Chapter 146
<My teaching assistant is trying to kill me.>
From the very first page of the diary, a chill ran down Simon’s spine. He swallowed hard and turned to the next page.
<I can only remain sane for about 10 minutes a day. I am writing this diary to leave the truth behind for everyone.>
<My symptoms are getting worse. The professor of Toxicology is being poisoned, and who would believe that my mind is disintegrating due to drugs? Shamefully, it’s true. I was careless. There are still too many poisons in this world that I don’t know about.>
<Her demands are becoming increasingly bold. Today, she demanded my professor’s ID. Even under the influence, I’m proud I refused her request. I immediately went to the lab, hid the ID inside a slime, and drank a memory-erasing potion to delete only that memory. She will not get her hands on it.>
<Now I cannot go against her. She ordered me to stop persuading my colleagues to retire and to give her my lectures. I’ve even been deprived of the opportunity to teach the students I love.>
<She no longer even bothers to hide her identity in front of me. She is a priest of Efnelle. She ordered me to stay in the lab instead of at home. She must have feared that if I regained my senses, I might confess to someone. Still, she doesn’t know I get 10 minutes of clarity each day, nor that I am writing this diary. If she finds out even this, I will die.>
.......
.......
<She ordered me to write a will. She dictated every detail herself. This will likely be my final entry. Whoever you are, please visit this lab alone when she is not around. The slime’s password detects the saliva of the responder, it will only open for someone who isn’t Francesca.>
<By the time you read this diary, I will likely be dead. I beg you, stop Francesca. She is plotting something horrific.>
Simon’s hands trembled as he held the diary.
At last, all questions had been answered.
Everything had unfolded according to Francesca’s meticulously crafted script. In fact, she had succeeded in this plan once before.
‘But this time will be different. I’ll stop her, no matter what it takes.’
With a determined expression, Simon dashed out of the lab.
‘Feer! Are you coming?’
[Dammit, I’m almost there! There’s a fog barrier around Keyzen, it’s slowing me down!]
Simon decided to meet up with Feer and then head to Kajan.
But before that—
"......."
Simon turned swiftly, diary in hand.
* * *
1st Floor, Darkness Bullet Shooting Range.
Tukwang!
Tukang!
Kamibarez fired Bloodshots from her fingertips in rapid succession. The approaching plant-type monsters screamed as they exploded.
But her own condition, bleeding continuously, wasn’t good either.
‘...Haa, this is endless.’
Separated from the group, she had entered the Shooting Range building and searched thoroughly using the glasses Kajan had given her.
That was when she discovered an extremely strange and suspicious object in an empty classroom, something that looked like a pitch-black box.
The surface of the box was tightly wrapped with black magic-infused bandages, cords, and locks. It definitely appeared to be the "Desolater" Kajan had mentioned.
There really was a perception-disruption spell on it, when she took off the glasses, it was hard to tell if the box was even there.
But as soon as she approached the Desolater, magic circles activated, covering the floor and ceiling with vines, and bipedal, flower-shaped plant monsters emerged to attack her.
“Ugh!”
She covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve. Even the plants on the ceiling were emitting poison.
The flower-shaped plant monsters were also shaking their petals, shooting what looked like toxic seeds.
Shushushushuk!
As the toxic seeds flew at her again, she hurled herself out of the way. The seeds hit the back of the classroom and exploded, bringing the wall crashing down.
Chwarureuk!
“Kyaaah!”
Suddenly, a vine dropped from the ceiling and wrapped around her leg, lifting her up.
Her body was hoisted into the air, and a plant monster fired a projectile.
‘Kgh!’
Just as she was about to draw blood to form a barrier, the vine around her leg was suddenly slashed, and she fell to the floor.
It was the blade of Overlord.
‘Simon’s summon!’
Simon stepped in front of her and slammed his left foot down hard on the floor.
‘Open Gate!’
Chwarurururuk!
Chwarururururururuk!
Chwarureuk!
Five metal blades shot out in a straight line, forming a wall in front of them. Explosions rang out as the toxic projectiles collided with the blades.
“Are you okay, Kami?”
“Ah!”
She was looking upward.
“They’re coming from above!”
Toxic projectiles, flying in a curve rather than a straight line, were arching over Overlord’s blades. Simon instantly pulled her into his arms and threw himself aside.
The projectile hit and melted through the floor entirely.
The two of them, momentarily stunned, quickly ran out of the classroom.
“Si–Simon! How did you...!”
“Kami, I’ll handle the bomb. I have a new request for you.”
Simon pulled Lang’s diary from his coat and handed it to her.
“Leave Keyzen immediately and go to the professors at the Necropolis. This diary is decisive evidence. Bring back Lady Neftis and the others.”
“B–But…! I can’t just abandon you all and run away!”
“You’re not running away.”
Simon gripped her shoulders, speaking as though casting a spell.
“You’re going to save us.”
She had to go to the Necropolis.
They could try to find a TA or someone else to send instead, but that would require time to locate them, explain the situation, and prove the diary wasn’t a fake.
But she trusted Simon, and if she headed north from Keyzen right now, she’d reach the road to the Necropolis.
And he couldn’t deny he had a personal reason.
In the future, she was murdered by Francesca. Simon had failed to protect Kamibarez.
He still vividly remembered Francesca’s gaze sweeping over her during class.
Her death was a kind of trauma for Simon. As long as she remained in Keyzen, he doubted he could focus properly.
“Kami, please.”
Still, going for help was her choice.
If she refused, they’d have to find someone else to send.
She opened her mouth as if to protest, then bit her lip hard and began running.
She knew there was no time left to argue.
“Please! Please stay safe! If anything happens to you, I’ll hate you for the rest of my life!”
“Yeah, don’t worry.”
Kamibarez clutched the diary tightly to her chest and ran toward the Necropolis. Simon slowly rose to his feet.
‘Poisonous monsters, huh.’
Without Feer, they were tricky opponents. Fortunately, the plants seemed to prioritize guarding the Desolater, so they didn’t come out of the classroom.
Simon quietly slipped out into the hallway.
Some students were walking down the path, chatting casually. Just from that sight alone, it looked like an ordinary, uneventful day.
Simon ran straight toward the girls he saw ahead.
“Hey!”
Startled by Simon’s sudden appearance, the girls let out short shrieks. Without even a moment to apologize, Simon got right to the point.
“Anyone have a zombie in their subspace? Whether it’s through summoning magic or whatever…”
Two of them exchanged puzzled glances.
“I’m aiming for Summonology, so yeah, I’ve got one.”
The girl on the right took out a zombie wrapped in bandages from her subspace.
It was the corpse of a green goblin. It didn’t smell and was clean. It looked like it had been preserved.
“I’ll buy it for one gold. Deal?”
“Huh, really?”
Simon flicked a 1-gold coin and lifted the goblin’s corpse.
“And you guys, run. A priest showed up in Keyzen.”
He said it just in case, but the girls gave him a look like he was completely insane.
‘Yeah, that’s the expected reaction.’
Even if he told them to run, it wasn’t a situation where they’d actually do it.
To students, Keyzen was the ultimate fortress, and in reality, it was one of the safest places in the world. The idea that a terrorist or priest could appear here simply didn’t register.
Simon gave up on explaining and sprinted back to the classroom with the Desolater.
“Phew.”
Arriving in front of the classroom, Simon laid the zombie on the floor, then brought the gray ring on his left hand to his lips and spoke.
“Prince! Can you hear me? Emergency. I need you to come through this zombie!”
As he spoke, he pressed the ring to the zombie’s body.
Kuurururung!
Black lightning struck from the ceiling and hit the zombie’s body.
The zombie’s form turned pitch-black with a cracking sound, then completely transformed, clad in a blue robe and wearing a crown, Prince appeared.
[Was wondering when you’d call.]
“You got the gist of the situation, right?”
[Yeah.]
The Prince grabbed his creaky neck and gave it a twist.
[Ugh, this body sucks. I hate possessing preserved corpses.]
“No time to complain. Follow me.”
Simon and Prince entered the classroom where the Desolater was.
“Can you handle it?”
[What do you take me for?]
Prince began walking forward slowly.
[Oh, this brings back memories. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in Keyzen.]
–Kijejeje!
The plant-type monsters kept firing toxic seeds. Prince took them all head-on and walked forward with big strides.
Puhng!
Puhbuhhhng!
Even as toxic shells rained down like buckshot, Prince walked calmly with his hands in his pockets. He even stepped into areas thick with poison gas without hesitation.
‘Nice!’
Simon clenched his fist. Regular curses or poisons had no effect on the Zombie Prince’s body.
It made him a pain to deal with when he was an enemy, but as a summoned ally now, he was incredibly reassuring.
Vines dropped down and wrapped around the Prince’s body, but he tore through them just by walking forward.
The plant monsters rose their thorns and swarmed Prince, but they couldn’t even slow his steps. He ripped through the plant stalks without a scratch, grinning.
[This one’s the core, huh?]
Brutally forcing his way through, Prince found the main body of a large plant monster in front of the Desolater. The petals of its body opened like a Venus flytrap and snapped down over Prince’s upper body.
Simon cried out in alarm.
“Prin—!”
Thwack!
The monster’s head burst open, and Prince’s arm shot out. Grabbing the monster’s head, he pulled himself out and hurled the creature to the floor with all his strength.
KWAANG!
With a thunderous crash, the floor shook. Ignoring the toxic barrage from all directions, Prince stomped down hard on the monster.
[Persistent thing.]
Then he raised his clenched fist and slammed it down hard. With a pop! the monster’s core exploded.
The plant monsters and vines all drooped, leaking green sap from their mouths.
Prince, having turned all the plants to pulp, casually dusted off his palms, lifted the Desolater, and said,
[Where to next, Commander?]
Superb.