Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Chapter 214

"As students of Kizen, we…"

Simon concentrated only on reading what was in front of him.

No stuttering, no voice cracks, just speaking.

The oath itself was pretty standard, asking students to know honor, maintain dignity, and do their best in education, but he was so focused that he didn't remember a word he said.

A minute passed by quickly, and the oath was over.

'Phew, I didn't make a mistake.'

"Why are you so nervous?"

At Serene's playful question, Simon shyly replied,

"I think I got a little nervous trying not to make any mistakes."

"You were speaking so fluently, though~"

Following Aaron's instructions, the two completed their task and went back to their seats.

"Well done, Simon!"

Camibarez and Rick greeted him. Simon returned to his seat and sat down, glancing over at Meilyn, who was looking very, very unhappy. She asked,

"Did it feel good?"

Somehow, he felt like he was walking on eggshells here.

"Not really. I didn't really feel anything."

Meilyn scoffed.

With that, the real highlight of the ceremony came.

"Esteemed staff, please enter."

The students cheered louder than ever as the star lineup of Kizen professors entered the Great Hall.

'I see everyone is doing well!'

Simon's gaze lingered on the familiar faces.

First was Jane, the Professor in charge of Class A and the Vice-President of Kizen.

There was also the Professor of Combat Dark Magic Hong Feng, Professor of Curses Bahil, and other memorable faces such as Umbra and Eric, the professors of Necromancy and Mechanics of Jet-Black respectively.

"And as an additional announcement, we have new professors joining us for this semester."

Aaron's words caused the students to spur into speculative whispers. In fact, rumors had already spread about who the new Professor of Poisonous Alchemy could be.

"Allow me to introduce the new three professors. Please come forward."

Three people, all somewhat unfamiliar to the students, stepped forward to the stage. Aaron introduced them, starting from the right.

"This may come as a bit of a surprise. This is Professor Walter Han, recommended to teach your Hemomancy classes by Professor Silage, who is currently on a mission."

A man in a brown suit and glasses stepped forward.

Cheers erupted from all sides, especially from the female students, whose screams were loud enough to challenge a lion's roar.josei

"Who's that?"

"Woah, that face is literally cheating."

"I can already hear the students shifting to Hemomancy majors."

Meilyn was also surprised upon seeing Walter Han for the first time, and even the boys admired him.

He wasn't at the level to feel jealous of, but he did look like an immaculate sculpture come to life.

Stepping forward, Walter held up the loudspeaker ball a servant had handed him.

"Nice to meet you, everyone. I am Professor Walter Han."

His voice was soft and husky, causing a few female students to become faint.

"I have the honor of taking over for Professor Silage and will be teaching your Hemomancy classes for the foreseeable future. I am not nearly as good as Professor Silage, but I shall do my best."

Thunderous applause erupted.

Walter finished his introduction with a few more brief sentences and then returned to his seat. After that, Aaron introduced the next professor.

"Next up is the new Defense Against the Holy Arts professor."

Up to this point, the Defense Against the Holy Arts class had been more about morals than a class that taught the students how to defend themselves from divinity.

Professor Hulut, who was in charge of Defense Against the Holy Arts in the first semester, was an experienced necromancer who had fought the frontlines for the Alliance. He was a soldier to the bone and carried an intense hatred toward priests.

Why the priests are bad. Why we must defeat the Holy Federation.

He spoke of the Priests' cruelty and apathy, and constantly spoke of his own experiences of terrorism by the fanatics, stirring up hatred and anger in his students.

Maybe because he mostly focussed on the why and not the how, it was reported that he somewhat lacked in the more important areas of teaching Defense Against the Holy Arts.

In the wake of the Saintess incident, Nefthis made a major move. The Elders had difficulty accepting it.

"Ahem."

An old man stepped forward, dressed in white robes and waving a fan with one hand. Every single student recognized him, having fought him only a couple of hours ago outside the gates of Kizen.

He was the incredibly powerful priest they had to get past.

"Before the introduction…"

Aaron warned,

"Let me remind you all that Kizen shall never forgive any form of disrespect to our professors. No matter their circumstances."

The students went cold at those words.

A few of the more radical students were prepared to boo at the appearance of a priest, but the warning immediately shut them up.

"This man was very difficult to get a hold of. He is Professor Farahann, President of the Anti-Holy Federation Society and a former bishop for Efnel."

Clap clap.

There was a small round of applause.

It was completely different from the applause for Walter, being quickly cut short when the clapping students realized that no one was joining them.

Still, Farahann laughed and bowed his head at Aaron.

It was his way of saying thanks for caring for him. Aaron bowed down deeply in return.

In the cold silence, Farahann stepped forward and took the loudspeaker crystal ball from the servant.

"…"

Clearly, this was unprecedented.

It was the first time a priest had ever officially been a professor in the Dark Alliance, and the fact that it was Kizen and not some countryside school was enough to shock everyone watching.

They were now forced to sit and listen to a priest's teachings.

A significant percentage of the students viewed priests as targets to kill, and hostility toward all priests was at an all-time high with the Saintess incident.

What would Farahann from the Holy Federation say at this time?

Everyone's gaze, including Simon's, was focused on him. Even the seated professors glanced at him, waiting for Farahann to speak.

Farahann stepped forward with the presence of a sage while his crisp white robes fluttered behind him. Then, he raised the loudspeaker crystal ball to his mouth.

"Efnel…"

He slowly opened his palm.

"…wants my head more than anyone in the world."

Fwoooooooooosh!

* * *

* * *

A flame of divinity appeared in Farahann's palm, growing larger until it licked the ceiling.

Screams and gasps erupted from all sides. Even the professors in the back flinched and fell back.

"Efnel teaches that this divinity is a power given only to those 'Chosen by the Goddess'."

