Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Chapter 183

The more Simon read through the confidential document, the more he was at a loss of words.

Heavenly Blood's goal wasn't securing slaves or human sacrifices.

Their final goal was war between the Holy Federation and the Dark Territory.

'I thought it was just a lunatic heresy group that served no purpose, but this is what they were up to…'

He felt they had excellent timing.

There was tension between the two sides, to say the least. All they needed was a good reason, and war would be as good as guaranteed.

So what if the issue of Heavenly Blood hijacking a train was reported to the Federation as an act of Kizen and the Dark Territory?

Hostility would spike against necromancers and the public would be vying for war. Not even the pope could prevent it.

"This… This might actually cause a war."

Methyn read the document from his position beside Simon and groaned, seemingly thinking the same thing.

"On the document, it said that Heavenly Blood deliberately leaked information to the chief inquisitor so he'd raid their headquarters. The inquisitor chief is one of the most extreme pro-war figures. He'll use this to start a war by any means necessary. It's like putting wings on a tiger."

"…Is he that extreme?"

"Yes."

The boss to all inquisitors, Chief Inquisitor Leit, was infamous in both the Holy Federation and the Dark territory.

A merciless warmonger who had crucified countless necromancers. After becoming chief inquisitor, he started the current radical movement that burnt hundreds of Federation citizens to death each year in the name of witch hunting.

While listening to the explanation, Simon stroked his chin.

"This is just a hypothetical, but what if we presented this document as evidence to him, Leit?"

Methyn shook his head.

"The truth doesn't matter to the chief. He'll burn the documents, and it wouldn't be surprising if he killed us all to keep our mouths shut."

"…Hmph."

If what Methyn said was true, persuasion seemed impossible.

As Simon pondered, Methyn put the documents down and sighed.

"Actually, I also thought that a certain amount of war was necessary, but…"

Methyn stared at Simon.

"That 'miracle' you performed changed my mind. I now keep questioning whether I was being too narrow-minded."

Simon flinched, then he made the sign of a cross and faked a smile.

"I'm not so sure I understand what you're talking about, inquisitor! Haha!"

Methyn scoffed at Simon's reaction.

'So much for hiding your identity.'

Simon returned to his seriousness.

"Then what if we get this evidence out to the press first, before the chief inquisitor storms the scene?"

Methyn nodded.

"Yeah, I think that would be the best, too."

In the end, it was a game of timing.

There was no point in saying to an already angry mob, "Actually, it was all a scheme by Heavenly Blood!" after Leit already acted.

It was likely to be buried by war issues or treated as a trivial conspiracy theory.

However, suppose they wrote an article about the Heavenly Blood first… It'd be engraved in people's minds that Heavenly Blood is trying to spark war between the Holy Federation and the Dark Territory.

It'd be less impactful when Leit writes an article promoting necromancer hatred later on.

You could also expect people to turn their ire to Heavenly Blood for trying to manipulate the people of the Goddess.

However, Efnel controlled all media in the Holy Federation. Articles needed to be approved by Efnel, which takes time.

In the meantime, Leit could intervene and reject the article.

"Done!"

Rete threw her hands in the air in relief. A bright light emanated from the divine magic circle she had been tinkering with, and the train began to rattle.

"So you can control it?"

"Of course! It might be a little slower, but it can go backward, too! Other than that, how did the investigation turn out?"

Simon told Rete what he had found. Her expression grew grave as she listened.

"So, this incident was staged by the Heavenly Blood to provoke war between the two nations, and the person who's coming to take care of it is also an extreme pro-war advocate, the chief of the Inquisition Bureau. Did I get that right?"

"Yes."

"…"

She pondered,

"I agree with using the media, but I think it'd be better to take these files to someone with more influence rather than it being us who submit it to the press."

"…Someone with more influence?"

"Yes. I'll contact an acquaintance of mine. Someone who can influence both Efnel and the press, and who doesn't want war any more than the rest of us. Sounds good, right?"

Rete took a communication crystal ball from her subspace and activated it.

Bzzt!

A moment later, when the call connected, Rete said with an unnerving level of politeness,

"Miraculum daea. This is Rete Sardegna."

Simon was surprised.

That was a greeting one made when speaking to a high priest.

* * *

* * *

"Alright, got it."

Ting.

The man who set down the communication crystal orb let out a thin chuckle.

He was sitting in an office without a single source of light, curtains drawn over the windows.

Sat on his large chair, the man was heavily armored and armed: weapons were strapped to his body. His right eye was a milky white, he had short black hair, and a stubborn, determined look was etched on his face.

"The time has come."

A subordinate standing by his side scribbled down his words.

"Did Heavenly Blood finally say they've hijacked the train?"

"Indeed."

The man's lips formed a crooked smile upon hearing the news. He was known across the continent as the man who had killed the most necromancers in the world. He was Chief Inquisitor Leit.

"The time for judgment is upon us."

Heavenly Blood planned to use the Inquisition Bureau to start a war. They would first flee, then bring inquisitors into their HQ to gather evidence.

But before they could leak any information, Leit discovered the entire plan through his own sources.

