Necromancer Of The Black Bible (107)

Emma.

That is to say, Erisia von Eckhart was dumbfounded.

‘What on earth is this…’

Until just a moment ago she had been in the academy’s training grounds.

She had been subduing a Rank-2 monster, an ogre summoned by the professor, using Fire magic.

Students of the same age formed parties to fight it, but she was handling it alone without much difficulty.

‘I clearly seared one of its legs and even burned its right arm…’

She remembered the sight clearly.

When she used Ignis to burn its right arm, the exclamations around her still rang in her ears.

Above all, she had even noticed the Crown Prince watching from afar with a smile on his lips…

Just then a single memory that overshadowed all of that surfaced.

A voice with an ominous tone.

-Child. Do you know who I am?

The voice that suddenly resonated in her heart resembled the one she had heard before.

‘Mother?’

The voice she had heard when she first awakened her magic.

That voice had been a high, beautiful voice.

But the voice she heard now was a heavy, low voice.

-Listen carefully. I originally intended to grant you a blessing at your coming-of-age ceremony, but circumstances arose. Therefore I will grant you the blessing right now.

‘A blessing?’

Erisia could only be taken aback by such a sudden offer.

She certainly knew about the blessing.

Because it had been promised that way in the past.

[When you become an adult, we shall bless you. Then you will truly become a member of the Eckhart family, and you will obtain all the secrets of draconic magic.]

After hearing that voice for the first time, Erisia awakened.

Thanks to it, she was able to use magic stronger than others and survive the family’s trials.

Afterwards, the voice continued to be of great help.

Chosen by the head of the family to enter the academy, she also gained attention within the academy.

She had become a star.

Her beauty was on the lips of every student in the academy, including the Crown Prince,

and her power captured the interest of influential professors.

After that, Erisia trusted the voice.

She called it ‘Mother’ and faithfully followed its instructions.

‘But…’

To say they’d give the blessing right now.

It was welcome news, but somehow ominous.

The ‘Mother’ she’d communicated with before and the voice currently speaking to her seemed to be different.

-Do not doubt. And doubting won’t change anything.

With those words, Erisia’s mind grew dim.

At the same time she was flung somewhere.

-Ah!

She tried to cry out, but no sound came.

It felt as if she were speaking underwater.

And then.

Shuaaak-

She was sucked in at tremendous speed, and when she regained consciousness she was right here.

‘Where is this?’

A place she had never seen in her life.

The ceiling was very high, and with stalactites hanging down here and there it looked like a cave.

Behind her flowed a river of red lava, and a red shackle was attached to her leg.

‘Why is this…’

As Erisia reached to grab the shackle, a voice spoke.

-Child. Can you tell me what you see?

That voice could not be refused.

Without being able to ask back, Erisia lifted her head and looked straight ahead.

A man stood before her, looking down at her.

‘Who is he?’

A face she felt she had seen somewhere but couldn’t remember.

But the aura emanating from him was chilling.

Pale skin and eyes tinged with a red aura.

A strange energy could be felt from those eyes.

It felt as though her mind were being sucked in.

Then he opened his mouth.

“You have regained consciousness.”

“…Yes.”

It was strange.

Until a short while ago she couldn’t make a sound, but now she could speak.

Erisia stared into the man’s eyes and continued speaking.

“Where is this? What happened to me?”

“I’ll ask the questions. Who are you? How did you come to be here?”

The man’s voice was quiet but powerful.

It was far clearer than the woman’s voice that had been ringing in her heart, so she had no choice but to follow his words.

Erisia involuntarily opened her mouth.

“I am Erisia von Eckhart. I was at the academy’s training grounds a moment ago and suddenly—”

Erisia hesitated whether she should tell him about the voice.

Because the ‘Mother’ had warned her like this before.

[Do not reveal our relationship to anyone. Do you understand?]

When Erisia couldn’t continue, the man spoke with an expression as if he knew everything.

“It is fine. That one will no longer be able to affect you.”

It was mysterious.

Just hearing those words, her hesitation vanished.

Erisia ended up revealing the whole secret.

“A voice spoke to me. That voice was a little different from Mother’s.”

“Mother?”

“Yes. She has been helping me for a long time. She always spoke to me inside my heart, but the voice I heard today was a bit different.”

“What did it say?”

At that moment the voice in her heart spoke again.

-Whom are you speaking with?

“Th-that is…”

Erisia was confused.

She couldn’t tell what was happening.

She didn’t know who the man before her was, nor who was speaking in her mind.

Also, she couldn’t decide whose words she should heed.

“But you can’t just stand still.”

The man knelt on one knee and placed his hand over Erisia’s head.

