Yona was a man of indomitable will. No matter how relentless the assault, he never broke. The Saintess of Efnel, who had incinerated the three-thousand-strong army of the Dresden Kingdom, spoke to the challenger, Yona.
—"Surrender. Have you not lost all your comrades?"
Yona replied.
—"What nonsense. My comrades will fight with me for eternity."
At his words, tens of thousands of pitch-black undead rose from the ashes. The tide of battle had turned. Even when the priests purified the ground so the undead could not rise again, the fallen priests themselves rose as corpses to join the fight.
Victory in the White Night War. Victory in the Battle of the Graham Sea. Victory in the Battle of the Heitz Plains. He required no aid from any other necromancer. He was solitary, yet strong. Yona and his legion of undead tore through Efnel at a terrifying speed, and all the priests trembled in fear.
Having read this far, Simon briefly flipped the book over to check the title again. ’Did I accidentally pick up an epic hero novel?’
<History of the Legions>
It was indeed a history book. Puzzled, Simon continued reading, finding the text surprisingly engaging. While the book recorded historical facts, Yona’s achievements were described so brilliantly that it read like an epic poem. Wondering if this was standard, he glanced at the sections for other Legion Commanders. Their entries were just dull, bland lists of historical records. Only in Yona’s section did the author’s excitement seem to bleed through the page.
—The living god of war, Yona, finally made even the master of Cheongun Mountain submit to death, then raised him to follow in life. Truly, he had no equal.
Simon let out a hollow laugh. ’This author was a total fan of my father.’
At first, he’d thought it was all nonsensical exaggeration, but the more he read, the more he felt a fire kindle in his chest. It was strange to think that the protagonist of this grand tale was the same father he saw at home.
The ending, however, was rather anticlimactic.
The Battle of Ballot Port. The Battle of Harona. The Battle of Hanbus. Yona’s death, the 7th Legion’s disbandment.
The author, who had been writing with such feverish excitement, seemed to be overcome with deep regret at the end. He simply listed the historical facts without any personal commentary. The final period after ‘7th Legion’s disbandment’ seemed unusually large and final.
’Both Kizen and Efnel were desperate to cover it up.’
The greatest Legion Commander of the era and the greatest Saintess of the era. The final confrontation between the two greatest assets of their respective factions had ended in a way neither side could have ever imagined. Efnel had declared that Anna died in battle to preserve the sanctity of divine authority and the dignity of the Saintesses. Kizen, too, concluded that Yona had fallen in a fierce battle with the Saintess, expunging all other records.
It seemed neither side had wanted such a reconciliatory ending.
A strange feeling washed over Simon as he closed the book.
He pulled out the next book from the tower-like stack. Just as he was opening it to a section with Yona’s name in the subheading, a voice spoke from behind him.
"Studying hard so early in the morning, I see."
’Huh!’
A voice spoke from behind him, and Simon’s blood ran cold. He stiffly turned his head. A man with glasses and brown hair the color of fallen leaves was smiling down at him.
"What are you reading?"
It was the new Hemomancy professor, Walter Han. Though he’d done nothing wrong, a chill ran down Simon’s spine. Before he could answer, Walter spoke first.
"Ah, you’re reading about Legion Commander Yona. I’m quite a fan of his myself."
Simon forced his wildly pounding heart to calm and asked in a placid voice, "Why do you like him, Professor?"
"He’s a legendary figure among professional necromancers, you know. Not much is known since he worked alone, but his achievements were magnificent. Of course, he isn’t mentioned often in textbooks, so I assumed students these days wouldn’t be interested." Walter’s thick palm came to rest on the crown of Simon’s head. "And here you are, looking into Yona this early in the morning. Good for you. Knowing history is just as important as studying black magic."
He then began to slowly stroke Simon’s hair. For some reason, it gave him the creeps. Shifting his head to avoid the touch, Simon forced a smile. "You seem to be very interested in Cores, Professor."
Simon had already noticed the titles of the books Walter had checked out. There were two of them: <New Core Development Studies> and <The Secret of Core Opening>.
"Mm, that’s right," Walter said. "It’s a field that a Hemomancy professor can’t help but be interested in. Especially Core operation..."
"Not their operation," Simon interjected, pointing to the title of one of the books with his index finger.
"An intriguing thought," Walter mused, a faint smile touching his lips. "It seems you’re looking to create an entirely new type of Core."
He tucked the book under his arm and turned his head. "You’re in Class A with Kamibarez, aren’t you? Today is your first lesson. While studying history is admirable, you wouldn’t want to be late." With only those words, Walter strode off. Simon watched his retreating figure disappear from the library before letting out a weary sigh. ’I thought coming early would be enough, but I’ll have to be more careful from now on.’ He gathered the books and returned them to their shelves.
He made it to the Hemomancy lecture hall just as class was about to start. He spotted Dick, who had arrived earlier, slumped over his desk with vacant eyes. As Simon took the seat beside him, Dick let out a long yawn and lifted his head. "Where have you been so early in the morning?" he grumbled. "You nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw your empty bed."
