Necromancer Of The Black Bible (57)

I studied the spirit of the woman before me.

Shimmering silver hair, red eyes, and crimson lips.

Flawless white skin, and a composed bearing.

She was undoubtedly beautiful, but not seductive.

Rather, she radiated a noble dignity.

And from her body emanated a soft light, different in nature from any I had seen before.

It refused to approach me, pooling like a faint mist at my feet, unable to advance further.

I looked at Sanchez and spoke.

“Wait a moment, will you?”

“Yes, Father.”

Sanchez smiled innocently, and I turned to the woman before me and asked:

[Who are you?]

The woman flinched slightly.

Was she unaccustomed to the Voice of the Soul?

Soon she bowed her head and answered.

I am Ceres. Guardian deity of the Kingdom of Calderion, and ancestral spirit of this bloodline.

The Kingdom of Calderion was the former name of the Principality of Tarnia.

Before its conquest by the Empire, Tarnia had been called Calderion.

But that was about two thousand years ago.

If her words were true, then this woman had existed as a spirit for over two thousand years.

‘Does that mean she is similar to Equinox?”

[She is as old as I am, Master.]

Equinox examined Ceres carefully, then spoke.

[An immortal blessed by God, back when God yet lived. Ceres… Yes, I remember. Ceres Tarnia von Calderion. Born frail, but with a resilient life force. She was a light to countless others around her. But now…]

Equinox trailed off.

But I could guess the meaning behind his silence.

‘She has lost her light.’

Ceres’s light no longer extended outward.

That meant her divine power had waned.

At last, I understood why she had come to me.

[With your strength, you cannot save your granddaughter.]

Ceres calmly nodded, then looked up at me.

Her red eyes flickered with sorrow.

Meeting those eyes, I felt helplessness, grief, and fear.

She likely feared that I could see through her entirely and strip everything away.

And what she feared most was…

‘Oblivion?’

Not her own alone, but the annihilation of all her kin’s souls.

For ages, she had gathered and protected the souls of her bloodline.

Through her eyes, I gleaned more.

How she sent the souls she gathered into newborn infants, guiding their reincarnations.

She had wished to return these souls, matured, to God—but could not.

Because the Ethereal Gate was shut.

From her memory, it seemed the Ethereal Gate had remained closed since God’s death.

Yet Equinox had never said such a thing when showing me the gate before.

[You knew, Equinox?]

[Yes. I knew.]

[Why hide it?]

[Because you already have too much to do, Honored Master. If the Ethereal Gate were to open before you were strong enough, it would bring catastrophe.]

I waited in silence for Equinox to continue, and he soon did.

[Beyond the Ethereal Gate lies God’s sanctuary, accessible only to pure souls. There, God purified souls and designed their destinies. If it falls into demon hands…]

[Then this world will fall to them.]

[Correct.]

I don’t know exactly what it means to purify a soul, but I can grasp what it means to determine its destiny.

It means deciding the course of a soul’s lifetime once it is born into this world.

This is extremely important.

Because what a soul comes to realize depends on the process it undergoes.

If demons are allowed to decide this, then every living being born into this world will undergo a path of chaos and gain false enlightenment.

‘They will gradually become more like demons themselves.’

Much like how most humans already are.

Honestly, whether this world overflows with evil or not has nothing to do with me.

My concern is with the authority to decide destiny.

If that authority falls into the hands of Ilinas or other demons, even keeping myself alive will be difficult.

But if I obtain it, I’ll be able to stop them easily instead.

I would be able to send my owned souls into this land, and they would serve me.

Once I defeat them, the world I desire will be created.

‘Then I could truly become a god.’

Equinox, reading my thoughts, replied.

[That is what will happen, Honored Master. Only you can open the Ethereal Gate. Around the time you obtain your fifth Mana Ring, you will be able to open it.]

[Then there’s no need to rush.]

[True, but once you open the Ethereal Gate, you will need someone like Ceres. If the spirits she has gathered have properly reincarnated over the ages, they will prove useful.]

I agreed.

Once the Ethereal Gate is opened, spirits will be needed.

The few Soul Orbs I have collected will not be nearly enough.

But with the souls Ceres has gathered over thousands of years, it’s a different matter.

They could become my very army.

Realizing this, I finally became interested in Ceres.

I smiled faintly and said:

[If I save your granddaughter, what will you give me?]

Ceres answered with a resolute expression, as though she had anticipated this.

I will give you everything I have.

[So you already know what I might ask for.]

Ceres paused for a moment, then spoke again.

The light I once relied upon has already vanished. For thousands of years I endured alone, but I now know my limit has come. I and all the souls who follow me are ready to entrust ourselves to you.

