Chapter 613
Attending Necromancer School meant Simon had seen more bones than he could count, but even so, human bones always felt different.
Especially when they turned up in suspicious places under unexpected circumstances.
“I’ll take a look.”
While Maelyn was still frozen with unease, Simon strode over and examined the bones.
Cracks and damage were scattered across them, and the ribs in particular bore strange bite marks.
“...Judging from the skeletons, two men and one woman. They haven’t been dead for very long. And...”
Simon slowly closed his eyes before adding,
“They weren’t starved or drowned. They were murdered.”
“...!”
Maelyn’s face turned deathly pale.
“D-don’t say something so scary!”
“It’s the truth.”
Simon rose to his feet, eyes narrowing.
“The Valkese clan, who own this arena, must be hiding something.”
[Boy.]
At that moment, Feer’s clone spoke into his mind.
[Eleven o’clock direction.]
Simon only rolled his eyes toward that direction. A black shadow flickered past before vanishing swiftly.
“Maelyn! After it!”
“H-huh? After what?”
Summoning Darkness, Simon sprinted at full speed. Though Maelyn seemed confused, she hurried to match his pace.
“Someone’s inside this cave!”
Tap!
Simon activated Darkness across his whole body, boosting his speed. Running along the cave wall, he leapt and grabbed a protrusion above, climbing swiftly upward.
‘Does this tunnel connect all the way to the arena above?’
Whoosh!
Pop!
Simon climbed like a wild animal, agile and unrelenting.
While watching him use Cloud to cling to the walls and spring from point to point, Maelyn couldn’t help but be impressed, then quickly drew a magic circle beneath her feet.
“I’m coming too!”
<Ice Road>
Ssshhrrrkkk!
Ice spread beneath her feet, and she shot upward along the wall.
A sudden chase began.
As they sped up, the fugitive’s form came into sight. It ran on all fours, not very large judging from its shadow and footprints.
“We have to catch it!”
At Simon’s gesture, a skeleton appeared from subspace, covering his arm.
<Bone Armor – Handgun Mode>
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He fired a stream of bone bullets while running, but the unfamiliar terrain made him miss repeatedly.
Trying to aim while sprinting, Simon scraped his legs on rocks and even bumped his head against hanging stalactites.
The terrain favored the fugitive.
‘Damn it!’
By the time Simon maneuvered around a rocky outcrop, the fugitive had already vanished.
“Lost it?”
“Leave it to me!”
Catching up, Maelyn closed her eyes and raised her hands. Inside the circle she cast, complex formulas wriggled like worms into place, followed instantly by a rune.
<Scrutor>
The magic circle condensed into a black sphere before releasing in ripples. Frowning with concentration, Maelyn quickly conjured an ice blade in her right hand and hurled it at a nearby pillar.
Kwooooom!
As the ice blade shattered the cave pillar, something leapt out.
“Ah!”
It happened so suddenly she couldn’t react. The creature struck her like lightning, and both of them plummeted over the cliff.
Simon dashed frantically to the edge.
Splash!
He saw Maelyn and the fugitive plunge into an underground pool.
[Keh keh keh! Quite the predicament.]
Feer’s voice rang out.
[Isn’t this the perfect moment to unleash the Legion Commander’s power?]
“...No.”
If he summoned Feon here, there’d be no excuse—his identity would be exposed.
Not that he needed it.
“Maelyn caught it.”
<Frost Nova>
Krrrshhhhhh!
From the center of the water, an icy blossom erupted, chilling everything around it. The pool froze into solid ice, and caught among the frosty petals was the monster itself.
“Nice one, Maelyn!”
Simon raised his right arm, fitted with the Bone Handgun.
Rattle!
At the same time, two skeletons emerged from subspace and merged with the Bone Handgun. Interlocking bones reshaped into an extremely long and sleek barrel.
<Bone Armor – Sniper Rifle Mode>
Aiming at the monster trapped in the icy bloom, Simon pulled the trigger of thought without hesitation.
Click-clack!
Bones strained under pressure until—Bang! A short Bone Spear shot forward with explosive velocity.
The recoil threw Simon backward, and the sniper rifle shattered apart, bone fragments scattering.
Ssschhk!
But the shot was true.
The bone spear pierced straight through the monster’s chest.
—Skkrrrreeeee!
A hideous scream echoed.
He could’ve blown its head off in one shot, but Simon held back—he needed information first.
Landing on the frozen surface, Simon got a better look.
‘!’
It wasn’t a monster. It was a natural undead.
Its gaunt frame showed bare ribs, its face warped like kneaded dough, a few strands of hair clinging desperately. Rotten saliva dripped from its mouth. Its grotesque appearance defied neat classification.
‘So this thing killed those people earlier...’
The undead struggled violently, its lower body encased in ice. Cracks splintered across the frozen hold.
Crash!
It broke free at last and charged.
“Ah!”
Maelyn, freed from her own ice, gasped at the sight.
“Simon! Get out of the way!”
The undead’s mouth yawned open, spilling Darkness like a haze of blind hatred toward the living.
But Simon stood his ground, calm eyes fixed on it.
[Stop.]
Fwoooosh!
The undead’s body froze mid-charge. The oppressive force was so great it felt as if the entire cave had turned black-blue.
Maelyn’s whole body shuddered, goosebumps rising on her skin.
‘Simon...?’
It wasn’t the Simon she knew.
That expression.
That aura.
A pressure so overwhelming it made even an undead tremble in fear, desperate to escape.
Just like...
‘That time...’
—Skkkrrrrreeee!
The undead fleeing from Simon suddenly spotted poor Maelyn and lunged at her. Startled, she scrambled to her feet, but forgot about the ice she had conjured herself, slipped, and landed hard on her backside.
‘Ahhh! What am I doing?!’
Flustered, she flailed helplessly. The undead bared its teeth, ready to tear into her body.
Crash!
Simon dropped down from above. He crushed the writhing undead beneath him, then sat cross-legged atop it as calmly as if nothing had happened, a faint smile on his face.
“You okay, Maelyn?”
Thump—
Thump—
Her breath caught as she nodded quickly. For some reason, her heart raced, and her lungs seemed to tighten with every breath.
“Y-yeah! Thank you!”
Whether by curse or control, the undead’s body was slowly going slack beneath Simon’s hold.
* * *
Three hours later.
“Horrifying.”
Committee Chair Jane said coldly, displaying the captured undead that Simon and Maelyn had brought back to the arena’s owners.
“If you have a tongue, then speak.”
Such a grotesque undead had been hiding within the arena.
The Valkese clan, owners of the arena, fell prostrate on the ground.
“W-we have committed an unforgivable sin!”
The “Water Arena”, a famous landmark of Valkese territory, was an ancient ruin once used for royal amusement.
Though their kingdom had long since perished, its descendants survived by managing this aquatic colosseum, eking out a living from its attraction. Valkese lands were barren for farming and poor in resources, so tourism was their only source of survival. This relic, left behind by their ancestors, served as a noble retreat.
But then—
People began disappearing, one by one, within the arena.
Dark rumors spread, nobles stopped coming, and the business declined rapidly. The Valkese clan had been desperate to hide the truth.
“I see.”
Jane nodded quietly as the Valkese bowed their heads to the floor.
“There is nothing left for us to conceal!”
“You may demand compensation! We will forfeit all fees of use!”
“The problem is resolved, the arena is safe again—so please, for the sake of the Dark Emperor...”
Jane turned her back.
“We’ll be returning the arena to its original site.”
“?!”
The Valkese froze, jaws dropping.
Teleporting such a massive facility would cost astronomical sums—equal to constructing a new arena from scratch.
And yet she was canceling it? They had believed that if they simply brought the arena into Keyzen territory, the contract would be guaranteed.
But Jane was merciless.
“We will not host the Dark Emperor Festival in an arena that nearly cost students their lives.”
Snap.
At the flick of her fingers, attendants rushed in and seized the Valkese clan members.
“W-wait, Professor! We’ll gladly pay for our crimes!”
“Just reconsider sending the arena back...!”
Even as they were dragged away, they kicked and screamed desperately. But Jane was unyielding.
She turned to the committee.
“Investigate every official inside Keyzen who approved the Valkese arena. They couldn’t have been ignorant of those rumors. There must be a connection.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Once the committee members dispersed, Jane turned to Simon and Maelyn with a warm smile.
“Excellent work, Student Council. You prevented what could have been a great disaster.”
Hearing Jane’s praise, Maelyn couldn’t hide her smile and replied gratefully. Simon, however, looked rather bewildered.
“Are you really sending the arena back? The cost must be—”
“Once an arena has suffered such a scandal, there’s no guarantee trouble won’t arise again.”
Jane smiled faintly.
“More importantly, your efforts will be reported to headquarters and to Lady Neftis herself. You both did splendidly.”
It seemed things had ended well.
Maelyn sighed in relief, glancing at Simon.
“See? It worked out, didn’t it?”
Simon nodded slowly.
“Mm, I suppose.”
He brushed back his hair, eyes narrowing slightly.
‘This is... resolved, right?’
* * *
In the Valkese Arena caves, thick with darkness.
Seven hundred meters beyond the pile of bones left by the undead’s victims—
Through narrow natural tunnels, deep into a place no human hand could ever reach.
Drip—
Drip—
Droplets fell from long stalactites overhead.
Even the Valkese clan, caretakers of this arena for generations, knew nothing of this hidden place.
Drip—
Drip—
And on the wall—
Something straight was mounted.
A symbol that had no place in the Dark Alliance.
Drip—
Two wooden planks crossed in the shape of a crucifix.
Drip—
The unmistakable symbol of Goddess Dave.
If anyone here were to see it, they would collapse in shock.
Beneath it lay severed human heads arranged neatly upon silver trays.
An altar.
Blood offerings to the goddess.
Ssslkkk.
A long, drooling tongue slithered up to touch the edge of the cross.
Ssshhhh—
The rough surface grew slick with saliva as the tongue slowly traced its way upward. Wet stains glistened where it passed.
At last, reaching the top, crimson lips pressed a kiss against the crucifix.
“Soon... into the embrace of ruin.”
The white hue of death spread, filling the cavern completely.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters
Very good story and translation but half the chapter aren't for free and it is wayyyy too expensive will it stat like tjis foreve or will it get free after some time