I Became The Academy Necromancer
Chapter 329: Coexistence

If I were to describe it in detail, it was roughly more than a year since the evil spirits had overrun Loberne Academy, rendering it inoperable.

A necromancer, known as the Dark Spiritualist, was killed by Setima’s Angel without much effort.

Through the Black Magic she possessed, the boundary between life and death had blurred in this place.

And now, spirits were running wild once again.

Back then, when Findenai tried to confront the most powerful being among the evil spirits—the one-armed warrior who stood all by himself at the main building’s entrance to protect the spirits—she, too, realized that she couldn’t inflict any damage on it and was ultimately forced to flee.

Ironically, Findenai now stood in the exact same spot that man had, at the Academy’s main entrance, facing her enemies.

Thud!

Slamming her halberd, Snow White, to the ground, Findenai glared at the advancing army and pulled a cigarette from her pocket.

It was identical to the custom ones Deus Verdi had commissioned for her once before, ordered from a craftsman during her recent trip to Norseweden.

She lit the cigarette in her mouth with a lighter as it was hard for her to endure without smoking at this moment.

Watching the smoky vapor drift away, she thought of the Norseweden mountain range.

“I nearly died back there.”

When Deus Verdi was imprisoned, Findenai decided to seek for what she could do on her own.

The result was the white tiger’s tail now protruding from her back.

Inspired by how Lanhardt absorbed the power of the Ancient Dragon and made it his own, Findenai had requested the Mountain Lord of the Norseweden mountain range to lend her his power.

Surprisingly, the Mountain Lord neither showed displeasure nor found the request difficult to grant.

At the time, she couldn’t understand why, but now, after having absorbed the Mountain Lord, she was able to grasp his thought process.

Nothing was eternal.

In less than a year, the guardian deity of the Norseweden mountain range had witnessed its fellow guardian deities perish one after another.

For instance, the Ancient Dragon in the Han Empire and Horua from the Marias Great Forest.

And the incident where Lanhardt and the hunters targeted the Norseweden mountain range particularly, tightening their grip on him, shattered the mindset of the guardian deity who had once considered himself to be eternal and immortal.

If he stayed in that mountain range any longer, death would inevitably come for him.

Unsure of how or when it would come, the Mountain Lord chose to savor the fleeting moments of life rather than wither away in the confines of its narrow sanctuary.

Perhaps watching Deus Verdi live a fierce life in the span of just one year heavily influenced this decision.

“Huff, is the cigarette’s smell a bit too strong for a mountain tiger only used to the smell of trees?”

Taking a drag, Findenai posed the question to the Mountain Lord, though, of course, there was no reply

After absorbing the deity, she was unable to communicate with him directly any longer.

Still, she smirked as she asked.

In a life overwhelmed by stress, this small pleasure felt entirely harmless—especially in a situation like this.

Puffing the smoke, she glared at the Kingdom’s Mage Tribunal Judges pouring into the main building.

Tyren Ol Velocus, the Mage Tribunal Judge, approached her with staff in hand.

Naturally, this wasn’t the time for friendly greetings and he was well aware that she wouldn’t step aside, yet as a representative of law enforcement…

“Findenai.”

Tyren attempted to politely suggest surrender, but—

“You know what?”

Taking another drag of her cigarette, Findenai interrupted him. Having already finished one, she immediately pulled out another.

It had been quite some time since she had chain-smoked like this—not since her days with the Scrapyard Nomads.

These seemingly trivial actions rang loud and clear, like an alarm, announcing her foul mood. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like anyone noticed.

“Do you have any idea how many times I’ve tried to make headway with that stubborn, stone-cold bastard?”

“…What are you talking about?”

No one understood the meaning of what she was trying to say, but that didn’t matter.

She wasn’t speaking for their understanding.

It was more like she was venting.

“Huh? Even though I habitually talk big, I have no experience. And even I have my own type of shyness, you know.”

“…”

A strange tension hung in the air.

The Mage Tribunal Judges began to notice the faint steam of breath escaping their lips and frost forming on their thick robes.

“Just one day.”

Slowly, Findenai reached for Snow White once again, still planted firmly in the ground.

“Couldn’t you have decided to come just one day later? Maybe then, I’d have let you live.”

“Prepare for battle—!”

“You goddamn bastards.”

Whoosh!

It felt like a gale had swept through without warning—A very rough, intense wind from the snow-covered mountains that could slice through the skin.

Yes, her fierce movements gave them such an illusion.

Findenai’s halberd, Snow White, moved with a speed and destructive force that was nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye.

KABOOOOMMM!

