Chapter 89
Serne had an expression of sheer disbelief.
“Even you must know that doesn’t make any sense, right? Why would I help you?”
Simon, climbing onto the back of Loraine’s skeletal horse, replied,
“I’ll count it as a debt I owe.”
Leaving only those words behind, Simon nodded at Loraine. When she pulled on the reins, the skeletal horse soared into the sky without hesitation.
‘...Nonsense.’
With a frosty expression, Serne raised a single feather.
The feather dissolved into a magic circle, which transformed into a massive intercepting ballista.
—Not very good at politics, are you?
In that moment, Simon’s voice echoed in her ears.
—Your way only increases the number of enemies.
‘……’
Serne ground her teeth.
Nonsense.
She had always been the strong one.
For the weak, there were only two options: be subjugated or die.
For someone like her, whose psychic abilities had reached their peak, the thoughts of others were never a meaningful consideration.
And yet...
‘My way is... clumsy?’
Her gaze turned skyward once more.
She could see Simon and Loraine chatting amicably atop the skeletal horse.
* * *
“So the monster went berserk?”
“Yeah.”
Simon nodded and continued.
“Did Neftis happen to tell you anything about me recently?”
“Huh? About what?”
Loraine blinked as she asked, clearly unaware. Neftis hadn’t shared anything about the Legion even with her.
It was still a secret between Simon and Neftis. Well, now one more person knew, but that couldn’t be helped.
“It’s nothing. Actually, there was a time when a famous treasure hunter visited Class A as a guest instructor. The monster was listed in his data. It’s not in the guidebook.”
Loraine paused in thought before replying.
“Then it might be an artificially created monster that didn’t originally inhabit this island.”
“That’s a possibility.”
As Simon briefed Loraine on the intel he’d gathered, the distance between them and Viccrum continued to close.
The berserk fake Viccrum had grown to nearly 20 meters tall by now. It had crossed the river and was now entering the southern island.
“What the hell!”
“What the hell is that?!”
The students quietly hunting monsters in the outer area panicked and fled as the gigantic monster appeared out of nowhere.
When Viccrum stomped through their midst, the ground overturned and trees were ripped from their roots. It was, quite literally, a walking catastrophe.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Viccrum stopped in its tracks and looked down at a screaming girl. Then it raised one massive foot.
“Ah...!”
As the giant’s sole blotted out the sky, the girl froze in terror.
Whooooosh!
Just then, a man flew fearlessly toward Viccrum’s foot. Inhaling deeply, he launched a powerful punch with all his might.
Boom!
The enormous Viccrum staggered for a moment, losing its balance and stumbling backward.
—Ooooooh!
—Brother Bred! That was awesome!
Of course, it wasn’t actually Bred, it was Erzebet transformed into Bred.
She had a magic transmitter at her ear, allowing her to communicate with headquarters and the other instructors.
As she landed on the ground, the rescued girl shouted with a tearful expression,
“Thank you for saving me, Instructor!”
Erzebet placed her index finger on her forehead and gave a light flick.
“It’s dangerous here. You should move far away.”
“Yes!”
The girl, cheeks flushed, stole glances at “Bred” as she ran off into the forest.
‘Oops, this isn’t really Bred’s style, is it?’
Bred was just a simple musclehead.
After taking a moment to recall her character role, Erzebet placed a hand on her magic transmitter and said,
“This is Instructor Bred. Reporting the intel obtained through engagement.”
Even she had to admit the voice imitation was perfect.
“That monster reacts sensitively to human voices. Sounds made while running are fine, but screams or shouts are dangerous. Please spread the word to the students.”
—This is HQ! Good work. We’ll notify them immediately.
—You figured that out already? Why are you so competent all of a sudden?
—Right? I thought your brain was made of muscle too.
From the responses, it seemed she wasn’t considered the competent type at work.
Clearing her throat awkwardly, Erzebet replied bluntly,
“Instructors below me, shut your traps.”
—Ahaha! That’s our guy!
“And HQ. One more message. We must avoid combat at all costs and focus operations on rescuing students—”
As Erzebet was still speaking, another instructor flew toward Viccrum.
—Hey, Bred!
It was Karis, instructor of Darkness Dynamics.
—I know what you're thinking, but there’s no student who can take that thing down anyway. I’ll just handle it myself!
He rose into the air and swung his scythe fiercely. A massive crescent slash over 10 meters long flew at Viccrum, slicing into its back.
—Alright! I got i—!
Viccrum, perfectly unharmed, turned around and launched a thunderous punch.
CRAAACK!
An incredible speed! Karis was instantly sent flying several hundred meters before crashing into the ground.
—Gah! Cough! Cough! Agh, fuck! That bastard hits like hell!
His scream over the transmitter was brimming with pain.
“Didn’t I say this already, Senior Karis? HQ, relaying again.”
Lifting her head, Erzebet continued,
“That thing has regenerative abilities. Avoid combat at all costs and prioritize student rescue operations.”
—Copy that.
Since she used to be comrades with Viccrum, Erzebet knew at least that much.
Turning off the communicator, she wore a subtly conflicted expression.
‘So in the end, our Legion Commander... things must’ve gone sideways.’
Once Viccrum went completely berserk, no one could stop it.