"I just stopped by the library. Something caught my interest." As Simon took out his textbook, Dick’s eyes widened dramatically. "You traitor!"
"Uhh?"
"Look at you, turning into a total bookworm! Are you trying to be like Meirin? Decided to start studying out of sheer competitiveness? We may have enrolled at different times, but we’ll be expelled on the same day, at the same time... Ugh!" He abruptly clapped a hand over his mouth. At the retching sound, the surrounding students scattered like cockroaches. Some, as if infected by the noise, clapped their own hands over their mouths and bolted for the restroom. "Ugh, the aftereffects of that Venomology class are no joke," Dick groaned, collapsing onto his desk again. "Good morning, you two!"
Kamibarez and Meirin had arrived. After exchanging a cheerful greeting with her, Simon glanced at Meirin. "What’s wrong with her?"
She had pulled her long, sky-blue hair forward, covering her face like a specter. Meirin whispered something to Kamibarez before lowering her head completely. Kamibarez relayed the message. "She’s embarrassed because the spots and patterns from the poison haven’t faded from her face yet, so she says not to look."
"Jeez, so dramatic," Dick giggled, trying to get a rise out of her. "Hey, we all got ugly together. Don’t you think you’re overreacting? It’s morning; let’s at least see each other’s faces when we talk." Meirin whispered to Kamibarez again. With a bright smile, Kamibarez announced, "She says to shut your mouth."
"Wow, Kami, hearing such harsh words from you actually stings a little."
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Meirin finally snapped, flipping her hair back. "Whatever! I don’t care! Look all you want!" Immediately, Simon’s and Dick’s gazes locked onto her. Faint, blackish stripes were visible on her face. They looked just like...
"A watermelon?" Simon ventured. "Don’t say it!" Meirin shrieked, her face flushing crimson as she hurled her textbook at him. The patterns vanished beneath the blush. Dick clapped his hands and pointed at her face. "Wow! A slice of watermelon!" This time, there was no hint of a joke in her expression. An icy aura began to radiate from her as if she were genuinely about to kill Dick. Terrified, Kamibarez and Simon rushed to hold her back. "Hah, seriously," Meirin muttered, finally reining in her anger after freezing two chairs solid. She plopped down in her seat and put her head in her hands. "I have to take a class like this more than once a week? I’d rather just choose death."
Just as Dick was about to retort, a student shouted, "The professor’s coming!"
The students scrambled back to their seats, and soon, new teaching assistants entered. Walter was the last to appear. His popularity had soared to the point that he’d earned the nickname ‘the walking statue’ at his new job. Recently, a major topic of conversation among the female students at Kizen had been who was more handsome: Bahil or Walter. "Hello, everyone," Walter began, a gentle smile gracing his lips. "I’m Walter Han, and I’ll be in charge of Hemomancy in place of Professor Silage."
Cheers that were closer to screams erupted from all corners. The boisterous atmosphere was less like a classroom and more like a fan club meeting. "I also grew under Professor Silage’s tutelage," he continued. "The curriculum won’t be much different from what you’re used to. You won’t be confused or need extra time to adapt, so please don’t worry." For the students of Class A, who had just endured Byulya’s Venomology class, this was welcome news. "Now then, let’s start with a simple review."
Walter walked up to the podium and cleared his throat. His voice was so soothing it could melt wax. "Hemomancy is a form of black magic that uses blood as a medium. As you all know, both Jet-Black and blood flow through a necromancer’s body. Naturally, nothing happens in this state, but..." He conjured a Jet-Black magic circle in the air. "A necromancer can use the artificial method of black magic to combine Jet-Black and blood, causing various magical reactions."
He then dropped a droplet of blood onto the magic circle. The moment the red droplet passed through the circle, it blossomed into a swirling vortex of blood beneath. The students gasped in awe. This time, Walter demonstrated the reverse. He conjured a magic circle of blood and dropped Jet-Black onto it. The magic circle and the Jet-Black combined, creating a sharp rose of blood. Walter offered it to a female student in the front row with a charming smile, and she looked as if she were about to faint. "Ugh," Meirin grunted, turning her head away in disgust. Simon looked at her. "What’s wrong?"
"It’s nothing. I just don’t get why everyone’s making such a fuss. I find his smarmy look kind of gross." Hearing this, Dick and Kamibarez, who were sitting behind them, chuckled softly. "My, you certainly have particular tastes," Dick remarked. "That’s because Meirin only has eyes for Sir Pion," Kamibarez added with a giggle. "B-Both of you, shut up!"
Flustered, Meirin spun around and snapped at them. Equally flustered, Simon discreetly glanced out the window. After the minor disturbance settled down, Walter resumed his explanation. "Blood-stream black magic consumes your own blood, so your stamina drains quickly, but it is fast and powerful." Walter clapped his hands lightly, and the magic circles all scattered into the air. "Now, show me. What kind of potential does your blood hold?"

Comments

Loading...