Necromancer Of The Black Bible (67)

The night was deep and dark.

The moonlight was faint, so countless stars twinkled alongside the moon in the night sky.

The light of the night, blending moonlight and starlight, illuminated the dark world,

and that light gently fell upon Sanchez’s desk.

The light was too dim for reading or writing, but it was enough for Sanchez.

The power he had gained amplified the senses of his five senses, so even this faint light was sufficient for his work.

In truth, he liked this sort of light.

Because it reminded him of the Kallios Theocracy, the only place shining in a world ruled by darkness.

Sanchez sat at his desk, immersed in his work under the faint light.

Scratch scratch scratch scratch-

The quill pen moved busily across the wide-open parchment.

He was writing the final report on a suspected murder case.

After seven days of investigation, he had reached a conclusion.

‘This is a murder case. And a truly horrific one.’

Dried pools of blood at the crime scenes consistently contained traces of demonic energy powder.

And that blood was confirmed to be human.

A piece of human remains found at the fourth scene was proof.

[At the market alley in Zone 8, a piece of human remains, presumed to be a finger, was found. It was discovered in a corner of a nearby wall, and based on its position and condition, it appears to have been severed abruptly at the scene. This…]

Sanchez hesitated for a moment.

Because what he was about to write was truly shocking.

Perhaps enough to turn the entire Theocracy upside down.

‘But I have to write it.’

Sanchez bit his lip once and resumed writing.

[…appears to have originated from a process of cannibalism.]

A case of humans being eaten alive.

This was the truth the scenes pointed to.

That wasn’t all.

Demonic energy powder was found at all four scenes he investigated.

Cannibalism, scattered flesh, pools of blood, demonic energy powder.

There was only one thing these pointed to, as far as he knew.

[This is determined to be a typical witch’s cannibalistic ritual. Indeed, hair presumed to belong to a witch was found at the second and third scenes.]

Sanchez looked at the test tube on his desk.

Inside the test tube, illuminated by faint moonlight, were six strands of human hair, glowing softly with a silvery sheen.

Normal human hair doesn’t shine like this.

It was clearly the hair of someone with some kind of power.

In the end, Sanchez concluded his report as follows:

[Light emanates from the hair, indicating that its owner is not an ordinary person. Considering the demonic energy powder consistently found at the scenes, it is presumed to be a witch.

The culprit identified through all the evidence is a witch with silver hair. The Theocracy must issue a warrant for a person matching this description before further harm occurs.

Investigator Sanchez]

Having completed the final signature, Sanchez set down the quill pen.

Though it took a long time to write, the report wasn’t very long.

He checked multiple times to ensure the words were appropriate, the logic was sound without exaggeration, and the conclusion was valid.

Sanchez rolled up the parchment and sealed it with wax.

As he finished, the door opened behind him, and the soft light of an oil lamp spilled into the room.

“All done?”

It was the voice of his lover, Elin.

Dressed in pajamas, she approached Sanchez, who smiled faintly and nodded.

“Barely finished.”

“Good work. It must have been tough.”

Elin’s hand caressed Sanchez’s face.

With a worried expression, she looked at the sealed report and spoke.

“Will the Pope really accept the contents of this report?”

“The evidence is clear. There’s no reason they wouldn’t accept it.”

“Still…”

Elin picked up the test tube, looked at the hair inside, and continued.

“I have a bad feeling. I think it’d be better to just report that we don’t know. Something bad might happen to us if we’re not careful.”

Sanchez held Elin’s hand, which was stroking his face, and spoke gently.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m just reporting on the crime scenes. How could this affect us?”

“But…”

Elin couldn’t respond.

Because Sanchez was right.

How could a series of murders across the Theocracy affect them?

The most likely concern was Investigator Sanchez’s safety, but while it might be an issue outside, no one would dare touch an Investigator within the Theocracy.

The security here was that strong, and Sanchez’s skills were not to be underestimated.

Even so, Elin felt uneasy.

She sensed something ominous.

Seeing Elin’s stern expression, Sanchez held her hand stroking his face, took the test tube from her with his other hand, and continued.

“What’s worrying you so much?”

“You might get caught up in this. If you start tracking the culprit, they might come after you instead.”

Her voice was filled with sincerity. Sanchez gently touched the back of Elin’s hand, which was holding his cheek, and spoke.

“I’ll leave tracking the culprit to someone else. Submitting this report will be the end of my involvement in this case. Is that okay? So don’t worry.”

Sanchez placed the test tube back on the desk and stood up.

Then he hugged Elin tightly.

Their breaths and warmth mingled in the darkness.

Looking at Elin again, Sanchez spoke.

“Let’s rest now. The work is all done.”

Sanchez lightly kissed Elin’s cheek and left the room with her.

The moonlight by the window fell upon them, and Elin’s long hair shimmered with a soft silvery glow.

When I came to, my heart was racing.

The vibration was quite different from anything I had felt before.

It was heavier and fiercer, as if my entire body was trembling.

[The fourth Mana Ring has been formed. Be prepared, as you may experience visions momentarily.]

With Equinox’s voice, a dizzying sensation pierced through me.

And something appeared before my eyes.

My figure sitting cross-legged, with Ceres and Natasha watching me with worried expressions.

In the backyard outside the door, William, in the guise of Andre, was looking toward me.

It seemed he was sensing the change in my power.

‘Fascinating.’

I was now in a spiritual state, outside my body, observing everything.

To be able to look at myself as a third party.

Is this the power of the fourth Mana Ring?

[From now on, you can leave your body at will. Additionally, you can see the traces of time more clearly.]

[By traces of time… you mean past lives?]

[Correct. You can clearly see the events experienced by others in their past lives.]

While purifying the third Mana Ring, I saw the past lives of Sanchez, Erian, and Natasha.

But I could only see limited time periods, not far into the future or past.

Above all, I couldn’t choose the time period I wanted to see. I only saw what was shown.

And I couldn’t see Pope Lactea’s past life.

[From now on, you can look into any past you desire. You can also see the pasts of individuals you couldn’t before.]

[Even Lactea’s past?]

[That will be difficult. The artifacts she possesses will prevent it. Unless she allows it, her past cannot be seen.]

It’s a bit disappointing, but I’m satisfied.

Seeing someone’s past means understanding who they are.

It means I won’t have to deal with untrustworthy people like in my past life.

And I’ve heard enough about Lactea’s past.

I can find out the rest another way.

[Any other abilities?]

I asked with anticipation, and Equinox answered calmly.

[The rest is similar to the growth of ordinary mages.]

It was a simple answer, but I understood immediately.

‘The upper limit of the spells I’ve already mastered must have increased.’

For ordinary mages, as the number of Mana Rings increases, the variety of spells they can use expands, and the power of already mastered spells grows stronger.

I returned to my body and opened my eyes.

I felt a hot energy surge through my entire body.

The surging power was distinctly different from before.

It was as if a wild horse was rampaging in my heart.

[From now on, you can use magic without needing to purify newly formed Mana Rings.]

That’s good news.

It means my heart has grown accustomed to the necromancer’s Mana Rings.

Having to purify every new Mana Ring would be quite troublesome.

And dangerous.

‘If I were attacked during purification, I wouldn’t be able to respond. But now it doesn’t matter, does it? With someone like William standing guard.’

Even a fleeting sense of his aura told me how strong he was.

And it seems he made progress while I wasn’t watching. He’s much stronger than before.

[William has almost fully regained the power he had in his past life. He can likely take down a high-ranking demon single-handedly.]

High-ranking demons bring a few names to mind.

Ignarion, Azantar, and Kalinesh.

These are demons of hell who call themselves demon kings.

They have many contracted dark sorcerers and exert significant influence on this world.

‘Come to think of it, Abaddon was a high-ranking demon too, wasn’t he?’

The name Abaddon came to mind, faintly but clearly.

A demon who uses the power of equivalent exchange. Since it’s a power of losing one thing to gain another, the dark sorcerers who dealt with him met tragic ends.

One of them was someone I was close to, which is why I remembered the name.

‘So William’s become capable of defeating monsters like that on his own?’

A satisfied smile naturally spread across my face.

Then Equinox added,

[Abaddon was recently taken as a subordinate by Shador.]

[Is that so?]

That’s surprising news.

Seeing my interest, Equinox showed me something.

It was a scene like a deep night sky, with several bright stars floating in it.

Equinox pointed to each star and explained.

[This is an ability unlocked as you reached the fourth circle. It allows you to see all your subordinates connected to you at a glance.]

He was right.

The stars I saw were all my subordinates.

The bright blue light was William, and the bright yellow light was Natasha.

There were relatively dimmer lights too; Ceres, bound to me by contract, was a faint yellow light.

The Sand dragon Geo, following me due to an imprint, was a deep red light.

And the purple light tinged with green was Shador’s. As Equinox said, there was a smaller light beneath his, shimmering in a pale lime green.

Even without explanation, I knew it was Abaddon’s.