Necromancer Of The Black Bible (115)

This place is the Ethereal Gate.

Since losing Astarene, I had been sitting on this throne watching the situation.

And then.

Piiing-

Shuk-

With a small whisper of wind, the scales that had wrapped around Perak slipped into the glass vial I was holding.

The usual potion bottle I carried.

To be honest, I rarely drank potions, so I emptied it and kept a little liquor in it, but I didn’t expect it to be this useful.

I looked at the black smoke in the bottle—Perak—and spoke.

“I’ll deal with you later.”

Right now, I was more interested in Erisia—Emma—than in that Perak.

Perak thrashed inside the bottle, but there was nothing it could do; I’d already sealed it tightly.

I slipped the bottle into my bosom, sat back in the chair, and looked toward the center of the palace.

There was a crystal orb there, and the image revealed above it displayed the situation in the depths below.

Astarene and Belphages remained after Perak vanished in an instant.

Could Emma possibly handle those two?

If she realized the power she possessed, it would be entirely possible, but that’s not an easy thing.

Because it requires transcending the limits of perception.

‘But…’

Emma’s abilities shown so far were extraordinary.

Instantaneous judgment and adaptability.

Who to be loyal to, how to act, and how to speak in order to survive.

She seemed to already know all of that.

‘Now I understand a little why Eckhart chose Emma.’

That wasn’t all.

I now understood how, as a child in the orphanage, she could act like a queen bee among the other children.

In my past life, I didn’t possess Emma’s level of judgment back then, nor was I desperate.

I was just one of many prey waiting to be hunted.

Emma is a born hunter.

Perhaps that’s why I admired her. Her beauty only added an unnamed emotion to that admiration.

‘Right. It was admiration.’

My main feeling toward Emma was admiration, not affection or pure love.

She was like the heroine of a fairy tale who had achieved everything I wanted to accomplish.

A child who easily surpassed fierce competition and always looked down on me and everyone else from afar.

Back then, she only looked like that.

But the reality was different.

Emma bowed faithfully to those stronger than her in order to remain in that high place.

At the orphanage she endured the director’s filthy demands and kept close ties.

In the Eckhart family she professed herself a servant of Ragdares and offered her loyalty.

Her plan wasn’t very different.

To be loyal to the strongest in the world she belonged to.

Her way of survival matched exactly that of the dark mages.

And it also matched how I survived in my previous life.

The more I got to know her, the more familiar she felt to me instead of only increasing my hatred.

Would killing Emma truly grant the fifth Mana Ring?

Is that the ‘sacrifice’ this world demands of a necromancer?

Honestly, I don’t know.

The only clear thing is that I’ll never know unless I try.

I closed my eyes and watched her situation through the mana I’d planted in Emma.

Emma was clever.

After receiving Astarene’s spell just once, she realized she had the upper hand.

-That body was originally mine. That means Astarene’s magical limit is up to 3 circles. No matter how much of a master she is, she can’t use magic that exceeds the body.

-But what about me? I have no body. Also, my master said my spirit form has materialized. And a spirit form can move with concentration alone.

-Then should I consider that there is a fourth Mana Ring? If I concentrate more, could I create a fourth Mana Ring in the heart this spirit form possesses? If so, I might be able to use a 4th-rank verbal spell….

Emma’s thoughts rang calmly inside my mind.

I listened to her voice as if savoring a gentle symphony.

The inner voice moving in the right direction is always sweet to hear.

And actions follow that voice.

Having reached a conclusion, Emma put it into action.

She formed a fourth Mana Ring in her own heart, then used a 4th-level verbal spell.

“Ignision.”

Looking through Emma’s memories, this spell was an evolution of her specialty, “Ignis.”

Ignis is a spell that ignites a target and burns it instantly,

Ignision is an amplified form that, with greater magical power, evaporates an area of targets at once — a wide-area spell.

When Emma activated it, Astarene and Belphages were engulfed in flames in an instant.

They barely formed shields, but it was too late.

Because no one expected Emma to cast magic so quickly.

In fact, Astarene was the most surprised.

Just a moment ago, she even chanted when using the most basic level of verbal magic.

Originally, verbal magic is considered superior to other spells because it can be cast instantaneously,

but Astarene chanted because she hadn’t adapted to her new body.

Naturally, Emma saw through this and launched an attack with a higher-tier verbal spell.

Her aim struck perfectly.

Astarene used every trick she knew to extinguish the flames on her body while raising a shield.

Belphages also used a shield and backed away, but that too was within Emma’s expectations.

As Belphages and Astarene put distance between them, Emma targeted only Astarene and used Ignis.

Flarrrk-

Consecutive verbal spells strain the heart, but they had no effect on Emma in her spirit state.

Instead, flames more intense than when she had a body erupted from Astarene,

and those flames, along with Astarene’s shield, burned her body to cinders.

Astarene screamed and thrashed, but she couldn’t extinguish the fire on her body.

What was unexpected was Belphages’ reaction.

He simply watched Astarene burn.

Now only Emma and Belphages faced each other across a wall of fire.

Astarene’s body had burned nearly to ash, and soon her red spirit rose above it.

Astarene cried out in fury.

“I’ll personally annihilate you bitches!”

Bravado is admirable, but it was too late.

You should have done it earlier if you meant it.

I gave orders at once.

“Ceres. Are you watching?”

“Yes.”

“Capture Astarene’s spirit.”

“Understood.”

As soon as the answer dropped, Ceres glanced at the image above the crystal orb and activated the Wheel of Eternity.

Vrrrr-

A light vibration ran through the palace.

But it lasted only a moment.

As the vibration nearly ceased, a metal collar snapped onto Astarene’s neck within the crystal orb as she shouted something.

She struggled, clutching the collar with both hands, but there was nothing she could do.

I whispered into Astarene’s ear.

-Finally, we’re connected like this. See you in a bit.

Astarene was pulled away just like that.

There was a fair distance, but for the Wheel of Eternity such physical distance was no obstacle.

From here on, Ceres in the other chamber would take care of things well.

‘Now there’s only one left.’

The fifth of Eckhart’s seven fangs, Belphages.

Actually, I didn’t know much about him, so I decided to learn more.

I closed my eyes and focused; through Emma’s sight I could see him and soon began to confirm bits of his background.

A close friendship with the fourth fang, Degrat.

The emotions from the time Degrat sacrificed himself to defeat the Great Demon King Belzemon still rooted deep in Belphages’ heart.

‘This one is a bit of an oddball.’

Belphages pursues a ‘different’ value.

Unlike his siblings, who believe strength alone allows them to do anything, he thinks strength carries responsibility, and fulfilling that responsibility is the duty of the Eckhart clan.

I’ve heard something similar before.

In my previous life it was a count who asked my master for help; his name was complicated, so I don’t remember it well.

At the time, he had this conversation with my master.

<Help me with my domain.>

<That is difficult.>

<Could you tell me why it’s difficult?>

<The area to defend is too vast, and the enemies are too strong. I advise abandoning this castle and making a stand elsewhere.>

<I cannot do that. Countless people live here.>

<What use is that when enemies will soon invade?>

<I am their lord. I have a duty to protect them!>

I remember my master’s expression as he listened to those words.

He should have refused, but in the end my master granted the count’s request.

I still don’t know why he did that.

Why on earth?

That count from my past life, my master, and Belphages.

Why do they feel responsibility and strive to fulfill duties for people who have nothing to do with them?

As I posed those questions, I focused on Emma.

I was very curious how this fight would end.

Right after Astarene’s spirit was dragged away with a metal collar locked on,

Erisia relaxed.

She had thought she was at a disadvantage earlier, but after defeating Astarene she felt the fight was worth trying.

‘This body is a powerful weapon.’

It’s lighter than a physical body and can handle far more mana.

Moreover, since she could form Mana Rings with pure will, she could freely use powerful magic she hadn’t been able to before.

‘And one more thing. There’s something I want to test.’

Erisia walked toward the blazing wall of fire burning before her.

Indeed, the flames couldn’t harm her spirit form at all.

No matter how materialized she was, her body was still a spirit.

It was unimaginable for a soul to be engulfed by such flames.

Passing through the wall of fire, Erisia spoke to the tense Belphages.

“What now? With the last sibling gone, you’re the only one left.”

“Have I become your target?”

Erisia shrugged.

Belphages looked her over and then spoke with a faint smile.

“I don’t have strong feelings for you. So let’s make a deal.”

“A deal?”

At her question, Belphages smiled darkly and continued.

“Join forces. Whatever your goal, it doesn’t matter. I’ll follow your word. I’ll simply be your loyal subordinate.”

A tempting offer.

A demon from the subterranean demonic realm offering to be your subordinate.

If it weren’t for the timing, it was an offer she might have accepted immediately.

‘But would he have made such an offer if it weren’t for now?’

Erisia’s eyes flashed sharply.

She was better than anyone at reading these sorts of power dynamics.

‘The sweeter the bait, the more dangerous the trap.’

Above all, the master is watching right now.

From experience, masters don’t take kindly to their servants recruiting new subordinates.

Besides, he hasn’t accepted Erisia yet.

But she decided to take the gamble here.

Because the master she sought to serve was unlike any being she’d encountered before.

‘Perhaps he wants this.’

Erisia smiled darkly and spoke.