Chapter 374: Episode 374

With a heavy thud that sent tremors through the floating stage, Chatel advanced, radiating a menacing aura.

“Herseva.” Simon backed away, speaking to the staff. “This is all we have left.”

[You mean the third stage of my authority, kid?]

Simon nodded and raised the staff. A radiant golden robe now flowed around his entire body.

“Let me correct myself, Chatel.”

Chatel looked at Simon, a question in his eyes.

“It’s not just that the matchup is bad for you—”

Holding the staff before him like a sword, Simon declared, “It’s overwhelmingly bad.”

’Swoooooooosh—!’

Simon swept the staff through the air. With each arc, a river of golden sand flowed out, scattering on the wind. In response, Chatel’s eyes narrowed as he extended his right arm.

The earth answered his call. From the edges of the floating arena, the ground surged upward, forming a colossal tidal wave of rock and soil that rushed toward the center.

“You can’t… escape.”

The earthen tsunami closed in from all directions, but Simon seemed to pay it no mind. He was engrossed in his own actions, swinging the staff through the air as if performing a sacred ritual.

’Swoooooooosh—!’

The volume of golden sand pouring from the staff swelled, blanketing the area in a thick, hazy storm. As a precaution, Chatel reinforced the Jet-Black Veil around his body, but the sand had no offensive power. It merely drifted on the wind.

“Here I go.”

Soon, Simon’s entire form was swallowed by the sand, and Chatel’s vision was completely obscured.

’Herseva Original – World of Sand’

Chatel’s world went black. He frantically clawed the sand from his eyes and blinked them open.

He was standing in the middle of a barren, empty desert.

’Whoooooosh—’

A hot, desolate wind was the only thing that stirred in the vast emptiness. A short distance away stood Simon. The golden robe and the staff were gone.

“Where… is this?” Chatel stammered.

Simon answered with a triumphant smile. “A dungeon.”

It was Herseva’s final, third-stage authority: the ability to drag an opponent into a dungeon of her own creation. A low groan escaped Chatel’s lips.

“Creating a dungeon… Impossible…!”

[You’re free to think that…]

Herseva’s voice echoed across the entire dimension. Chatel looked up. In the cloudless sky above the golden desert, two enormous eyes had appeared, gazing down at him.

[You’d better figure things out quickly, or you’re going to die.]

—

“What in the world happened?”

The arena had suddenly rocketed into the sky, throwing the audience into chaos.

“I can’t tell who’s winning!”

“Shouldn’t the organizers do something?!”

A mix of shock and desperate curiosity filled the stands. Just then, the referee raised a sound-amplifying crystal.

—We apologize for the interruption. We have just launched an observer drone into the air.

The central mana screen flickered, switching to the drone’s feed. They finally had a view of the arena again, but…

“Th-They’re gone?!”

The floating stage was empty. There was no one there. Not a single trace, not even a remnant of Jet-Black energy. The monitor displaying the students’ barrier gauges now read ‘CONNECTION LOST’.

“I-In that case…”

“How will they decide the winner?”

While the audience buzzed with confusion, the referee was equally bewildered. He was frantically flipping through the rulebook, a tome he hadn’t touched in the five years since his qualification exam.

—The-The arena is technically still in the air, so the out-of-bounds rule doesn’t apply, but in this case, since both students have vanished during the match, they will both be…

“Wait.”

The sharp interruption made the referee stiffen. He turned, his expression hardening. Who would dare undermine his authority and give an order—

“V-Vice Principal?!”

It was someone who had every right to. The referee immediately bowed low. But the voice hadn’t come from her, but from someone beside her. A little girl holding Jane’s hand, happily licking an ice cream.

“Gaaah! L-Lady Nephthys!”

“Shh.”

The silver-haired girl winked, signaling for silence. The referee’s mouth snapped shut as if sealed by a curse, and sweat began to pour down his face.

’Wh-Why is she here?!’ he screamed internally. He shot a desperate look at Jane, but she just shook her head.

“Want some ice cream?” Nephthys asked, smiling brightly as she offered him the slobber-covered treat. She must have been using some kind of distortion magic, as she was completely invisible to the audience.

The trembling referee did his best to refuse.

“Just kidding! I wouldn’t give it to you anyway!” she chirped, popping the ice cream back into her mouth.

Jane pressed down on the top of her head with an exasperated sigh. “Please, stop fooling around and explain.”

“Hm? Explain what?”

“The referee needs to know what’s happening to make a decision.”

“Ah!” Nephthys giggled. “They just moved the fight to another dimension. They’ll be back soon.”

“…What?”

“Just wait and see.” With that, Nephthys greedily devoured the last bit of ice cream from the bottom of the cone.

—

’…What is this?’

Chatel was witnessing the most astonishing sight of his life.

[This dungeon is a bit bleak, isn’t it? Shall we spruce it up a bit!]

“Don’t overdo it, Herseva.”

Before his eyes, centered on Simon, countless structures erupted from the barren desert. The size and scale dwarfed what he had summoned in the arena.

A grand temple, towering obelisks, lush gardens, intricate statues, and a forest of skyscrapers materialized out of thin air. A city was born on the desolate sand, painted onto a blank canvas in mere moments.

At this rate, the burgeoning golden city would suffocate him. Chatel activated his ultimate spell, Domain Control, once more. An inky blackness shimmered at his feet, spreading to the size of a small pond. That was the extent of his domain. Even with a spell that could seize control of all land, this was his limit.

[Oh? Look at this little guy,] Herseva’s mocking voice echoed. [If you’re going to be a tenant, you have to pay rent, you know?]

The doors of the countless buildings swung open, and the city’s inhabitants—the mummies—began to emerge.

The most mummies Simon had maintained in the arena was fifty-one. Here, the number was at least…

…over five thousand.

’Wait, Herseva.’

[Yeah?]

’You said the third authority doesn’t last long, right?’

[That’s about the gist of it.]

Even with an overwhelming army, he couldn’t afford to be complacent. Simon strode toward Chatel, who stood within his small pond of darkness.

’Chatel only has one option. He’ll come straight for me.’

Both of them wanted a swift conclusion. Simon closed his eyes. Herseva’s physical form had vanished when the dungeon opened, but their mental link remained. It was more than a link; it felt as if this entire world was an extension of his own will.

“All units.”

At Simon’s command, the swarming legions of mummies froze, awaiting their orders.

“Advance!”

The army of countless mummies surged forward, kicking up a storm of sand. Simon charged with them. The mummies were a diverse host: some ran on all fours, others wielded bandaged spears and weapons, some rode mummified steeds, and towering, masked giants brought up the rear.

Chatel, facing this legion alone, had eyes only for Simon. He raised his fists.

Black sand, loyal to its master, swirled around him, forming a suit of armor. The sand armor constantly shifted, erupting in a continuous wave of moving spikes. Clad in this formidable defense, Chatel launched himself forward.

A single leap was all it took to cross the distance. Simon fell back, and a tide of mummies flooded the space between them.

The clash was immediate and brutal. Mummies bit at Chatel with sharp teeth and tried to ensnare him with their wrappings, but the spiked armor shredded them on contact.

Like paper being fed into a shredder, a trail of mangled mummy corpses marked Chatel’s path. The giant tore through the undead forest and finally reached Simon.

’Whoooooooosh!’

He swung a fist with enough monstrous force to obliterate a barrier gauge in a single blow. Simon dodged, arching his back fluidly, and planted his left foot.

’Gate Opening!’

Six streams of Overload shot out in different directions, scoring deep wounds across Chatel’s body.

Chatel tried to throw another punch, but—

With a thump, crushing weight slammed down on him, forcing his right knee to the ground. Mummies had swarmed onto his back.

“Now!” Simon commanded, extending his arm. The mummy cavalry hurled their spears. The bandaged projectiles rained down, hammering Chatel’s abdomen. He could hear the impacts as several spears pierced his Jet-Black Veil and slammed against his barrier.

With a furious roar, Chatel thrashed, shaking the mummies from his back before charging again. Simon refused to engage directly, relentlessly assailing him with his undead legion.

[Kid! Stop with the small fry and bring out a big one!]

’How do I do that?’

[Don’t play dumb. Can’t you see the building schematics in your head?]

It was true. From the moment he’d entered this space, detailed architectural plans had been appearing in his mind through their link with an eerie clarity.

[Build one. You have the authority here, too.]

’Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!’

Like a demon, Chatel continued his relentless advance, tearing through the mummies that clung to him. Simon plunged his hands into the sand with a ’thwack!’ Then, as if unearthing a great monolith, he heaved upward with all his might.

A massive, pyramid-shaped structure rose from the ground before him, its scale rivaling the skyscrapers of Pentamonium.

’Thump!’

The structure’s entrance opened, and a ten-meter-long, masked mummy-beast burst forth, its hands tipped with hook-like claws.

The giant mummy lashed out with a kick, sending Chatel and dozens of nearby mummies flying from the shockwave.

“Ahh!!”

Staggering back, Chatel gathered his Jet-Black and threw a punch of his own. The concussive blast of dark energy struck the beast’s head, sending it tumbling backward in a cloud of sand. Even in this alien world, Chatel fought with tenacious fury.

’He’s not part giant for nothing.’

Even without his Jet-Black, his physical prowess alone was among the best at Kizen. He tore mummies from his body and sent dozens more flying with the shockwaves of his punches. If Simon hadn’t been able to seal Chatel’s earth magic with Herseva, a direct confrontation might have been impossible to win.

But Simon had no intention of backing down. He was already creating his next construct.

“Come forth.”

As Simon raised his arm, a long, tomb-like structure rose from the sand. Its lid shattered with a crack, and from within, a ‘dragon’ completely wrapped in bandages soared into the sky.

’A mummy dragon!’

It even unleashed a wave of Dragon Fear. Chatel’s expression tightened, but his advance never faltered.

“Let’s go!” Simon leaped onto the mummy dragon’s back and charged.

The exhausted Chatel, his eyes half-lidded and drool trickling from his lips, charged his fists with the last of his Jet-Black.

Just as the two behemoths were about to collide—

The world fractured like glass.

The dimension shattered, and the world around Simon and Chatel dissolved.

“Ugh!”

The two boys staggered and collapsed.

“Ah…!”

They were back on the floating arena. But in Chatel’s absence, it had begun to crumble.

The ground gave way completely.

’Rumble-rumble-rumble!’

Amidst a rain of stone fragments, Simon and Chatel fell back into the 1st Indoor Arena.

“Hey, it’s them!”

“They’re back!!”

“WHOAAAAAA!”

Despite the staff’s evacuation orders, a large crowd of students had remained, refusing to miss the end of the epic match. Dick, Kamibarez, and Benya cheered wildly. Even Elisa, who had been poised to flee, nonchalantly sat back down and began chanting Chatel’s name.

“What in the world just happened?” Dick muttered, dazed.

The two combatants, now returned, were a study in contrasts.

“Hah! Hah!” Chatel was sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath like a dying man. His eyes were wide and trembling, still unable to process what he had just experienced.

“Haa.”

Simon, on the other hand, calmly dusted off his clothes. Herseva was once again in his hand.

[Simon Polentia: 98%]

[Chatel Maer: 7%]

The gap was overwhelming. It was the kind of disparity you’d expect between a high-squad and a low-squad student, yet his opponent was the indomitable Chatel Maer.

“Give up, Chatel. It’s over.”

“…You’re bluffing… too much.” Chatel pushed himself up, his massive body trembling. “After using… a technique like that… there’s no way… you’re unharmed.”

His suspicion was logical. However…

“No.” Simon shrugged, his expression serene. “I’m perfectly fine.”

As he completed the magic circle at his waist, Simon produced a golem’s core. Chatel’s eyes widened in recognition and horror.

“I’m sorry, but—”

A brilliant turquoise light shot from the golem’s core, splitting in the air and infusing each of the dozens of skeletons Simon had summoned.

“—you have to face me from ‘now on’.”

Twenty-four skeletons, their emerald capes billowing, rose to stand around Simon. To unleash another finishing move of this caliber after creating an entire world, just to force a surrender…

’Simon Polentia Original – Royal Guard’

…was simply overkill.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep