Chapter 223
Yona was a man of unyielding will.
No matter how relentless the assault, he never broke.
The Saint of Efnelle, who had burned three thousand troops of the Dresden Kingdom with a firestorm, said to the challenger Yona:
“Give up. You’ve lost all your comrades.”
Yona replied,
“What are you talking about? My comrades will fight by my side forever.”
At those words, tens of thousands of pitch-black undead rose from the ashes.
The tide of battle was reversed.
Even when the priests purified the battlefield to prevent the undead from rising again, the dead priests themselves reanimated and joined the fight.
Victory at the White Night War.
Victory at the Graham Naval Battle.
Victory at the Heights Desert Campaign.
He needed no aid from other necromancers.
Alone, but strong.
Yona and the undead legion that followed him tore through Efnelle with terrifying speed, and every priest trembled in fear.
“……”
Simon, who had read this far, paused to flip the book over and check the title.
‘Am I accidentally reading some kind of heroic epic?’
<History of the Legion>
It was a history book.
Simon felt uncertain, but the story flowed so smoothly that he kept reading.
The book did record historical facts, but Yona’s achievements were so brilliant, it felt like an epic tale.
Wondering if they were all like this, he checked the sections on other legion commanders. Those were dry, tedious lists of historical records—but Yona’s section alone felt as though the author had written it in a frenzy.
-Yona, the living god of war, finally brought even the lord of Cheongun Mountain to his knees in death, then raised him to life to follow his command. There was no one left who could oppose him.
Simon let out a dry laugh.
‘This writer’s totally a fan of my dad.’
At first, he thought it was an absurd, exaggerated tale. But the more he read, the more he felt his chest heat up.
And the thought that the protagonist of this tale was the very father he’d see at home, it made it all feel strangely surreal.
However, the end was rather anticlimactic.
Battle of the Port City Ballot.
Battle of Harona.
Battle of Hanbus.
Yona’s death, and the disbandment of the 7th Legion.
Even the author, who had written with such passion, seemed to feel a deep regret at the end. The final pages listed only historical facts, with no personal commentary.
The final period after the sentence “7th Legion disbanded” somehow looked larger than the rest.
So both Keyzen and Efnelle were just desperate to bury it.
The greatest legion commander of the time, and the greatest saint of the time.
The final moments of the two champions each side had proudly boasted of, had ended in a conclusion neither faction could have imagined.
Efnelle concluded that Anna had died in battle, to preserve the sanctity of divine authority and the prestige of the saintess.
Keyzen also declared that Yona had fallen in fierce combat with the saintess, and erased all other records.
Neither side seemed to want a reconciliatory ending.
Simon, feeling a strange mixture of emotions, closed the book. Then, from the tower of books stacked beside him, he pulled out the next one. He flipped straight to the section mentioning Yona and began to read.
That’s when—
“You’re studying hard early in the morning.”
“!”
Simon felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, and his blood freeze.
He slowly turned his stiff neck to look behind him. A man with glasses and brown hair like fallen leaves was smiling at him.
“What are you reading?”
It was the new Haematology professor, Walter Han.
Simon hadn’t committed any crime, yet his spine tingled and his skin crawled.
Before Simon could even answer, Walter spoke first.
“You were reading about Commander Yona, weren’t you? He’s one of my favorites too.”
Simon calmed his pounding heart and asked in a calm voice, as if nothing was wrong.
“Why do you like him, Professor?”
“He’s a legendary figure among professional necromancers. Not much is known about his solo activities, but the achievements he left behind are monumental. Of course, he’s not mentioned often in the textbooks these days, so I thought students today didn’t care much.”
Walter placed a thick hand on top of Simon’s head.
“You’ve been studying Yona since this morning. Excellent. Knowing history is just as important as studying black magic.”
Then he slowly patted Simon’s head.
It was creepy for some reason, and Simon moved his head away to avoid the touch, forcing a smile.
“You must be really interested in Cores, Professor.”
Simon had already caught the titles of the books Walter had borrowed.
There were two books: New Core Development Studies and Secrets of Core Unleashing.
“Mm, that’s right. As a haematology professor, it’s only natural to be interested. Especially Core operation—”
“Not just Core operation.”
Simon pointed to the book title with his index finger.
“You seem to want to create an entirely new form of Core.”
Walter simply smiled.
“What an interesting thought.”
He tucked the books under his arm and turned his head.
“You’re in Class A with Kamibarez, right? Today’s your first class. Studying history is good, but don’t be late.”
With that, Walter walked off with long strides.
Simon watched silently as Walter fully exited the library, then let out a heavy sigh.
‘…I thought coming early would be fine. I’d better be even more careful from now on.’
Simon picked up the books and returned them to their original place.
* * *
He was just barely on time for class. Simon grabbed his things and arrived at the Haematology lecture room.
Dick had arrived early and was slumped over his desk with tired eyes.
When Simon sat next to him, Dick lifted his head and let out a long yawn.
“Where’d you go so early? I freaked out when no one was in bed.”
