Necromancer Of The Black Bible (100)

My expectations were spot on.

The original ancient dragon lay here, and Ragdares was smiling in front of it.

It was staring into a large crimson crystal, and that crystal reflected Emma.

There, Emma was deeply engaged in casting magic.

Each time she used magic, Ragdares’ spirit-body shone brightly.

‘So the guardian spirit intervenes with Emma.’

Seeing this, I roughly understood.

How the guardian spirit operated.

But here there was information even more important than that.

Namely, why a dragon was here.

‘I need to find out Ragdares’ purpose as well.’

I focused my mind on Ragdares, and at that moment time slowed and its past began to appear.

Times far longer than the past of Alexo, the church’s minister.

I examined those times carefully.

Its life was more monotonous than I had thought.

Since separating from the ancient dragon Eckhart, Ragdares had done only one thing.

‘After choosing a successor, when the successor reaches adulthood it takes that body.’

That was why it had chosen Emma.

I could easily confirm other information as well.

‘Eckhart the dragon has seven fangs in total. Of them, only that one remains intact.’

The meaning was clear.

Currently Eckhart had only one fang remaining that contained powerful mana.

Even if it awoke, it would be worth confronting.

‘And…’

I paused my contemplation and looked around.

A vast cavern with rivers of lava flowing.

Souls hid in every corner of this place.

They watched me with curious gazes but did not come out rashly.

Probably because of Ragdares over there.

Having already checked the past, I knew the identity of these souls.

‘Souls of successors whose bodies were stripped away.’

Soon Emma’s soul would also be trapped here.

Shackles that bind souls were fastened to their ankles.

Their function was similar to the iron shackles produced by the ‘Wheel of Eternity’, but their appearance and the principles behind their creation were very different.

‘They are tools made with draconic-word magic.’

Magic used with draconic words rather than runes has different power.

A much higher purity of mana gathers and reacts far more violently with the medium.

Therefore, tools imbued with draconic-word magic are sometimes likened to ‘instruments made by gods.’

I looked at the red shackles fastened to the young souls’ ankles.

Although at quite a distance, I could clearly make out their form.

Chains that looked as if they had been heated bright red.

From the shackles connected to them, small flames leaked out each time a spirit-body moved.

The more they struggled to escape, the stronger the heat burned their spirit-bodies.

Ragdares had used these souls for thousands of years as fuel to extend the original’s lifespan.

‘It enjoys the beautiful bodies and uses the souls extracted from them as fuel for the original. A truly perfect plan.’

I turned my gaze back to Ragdares.

And with that I looked over the events that would unfold.

Strictly speaking, I wasn’t viewing the future.

I was skimming events that had occurred here in my previous life, which vanished with my regression.

Focusing my mind, I saw its course of action.

A future where it takes Emma’s body and thrives as the continent’s archmage.

But her ambitions completely changed direction when the emperor and the crown prince died in succession.

The church’s new pope who appeared next married the new emperor, and Ragdares decided to assist them.

‘An interesting development.’

In my previous life I was an outsider, so I knew nothing of these internal affairs.

The emperor and the crown prince were assassinated together.

The Demon King was behind it, and thus the ‘Crusade of Light’ began.

‘Emma’s future wasn’t as good as I had thought.’

Dexter and Revan, who were with her, were the same.

The two who had been the crown prince’s guards at the time of his death were killed together.

Though fairly skilled, they could not overcome the assassin sent by the Demon King.

Seeing the ends of my enemies like this drew a bitter smile.

‘Is the end of greed ultimately being devoured by the stronger?’

The one who fared relatively well was Andre.

Of course, in this life he early became a sacrifice to Dikrea, so he paid for what he did to me.

Realizing this gave me a strange feeling.

It felt as though a knot lodged somewhere in my chest was loosening.

But I wasn’t relieved or happy.

An indescribable emptiness began to fill my heart.

Of course, I wouldn’t go back like this.

My goal was to sever Emma’s lifeline.

After my regression, while sacrificing everyone from the orphanage, I made one resolution.

That was revenge.

I would repay what the world had done to me.

I would no longer rely on someone else’s hand.

I clenched my fist tightly and then walked forward slowly.

One step.

And another.

There was no sound, but that alone was enough for Ragdares to notice my presence.

“You, you are!”

I didn’t answer and walked toward it.

A calm river of lava flowed ahead, but it didn’t matter.

I had already experienced extreme temperatures.

Such experiences are important for a mage like me. They allow one to concentrate the mind vividly.

Recalling that piercing chill felt in the empty space of the universe, I walked across the lava river.

Crunch, crunch, crunch….

With each step, the lava solidified in an instant.

At first there was a loud sound and smoke poured out. Then, as the chill from my feet reached its peak, the lava around me turned to stone before my steps landed.

I trudged across it and approached the creature.

Ragdares’ expression visibly hardened.

Standing right in front of it, it opened its mouth.

“How did you get all the way here…”

“I have a question. Eckhart’s last fang.”

