Necromancer Of The Black Bible (104)

After sending Leopold to the Ethereal Gate, I couldn’t help but laugh.

It was the thrill of having said, to the very person I had long wanted to tell them to, words I had been saving for someday.

“Interesting, very interesting.”

The pride of dragons is truly strong.

Perhaps because they possess overwhelming force and awe-inspiring magical power, they’ve never had to bow to anyone.

To such beings, someone like me would be nothing short of a catastrophe.

Once again, I felt fortunate that I had learned necromancy.

‘Shall I get started then?’

I looked at Leopold’s body sitting in the chair behind me.

A shell of a body left behind after the soul had departed.

Putting my hand to his nose, I felt that he was breathing.

His heart beat normally, and warmth radiated from his entire body.

I entered that body.

“Ssshh-”

A dizzying sensation washed over me as alien sensations assaulted all five senses at once.

The first thing I felt was the heart.

Perhaps because my soul felt foreign, the heart began to race, and the Mana Rings started spinning wildly.

Then Equinox’s voice reached me.

[It’s because it clashes with your Mana Rings, Honored Master.]

[Is there a solution?]

[You can temporarily seal your Mana Rings, or destroy all of the body’s Mana Rings.]

Ultimately, it means I must choose between my Mana Rings and this fellow’s Mana Rings.

‘Which should I do?’

If I were to use necromancy, it would be right to nullify the body’s Mana Rings.

But this was not that situation.

Those gathering at the top of the mage tower were all spectral forms.

If so, I could subdue them without resorting to necromancy.

If I instructed Ceres, she’d immediately fit on the iron collar.

‘What’s important now is to put them at ease. If the Mana Rings change, they’d sense something is wrong.’

I reached a conclusion.

I sealed my Mana Rings for a moment.

Then I fully accepted Leopold’s Mana Rings.

Fwoooosh—

A scorching energy wrapped and flowed through my entire body.

Along with it, power began to surge.

‘This is the power of the Crimson Dragon.’

Although the Mana Rings remained at the 7th circle, the actual power far exceeded that.

I could understand why Leopold was called the continent’s greatest archmage.

“Huff-”

I exhaled slowly and stabilized the Mana Rings.

And then.

When the hot energy was no longer felt, I left the room.

It was time to begin the dragon hunt.

Disposing of Emma could wait until after the hunt.

The grand mage tower Regio Magnus of the Valkyr Empire.

Considered the sanctuary of flame mages, this place was also called the ‘Heart of Flame.’

It also bore the epithet ‘Dragon Landing’ because the tower’s summit had a broad area where enormous beings like dragons could land.

In fact, during the empire’s major festivals, kings from across the continent would ride their tamed wyverns to descend here.

But in peacetime, the place was surrounded by layers of wards that even birds couldn’t penetrate.

Not only birds.

No human, guards included, could approach this place.

Only the emperor and the master of the tower could enter.

The emperor could because he possessed the ‘Amulet of Permission’ that could pass any ward within the empire,

and the tower master could because he bore the dragon soul the ward itself allowed.

After finishing communication with Leopold, the first to arrive here was the third fang, Astarene.

She had sealed her true body beneath the tower, but she could manipulate mana freely and thus separate her spirit form.

Knowing the other siblings couldn’t do the same, she went to fetch them.

The first target was Bernual.

Fused into the imperial ward’s magic circle, he wasn’t hard to find.

‘I think it was near the capstone.’

Astarene traced her long memories and entered the imperial ward.

It had been about two thousand years since the Crimson Dragon Eckhart had entered eternal slumber.

Most of the fangs separated from their true bodies just before entering slumber; the third fang, Astarene, had separated at that time too.

Thus she had witnessed the early empire’s downfall and had taken part in the war against the Great Demon King Belzemon.

Afterwards she contributed to the founding of the Valkyr Empire, volunteering herself to become a source of mana.

In fact, together with the second fang Bernual, she was a living history of the Valkyr Empire.

After briefly recalling the distant past, Astarene soon found the capstone and examined the magic circle engraved upon it.

‘It’s here.’

As she thought that, Bernual’s spirit faintly rose from the magic circle.

His ankle was entangled by a red chain emerging from the capstone.

Bernual looked at his ankle and spoke.

“If you’re here, hurry and free me. I’ve been waiting.”

“Someone listening might think we’re going on a trip.”

“It wouldn’t be bad to go sightseeing this time. We’ve stayed here too long.”

Astarene burst into a bright laugh at Bernual’s complaint.

Both had sacrificed their spirits for over a thousand years to protect the empire, so they deeply empathized.

But Astarene put on a solemn expression and spoke.

“I know what you want, brother, but not now. We’re in a crisis.”

“That’s true. There hasn’t been anyone like this in all these years.”

Bernual wore a serious expression as his sister freed his ankle.

Once his ankle was completely freed from the chain, Bernual smiled broadly again.

“Good! Good! I feel so relieved, don’t I?”

