Necromancer Of The Black Bible (103)

Originally, there were seven fangs that separated from Eckhart’s true body.

One of them was completely destroyed in the process of defeating the Great Demon King Belzemon.

Afterwards, the remaining six fangs including the true body made an artifact to communicate with one another, and that is the ‘Connector’ in which Leopold is now seated.

The gems set in the Connector are devices that indicate which targets are connected.

When Leopold activated the Connector, four gems shone brightly.

It meant that four fangs, including Leopold, were connected.

Leopold confirmed all four lights through the mirror placed before him.

For now, that quartet was all who could attend. Eckhart’s true body and the youngest had lost contact, and the fifth fang, Belphages, had corrupted itself after this chair was made and severed communication.

‘This is all that remains.’

Leopold bit his lip with an inexplicable anxiety, and at that moment the fangs began to communicate.

-We’ve been waiting, Skaldrem. Or should I call you Leopold now? Anyway, Leopold. What on earth happened?

-This sort of warning has never happened before, right?

-Has the true body still not arrived?

As expected, the fangs were in disarray, but Leopold’s single line of command brought order.

-It’s not just the true body. The youngest isn’t connecting either. Focus and call out to them. The warning won’t have sounded for nothing.

It was the first warning since the magic circle was inscribed.

The true body and the final fang had been cut off.

Following Leopold’s suggestion, they each attempted to connect to Eckhart’s true body and the final fang, but all failed.

-Just as Leopold said.

-The connection won’t bridge.

-Have they been completely annihilated?

-That can’t be. There’s no being in this world capable of wiping out our kind in an instant, is there?

The third fang, Astarene’s question was apt.

They were portions of an ancient dragon.

Each possessed might enough to destroy an entire nation.

Even when separated from them, the true body’s power was still not to be underestimated.

Yet it was hard to imagine that both the true body and the final fang had been taken down.

-Could it be that Illinas or Dikrea had a hand in this?

Leopold answered the first fang Krasedra’s question.

-It’s not them. If those bastards had shown themselves here, I would have smelled them.

Demon Kings give off a distinct, foul stench. That smell doesn’t fade easily, so tracking their traces wasn’t that difficult.

The fangs had faced the Great Demon King Belzemon in the past, so they knew such beings’ traits well.

Moreover, demons were extremely vulnerable to the Crimson Dragon’s fire breath, so they tended to avoid confrontation.

For those demons to infiltrate this far and instantly annihilate the true body and the final fang was, in any thinking, impossible.

Though unspoken, all the fangs’ thoughts reached the same place.

Then whose doing could it be?

What had happened to the true body and the final fang, Ragdares?

After a long silence the first fang, Krasedra, spoke.

-For now, let’s meet.

Everyone agreed with him.

At this point, rash action would not be wise.

Searching around the sanctuary could be an option, but it was too risky.

If the enemy truly had the power to take down the true body and final fang at once, acting alone would be poison.

They would likely be defeated one by one.

So the best course was to meet first and explore other options.

-Then where shall we meet?

Leopold’s brow furrowed at the second fang’s question.

Where would be a good meeting place?

The other fangs’ locations were scattered.

The first fang Krasedra was bound to the sword of the first emperor Sigmund and sealed in the imperial vault.

The second fang Bernual was fused into the palace’s barrier,

The third fang Astarene was sealed beneath this magic tower. In fact, magical research in the tower thrived because Astarene continuously generated abundant mana.

‘The fourth fang, Degrat, self-destructed in the battle with Belzemon before.’

The most violent and extreme one could not contain his rage and exploded himself along with Belzemon.

Thanks to that, they could seal Belzemon, but his soul was shredded to pieces.

And the fifth fang Belphages became a servant of demons and wanders somewhere in hell.

Thus only four fangs remained, including Leopold himself.

It wasn’t easy to pick a place where they could all gather.

Leaving their posts for long would unbalance the entire empire.

As Leopold hesitated, the third fang Astarene spoke.

-Meet at the top of the mage tower. A short while won’t be a problem, will it?

The other fangs agreed soon after.

-It’s not far from here. Good. I can go so long as it doesn’t take too long.

-I’ll send part of myself. The palace’s shield comes first.

-Stop whining. Without the mana I draw in, it’s all over for you.

They all laughed silently at Astarene’s words.

In truth, the palace’s unprecedented defenses and Krasedra’s great offensive power were all possible because of the ‘primeval mana’ Astarene drew in.

If Astarene was fine, then everyone was fine.

Leopold looked at the mirror and smiled faintly.

-Very well. See you all in an hour.

After saying that, Leopold stopped the Connector’s operation.

The gems embedded in the chair soon dimmed, and Leopold sighed upon seeing that.

‘What should I discuss with my siblings?’

A furrow formed between Leopold’s brows.

The other siblings’ abilities surpassed his, but most of them had stayed in one place for long periods doing the same thing.

Thus they might take the current situation too lightly.

‘First, I need to grasp the situation properly.’

He had yet to check the underground chamber where the body still lay dormant.

That had to be done first.

Going to the site where the magic circle sent its warning would likely yield clues.

‘All right. Let’s say we’ll combine our powers and go down underground.’

If his siblings lent their strength, even confronting the enemy wouldn’t be a problem.

