Chapter 29
"Run!"
Simon grabbed Kamibarez’s hand and ran. At the same time, a chilling slicing sound tore through the air behind them.
Boooom!
Boom!
Black crosses struck the ground in succession, carving out huge craters. Simon’s eyes widened rapidly.
‘...A priest is using Darkness?’
Simon realized the situation was far worse than he thought.
It wasn’t just that a priest had snuck onto Roke Mountain.
‘...There’s a traitor inside Keyzen!’
Simon had two reasons for thinking that.
First, Darkness and Holiness are conflicting forces, meaning one can only use one or the other.
Second, this priest was using Darkness, not Holiness.
In other words, they weren’t an external infiltrator, they were someone who had been active inside Keyzen all along.
Almost certainly a spy from the Holy Federation leaking information from Keyzen.
No one in Keyzen prays to a god. That meant this priest must have ventured deep into the forbidden forest, where no one sets foot, to perform their prayers.
And Simon and Kamibarez had the misfortune of witnessing it.
Which leads to a clear and undeniable conclusion—
‘If we’re caught, we’ll definitely be killed!’
Shick!
Shiiiick!
Black crosses made of Darkness rained down indiscriminately. Blood splattered from Simon’s arms and thighs, and searing pain surged through him.
Huff! Huff!
Panting heavily as he ran, Simon’s eyes flew open. Something slithered in front of him like a snake.
“Watch out!”
Simon shouted and bent his waist backward.
A pitch-black chain of Darkness shot out, narrowly brushing past Simon’s hair.
As Simon straightened back up, he looked to the side.
“Are you alrigh—!”
She was being pulled away.
“S-Simon!”
Her leg had been caught by the chain. Both of them reached out in desperation, but they missed by a hair’s breadth, their hands slicing through empty air.
In the next moment, she was dragged into the darkness at terrifying speed.
“Damn it!”
Simon bolted after her.
When he got closer, she had crashed into a tree and passed out, her body tightly bound by black chains.
‘Kami’s been captured!’
Simon gritted his teeth and looked back.
A robed priest was approaching slowly. The hood was pulled so low, and the darkness beneath it so thick, that their face was completely hidden.
The billowy robe also made it impossible to tell their gender or physique. There was almost no information that could be gleaned from appearance alone.
Then the priest raised their left arm.
Tat!
Simon immediately stepped onto Darkness and ducked behind a tree. The charging chain slammed into the trunk and bounced off.
Whummm! Whummm! Whummm!
The priest must’ve been highly skilled—this time, dozens of crosses manifested in midair all at once.
To manifest crosses, the symbol of a priest, using Darkness, the power symbolic of necromancers...
Simon felt an unexplainable sense of discord.
At the signal of the priest turning their palm to the ground, the crosses all rained down at once.
‘Ugh!’
Simon drew a skeleton short sword from subspace and dashed forward.
The crosses pierced the ground like gravestones. At a moment when dodging was impossible, a black streak surged in from Simon’s side.
Clang!
Simon immediately swung the short sword, deflecting the cross. A jolt ran up his wrist, and the sword shattered into pieces.
Chrrrriiiing!
This time, chains flew in from both sides simultaneously.
Simon ducked so low he nearly kissed the ground, dodged them, and grabbed a nearby stone.
‘Imbue with Darkness!’
Whumm!
Simon let Darkness flow into the stone, dyeing it black. As he rose, he hurled it with all his might.
Shiiiiing!
Simon stared desperately at the flying stone.
‘Hit! Reveal your face!’
Perhaps not expecting Simon to counterattack, the priest turned their head slightly too late. The right side of the hood was torn a little, but frustratingly, that was all.
“……”
Although the face remained hidden, Simon felt a palpable wave of rage from the priest.
More crosses floated into the air. Simon tried to rise and dodge, but the range of the crosses had extended beyond the front, now reaching above his head.
There was no way to dodge this.
“Whew.”
Simon closed his eyes and raised both arms, as if accepting his fate. And then—
‘Now!’
A giant greatsword appeared behind the priest.
KWAAAAAAANG!