“…!!”

Ragdares widened its eyes, and I looked into its red pupils as I asked my question.

“If I kill you, what will happen to this one here?”

At that moment Ragdares’ spirit-body flared up in a blaze.

A flame fiercer than any I had seen before.

It blazed and lunged at me.

“How dare you threaten me… Gah!!!”

It couldn’t continue speaking.

Because I had gripped its neck firmly.

“Ghk… ghk…!”

An absolute chill emanated from my grip. That cold gradually froze its spirit-body.

It struggled, but could not withstand my power.

That was only natural.

Even as a dragon, this being was ultimately a spirit-body.

The power a spirit-body can possess has limits.

Besides, I am a necromancer. I can treat such spirit-bodies like objects—no, like slaves.

“Kuhk! Gak, gak-!!”

It had probably never been attacked like this before.

Most physical force just passes through a spirit-body.

And it probably didn’t know that a spirit-body could feel pain.

‘What should I do to it?’

Should I annihilate it as it is.

Or subjugate it and use it as a subordinate.

Or absorb it completely and make it part of me.

As I pondered this, the surroundings darkened.

Precisely, darkness suddenly fell.

‘Someone opened an interspace.’

An astonishing ability.

To barge into my mind at this very moment.

I looked beyond the darkness.

Then a figure revealed itself.

A woman wearing a red robe.

Her appearance was similar to Ragdares but strangely different.

‘The aura she emits is different.’

A deeper, heavier atmosphere.

An untouchable dignity could be felt.

She came straight to me and spoke.

[You. Shadow of God.]

[You seem to know me.]

I gave a faint smile.

From the timing of her appearance and the fact she recognized me, I could guess who she was.

She was likely Eckhart’s intact spirit.

With the last fang about to be destroyed, she had no choice but to step forward.

Just in case, I communicated with the Ethereal Gate.

-Ceres. Are you watching?

-Yes, Master. I have confirmed both location and situation.

So it was indeed Ceres.

Before I gave orders, an artifact of the Ethereal Gate was already watching this place.

-Prepare just in case.

-Understood.

While I was instructing Ceres, Eckhart immediately got to the point.

[Permit a part of me to be forgiven for a mistake.]

[I’m not here to grant forgiveness.]

[If so, what should I do for you?]

Dragons aren’t usually this compliant.

A curious reaction.

I looked into its eyes and told it what I wanted.

[I want the successor your fang has marked.]

[A successor…]

A small crease formed between Eckhart’s brows.

The disposition of a ‘successor’ seemed weightier than I had thought.

Probably so.

A successor is both its ‘avatar’ and its ‘fuel.’

She glanced at me and asked.

[Do you know what a successor means to us?]

[I know.]

[And yet you ask us to yield?]

This manner of speaking is familiar.

It meant they wouldn’t give it easily.

But I had no intention of paying this creature any price.

I gripped Nocturne with my left hand and said.

[If you’re not giving it, why not disappear then?]

Without waiting for an answer, I shattered the interspace it had made.

Clang!

With the sound of glass breaking, I returned to the previous space.

Ragdares was still clutched in my right hand, and half of its body was frozen.

The moment I confirmed that, a tremendous force flung me back.

Pushed into the middle of the lava river, I flipped lightly and landed on the ground, and the lava around me turned into stone floor.

A cold chill swept outward from me.

Now most of the lava rivers had solidified into stone.

Looking at Ragdares’ spirit-body, it was constantly melting its frozen parts.

And a new spirit-body appeared before her.

It was Eckhart’s spirit I had just seen in the interspace.

She approached me and said,

“Do you truly intend to decide life and death here?!”

Eckhart’s voice thundered strongly throughout the cavern.

A few stalactites hanging in the air fell to the floor, shards flying and dust scattering.

Then Equinox, which had been quietly observing until now, spoke.

[Eckhart is not as weak as he appears. You should be cautious.]

I knew I should be careful.

It was a dragon, a three-thousand-year-old ancient crimson dragon at that.

But my heart told a different story.

Compared to my current power, it was nothing.

It whispered that if I pushed straight through, I would win.

I spoke to Eckhart.

“I’ll say this only once, so listen well. There will be no deal. If you don’t give me the successor, I will annihilate everything here and take it.”

I meant it.

I don’t make deals with those weaker than me.

I simply take.

I decided on this because this is the rule of this world.

And this rule was established by the strong from the beginning and maintained by them.

Ragdares’ past I had just examined was the same.

It too had not made deals for thousands of years.

All were weaker than it, so if they possessed something it wanted, it plundered them.

Those who refused were killed or enslaved, and thus it made its name as a ruler of this world.

I only treated them according to the principles they had established.

Eckhart watched me for a moment.

Then it raised one hand and spoke.

“Wait a moment. I have a proposal.”

I had no intention of waiting.

I immediately ordered Ceres in the Ethereal Realm, and at that moment the Wheel of Eternity was set in motion.