The Mage Tribunal Judges, known for their steadfastness, were flung into the air like helpless children by the impact, utterly demolishing the entrance to the main building as well.

And while most of the Judges tumbled backward in a humiliating and pitiful display.

Only Tyren, crossing his arms and raising his staff in defense, managed to block the blow.

However, even then, he was pushed back, his fate no different from the rest.

Even as the entrance collapsed and debris and dust erupted outward like an explosion, it seemed like they would freeze in place.

The maid with a tiger tail and a chill emanating from her entire body stepped forward while gripping her halberd.

“Huff.”

As she stood atop the rubble, she exhaled another puff of smoke.

Her brows furrowed deeply as her blood-red eyes scanned her surroundings.

What her eyes took in were the elite forces of various nations.

Beyond the defeated Mage Tribunal Judges stood the Iron-clad Soldiers of the Duchy of Valestan, martial artists from the Han Empire’s Imperial Tiger faction, and the dark mages and desert warriors from the Jerman Kingdom.

No matter where they were sent, these forces could hold their own.

“Looks like birds of a feather really do flock together, huh?”

Feeling no threat from them, she clicked her tongue in disdain.

It would’ve been a blow to their pride. However, trying to preserve that so-called pride in the presence of Findenai would cost them their lives.

She was once a chapter boss in [Retry].

An Empress who roamed the back alleys of Graypond, rallying the Resistance’s forces.

A revolutionary, shouting for freedom under the weight of her mission.

Now, she was merely a maid to one man.

It might have seemed like a simple comparison, but in reality, the current Findenai was incomparable to the game-version Findenai in terms of strength.

This is truly…

Staring at Findenai, who was radiating a dominating presence against the big army, Tyren swallowed hard.

A maid nurtured by Deus Verdi to protect him.

The one and only guardian of the Soul Whisperer.

“You know, today… Master Bastard…”

Gripping Snow White with both hands and swinging it, Findenai spat her cigarette onto the ground.

Following the trajectory of her swings, ice spears erupted from the ground, forming a line that seemed to scream ‘Do not cross’.

“Is refusing all meetings.”

One could almost see the illusion of the tiger that guarded the mountain behind her.

As for the two who resonated with each other, their roles weren’t all that different.

The Mountain Lord who protected his sanctuary, the Norseweden mountain range.

And Findenai, who was protecting Deus Verdi for similar reasons.

The longer the battle dragged on, the stronger Findenai became.

Yet, in her current state, there was no one on the continent who could bring her down instantly.

Hence, a grueling fight was inevitable.

***

[Wow.]

[That’s amazing.]

Glued to the window, both the Dark Spiritualist and Stella were genuinely amazed by Findenai’s battle.

The same went for me. A mix of emotions surged inside me as I watched her struggle.

Her fighting style had evolved beyond just swinging Snow White.

Sharp ice spikes rose around her, snowstorms swirling in her wake.

And those weren’t just snowstorms; when imbued with her power, they transformed into razor-sharp ice shards, deterring any approach.

Yet all of it looked like an effort to cool down the heat she was radiating as she fought with burning intensity.

More fiercely than ever, Findenai dashed through the battlefield, continuing her relentless battle.

The boisterous smile she usually wore was now gone, replaced by a serious expression.

And I knew it was because she was fighting to protect me; fighting to protect meant she couldn’t find any enjoyment in it.

She was a woman full of beautiful convictions.

[With that strength, don’t you think she could defeat anyone on the entire continent in a one-on-one fight?]

At the Dark Spiritualist’s question, I nodded without hesitation.

“Most likely.”

Her individual skills were already exceptional, and on top of that, she had now absorbed the power of the Mountain Lord.

And even if she still couldn’t fully wield that power and was far from the Norseweden mountain range, there were quite a few humans who could match her now.

Even Aria…

Even Aria probably wouldn’t stand a chance against the current Findenai. Although Aria displayed overwhelming power in the later stages of the game, she had entrusted that role to me, meaning she wouldn’t reach that point now.

So, even in a duel against the former hero Aria, I’d place my bet on Findenai.

“Thanks to her, we can prepare in peace.”

With the staff in hand, I turned away from the window. Findenai would probably hold out until dawn.

However, I had no intention of prolonging this play unnecessarily.

At some point, the curtain would have to fall and we’d leave the stage, smiling as though everything had ended.

So—

“Let us move.”

Two objectives lay ahead as I stepped into the darkness of the academy.

One: resolving the fate that dictated my death, either by my own hand or through the army’s pursuit.

Two: ensuring the souls within me could find eternal rest.

If I died and released them, the continent would face total destruction.

Hence, I should be dead but not die.

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken