Necromancer Of The Black Bible (140)

After subduing Cirrhnua.

I took her to the Ethereal Gate.

I entrusted the affairs of Brandstein Castle to her there.

It was to test both her loyalty and ability.

Right now, my attention was on the underground Demon Realm.

Because the Demon Kings Emma had swept through the realm and forced to submit were being summoned to me one after another.

The one who came before me today was a fellow called Zahakar, the ‘Hammer of the Abyss.’

He dealt with metal, and he knelt on both knees before me, almost melted by Emma’s flames.

Emma looped a whip of flame around his neck, then knelt on one knee before me and said.

“I could not capture Belphages, but this one said he wished to swear loyalty to Master, so I brought him.”

Emma’s ability is very intriguing.

More than her magic or skill, it’s her insight that pierces my heart that is remarkable.

I have no interest in some Demon King of hell, but the act of Emma gauging my feelings and offering a gift is satisfying.

It feels like something lacking inside me is being filled, even if only a little.

Enjoying that odd pleasure, I looked down at the kneeling Demon King.

“So you want to swear fealty to me?”

“…Yes.”

“Why?”

Zahakar looked at Emma’s back.

When she glanced at him with sharp eyes, he quickly lowered his gaze, placed both hands on the ground, and spoke.

“I… I want to live.”

A reason I could completely empathize with.

Whether demon or human, as long as one exists in this world, one does not want to die.

But this world does not grant that wish merely because one desires it.

I asked him in accordance to the rules of this world.

“What do you intend to pay me in exchange for saving your life?”

Zahakar bit his lip slightly.

I didn’t bother to read his thoughts, but that alone let me guess what he was thinking.

‘He’s probably gauging how far he’ll have to concede.’

I decided to remind him of something important.

“This is a transaction for your life, so think carefully.”

The moment I finished speaking, he flinched.

He rolled his eyes around, sighed as if resigned, and opened his mouth.

“I will give you half of the souls I have harvested.”

Souls?

It was an unexpected proposal, so I had to ponder for a moment.

For demons, souls are the source of power.

They either consume souls to grow stronger or transplant them into pre-made bodies to rebirth them as subordinates.

But do I need souls?

The Ethereal Gate is currently filled with souls.

Originally, they move to the Ethereal Realm and then, after various processes, are reborn on the surface,

but the passage to the Ethereal Realm has been severed, so they cannot.

‘Because of that, my plan to build my own army is being delayed.’

The delay has also postponed the showdown with Illinas.

If it were up to me, I’d eliminate that obstacle immediately.

‘Anyway… his offer to proffer souls means he’s sincere…’

The problem is I don’t need them.

Absorbing more souls in my current state won’t make me stronger, nor will it increase my total mana capacity.

‘I need something else.’

I examined closely the hammer Zahakar had placed before me.

A gigantic hammer with an unusually large head.

When he was first summoned here, the hammer had been glowing crimson-hot.

Now it had cooled considerably and turned black.

I looked at the hammer and spoke.

“Zahakar. You said you handle metal, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“Be more specific. How exactly can you handle metal?”

Apparently the question sat well with him; a light shone in his eyes as he glanced up at me.

He clenched his fist and began to speak.

“The underground Demon Realm yields a lot of fine metal. I temper that metal and craft weapons. The weapons I make are stronger than any made on the surface. So, to put it simply… yes! Think of me like that blacksmith. A blacksmith who can produce any weapon you desire without limit.”

Watching Zahakar made me smile.

His past overlapped in my mind; he hates being likened to a blacksmith.

Yet seeing him explain it that way to me, he seemed to be making an effort.

In any case, it’s a pretty useful ability.

When I think of the army I’ll build, such weapons are essential.

Undead troops raised by Necroturgy are terrible in combat power, after all.

No matter how poor the fighting skill, if the weapon held is sharp, combat effectiveness inevitably increases.

‘Interesting.’

As my interest grew, curiosity naturally followed.

I stroked my chin and asked him.

“Can you imbue magic into weapons? Permanently.”

“If you give me time, absolutely.”

“Assuming you cast one magic enchantment on a standard sword, how long would it take?”

“A day.”

“One day? Really?”

When I asked in a slightly raised tone, Zahakar replied, flustered.

“W-well… I’ve made many swords in my fortress, so I only need to cast the magic. That takes a day, or rather, a moment.”

I grew more and more intrigued.

So this means he has a pile of high-quality swords stockpiled in his fortress, doesn’t it?

“How many swords do you have?”

Zahakar rolled his eyes for a moment and answered.

“There are one million swords, five hundred thousand axes, and two million spears. Besides that…”

He began to drone on about his collection.

It seemed excessive, but reading his past, it made sense.

‘He’s been in the underground Demon Realm for three thousand years and has been hammering away every day, so it’s natural in a way.’

As his words wound down, I asked the final question.

“If I were to receive weapons from you as tribute, how could you deliver them?”

“How…”

“Can you send them to a location I designate, in the manner I desire?”

He thought for a moment and asked again.

“Give me an example of payment.”

I gave the example of payment I wanted at this moment.

He nodded.

“It’s possible.”

“Good.”

I rose from my seat and stepped down in front of him.

Then I picked up the giant hammer placed before me.

It was quite heavy, but not impossible to lift.

I gripped the handle with one hand, stroked the hammerhead with the other, and spoke.

“Then we have a deal. I’ll save you. In return, I’ll take the weapons you possess. You must deliver those weapons at the time I want, to the place I specify, in the manner I desire. Can you do that?”

“I swear it with my life.”

I conducted the oath of loyalty with his hammer.

After the vow, Zahakar looked relieved and returned to the underground Demon Realm.

After he left, Emma asked,

“Should I continue forcing Demon Kings to surrender in the future?”

Gaining more subordinates is a good thing.

With a decisive battle approaching, the more new subordinates the better.

But I didn’t keep Emma alive for that purpose.

I looked into Emma’s eyes.

Seeing those two eyes gleaming with confidence and trust stirred a strange feeling in me.

It was a completely different feeling from what I used to feel when remembering her in the past.

‘What is this?’

A feeling hard to name.

It was all the more confusing because I had never felt it even once in my previous life.

I couldn’t name this feeling, but one thing was certain.

It wasn’t anger or a desire for revenge.

It was lighter than those, but more unstable.

I looked at Emma and asked,

“What do you want to do?”

“I…”

Emma thought for a moment, then spoke again.

“I think it’s better to use them as Your tools rather than just killing them indiscriminately. That would be more advantageous to You.”

“And if I do not wish that?”

“Then I’ll simply kill them.”

Emma’s expression was resolute.

She had her own thoughts, but the look said that if I wished otherwise, she would comply.

I regarded her and ordered.

“Decide how to deal with demons yourself. Until then, continue your exterminations.”

“I will obey.”

Emma bowed her head.

At that moment, Nocturne’s voice was heard.

-It’s really curious.

-What is?

-Emma’s demeanor. It’s very different from what I’ve observed until now.

Nocturne’s words were true.

Emma is an astute child.

She always acted with purpose and calculated her own benefit.

She had done only what was thoroughly advantageous to herself.

But now it was different.

In fact, she doesn’t know why she must purge the underground Demon Realm or why she is chasing Belphages.

Yet she does not ask me for the reason.

Unconditional obedience.

I didn’t brainwash her, yet Emma voluntarily pledges loyalty to me.

But it’s not that strange.

-It’s because I’m stronger than her. This child simply obeys those who wield power greater than her own.

-But viewing it solely like that overlooks that the situation is somewhat different now. There are many types of obedience.

Nocturne spoke, citing those it had encountered so far as examples.

-Those who obey merely because someone is stronger have dead eyes. They act as instructed rather than thinking for themselves. But Emma is different.

-Hmm. If I were weaker than her, could she maintain such a look? Would she even bother to feign obedience before me in the first place?

Nocturne could not answer.

When its voice fell silent, I gave Emma an order.

“Go.”

With that, Emma returned to where she had been.

Now what remained was the crystal orb in front of me.

Ceres had been standing beside that crystal orb for some time.

Only after Emma had completely vanished did Ceres finally approach me and speak.

“The Empire has mobilized its army.”

“I’m aware of that.”

It was information I was well aware of from Natasha and Verdin’s reports.

But Ceres continued as if there was more I needed to know, projecting an image onto the crystal orb.

“You should not take this assault lightly.”

“Are they that strong?”

“Yes.”

At the unexpected reply, I looked at the crystal orb.

An army numbering about fifteen thousand.

Here and there, competent knights could be seen.

There were also mages radiating fairly strong mana.

Ceres watched them and spoke.

“Some among them can use Eckhart’s Flame magic. It could be fatal to the legion Natasha raised.”

“I see.”

Eckhart’s flame is very different from ordinary fire.

It is far more explosive and destructive.

Because of that, it can reduce a target to ashes in an extremely short time.

No matter how resilient the undead raised by Necroturgy are, if turned to ash in an instant, they will scatter.

It wasn’t unreasonable for Ceres to say this.

I fell into ponderance for a moment.

What should I do about them?

Should I go down myself and eliminate them?

Or should I entrust it to Ceres and William?

Or perhaps…

As I sifted carefully through the cards I held, a good idea occurred to me.

‘That will do.’

I gave the order immediately.

Because a fight I can win should be started right away.