Chapter 229: Episode 229

Washburn Mountain Peak, Demon King’s Castle.

A roar as if the sky were shattering descended upon the quiet castle. The undead stationed within the castle walls swarmed toward the source of the sound. [Lord Magnus!]

A spacious bath inside the castle. In it, a long-haired man was leaning his head back, bleeding. Droplets of blood fell from his hair, and the once-clean bath was now a mess, with black and reddish lumps of flesh flowing out from his chest. The long-haired man slowly lowered his head. A few of the ‘Perpetuity Seals’ drawn on his chest were broken, spewing out blood and chunks of flesh. Confirming the completely ruined magic circles, the man let out a long sigh. “Talaje is dead.”

At those words, the four undead who had come closest to Magnus reacted with surprise. [Unbelievable. Talaje…!] [Retaliate! Slaughter!!!] A woman with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a snake. A pale-faced zombie in a well-ironed butler uniform, wearing glasses. A grotesque man with a body stitched together from flesh, holding a blood-stained kitchen knife in his hand. And a bizarre creature, wriggling like a chrysalis without a face or arms. All of them were Ancient Undead. [Wasn’t Talaje scouting on Roc Island?] At the question from the zombie in the butler uniform, Magnus nodded. The Ancient Undead he had encountered in the Screaming Jungle was certainly strong. But not strong enough to kill a fully fleeing Talaje ten times. That was the judgment that had led Magnus to willingly send Talaje. But who on earth could have eliminated him? It was an illegal intrusion, but Kizen had no reason to annihilate Talaje. They would have captured him to gain a handicap against him, if anything. The one who killed Talaje was someone who wanted to hide what Talaje had seen. Having thought that far, Magnus opened his mouth. “The enemy is likely a new Legion.”

The expressions of the four undead hardened. “The other Legion Commanders haven’t moved an inch from their positions. In other words, the 7th Legion was born on Roc Island, and they killed Talaje. There’s no other explanation.”

The woman who was half-snake, half-human coiled around Magnus’s collapsed body in the bath and helped him up. [Are you really okay, darling?]

“Yes.”

Magnus placed a hand on his blood-soaked chest and began to draw a magic circle with the blood. It was a good thing he had prepared a backup formula, just in case. He connected the ruined magic circle’s formula with his blood and drew a new magic circle beside it. It was a black magic that, in the event of Talaje’s annihilation, would allow him to see the scene of his demise.

The blood magic circle activated, and the coordinates of Talaje’s annihilation were set. Soon, the scene at those coordinates appeared before him like a hazy fog. The gazes of the four Ancient Undead present focused on it.

A beach with crashing waves. The figure of Talaje, with almost no form left, as if he had met his end by being burned alive. And standing around Talaje was a black-haired, red-eyed girl in a barefoot, one-piece dress. [So it was that human.]

[Revenge! Revenge! Let’s tear her to pieces!] The spirits in the castle let out a roar, spewing their fury. Just then, Magnus raised a finger above his head, and the surroundings fell silent as if by magic. “Alaje. Who is that woman?” At Magnus’s question, the lump of flesh that wriggled like a large chrysalis among the four Ancient Undead answered. [The enemy who destroyed my brother Talaje. Kizen first-year. Lorraine Archbold. Daughter of Nephthys Archbold.] At the mention of Nephthys’s daughter, the spirits stirred. The zombie butler fiddled with his monocle. [If she is the 7th Legion Commander, then the situation makes sense.]

If the 7th Legion truly existed, it was highly likely that Nephthys had intervened to hide its administrator. After all, Nephthys had also participated in the 7th Legion’s final war. And after several decades, Nephthys passed the Legion she had hidden all this time to her daughter, who had grown up and enrolled in Kizen. It was a plausible picture. “Is that woman strong?” Magnus asked. The zombie butler nodded. [A woman who inherited the blood of the Witch of Death can’t be anything but strong. She maintains mid-tier grades at Kizen, likely to avoid drawing attention, but her skills are formidable. Besides, the 7th Legion is the Legion of Betrayal, so even as Nephthys’s daughter, she would have had to hide the Legion.] The half-human, half-snake Ancient Undead called Lamia frowned. [This is difficult. We could have killed her if she were a noble, a royal, or even the king of a nation, but Nephthys’s daughter is another story.] [Lorraine Archbold. A great talent. If she possessed the Legion, Talaje’s survival probability: 10%.] Magnus stroked his chin as he listened to his various subordinates. “So this is revenge for stealing her Ancient Undead? The little thing has a temper. Interesting.” Just then, the spirits watching the screen made by black magic stirred. Lorraine looked up and met their gazes, staring right at the screen. [She noticed.]

She slowly raised the corners of her mouth, her red eyes glinting. The screen shattered, sending fragments flying in all directions. Magnus smiled with interest. “She has sharp senses.”

[What are you going to do, Magnus?]

“I suppose I’ll have to go to Roc Island after all.”

Magnus, rising from the blood-soaked bath, strode over and put on a gown hanging on a nearby rack. “I don’t care if she’s the next Chancellor or whatever. As a senior Legion Commander, I’m going to give my junior some advice.” Lamia’s expression hardened. [You can’t kill Nephthys’s daughter. Do you want to end up like the 7th Legion?] “I know, I know. I’ll handle it.” Magnus turned his head with a faint smile. “Alaje. Find a way to get to Roc Island. Whether it’s a business trip, an event, or a guest professorship, use any means necessary.” [Outsiders are absolutely forbidden from entering Roc Island. The Magnus Legion has already broken the rules by sending Talaje without permission. Entry impossible.] “Then try harder to find a way. That’s your role, isn’t it?” [Order confirmed.]

Magnus, with his hands in the pockets of his gown, chuckled. “I’m looking forward to it. The Legion of Betrayal…”

—

“Professor Hongfeng says to pick up the pace!”

“No one gets left behind! We all go together!” The first Combat Magic class of the second integrated semester had begun. The Class A students were running up a steep mountain path, all of them panting as they tried to keep up with Hongfeng, who was running at the front. “Simon?”

Simon was running at a moderate pace in the middle of the pack when Kamibarez came up beside him. “You seem to be in a good mood today.”

“Oh, do I? Maybe it’s because I’m breathing in fresh air for the first time in a while.” In truth, he couldn’t help but be in a good mood. Last night, they had succeeded in destroying the eyes of the Magnus Legion. The situation could have become irreversible when Talaje discovered Pier’s ruins, but thankfully, they had managed to exhaust all ten of his lives on the spot. He had felt the urge to make him his own Ancient Undead, but Pier had said that undead already bound by a Legion’s contract could not be turned to their side unless the Legion Commander was killed. Still, they had overcome a huge mountain. No matter how powerful Magnus was, he wouldn’t be able to enter Roc Island without conclusive evidence. “Haaaah.” He felt good, and his condition was excellent.

Finally, they reached the halfway point. Everyone collapsed as if they had been waiting for it, gasping for breath, and the TAs handed out drinks with stamina recovery effects. ’The taste has changed a bit since the second semester, huh?’ It had gone from the previous red color to having green, pulpy bits in it. It tasted like something good for the body. “Zimon!”

As Simon was resting, Hongfeng approached with a broad smile. Simon also smiled brightly and greeted her. “Professor Hongfeng!”

“You look to be in great condition today! Want to run some more with me?”

“Of course!”

Meirin, who was lying face down just trying to breathe, stared at Simon as if he were some kind of madman. She wondered if that was human stamina. The two of them came forward and lightly warmed up. Hongfeng raised her arm and pointed. “We’ll juzt touch that tree on the hill over there and come back!”

“Sounds good.” The two lowered their stances. “I’m going, too!” Hector strode over and stood at the starting line next to Simon.

Hongfeng clapped her hands with a wide smile. “Oh, Hector is joining uz too? Wonderful!” The two joined Hongfeng. Seeing this, the Combat Magic TA, Bread, subtly gave a few students a look. “Ah, they have no sense at all. These kids are being outdone by guys who aren’t even Combat Magic aspirants.” At his words, the Combat Magic aspirants who had been sitting and resting flinched. “Kizen has gotten a lot better. This is something I couldn’t have imagined back in my day, really. Shouldn’t you jump at the chance when something like this happens?” In the end, unable to withstand Bread’s glare, the Combat Magic aspirants scrambled to their feet and rushed out. Combat Magic had a stricter hierarchy than other majors. “We’ll do it too!”

“Me too!”

Hongfeng was delighted, smiling brightly at the students’ participation in class. The Combat Magic aspirants shot resentful glares at Simon’s and Hector’s backs. “What are you staring at?” Hector noticed with uncanny sharpness. The students couldn’t even meet his fiery eyes and just looked away. Simon and Hongfeng were too busy talking about this and that to notice. “Ready, zet… Go!” Hongfeng, Simon, Hector, and the Combat Magic aspirants sprinted, climbing the hill in one go. Running again after already pushing his body to its limits made Simon feel like his lungs would burst, but he felt good. As he took in nature, it felt as if the toxins in his body were being purged…

’Toxins?’

Simon’s gaze shifted upward. Come to think of it, on every trail he had seen so far, there had been those floating green things. He also felt much more refreshed than before. “The pollen of the ’Hemopyra’ flower is exzellent for expelling toxins. It’z alzo in the drink you all had,” Hongfeng said with a complicated smile. “I planted ’Hemopyra’ zeedz everywhere when I heard my zizter was coming.”

“Ah.”

Somehow, Hongfeng’s expression looked very strained. Still, family was family, so she must be concerned about Byulya’s outrageous behavior. She was probably the only one who could clean up after her.

“Hang in there, Professor! Professor Byulya’s class is fun too.”

“Thank you, Zimon. Ztill, if you think zomething is not right, please tell my zizter clearly.” Just then, Hector next to them made a loud noise and suddenly accelerated. He ran in an instant and touched the tree with his palm. Then, he looked at Simon with a pointed smirk. “Ah, congratulations on first place, Hector,” Simon said as he arrived. At his words, Hector’s face turned bright red. “Are you making fun of me right now?”

’No, what do you want me to do?’

“Now, now, that’z enough. No fighting.” As Hongfeng intervened, Hector reined in his temper. He really was well-behaved in front of adults. And belatedly, the Combat Magic aspirants arrived, panting for breath. “Now, shall we dezide the winner between you two?” Hongfeng pointed back to where they started and shouted, “Ztart!”

Simon and Hector immediately shot off. ’What the hell are those guys!’

’No, seriously. Don’t they get tired?’

A Combat Magic aspirant followed behind them, panting and annoyed.

—

The Cursology professor, Bahil, sat crookedly in his chair, writing formulas on the blackboard with a blank expression. The way he wrote smoothly without even looking at the board, as if he were just pasting formulas from his head, was almost a work of art. “Professor.”

Just then, a knock was heard at the research lab door, and the head TA, Chehekle, appeared. She bowed her head respectfully and said, “It’s time for your Class A lesson.”

Bahil put the chalk down with a sharp tap. Then, he wiped the chalk dust from his hands with a wet towel on the table, stood up, and put on the white suit hanging on the coat rack. “I’ve been waiting for this day.”

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