Chapter 521
‘W-Where did it go wrong?’
Svera was thrown into confusion.
Without a doubt, Keyzen’s Student Council President had said that he couldn’t sense spirits. It had also been confirmed that after his first semester, he hadn’t chosen Spiritology classes.
That was why she was sure he wouldn’t be able to attack spirit entities. Confident, she had focused her specialty on ‘Drowners’, training herself to draw in massive amounts of water.
But then—
‘That black magic is clearly Soul Spear!’
Kwaaa-rumble!
With a thunderous roar, a violet spear strike tore through the air, piercing through her Drowners with pinpoint accuracy, obliterating them.
Though she kept summoning more, Simon was throwing spears faster than she could raise them. Naturally, Svera was at a loss, she was pouring massive amounts of Darkness and Spirit into her summons, while Simon expended far less.
Then a question crept up in her mind.
‘Wait… is that really Soul Spear?’
The form was the same, but the color, the crackling effects, and most of all—the aura—it was utterly alien.
A sensation she had never once felt in her life.
Pzzzzzt!
“Kh!”
A Chaos Spear suddenly curved mid-flight and smashed into her abdomen. Grimacing, she quickly turned her head toward the giant monitor above the audience.
[Simon Follentia : 100%]
[Svera Matheus : 94%]
‘Huh?’
For such a flashy, overwhelming strike, the barrier gauge had barely dropped.
Was its actual power weaker than it looked?
Bzzzzzzzt!
Another spear grazed her thigh. Stumbling, she quickly raised a Darkness Shield in front of her and checked the monitor again.
“!!”
[Simon Follentia : 100%]
[Svera Matheus : 76%]
This time, just a graze had taken nearly 20%.
And the trajectories—what was this? Sometimes they curved, sometimes they rose and fell, sometimes they just shot straight. No pattern to analyze.
‘What the hell is that technique?!’
Ever since Simon had drawn those violet spears, the tide of battle had completely reversed. The spectators were buzzing in bewilderment at the sudden change.
Even Benz and Jets, who had fought Simon before, were baffled.
They leaned toward Maelyn in the waiting area.
“Hey, Keyzen! What’s that spear Simon’s using?”
“He didn’t use anything like that against me.”
Maelyn frowned at them.
“You transfer students think you can just call people by name? You’ll address me as vice president!”
“Oh, so you’re vice president, huh.”
After shooting them a glare, she turned back to the match, curling her lips in a wicked smile.
“Trying to analyze with scraps of info, huh? No wonder you’re lost. Simon’s technique has never been used in official duels.”
The one and only time he had shown it was in an unofficial fight, his duel with Hector.
She tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Not that it matters. That’s Simon’s own creation. His own power.”
Kwaaang!
Boooom!
Every time Simon swung his arm, violet thunder spears flew out, lighting up the arena.
Svera felt her head pounding, her thoughts growing cloudy.
Even worse, she was making mistakes in her magic circles, something she never did.
‘No way…’
She panted heavily.
‘Does that technique have mental-curse effects too?’
It was clear the longer it went on, the worse it would get. She had to gamble now.
‘I’ll use the Drowners I secretly moved into the waterways…!’
If nothing else, the home advantage was hers.
From Simon’s blind spot, two Drowners burst up from the canal and lunged at him.
Even as they attacked, Simon hurled spears forward.
‘Did it work?!’
BOOOOM!
But the two spears that had clearly been thrown forward suddenly pierced the Drowners in the back of the head, crossing into an X and slamming into the ground.
‘He threw them forward, how did they land behind?!’
Sweat dripped down her forehead. She had never faced anyone so unreadable.
So this was the president of Keyzen’s student council.
“Give it up, Svera.”
Simon raised another Chaos Spear in his hand.
“You and I are just a bad match.”
“Kh!”
The words hit harder than the attack, her face flushed red.
“……I’ll admit you got me once. But the one who wins in the end is still me!”
She opened subspace, pulling out a weathered pirate flag covered in moss.
She spread out a massive Spirit magic circle beneath her and slammed the flag into its center.
“The infamous pirates of the North Sea, Stekullo.”
She gave a chilling smile.
“Do you know what happened to the ones who toppled six cities and beheaded lords, only to vanish without a trace?”
“?”
Ruuuumble!
From the flag surged foam made of spirit energy. A colossal ship rose from it—a decayed pirate vessel, riddled with holes, sails broken.
Uuuuuuuuh!
Inside, dozens of crewman souls wailed in unison. The spectral ship pulled in all the canal water, shaping the ghosts and ship’s remains into watery form.
“This is my full power!”
<Svera’s Original – Shipwreck Frenzy>
Swaaaaaash!
The pirate ship surged forward with the canal’s waters, the cries of ghostly sailors shaking the arena.
Simon hurled Chaos Spears one after another, but the ship withstood them, its hulking mass charging through chaos unbroken.
‘Impressive.’
Simon admitted.
‘If she fought against Elisa, that would’ve been a great match.’
Of course, Elisa—the representative of Spiritology—would have started the duel with two or three ghost ships already deployed as basics.
“This is my reward to you for showing such splendid black magic.”
Simon tore a Chaos magic circle from his waist and laid it on the ground, placing a Spirit Stone as the medium.
Chaos fused with the Spirit Stone, sparks crackling and snapping wildly.
“Too late! Victory is mine!”
