Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 158

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Necromancer School’s Summoning Genius Episode 158
Sky Island.
This mystical island, suspended thousands of meters above the ground, was an impregnable fortress that had never once been conquered by outsiders throughout the continent’s history. It currently served as Efnel’s headquarters.
At the Gate of Heaven, the only entrance through which one could enter Sky Island, countless people were gathered, murmuring anxiously as they gazed down at the world below.
Rumble!
The sky, which had been bright and clear just ten minutes before, had turned pitch-black as night, and black lightning was striking down relentlessly. The Priests and Efnel’s students rolled their eyes in fear.
“W-what kind of calamity is this?”
“Has the Goddess taken offense?”
“……No.”
A Priest with hair so long it dragged across the floor appeared. Faculty and students alike bowed their heads in unison.
It was Aigil, Efnel’s professor of Sacred Arts.
“This is a terrible omen. Suspend all classes immediately and evacuate every student now.”
“Yes!”
At Aigil’s command, Efnel’s faculty scattered swiftly.
It was at that very moment.
Whoooosh!
A dazzling flash erupted from the center of the Gate of Heaven, and a colossal pillar of light rose into the air.
The pillar pierced through Sky Island’s clouds and climbed endlessly upward.
Seeing ribbons of light flutter and dance, Aigil instantly dropped to her knees.
“Your Holiness!”
Everyone in the vicinity fell flat to the ground.
Hersillia Efnel, the Fifteenth Pope.
As the pillar of light dissipated, an elderly woman with white hair appeared.
She wore a flowing white vestment and held a staff in her hand. Despite her composed bearing and gentle smile, her towering frame of over six meters radiated an overwhelming presence.
“Your Holiness! Why have you graced us with your personal presence?”
At Aigil’s words, the Pope’s eyes shifted.
“Francesca has caused an incident.”
“……Ah.”
“I’ve told them countless times to be more careful. Yet it always falls to us to clean up the mess.”
Hersillia stepped forward and brought her palms together.
“This time, I may have to stake my very life.”
Boom!
Black clouds surged into the sky like a tidal wave, then coalesced into the shape of a colossal demon beyond description. Its eyes burned with blue light, and its enormous hands stretched to the very edge of the heavens.
Murmur, murmur, murmur.
“A-a demon! It’s a demon!”
“Goddess! Please protect us!”
Hersillia unleashed Sacred Flame. A radiance so brilliant it threatened to burn out the eyes of all who beheld it erupted, and another sun rose in the sky.
“Aigil. I entrust the evacuation to you.”
“Yes, Your Holiness! Please, I beg you, remain unharmed……!”
Aigil knew well that she would be utterly useless in this confrontation. She led everyone at the Gate of Heaven to safety and fled.
In the next instant, as the Pope moved her arm, a vast barrier of Sacred Flame enveloped Efnel and all of Sky Island.
“Nephthys. Must you truly go to such lengths to satisfy your anger?”
Before the words had even finished.
A colossal arm of darkness struck the barrier.

* * *
The assault of the Witch of Death, whose name had only been legend until now, continued for a full forty-eight hours.
Efnel, which the Pope herself had defended, remained unscathed, but her assault reached not only Sky Island but the ground below as well.
Three major monasteries were destroyed, forty-seven smaller temples were reduced to rubble, and the cities beneath Sky Island became wastelands.
Considering that all of this devastation stemmed from mere fragments and debris that fell after the attack on Sky Island, one could gauge the sheer ferocity of Nephthys’s assault.
“Your Holiness! Your Holiness! Where are you?”
After forty-eight hours of relentless attack from the Witch of Death, Aigil rushed to the ruined entrance of Efnel.
“Ah……”
Efnel’s proud Gate of Heaven lay in pitiful ruins, and the surrounding ground was soaked in blood up to the knees.
In the midst of it all, the Pope sat with her back against the wall.
“Your Holiness!”
Every drop of blood pooled around them had flowed from her own body. Aigil, trembling violently, threw herself into the crimson tide, tears streaming down her face.
“I will summon all Six Saints to Efnel at once! A blood vendetta against the Witch of Death and Kizen……!”
“That will be enough, Aigil.”
The Pope spoke with her eyes closed.
“Please focus on managing the situation and attending to the damage.”
Aigil’s eyes widened.
“Your Highness! You cannot possibly overlook Kizen’s brutal and vicious terrorism like this! Every faithful member of the Sacred Federation stands ready to fight with their lives on the line! If you would only give the order……!”
Kheh kheh.
She laughed.
“There’s no need to go that far. This is merely Nephthys throwing a tantrum and pouting—nothing more.”
Aigil’s expression went slack.
The supreme leader was covered in blood, and several monasteries had been reduced to ruins on the ground, yet she called it a mere tantrum?
“If she had been serious, I wouldn’t be standing here at all right now.”
Rising from her seat, she summoned Sacred Flame and began rapidly healing the wounds covering her body.
“Old rivals traded blows with each other. That’s all this was. The matter ends here. See to the damage control.”
“…….”
Aigil’s expression hardened.
Did the Pontiff not realize how desperately the militant factions within Efnel thirsted for war? Even Saint Francesca had defied the Pontiff’s directive, which was why she had acted so recklessly on her own.
But the Pontiff’s orders were absolute. As long as she played the leading role in suppressing the radicals, there was no justification for action.
Aigil sighed inwardly and lowered her head.
“I shall obey your command.”

* * *
Four days later, in the Kizen Hospital Ward.
“Whew, Nephthys really came down hard! Efnel’s tucked its tail between its legs!”
All of Team 7 had gathered at Simon’s bedside. He wore a hospital gown, and Dick was chattering away as usual while Simon nodded with a smile on his face.
“Tucked its tail between its legs?”
“You bet! They saw Nephthys’s power with their own two eyes, didn’t they? They’ve gone all quiet about war. As long as Nephthys is alive, Efnel won’t dare start a conflict with the Sacred Federation!”
“Sigh, honestly. You seem smart enough until it comes to diplomacy, then you fall flat on your face.”
Merin, who had also come to visit, was helping herself to Simon’s fruit.
“It’s true that Nephthys is formidable, and it’s true that we inflicted tens of times the damage we suffered, but I wouldn’t say Efnel’s tucked its tail. The Pontiff simply struck back because she had every right to. The one who really backed down was our Council of Elders.”
“Oh, that’s fair!”
Dick laughed and nodded in agreement.
“Nephthys herself went this far personally. It would be ridiculous for anyone to turn around now and say she still isn’t enough, she’s lacking, let’s have a war anyway. The public opinion is shifting—now it’s all praise for the great Nephthys. That’s where this is heading.”
Just then, Kamibarez, who had been sitting quietly peeling fruit, speared a piece with her fork and approached Simon.
“Simon! Say ‘ah’.”
Simon opened his mouth, and Kamibarez fed him a piece of fruit. Then she gazed intently at him as he chewed.
“……Kami.”
“Yes, Simon?”
“You’re a patient too. Don’t you think you should be resting?”
Kamibarez was also wearing a hospital gown with bandages wrapped around various parts of her body. She smiled brightly and flexed her thin forearm.
“I’m fine! I’m much stronger than you anyway!”
From what he’d heard, she had overextended herself with Blood Flow Magic on the way to the Sacred Temple.
Of course, Simon only knew it that way, but the truth was she had gone into a far more dangerous situation when she broke Ursula’s seal. She’d only survived because Silaji, the Poison Magic professor, had immediately intervened and re-sealed it.
But Kamibarez was keeping this secret so her friends wouldn’t worry.
Knock knock.
Just then, a knock came, and the ward attendant entered.
“Pardon the interruption during visiting hours. How are you feeling, student?”
“Much better, thank you.”
“Good to hear. May I draw some blood for testing?”
“Of course.”
The attendant inserted a needle into Simon’s arm and began drawing blood. A brief silence fell over the room.
Gulp.
The sound of someone swallowing was unusually loud.
Three sets of eyes turned. Kamibarez was staring at the needle, her face flushed crimson.
“Kami, what’s wrong?”
At Merin’s question, Kamibarez startled and flailed both hands frantically.
“Oh, uh! I just… needles scare me! Whenever I see a needle I get all tense!”
“Ahaha!”
Merin approached and embraced Kamibarez tightly.
“How cute! Afraid of needles? You’re still a baby, Kami.”
Merin patted her head gently. Kamibarez turned her face away, but her eyes kept drifting back to Simon’s blood filling the syringe.
“There, all done.”
“Thank you!”
“You seem stable now, so you should be able to leave the hospital soon. I’ll speak to your instructors as well.”
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.”

* * *
Two days later, Simon and Kamibarez completed their discharge procedures without incident.
Meanwhile, Kizen continued with its abbreviated class schedule.
The school atmosphere remained unsettled from the Saint’s terror attack, and with so many students injured, normal classes were impossible to conduct.
Ordinarily, Kizen held the principle that any injuries sustained during class were the student’s own responsibility, but this incident stemmed from external terrorism. Ignoring the injured students and forcing the practical assessments forward would inevitably create significant problems.
After nearly a week of abbreviated classes, the day came.
During Elementary Black Magic class, Jane dropped a major announcement.
“Holiday break begins tomorrow.”
The classroom erupted at Jane’s shocking declaration. Simon simply nodded along—he’d already heard about this from Nephthys.
“Given the circumstances, we’re starting the break ahead of schedule. The remaining first-semester classes, duel evaluations, and final exams will all be incorporated into the newly structured ‘Integrated 2nd Semester.'”
The Integrated 2nd Semester was a quasi-wartime curriculum designed with an eye toward war with the Priests, rather than the standard first-year second-semester framework. Though war hadn’t erupted, it was evidence that Kizen’s central administration viewed this incident with grave concern.
“Of course, none of you are thinking you’ll just play around during break, are you?”
Jane signaled, and the teaching assistants dropped thick stacks of paper on each student’s desk. The moment they realized these were all break assignments, the color drained from their faces.
“All nine subjects have break assignments piling up. Of course, the professors don’t need to torment you with assignments—I hope you’ll take this as a chance to realize on your own that you need to prepare for the Integrated 2nd Semester and elevate your abilities. Any questions?”
Jamie’s hand shot up immediately.
“If the Integrated 2nd Semester starts, what happens to our first-semester grades?”
“They’ll naturally be merged into your second-semester grade. The duel evaluations will continue with you maintaining your current squads.”
After Jamie, other students raised their hands in rapid succession, firing off questions, and Jane answered each one smoothly.
“What happens if we don’t finish the break assignments? Will there be any penalty?”
“You’ll have an eternal break. Next.”
“How does the Integrated 2nd Semester differ from a normal first-year second semester?”
“We’ll treat it as quasi-wartime and train you accordingly. Written exams will decrease in frequency, and the overall proportion and intensity of real combat training will increase significantly. Your evaluations will include actual combat ability against the Priests, and you’ll face practical assessments that are many times more dangerous. Next.”
“What kind of professor is coming for the new Poison Magic class?”
“Whoever comes won’t have anything good to say about your forty-point Poison Magic grade. Next.”
Then Kamibarez timidly raised her hand. Jane nodded in her direction.
“I-I’m Kamibarez Ursula! I know this is a serious time, but… I have a question…”
“Ask away. Feel free to speak, Kamibarez.”
“When second semester starts… will our class groupings change?”
A hush fell over the room, and attention sharpened dramatically.
It was a minor question, yet one everyone had quietly hoped someone would ask—utterly essential.
Normally at Kizen, class groupings changed between first and second semester. But this merged form of second semester, where the latter half of first year was incorporated, had never happened before.
Even Hector, who’d been lounging carelessly in the back with his legs crossed, straightened up and leaned forward.
Jane smiled faintly and answered.
“The existing class grouping will be maintained for the second semester.”
Yesssss!
Cheers of undisguised joy erupted throughout the room. Students embraced each other, exchanged high-fives. Simon shared the moment of happiness with Dic, Merin, and Kamibarez.
“Thank goodness! Simon!”
“Tell me about it.”
Simon was genuinely fond of his current squad members, the class composition, and his homeroom teacher Jane along with her assistants.
There was exactly one person he wouldn’t have minded transferring to another class. Simon glanced sideways in that direction.
“Hey, Hector! Did you just smile?”
“…Shut up.”
“Hector smiled!”
“Ha ha! I bet he was worried we’d be separated and just got relieved!”
“I said shut up.”
While Hector’s faction laughed boisterously, Hector’s gaze remained fixed on Simon.
‘This second semester… just you wait!’
Holiday break was, no matter what anyone said, the ultimate chance to strengthen oneself.
Hector intended to spend these two months opening a gap so vast that Simon wouldn’t even dare look up to him. The Mohr Family’s training methods were brutal, and he had confidence he’d see this through.
Just as Hector was steeling his resolve to return transformed, his eyes met Simon’s directly. But Simon simply turned his head away sharply, and heat flooded Hector’s face.
‘This bastard! So I’m beneath his notice now!’
A surge of killing intent crashed through the room.
Hector suddenly unleashed his aura in the middle of the classroom, but the other students paid no mind, continuing their cheerful conversation.
“Quiet.”
At Jane’s word, Class A’s attention refocused on her.
“Now I’ll announce the most important task you’ll need to complete during your break.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————