Necromancer Of The Black Bible (124)

“I will become stronger.”

That was Damian’s answer.

Belphages thought he was strong enough, but Damian did not.

Enemies still existed in this world.

The Demon Kings of the upper Demon Realm.

If Illinas and Dikrea aren’t defeated, the Ethereal Realm cannot be reclaimed.

Is that all?

Beyond the barrier in the northern continent there are unknown beings.

Some of the ancient dragons survived, and in the underground Demon Realm there are powerful enemies.

He had to become stronger until all of them were eliminated.

He needed to grow so strong that there would be no one left who could dare challenge him.

Therefore Belphages’ judgment that he was “strong” was meaningless to Damian.

Having answered the three questions he had promised, Damian spoke again.

“The deal is over.”

Belphages bowed his head again and offered his thanks.

“Thank you.”

Damian placed a hand on Belphages’s shoulder and began to heal him.

The method was simple.

Fill the wounded area with mana, then restore it.

A demon’s body wasn’t as complex as human flesh.

A moment later.

Belphages’ left wrist and left knee were completely healed.

Belphages’s expression brightened at the unexpected reward.

“No… this is…”

“It’s not something to be so pleased about.”

Damian helped him to his feet, then whispered in his ear.

“You are prey. So run. Run desperately and try to stop that child.”

Damian looked at Emma’s spirit still lying on the ground.

Upon seeing this, Belphages felt the puzzle pieces he had wondered about begin to fit together.

He looked at Damian again and asked.

“Then can I live?”

He asked with a sliver of hope that Damian might answer, but Damian shook his head as expected.

“Think about that yourself.”

Having answered briefly, Damian stepped back, and Belphages ran off in the direction he had indicated.

As he passed the hill turned wasteland, he saw the frozen army of Frost Demons, but all he could do was pass them by.

Damian watched Belphages’ panicked back as he fled to save himself, and when the creature used shadow magic to hide, he murmured softly.

“Why am I trying to become stronger?”

The question Belphages had posed sent ripples through Damian’s mind.

Having read all his thoughts and thought processes, the question seemed reasonable to him.

‘I already defeated the Lord of Wraiths and obtained the Ethereal Gate. I also annihilated the ancient Crimson Dragon Eckhart’s bloodline. And now….’

He even brainwashed the ancient Frost Dragon Pentacrios and made him a subordinate.

Is that all?

In this underground Demon Realm he sealed Demon King Perak. Previously he had also subjugated Illinas’s right hand, Shador, and made him a subordinate.

Tracing it this far, one question arose in Damian’s mind.

‘Is Illinas truly stronger than me?’

Immediately after his regression, up until he obtained the first and second Mana Rings, Illinas’s power seemed unfathomable.

He had thought it impossible to dare oppose him.

But now it’s different.

Could Illinas really have defeated Eckhart so easily?

Would Pentacrios have fallen helplessly to Illinas?

Is it impossible to oppose Illinas’s forces with that absolute breath that can freeze even spirits?

The answer to this was clear.

‘I have underestimated myself until now.’

Damian was strong.

There were few in this world who could match him.

To kill him would be impossible even if all the remaining strong ones united.

And Belphages was planning just that.

A plan to unite the remaining Demon Kings and dragons to oppose Damian.

‘It’s a futile endeavor.’

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Damian’s mouth.

That smile wasn’t the exultant grin of a victor but a self-mocking laugh.

Damian laughed like that and asked himself again.

‘I’m already strong. Yet I’m trying to become stronger. Why am I doing that?’

The answer came immediately.

To gain immortality.

To complete necromancy and obtain eternal life.

‘Eternal life. Do I truly want to live forever? Is living like this desirable?’

He didn’t know.

Is it pleasurable merely to kill enemies, to kill those who challenge him, and to subjugate everyone under his feet?

Does he want such a life of never being challenged by anyone forever?

What does he wish to achieve through that life?

His inner self posed more challenging questions, and Damian couldn’t answer easily.

‘Why did I want immortality in the first place?’

It was because of his master, Balthazar.

-The mark engraved on the soul can be erased, but the heart ring made by the Demon King cannot be removed.

-There is only one way to remove that ring: to return to the time before it existed.

-As long as one bears the Demon King’s ring, the path to immortality cannot be taken. That is why I failed.

Balthazar’s voice echoed in his ear.

Damian’s eyes had already become moist.

‘That’s right. All of this was what Master wanted.’

To Damian, Balthazar was not just a teacher.

He was a benefactor who opened up a new opportunity for him, and like a parent who taught him about the world and how to live.

‘For Master’s sake I must obtain immortality. It was his wish.’

Damian gathered his thoughts and approached Pentacrios, who had been waiting behind.

Climbing onto his high back, Damian quietly issued a command.

“Let’s go.”

Pentacrios, with Damian aboard, spread his great wings and flew upward.

Then they flew to the surface through the passage Eckhart had broken through.

After they vanished, only Eckhart’s remains lay below forlornly.

An interspace filled with thick darkness.

A faint cluster of light appeared there.

The light cluster soon took the shape of a human.

A delicate, beautiful silhouette formed of white radiance.

The contours of the face were soft and clear, and strands of light that looked like long hair flowed over the shoulders and swayed slowly in the air.

The pupils shone like stars, and a gentle smile softly graced the lips.

The form was made of translucent light, yet at the same time remarkably distinct.

He was the form of the God of Light Kallios.

He was the shape of a god now forgotten.

Kallios gazed into the center of the darkness and spoke.

“Will this be alright as it is?”

His voice gently resonated throughout the interspace.

But nothing answered his voice.

So Kallios asked again.

“Can he rule this world?”

Then a murky laugh echoed from within the darkness.

“Kukukuku… I can no longer listen to this.”

Darkness shimmered alongside it.

That darkness, forming a boundary with the light, stood before Kallios as if it was a natural rift.

A figure wearing a black mask and a black robe.

He was Equinox.

Equinox faced Kallios and spoke.

“How can you, a thing already extinguished, dare ask such a question?”

Equinox’s reproach was valid.

Kallios was already a being that had perished.

What appeared here was only his trace.

A trace manifested from the “Bible of the Nameless God,” which contained a part of Kallios himself.

Normally he would not have revealed himself like this, but now it was different.

Because the successor of the ‘god’ who followed Kallios was undergoing a test.

Equinox knew that as well, so he did not further reprimand.

Instead, he reminded him of the past.

“You said, ‘Darkness is better than chaos.’ Do you remember?”

Kallios’s trace nodded quietly.

But it flickered once and then spoke.

“But Darkness cannot exist on its own. For him to become true Darkness, there must be an opposite. The test is surely meant to make him realize that….”

Equinox smiled faintly.

Because Kallios’s worry was reasonable.

But it was a meaningless worry.

If he had been truly present, Equinox might have scolded him harshly, but he chose not to now.

For the presence before him was merely a figment full of worries.

Equinox spoke in a soft voice.

“Damian is growing. Faster than anyone.”

“Speed isn’t important. Progressing in the right direction is.”

“Yes. He is moving in the right direction.”

“But… his heart is still empty.”

Worry tinged Kallios’s voice.

Equinox knew better than anyone that it was the power of Light.

“It may seem lacking to you. But Damian is steadily progressing. It’s not just about strength. Wisdom is opening.”

“Wisdom comes from the heart. An empty heart cannot hold wisdom.”

“That’s a short-sighted thought.”

Equinox extended his hand before Kallios.

A sphere of light and darkness mingled in his hand, and Equinox showed it as he continued.

“As you said, there is almost nothing in Damian’s heart that could be called Light. But look at this.”

Images flowed from the sphere Equinox had created.

The footage contained Damian’s past.

Memories of the past spent with Master Balthazar.

Moments when they overcame hardships together.

Those moments were lodged deep within Damian’s heart.

Equinox continued.

“This is the Light he possesses. For this Light to reveal itself, the Darkness piled up everywhere must be reduced.”

“Subtracting Darkness is not easy. Be it human, elf, or any living being.”

Equinox looked at Kallios’s form.

Though it was deep darkness, Equinox’s pupils flickered.

It felt like seeing the past Kallios once more.

But the other was only a trace.

Merely an illusion.

Equinox quelled his emotions and spoke.

“His emotions have begun to stir. Emotions he’s never defined before are slowly surfacing.”

“Emotions he has never defined?”

“It’s what you always talk about. That feeling you always emphasized and emphasized again.”

Kallios’s form quivered at Equinox’s words.

It looked as if it couldn’t contain a feeling of joy.

Kallios carefully watched the footage Equinox showed.

It showed the scene of Balthazar speaking with Damian the day before he died.

Seeing Damian’s gaze, expression, and even his heart as he looked at Balthazar, Kallios smiled brightly.

“It truly exists. If he recognizes this feeling, his wisdom will soon open. With that wisdom….”

“He will pass the test.”

“Then….”

Kallios’s form flickered again.

It meant his energy had been exhausted.

Equinox clicked his tongue and spoke.

“You are truly pitiable. To be used like this….”

“Leave it be. It is my will.”

Equinox did not ask twice at Kallios’s words.

“Very well. If that is your will….”

“Thank you.”

Kallios’s form soon vanished.

When he disappeared, the interspace turned into complete darkness.

Equinox stood in the midst of that darkness and murmured in a quiet voice.

“Now that the Light has vanished, can a shadow exist?”

Having posed a question that no one could answer into the void, Equinox soon disappeared.

No one could tell whether the one who had been shadow truly existed or not.