The goddesses attempted to gain my salvation.

Without Ryan's assistance, Ziel had no one to consult with on many matters. Kitty, on the other hand, was certainly capable at work, but her thinking remained quite limited.

She simply couldn't grasp the essence of Ziel's highly forward-thinking reforms.

At this time, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Two instructors from the magic academy walked in.

This was the first time they had met Ziel in private.

Looking at the petite and adorable little girl behind the desk, whose real age was almost unbelievable, the two magic academy instructors couldn't help but feel a little wistful.

"Is there a problem?"

The two mentors snapped out of their daze, and one of them quickly spoke up.

“Dean Ziel, a report has come from the outposts around the academy that a small group of mages is heading towards the academy.”

Ziel glanced at them.

It's just a few magicians, why do they have to come and report so early in the morning?

This is a magic academy, isn't it normal for magicians to come and go here?

Isn't that making a mountain out of a molehill?

"Are they mentors on an outing, or people from the Holy See? Or are they just a few magicians who happened to be traveling here?"

The other tutor shook his head.

"neither."

"Their appearance... is somewhat strange."

"Although he was wearing the robes of the Vatican, the robes were severely damaged, and there was extensive decay on his body. When he ran, his body swayed from side to side in an exaggerated manner."

"Most importantly... that's what the reports from the leading dark magic users say."

"No vital signs were detected in them..."

Ziel mentally visualized the images of those magicians, then frowned slightly.

"You mean, some people without vital signs are approaching the magic academy?"

"Yes."

The mentor's expression was serious: "In cutting-edge reports, they refer to them as zombies or ghouls."

Ghouls are fictional creatures that exist only in traditional stories and are used to scare children who don't sleep at night.

In fact, Ziel was often frightened by these fantastical creatures when he was young.

However, I never expected that one day I would see ghouls in the real world.

Most importantly, this is a group of ghouls transformed from the Vatican's magicians.

Ziel crossed his hands and rested his chin on them, his fingers slowly stroking them.

"When will those... ghouls arrive at the academy?"

"Based on the response from the forward outpost, it should be around noon."

"Since they knew the other side was a ghoul, why didn't the people at the forward outposts intercept them?"

The two mentors exchanged a glance before answering.

"Intercepted."

"But... it failed."

"Those ghouls... are stronger than we imagined."

Ziel sighed.

The people originally responsible for perimeter security should have been members of the Knights of the Sun.

However, due to matters concerning the Vatican, all members of the Knights were transferred to the Vatican to protect Olina.

Therefore, she is the only one who can take charge of things at the academy.

I glanced at the time; there was still some time before noon.

However, she had no intention of waiting until the ghouls arrived at the academy gates before launching a counterattack.

So, Ziel quickly organized the information at hand, called Kitty over, handed over the work to her, and then led a few skilled magicians to the front lines.

According to the forecast from the forward outpost, the ghouls will arrive at the forest 30 kilometers away from the magic academy in ten minutes.

Ziel and a group of magicians were already waiting there.

All the magicians were hidden in the dense foliage, on guard.

Only Ziel stood there, conspicuously on the ground.

A gentle breeze rustled through the trees.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves overhead, casting dappled beams of light.

In this peaceful and serene forest, the sound of footsteps was approaching from afar.

What followed was a nauseating stench of decay.

The mage on the tree trunk above was on high alert, and Ziel was also secretly activating the wind magic within his body.

In the distance, the trees are withering and the grass is fading.

Everything is decaying.

Ziel frowned, lowered his body slightly, and summoned his magical artifact, Giant's Fist.

Finally, a figure flashed by in the distance.

Immediately afterwards, more and more people moved through the woods.

As reported by the forward outposts.

The other person was wearing a rotten papal robe, and their running posture was also very strange.

His face was ferocious, and his mouth revealed gleaming white teeth.

Ziel made a decision instantly.

"Attention alert!"

"Remember, never engage in close combat with the opponent!"

"Lightning mages, retreat! Wind and fire mages, move up and unleash ranged attacks!"

The words fell.

Countless spells exploded in the forest.

Fire serpents spewed flames, and wind blades tore through the air.

Rocky walls blocked their path.

The well-trained mages quickly formed a pincer movement to annihilate the ghouls.

However, the ghouls were ridiculously fast.

The wind raged around them, and using it as a springboard, they soared over the towering rock face in the blink of an eye.

The attacks from the wind blades and fire serpents were easily dodged.

As a wind-attribute mage, Ziel could tell at a glance that they were all wind-attribute mages.

This is a bit tricky...

However, Ziel still gripped the giant hammer with both hands, using the strong wind as leverage, and charged forward.

They captured one of the ghouls with severely ulcerated lower limbs at an extremely fast speed.

Then, he raised the giant hammer and slammed it down hard.

Chapter 201 The Glory of the Papacy of Bysma Must Not Be Trampled On

The battle in the forest ended after just over an hour.

With Ziel at the core and the combined efforts of a group of mages, these ghouls did not cause any losses to the team.

Only a few mages with relatively weaker abilities suffered some wounds from the wind blades.

The ground was littered with smashed corpses, and the once vibrant forest had become desolate and eerie due to the eerie decay.

"Dean Ziel."

"The identities of these ghouls have been verified."

"He is a member of the papacy from Lavala City, at the Monster Church."

Monster Church?

Is she one of Priestess Helena's people?

How come they are here?

More importantly, why did they turn into ghouls?

What exactly happened to them?

Countless questions churned in Ziel's mind, along with the decaying earth and the withering life around him.

Clearly, these phenomena were beyond Ziel's comprehension.

After all, none of the seven magical systems can cause life to decay and decay.

After the battle, Ziel returned to the academy, wrote a report about the incident, and delivered it to Olina.

At the same time, she remembered something.

When Ryan resigned, he mentioned that he was going to Lavala.

Is something happening there?

"Kitty."