Chapter 824
Inside the ghost ship floating aimlessly in the sky.
And here, Elisa, ranked seventh overall, was on edge.
She was holding a communication crystal, bought with points, and talking to someone.
“No, how the hell am I supposed to know where that bastard is!”
While Elisa was shouting at the top of her lungs, a calm voice flowed from the crystal.
—That’s for you to figure out by wracking your brain. You know, right? If you fail to capture Simon this time, you’ll fall out of favor with the New Student Council, and when that happens, your father’s business will also…
“Fine! I said fine!”
Elisa screeched, then turned off the communication crystal.
And then she let out a long sigh.
“…How did I end up like this.”
She had recklessly jumped in, thinking she could catch Simon, only to get caught up in the chaos and lose two ghost ships.
Aseraz and Meridiana, who had promised to help, never even showed up.
The ghost ship she was now riding was the very last one she had brought into this test.
Prrrrrr—!
While she was lamenting, suddenly the steering wheel on the deck began to turn on its own.
“Again?”
No doubt it was volcanic debris falling from the sky again. With an expression full of disgust, Elisa stretched out her arm to grab a nearby pillar.
Whoosh—!
At that moment, the ghost ship braked sharply. Failing to catch hold of the pillar, her body was flung to the opposite floor, thud! her backside slamming down hard.
“Ah, drive properly, will you!”
Rubbing her sore backside, she grimaced in pain.
On the empty helm, a hazy ghost appeared, grabbed the wheel, chuckled to itself, then vanished.
“I hate this!”
She clutched her throbbing head.
“Simon Follentia! Aseraz Mikel! This damned test!”
Suddenly, frustration and anger welled up and she leapt to her feet.
“No, seriously! Wasn’t it Father who botched the diplomatic failure? A Prime Minister of all things, starting some pointless business in his daughter’s school, only to create a political weakness for her! And now I’m being dragged around and attacked because of it! Wasn’t it Father himself who said multiplying enemies is the act of a fool—!”
“Regrettable.”
A sudden third voice made Elisa flinch and tremble in shock.
When she turned around, skeletons wrapped in emerald Darkness had their ‘skulls’ gaping wide.
<Simon’s Original – Skull Drone>
Fwoooosh—!
With a rattling sound, the skulls’ jaws opened and spewed jet-black flames.
In an instant, the deck caught fire.
“What the hell now!”
Elisa hastily unfurled a magic circle at her fingertips and manipulated the ghost ship.
<Ghost Operator – Repair>
The ship’s firefighting and support systems activated. Buckets hanging everywhere moved on their own to douse the flames, and the charred floorboards were rapidly replaced.
“Damn it!”
Once the restoration was complete, she spun around, yanked the wooden gun at her waist, and pulled the trigger with lightning speed.
Bang—! Bang—!
Her marksmanship was impressive. As the spirit bullets hit, the Skull Drones’ black magic was dispelled, and they tumbled to the ground.
She blew on the faint smoke rising from the barrel, then looked around with an annoyed face.
“Which bastard dares mess with my ship—!”
<Bone Prison>
Clatterrrrr—!
Elisa’s body was yanked backward and slammed against the cabin wall.
“?!”
Before she could react, her arms were pulled up and sealed tight with bones. Her legs, too, were slapped against the wall and locked in place.
“Huh?”
She struggled desperately, but her limbs wouldn’t budge.
‘W-what? Why isn’t the ship’s defense system activating…!’
“Hello.”
Step. Step.
Her head turned.
And there, calmly approaching with unhurried steps, was the very target she was supposed to capture in this test.
“Long time no see, Elisa.”
“S-Simon Follentia!”
Her face flushed red as she shouted.
“Y-you, you! How did you even get up this high—!”
“I flew here using the Royal Guard.”
Simon opened subspace and retrieved the Skeleton Mages in Skull Drone state.
Of course, the skeletons holding Elisa stayed where they were.
Her flushed face contorted as she thrashed about.
“Let me go this instant!”
“I’ll do that if you promise to cooperate with me.”
