"Professor!"
"Professor Hongfeng!"
Kamibarez and the village girl ran over, on the verge of tears.
The scene unfolding before their eyes was hard to believe.
Hongfeng—the woman who had always guided her students with a warm smile, the professor everyone looked up to—was slumped on the ground, bound in heavy iron chains. Her hair was as brittle as rotting fabric, and her body was covered in gashes and bruises.
"This is too much," Meirin whispered, covering her mouth in shock. She quickly snapped out of it, however, and hurried toward the magic circle etched into the wall.
Kamibarez knelt beside Hongfeng, gently examining her injuries. Dick followed closely behind.
"How is she, Kami?" he asked.
"She’s just unconscious, thank goodness," Kamibarez replied with a sigh of relief. "She seems okay."
Sparks crackled sharply. Meirin flinched, snatching her hand back from where she had been trying to dismantle the array.
"What is this? The structure is completely different from the magic circles we know!"
"It’s primitive black magic. Of course it’s nothing like what we’ve learned," Dick said, pulling his tools from his bag. "There’s no need to dismantle it piece by piece."
He stepped forward. "If we cut the chains and physically distance the professor from the circle, that should break the connection."
"Let’s try it," Meirin agreed.
The more unknown a technique was, the simpler the approach needed to be.
The curse circle behind Hongfeng was what bound her; the chains themselves were ordinary iron. Meirin conjured a concentrated burst of jet-black flame to superheat a narrow link in the chains, and Dick immediately brought down a heavy utility blade, severing the metal in a single strike.
"Done! Let’s go!"
Dick hoisted Hongfeng onto his back, and the other three quickly followed his lead.
True to the primitive nature of the magic, simply carrying Hongfeng out of its area of effect was enough to break the curse’s hold. Still, unwilling to take any chances, they decided to move her to a safer location further down the hall.
"Who iz it?"
A hoarse voice drifted from Dick’s back. Everyone’s eyes widened.
"Professor Hongfeng! It’s us!" they cried out. "We came to rescue you!"
"Ah, everyone..."
At her weak request to be put down, Dick gently lowered her to the ground in a clear spot. Emaciated like a mummy, she looked as though she had reached her absolute limit. Her chest barely rose and fell, leaving her in such a precarious state that it seemed she might stop breathing at any moment.
While Kamibarez kept watch, Dick pulled a few emergency first-aid potions from his bag.
"The medicine iz fine," Hongfeng rasped. "By any chance... do you have anything to eat?"
Meirin quickly rummaged through her bag. All she had was a chunk of raw, unprepared meat and a few pieces of leftover bread from the day before.
The moment Meirin offered the food, Hongfeng snatched the raw meat with her bare hands and began ravenously shoving it into her mouth.
"Wh-Whoa," Meirin stammered, flinching back.
Hongfeng devoured the food indiscriminately, eating like a starving beast. Almost immediately, a miraculous change occurred. Vitality flooded back into her dry, brittle skin, and her emaciated frame began to fill out.
It was a feat impossible for any normal person. The meat seemed to convert directly into muscle and flesh the moment it slid down her throat, revitalizing her entire body.
After gulping down a canteen of water, she sat cross-legged on the floor and began taking deep, rhythmic breaths. Her twisted organs righted themselves, and a healthy flush returned to her complexion as her blood pumped vigorously once more. The oxygen in her body transformed into jet-black aura, purging her internal system. Dark, contaminated droplets oozed from her pores and dripped onto the floor.
"Haa."
Finally letting out a long exhale, Hongfeng looked at her students. When she spoke, her usual slurred pronunciation had returned.
"Thank you, everyone. I lived thankz to you."
"Professor Hongfeng! What a relief!"
"Professor!"
Kamibarez and the village girl threw themselves into her arms, tears streaming down their faces. Hongfeng gently stroked their hair with a warm, maternal touch.
"I’m zorry. A profezzor who zhould be protecting her ztudentz iz receiving help like thiz. I worried a lot while I waz captured. Thinking, ’They zhouldn’t come, they zhouldn’t come."
"Don’t say that!" Dick said, rubbing the bridge of his nose to hide his own emotion. "If our professor is in danger, it’s only natural for her students to come running!"
"Yez, thank you." Hongfeng offered a bright smile before glancing around the group. "But it zeemz one perzon iz mizzing. What about Zimon?"
"Simon is currently drawing the monsters’ attention," Meirin explained. "We sneaked in and rescued you while he kept them distracted."
The moment she heard that, Hongfeng’s pupils trembled with anxiety.
Seeing her panic, Dick quickly chimed in. "Simon will be fine! There’s no way Kizen’s Student Council President would lose to monsters like that—"
"That’z not it!"
She sprang to her feet. With her physical recovery complete, the thick fog that had clouded her mind finally lifted, restoring her sharp cognitive abilities.
"Then are you guyz the only onez here right now? Without anyone elze coming with you? Kizen’z zupport troopz, or at leazt agentz or other adultz...?"
"We only ended up here because we entered the grasslands after receiving your invitation, Professor," Meirin said. "We didn’t have the luxury of contacting the outside world."
"If that’z the caze!" Her expression turned dead serious. "When I waz rezcued from being held captive, were there no guardz around?"
"No. Is there a problem?"
"Thiz iz bad." She quickly backed away from the group. "It’z Mur’z trap! Get away!"
"P-Professor Hongfeng? What do you mean—"
Hongfeng suddenly twisted her head in agony, letting out a choked gasp. Her brown hair thrashed wildly like an angry wave. Her eyes turned bloodshot, and a deeply ominous aura began to pour from her body. She groaned, clutching her chest as her body convulsed.
"Professor!"
Meirin rushed forward, her face pale with concern. Just then, Hongfeng forced her eyes open and whispered something urgently into Meirin’s ear.
Meirin gave a single, firm nod, then immediately traced a magic circle on the inside of Hongfeng’s clothing.
"That’z enough now. Hurry and run away...!"
She couldn’t hold on any longer. Bizarre, dark spots erupted across her skin. The ominous aura flowing from Hongfeng’s back surged upward, splitting into two distinct streams.
[You’ve finally recovered your body. I put in a lot of effort because I wanted to possess it completely.]
Hongfeng let out a bloodcurdling scream as her hair rapidly dyed pitch-black. Her very body was transforming.
[There is no time. Go. Go and defeat my archnemesis.]
Her blood-red eyes snapped wide open. Crouching low, she kicked off the ground with explosive force, her figure shooting upward like a dark comet.
The temple’s ceiling shattered with a deafening crash as she forcibly smashed through it, sending a shower of heavy debris raining down toward the group.
"Dodge!"
Everyone scattered just in time as massive stone fragments of the fortress came crashing down around them.
At the same time.
A fierce battle was raging outside the temple. Simon panted heavily as he scaled the steep, pyramid-shaped structure. He had climbed quite high; the surrounding landscape already looked incredibly distant below.
’Show yourself, Mur!’
It was obvious the ancient undead was preparing some kind of powerful black magic. If Simon disrupted the temple’s ritual, Mur would have no choice but to show his face.
Heavy footsteps echoed across the stone as the residents of the past civilization who guarded the temple swarmed toward him. Every single one of them bore a gruesome appearance, thick blood dripping from their mouths. Some were already chanting spells, preparing to cast primitive black magic.
’I’m breaking through!’
Right now, the only thing he could rely on was Herseva in his hand. Simon swung his arm forcefully.
’Simon Original – Mummy Royal Guard’
Green lines slashed through the air in rapid succession. The bodies of the swarming ancient residents split cleanly in half, scattering across the steps.
"Nice," Simon muttered.
Glancing back, he saw his mummies—empowered by the Royal Guard effect—retracting the lethal bandages they had thrown. Fortunately, these enemies could still be destroyed with physical force.
’More importantly.’
Every time he destroyed one of the residents, the ominous jet-black aura permeating the area seemed to diminish ever so slightly. The events occurring here, the residents, the ritual—all of these elements were components of Mur’s black magic. If that was the case...
’I’ll disrupt it completely!’
