Necromancer Of The Black Bible (20)

Standing beside William, gazing down into the cavern, Equinox spoke.

[First, claim this creature’s soulstone.]

I had almost forgotten.

Turning my head toward the Sand Dragon, I saw its pale soul slowly separating.

[Sand Dragons are beings with reason and intelligence. Stupid, perhaps—but you won’t often encounter creatures of this intellectual level. And their soulstones are special.]

[Special how?]

I asked the question as I seized the dragon’s soul. It drifted as if to escape, but was pulled into my grasp.

Just as I had with the boar’s spirit, I clenched my hand tight. The massive soul was sucked into my palm, glowing with radiant yellow light.

The great dragon’s soul poured into my hand for some time, shining yellow, until it finally condensed into a sphere.

A heavy orb, barely graspable in one hand.

At least five times larger than the boar’s soulstone.

When I peered inside, a mysterious golden light shimmered.

Then Equinox answered.

[Soulstones preserve fragments of thought. The memories you glimpsed when absorbing life will soon scatter—but with the stone, you can revisit them at will.]

[Meaning…]

It meant I wouldn’t need torture to extract information.

Claiming the soulstone meant I could sift through all its memories in life.

‘Convenient.’

I thought of the inquisitors of the Kallios Theocracy, who tortured endlessly to uncover the lairs of black magi.

Even then, they rarely gained what they wanted.

They only created countless more enemies.

I tucked the shimmering soulstone away. Equinox continued.

[It has many other uses. You can infuse a sealed soul into a corpse for necromancy. Replenish necromantic mana. Or consume it outright to speed the purification of your Mana Rings.]

[I see.]

Of all I’d heard so far, this was the most enticing.

Infusion, mana support, purification…

It was a panacea. The more stones I gathered, the stronger I would become.

I stroked the soulstones I carried. A faint warmth pulsed against my palm.

[Why not consume them all right now? Your second Mana Ring is close to purification.]

[That would be wise… but as you saw in the dragon’s memories, another foe remains. I suggest you glean its information before consuming anything.]

Equinox was thorough.

Each careful detail revealed his experience.

I drew the Sand Dragon’s soulstone once more, focusing my mind.

Peering into its memories was simple—focus, pose a question, and the images surfaced.

‘Its mate… so, if I go deeper into this place, I’ll find her.’

The female in its memories was far larger. Twice the size, at least.

From the male’s fear of being eaten, she was crueler and even stronger.

I studied every scrap of the female’s image in the male’s mind.

The bizarre first meeting, and what followed between them.

Their offspring, and countless events they endured.

In just a short span, it felt as though I had lived those moments myself.

Reviewing all up to just before I arrived, I could infer the female’s present state.

‘She’s waiting in the underground chamber for the male to bring prey.’

I gathered the male’s scattered scales.

I stuffed about twenty into a leather satchel, slung it over my shoulder, and stood before the vast hole where William’s soul lingered.

Wooooo—

Wind sucked inward with a deep resonance. Strange energy wafted from the darkness below.

William stared at me, eyes flickering crimson.

[Revenge. Let me have revenge.]

I’d never cared for another’s desires before—too busy chasing my own.

But now I was curious.

‘If I unleashed him down there… what would happen?’

I’d just seen it in Amur’s memories.

A skeleton, armored and crowned in rust, seated on a throne with a sword in hand.

That skeleton was William.

In Amur’s old memory, William had fought the female—only to be crushed when Amur appeared.

William had fought well enough; Amur intervened only out of fear that the female, Magra, might falter.

[A sound decision. Harnessing a soul’s desire—that is the essence of necromancy.]

I smiled at Equinox’s counsel and turned to William.

[I’ll give you a chance. What will you give me in return?]

His gaze flickered, then locked with mine. His reply rumbled heavy.

[I will be your eternal sword.]

I nodded, and entered the tunnel.

The dragon’s tunnel was deep.

Its slope let me slide; had I walked, it would’ve taken hours.

I slid down the steep passage, casting lesser magic—Grease—so my robe wouldn’t rip.

At last, I reached the vast cavern I’d seen in Amur’s memories.

I peered inside—the scene matched exactly.

A yellow lava river flowed.

Beyond it, piles of shattered eggshells. To my right, the bone mound and bone palace I recalled.

‘But the female, Magra, isn’t here…’

Had she sensed Amur’s death?

Where she once lay stretched out was empty—only another massive tunnel, larger than mine.

That passage was at least twice the size.

Likely where Magra had gone.

Then Nocturne spoke.

The female has noticed. I can feel her aura.

The staff glowed red in my left hand.

My senses widened—strange energy seeped from a corner of the ceiling.

‘Killing intent?’

As I thought it, the feeling took shape—sticky red light oozing out.

‘She’s probing me.’

The habit of a seasoned hunter.

She would watch until confident—then strike.

But not yet.

My presence here already told her Amur was dead.

She would observe until she believed she knew everything.

‘Which means I have time.’

I gestured to William at my side.

[That—could it be you?]

I pointed toward the bone palace. William reacted at once.

[…My kingdom. My palace.]

He slid like wind toward it, muttering before the skeleton seated on the throne.

[So they stuffed me here. Even devouring them wouldn’t sate my rage.]

I walked toward him—the massive bone mound striking first, then the bone palace.

The closer I came, the more immense it was.

The mound reached nearly to the cavern’s ceiling. The palace half its height—but still colossal.

‘It didn’t seem this vast in Amur’s memory…’

Likely, to a dragon’s eyes, it was no more than a toy.

Equinox agreed.

[Memories are distorted records. The same truth shifts depending on whose mind holds it. Keep that in mind when reading soulstones.]

I nodded, standing beside William.

He still stared at the skeleton on the throne.

The skeleton was extraordinary—its corroded crown finely wrought, its armor battered yet still salvageable.

And the sword it held radiated an uncanny aura.

Careful, Master. I sense another presence.

Nocturne had appraised the blade.

I already suspected its nature.

From William’s tale and Amur’s memory, I guessed: within that sword was a fragment of the Demon King.

‘That explains why he held his own against the female.’

At any rate, Magra was still watching—the sudden spike of killing intent proved it.

I asked William:

[Are you ready?]

[Yes.]

I thought to remind him of our pact—but his eyes already burned with desperation and fury.

Gripping Nocturne with my left, I extended my right and cast necromancy upon the skeleton.

I needed no explanation; once before had been enough.

Focusing, my heart’s Mana Rings slowed, releasing core mana into my palm.

Thicker, purer than before, it seeped into the bones.

Once suffused, the skeleton gleamed green.

Seeing this, I gave William the order.

[Now.]

William entered his newly awakened body.

Like cotton soaking water, the glowing bones absorbed his soul.

Then light burst from its eyes—and a ghastly cry from its mouth.

“Uwooooo—!”

A voice of mingled rage and grief.

As though every sealed emotion erupted at once.

I stepped back and watched—the first skeletal knight I had raised through necromancy.