Necromancer Of The Black Bible (135)

Damian gazed with shining eyes at the gigantic crystal standing before him.

A crystal hung at the center of a stone pillar that reached up to the cave ceiling.

The crystal pulsed between teal and deep blue as if it were a heart.

‘Is that a Silvanite crystal?’

Silvanite, the mysterious mineral that selectively absorbs pure water-aspected mana.

Being near it stabilizes mana, so it also has healing and purification effects.

In his previous life, Damian had seen a well-cut Silvanite the size of a thumbnail.

Even that size was an ultra-rare mineral worth tens of thousands of gold among mages.

A crystal the size of the one before him could probably fetch enough money to buy the whole world.

‘In my previous life, was there ever a fight over Silvanite?’

Damian briefly recalled his past life, but he had no memory of such an event.

Silvanite was simply a popular mineral among mages, and nothing more.

No one was desperate to hoard more of it.

Because the Empire’s Mage Tower had developed around the Eckhart family and Fire-aspected magic, Silvanite—which gathers Water-aspected mana, the antithesis—wasn’t greatly needed.

Silvanite was traded only among small mages on the Empire’s fringes who researched the fading Water and Ice magics.

For this reason, the Grovebern Viscounty, the ore’s native region, did not produce such large quantities.

If too much supply appeared, prices would fall.

Given the situation, it was hard to imagine people dying or armies intervening just to secure more Silvanite like this.

‘Perhaps it’s because my involvement changed things.’

To determine the exact cause and effect, he needed to look more closely and pay attention.

But he didn’t really want to.

He already had a rough inkling.

Then a voice came from beyond the heartstone.

-You’re here. The one who will become this world’s master.

Looking beyond the stone pillar, a woman stood there.

She wore a jade-colored veil that revealed her naked form beneath.

Her ivory skin seemed to hold moonlight, smooth and coldly lustrous as if carved from pale crystal.

Her bright blue hair flowed to her waist and fluttered as if it moved of its own will,

and her emerald eyes shifted to deep blue each time the heartstone pulsed.

By human standards she was unbearably beautiful and alluring.

But to Damian she was merely a being.

One who had steadily condensed power since ancient times and acquired authority for herself.

Damian looked at her indifferently; she approached step by step, knelt before him, and bowed.

-I am Cirrhnua Matter.

[Pleased to meet you.]

Damian liked the other’s opening greeting.

She had called him ‘the one who will become the world’s master,’ greeted him first, and even revealed her true name.

That implied two things.

That she acknowledged Damian’s status, and that she admitted she was weaker than him.

After greeting him, Cirrhnua nodded to Damian and spoke.

-I have been waiting. Come this way.

Cirrhnua turned lightly and formed a door in the cave wall.

She opened the door wide, nodded to Damian, and entered.

Damian followed her into the interior.

Though her swaying veil revealed her dizzying nudity at times, Damian’s attention lay elsewhere.

The scenery inside the cave.

With Silvanite crystals large and small jutting out everywhere, the place felt like viewing stars directly from space.

At its center was a small spring, formed by water seeping from the walls.

At the end of the spring was a small pool emitting a bright emerald glow.

Cirrhnua approached it and offered Damian a seat.

It was a finely carved stone chair, if not a throne.

When Damian sat, Cirrhnua took a lower seat and looked up at him.

With the small spring’s sound filling the quiet cave, Damian spoke.

“You know the meaning of what you did.”

Cirrhnua’s gaze flickered once.

From that flicker, Damian could read her nervousness.

She quickly composed herself and, like Damian, spoke aloud.

“I know well.”

“Then tell me why you set this in motion.”

That was why Damian had come here.

To learn why she used Damian’s children to provoke an invasion of the Grovebern Viscounty.

In truth, an invasion of the Grovebern Viscounty was no small matter.

It was an act of open rebellion against the Empire and could soon escalate into war.

Now that an undead legion had moved, humans would gather all forces to repel it,

and the fighting would continue until one side was annihilated.

This was no light matter.

They had secured the Kallios Theocracy, but it was not a force to stand against the Empire.

It’s always difficult for a small force to face a great army; such a gamble requires a proper reason and a price.

Damian gazed at Cirrhnua with deep eyes.

Her emerald eyes were calm.

After a moment of silence, she spoke.

“Because the time has come.”

“Time?”

“The time when you will become the master of this world.”

Cirrhnua fixed her gaze on Damian and continued.

“It has been over three thousand years since Kallios died. During that time, this world has steadily darkened. I have watched over the world from here, but I have been filled with worry.”

“You were worried?”

“Yes.”

“You must be a godlike presence around here—what could you possibly worry about?”

Damian’s remark was sharp.

Cirrhnua was a Spirit.

A being whose energy had gathered and formed consciousness.

Such a being could influence the world itself, and thus was revered like a god by people.

For that reason, Sylph-Spirits like Laerin revered her.

She also possessed a self-made spirit body, so she had no concern for lifespan.

With power to affect the world, followers, and immortality, what could Cirrhnua possibly worry about?

Damian watched Cirrhnua silently.

Sensing his sharpened gaze, she lowered her head slightly and spoke.

“You’re right, of course, but please consider this one thing: I too was born into this world and am a part of it. If this world disappears, I will be destroyed along with it.”

“You mean the end of the world is near?”

“Exactly so.”

Cirrhnua looked Damian in the face again and continued.

“This world is like a spark that has ignited. For a flame to take, certain conditions are needed: fuel to burn, sufficient temperature, and air. Then a small flame can rise. The world is the same—many conditions are required, and the most important among them are Light and Darkness.”

The words ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ sent a tremor through Damian’s mind.

For some reason he felt that the two had originally been one.

Damian naturally focused on Cirrhnua’s story, and she continued.

“Since the God’s death, the world’s Light has steadily dimmed. Some Elves keep light burning in their realms, but it’s too weak. Compared to them, the chaos and Darkness created by demons are too dense. If those forces attack the elves, the world’s Light will be extinguished.”

When she finished, Cirrhnua looked at Damian.

With an expression as if asking for his judgment.

But Damian could not speak easily.

He had never considered the existence of this world before.

He had come this far driven by anger at the Theocracy that killed his master and revenge against Illinas who had bound him.

Had he considered anything else, he wouldn’t have come this far so easily.

Then, after quite some time, Equinox’s voice was heard.

-Her words ring true.

[So what of it?]

-It means there is little time left.

Damian closed his eyes.

He began to contemplate the events that would unfold from this point.

The mana gathered in his heart took the shapes of upcoming events, and soon Damian could see what would follow.

The one who actually needed the Silvanite was Hyro, the deputy Towermaster of the Empire’s Mage Tower <Regio Magnus>.

Hyro had detected something amiss in the Eckhart family and had begun to act.

His goal was to gather Silvanite, defeat the Towermaster in single combat, and become the Towermaster himself.

With Leopold already gone, his plan would succeed.

He had already amassed a considerable amount of Silvanite; with what he had, he could defeat any mage in the Tower.

After seizing the Tower, he would march on the Pristine Forest.

He had always been deeply interested in the Elves, and they were the authorities on the Water magic he had only recently begun to use.

This was precisely what worried Cirrhnua.

If the Pristine elves were captured by the Empire.

If all the elves were enslaved and dragged to the Empire.

Coincidentally, beyond that point the future could not be seen.

Equinox explained this.

-Because it concerns the world’s destruction and what comes after. You need the world to exist in order to see a future.

[So if the elves disappear, the world will perish?]

-Yes.

Damian asked no more.

Still, Equinox added one remark.

-If Light vanishes, Darkness will vanish with it.

Equinox and Cirrhnua were speaking of the same thing.

Things he didn’t much want to think about.

Things he had thought had nothing to do with him.

He only wanted to be stronger than others, to rule over them, and to repay those who treated him well.

‘That was all I wanted…’

Someone like this had appeared.

Someone politely asking something of him.

Someone worrying about the end of this world and seeking to consult him about it.

Someone telling him that he and this world were not unrelated.

Had she read his thoughts?

Or had her own thoughts risen—Cirrhnua spoke.

“Though I spoke grandly, the reason I drew you into my affairs is that I need to survive.”

She rose from her seat.

Then she approached Damian and knelt.

“Please spare me. Save this world. The world needs a master.”

Damian fell into thought for a moment.

But he could not reach a quick conclusion.

He had never faced this type of dilemma before.

At that moment Nocturne offered cautious advice.

-It’s best to act as you usually do. These are other people’s stories. Just because others say this or that doesn’t mean you should abandon yourself, Master.

A faint smile spread across Damian’s mouth.

Nocturne’s remark was right.

He could not suddenly do something he had never done before.

What was needed now was to act as he normally would.

There was one thing he had to consider.

Would this be beneficial to him?

What gains could he obtain?

After weighing that, Damian looked down at Cirrhnua and spoke.

“What can you offer me?”