A New Semester and a New Threat
Simon's eyes went wide.
"You found him?"
[Indeed. Akemus bears no real grudge against Richard, and his loyalty to the Legion runs deep, so I judged that I could retrieve him alone. And in truth, I did succeed in locating him.]
Simon swallowed dryly, his expression tightening.
"Th-then what happened? You found him—so how did it end?"
[He was snatched away right before my eyes.]
Erzsébet and Prince shot to their feet.
[What scoundrel dares!]
Prince pounded his chest in fury, and even from Pier's thoughts a fierce wave of hostility came rolling off in gusts.
[Magnus Alban, Commander of the Fifth Legion. He, too, had come to the Screaming Jungle.]
"!"
Simon's eyes widened.
……A Legion Commander other than me.
There were, in all, seven Legion Commanders in existence.
And naturally, there were also seven 'Administrators' like Pier—beings capable of founding a Legion.
But the world believed that the Legion of Betrayal, the Seventh, had ceased to exist, and that the Administrator Pier had perished forever.
Of course, none of that was true. Nephthys had boldly smuggled Pier out and sealed him away in the underground ruins beneath Roc Island, and the moment Richard's son Simon enrolled at Kizen, she revealed the ruins' location to him and steered him toward becoming the Legion's new commander.
That was why, counting Simon, there were now seven Legion Commanders in the world.
And one of those commanders……
had stolen away Akemus, who once belonged to Richard's Legion.
[It's war!]
Prince bellowed, worked up into a frenzy.
[Magnus has broken the code between Legion Commanders! The unspoken rule was always that you don't lay a hand on another Legion's Ancient Undead!]
Hearing this, Pier spoke up.
[He believes the Seventh Legion is gone for good. His plan, no doubt, is to claim masterless Ancient Undead for himself.]
[Simon! This is exactly what Deathland was prepared for! Just give the order and tell me where to strike, and every walking dead in Deathland will—!]
Pier shook his head.
[No amount of firepower we could muster right now would defeat Magnus. He is a necromancer in his complete form, and beneath him stand five Ancient Undead. With this latest addition, that makes six.]
Prince stuck out his lip in obvious displeasure, and Simon spoke in a tone of gentle admonishment.
"I agree that we can't let emotions drive us. But more importantly, Pier."
Simon's eyes turned grave.
"Does Magnus know who you really are?"
At that question, Pier let out a low chuckle.
[You cut straight to the heart of it! It's fifty-fifty. Magnus did sense my presence, but chances are he never learned that I am the Administrator Pier. After all, I blasted his pursuit squad into ash and fled before they could report back.]
"……Haaah. More than anything, I'm just glad you're safe."
He had gone out searching for a new commander and nearly lost Pier instead. For Simon, that would have been the most catastrophic scenario imaginable.
And even if Magnus remained ignorant of Pier being the Administrator, he had still sensed the Ancient Undead known as Pier. He might well be prowling the continent right now with bloodshot eyes, desperate to take him for his own.
[For once, I'm glad I'm stuck on this island.]
Erzsébet cut in.
[Even a sitting Legion Commander could never dare set foot carelessly on Roc Island while the Witch of Death keeps watch over it.]
[True enough! But Magnus is reckless beyond all imagining. Once he's certain of something, he'd think nothing of sneaking into Roc Island itself and turning the whole island inside out. We must hide our identities even more thoroughly than before!]
Having said his piece, Pier turned his attention to Simon.
[Boy! How many people know what you truly are at this moment?]
"Hold on a second."
Simon counted slowly on his fingers.
"Dad, Mom, Nephthys, Serne, Kajan, Lethe. That's all of them."
[So Lethe is that priest girl you spoke of earlier.]
Pier crossed his arms.
[If you were willing to tell her, I take it she's someone you can trust with the secret?]
"Yes."
Simon nodded earnestly.
He knew exactly what kind of person Lethe was, but he sensed that explanation alone wouldn't suffice for anyone else, so he added more.
"Lethe and I share a secret that binds us. If my identity ever came out, she couldn't escape the scandal of having brought me into the Holy Federation herself. There are other circumstances tangled up in it too, so you don't need to worry on that front."
[I see.]
Pier was nodding along when suddenly Erzsébet began tearing at her own clothes with her teeth.
[Again! Again! That wanton priest she-demon, agaaaaain……!!!]
She had seemed to let it slide earlier, but in the end she'd worked herself up. Simon hurriedly stepped in to soothe her.
"It's not anything like what you're imagining! Lethe is my mother's disciple—"
[Anna! Annnaaaa! Birds of a feather, flocking together!!]
That only backfired.
[Listen well, Legion Commander! Priest she-wolves are all deadly poison, the ruin of every man they touch!]
Erzsébet's eye sockets blazed with fire.
[They call themselves servants of the gods—playing innocent! Playing pure and holy! They dangle every trick of coyness imaginable, but the moment a man catches their eye, they turn utterly shamel—]
[Erzsébet!]
Pier's roar cut her off mid-word.
[Watch your tongue in front of the young one!]
[I have no desire to keep company with an ignorant Legion parrot of an old-timer who knows nothing of love!]
[And stop speaking that blasted Kizen brat-slang!]
The two of them were suddenly at each other's throats, and for the life of him Simon couldn't tell why.
He wearily managed to pull them apart. Prince, meanwhile, was clutching his belly laughing at the spectacle, clearly enjoying every second of it.