He said, extinguishing the flame.

"But my very existence refutes their logic. How could they not want to kill me? They must pray a hundred times a day, a thousand times a day, about how I must face punishment."

The old man's voice echoed throughout the Great hall. Even Simon, seated in the center of the room, marveled at the perfect manipulation of the unsettled audience by using divinity.

"If Efnel does indeed represent the will of the Goddess, then how can they explain my divinity?!!"

His eyes carried a deep darkness and an old pain.

"Listen, young ones. Efnel's method of ruling the people is through lies. They blind and deafen their people, refusing all ideas and knowledge. Their people are stuck reading scriptures by candlelight until the words in their sacred texts become all they know. Until Efnel's values are their values. That is their way."

The resolute voice rippled out, but it almost sounded like a plea for help.

"In the name of the Goddess, the villagers rejoice in being stripped of their property. In the name of the Goddess, they reject their ancient traditions and corrupt their minds. Those who question this are tortured by inquisitors and suppressed with fear."

The atmosphere became heavy.

"Then who is it that deserves the Goddess's wrath? Who is the true sinner? Not me, not you, but Efnel."

Clap.

One of the students stared in wonder and had instinctively started to clap.

Clap. Clap.

Two, three people around him joined in.

Clap clap clap clap.

It wasn't loud, but small claps came in from all directions. The old man smiled and bowed slightly.

Farahann believed in the existence of the Goddess, but he believed that Efnel twisted the true will of the Goddess to further their invested interests and fill their coffers.

In the scriptures, they say that the Goddess cherishes and loves all things and all humans equally. Then why does Efnel teach its people to kill the other half of humanity?

In the scriptures, the Goddess told everyone to stay awake. So why do they leave the people in the dark?

These questions grew as he continued to practice his faith, and eventually, he stepped down from his position as a bishop.

His destination was the Dark Alliance. Nefthis welcomed him with open arms and tasked him with uniting the apostate priests.

"I will not force my values onto you students. But I am convinced that Efnel is a public enemy to us all. I may not make it to the day of liberation, but I can sow the seeds. I will use my knowledge and experience to teach you how to defend yourselves against divinity, hoping that one day you shall drive out the evil and save the innocent."

Farahann returned the crystal ball to the servant and looked at Aaron, giving a nod to say he was finished.

Aaron looked at the students.

"A round of applause, please."

The students clapped.

The hostility and deeply engraved stigma hadn't been overturned with just a few words, but the applause was a little louder than when Farahann was first introduced.

Farahann returned to the professors' chairs and sat down next to Walter.

"And finally, the last professor to join Kizen. We had a hard time getting her here, too."

Step. Step.

A woman in her late 20s walked to the front of the stage, her grayish-brown hair flowing behind her in a neatly tied ponytail.

Everyone started whispering again.

"Wh-Who is that?"

"I don't know, either."

"Doesn't she remind you of Professor Hong Feng a little?"

"I was about to say the same thing."

Murmur murmur.

Belya stopped in front of the students. Simon silently laughed.

'She looks so nervous.'

She had changed from her weird rags and was now dressed in a proper black suit. She must've also been wearing makeup, as her face was immaculate. Simon felt she was actually pretty when dressed like an average person.

However, she seemed somewhat dazed, as if not used to seeing herself like this. A servant placed a loudspeaker crystal ball in her hand, and Aaron explained,

"This is Professor Belya Tun Sokum Marerat, who will be teaching Poisonous Alchemy on behalf of Professor Lang from now on. She's Professor Hong Feng's twin, whom you know well."

"Ooooooh!"

The students' eyes lit up with anticipation, and this time, the boys reacted loudly. Especially Poisonous Alchemy aspirants. They were almost bursting with excitement.

"…"

However, something felt off with Belya.

Her eyes were wide open, her shoulders were up to her ears, and her back was hunched. She even squirmed uncomfortably every couple of seconds.

It looked like a cat had been forced to wear human clothes and was resisting the need to tear out of them.

She remained like that for several minutes, saying nothing. The students noticed the strangeness and began to chatter. The host, Aaron, coughed and said,

"Professor, would you like to say a few words?"

Belya didn't seem to even notice what Aaron said, her shoulders still extremely tense.

The chatter from the students grew louder and louder, and the servants in charge of the broadcast were screaming silently, begging for her to say something.

"Uh…"

Finally, she spoke.

Then there was another awkward silence.

Simon looked at Hong Feng, who sat behind Belya in the professors' seats. She was visibly rubbing her forehead and sighing heavily.

"…Ugh."

It was then that Belya's shoulders began to twitch violently.

"Ugh… Urk… Uaaaaaaa…"

Aaron said in a panic,

"Professor, is there something wrong?"

"It's so fucking! Uncommmforrrrrtaaaaaableeeeee!!!!"

She grabbed the suit she was wearing and began to rip it apart. It was quite odd behavior for a Kizen professor, and it caused an uproar in the Great Hall.

Pieces of fabric were scattered in all directions, the skirt was ripped down the side, and she made holes in the stockings.

Beneath the suit, Belya's rags were exposed. She removed her high-heeled shoes, leaving herself barefoot, and untied her hair, letting her grayish-brown hair flow free.

"Whoa! Phewwwwwwww! That's what I'm talking about!"

Her relief was so loud she didn't even need the crystal ball for the entire audience to hear her.

The servant in charge of the broadcast was sobbing and signaling for Aaron to stop her, but instead of doing what he was meant to and handling such a situation, Aaron was smiling with the satisfaction of meeting someone with the same thoughts.

"If you ever put this suffocating crappy stuff on me again, I'll kill you!!"

She loudly warned the makeup artists before yanking the loudspeaker crystal ball from a panicking servant.

"Nice to meet you, kids! Name's Belya!"

——