Necromancer Of The Black Bible (6)

Equinox’s demand was clear.

Acknowledge me as your master and show proper respect.

But I had no intention of doing that.

This thing was just a book.

I couldn’t bow to something that was nothing more than a tool.

Above all, this thing had a completely twisted understanding of master–servant relationships.

Occasionally, among enchanted tools with transplanted consciousness, there are such cases, and handling them is simple.

‘Make them properly realize who the master is.’

Even the sword I had in my previous life possessed a severely warped ego.

So I beat it senseless with a hammer, and from then on it obeyed.

I shoved the firmly shut Book of Eternity into a leather bag, then began the next task.

The moon was setting.

If I wanted to carry out my “work” unseen, I could not waste any more time here.

From now, I had to clear out the orphanage completely.

I needed to gather usable materials and erase all traces of the ritual.

If inquisitors or priests noticed, it would cause troublesome problems.

‘First, should I move the bones?’

Bones are crucial tools for learning necromancy.

To move them, I first had to return to the hideout I had lived in for the past six months.

There, I had to bring the tools and make “preparations”.

I slung the leather bag containing Equinox over my shoulder, gripped the staff Nocturne in one hand, and headed toward the mountain.

The moon still lingered near the horizon.

Luckily, the sun had not risen yet, though dawn would break soon.

I hurried toward my hidden refuge in the forest—a natural cave.

This was a place I had discovered recently. Digging into my past life’s memories, I chose it because it was the place the orphanage children most avoided.

The atmosphere around here was downright eerie.

Trees lay toppled everywhere, and jagged rocks were shattered in menacing shapes.

From afar, the dark cave mouth looked as if a monster was yawning wide, ready to swallow.

But to me, this was home.

Seeing the sharp broken rocks, I finally felt at ease.

Calmly, I walked into the cave that opened its mouth toward me.

The main reason I returned to my hideout was to clean up the “byproducts” scattered around the orphanage.

Bones tainted with demonic energy.

Among them, the bones of the High Priest and Andre would be particularly useful.

Such priests’ or mages’ bones inevitably contained mana.

These mana-infused bones would become precious materials for me to use when learning necromancy.

‘The problem is how to transport those bones…’

Twenty-one children, five adults, and one high priest.

That made twenty-seven sets of bones in total.

I could carry them myself, but it would take too long and risk being seen.

Thinking for a moment about how to move them, I stepped deeper into the cave.

Then I snapped my fingers and used a lesser spell.

‘Ignition.’

A tiny spark shot from my fingertip into the unlit firewood, and soon a flame bloomed.

Fwoosh-

I was surprised at how quickly the fire caught.

Because the effect and range were different from when I had used lesser magic in a child’s body.

‘It’s much stronger now.’

Lesser magic is a simple spell that condenses ambient mana through the caster’s strong concentration.

It’s a simple form of magic, requiring only focus and a trigger word, not complex rune incantations.

Until just yesterday, the lesser magic I could use with a child’s body was limited to a small ignition spell, a light spell to brighten a cave, and telekinesis for moving out-of-reach objects.

With enough focus and knowledge of magic, even a child’s body without a mana ring could use that much lesser magic.

But now the situation has changed.

Having gained a healthy, flawless body in its twenties, both my concentration and mana cohesion seemed to have grown stronger.

Before I knew it, I was gnawing on dried jerky while staring at the blazing fire.

Chewing it slowly, I sank back into thought.

Just yesterday, my Ignition spell was so weak that it often failed to keep a fire burning, and afterward I’d have to blow hard to stoke it.

‘With this level of power…’

I recalled the types of lesser magic I had learned, and thought of one I could use in this situation.

Then I stood, walked to my desk, and snapped my fingers again.

The torch hanging on the wall flared into flame.

The firepower was so much stronger than before that a nearby plant specimen was slightly scorched.

I pulled the plant from the wall and placed it on the desk.

‘Leaves of the Silver Bell Lantern Flower.’

They were dried leaves plucked from the plant that produced the Silver Bell Lantern Flower.

This plant holds mana that embodies texture; using it as a medium, even advanced manifestation magic can be cast through lesser magic.

I shoved the leather bag containing Equinox under the desk, then fetched a mortar and ground the leaves finely.

Equinox vibrated with a low hum from under the desk, but I ignored it.

‘So what are you going to do about it?’

As long as I didn’t open the book, Equinox had no way of expressing itself to me.

If this continued, it would eventually realize who the true master was, and who should be the one begging.

After enough time spent in frustration and patience, it would become obedient.

In just a few minutes, I had enough powder glowing faint blue.

Since the leaves had been dried for a long time, processing them wasn’t difficult.

I packed all of it into a small pouch.

Then, standing before a large open space in the cave, I cast lesser magic.

‘Hand of Mana.’

Suddenly, a faint radiance lit up the dark cave floor.

On the ground, a glowing hand sprouted like a flower, shining as if infused with soft blue moonlight.

‘Just as I expected.’

The Hand of Mana I created was large enough and of excellent quality.

It could be touched physically and was sturdy enough to sit upon.

Even considering that today was an equinox under a full moon, it was impressive.

Normally, manifesting the Hand of Mana at this level was difficult.

When I had reached the 3rd circle in my past life, my Hand of Mana was smaller and fainter than this—enough to support a child, but not an adult.

‘So this is the power of my newly acquired body…’

Once again, I was struck by the strength of this body.

I hadn’t expected it to be this good.

Above all, I loved being able to walk naturally.

Each step I took, the feeling in my left foot was new.

And excitement began to rise.

’With this body, how far could I go in magic?’

Even with just lesser magic, I could unleash the power of a 3rd-circle spell.

If I gained a mana ring and studied magic, I could soon become an Archmage.

Imagining that future made my heart pound.

‘But I’d better hurry. The sun will rise soon.’

I took another pinch of powder from the pouch, sprinkled it on the ground, and created another Hand of Mana.

As the second Hand of Mana appeared, Nocturne, silent until now, spoke up.

Master, may I ask what you intend to do?

[Why? Planning to help me?]

When I countered like that, Nocturne replied in a cautious tone.

Even if I wished to help, Master, your heart holds no mana ring. I can only channel magic through such a ring.

[Then just watch.]

…Yes.

I walked slowly, continuing to create Hands of Mana.

Soon I was outside the cave, and the Hands of Mana kept forming along my path.

Like that, I created dozens—no, hundreds—of hands until I reached the orphanage.

I opened the orphanage door, stepped inside, and conjured another Hand of Mana at the entrance.

Then Nocturne’s voice came again.

Now I finally understand your intent, Master.

[Do you?]

A laugh escaped me before I realized.

Was it because I had someone to talk to? Or because there was someone witnessing my actions?

I wasn’t sure exactly why, but it felt good.

It was a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

After that, I gathered the bones scattered around the orphanage and placed them onto the Hands of Mana.

The hands passed the bones from one to the next.

The bones traveled hand to hand, all the way back to my forest cave hideout.

Both large and small bones, the safe and ledger hidden in the director’s office, and usable foodstuffs and tools from the kitchen.

Finally, even the bones of high priest Raiernov in the orphanage courtyard were transported.

Once everything was gathered, Nocturne spoke again.

A magnificent sight.

I lifted my head at its words, and I understood what it meant.

Hundreds of faintly glowing blue Hands of Mana moved in sequence, like a procession of azure ants.

As I stared blankly at the scene, Nocturne continued.

In 168 years, I have never seen a sight like this.

I nodded in response.

[Me neither.]

With a mana ring, I could have used teleportation or telekinesis to move them, but right now I could not.

I had worried over it, but this turned out to be quite an effective solution.

After confirming that the last of Raiernov’s bones had reached halfway up the mountain, I turned back.

Then I looked around the orphanage grounds.

‘Now to finish this.’

It was time to scatter the black ritual powder that surrounded the orphanage.

Once used in a ritual, the powder turns into black ash. Sometimes, it oxidizes blood-red instead.

If such oxidized powder were discovered, inquisitors would be dispatched.

‘I must not be noticed yet. Not until I have enough power in my hands.’

Though I had obtained a powerful body, I was still weak.

I could wield stronger lesser magic than before, but without a mana ring, I couldn’t use proper spells.

In this state, no matter how powerful Nocturne was as an artifact, I couldn’t use it properly.

If inquisitors or priests found me now, I’d die a pointless death.

‘I need to clean up thoroughly.’

I closed my eyes for a moment and focused my mind.

Then I plucked the trampled grass beneath my foot and muttered the trigger word.

‘Wind.’

In the silence, a gentle breeze began to stir.

The breeze grew stronger, and the ash scattered in its currents.

I opened my eyes and slowly stepped back to watch.

The wind wasn’t that strong.

For lesser magic, it was strong, but still just a mild wind.

Still, it was enough to scatter the powder into the air.

The wind rose from the ground, carrying the powder into the air, swirling around the orphanage several times.

That place, hell to me, and the cursed times I spent there—all scattered away like that.

The ash was carried away by the wind, vanishing somewhere, and then the sun rose.

It was the first morning sun after the equinox.

And at the same time, it was the first daybreak I greeted with my new body.