In the end, the situation was all according to Leit's plan.

"Cheeky bastards."

He grinned.

"They probably thought they were using us, but we're using them. Tomorrow at dawn, we'll raid and wipe Heavenly Blood out. Then, we shall tell the media that the Dark Territory is behind them. Once the hatred is ripe, I'll travel to Efnel myself to inform the pope, her holiness."josei

"Yes, sir! We'll prepare thoroughly!"

As Leit waved his finger, the curtains were drawn back, letting light through the window.

"Kugh…"

When the darkness lifted, people could be seen attached to red crosses, drenched in blood.

Large nails were driven through their hands and feet, their fingernails and tongues were pulled out, and metal had fused to skin from the molten iron they had poured on them. No shine remained in their eyes, and the will to live was nowhere to be seen.

"Number 5415. Confessed."

"Well done."

With a snap of Leit's fingers, inquisitors dragged the tortured heretics out of the office.

Now they'd confess their sins on the divine trial and be executed. Only then would they be released from torture and set free.

All that remained in the office after the heretics were dragged away was a long trail of blood.

"Finally."

Leit stood up. He towered over everyone else from where he stood at three meters tall.

"War is coming."

He rubbed his right eye, which had gone completely white.

A wound inflicted by Nefthis. It was hard not to feel good knowing that he'd soon be ripping her apart with his own hands.

Swooooooooooosh!

An explosive volume of divinity erupted from him, making the surrounding inquisitors flinch and step back.

'So this is the rumored…!'

Leit's divinity, in the war against heresy, had proved its worth time and time again.

Limited to times of war, Leit's divinity granted him 'Infinity'. Across hundreds and thousands of battlefields, he never tired. With an inexhaustible supply of divinity, he fought and resurrected endlessly, striking down countless necromancers.

Victory was always his, the last to stand.

"By next year, I'll purge all remaining evil from the continent!"

Divinity was the will of the Goddess.

The Goddess's will was war.

"Prepare for execution! Carve out a cross! Paint it red!"

He declared to every inquisitor watching,

"This year, the carpenters will be busy."

* * *

The sun was beginning to set.

Rete somehow figured out how to operate the magic circle and put the train in reverse, but it didn't take that long for it to stop.

It was out of fuel. In the fierce battle, the pipe that brought fuel to the train engine had been broken.

For lack of anything better, Methyn picked a few strong men from amongst the passengers. Together, they refueled by hand. It took some trial and error, as all the crew members with the needed knowledge were killed, but they worked it out eventually.

While the train was being refueled, darkness fell, and day became night.

They had no choice but to stay on the motionless train until it was refueled. The passengers struggled to fall asleep, knowing that Heavenly Blood could strike again at any moment.

Rete organized a temporary vigilante group of priests and clerics on the train who could fight and distributed the remaining food in the warehouse to fill the passengers' empty stomachs.

There were no signs of attack yet.

Simon, Rete, and Ellen sat in an empty cabin with bare walls, staring out into the night as they ate a late dinner.

Nom nom.

Rete was actually a fast eater. Frantically digging into a steak bowl, she spoke while opening another lunchbox beside her.

"I spoke to her again earlier in the restroom, and she said she'd like to come over here herself."

Simon's eyes widened.

"Oh, really? She's coming here?"

"I was surprised, too. I mean, she's a busy person and she's got a lot on her plate, but she said the situation seems quite serious and that she'd come right over."

Even Rete seemed genuinely surprised.

"How is she coming all the way here?"

"She's using tons of very expensive teleportation circles. Apparently, she wants to see the situation with her own eyes. So I'm going to get the train moving, then I'm going to set up a teleportation guidance circle near Heavenly Blood's headquarters."

Ellen, concentrating on her food, looked up in surprise.

"Th-That's too dangerous! You don't know how many of those horrible heretics will be there!"

"It can't be helped. I'm the one who invited her, so I have to take responsibility."

"I'll come with you."

Rete nodded at Simon's words.

"You will? Then, let's finish this up and go straight to the Tree of Life. It's not that far from here, anyway."

While they were talking about this and that, Simon excused himself to use the restroom.

Ellen's eyes lit up as if she had been waiting for this moment, and she leaned forward.

"Rete, Rete! By the way, what's the relationship between you two? You kind of hit it off together."

"Shut up. Do you want me to make your chin take the place of your nose?"

"Haha, you're too cold to me, Rete!"

Rete leaned back in her seat and flatly stated,

"There's nothing between us."

Rete's answer lit a fire in Ellen. She spoke like a rapid-fire cannon.

"Hey now, nothing between you two? Bringing a necromancer like Simon all the way here is risking your life, too! How could you risk your life for someone who doesn't mean anything to you?"

Rete looked at the sky and muttered a short prayer under her breath before correcting,

"My benefactor's life is at stake, and her son is helping me save her."

At Rete's answer, she sighed heavily, wondering why she had to make such excuses.

To that, Rete groaned,

"Grow up, why don't you? I know what you're thinking, but it's not the pretty picture you're imagining."

"Is that so?"

Ellen chuckled.

"Then, can I confess to Simon today?"

——