Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 645
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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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Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School, Chapter 645
Murmur, murmur, murmur, murmur!
At Neftis’s announcement that the Betrayal Legion had returned, the closing ceremony plaza descended into chaos. The crowd erupted in confusion.
‘Neftis…!’
Simon, watching from backstage, felt the color drain from his face.
[Khehehehehe! That woman certainly knows how to make a spectacle!]
Pier’s fragment laughed with glee, but Simon found himself unable to join in.
His gaze swept toward the spectators.
Shocked and stunned faces.
People trembling with fear.
Others whose eyes shone with fascination.
And then, the furious ones.
“The Betrayal Legion still exists?”
“They must be found and eliminated at once!”
A few hotheads were already calling for action.
By contrast, the Kizen students—having never experienced the Betrayal Legion crisis firsthand—watched the excited crowd with some bewilderment.
“Silence.”
At Neftis’s word, the uproar died instantly.
“Administrator Pier has already chosen an unknown individual as his contractor. The 7th Legion has returned, and its commander has been working in the shadows behind the Dark Alliance all this time.”
She unfolded a document.
“Not only this Dark Festival terror, but also the Saint Incident that occurred last year.”
At the mention of the Saint Incident, every eye widened.
“And beyond that—the Blood Heavenly Cult, the Covenant, Pentamonium attacks. Even Magnus, who assaulted them. He has been fighting the Dark Alliance’s countless enemies using his own independent network of intelligence, all this time.”
Unprepared for this turn, the crowd fell silent, hanging on every word.
“The lives he has saved are countless, and he has taken nothing in return. Therefore, as the head of the Dark Alliance, I declare this:”
She lowered the document from her eyes and raised her hand.
“From this moment forward, by the name of Neftis Arkbold, I rescind the Red Wanted Order against the 7th Legion issued by the Dark Alliance.”
Murmur, murmur, murmur, murmur!
Excited reporters activated their Memorial Crystal Orbs and frantically pressed the shutters of their Mana Cameras.
A new era was beginning.
“7th Legion Commander. You would be here, wouldn’t you?”
She scanned the crowd as she spoke. The spectators flinched, their eyes instinctively searching the faces around them.
“I desire dialogue, not war. Come forward.”
In the plaza where tens of thousands had gathered for the closing ceremony, a suffocating silence fell.
And backstage, Simon trembled violently, his teeth grinding against his lower lip. Cold sweat traced a path down his spine.
‘What do I do?’
Is she really calling for me?
Is this the right moment to reveal my identity?
Neftis herself said it would take years, didn’t she? This is too sudden, isn’t it?
‘I…!’
Then Neftis’s rustling voice reached his ears.
[If you hesitate.]
It was a voice only Simon could hear. Her head had turned toward backstage—toward Simon’s eyes exactly.
[Stay right there, and do nothing.]
“……!”
At those words, Simon froze solid as death. Sweat beaded on his forehead and fell like dew, droplet by droplet, to the ground.
“Of course.”
Neftis turned her gaze forward again.
“There’s no reason he would come. I understand. You still cannot trust us, after all…….”
“Neftis!”
A spectator shot up from the ground and bounded onto the stage. The attendants rushed to seize both his arms and drag him down, but Neftis raised a hand, stopping them.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Corino, from Ballot in the Kingdom of Dresden!”
He shook free from the attendants and dropped to one knee. Neftis offered him a benevolent smile.
“Yes, dear Corino. What would you say?”
“I beg you—please withdraw the Red Wanted Order on the 7th Legion!”
With bloodshot eyes, he pounded his own chest repeatedly with his fist.
“I lost my wife to the blades of that terrible Betrayal Legion!”
“…….”
“My daughter and I bear only deep wounds in our hearts. That vile Betrayal Legion must be erased from this world without a trace! They betrayed the Alliance! They murdered the comrades who fought alongside them for years in service to the faith!”
He shed tears.
“Isn’t this the one principle that has existed since the Dark Alliance’s founding? Regardless of anything else, the sin of betrayal must never be forgotten!”
Great shouts of agreement erupted from all corners.
“I lost a friend!”
“My homeland burned!”
“Complete annihilation to the Betrayal Legion!”
Simon felt his breath catch, his throat constricting.
He’d thought it too simple.
-If you had hesitated. If you’d simply stayed in that place.
Neftis had known it would come to this.
“Dear Corino.”
Neftis opened her mouth.
“Your daughter—she’s on this island?”
“Yes, with me at the Dark Festival…….”
“Isn’t that ironic.”
She smiled enigmatically.
“I’m sorry you lost your wife to the 7th Legion, but today your life and your daughter’s—they were saved by the 7th Legion.”
“That is, what……!”
“Listen, all of you. The fanatic who warped reality when he came to Rocksum—we did not defeat him. His legion and his allies did. Without the 7th Legion, Rocksum would be sunk beneath the sea by now.”
She walked forward with steady strides.
“Dear people. To a Necromancer, the Undead are mere tools. Tools bear no sin; we must only judge the hands that wield them. A blade is deemed a tool for killing, yet when a physician grasps it, it becomes a surgical instrument for saving lives, and when a cook holds it, it becomes a tool for nourishing people.”
Speaking in a refined, archaic manner uncharacteristic of her usual tone, she stopped walking and spread her arms wide.
“The Sacred Federation grows endlessly stronger, their mysteries touch the heavens, and their blind faith in their god grows ever more relentless. You must recognize the reality: an entire island nearly fell to ruin because of a single fanatic.”
She clenched her small fist.
“It is commonly said that Priests gaze into the distant future through the ‘Day of Judgment’ and look backward, while Necromancers touch ‘the dead’ and see the past. Cling only to the past, and you will be left behind. Not only does the Sacred Federation exist—there are also tertiary forces like the Blood Heavenly Cult. We must become stronger than before, and we need more powerful allies than ever. To the 7th Legion Commander, I say this.”
She lowered her hand. At the end, she returned to her normal manner of speech.
“I hope we can speak soon.”
At that moment, the elders of the Dark Alliance who had been seated in the back rows stood up abruptly.
“To discuss such an important matter in a place like this! What is your scheme, Chairwoman?”
“We have received no report whatsoever!”
“Well, you see~”
Neftis placed her hand on her cheek and blinked her eyes cutely.
“I don’t have the seniority to report every little thing to you all, do I?”
“Yes, yes, Neftis!”
“There is one more thing we cannot simply overlook!”
Another tall elder walked forward, leaning on his staff.
“Didn’t you say the entire island was put in danger because of that fanatic? This is an invasion by the Sacred Federation, a grave provocation!”
He shouted loudly.
“We must make them pay in blood! We must wage a war of righteous fury!”
Agreed!
Kill the holy ones!
Desecrate the corpses of the fanatics!
Voices of agreement rang out. But Neftis showed no agitation and smiled brightly.
“Hehe, it seems like just yesterday when you and I were building sandcastles together and you plucked wildflowers to confess your love, so fresh and green~ Robert.”
The old man’s face flushed with bewilderment.
“W-what are you saying!”
“Somewhere along the way, your jowls and belly have sagged, and now you’re full of wrinkles and desires. Don’t speak so lightly of war.”
She turned her back and spun around.
“If you’re thinking of some war-game where you claim you’ll resurrect the Dark Alliance’s glory because you have so few days left, send young people to their deaths, and then hide behind lines receiving battle reports—then I’ll dress you all in armor myself and station you at the very front line.”
The old man’s wrinkled face flushed crimson. Neftis took light, bouncing steps and surveyed the crowd once more.
“I’ll provide details later, but this fanatic’s assault is separate from the Sacred Federation. Rather, a certain unnamed figure from the Sacred Federation’s side made a tremendous contribution to finding and defeating the fanatic.”
At the mention that a Priest had assisted, the crowd fell into turmoil. Neftis was not one to lie before so many people, which only deepened their confusion.
“That means there are still ‘people we can talk to’ on their side as well. As long as dialogue continues and reason subdues madness, we will not wage war. But it is true that the Sacred Federation and hostile forces are growing stronger, and the moment the balance of power collapses, the Dark Alliance faces genuine peril.”
She extended her arm.
“Only strength can protect us. The past is unnecessary. If something is useful, we take it. No matter what.”
Her lips curved upward.
“Even if it’s the Betrayal Legion.”
* * *
Neftis’s speech at the closing ceremony of the Dark Festival sent shockwaves through the entire Dark Alliance.
Immediately, every newspaper in the Dark Alliance ran the story in bold headlines, and the papers came out before even a day had passed.
[The Betrayal Legion Has Returned!]
[Who Is the Mysterious 7th Legion Commander?]
Public opinion split sharply in two.
Though Neftis had rescinded the Red Wanted Order issued across the entire Dark Alliance, two of the Four Great Kingdoms—Dresden and Shahhead, which had suffered direct damage from the incident—reacted with extreme opposition. They even went so far as to issue their own kingdom-level wanted orders, separate from the Alliance’s directives.
Seizing this opening, the anti-Kizen faction, which had been weakened for some time, rose up in unison, loudly insisting that the Alliance under Neftis’s leadership—who they called senile for forgetting the past and defending the Betrayal Legion—should withdraw entirely.
Even setting aside the political undertones, public opinion among ordinary citizens was equally divided.
Some insisted that the 7th Legion should be destroyed the moment it was discovered, since the terrible crime of betrayal could never fade; others, following Neftis’s logic, argued that Undead were merely tools, and one could afford to wait and judge by who wielded them.
It was only because Neftis had invested considerable time and resources in cultivating moderate public opinion even before making the announcement that opinion had settled into this rough balance.
Among Kizen students, who hadn’t directly experienced the incident, reactions were somewhat more favorable to the 7th Legion.
Having spent time at Kizen, where a meritocratic mindset ran deep, many students said what did the sin of betrayal matter—if they fought well and could take down Priests, wasn’t that enough?
Of course.
“I can’t forgive them.”
“It’s the Betrayal Legion, for crying out loud.”
Students whose parents had suffered direct damage gnashed their teeth; to them, the 7th Legion Commander was as good as an enemy.
Hector was one of them—the Moore family had been direct victims as well.
“Why does the Department Representative look like that?”
“It’s probably because of this Legion Commander business. Just stay out of his way so nothing goes wrong.”
Hearing the students murmur, Simon stared blankly into empty space.
‘…I’m glad I didn’t go out then.’
Not just Hector, but quite a few students he knew well or had seen around were muttering about annihilating the Legion Commander.
[It seems the world isn’t quite ready for the truth of his rank yet.]
Pier spoke.
‘Yes, I suppose you’re right.’
Even though he hadn’t directly committed the acts himself, Simon was prepared to bear the burden willingly.
If his father hadn’t saved his mother back then, he would never have been born.
He would never have wielded both Shadow and Holiness together, and would never have met precious souls like Rette and Israphil.
While Simon was lost in deep thought.
“Aezel must be the Legion Commander!”
Among the third-year students, a rather curious rumor was circulating.
“Of course! If it’s Aezel, it makes perfect sense!”
“So that’s why he joined late! Aezel is a complete Necromancer after all.”
What nonsense was this.
Simon listened to his seniors’ chatter with an expression of disbelief.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
In particular, Will, the head of discipline, seemed in high spirits.
“So all that talk about catching up to Phantasus had a reason! This secret mission was it, then!”
He looked at Simon with raised eyebrows.
“Aezel will be back soon! Do you think you can handle the Legion Commander? Ha ha ha ha!”
“…Uh, well.”
Simon could only laugh.
“Hey, you lot!”
Just then, Eshu’s voice rang out from beyond the door.
“Stop slacking and help out!”
“?”
When Simon turned around, he saw her directing her summons to move large pieces of firewood.
“What are you doing?”
“Preparing for the afterparty!”
She winked at him.
“And for a nighttime party, you need a campfire, obviously?”
Large logs were being stacked carefully in the center.
It seemed they were planning quite an elaborate affair—enormous shrimp the size of a man’s forearm were laid out, and oak barrels filled with wine came rolling in.
“Tomorrow it’s back to regular classes! Let’s set the final night of the festival ablaze!”
“Of course!”
Students from other departments rushed out excitedly. Simon eagerly rolled up his sleeves and headed out into the yard.
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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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