Their combined power far exceeded the true body’s current strength.

Having sorted his thoughts, Leopold tried to rise from his seat.

But he couldn’t. He couldn’t take his eyes off the mirror before him.

‘What is this?’

In the large mirror as tall as he was, a man he’d never seen before was looking down at him.

A man with a deathly pale complexion.

Yet from his split red pupils flowed a greenish aura unlike anything he’d seen, and that aura seized Leopold’s whole body.

‘Danger!’

A sharp warning flashed through his mind, but Leopold did not move.

To be precise, he couldn’t move.

The moment their eyes met, his entire body had stiffened.

“Uh… ah…”

Rendered unable even to speak properly, Leopold could only be flustered.

While he was completely incapacitated, the other calmly began to approach him.

As the man took a step in the mirror, he entered Leopold’s room.

The sight felt terrifyingly natural.

This room was a secret place only Leopold could enter.

All sorts of wards written in draconic words had been cast, making it hard for anyone to enter.

Yet the man entered as if it were his own home.

With his hair standing on end, Leopold swallowed a dry gulp.

‘Perhaps… this bastard…’

He might have slain the true body and the youngest.

He had thought it impossible before meeting him, but now that they faced each other he understood.

That the man before him might indeed be capable.

The man approached Leopold without a sound.

Leopold raised a hand to stop him, but the man was quicker.

The man seized his throat and passed straight through the chair.

Sssssshk—

Leopold couldn’t quite grasp what had just happened.

The only thing he confirmed was that his soul had left his body.

The man had grabbed Leopold’s spirit form and pulled it out of his body.

“No, this can’t be!!!”

Leopold struggled, but he couldn’t break free from the man’s grip.

Seeing the hand firmly holding his spirit, one thought occurred to him.

‘Could it be… this guy is a spectral form?’

If so, it explained how he had penetrated the wards here.

The wards had been designed only to affect living beings.

That wasn’t all.

It was highly possible that this was also why Eckhart’s true body and the youngest Ragdares had fallen.

They were nearly invincible against living creatures, but had no experience fighting such spiritual forms.

As he reached that thought, the man spoke.

“You think fairly cleverly.”

“Y-you?”

Leopold’s question contained many implications.

But the man gave a small chuckle.

“You lot are curious. You seem to easily forget the things you always said.”

Leopold had a hard time understanding what the man meant.

The man looked down at him with a fishy glare and continued.

“I didn’t allow you to question me, Leopold. Or should I call you Skaldrem?”

Leopold snapped to attention.

He didn’t know how, but the man knew his true name.

And the man was responding in the tone he himself had often used toward others.

‘Damn it…!’

He was embarrassed and annoyed.

Originally, questions were asked by the strong of the weak.

For the weak to question the strong, they must obtain permission.

This principle was established by dragons at the beginning and had since been a basic rule in the world.

“How does it feel to be in the opposite position? Exciting, isn’t it?”

“…You.”

Smack!

With enormous impact, Leopold’s head snapped to the side.

Even in spirit form, his sensations were sharp.

That only amplified Leopold’s shock.

The man looked at the stunned Leopold and smiled lewdly.

“I’ll tell you something even more surprising. I can read all your thoughts.”

It was hard to believe.

Even dragons had to use magic to read another’s thoughts.

Yet the man before him hadn’t even cast a spell.

Besides, the mana here was dominated by the third fang Astarene.

Therefore ordinary mages couldn’t use magic here without her permission.

“Thanks for the useful information. So Astarene was serving that role.”

“Wh-what?!”

“I understand your surprise. I’m outside the realm you can comprehend. So I hope you’ll accept that.”

The man lifted Leopold to his eye level and continued.

“I’m far stronger than you think. So it’s better to submit to me than to resist.”

He said no more, but the implication of his words was clear.

-Will you become my thrall?

It was a truly humiliating proposition.

Even if the man were stronger, he didn’t want to submit like this.

Leopold strained and opened his mouth to speak, but the man was much faster.

When the man murmured something softly, an iron collar that had appeared from nowhere snapped onto his neck.

Clack!

“Guh!”

A sharper pain squeezed his throat than before.

Leopold clutched his neck and sank to the floor, and the man looked down at him and spoke.

“I told you. I read thoughts.”

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“Aha. I told you I wouldn’t permit questions, didn’t I?”

In that moment the iron collar was sucked into the floor and Leopold’s face was forced into the ground.

He couldn’t understand how all of this had happened so quickly.

How could this be?

Why was the man doing this to him?

He couldn’t fathom it at all.

The man summoned a chair and sat in front of him, crossing his legs as he spoke.

“I went through times like that too. I didn’t know why others wanted such things from me, or why I had to endure them. But living taught me naturally.”

The man paused briefly, then pressed Leopold’s head gently with his foot and continued.

“Everything was because I was weak. Because I was weak I was trampled, ignored, and killed. You haven’t experienced that yet, so you don’t know. So from now on, endure it. The price the powerless pay in this world. And…”

The man added with a dark laugh.

“Thanks for gathering your siblings. If you wait a little, you’ll meet them again.”

Leopold wanted to answer, but he couldn’t.

The iron collar around his neck began to move, and he was drawn away somewhere.