“It will only last for exactly one day. If you don’t return before then, the ward will be destroyed.”

“Alright. So that means I can properly enjoy myself for a day, right?”

Astarene couldn’t help but laugh at Bernual’s cheeky response.

They were that thirsty for freedom.

‘A day of seeing the world wouldn’t hurt.’

With that thought, Astarene turned and moved.

“Now let’s go. We must meet the elder brother.”

“Ah, right. The eldest is sealed in the vault, so…”

Astarene gauged the approximate location and slipped down into the depths below.

Bernual hurriedly followed her.

After some time, they arrived in a dark chamber.

A dark room with a massive golden vault door.

Even in the deep darkness, the vault door emitted a faint golden glow.

It was because of the ward.

The ward Astarene had set.

She gave a faint smile and passed through the ward into the vault.

The inside of the vault was fairly spacious.

It was a space constructed to store all manner of artifacts gathered since the founding of the first empire.

Indeed, it was filled with rare items.

But none of those items caught Astarene’s eye now.

‘I must find my brother.’

She followed the main path into the depths and soon found what she sought.

A massive greatsword standing vertically on its stand.

A terrifying sword that sent chills down one’s spine just to look at it.

Even in the dark, the sword bled a red light.

Astarene stood before it and spoke quietly.

“Brother. I’m here.”

Vrrrr—

The red jewel embedded in the sword’s hilt shone, and the blade thrummed once.

When Astarene reached out, a man appeared in front of the greatsword.

A man bound to the greatsword with his arms outstretched.

His spirit looked gaunt, but the gleam in his eyes was full of murderous intent.

The first fang, Krasedra.

Having separated from his true body at the founding of the first empire, the aura he emitted was extraordinary.

It felt as if the prayer of his prime self still lingered around him.

Krasedra spoke in a low voice.

“Free me.”

“Yes, brother.”

Astarene summoned a magical blade.

She then cut the binding contracts that shackled Krasedra one by one.

After cutting dozens of shackles, Krasedra was finally free.

“Ugh…”

Freed after some three thousand years, he scowled deeply.

Then he looked at the greatsword he’d been bound to all this time.

The greatsword Krasedra.

It was the sword named after the first emperor, Sigmund, who had taken his name.

Krasedra had disliked that fact from the start.

He wanted to deny that he was nothing more than a sword.

But the contract was absolute, and because of it he had posed as a sword until now.

“It’s only for a day. If you don’t return within that time, the shackles vanish and the sword loses its master.”

“Master?”

Krasedra let out a snort and continued.

“One bound by shackles isn’t called a master, Astarene.”

“Ah… I’m sorry, brother.”

“No need to apologize. Let’s go. This matter seems important.”

Krasedra looked between Astarene and Bernual, then fixed his gaze on the air.

He then adopted a grave expression and spoke.

“What do you think has happened?”

“I don’t know.”

“I have no idea either.”

As Bernual and Astarene shook their heads, Krasedra began to speak.

“I just saw a vision. A horrible one.”

He paused briefly, then recounted what he’d seen.

“The light of shadow… or perhaps the opposite? In any case, a strange fellow. Pale face, wielding a bizarre weapon. That being appeared suddenly, incapacitated Ragdares in an instant, and even took the true body’s soul.”

Bernual shook his head at that.

“Oh, come on. Brother, there can’t be such a creature in the world. You must’ve seen an illusion.”

“It wasn’t an illusion. My sense is…”

Krasedra spoke after a moment’s thought.

“It was a message sent to me by the true body. A desperate message sent before its annihilation.”

At his words, Astarene and Bernual’s expressions hardened.

Krasedra was much closer to the true body than they were.

Therefore he could see and feel far more.

Knowing that, they couldn’t lightly dismiss his words.

Astarene spoke with a stern expression.

“First, let’s meet Leopold. We’ll devise a plan there.”

“A plan?”

Krasedra looked at Astarene and asked.

“Do you think Leopold would have any plan?”

“He summoned us, so wouldn’t he have thought up a few options?”

Krasedra gave a bitter smile at Astarene’s words.

“There’s only one plan he could come up with: for all of us to unite and search the place where the body sleeps. If the one I saw is staying there…”

“We must kill it!”

Bernual answered vigorously, but Krasedra instead asked him a question.

“Can we kill it?”

His question was shocking.

Of the three here—no, including Leopold—Krasedra was the strongest.

“Wh-what do you mean by that, brother?”

“Do you consider the opponent that strong, brother?”

Bernual and Astarene asked again, but Krasedra did not answer.

Instead, he asked again.

“Think about it. If the four of us combine our strength, could we eliminate the true body and Ragdares in an instant?”

No one could answer easily.

Though separated from their fangs, the true body’s soul power could not be underestimated.

At the very least it would match Krasedra, and even if the four attacked together, bringing it to its knees in an hour or two was impossible.

“After seeing that vision, the true body appeared briefly and spoke to me.”

“What did it say?”

Krasedra answered Bernual’s question in a heavy voice.

“Flee.”