Summoning Genius of Kizen - Chapter 85 Morning began to break. Mei-rin, who had been lying covered by Simon's robe, let out a soft 'Mmm' and sat up. After a moment of blank staring, she quickly looked around. "......Simon?" Simon was nowhere to be found. Only the embers of a campfire, some fruit left behind, and skewers ready to be grilled remained. Next to them was Simon's note. <Sorry, I had personal reasons, so I left first.> Her expression turned sullen as she read the note. "......What, it's not like I wanted to team up with you either." She mumbled aloud, pouting her lips as she rekindled the campfire. 'Be careful, Simon.' * * * "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" At the same time, Haren Koke and his team were meticulously scouring the jungle. 'Where did that bastard go?' Haren had witnessed Simon entering Kera Island across the bridge and immediately gave chase, but the complex and dense jungle environment, along with monster attacks, hindered him, and he eventually lost track. It was not a good situation. He had fortunately been given an opportunity by 'that person', but at this rate, he might have to return to Kizen without accomplishing anything. 'Tsk.' Haren reached into his inner pocket and fiddled with the feathers. Of the five feathers, he had already used two. Scratching his head in annoyance, he looked back. "Hey, what are you doing? Search properly, you bastard!" "Yes! Yes! I'll search well!" The male student, who was sniffing the ground as if his nose was buried in it, didn't dare to meet Haren's eyes properly. Watching this, the other team members were greatly bewildered by the situation. Because. '......Why is Malcolm so helpless against that loser?' The student sniffing the ground was none other than Special Admission #10. Malcolm Randolph, who had fought Hector to a standstill. All the team members here had followed Malcolm. Haren was also one of the students who had latched on to Malcolm midway due to his power and influence. But at some point, hadn't their master-servant relationship drastically reversed? Haren wasn't even leading the team towards the center. He was just circling the forest, insisting they had to find Special Admission #1, Simon Pollentia. "Wait, Haren." Unable to watch any longer, a female student approached Haren. "How long are we going to wander around? It's already the third day. If we don't advance to the mansion now, it'll be dangerous. The entire central island will become a battlefield soon!" Haren picked at his ear. "You've been nagging annoyingly for a while now. If you don't like it, get out of my team." "Your team? Since when was this your team? Malcolm is the leader of this team!" "Oh, is that so?" Haren smirked crookedly and looked back. "What do you think, Malcolm?" As soon as Haren asked that. Thud! Malcolm slammed his forehead into the dirt, prostrated himself, and wiggled his butt. "Of course you're the leader! Haren! There's no leader but you!" "Ahahaha!" At Malcolm's uncharacteristic behavior, the female student bit her lip. 'No matter how I think about it, it's strange.' Her name was Amelie. She was in the same Class M as Malcolm and also his teammate. It was unimaginable for Malcolm, who was so proud and hated losing, to act like that. "Tell me honestly. What did you do to Malcolm?" Haren shrugged at Amelie's question. "What nonsense are you talking about? Did I do this? He's doing it because he likes me." "Don't lie!" She activated her Core and spread her palm. A magic circle was instantly drawn on Amelie's palm. "Turn Malcolm back to normal right now!" "Ah- how absurd." Haren let out a scoff. "Hey, think logically. Is there some dark magic that can just make someone submit? Well, maybe there could be. But can we first-years use such powerful mind-control dark magic?" "......." Not only Amelie but everyone present couldn't refute Haren's words. Saying he used some trick or found a weakness was all just speculation. What was most frustrating was that Malcolm himself, the person involved, offered no explanation. 'But that girl. Her constant nagging is annoying.' Haren subtly curled the corner of his mouth and spoke to Amelie. "Alright, fine. I'll give you a hint." "......?" "But you can't tell the others, okay? Come closer." Haren gestured, and she looked at him warily. "Amelie! Don't go." The male student standing behind Amelie said. "I don't know what it is, but Malcolm is finished. You should separate from these guys now......" "No, I'll go." Amelie strode towards Haren. She needed to find out the true nature of the curse placed on Malcolm. If he tried to use that power on her, even better. Amelie had a rare constitution among Necromancers, one that was not easily affected by curses. If he used a curse on her, she could analyze it based on that. And if push came to shove, she had five teammates behind her. As Amelie approached Haren, he grinned slyly. "Come closer. I told you, the others shouldn't hear." "......." Annoyance surged to her head, but she had to endure it to save Malcolm. Amelie squeezed her eyes shut and stepped in front of Haren. At that moment, Haren pulled her shoulder. "Kya!" "Amelie!" The male student watching immediately drew his Jet Black Sword. But nothing much happened. Haren had truly only whispered a few words into her ear, and she nodded and stepped back. "Huuuahh- I'm bored." Haren yawned and looked at her. "Hey, girl. Sit like a dog." "......!!" At those words, the surrounding teammates' expressions flared up. "You bastard! You've crossed the line......!" However. Amelie actually squatted down on the spot and stuck out her tongue like a dog. Everyone's faces turned pale. "What about me? She's doing what I told her to do." Haren shrugged and chuckled. "Alright, next, try dancing." "Amelie! Don't!" As Amelie actually tried to get up to do it, one of her teammates grabbed her tightly from behind. "Why are you suddenly like this! Please, snap out of it!" "Hahahahahahaha!" Haren clutched his stomach and laughed. "This is truly a fucking comedy! So funny!" "Hareeeeen!" Finally, unable to hold back, the male student gripped his Jet Black Sword and lunged at Haren. Crack! A staff flying from the side smashed the male student's face, sending him flying far away. The other students nervously backed away. "Oops, did you forget who's next to me?" Next to Haren, who said that, Malcolm was moving his staff with a murderous aura, taking a combat stance. "Tsk, it's a waste to use more feathers on these guys. And they don't seem like they'll listen." Haren gestured. "Just take care of them all, Malcolm." At that single command, Malcolm lunged like a demon. It didn't take long for the remaining students to all fall to the ground. * * * At the same time. Simon returned to the exact spot where he had fought Mei-rin, searching for clues. But he couldn't find any hints. 'Why did Bikrum appear at that exact moment?' Simon was recalling his battle with Mei-rin. Was it stimulated by the noise from the fierce battle? But thinking that way, the entire island was in combat. Was it only sensitive to fire? That was also a bit ambiguous. 'Pier. Do you remember anything?' [...] Pier, who loved to chatter, had been unusually quiet since meeting Bikrum. "Is something wrong?" [Hmm. No, it's nothing. If anything comes to mind, the biggest reason Bikrum grows is anger. In other words,] 'You mean he might hold hostility towards me?' Simon crossed his arms. For a moment, he thought it might be a similar case to Erzebet, who held a grudge against the Legion. But then again, it didn't add up. Bikrum was extremely loyal to the Legion, to the point of sacrificing himself. [But, you see,] Pier's sub-body opened its mouth. [I'd have to go out of the subspace to confirm it accurately, but his aura was definitely a little different from the Bikrum I knew.] 'Hmm.' [It would be best to be careful, boy. I have a bad feeling.] 'Yes. For now, let's advance to the center and search thoroughly.' Simon moved forward without hesitation. Indeed, as he went further towards the center, the frequency of monster appearances decreased, but traces of Kizen students were often seen. It was now the third day. All students had accumulated high Tongpad points, so at this point, hunting other students yielded greater results than merely hunting monsters. Thump. Simon stopped. At some point, the surrounding sounds had quieted down. Simon looked around with a tense expression, and then he saw someone hiding behind a tree. '......What is that?' Someone was hiding behind a tree, but their hand was visible. They were hugging the tree with their hand. He wondered why they bothered to hide at all. "If you have business, come out." Then, the person hiding behind the tree obediently revealed themselves. "......!" Simon's face turned pale, then utterly white. They were wearing a Kizen uniform, but it was a face that absolutely shouldn't, couldn't, appear in this situation. "Why are you...... here......?" The expelled Efnel student he had met on a mission. Ellen Zyle. She waved her hand and smiled. As Simon took a step closer, she quickly turned her back and fled into the forest. "Wait!" Simon urgently followed her. He gasped for breath as he pursued her deep into the forest, where he found Ellen squatting, looking at a flower blooming on the ground. As Simon approached, she smiled sweetly and then ran away again. 'Who's playing this kind of prank!' His head was spinning. He could tell at a glance that it wasn't the real Ellen, but he couldn't help but chase her. Ellen Zyle climbed trees, danced like a ballerina. She even clasped her hands together in prayer. No matter how fast Simon ran, he couldn't catch her. Then, finally. "Haaah! Haaah!" He entered a wide-open space in the forest. "......!" What met his eyes this time was a tragedy. Nearly twenty Kizen students were crawling on the ground, screaming in agony. "S-save......!" Crunch! A blood-red spear descended from a tree, impaling a student's body. He screamed as if truly pierced by a spear, then went limp. Immediately, a forced teleportation occurred, leaving only a lump of mana spat out by his Tongpad. Thud! Crunch! Thwack! Scenes like hell unfolded everywhere. Screams echoed like a harmony. Nearly twenty students were being knocked out without being able to do anything. Students disappeared one by one, leaving only the mana lumps from their Tongpads. "Stop! Stop it!" A student screamed towards the sky. "Why are you doing this to us! What did we do wrong to deserve this!" At that moment, his body was caught by sturdy chains and fixed to a frame. The frame was a blood-stained cross. During the 100 Years' War, Efnel would capture Necromancers and hang them on red crosses to kill them. The symbol of death. The cross rose into the sky, and sharp spears waiting in mid-air pointed their tips at him. The student, terrified, cried out with tears and snot streaming down his face. "Stooooooop!" Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Spears stabbed him countless times, and his body went limp. His protective suit's barrier disappeared, and a forced teleportation occurred. Simon saw a single feather fly down and touch his forehead at the last moment. On the ground, students who were still alive struggled. Then they were caught by chains and tied, their necks fixed in a giant guillotine. "Stop! Stop! Please!" "I'll do anything! Save......!" The guillotine descended without mercy, and they fell silent. "......." Simon watched the scene with a chilling expression. Then he raised his head. Someone was sitting comfortably on a tree, enjoying this spectacle as if it were entertainment. The shadows were so dark that only a silhouette was visible. "Everyone is so dramatic." A beautiful voice echoed from the darkness. "They're wearing protective suits, and they're not really dying anyway. Their memories will be cleanly erased when they go back." "......." Simon clenched his fist. "Why are you doing this?" From the darkness, the ivory-haired girl smiled eerily. "......Fun?"
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