Until all desolators are neutralized, we cannot engage with Francesca, no matter what.”

Said Kajann while handing over his mana-powered night-vision goggles.

“If she happened to ignite a bomb, catastrophe would break loose. We should focus on tailing her as much as possible until your friends put the bombs in subspaces.

“Got it.”

The two safely passed through the basement and arrived at their destination.

They saw a large, tightly sealed door. Rather than a room, it was a place reminiscent of a bunker.

“Looks like she’s already inside.”

Said Kajann after spraying something on the floor to make the footprints more visible.

“We don’t have much time.”

Simon bit his lip.

“We’re wasting what time we have left hanging around here until Francesca comes out.”

“I agree. I’ll wait here and follow after her when she comes out. You gather information from Lang’s lab on the top floor, then join up with Pier.”

“Ok.”

As long as he couldn’t use the power of the Legion, Simon won’t be much help in a battle with Francesca. As Kajann said, meeting Pier was urgent.

Having made up his mind, Simon sprinted up the stairs.

First, he stopped by Lang’s lab on the fourth floor.

The door was locked, so he went to the window down the hallway and summoned the Overlord. He stepped on one of the tentacles as it lifted him close enough to charge through the window.

Crash!

Simon landed lightly and looked around.

There was nothing special about the lab. There were only documents, books, and a bed. It was more like a study or lounge than a lab. It seems that he was lodged here until he died.

Simon frantically opened the various shelves.

‘Professor Lang was most likely manipulated by Francesca.’

He heard that Lang was in good shape just 3 years ago.

Since his condition had significantly worsened over the past 2 years, Francesca must’ve done something in the meantime.

‘If there are any traces of it…’

Simon, who was frantically rummaging through the shelves, stopped in his tracks. Then, he turned his head.

Splash.

A green slime popped out from behind a frame. Simon stepped back and stared at it, slightly nervous.

The slime barely came out of the frame, shyly poking around.

Then, a hole was made in the middle of the slime, and it changed into the shape of a tongue and a mouth.

[Priêt.]

It spoke!

It was a very strange pronunciation, but it sounded like ‘priest’. The words contained a little bit of the nuance of the Kingdom of Baldwin in the far east.

Simon cleared his throat and answered with the same kind of pronunciation.

[Francêca.]

Then…

The slime’s mouth opened wide and spewed out two things.

One was a notebook.

And the other one was Lang’s professor ID.

“…!”

Simon put the ID in his inner pocket and quickly opened the notebook.

‘So he left something like this?’

It was Lang’s diary.

——