Necromancer Of The Black Bible (118)

Riena Caligo.

Even after the woman spoke her true name, Andre did not lower his guard.

He pressed the blade closer to her throat and asked.

“Who sent you here, half-Shade?”

Riena kept a pale expression and spoke.

“If you know I’m a half-Shade, you can probably guess, can’t you?”

“I’m asking. Was it some Demon King who sent you?”

Surprisingly, Andre had seen through Riena’s identity.

Balthazar watched him with a quiet admiration.

Riena looked at Andre for a moment.

Her cold gaze seemed to be measuring Andre’s skill.

‘How will this go?’

Balthazar was curious about her response.

Normally, the subordinates of Demon Kings are proud.

They do not heed those weaker than themselves.

Even if ordered by their Demon King, if the command doesn’t include sparing a target, they will kill without hesitation.

This situation provided a chance to indirectly confirm what orders she had received.

If they weren’t included in that order, she’d draw her blade here.

Riena alternately glanced at Balthazar and Andre with her characteristic icy stare.

Then she let out a deep sigh.

“It can’t be helped. I’ll tell the truth. I came here under the command of Dikrea.”

“What was the content of that order?”

When Balthazar asked, Riena pressed her lips together for a moment, then spoke again.

“To stop Illinas’s subordinate.”

It was an unexpected answer.

She had only received that order, yet she didn’t draw her sword.

A slight unease rose in Balthazar’s chest, but he didn’t voice it.

Because there were other possibilities.

Andre still held his sword aloft and asked.

“What is that blade that slew a Shade?”

“I don’t think I’m obliged to answer that part…”

Tension tightened between the two.

Balthazar, watching, soon stopped them.

Their goal was the same, so for now she was an ally.

It wouldn’t be wise for allies to fight each other.

“Andre, enough.”

“Investigator. That thing is a subordinate of a Demon King. Sooner or later we’ll cross blades with them.”

A sensible remark.

But Balthazar shook his head.

“There’s no need to peer too far into the future. We’re all going to die anyway. If we can walk together even for a little of this mortal life, they’re all comrades.”

Andre thought for a moment, then sheathed his sword.

Riena’s expression turned subtle.

Though neither said it aloud, it wasn’t hard to read how they felt.

‘They probably don’t fully understand.’

It’s hard to convince those whose values differ.

Hierarchy simplifies that, so Andre followed Balthazar’s orders.

But in the Demon Realm, where might defines right, it’s strange for the strong to obey the weak.

Balthazar raised his divine power and illuminated the surroundings.

Only then did objects hidden in the darkness reveal themselves plainly.

On one side were displayed a black spear shaft and a terrifying spear glowing crimson,

on the other side lay a white ancient tome with nothing written on it.

Though unmarked, Balthazar knew what the two items were.

‘Ksiratis and the Bible of the Nameless God.’

Among them, Illinas wanted Ksiratis. Specifically, to kill Damian.

Balthazar stood before Ksiratis and asked Riena.

“Do you know why Illinas wants to take Ksiratis?”

“I’ve heard it’s to kill someone.”

“We’re on the same side anyway. Tell us everything you know.”

At Balthazar’s persuasion, Riena spoke.

“Damian.”

She hesitated for a moment, then continued.

“My Lord wishes to help him.”

“To gain favor, then.”

Balthazar’s gaze deepened.

Damian.

How much had he grown while they hadn’t seen him?

How powerful had he become that Illinas and Dikrea, who occupy halves of the upper Demon Realm, were acting so assertively?

Riena’s voice cut through Balthazar’s thoughts.

“My Lord wishes to defeat Illinas together with him.”

Balthazar nodded slowly.

It was a convincing reason.

He looked at Ksiratis and spoke again.

“Was Murak completely destroyed in the previous battle?”

“By my judgment, yes. Even if he’s not dead, he won’t dare return here. That one is very cowardly.”

“You speak as if you know him well.”

At Balthazar’s remark, Riena’s eyes flashed once.

She immediately changed the subject.

“What will you do? As long as Ksiratis is here, Illinas will keep attacking.”

Balthazar was pondering the same thing.

They had repelled one assault, but Illinas would not give up.

‘Should we stay here? Or move somewhere safer?’

After a moment’s thought, Balthazar asked Equinox.

-What should I do?

-From now on, you will decide. I will not interfere.

-Can’t you at least give me a hint?

-A hint? What hint can there be in a life that passes quickly? Just don’t forget why you came here. That alone will be enough to find the path.