Svera’s ghost ship loomed right before him. Simon only smiled quietly.
Shrrrkkk—!
From her spot, she couldn’t quite see.
But she saw the flash of a colossal violet slash—then—
‘The shipwreck!’
The massive vessel split cleanly in half.
Cleft down the middle, the halves crashed to either side, collapsing uselessly.
Kihihihihihi!
And before Simon, a ghostly figure appeared, wearing a jester’s mask like a card-game Joker, wielding a massive scythe.
<Simon’s Original – Chaos Reaper>
As a Spiritology major, Svera could only gape in horror.
‘A Spiritology dropout… summoning a Reaper? Even I can’t use that yet!’
Simon raised his right hand.
One of the Chaos Spears embedded in the ground flew into his grip. Its pointed blade stretched sideways, transforming into a great scythe.
Cheook!
Chuk!
Simon and the Chaos Reaper lowered their stances, both taking position with their scythes at the ready.
“Let’s go!”
Simon charged forward, the Chaos Reaper slipping into his shadow and advancing alongside him.
“Block it!”
Svera spread her arms wide. From the split wreckage of the pirate ship, the pirates’ spirits dragged water and hurled themselves from above to crash down upon Simon.
Srrng!
Srrrrng!
Simon and the Reaper swapped positions in dazzling rhythm, slashing their violet scythes.
Linked by black magic, their coordination was flawless. The rain of drowned phantoms split and scattered beneath the scythe strikes, vanishing into nothing.
Simon closed the distance to Svera in an instant.
“Sorry, but—”
He stomped the ground.
Crack!
Sparks flared from the fractured floor as his body shot forward. Simon and the Reaper simultaneously swung their scythes at her.
“As the Student Council President of Keyzen, I cannot lose.”
Srrrrng!
They crossed past Svera. An X-shaped slash gleamed before her body, the searing violet glow lighting the battlefield.
“Winner!”
The referee’s voice rang out.
[Simon Follentia : 94%]
[Svera Matheus : 0%]
“Keyzen’s Student Council President—Simon Follentia!”
Waaaaaaaah!
Simon lifted his scythe-bearing arm high in ceremony. The audience erupted in cheers, applauding the splendid match.
With her barrier gone, Svera collapsed to the ground, letting out a resigned laugh as her head drooped.
“……It’s my complete defeat.”
Then, Simon said something to the referee. The referee flinched, then hurriedly relayed orders to the staff around the arena.
“Svera.”
Having finished with the referee, Simon approached. She shrugged.
“Yeah, yeah. Mocking the loser is a victor’s privilege. Go ahead.”
“That’s not it. Excuse me for a moment.”
Without warning, Simon scooped her up and sprinted away. Flustered, she shouted,
“W-What are you doing?!”
“It’s dangerous here.”
Glancing back, Simon saw the Chaos Reaper dissolving into mist. Then the fragments stretched into hundreds of chaos streams, shooting skyward.
It was wide-area chaos bombardment magic.
<Simon’s Original – Chaos Barrage >
Violet rain poured indiscriminately from the sky. Screams rose in the stands, but thankfully, the staff had raised the audience barriers to maximum after Simon’s warning.
Simon set Svera down and personally deflected descending spears one by one with his own Chaos Spear.
Svera stared blankly upward.
‘Good thing the match ended before that hit.’
Watching Simon tirelessly fend off the rain of chaos, she thought,
‘This guy is strong.’
And the school that raised someone like this, Keyzen.
‘Tomorrow… I’ll finally be taking classes there too, right?’
Yes.
She felt certain now that she had made the right choice in transferring.
* * *
The match ended.
Because Chaos Barrage had blasted craters into the arena and reduced it to ruins, the final match would be held in a neighboring field after a short break.
Moyran had three more waterway arenas like this one, so it wasn’t an issue. For necromancer students, arenas being destroyed mid-battle was routine.
“Well done, Simon!”
“You even tore Moyran apart fair and square.”
The transfer students welcomed him back warmly as he returned from the arena. Simon smiled back, looking calm.
Though outwardly composed—
‘I-I’m going to die…’
After returning from Tarados, he had fought three evaluation-level duels in just two days at the necromancer schools.
It was exhausting beyond measure, but he couldn’t let it show.
Jane had repeatedly emphasized that, as Keyzen’s Student Council President, he must maintain “dignity”. It was also his duty. So he wore a mask of composure, smiling as if none of this was a burden—though inside, it was pure agony.
“You did well, Simon.”
Maelyn handed him a towel and a bottle of chilled water filled with ice.
“Thanks.”
He wanted nothing more than to sprawl on the ground and gulp it down, but instead he placed one hand on his hip, drinking with practiced poise.
She winked playfully.
“Working hard, aren’t you? Our president.”
“……You noticed?”
“Your arms and legs are trembling, you know.”
Simon chuckled quietly and drained the bottle. Still, maybe because they were in Moyran, even the water tasted sweet.
‘Now, the last match.’
Simon glanced at Maelyn. She tilted her head, puzzled, then smiled knowingly and nudged his arm.
“All right, all right. Don’t worry—I’ll definitely win.”
“Haha, no, that’s not what I—”
“I’ll do my best, President!”
She playfully struck a salute before walking away.
She acted carefree, but Simon could see the faint tremor in her fingers. Smiling, he swept his coat behind him and followed.
The arena for the final match was just ahead.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters