Chapter 797
No way of knowing how much time had passed.
His head was spinning, and he could only perceive a monotonous sound repeating itself over and over.
Then.
“......Ugh.”
His eyes opened.
When he came to his senses, he found himself lying on the floor of a room. It was that same white room where Simon had first fallen from the Sheily family’s office.
‘Then what was that flower-filled room? A dream?’
As Simon shook his messy head and lifted his upper body,
‘Ah.’
It hadn’t been a dream.
The “mysterious skull” he had picked up in the flower-filled room was right before his eyes.
It was draped in white garments, still holding a flag in its hand.
The preservation state was flawless. The surface of the bones was white and spotless, showing the very peculiar phenomena of holiness users’ remains that Aron had once taught him.
Though the material’s origin was unclear, there was no time to think about it now. He shoved it into subspace and stood up.
Wiiiiiiiing—
Through the blocked wall, he could feel the muffled sound of alarms. Simon left the room the same way he had entered.
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing—!
The alarm was much louder.
If something had gone wrong, it seemed it had gone very wrong.
—Simon! Where are you? Simon!
—What’s that guy doing?
Through the deafening alarm, he heard students calling out for him.
His heart dropped like a stone.
‘Just how long was I in there?’
Quickly regaining focus, he bolted out of the office. He didn’t know where to go, but he ran in the direction the voices had come from.
As he dashed recklessly, turning around a pillar in the corridor—
“Uwah!”
He ran straight into Loraine.
Both of them, sprinting at full speed, tried to brake at the same time but couldn’t completely stop, ending up clutching each other in mid-motion.
“Simon!”
The icy expression frozen on her face melted away like snow in spring the moment she saw him, relief flooding her features.
“You’re here! Thank goodness.”
She immediately wrapped her arms around Simon. He flinched, flustered, not knowing what to do, but she quickly stepped back, her eyes sharpening.
“What were you doing? I was worried sick.”
“S-sorry, it’s just….”
“Let’s move first!”
Loraine immediately stepped onto Darkness and sprinted, Simon rushing alongside her.
“What’s going on?”
“Just now, an emergency call came in.”
Loraine brushed her bangs out of her eyes.
“It looks like the Holy Federation noticed we’re in this museum.”
“!”
“Professor Grerion ordered a full retreat. We need to get out before the Holy Federation’s troops arrive.”
Boom! Thud! Thud!
But escaping wasn’t going to be so simple.
From the far side of the museum, pale-white monsters appeared.
Their faces were cramped with clustered features, their arms long. They were “Divine Besats”, a type of summon used by Priests.
‘So the museum’s security system has activated.’
It seemed whenever the alarm sounded, these things would come out.
“What’s the evacuation status?”
Simon asked as he tilted his head back. The clawed arm of a creature grazed past his cheek by a hair’s breadth, and Simon dove in, slamming his palm into its torso.
<Simon Original – Shockwave>
Boooom!
The creature was sent flying, and Simon, pressing index and middle finger together, snapped forward like flicking his finger, unleashing a shockwave.
<Simon Original – Wind Snap>
Pang!
Pang!
The already-staggering creature was struck by successive Wind Snaps, slamming into the wall, then Simon instantly hurled a quickly-assembled “Bone Spear” to pierce through its chest.
Crunch!
Loraine, meanwhile, slammed her fist down on another creature, crushing it, and replied.
“About 80%. The students who came out first were loaded onto Professor Grerion’s chimeras. Two chimeras have already departed, only one remains. We, the defense squad, will ride the last one.”
Not 100% evacuation.
Which meant—
“There are still students who haven’t gotten out of the museum?”
“Yes. About five.”
Loraine pointed down the corridor.
“I’ll sweep the third floor, Simon, you check the second floor for any remaining students.”
“Got it!”
“Students! Hurry!”
In the distance, assistants could be seen rushing around, gathering students.
“Let go! Let me go! I haven’t collected my materials yet!”
“The Death Knight doesn’t matter! Your life is more important!”
Simon watched with pity as a student was dragged away by assistants.
But only for a moment. He steeled his resolve and began his search on the second floor.
‘I can’t leave a single one behind. I must save them all.’
* * *
Outside the museum.
Grerion stood with arms crossed, legs spread, silently staring ahead.
“This feels ominous.”
He then lifted his head to the sky.
Ooooooooh!
In the clear sky hung a massive cross of light.
And in the center of that cross, an eyeball swiveled, scanning the surroundings.
“Professor!”
One assistant rushed toward Grerion.
“The second chimera has just been sent to the border!”
“And the remaining personnel?”
“Other than the defense squad, five still haven’t evacuated!”
Grerion burst out in anger.
“The evacuation order was given ages ago, what in the world are those students still doing inside?!”
It was the first time anyone had seen the usually hearty Grerion this furious.
The assistant flinched, immediately snapping to attention.
“P-perhaps they got greedy and went too deep...! I’ll look for them quickly!”
Grerion exhaled heavily.
“There’s no time. Bring them out, even if you have to subdue them with curses!”
“Yes sir!”
As the assistant sprinted back into the museum, Grerion once again raised his gaze.
‘I deployed a high-level barrier that should have been impossible to detect, so how did they notice?’
It seemed a priest, unmoved by the necromancer agents’ raid, had been watching from afar.
Who was it?
As countless candidates crossed his mind, Grerion’s eyes narrowed.
“They’re coming.”
“Sir?”