It was a brief exchange, but Balthazar understood much.

The reason Balthazar could exist at this moment was Equinox’s summons.

Equinox summoned Balthazar because of Damian’s trial.

In the end, all of this was tied to Damian’s fifth Mana Ring.

‘This trial will demand a heavy price.’

Balthazar recalled how he had obtained his own fifth Mana Ring in the past, then shook his head.

A past he never wanted to face again.

To undo that past, Balthazar planned to turn back time.

‘But Damian must pass that trial.’

Immortality and all other values lie beyond it.

Having come this far, he must reach it.

Otherwise, he would pay a terrible price.

Balthazar pondered for a long while.

But he couldn’t come to an easy conclusion.

Then Andre’s voice called out.

“Investigator, you should come here.”

“Hmm?”

Looking up, he saw Andre standing before the Bible of the Nameless God.

Balthazar approached, looked at the spot Andre pointed to, and was soon shocked.

The Bible of the Nameless God.

On the tome they had thought to be blank, clear writing had been inscribed.

[I must meet Damian. Take me to him.]

Northern reaches of the underground Demon Realm.

This ice-covered region held a massive snowy mountain.

Around its mid-slope stood a finely carved castle belonging to the Demon King Qairas, who ruled the area.

Qairas’s epithet was ‘Lord of Frost.’

As the leader of the ancient Frost Demon clan, he sat on his throne receiving an uninvited guest.

“So… what did you say your name was?”

“Belphages, My Lord Demon King.”

“Right, Belphages. I still don’t quite understand your tale.”

Qairas scratched his bluish lips with thick fingers as he continued.

“I cannot fathom why you dared to invade my domain and come here. I have no ties to the outside world and intend none. I told you our clan has never left since we settled here, did I not?”

“That is correct.”

“Then why did you come here despite invading my territory?”

Qairas was, contrary to appearances, a very cautious Demon King.

Rather than spreading his might far and wide, he was only interested in protecting the lands his ancestors had secured.

Therefore, Belphages’s visit displeased him.

It felt not merely displeasing but strange and rude.

Belphages met Qairas’s sharp hostility and fell into thought.

He had tried to persuade Qairas for hours without success, so he chose more effective words and spoke.

“I came here to issue a warning.”

“A warning?”

Qairas’s deep blue brow rose on one side.

It meant his feelings had been provoked.

Sure enough, he raised his voice and asked again.

“You say you’re warning me while I sit in my domain? Does that align with the law of causality?”

‘The calculation was right.’

Belphages chuckled inwardly.

The ancient Frost Demons were obsessed with the old law of causality.

Causality, known as the principle of repaying what one has suffered, was regarded as the only law governing the world.

Especially, the Frost Demons had once been punished by causality and exiled to the northern fringes, which made them obsess over it since.

Belphages met the enraged Qairas’s gaze and answered.

“Just because you, Demon King, keep causality doesn’t mean others do.”

“Foolish! Causality isn’t about keeping or breaking! It’s the world’s law that enforces itself! If I do not wrong them, and they wrong me, do you think the world will let that pass?”

“A fair point. Yet, regrettably, there will always be fools who fail to think ahead in any age.”

As Belphages trailed off, Qairas asked again.

“So you mean to say that such a fool will attack this place?”

“Yes.”

Belphages smiled triumphantly.

Though the conversation was long, he had succeeded in arousing Qairas’s interest.

‘We’re almost there.’

In truth, he had come here to evade Erisia’s pursuit.

When he first heard from Astarene, he didn’t think it a great threat.

But after losing Astarene before his eyes and seeing Erisia awaken in an instant, he realized.

That he was in grave peril.

Alone, no matter how he fled, he would ultimately be caught and killed.

‘I can’t allow that.’

Belphages planned to carry out the plan he had made with Astarene.

He would gather the Demon Kings one by one to stand against the enemy.

If he could assemble all the Demon Kings, they might be able to defeat the foe.

He had already witnessed the process of sealing the Great Demon King Belzemon.

Having done it once, why not try again?

‘Shall I push a little further now?’

Belphages continued with his characteristic smile.

“That fool will break the causality Your Lordship values and invade this place.”

“Hmm… a nasty fellow…”

Qairas clenched his fist, then looked back at Belphages and asked.

“Good. I understand. You say a fool will invade, breaking causality. But why did you come here?”

Belphages’s eyes glittered.

It was time to get to the main point.