“Hah?”
Veins bulged on Elisa’s forehead.
“Cooperate, cooperate, that’s all I ever hear! Do I look that easy to you? I’m Elisa Celine! Out there, none of you could even meet my eyes, but inside this school you strut around like you’re someone! Do you think if I get expelled from Keyzen like this, House Celine will just sit still?”
“Sorry, I don’t have much time to listen.”
To invoke her family’s prestige, she must have been truly cornered.
Simon glanced at the output device strapped to his arm. Now, familiar names were showing up.
[Jaime Victoria has been eliminated.]
[Fitzgerald Ingels has been eliminated.]
…….
…….
…….
[Toto Amoriya has been eliminated.]
This test, it was rushing toward the point of no return.
Simon’s eyes grew even more serious.
“I must capture the Volcanic Lord.”
“W-what does that have to do with me…!”
“You’re the representative of Spiritology, and the president of the Noble Club. If things go on like this, your students will be expelled en masse. Don’t you feel any responsibility?”
She bit down on her lower lip.
Silence fell. Simon strolled slowly around, then spoke again.
“Meridiana approached you, didn’t she? Told you to capture me?”
Elisa turned her eyes away.
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Meridiana is connected with the New Student Council, and they used your father’s business to pressure you, didn’t they?”
She tried to look unconcerned, but her face had gone pale.
“But think of it this way. Is it incompetence to fail to protect your father’s business as a Keyzen student? Or—”
Simon continued.
“Is it greater incompetence to waste your time trying to protect his business, and fail to protect half of the students in the department you lead as its representative?”
“……”
Tap.
Simon stopped walking and turned, meeting her eyes squarely.
“Personally, I’d rather cut you out of this test entirely. You attacked me first, you’re my enemy.”
Elisa’s heart plummeted. Honestly, an immediate judgment wouldn’t have been strange at all in this situation.
“But I believe this isn’t the time for personal grudges. We need to work together for a bigger goal.”
Clink.
Simon opened his palm, revealing a capsule syringe filled with blue blood.
Elisa’s eyes widened.
“Wait, that’s…!”
“Elishia gave me these just before she was eliminated. I believe you know what that means.”
Carefully tucking the syringe into his inner pocket, Simon squatted before her and clasped his hands together.
“Now, choose.”
‘…Damn.’
She thought for a moment, then spoke with trembling lips.
“T-then, I have one condition too.”
“?”
“When you become Student Council President again, at that time……”
She swallowed hard and continued.
“Father’s business……”
“Politics, even in this situation?”
Simon’s expression turned cold, and Elisa flinched.
She had always thought of him as gentle, but was he capable of making such a face?
At that moment, Simon let out a small sigh.
“I won’t do lobbying, but it’s true that during my presidency, I evaluated your father’s business positively. If he provides the same service as before, then I’ll consider it favorably.”
‘Ah!’
With this, even if the deal with the Ballack Student Council was cut off right now, she would at least have an excuse to tell her father, that things would change once Simon became President again.
By saying she valued the politics of the future rather than the present, Elisa judged she wouldn’t be branded with the stigma of ‘incompetence’.
“O-okay. Fine! I’ll cooperate, so hurry and release me!”
Elisa flailed her limbs as she spoke. Simon flicked his fingers, and the bones binding her shot off, returning to his subspace.
She collapsed to the ground with a thud.
“I’ll be counting on you.”
Finally, Simon showed a faint smile and held out his hand.
Clicking her tongue, lips jutting out, she grabbed his hand and stood up.
“Keep your promise.”
“Of course.”
Beeeep—
Just then, an alert sounded. Startled, she quickly snatched up the communication crystal from the floor.
“C-can I answer it?”
She looked at Simon nervously, and Simon nodded. She activated the crystal.
“It’s me, what is it?”
—We were thinking of moving first. Let’s go together.
It was Aseraz’s voice.
“What are you saying, weren’t you telling me earlier to capture Simon Follentia?”
Saying that, Elisa glanced at Simon’s eyes.
