Necromancer Of The Black Bible (19)

The moment he finished speaking, five bones shot forth like spears, striking the Sand Dragon’s jaw and belly in succession.

BANG— BANGBANGBANG—

They still didn’t pierce the scales, but the effect was clear.

The beast reeled, as if stunned by the tremendous impact.

As I levitated another five bones, Equinox’s voice echoed.

[Such attacks won’t pierce its scales.]

[Is there a way?]

[Of course.]

Equinox chuckled and continued.

[Now, spin the bones.]

Spin them?

I tilted my head and spun the bones in midair.

As the bones spun in wide circles, Equinox spoke urgently.

[Not like that. Like this.]

Equinox seized control of one bone.

The circling bone halted, realigned toward the dragon.

It began spinning on its axis, forming a green mana vortex around it, sharpening its tip with ominous force.

As its rotation reached immense speed, Equinox said:

[This is Bone Spear – Stage Two. A technique for necromancers at the

At his words, the spinning spear shot forth at ferocious speed.

Far faster than mine had been—too fast for the eye to track.

BOOM—

Crackkk!

The Bone Spear struck near its foreleg; Equinox had aimed for the chest, but the dragon blocked with its leg.

Something flew off the impact site.

A scale.

Equinox laughed.

[Hehehe… Sand Dragons were once true dragons. But they traded wings for scales, burrowing into the earth. This is the result.]

He said no more, but I understood.

‘There were no rivals underground. So their other faculties atrophied.’

Without the desperate struggle for survival, everything weakens.

It begins with will. As will weakens, the body dulls, and abilities diminish.

[Correct. You truly are keen. Now I see why Balthazar took you as his disciple, why he made you the subject of this dangerous journey through time.]

[Enough pointless talk. That beast isn’t dead yet.]

[True, but the outcome is already decided.]

I agreed with Equinox.

But I couldn’t linger. Until the enemy’s last breath stops, there is no room for relief.

In my past life, I saw many adventurers die in vain because they let their guard down at the end. Their empty deaths etched the lesson into my heart: never relax until the very end.

I spun the four bones I had levitated, just as he’d shown.

Naturally, whirlwinds formed around them. It wasn’t as impressive as it looked.

‘Once levitated, mana seeps into the bone. Spinning it on its axis naturally creates the vortex.’

Not all mana can create such vortices.

This effect exists only because it is refined necromantic mana.

I had never seen or even heard of bones weaponized in this way in my past life.

Vwoooom—

A shrill sound signaled the spin had peaked. Without hesitation, I hurled them at the Sand Dragon.

BOOM— BOOMBOOM—

The dragon hunched to defend itself, but it couldn’t prevent its scales from bursting off.

With each impact of the Bone Spears, scales flew into the air.

Greenish smoke rose from its exposed flesh.

Dozens of the black scales now littered the ground.

Noticing this, Nocturne spoke.

Why not use those scales?

A good point.

The Sand Dragon’s scales were hard. If Equinox was right, they were special enough to be traded for wings.

‘Let’s finish it with these.’

Using Nocturne, I gathered all my mana and levitated twenty scales.

Even just holding this many strained me.

Nocturne’s core and the Mana Rings in my heart trembled violently.

‘Can Nocturne endure this?’

I’m fine. I can endure this much. Testing your mana to its limits is essential.

My master once said the same thing in my past life.

I smiled faintly and focused.

The scales began spinning on their axes, soon reaching maximum speed.

Vwooooom—

They transformed into long, emerald spears.

They looked different than before.

Far longer, far deadlier.

‘With this, I can finish it in one strike.’

I held the twenty Bone Spears steady and stared at the dragon.

It finally regained itself and met my gaze.

At that moment—

Flash—

A strange vision flickered across my eyes.

I couldn’t make out what it was, but one thing was clear.

‘This will be the final strike.’

The Sand Dragon puffed up its chest, preparing to unleash a breath.

A wise move, but too late—I was already ready.

I hurled all twenty Bone Spears at the beast.

Shwoooooosh—

These Bone Spears were nothing like before. Their speed was still invisible, but their power was on another level.

Whereas Bone Spears had shattered on impact, these pierced straight through its body.

Psshk— Psshk— Shshshk—

In an instant, the Sand Dragon stood impaled like a hedgehog.

From its pierced chest and mouth leaked the undischarged yellow lava; it couldn’t even moan properly.

The spears kept it pinned upright, unable to collapse, its forelegs drooping limply.

Its head sagged weakly.

Seeing it completely subdued, I slowly approached.

Confirming it was completely subdued, I slowly approached the beast.

Grrhh—

It gave only a faint groan, though its heart was still beating.

As with every other beast I’d hunted, its heart appeared clearly to my eyes.

That massive heart throbbed inside its pierced chest.

From its punctured heart, lava gushed and overflowed.

Thin streams of lava ran down its belly and cooled into stone on the ground.

Chiii—

Up close, its heart seemed at least twenty times larger than the boar’s.

I withdrew the mana from the Bone Spears. Instantly, its body collapsed, and from the wounds gushed dark red blood mixed with lava.

Kruuuaagh—

The beast let out one last scream of agony.

The sight of it, pitiful in its last moments, hardly felt real. That I had brought it to this state—unbelievable.

[Master… Do you believe me now?]

At Equinox’s question, I could only nod.

To have slain a Sand Dragon alone…

And with but a single technique.

It was something my former self could never have done.

[This is the true power of a necromancer. And you have yet to unlock even one-tenth of it.]

[But…]

Looking down at the dying dragon’s face, a question arose.

[With my current strength… could I slay even a true dragon?]

[That depends on the dragon you meet. In general, dragons are incomparably more cunning and powerful than these Sand Dragons. Compared to them, a Sand Dragon is like a worm crawling in the dirt. Not even a snake—a worm. Snakes are clever; worms are nothing but instinct. So don’t mistake slaying one Sand Dragon as reason to charge blindly at a true dragon. You’ll need much more preparation to defeat them.]

Preparation, then.

He was right.

I only had two Mana Rings in my heart. With the White Serpent’s guardian spirit I could wield four, but there were limits.

‘Increasing my necromancy Rings doesn’t just mean more mana.’

From experience, I realized each Ring bore unique abilities.

With one, I could only drain life. With two, I unlocked necromancy and soulbinding.

And now I knew how to wield Bone Spear.

‘If I could obtain a third Ring…’

I might wield magic I’d never known in my past life—or power equal to it.

If I gained such abilities one by one, I might soon defeat even a dragon alone.

The thought alone set my heart racing.

I smiled faintly, stepped atop the dying dragon’s body, and placed my hand upon its chest.

Thump, thump, thump, thump—

The heartbeat was faint, but still there.

Its life force dwarfed any creature I had absorbed until now.

I absorbed it.

Wooooooom—

An immense vortex of crimson energy engulfed my entire body.

My mind reeled, visions rushing through me.

‘What is this?’

Shapes flickered past.

At first meaningless, but soon I understood.

‘Memories.’

The life-long memories of this beast.

Something I’d never seen when absorbing mindless beasts.

It meant one thing.

[Correct. When you absorb the life of a sentient creature, their memories come with it. Take what is useful and discard the rest, or it will harm your mind.]

[Understood.]

I nodded at Equinox’s warning.

Then I sifted through the dragon’s memories, gathering what I needed.

Its name was Amur.

A male Sand Dragon, about a thousand years old.

He had come here to mate with a female.

And that female was—

[There is still one left.]

I gazed into the vast tunnel the dragon had carved into the cavern wall.

The tunnel stretched deep underground—where William now stood.

As I approached, I heard William muttering.

[My nemesis. My nemesis is here.]