"Hmph." A faint smile played on Serne’s lips as the skeletons and corpse spiders formed a tight, suffocating ring around her. Though outnumbered twenty-seven to one, she showed not a flicker of concern. "Well, this is certainly an amusing diversion. I shall play along, Legion Commander."
She extended a long, slender index finger. A pure white, otherworldly feather materialized at its tip. Simon’s focus sharpened, his eyes tracking her every minute movement.
’That’s her unique ability.’
It was a power only a select few on the continent could ever hope to obtain—a ‘superpower’ that defied classification, belonging to neither black, divine, nor pure magic. It was on an entirely different plane from the Black Hand that Haren Cork wielded.
She curled her fingers around the feather and flicked it forward.
’Fast!’
Simon gritted his teeth, yanking his shortsword free and swinging desperately.
The feather met the iron, but it was the sword that shattered into pieces. He had barely managed to deflect its trajectory; the feather grazed his cheek, a razor-thin line of pain, before embedding itself deep into the tree behind him.
For a split second, Simon was consumed by the agony of a sulfurous hell before reality snapped back into place. It had lasted less than a second, but his entire body had reacted, flooding his system with endorphins to kill the pain.
’What was that?’ Cold sweat slicked his back.
"This is my power," Serne explained, her voice deceptively calm. "I can imbue these feathers with emotion."
Simon glanced back. The tree where the feather was lodged had begun to twist its branches into grotesque shapes. It was reacting as if being devoured by pests, its trunk synthesizing repellents and releasing a pungent, sap-like scent to attract natural predators. If a mere plant reacted like this...
"Primary emotions like joy, anger, and pleasure are simple enough," she continued, conjuring a new set of feathers. Six of them danced above her palm. "But I can also use fear, the desire to dominate, or even utter lethargy. If my opponent were human, a single feather could make them crawl on the ground like a dog. Would you like a demonstration?"
Her assault began in earnest. The feathers shot toward him with deadly speed, and Simon threw himself into the air to dodge. Each one that struck the ground exploded with a deafening ‘bang’.
She plucked another feather from the air. It instantly turned pitch-black and launched forward at more than double the previous speed. The dark projectile filled Simon’s vision just as he landed.
At the last possible moment, Pier leaped in front of Simon, his greatsword cleaving the feather in two.
[Hehehe! Are you alright?]
"The reaction speed of an Ancient Undead is truly terrifying," Serne murmured to herself.
Pier readjusted his grip on his massive, bone-white greatsword.
[What is your command, boy?]
Simon rose to his feet, his expression grim.
"We fight."
The word had barely left his lips before Pier shot forward like an arrow. Serne smirked and launched a feather. Pier’s body flashed, soaring upward before instantly changing his angle to strike down from above. She raised the feather in her other hand to block.
Sparks flew as sword and feather clashed, the feather having already morphed into a defensive magic circle.
"I have been wandering about rather aimlessly," Serne remarked. "I never expected to face an Ancient Undead here."
[Hmph!]
Fierce flames erupted in Pier’s eye sockets.
Pier’s greatsword shattered the defensive ward. In that brief opening, Serne darted backward.
’Web!’ Simon commanded silently.
The corpse spiders he had scattered around the area instantly unleashed their webs. With her hands clasped leisurely behind her back, Serne dodged with light, airy steps, seeming to float just above the ground.
’Spearmen, advance!’
Skeletons burst from their ambush in the tall grass, thrusting their spears. Five spearheads converged on Serne’s torso, but she dropped flat to the ground, letting them pass harmlessly over her.
"How troublesome."
Feathers erupted from her body, shattering the surrounding skeletons to pieces. As she rose, a mountain-sized slash from Pier descended upon her from behind.
It was a relentless, precise combination. Serne shot into the air to escape the onslaught, only to be met by corpse spiders swinging like pendulums to intercept her from the front and back. After nimbly dispatching them with a flurry of feathers, she ascended even higher.
’It’s not just about imbuing them with emotion,’ Simon realized, biting his lip as he watched.
"A Legion Commander truly is on another level!" Serne declared, waving her hand like a conductor. The feathers fluttering in the wind dissolved into Jet-Black, which then reformed into magic circles. For her, multi-casting over twenty spells—a feat that would astound a veteran necromancer—was as simple as a wave of her hand. Each feather was a weapon, a conduit of emotion, and a magic circle all in one.
With twenty magic circles swirling around her, she smiled.
"Dark Flare."
"...What?" Simon breathed.
’BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!’
Twenty black flames erupted from the circles, laying waste to the ground below. The skeletons and corpse spiders were obliterated by the overwhelming firepower, exploding on impact.
Simon dodged a direct hit by a hair’s breadth, but the blast still wiped out more than half of his barrier gauge.
’Those are all Dark Flares? That’s impossible!’
Special Admission No. 2, Serne Aindark, was already far beyond the level of any student.
[Rather dull,] Pier’s voice echoed.
Just then, the ancient undead, having soared into the sky, appeared directly behind Serne.
The force of the impact sent her plummeting toward the earth. But Pier was faster. He was already on the ground, waiting, his greatsword raised to strike.
Serne twisted a feather into a shield to block the blow as Pier unleashed a frantic assault.
"Ugh!" she grunted.
After sacrificing a chain of feathers to defend, Serne created distance, her palm open. The feathers fluttering in the air transformed into Jet-Black magic circles, surrounding Pier.
Pier’s eyes flashed. His bone-white greatsword became a single, searing trajectory, leaving countless afterimages in the air. In an instant, the magic circles that had blanketed the sky were torn to shreds.
[You have certainly surpassed the level of a student!]
Pier kicked off the ground, launching himself into the air.
[But you are still only a student!]
The greatsword descended, aimed to split Serne’s head in two.
"You have fallen for it," she said softly.
The blade stopped a mere hair’s breadth from her forehead. Twenty feathers were now embedded all over Pier’s body.
"I lured you in while I laid a trap on the ground," she explained, approaching with light steps to tap his skull with her finger. Pier didn’t react. "Twenty feathers of lethargy. Normally, my power wouldn’t affect the undead, but you’re an Ancient Undead. Having existed for so long, you think, reason, and feel, just like a person."
She turned her head, her gaze falling on Simon.
"Well now, Legion Commander? Your best card has been sealed. Now..."
Simon grinned.
"That’s just wishful thinking."
[Hehe! Hehehehe!]
At the sound of Pier’s laughter, Serne spun around. The feathers stuck to his body were falling away one by one.
[I indeed possess something akin to emotions, girl!] he boomed.
[But to be shaken by something of this level!]
An explosive torrent of dark blue Jet-Black erupted from Pier’s body.
[My will! Is not so weak!]
Having shattered Serne’s power with his will alone, Pier tightened his grip on his greatsword. Serne hastily retreated, sending her feathers to form a defensive ward.
[No more holding back! Die!]
Pier’s greatsword unleashed a blinding light that scattered in all directions, a single, world-splitting slash.
The attack split the world in half, triggering a massive explosion. It was larger and more devastating than any slash Simon had ever witnessed from Pier.
"Argh!"
The fierce aftershock uprooted trees and tore plants from the ground. Simon shielded his face with his arm, his eyes fixed on the devastation.
’Pier! You can’t actually kill her! She’s the heir to the Ivory Tower!’
[You have the luxury to worry,] Pier retorted, slinging the greatsword over his shoulder.
[She’s more of a monster than you think.]
Just as Pier had said, the smoke cleared to reveal Serne, completely unharmed. Simon stared, startled. Three wings had sprouted from her left shoulder.
"It has been a while since I have shown this form," she said, an unsettling calm in her voice.
It was a single set of wings; her right shoulder remained bare. This was the true nature of her power. The wave of Jet-Black radiating from her was now on a completely different level.
’Pier, can you use that technique again?’
[Hehehe! Of course!]
’If I can just draw her attention...’
"But," Serne began, gesturing around them. "Shall we continue fighting like this?"
Simon’s eyes widened. Pier’s last attack had cracked the barrier Serne had erected. Once the collapse began, the entire structure crumbled with a series of sharp cracks. This was bad. With the barrier gone, they were now visible to the observers.
’Damn it, come back!’ Simon commanded, pulling the virtual lever. The skeletons and spiders surrounding Serne swiftly retreated into his Subspace.
Deciding it was best not to reveal her wings any further, Serne retracted them into her body.
’You too, Pier. Get in.’
[Me too?] Pier’s expression hardened. [Being discovered isn’t the problem! That woman’s feathers can easily turn a human into a catatonic wreck!]
’It’s fine. I have a plan.’ Simon fiddled with the artifact necklace Nephthys had given him. ‘I’ll keep the Subspace open. Go in for now, and if I’m in danger, please come out.’
[Hmph, be careful!]
Pier vanished into the Subspace just as Serne’s barrier disappeared completely. The sky above the devastated clearing began to fill with observers.
"Whew."
Once again, it was just Simon and Serne. He calmly adjusted his school uniform’s necktie.
"This means that the last option you mentioned is off the table, right?" The choice to eliminate him and bury the Legion was now impossible with Kizen’s eyes watching from above.
"Indeed," she conceded.
"Then how about this?" She plucked a feather from the air and pressed it to her cheek. "In a fit of anger, I shall play with you until you are eliminated from the exam. I shall even be kind enough to erase your memories afterward."
"Hah."
A breeze stirred. A single feather drifted down, landing at Simon’s feet.
The feather dissolved into a magic circle, carrying her voice.
—‘You will have a painful life at Kizen from now on.’
—‘A series of inexplicable misfortunes will befall you. You’ll fail exams, botch evaluations, and eventually be expelled. Once their protection is gone, I shall pay you a visit. What do you think? It is a perfectly legal and wise method of persuasion, is it not?’
Simon chuckled, placing a hand on his hip.
"You’re persistent. Is this how you’ve dealt with everyone else?"
She simply blinked, a serene smile on her face, feigning ignorance. The strategy was obvious: force talented students who could become future pillars of Kizen to fail, then have the Ivory Tower swoop in and recruit the disheartened prospects. Poaching talent. It would be a problem if she were caught, but to her, their expulsion from Kizen meant nothing.
According to Meirin, Serne was only studying here because of a pact with Kizen. While special admission was an incredible privilege, from a diplomatic standpoint, it was strange. A major power like the Ivory Tower was forced to send its heir abroad. It felt less like an exchange and more like she was a political hostage.
It was only natural she would hate Kizen. Her ultimate goal was likely the complete independence of the Ivory Tower.
’I’ve gotten myself into something complicated.’
Kizen wasn’t just a school. It was a crucible for the future leaders of the Dark Alliance and the continent. It was a place teeming with competing interests and insidious plots, all vying to shape the future. He would undoubtedly be caught in more power struggles. How should he navigate them? It was a new, daunting assignment.
"Serne," Simon said, his voice steady.
"Yes?"
"There are people who won’t yield to your methods." He slowly settled into a fighting stance. "Your way only creates more enemies."
"How dare you lecture me?" Serne raised her arm, and twenty feathers flowed from it, dancing in the wind before converging. "I am the next master of the Ivory Tower. The one who will divide the continent and usher in a new era."
She pointed her finger, and the feathers shot forward like bullets.
Just as Simon prepared to dodge, the air in front of him distorted.
Someone appeared, cutting between them. With a simple, dismissive flick of their arm, the feathers, which had been hurtling forward with enough force to tear through anything, vanished without a trace.
"I think I just heard something interesting—"
The voice alone carried an intimidating pressure that sent a tremor through his entire body.
"Who’s getting expelled from Kizen? Who’s ending their protection?" Her black hair whipped around as her chilling red eyes widened in fury. "I’m the one who protects Simon. You minion of the Ivory Tower."
Lorraine Archbold, a leading candidate for the next head of Kizen and a rising pillar of the Dark Alliance, had entered the fray.

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