[Now then—let us review the situation.]
Pier took charge of the conversation once more.
[Magnus is hunting Ancient Undead. He most likely remains unaware that the Seventh Legion might rise again, but he is certainly searching for me. The moment it comes to light that we are a Legion, we will not only be forced to leave Kizen—we will become his immediate target.]
"Yes. I understand."
Simon nodded.
[From this point on, you must exercise greater caution! It is strictly forbidden to reveal your identity to those four who travel with you so often! And one more thing. Your growth is already miraculous enough as it stands, but you must raise your level quickly—soon enough to face Magnus head-on!]
"Of course."
His true life at Kizen was finally about to begin.
Until now, the only new dark magic he'd learned was Corpse Explosion, taught to him by his father Richard. But with classes starting in earnest, he would finally be able to absorb wave after wave of new knowledge.
And the stronger Simon became, the stronger the Legion grew with him. The surest way to slip free of the threats closing in around them was, as ever, his own strength.
Even if a student wore the Kizen uniform, a man like Magnus wouldn't blink twice before sweeping one aside.
With a new semester on the horizon, Simon steeled his resolve all the more.
The next morning.
At last, the dawn of the first day of the new semester had arrived.
"Dick! Get up!"
Simon, already washed and dressed, shook Dick awake as he slept obliviously in his bed.
Dick rose with both eyes puffed up like balloons and shuffled groggily into the bathroom, while Simon changed into his uniform.
Feels like something's missing. Strange, somehow.
The 'effigy of Pier' that had served as his means of contacting the Legion would need to be newly crafted to evade Magnus's pursuit—Pier promised to make him a new one within three or four days.
And Kajan was already long gone. The sight of his sunken, empty blankets said as much.
"Uuuugh…… So the semester really is starting for real."
Dick emerged from a hasty wash, rubbing his eyes as he wrestled his legs into his uniform trousers.
"You that tired? You went to bed early yesterday."
"I'm just not a morning person, alright?"
With everything ready, the two of them stepped out of Room 409, made their way down the corridor, and emerged from the dormitory into the bright morning sunshine.
The familiar walk to class. The murmur of students' voices and the boisterous ring of laughter drifted in from every direction.
The timing was a little awkward—too tight for a sit-down breakfast in the dining hall—so they bought sandwiches from the campus store nearby and clamped them between their teeth. The fresh air seemed to have blown Dick's sleepiness clean away; he was already calling out greetings to the other students streaming toward class with loud laughter.
I missed this. This everyday kind of atmosphere.
Catching the look of pure emotion on Simon's face, Dick snickered.
"Ha! Getting all sentimental over nothing! You've barely been at Kizen a day or two, and you're already like this. Give it a little while and you'll be moved to tears by how your breathing hits the golden ratio."
Simon just smiled.
The Legion, Magnus—he could set all of that aside for now. He liked this moment, when he could feel simple, uncomplicated joy in the things that were his.
"Oh, right—Simon. What was our first class again?"
"It's fixed to the professor in charge of our class."
"Ohh! Been a while since we've seen our dear Vice Principal, then."
They entered the building and filed into the enormous lecture hall where Jane's class was held. The students of Class A were already packed inside, chattering loud enough to make their ears ring.
"Oh, it's Simon!"
Toto Amori, his fellow member of the Mutant Club, came over waving.
"Toto! How've you been?"
"Great! More importantly—you're stopping by the club room after class to greet the seniors, right?"
"Wouldn't miss it."
He was in the middle of chatting with Toto about summoning when a girl's voice calling his name drifted to his ear.
He turned to find Camibarez seated at her desk, waving, with Meilin setting down her textbook beside her.
"Then let's talk more at the club room."
"Got it!"
Simon joined his Group 7 teammates. He traded a friendly greeting with Camibarez, and even Meilin offered a short but gentle "hey."
"Word is four people got cut from our class."
Dick, who'd been gathering intel, rejoined the four of them.
Camibarez nodded worriedly.
"……I feel bad for them. Going through group classes short three teammates must be really hard."
"Of course it's hard! And let me make one thing crystal clear!"
Meilin's eyebrows shot up.
"You'd better prepare like your lives depend on it for the Comprehensive Dark Magic Assessment! If even one of you drops out, I will hunt you down—vacation or not—and curse you in your own homes!"
Simon laughed.
"Is that you worrying about us?"
"W-worrying? About what! I'm going to curse you!"
The moment Meilin stammered, her face flushing red, all three of them burst out laughing.
Just then, someone strode into the lecture hall and shouted:
"The professor's coming!"
WHOOSH!
The students scattered across the room began diving into their seats at blistering speed.
The one clinging to the ceiling like a spider, and the ones who'd been drawing magic circles demanding impromptu curse duels, hastily wiped away the traces of Jet-Black and scrambled into their seats as well.
A flawless, ringing silence settled over the lecture hall.
Tap. Tap.
The click of heeled shoes approached, and the front door slid open with a rasp.
Welcome back, Professor!
Simon greeted her warmly in his heart.
A restrained, closely-cropped bob. A face of cool, unyielding composure. Eyes that radiated pure charisma.
It was Jane Olivia—homeroom professor of Class A, and Vice Principal of Kizen.
Behind her, Jane's teaching assistants filed in and snapped to attention at parade rest. A few of them winked or gave a small wave toward students they were friendly with.
Into that silence, she spoke.
"Did you all enjoy your break, Class A?"