It looked like the attempt to persuade him had failed. At this point, their only option was to eliminate him with minimal casualties. If anyone died in an “accident” and triggered an investigation by Keyzen HQ, things could get annoying fast.
‘First, I need to regroup with the Commander.’
* * *
“Hold on tight, Simon!”
Loraine, riding the skeletal horse, stretched her arm back. The empty air ahead split open like a monster’s mouth, and silhouettes with the same red eyes as hers emerged.
FWOAAAAAAAH!
From within it, a pillar of crimson light shot out, piercing straight through Viccrum’s torso over and over.
With holes now riddling its body, Viccrum raised its right arm.
“Kh!”
Loraine yanked the reins. The skeletal horse dove sharply, and Viccrum’s arm sliced through the air just above them.
Whoooosh!
It was by a hair’s breadth. Simon brushed back his wildly flapping bangs to regain his vision.
“Loraine! To the side!”
“…!”
Before they knew it, Viccrum’s leg was closing in.
A kick with that massive body!
She quickly pulled the reins again, but the skeletal horse reacted too slowly.
“Simon! Brace for a crash!”
As Simon covered his head with both arms, a feather suddenly flew in front of them and spread out into the shape of a protective magic circle.
Boom!
As Viccrum’s leg struck the magic circle and its force was reduced, the skeletal horse escaped the attack radius unharmed.
‘This ability… could it be…!’
Simon turned his head. Countless feathers were slicing through Viccrum’s body with a swish swish sound.
Shlaaaaaaash!
Blood spurted out from all over Viccrum’s body as it was shredded. The feathers then returned to the girl with platinum hair floating in the sky.
“Serne!”
“Hm.”
She rested her chin on her hand, wearing a troubled expression.
“As I thought, physical attacks don’t work.”
Viccrum’s body was already rapidly regenerating from the injuries inflicted by Loraine and Serne. There was barely any trace left of the damage.
“Then how about this?”
The feathers coiled around her hand shot out like arrows, plunging into various points of Viccrum’s body with wet thunks!
The emotion imbued in the feathers was ‘Calm’. A full twenty layers of calming effect.
Had it been an ordinary human, it wouldn’t just be calming, they might’ve become a complete vegetable.
However—
―UOOOOOOOOOOH!
Viccrum only grew more enraged and swung its fist at Serne. Frowning, she ascended even higher.
“This is why I hate dumb undead.”
Even Loraine and Serne, the two who stood at the top among Keyzen’s first-years, had no real countermeasure.
When the two paused their attacks, Viccrum began scanning the ground again, searching for students.
“At this rate, it’ll never end.”
To give the students time to evacuate, there was no choice but to draw its attention through force.
Loraine blasted it with firepower to forcibly draw its gaze, and Viccrum irritably swung its arm.
Vwooooom!
The skeletal horse flew as low as possible to avoid the attack. Now the forest was visible just below.
As Loraine pulled the reins again to begin ascending—
—This is Execution HQ broadcasting.
A voice came from the Tongue Pad.
‘No way they’re stopping the exam now, right?’
Simon tensed, waiting for the next message.
—An unidentified monster is continuing its assault on the southern island of the Kera Islands. Students on the southern island will be forcibly teleported at random to other islands. After teleportation, they will receive five minutes of immunity to harm.
Simon let out a sigh of relief. This seemed like a reasonable decision.
—Students who wish to refuse teleportation should enter a refusal signal into their Tongue Pad. In that case, the Execution HQ will not be held responsible for any incidents.
Loraine and Simon immediately entered the refusal signal.
“Simon!”
Loraine looked at him in surprise.
“You should return to the center and continue the exam! This is a Keyzen matter—”
“No. I’m staying.”
This was partially his fault too.
With a determined face, Simon stared at Viccrum. Across the southern island, flashes of blue light marked where teleportations were taking place.
“Siiimoooooon!”
At the sound of someone calling him, Simon looked down. Erzebet, transformed as Bred, was waving from atop a tree.
“Loraine! I’ll be right back!”
“What? Wait! How long are you going to keep acting on your own—!”
Simon had already leapt from the skeletal horse.
“I’ll signal you again!”
“Simon!”
As Simon descended from the sky, Erzebet kicked off the tree and caught him midair in a bridal carry, landing lightly on the ground.
“Tada!”
“……”
Simon sighed, now cradled in the arms of a burly muscle man.
“I could’ve landed by myself, you know.”
“Fufu, our dear Commander, always so shy.”
As she gently set Simon down, a turquoise orb fell from the sky.
Simon reached out and caught it.
—Simon! Can you hear me?
It was Loraine’s voice. When Simon looked up, he saw her holding the same device atop the skeletal horse.
—It’s a mana communication device. Press the button below and speak. There’s not much mana left, so use it sparingly.
“Ah, got it.”
Loraine immediately turned her skeletal horse and flew toward Viccrum.
“So, Commander. What exactly is going on?”
“Ah, well.”
Turning off the communicator, Simon explained the current situation to Erzebet in detail.
She nodded.
“So it’s a fake Viccrum.”
“Yeah. We need to take it down before things escalate further.”
“But how do you deal with a regenerating, giant monster…”
[Kuhuhuhuhu!]
The two of them looked down.
Clinging to Simon’s uniform, Feer’s clone wore a meaningful grin.
[I have a way!]
Superb.