“I think I’ve found him. I’ll try attacking at the right moment, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll retreat.”
—Is that so? Then it can’t be helped. Just don’t overdo it and get eliminated.
Beep. The communication ended.
She let out a long sigh of relief, “Haaaah.”
“That voice just now was……”
“No point in hiding it anymore. It was Aseraz.”
She tucked the crystal away as she answered.
In truth, from Elisa’s standpoint, pretending to help Simon only to stab him in the back, and siding with Meridiana or Aseraz, was the safer option.
But, compared to those two who endlessly pressured her by exploiting her weaknesses, Simon, who at least acted as though he was coaxing, felt a little easier to side with.
And above all—
‘If uncertain, follow the side with the greater cause and justification.’
It was her father’s teaching. She steadied her heart, and looked at Simon.
“So, what now?”
“Hmm.”
Simon fell into thought. Elisa was of course an important asset, but the reason he secured her first was because she was the key to the assault on the Volcanic Lord.
“Turn the ship’s bow east.”
“Eh? East means toward the starting point? That place is a lava paradise right now.”
Simon turned his head.
“There’s someone we absolutely need to cooperate with.”
The direction he gazed at, was the ink-wash-colored Skull Island floating in the sky.
* * *
Among the black magics of the Darkness Dynamics, one of the most anomalous—‘Domain Reversal’.
An island floating in the sky, created with that magic.
The ink-colored island had a giant skull’s mouth drawn as if with a brush, gaping wide open.
“Are you serious? You’re going to bring Shatel Maer along?”
Elisa jumped.
“How? Are you even friends with that giant?”
“Not friends, but we once fought in a duel evaluation.”
Her face went pale.
“Wait, just that? Are you sure about this? That guy’s notorious for turning his duel opponents into bloody pulps!”
“That rumor is exaggerated.”
As they talked, the ghost ship arrived at Shatel’s Skull Island. Simon stepped forward.
“Shatel! I need to speak with you!”
He shouted loudly, but there was no response.
Hiding behind him, Elisa whispered nervously.
“L-let’s just go back. If we wake him up for no reason……”
“Elisa.”
Simon turned back with a gentle smile.
“Let’s smash the door down with the ghost ship and break through.”
“Whaaaat?”
There was some squabbling, but in the end, Simon held the initiative in this relationship. Elisa could only sigh deeply and agree.
“Fine, but don’t blame me! Hold on tight!”
The ghost ship was shrouded in Elisa’s vast Darkness, then charged straight at the skull’s mouth.
Kwooooom—!
The ship’s prow smashed through the door at the mouth and broke in.
The tremendous impact shook the ghost ship violently, and as soon as the door shattered, the vessel tilted and overturned.
“Kyaaah!”
Clutching the railing, Elisa was flung off the ship, rolling across the dirt ground. Grabbing the mast, Simon landed lightly on the floor.
Inside Shatel’s Skull hideout.
Everywhere, large and small magic circles of the Darkness Dynamics were spread out, and all their circuits converged toward the massive Buddha statue at the center.
It seemed like some powerful spell was being prepared. Simon approached the statue.
“Shatel, you can hear me, right? I have something to say.”
“W-wait! Don’t touch anything carelessly!”
Following behind Simon, Elisa gasped in fright and froze. Cracks began spreading across the statue’s face with a crackling sound. Soon, its eyes shattered, and in their place appeared living human eyes.
[……Something to say?]
“Yes.”
Simon smiled brightly.
“I came because I need your cooperation. I want to defeat the Volcanic Lord and save my classmates who are on the verge of expulsion.”
Rumble rumble rumble rumble—!
Suddenly, the entire island beneath their feet began to shake.
Crack, crack.
Cracks raced across the whole statue. Elisa, who had stepped forward, sensed a dreadful omen and quickly hid behind the ghost ship.
Kwooooom—!
The statue shattered completely, and from within it, the giant emerged.
“Simon Follentia.”
His eyes narrowed.
“I have been waiting.”
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