Simon surged forward. His mummies, flashing with fluorescent light, whipped their bandages around the terrain like grappling ropes, swinging freely to guard their master’s flanks. In response, a massive wave of ancient residents rushed down the temple steps en masse.
"Go!"
At Simon’s command, the mummies spun in place, whipping their bandages outward in a deadly flurry. It looked like a miniature teal tornado sweeping across the stone. They advanced relentlessly, grinding up the incoming horde of ancient residents, allowing Simon to safely pass through the opening they carved.
[Kid! There’s really no end to them!] Herseva panted, her voice echoing from the weapon in Simon’s right hand.
Simon struck down another enemy with Herseva as he vaulted up the temple stairs. "Sorry! Just hold on a little longer!"
’Goldenization’
The stone floor flashed with a golden light, and the jagged stairs instantly transformed into a smooth, frictionless slope. The pursuing cannibals lost their footing, unable to advance as they slid helplessly back down the pyramid.
Suddenly, Simon stumbled and collapsed hard against the ground with a grunt. He gagged, overwhelmed by the phantom sensation of his body being cleaved in half—a pain transmitted directly through his telepathic link. Turning his head, he saw that one of his Mummy Royal Guards had been skewered and torn apart by the spears of the ancient residents.
It was the damage-sharing effect: the greatest strength, yet the most fatal weakness, of the Royal Guard. Gritting his teeth against the lingering agony, Simon forced his trembling legs to push him upright and continued to run.
[Kid! Over there!]
A new threat emerged from the horde. Five of the ’faceless monsters’ that had chased Simon earlier were now blocking his path up the temple. They were grotesque abominations, looking as though humans running on two legs had been forcefully stuffed inside flat, stretched sheets of flesh. Thick red blood was smeared sickeningly across their skin.
They were powerful entities, entirely incomparable to the frail ancient residents. It seemed they had been deployed specifically because he was nearing the summit.
"Royal Guards!"
The Mummy Royal Guards in the rear launched their bandages like streaks of light, but the razor-sharp cloth only managed to leave shallow cuts across the monsters’ thick hides. The faceless monsters charged forward, their massive bodies thudding heavily against the stone. The mummies lashed out again, wrapping their bandages tightly around the creatures’ torsos, but they were vastly overpowered. Instead of stopping the beasts, the mummies were yanked off their feet and dragged along the ground.
’Damn it!’
Simon immediately opened his subspace. Zombies burst forth, instantly wrapped in bandages and hurled like projectiles. He followed up with Corpse Explosion, detonating them on impact, but the faceless monsters took the blasts head-on and kept charging through the smoke.
He lacked the necessary firepower. The faceless monsters thrust their arms forward—limbs that were unnaturally long and thin, like fleshy spears. Simon quickly ducked beneath the lethal strike, stepping into the monster’s guard to slam his palm directly against its torso.
’Simon Original – Shockwave’
A loud boom echoed out. It was a technique specifically designed to bypass thick hides and attack internally, but the monster didn’t even flinch.
Quickly retracting his arm, Simon slipped between the creature’s legs. He leaped forcefully, channeling jet-black aura into his leg, and planted a brutal kick into the back of its head.
A sickening crack rang out.
’Ugh!’
Simon winced, his vision swimming. He had reinforced the strike with a heavy dose of jet-black aura, yet the recoil flared up his leg like his own bone had just fractured.
Failing his landing, Simon tumbled across the hard stone floor. The monsters relentlessly pursued him, their spear-like arms stabbing into the ground mere inches from his body in quick, violent succession.
[Kid!]
Simon staggered to his feet, panting heavily.
[I-I’m sorry! If only I had a little more power to spare!]
"It’s fine, Herseva."
Simon wiped his mouth and lowered his stance, bracing for the next assault.
[Kuhahahahaha!]
A booming shout shattered the tension. Simon snapped his head up.
’Could this voice be—!’
[Tag out! Herseva!]
A skull floated high in the sky, grinning broadly. A relieved smile spread across Simon’s face as he extended his right arm.
Heavy, metallic clanks echoed through the air. Bones radiating a terrifying, overwhelming force—incomparable to any ordinary skeleton—flew down and locked onto Simon’s arm. His sense of crisis instantly evaporated, replaced by a massive surge of raw power.
The monsters launched another strike. What had seemed so fast and threatening just moments ago now felt sluggish and trivial. Simon simply raised his armored hand and effortlessly caught the monster’s spear-like arm mid-thrust.
The faceless monster trembled, struggling to pull its arm back, but the hierarchy of strength had already been entirely reversed. Simon yanked the monster forcefully toward him, fluidly shifting his weight to smash his elbow directly into its flat, grotesque face.
A devastating impact echoed out. It was a clean hit. The faceless monster was launched backward, crashing violently into the temple floor.
The remaining monsters shrieked and lunged at him. Meanwhile, Pier’s bones were already snapping onto Simon’s left leg.
The moment the leg armor locked into place, Simon lightly stomped his foot. The stone floor caved in beneath him, and his vision instantly blurred with speed. Before the creatures could even react, Simon reappeared behind them, staring at the back of the monster he had tried to kick earlier.
He brought his armored heel down with crushing force. The impact was explosive. In a single blow, the monster’s head was driven straight through the solid stone floor, leaving it lodged in the rubble.
"Haa."
Simon took a calm step back. More of Pier’s bone armor attached itself in rapid succession, the heavy impacts shaking Simon’s frame. Left arm, right leg, chest, and back—the pieces locked together flawlessly.
Finally, Simon fully extended his arm. With a heavy thud, the pure white Greatsword of Ruin materialized into his grasp.
The fallen monsters scrambled to their feet, and all five charged at Simon simultaneously, the ground quaking beneath their massive weight. Simon calmly lowered his stance, his cape fluttering in the wind.
With a final clack, Pier’s helmet encased Simon’s face.
’I’m not looking at the enemies.’
Simon’s vision, previously locked onto the individual monsters, suddenly zoomed out. The bodies of the charging beasts perfectly aligned into a single, cohesive trajectory.
’I’m looking at the space the enemies occupy!’
He planted his feet wide and twisted his body with all his might. The kinetic energy traveled up from his legs, through his waist, and into his arms. His cape whipped around him like a dark vortex.
It was a perfect angle. The greatsword cleaved through the air with a deafening screech. Following the massive swing, Simon stood up straight and gave the blade a light flick to clear it.
A second later, the severed upper halves of all five faceless monsters soared into the air in a grotesque fountain of blood.
[Kuhahaha!] Pier’s deeply satisfied laughter echoed in his mind. [What happened? You’ve grown quite a bit during this short vacation, boy!]
"I have," Simon replied.
Recalling the grueling trials of his time travel, he smiled beneath the helmet and rested the greatsword on his shoulder. "Especially mentally. I missed you, Pier."
[Kuhehe! I’ll hear the details when we get back! First, we must chase Mur!]
"Let’s go!"
Fully clad in Pier’s bone armor, Simon kicked off the ground and sprinted up the remaining steps of the temple.
The summit of the temple finally came into view.
[I saw on my way here that rituals were being held at all the temples across the grassland region!]
"Yeah, I confirmed that too."
[It smells terrible!]
Simon vaulted onto the flat top of the temple.
"We have to stop it. Starting with this one."
At the center of the summit sat a stone altar, dark flames blazing fiercely atop it. Simon raised the Greatsword of Ruin, preparing to shatter it.
Suddenly, a violent tremor ripped through the temple floor, shaking the stone like a massive earthquake. Simon, caught off guard with his sword raised, lost his balance and stumbled.
The floor directly in front of him exploded. A figure burst from the rubble, soaring high into the night sky and eclipsing the moonlight before crashing down heavily in front of Simon.
"There were still enemies left— Ah?"
Simon’s eyes widened in shock. Pitch-black hair. Limbs that hung at unnatural, drooping angles.
Her appearance had twisted into something dark and corrupted, but there was no mistaking her identity.
’Could it be... Professor Hongfeng?’
From beneath her darkened hair, a pair of blood-red eyes locked onto him, flickering with pure, murderous intent.

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