[I have no intention of being your caretaker.]

I know. Whether you absorb us as energy, or turn us into orbs to use as your strength, it doesn’t matter. Just allow us to follow you.

Indeed, Ceres’s foresight ran deep.

Just as I read her thoughts, she was reading mine.

It was clear she had existed as long as Equinox.

Moreover, she did not attempt to test or cajole me in the slightest.

That meant she recognized my power.

But from her gaze, it seemed she had one misconception.

I pointed it out.

[I am no newly born light.]

…!

As expected, I was right.

Ceres’s eyes trembled slightly. I met her gaze and continued.

[I am darkness. A darkness deep enough to devour your light whole. Even so, will you entrust me with everything?]

At that moment, Ceres’s trembling stopped.

She scanned me up and down, then spoke.

Darkness and light are one. Now that the light has vanished, it is only natural that deep darkness remains. I am ready to entrust everything to you.

Ceres’s resolve was firmer than before.

Honestly, I couldn’t understand what she saw that made her so sure.

‘Still, it’s a tempting offer.’

Save one granddaughter, and gain the souls she has gathered for thousands of years.

I made my decision.

I would grant Ceres what she wished.

[Fine. Where is Natasha?]

Outside the back gate.

[The back gate should be guarded by a holy knight.]

Yes, she is struggling with him. If you hurry….

I gave a deep smile and spoke.

“Sanchez. There’s a patient outside the back gate being blocked by a holy knight. Bring her in. I’ll see one more patient today.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Sanchez looked surprised.

He couldn’t help but be shocked at how I knew what was happening outside the back gate.

But since he had seen me act like this before, he silently went to the back gate.

Sure enough, there was a woman struggling with a holy knight.

“Holy Knight, please. Let me meet High Priest Raiernov.”

“Good grief, how many times have I said this? Do you think you’re the only one? Get a proper ticket and line up at the front gate.”

“But I don’t have enough money left for that.”

“Then leave. How do you expect to come here without even that much money?”

“P-please….”

The woman stood swathed in bandages.

She had waited so long that her bandages were soaked with dark red stains.

She dropped to her knees on the ground, begging the holy knight for mercy.

“I have waited here for three whole years. I spent all the money I had. If I leave now, I will die.”

The woman drew a dagger from her bosom, and seeing this, Sanchez quickly stepped in between them.

“Sir Rodian.”

“Yes, Father.”

“High Priest Raiernov has said he will see this patient.”

“What?”

Holy Knight Rodian’s eyes widened.

Sanchez lifted the kneeling woman from the ground and continued.

“Step aside.”

“But if you start letting in people from the back gate, order will fall apart.”

Rodian was a stickler for rules.

Knowing his nature well, Sanchez patted his shoulder and replied gently.

“I know. But what can we do? It’s Liarnoff’s order.”

This was the residence of the High Priest Liarnoff.

So his orders were absolute.

Rodian finally stepped back, and Sanchez led the woman inside.

When I saw them, I asked Ceres the woman’s name and posed my question.

“You are Natasha?”

“…Yes. How did you…?”

“It doesn’t matter. Come inside.”

Natasha slowly stepped forward.

With each step, pain flickered across her face.

‘Gangrene?’

I didn’t even need to look at the wounds to know.

A disease that produces blisters and oozing pus all over the body could only be gangrene.

I laid her down on the patient bed in the corner of the room and asked:

“How long have you had this disease?”

“…This is my third year.”

Normally, acute gangrene kills within a week. The fact that she lasted three years must be thanks to Ceres’s healing power.

I closed my eyes and examined Natasha’s body.

From her heart, to liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach—I inspected every organ.

But no matter how I looked, I saw no trace of an evil spirit.

This meant the cause of the gangrene was not a demon.

At that moment, Equinox spoke.

[The body cannot withstand it. Natasha’s soul is too vast for a human body to endure.]

I recalled what I had read in Ceres’s eyes of her past.

Memories of gathering souls over millennia and nurturing their growth through reincarnation.

Most likely, Natasha was one such matured soul, reincarnated into flesh.

[To cure this condition, the only method I know is to divide the soul.]

Divide not an infant’s, but an adult’s soul?

That alone sounded dangerous enough to have dire side effects.

[Exactly as you suspect, Master. Dividing the soul of one with an established self results in mental fracturing. Most are driven mad.]

[And yet you suggest dividing her soul?]

[The body’s illness can be quelled that way. Was that not the bargain with Ceres?]

I couldn’t believe my ears.

That the ever-wise Equinox would say this.

I met Ceres’s gaze, and she shook her head.