With an ear-splitting roar, the priest’s body was blasted backward.
They quickly encased themselves in a Darkness shield, barely avoiding being split in half, but all the summoned crosses scattered or dropped as ashen debris.
[Keh-heh-heh-heh! Are you alright, boy?]
Feer revealed himself, fierce blue flames blazing in both of his eyes.
He towered well over two meters, a shapeless cloak fluttering on his back, and a massive white greatsword in his hand.
The sudden appearance of an ancient-class undead clearly startled the priest.
‘Feer!’
[Stay back! This foe is still too much for you to handle!]
Feer raised his massive greatsword beside his face. Simon nodded obediently.
‘Please!’
[Kahahahaha! I can’t remember how long it’s been since my last real fight! Here I go!]
Feer stomped forward.
The ground shattered beneath him as his body launched forward like a bullet. The priest conjured a Darkness shield in front of them.
CHZZZZZZZZZZZZZZANG!
Shield and greatsword collided. The atmosphere screamed, and the earth flipped. Trees nearby were uprooted and flung into the air.
Simon was no longer at a level where he could intervene.
Giving up any lingering attachment, he turned and ran toward Kamibarez. Perhaps due to Feer’s ambush canceling not only the crosses but also the chains, she was now freed and slumped on the ground.
“Kami!”
Thankfully, she appeared to have only fainted from the shock and wasn’t seriously hurt.
Simon lifted her into his arms. As he’d felt many times before, her body was alarmingly light.
BOOOM!
A massive rock fragment fell nearby, and Simon moved farther away. Each time Feer and the priest clashed, the surrounding terrain changed.
‘Feer! How’s it going?’
[Grrr! Not easy!]
Feer’s voice trembled.
[This one! They're absurdly strong, even with just Darkness magic! Might be professor level!]
Even though Feer was an Ancient Undead, his strength was greatly diminished after just being unsealed.
More importantly, Feer was a Legion master, not originally a combatant. If the opponent really was a professor from Keyzen, it would be a tough fight.
‘There must be...’
Simon bit his lip. He couldn’t stand the thought of losing his father’s undead like this.
‘There must be a way…!’
As he was searching for a breakthrough, Simon’s eyes widened.
‘Feer! Get away from the priest! And make as much noise as you can to stall for time!’
[What?]
‘No time to explain! Hurry!’
Perhaps trusting Simon, Feer immediately put distance between himself and the priest. Then he swung his greatsword to make the ground erupt, or sliced the air to create booming sounds, he did everything to make noise.
From the priest’s perspective, it would seem like a wasteful use of energy. But right now, this was their only way to survive.
And soon enough—
“There! The sound came from over there!”
“Was that an explosion?”
Lights appeared in the distance. Simon clenched his fist.
‘It worked!’
The commotion had drawn the wardens.
Just a few hours ago, they were a source of dread, but at this moment, Simon had never been more relieved to see them.
The priest, who had been pressing Feer hard, also noticed the wardens’ lights.
With more witnesses arriving, the situation would only spiral further out of control. In the end, the priest ceased fighting and fled into the forest.
“Don’t chase him, Feer!”
Simon came running. Feer, who had planted his greatsword into the ground and was panting, gave a toothy grin.
“Are you alright?”
[This much is nothing! But I get the feeling things might get troublesome again if we stay here.]
“Yes, you’re right.”
The sounds of hounds and the torchlight of the wardens had now reached right around the corner.
Feer scooped up both Simon and Kamibarez in his arms.
[Let’s get out of here! Hold on tight!]
Feer kicked off the ground and soared into the air.
The terrain around them blurred rapidly as it rushed by beneath them.
Feer carried the two of them to a location just outside the Forbidden Forest, where the walls of Keyzen could be seen.
[I can’t go any farther from here.]
Feer said as he set them down.
[Smells like trouble. Must be a wide-area detection spell active.]
Simon nodded. Kamibarez was still unconscious.
“Thank you, Feer. You saved us.”
[Keh-heh! I’ve only just gotten a contractor, can’t afford to lose you already! Be careful getting back!]
“Yes, thank you.”
Feer vanished into the darkness.
Since entering through the front gate would require explaining the situation to the guards, Simon, like when he had first left, used the underground passage in the stable to pass through the wall.
Soon, Simon climbed the ladder and brushed aside the straw from the ceiling, poking his head out.
“Ah, you’ve returned?”
Kevin, who had been giving water to the horses, spotted Simon and smiled.
“Did Dick come back already?”
“No, the wardens suddenly covered the area, so he didn’t come this way. Dick’s probably looking for another route around.”
“I see. Thank you for letting me know.”
Kevin pointed to Kamibarez, who was in Simon’s arms.
“Is the young lady alright?”
“She was pushed a bit hard while being chased by the wardens. She’ll be fine.”
Just like Dick had done, Simon flicked a coin from his pocket as a tip. A silent payment to keep the secret.
Kevin bowed deeply with a wide smile.
Once outside the stables, Simon paused, unsure where to go next.
Should he take her to the central infirmary? But then they’d start questioning how she got hurt, and if he told the truth, word would eventually reach the professors and officials.
A battle in the middle of the night. Maybe the priest had seen his face, but chances were Kamibarez hadn’t been seen yet.
If he didn’t want to put her at risk again, the person treating her had to be someone he could trust.
‘Someone trustworthy...’
Going to Neftis would be the safest, but he had no idea where she was right now.
After some thought, Simon started walking.
* * *
Keyzen Boys’ Dormitory Building 1, Night Duty Room
“Fuaaahm.”
Rena, the dormitory manager, yawned loudly, arms folded over the desk as she lay down.
“Night shift sucks so much...”
Cleaning, laundry, cleaning, laundry, cleaning, laundry. Though her main job was managing the dorm, no matter how much time passed, she could never get used to serving the noble young masters.
She gave a dry laugh as she glanced at a disheveled document on the desk.
“Bringing girls into the dorm for a 3-on-3? Ugh, those crazy little bastards...”
Kids these days had no innocence.
And when she tried to report it to the supervising professor, they immediately threatened her by name-dropping their noble houses. She couldn’t believe it.
“Ugh, I just wanna quit...”
Knock knock.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
What was going on at this hour? Rubbing her eyes, she called out,
“Come in.”
Click!
As the door opened, a male student entered, carrying a female student in his arms. Rena’s eyes widened, and she shot to her feet.
“Bringing a girl into the boys’ dorm again?! What do you think you’re—!”
She was shouting in frustration when she suddenly recognized the male student. His uniform was caked in mud, and he was bleeding from visible wounds.
“Ah... S-Simon?”
“Please help.”
Simon spoke in a strained voice. Rena hurriedly ran over and cleared the items off the bed in the duty room. Simon laid Kamibarez down on it.
“What happened? You should’ve taken her to the infirmary—!”
“It’s complicated.”
Simon’s face hardened.
“I can’t explain everything, but we can’t take her to the infirmary.”
“......”
Fourth year as a dormitory manager at Keyzen.
She’d signed up for the high-paying servant wage, but this infamous place had a 95% turnover within the first month.
In that time, Rena had truly seen it all, and she knew the dark side of Keyzen well. Students here would do anything to survive.
Anything, truly anything.
Avoiding the infirmary to escape penalties, even while injured, was a common occurrence at Keyzen.
She let out a deep sigh.
“Out.”
“Huh?”
Rena pushed Simon’s back toward the door. Simon stammered in surprise.
“W-Wait a second, Rena! I—!”
“I said out, I need to treat the girl’s wounds!”
“Ah...”
As Simon scratched his head awkwardly, Rena grabbed an emergency medical kit, placed it beside the bed, and pulled the curtain with a shraaak to block his view.
A moment later, the sound of Kamibarez’s uniform being undressed could be heard.
“......Haaah.”
From beyond the curtain came Rena’s sigh.
“Be honest. What happened? There are some minor scrapes and bruises, but this cut on her thigh...”
Her voice turned cold.
“This looks like it was made by something sharp, doesn’t it?”
Superb.