The overcast sky cracked apart. A holy magic circle spread wide in the heavens, and a shaft of radiance beamed down like a spotlight.
“Kh!”
“My eyes...!”
Grerion and the assistants raised their arms to shield their eyes. Then, rumble! The sound of the heavens quaking rang out, and something dropped right into the center of the spotlight.
The ground shook, a massive aftershock erupted, whipping Grerion’s robes violently. Two assistants behind him swallowed hard, their faces grim.
“This is the worst.”
A lament slipped from the corner of Grerion’s lips.
Step, step.
From the hazy pit of dust, glimmering eyes appeared. A massive man walked forward with slow, deliberate steps.
“S-still, at least it’s just one. I thought they’d send a squad, at minimum.”
“Who is that?”
To the assistants’ questions, Grerion closed his eyes and answered.
“It’s Leight, Chief Inquisitor.”
“!!”
Not even a death sentence could be more despairing than this news.
Grerion forced the assistants, trembling in terror, to retreat. He lowered his head.
Before him lay six briefcases neatly lined on the ground. Though they looked like ordinary cases, each was made of writhing flesh.
Some twitched with insect wings on their surface, some were covered in hardened shells.
“No other choice, then.”
He grabbed the black case on the far right and lifted it.
“Professor! That case...!”
“Stand back.”
Click!
Breaking the seal, he unfolded the case. From within, countless organs of strange creatures boiled up as if about to overflow.
Pulsating without end, it was enough to provoke revulsion in anyone who looked. Yet Grerion did not hesitate. He pressed the case to his body.
Grrrrrrrrrk!
The bones and nerves from the case burrowed into his skin, forcing their way into his body. His eyes bulged as if ready to pop out. Chimeric flesh covered his body, twisting his form.
<Grerion Original – Chimera Skin>
His frame swelled, transforming in an instant into a monstrous body over three meters tall.
From his back extended wings of blades, shrieking against the ground with metallic screeches. Six eyes scanned the surroundings, and his elongated arms dragged along the floor.
Huuuugh—
A twelve-species fusion, far beyond the rules and limits of chimera handling.
Few could create such a thing, fewer still could merge with it.
Breathing out Darkness from his mouth, the full Chimera Grerion stared forward. Now fused, all of his senses screamed danger.
Step, step.
Footsteps reverberated in his ears, followed by the unpleasant scrape of metal dragging on the floor.
“Well, well, look who it is.”
The man bearing a winged cross emerged with a trailing shadow.
“It’s been a while since the ‘legend’ graced the border.”
Grrrrrr—!
Grerion’s voice boomed from the Chimera’s maw.
[Leight, the brat has grown plenty.]
“And you, you’ve grown too old.”
Leight cracked his neck with a snap.
“A senile old man, ready to smear himself on the wall, what business does he have here?”
With that greeting, Leight lightly stomped the ground. His figure vanished, reappearing behind Grerion.
[!]
Grerion raised his thick, exoskeletal arm, but Leight swung his cross.
Craaaack!
Just one strike.
In a single blow, the Chimera arm, reinforced by layers of exoskeleton, dented inward, spraying blood in all directions.
Leight smirked, then kicked his cross, shattering the Chimera arm completely.
A painful, monstrous cry burst from Grerion’s throat.
“Professor!”
The assistants, too, hurried to arm themselves with Chimeras and charge in, but—
[He is not an opponent you can face! Stand back!]
Grerion roared. The assistants froze, while Leight smirked, his eerie gaze sliding toward them.
[Hhhk!]
Unable to stand idle, Grerion immediately hurled his body forward.
Kwoooooom!
A tremendous shockwave blasted out, dirt and dust heaping like hills. Yet the giant monster’s arm was stopped at the tip of Leight’s finger.
“Time is merciless.”
Leight let his cross fall with a clang, then balled his fist. Sliding forward, he slammed it into Grerion’s abdomen.
Smaaash!
The word “exploded” was literal. Grerion’s body burst apart, chunks of flesh and bulging organs scattering. From within the Chimera, Grerion’s true body rolled across the ground.
“Guhuk!”
Blood frothed from his mouth.
Holes riddled his body, blood spilling freely, parts of him still warped, fused with Chimera tissue. Stray organs clung to him.
“I’ll ask again. Why would a senile old man drag himself to the border?”
Leight’s tone was almost mocking.
“Dementia? Or perhaps, nearing the end of your life, you thought you’d find meaning in hanging from my cross? Especially when you and I are natural opposites.”
Cough! Cough!
Spewing blood, Grerion grabbed another bio-case that had fallen nearby.
No time to choose. He pressed it to his body, letting joints and bones surge outward, fusing again.
Splat!
But Leight did not wait.
He drew his embedded cross-sword and slashed. A curve sliced across the Chimera’s body, spraying blood.
From within, Grerion tumbled out once more, rolling along the ground.
“Necromancers age even faster.”
Leight muttered. Grerion coughed bloody froth, then chuckled hoarsely.
“......I admit it. As you said, my era of glory is over, but!”
Rrrrrumble!
Rrrrk!
The ruined flesh and shattered bones began to stir. At the same time, all the bio-cases scattered around burst open, their seals breaking.
From within, house-sized masses of flesh began to swell.
<Grerion Original – Chimera Field>
“!”
In an instant, a storm of flesh and bone whirled around, engulfing Grerion and Leight.
“An old soldier has his own way of fighting!”
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