Then her confused mind began to calm.

The man looked at her and continued.

“Your body has been taken. Originally the being you call Mother intended to seize it, but circumstances have changed.”

“Then… who… on earth…”

“One of your Mother’s kin.”

“Ah.”

Erisia nodded slightly.

The man’s explanation wasn’t long, but somehow she could accept it all.

“And the reason you have come here is because she is curious about who resides here.”

“…That’s right. She asked me to tell her what I saw.”

A deep smile spread across the man’s lips.

That smile eased Erisia’s tense heart.

Then a question arose.

‘Why would he be curious about that?’

She had only thought it, but the man answered it for her.

“She fears me.”

“Why?”

“I wiped them all out.”

Erisia slowly mulled over those words of his.

The Mother who had given her power.

The Mother who had tried to take her body.

The voice that appeared in place of Mother.

And the man before her.

‘Has this man wiped out Mother’s entire clan?’

Mother’s power stems from dragons.

Specifically, at its core is the power of the ancient Crimson Dragon Eckhart.

‘If that is so…’

Erisia’s gaze began to move of its own will for the first time.

She turned away from the man’s eyes and looked beyond them.

There was an unexpected being there.

A massive creature covered in black scales.

It resembled a snake but was far larger, continuously chewing at something and then spitting it out.

Large bones.

Those bones were not singular.

Hundreds of bones were already piled up, forming a mountain.

Seeing the large skull in the corner, she could guess the identity of those bones.

‘Dragon.’

Erisia’s spirit body trembled.

Now she understood the situation.

“Y-you are…?”

The man looked at Erisia with a deep smile and slowly stroked her head.

His hand was stained with a greenish light, and that light seeped into Erisia’s spirit body.

The man spoke.

“The one speaking to you is named Astarene.”

“…Yes.”

“Tell her exactly what you have seen here.”

“…Yes.”

“Astarene. I will pursue you wherever you are.”

As the man finished speaking, Erisia’s heart trembled.

It seemed to surge with anger and also be seized by fear.

Erisia, unable to find her bearings, met the man’s eyes again.

The man said to her.

“We will meet again. Emma.”

Hearing her old name, Erisia was greatly startled, and in that moment she was sucked in.

The shackle on her right foot had pulled at her spirit body.

Damian gazed silently at the place where Emma’s spirit had been.

He had already planted mana, so he could tell where she was heading.

• Won’t you pursue her?

At Nocturne’s worried question, Damian shook his head slightly.

[In a little while.]

Right now he needed to sort out his feelings.

Although it had been very brief, the face-to-face with Emma had caused ripples in his heart.

Unknown emotions had surfaced and needed to be organized.

‘What is this feeling?’

Although she was in spirit form, Emma’s appearance was exactly as he had imagined.

But her demeanor was completely different.

The Emma Damian had seen before was always arrogant, the image of a victor who held everything in her hands.

Now she looked like prey standing before a predator.

She was kneeling before a greater power in order to dominate others.

That image was not much different from other humans in this world.

‘I thought she would be different…’

Damian laughed hollowly.

Was it because she had been the first woman he had feelings for?

He had regarded Emma as something mysterious.

Someone who had crippled him, yet whom he wanted to get close to someday.

A woman he would have wanted to make his own if he had had more strength.

After clearing away the mixed hatred and disillusionment, he clearly understood what his feelings for Emma had been.

‘It was juvenile admiration.’

Damian’s feelings cooled more coldly than before.

The illusion of first attraction no longer shook him.

Damian no longer cared about the ugliness he harbored within himself.

At last Damian was able to accept himself as he was.

And he could now see Emma as she truly was.

‘A child devoured by the desire to rise above others.’

With that definition, Emma and Damian were alike.

The only differences were the timing and the object of the power they obtained.

Damian closed his eyes.

‘Don’t forget the goal. To obtain the fifth Mana Ring, you need Emma.’

He doubted whether destroying Emma would indeed awaken him, but he soon brushed that doubt off.

Such doubts were of no use.

‘I’ll know when I destroy her.’

Having reached that conclusion, Damian looked back at Gio.

He had already consumed Eckhart’s body and was resting.

[Gio.]

[Yes, Dad!]

[Let’s go.]

“Piiii-!”

Gio roared excitedly.

Damian leapt lightly and sat on Gio’s head, then indicated the direction.

Then Gio began to break through the grand chamber’s ceiling and move upward.

‘The desire to become stronger. I had that too.’

In this world, only strength is justice.

If so, was the pursuit of strength wrong?

Or was the fault in failing to become stronger?

Damian couldn’t come to a simple conclusion.

His gaze had grown deeper.