Chapter 468
At the pier, a loud commotion was erupting.
“Contact headquarters and check again! There’s no way not a single seat is available!”
“Sorry, but I already checked at dawn. Not a single admitted student gave up their spot.”
“Who says things couldn’t have changed since then? I said contact headquarters again!”
The protester was a boy who seemed to have failed the Keyzen entrance exam.
And the servant in charge of checking new students’ admission certificates was blocking him.
The freshmen who had already passed through safely were watching the sudden brawl with excitement.
“They say it’s an annual event.”
“If he’s first, that means he’s ranked 1,001st? That’s pretty pitiful.”
“Still, what can you do?”
Kekeke!
Hearing their laughter, the candidate turned a cold gaze toward the freshmen.
Eyes like those of a lunatic, as if ready to rip someone apart and kill them at any moment.
The laughter of the freshmen faded.
“To think they let in trash like that, and yet me, heir to Ampergi, I’m rejected? Ranked 1,001st? You’re mocking me, aren’t you?”
“You must stop here. Please step back.”
“A mere commoner dares to speak to me like that?!”
And of course, the typical boasting of noble blood from a would-be first-year.
The servant, having done this job for years, knew that if he left any room here, the situation would only get more tangled, giving this boy false hope. So he responded even more coldly.
“Next.”
The servant looked behind and said.
“Come forward.”
At that moment, the candidate’s eyes snapped wide open.
Thud!
Before anyone could intervene, he brutally kicked the servant’s leg.
The servant, who hadn’t expected the boy to actually resort to violence, bit his lip hard and collapsed to the ground. Murmurs spread everywhere.
“Riding on the authority of Keyzen, you think you’re above all rules, huh?”
The candidate raised his arm.
“You dare mock a noble—!”
Grab!
“Enough.”
His wrist was seized in a crushing grip. When he turned around, a boy with fiery red hair stood there with a hard expression.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Arthur Bleman.”
Arthur’s eyes gleamed.
“The Mercenary King.”
Crunch!
Arthur’s monstrous strength tightened around the candidate’s wrist. With a scream, the candidate dropped to his knees, twisting in pain.
The watching students whispered in shock.
“Did he say Mercenary King?”
“For real?”
“Why would such a big name come to a school like this?”
Arthur said solemnly.
“Apologize to him.”
Crunch!
He squeezed harder. The candidate howled in pain.
“What the hell kind of power is this…?!”
Suddenly, the candidate’s eyes turned pitch-black.
[You didn’t expect this, did you?]
Grab!
Though his wrist was trapped, the candidate seized Arthur’s wrist in return and began applying force. This time Arthur’s expression hardened.
‘What the—?!’
Arthur, who prided himself on never losing in strength to anyone, was being overpowered head-on.
Crunch! Crack!
Sweat trickled down Arthur’s forehead.
The boy’s suddenly blackened eyes, and from his body, an unstable Darkness oozed forth with terrifying strength.
‘This guy! He’s not in a normal state!’
Wham!
The candidate released his wrist and kicked Arthur. Arthur barely blocked with his elbow, but was pushed sliding backward.
“Gah!”
[Are you really the Mercenary King? Why are you so weak?]
The candidate sneered, then turned to the servant crumpled on the ground.
[See that? Did everyone see clearly? With strength like this, you’re saying I ranked 1,001st? Doesn’t that sound strange?]
Two servants rushed over to carry off the fallen female attendant.
[Anyone confident, step forward!]
His mouth stretched open monstrously.
[I’m stronger than anyone here!]
Fwoooosh!
The alien Darkness bursting from his body dyed the sky around them black. The servants panicked, shouting.
“Students, get onto the ship!”
“Fall back!”
Students fled while the servants prepared to fight.
Cracking his shoulders, the candidate spoke in a chilling voice.
[Still! You still refuse to acknowledge me? Then I have no choice! Until you recognize my power, I’ll snap you apart one by one. And next, I’ll deal with those bastards who mocked me.]
He sneered at the freshmen scrambling onto the ship.
[If I just get rid of a few of you here, won’t you be forced to admit me? Right?]
“You…!”
Arthur sprang up.
“You think I’ll let that happen?”
[Try it then, Mercenary King.]
Arthur dashed forward, fist cloaked in Darkness. The candidate, smirking, stood his ground as if daring him to strike.
Thoom!
But Arthur’s punch stopped just before the boy’s face.
“Stop, Arthur.”
The air grew heavy under an oppressive presence.
Brrrr—
Arthur’s wrist was seized. He couldn’t move an inch.
For the second time today, he was forced down by sheer strength. He turned his head.
Blue hair fluttered in the wind.
“S-Senior Simon!”
“Student Council President!!”
At their cries, the candidate’s lips curled up.
[So you finally show yourself!]
The servants stepped back, while the freshmen who had hidden inside the ship poured out to watch the scene.
“E-excuse me, let me through!”
Princess Molly, forgetting her dignity, squeezed through the crowd and stuck her head out the window. She saw Simon gripping Arthur’s wrist.
Arthur shouted.
“Let me go, Senior Simon! That bastard is really—!”
“Stand down, Arthur.”
Simon’s cold voice cut him off as he shoved Arthur’s arm away.
The uncharacteristic chill in Simon’s tone made Arthur shrink back.
“You’re not yet an official Keyzen student. If you strike a noble’s son, you could lose your admission entirely.”
[Hahahahahaha!]
The candidate roared with laughter.
[Ahh—Ahh—now this is more like it. Someone with sense!]
“That’s why—”
Smash!
Everyone’s jaws dropped. Simon’s fist crashed mercilessly into the candidate’s face.
“Leave the rest to me.”
Thud! Thud! Crash!
The boy, blood spraying from his nose, rolled helplessly across the ground.
“Woooooooaaahhh!!”
Cheers erupted from all around. Even the Keyzen staff, who had been preparing a curse, quietly lowered their fingers with a grin.
Simon stared down at the candidate with a blank expression.
[You bastard…!]
His nose was broken, blood gushed in streams, and several teeth scattered onto the floor with a clatter.
“I am the Student Council President of Keyzen.”
Simon spoke coldly.
“I have a duty to protect the lives and property of the school. And you right now—”
His gaze shifted to Arthur, whose wrist he still held, and to the servant collapsed on the ground. His voice carried deep anger.
“—I’d say I have every right to beat you senseless, and it would still be perfectly legitimate.”
[…Hah! Just a low-rank noble brat, and you dare act arrogant before me?!]
The boy suddenly sprang up.
[I told you already! I’m stronger than anyone here!!]
Fwoooosh!
A torrent of Darkness erupted from him, far beyond the earlier outburst, gushing like a fountain. His body cracked and popped as golden fissure-like marks began spreading across his skin.
“A black magic that trades the body’s health for temporary overwhelming power, isn’t it?”
Simon sighed.
“Maybe that could get you into Keyzen, but I can guarantee you wouldn’t last a few months. Life here spans three years.”
[Shut your mouth!!]
He raised his grotesquely swollen right arm. With cracking sounds, monstrous chunks of flesh protruded from it.
[I’ll crush the Student Council President and prove my power! I’ll force the Witch of Death to admit me!!]
Boom!
He slammed down, making the ground quake, then lunged. His monstrous, Darkness-wrapped arm shot forward.
Simon did not dodge. He calmly pulled one hand from his pocket and punched forward lightly.
<Simon’s Original – Shockwave>
BOOOM!
Their fists collided in the center.
By sheer size and raw power, the candidate’s arm should have won easily. Everyone expected Simon’s arm to snap backward.
Crackkk!
Instead, Darkness flared out from Simon’s fist like rippling waves, surging into the candidate’s right arm. Muscles twisted hideously as the boy screamed.
[Ghhk! Guaaaargh!!]
He clutched his ruined arm and staggered back.
[You damn—!!]
His right arm shrank, while his left swelled grotesquely. Claws sprouted, flashing as he slashed at Simon, who still hadn’t moved.
Whooosh!
But the strike never landed.
‘When—?!’
Emerald cords were wrapped tightly around his right leg. Simon tugged back with his left hand, and the boy collapsed to the ground.
“Your inexperience shows, Candidate. Battles aren’t won by strength alone.”
[Grrrhh!]
As he scrambled to rise, he suddenly saw the sole of Simon’s shoe in his face.
Smash!
His head snapped back. Lightning-fast, Simon’s fist followed through.
Thud!
Wham!
Blows rained into his abdomen and chest, each impact rattling his spine and shaking his brain.
He tried swinging his arm, but Simon yanked the cord again, and like a pulley, he was slammed flat onto the ground.
‘He’s toying with me?!’
When he lifted his torso again, Simon was already stepping back.
Above, a huge subspace opened. From it emerged blazing black fireballs, ready to launch.
“Fire. Mages.”
<Dark Blaze>
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The candidate, pinned by his leg, was struck again and again by the dark fireballs, explosions engulfing him. Simon calmly released the cord and watched through the billowing smoke.
Fwoooosh!
Bursting out through the smoke, the candidate snarled, spewing Darkness upward. The energy turned into dozens of arrows.
[My turn!!]
The black arrows rained down. Simon still stood unmoving.
‘Open Gate.’
Shrrrip!
Shrrrip!
From six directions, long blades like serpents shot forth, spiraling around Simon and blooming like a flower. Every black arrow shattered against the rotating blades.
“W-wow…!”
“He’s overwhelming him! Even against forbidden black magic, he’s winning!”
“Go, Student Council President!!”
Waaaaahhh!!
The freshmen, caught up in watching, were shouting with unrestrained excitement.
[You bastard!!]
Shrrrip!
And the instant the Overlord was retracted, Simon vanished as though teleported.
[?!]
Before he could react to the hole pierced in the ground, Simon’s body burst out from behind, having tunneled through the deck below.
<Sleep>
Thud.
A magic circle flared from Simon’s palm as it grazed the boy’s body. He swung wildly, forcing Simon back.
“W-what the… huh?”
The monstrous flesh rampaging through his body suddenly sagged, powerless.
His overwhelming strength and explosive Darkness dwindled drastically.
“Wh-what did you do to me?!”
“It’s simple.”
Simon shook his hand free.
“I put the beast controlling your body to sleep.”
“That’s impossible—!”
Smash!
Simon’s fist sank into his abdomen. He coughed blood, collapsing to his knees.
Crack!
A savage kick floored him.
Crunch!
Simon stomped down hard on his face.
He couldn’t move. Even the beast within gave no response.
Utterly overwhelming.
Never before had he faced such a powerful necromancer.
‘…He’s only a year above me?’
Pure terror stripped his body of control; he trembled uncontrollably.
His gaze rose.
The blue-haired demon glared down, eyes blazing, and spoke coldly:
“Look at me.”
There was no resisting that power.
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