“I just stopped by the library for a bit. Had something I was curious about.”
As Simon answered while pulling out his textbook, Dick’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Whoa, whoa! You traitor!”
“?”
“You’ve become a study maniac! Are you turning into Maelyn now? Are you so fed up you’ve decided to go full nerd mode? Sure, we enrolled at different times, but we should be expelled together on the same day… Ugh!”
He suddenly clamped his mouth shut. Dick’s retching sound sent the nearby students scattering like cockroaches.
A few students, seemingly infected by the sound, clutched their mouths and dashed off to the bathroom.
"......Ughhh, the aftereffects of that Toxicology class are insane."
Dick, finally calmed down, slumped over his desk again.
"Good morning, both of you!"
Kamibarez and Maelyn also arrived in the lecture hall.
After exchanging cheerful greetings with her, Simon glanced at Maelyn.
"Why's Maelyn acting like that?"
She had draped her long sky-blue hair over her face like a ghost bride, hiding her face.
Maelyn whispered something quietly to Kamibarez and then lowered her head further.
Kamibarez relayed the message.
"She says she’s embarrassed because the spots and patterns from the poison still haven’t faded from her face, so don’t look at her."
"Jeez. so dramatic."
Dick snickered, egging her on.
"Hey now, we all got ugly together, isn’t it kinda selfish to act like that alone? It’s morning, let us see your face when we talk."
Maelyn whispered to Kamibarez again. Kamibarez smiled sweetly and translated,
"She said, shut your mouth."
"...Wow, that kinda hurts, hearing such harsh words from Kami of all people."
"Agh, screw it!"
At that moment, Maelyn, who had been covering her face with her bangs, could take it no longer and swept her hair aside.
"I don't care! Look or don’t, whatever!"
Simon and Dick’s eyes locked onto her immediately. Faint blackish stripes were visible across Maelyn’s face.
‘It looked almost like…’
"...A watermelon?"
"Don’t say it!!"
Maelyn blushed fiercely and threw a textbook at Simon. The patterns quickly vanished from sight thanks to the flush that overtook her face.
Dick clapped and pointed at her.
"Wow! A watermelon cross-section!"
"..."
This time, she wasn’t joking, Maelyn flared up with a killing aura that seemed dead serious. Kamibarez and Simon flailed to hold her back.
"...Haa, seriously."
After that brief commotion, Maelyn sat down, still fuming, and held her forehead.
"And we’re supposed to take that class more than once a week? I’d rather choose death."
Before Dick could say anything else, someone shouted, “The professor’s coming!”
Students scrambled back to their seats, and soon the new assistant instructors entered the room.
Thud, thud, thud.
Walter appeared last.
He was now so popular in his new position that people had nicknamed him “the walking statue.”
Among the girls in Keyzen lately, the hot topic of debate was whether Bahil or Walter was better looking.
"Nice to see you all."
Walter smiled gently and began to speak.
"I’m Walter Han, and I’ll be taking over Haematology in place of Professor Sillage."
Screams that bordered on fangirl shrieks erupted from every direction. The noisy energy in the classroom was closer to a fan club than a lecture.
"I, too, studied under Professor Sillage. So the curriculum won’t differ much from what you’re used to. There’s no need for you to feel confused or worried about needing time to adjust."
That was a relief for the students of Class A who had suffered through Belya’s Toxicology class.
"Let’s start with a quick review."
Walter stepped up to the lectern and cleared his throat. His voice was like warm honey.
"Haematology is black magic that uses blood as a medium. As you all know, a necromancer has both Darkness and blood flowing through their body. Of course, in that state, nothing happens."
He drew a black magic circle in the air.
"Necromancers, through the artificial method of black magic, can combine Darkness and blood to trigger all kinds of magical reactions."
He then dropped a droplet of blood onto the magic circle.
The moment the crimson drop passed through it, the circle beneath transformed into a vortex of blood, swirling violently. Students gasped in awe.
Next, Walter demonstrated the reverse.
He created a circle using blood and then dropped a bit of Darkness into it. The circle fused with the Darkness, forming a sharp, thorned rose of blood.
Walter handed the rose to a girl in the front row with a dazzling smile, and she nearly fainted with joy.
"...Ugh."
Maelyn turned her head with a disgusted expression. Simon looked at her and asked,
"What’s wrong?"
"...I don’t get why everyone’s making such a fuss. I don’t like that overly suave look."
Hearing that, Dick and Kamibarez chuckled quietly behind her.
"Wow, someone’s got a firm taste."
"Maelyn only has eyes for Lord Feon~"
"Sh-Shut up, both of you!"
Maelyn whirled around, flustered, yelling at them. Simon, equally flustered, turned his gaze to the window.
Once the chaos settled down again, Walter resumed his explanation.
"Blood-based black magic consumes your own blood, so you’ll lose stamina quickly. But it’s fast, and powerful."
He clapped lightly, and all the magic circles in the air dispersed.
"Now then, show me. What potential lies within your blood?"
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters