Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 441

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Necromancer School’s Summoning Genius: Chapter 441
“…….”
Malcolm and the red-haired boy faced off. Malcolm let his surprise slip away and broke into a crooked grin.
“What the hell is this about?”
“I thought you’d know.”
The red-haired boy didn’t retreat, answering steadily.
“We’ve already received intelligence that the Randolph Gang is eyeing the Parona Peninsula. Your objective is almost certainly the Deimos’s Skull kept in the Museum. And conveniently enough—”
The blade the boy raised caught the sunlight, flashing with sudden brilliance.
“The boss’s own son appears in person. Need any further explanation?”
“……This is ridiculous.”
Malcolm shrugged his shoulders.
“Then do you know this? Before I belonged to the Randolph Gang, I was from Ki—”
—That’s enough. Don’t you dare return to Rocksum.
His father’s voice echoed in that moment.
The word “Kizen” had been on his lips, the kind he would have spat out with swagger any other day, but now it circled uselessly in his mouth. His fists trembled.
‘Damn it.’
He was nothing now—not Kizen, not anything. Just a cheap criminal in a gang.
That reality struck him like a blade.
“Fine. Doesn’t matter anymore.”
Whirrr—
Afterimages flickered across Malcolm’s form, and five identical copies scattered across the ground.
Real and fake were indistinguishable. Their faces were identical, their clothes the same, their gait, their posture—even the rise and fall of their chests as they breathed matched perfectly.
The red-haired boy’s expression flickered with alarm, but he immediately lashed out with a blade strike at the Malcolm in the center.
Thwack!
The central Malcolm struck by the blade scattered like coal dust and vanished. The remaining four copies of Malcolm smirked.
“Moving my real body the moment I cast is basic. You’re underestimating this, aren’t you?”
Whirrr—
Whirr—
The four Malcolms split again, becoming eight. The eight split once more, becoming sixteen.
“Blast!”
Surrounded on all sides, the boy spun to face the closing circle. All sixteen Malcolms spoke in unison.
“Judging by your swordwork, you must be some hired blade in the Lord of Parona’s service. But—”
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
All the doppelgängers rushed at the red-haired boy at once.
“This time you’ve picked the wrong opponent!”
Crack!
“I am no hired blade!”
The boy came forward with his sword leading. With economical precision, he cut down two of the copies, then dropped low to evade a strike from behind. He pivoted hard on his back foot, spinning his body with tremendous force.
“My name is Arthur Bleman!”
The blade flashed like a crescent moon, and at the same instant, six doppelgängers scattered like coal dust.
Slash!
His body, charging forward in a straight line, came to rest in a wide sword-swinging stance—and in that moment, countless blade marks suddenly appeared across all the remaining doppelgängers’ bodies.
Click!
He slowly lowered his sword and sheathed it.
“I have been honored to inherit the title of Mercenary King!”
Snap!
The moment the blade settled into its sheath, the marks erupted in a brilliant flash. Every doppelgänger crumbled to dust and scattered to nothing.
‘……This bastard.’
Malcolm’s eyes narrowed.
That was undoubtedly the Dark Element.
‘A Necromancer.’
And this young punk was the Mercenary King.
He’d heard rumors of such a thing. But was the Mercenary King’s name really “Arthur”? The more he thought about it, the more certain he was the name had been different.
“Give it up!”
Arthur unleashed a blade strike, and Malcolm’s body split in half.
As Arthur clicked his tongue and turned to look behind him, there stood ten more Malcolms in identical poses.
‘Whether he’s the real Mercenary King or not, this Arthur is stronger than I thought. Taking him down quickly isn’t going to happen.’
Malcolm’s eyes drifted slightly toward the Museum.
‘Especially if Simon Polentia comes down after hearing the commotion. I need to pull back here.’
“I won’t fall for the same trick twice!”
Arthur cried out boldly and extended his left arm.
Inky darkness poured from his grasp, scattering into the air before settling into a single magical circle.
Moon Head
Arthur gripped his sword in both hands and slashed through the magical circle.
A wind with a silvery gleam unfurled across a wide radius.
Slash!
Slash-h-h!
Every Doppelgänger caught in the radius took the blow and vanished.
“Ugh!”
And among those Doppelgängers was Malcolm’s true body. With quick puncturing sounds, scratches appeared across his arms and legs, blood spraying free.
‘This bastard—an area technique!’
“Found you!”
Arthur immediately dropped to the ground and charged toward Malcolm.
Still caught in the wind blade’s area of effect, any Doppelgänger he summoned would be struck down and disappear.
“……I suppose there’s no helping it.”
Malcolm spoke those words as he withdrew a bottle-like object from his pocket.
“You’ve thoroughly investigated the Randolph Gang, so you’ll know what this is, won’t you?”
Arthur’s eyes widened sharply as he charged forward.
‘A Liquid Bomb!’
It was the Randolph Gang’s special explosive, one that detonated in reaction to darkness. Without hesitation, Malcolm poured darkness into the Liquid Bomb.
Screeeee!
A blinding flash erupted violently from the Liquid Bomb. Arthur slammed on the brakes, skidding to a halt.
“Wait, just a moment! If you do that, you’ll—!”
Malcolm’s form was obscured by the violent flash, but his face, barely visible through it, wore a bitter smile.
“I’m done. I’m sick of this life.”
“No, don’t!”
Boom-m-m-m-m!
The Liquid Bomb detonated.
The explosion’s shockwave sent Arthur flying backward. His legs buckled, and he drove his sword into the ground to catch himself, then lifted his head to look ahead.
“Malcolm Randolph!!”
Black smoke billowed thickly from the blast site. Arthur stood for a moment in a daze, then dropped to one knee on the ground.
“Damn fool!”
He smashed his fist hard against the earth.
“You could have served your sentence in prison! Taking your own life—where’s the honor in that? Was your life so worthless that you’d throw it away so easily?”
Arthur’s voice broke as he spoke, but naturally, no answer came.
“I only meant to subdue you! All that talk about taking your head was a lie! Why—why would you do this!”
Arthur struck the ground repeatedly, as if condemning himself.
After a time spent in self-recrimination, he activated the Crystal Orb on his wrist with a hollow stare.
Hum!
A hazy female silhouette appeared in the Crystal Orb.
-Hey, Mercenary King! I was watching and waiting. You caught Malcolm, right?
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
Arthur lifted the Crystal Orb with a voice thick with tears, turning it toward the blast site.
“Malcolm Randolph took his own life. I should have stopped him! I could have stopped him!!”
-…….
It seemed this specially modified artifact allowed the woman on her end to see Arthur as well.
But then.
The woman in the Crystal Orb watched the explosion in silence for a moment.
-……You damned idiot.
“Huh?”
-That’s just a Smoke Bomb!!
Arthur jolted in shock and scrambled to his feet.
“Y-you’re serious?”
-Of course! What kind of bomb just billows smoke with no actual damage to anything!
Arthur swung his sword to cut through the smoke, and Malcolm was gone without a trace. As she’d said, the blast had caused only minor damage to the surroundings.
“Th-that can’t be right…….”
Arthur’s face went blank.
-What do you mean it can’t be right!
“The profile clearly said to watch out because he carries a vicious Liquid Bomb……. There was nothing about a Smoke Bomb! I’m telling you the truth!”
-Argh-h-h! You’re so dense!
“If someone had warned me about the smoke bombs, I wouldn’t have fallen for it!”
—You’re not the Mercenary King at all. You’re the Fool King!
Arthur lowered his head with a dejected expression, while the woman erupted in fury.
—We have to find him before Malcolm sets something in motion! Now!
“Yes, yes, sir!”

* * *
Meanwhile, Simon and his companions had slipped out of the Museum and were walking down Market Street.
“Whew! That was a blast!”
Merin, who had been leading the way, stretched luxuriously. Simon glanced at Pier and asked.
“Pier, where do we go next?”
“I was thinking of checking out Whale’s Hill ahead of time.”
At those words, Kamibarez blinked.
“Isn’t that where Deimos will pass by the sea tomorrow?”
“It is, but the view there is spectacular even without him. I thought we’d take a walk and have a look around.”
“Ugh! If we’re going there tomorrow anyway, let’s just head back to the lodging!”
Merin spoke with sparkling eyes.
“Honestly, I was going crazy the whole time we were listening to the Museum guide because ideas for the student council were buzzing in my head! Let’s have a meeting back at the dormitory!”
“…We haven’t even started student council activities yet. Aren’t you overdoing it?”
“Of course I should work hard.”
Merin’s shoulders tensed with determination.
“This year’s 330th student council will carry my mark! I’m going to make it legendary, talked about for generations to come!”
“I’m already getting tired just thinking about it. Simon, when you become student council president in third year, let’s put someone calmer as vice president. Someone like Lorain.”
“Can you even stay at Kizen until third year? You’re a commoner ranked 400th!”
“You two, please stop fighting!”
Watching the familiar scene unfold, Simon laughed.
“Fresh ice cream here~”
Just then, a vendor carrying a container of ice cream walked past. Merin’s face lit up.
“Don’t you feel like having something sweet?”
“Sounds good. Let’s get some.”
“Mister!”
Merin ran toward him. The vendor spotted her and called out.
“Welcome! Pretty student.”
“Four ice creams, please…”
Splurt!
Blood erupted from the vendor’s body.
Hot blood spattered across her face, and the expressions of Pier and Kamibarez, who had been following behind, hardened instantly.
—Ssshhh.
Something green loomed behind them, its sharp claws extended, eyes glittering with malice.
The vendor collapsed, and the creature advanced on Merin. Suddenly drenched in blood, she froze like a statue, unable to move.
Thud!
Simon was the first to react. His kick swept the monster’s arm upward.
Immediately after, Pier snapped back to his senses and drew a dagger from his belt, hurling it. The enchanted blade struck the monster’s body repeatedly, and Kamibarez charged forward with her violet hair streaming behind her.
<Blood Strike>
Boom!
The monster, struck in the abdomen by her magic-inscribed hand, flew backward and crashed into a building wall. Merin’s eyes blazed with fury as she raised her arm.
<Ice Bolt>
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
The monster, pierced by Merin’s shards of ice, breathed its last. Acting on instinct, Merin stumbled backward and collapsed to the ground.
“Merin! Merin!”
Simon rushed over in alarm. She held up her palm in a reassuring gesture.
“Sorry. I was just startled.”
Muttering so, she swept her hand through the air. Magic circles materialized in rapid succession, and she sent sheets of ice into the sky.
Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!
As blood rained down from above, Simon looked up in shock. Green monsters that had been circling them were now impaled on spikes of ice.
“Aaahhh!”
“Kyaaaaaahhh!”
Tourists and merchants who saw the monsters’ corpses shrieked and fled.
“Phew, that gave me a fright.”
Merin muttered irritably as she approached to examine the fallen creature.
“Nagas. They live in the sea but can walk on land too. Weak specimens are Danger Level 2, the stronger ones reach Level 3. But what are they doing in the city?”
Kamibarez had her eyes closed, sniffing the air.
“Simon! I’m picking up the same blood scent everywhere. The Nagas are raiding across the entire Parona Peninsula!”
Simon, who had been thinking for a moment, looked at Deimos.
“Deimos. Does anything occur to you?”
“Hard to say.”
Deimos rose from his seat.
“Fundamentally, Nagas are Danger Level 5 creatures, and they’re absolutely obedient to an entity called the Naga Queen — you might call it the ‘alpha,’ if you will. Nagas obey only the Naga Queen’s wavelength, so they’re immune to my own aura as the Sea’s ruler.”
Merin took up the thread.
“So for some reason, Naga Queens have come to the Parona Peninsula? They could have formed an alliance with each other.”
“All right.”
Simon spoke.
“Everyone change into Kizen School Uniforms and split into three groups. Protect the people.”
“What about you, Simon?”
“I’ll range wider and hunt down the queens. And—”
Simon’s mind had drifted back to a man he’d glimpsed in the Deimos Museum.
“There’s something I need to verify.”

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