Necromancer Of The Black Bible (75)

For nearly three months after Damian entered the Kallios Theocracy, the Sand Dragon Geo wandered the surrounding area, hunting for food.

Shadowpeak was a place where dead humans and mountain beasts were easy to find, so it could consume plenty of prey.

As a result, Geo’s body had grown to a size incomparable to before.

From head to tail tip, it was longer than the combined height of seven adult men.

Even when he stood upright with his tail buried in the ground, he was taller than three grown men stacked together.

Geo looked down at Verdin’s spirit body from that dizzying height and spoke.

[Stop. You must not go there.]

The Voice of the Soul he had used when communicating with his master Damian.

It was a skill that had allowed him to converse with other wandering spirits, so Geo expected Verdin to hear him.

Sure enough, the fellow looked up at Geo.

But that was all.

No voice came from him.

Though the faint spirit body grew slightly clearer, no sound reached Geo.

‘Why?’

Geo spoke to him again.

[I can’t hear what you’re saying. Speak properly.]

This time too, Verdin reacted immediately.

He seemed to be saying something toward Geo.

His blurred hands and feet moved.

Yet no voice was transmitted.

‘This guy doesn’t know how to speak.’

Geo had seen him communicate with other spirits and assumed the same would work, but apparently not.

It seemed he did not know how to use the Voice of the Soul like his master did.

Quickly grasping the situation, Geo reached a conclusion.

‘I can’t hear his voice, but it seems mine reaches him. In that case…’

Geo organized his thoughts for a moment and conveyed what needed to be said.

[You must not go there. A power you cannot withstand awaits. If you approach unprepared, you will be devoured.]

Geo paused and observed Verdin.

From the way he responded, it seemed he had understood.

Geo continued.

[What you seek is the princess, correct? Even if you go there, you won’t learn what you want. They will only use you. So wait for now. When my master comes, he will tell you what you desire.]

Having heard this far, Verdin began speaking again.

His spirit body became clearer, and something radiated from him.

Yet Geo still could not understand what he was saying.

He could only guess the meaning from the gestures and movements.

‘It seems he doesn’t trust me. Of course. I would feel the same if I were in his position.’

Geo slowly nodded.

Though not even a year old, Geo’s cognitive level was comparable to an adult human.

Sand Dragons naturally mature far faster than other creatures.

Because of that, Geo could put himself in the other’s shoes and judge accordingly.

Geo looked at Verdin and continued.

[You may not believe me, but you must. I was present when you lost your life. My master had plans for you, and he left me there to fulfill them.]

They were sincere words filled with truth.

Verdin seemed to sense it too; he stopped objecting and appeared deep in thought.

‘Did it get through?’

As Geo predicted, Verdin slowly nodded and took a step.

The instant he took one step back the way he came, grotesque voices rang in Geo’s ears.

-What is this?

-A dragon?

-No, no, it’s a snake.

-Too small to be a dragon, too big to be a snake.

Voices of spirits.

They appeared to have descended from the summit and quickly surrounded Geo and Verdin.

Having been spirits for quite some time, they were clearly visible even to Geo.

And every one of them wore iron collars around their necks.

The collars faintly glowed deep crimson and were linked to crimson chains whose ends faded into invisibility.

Yet Geo knew—the chains were connected somewhere.

Wary of them, Geo buried himself in the earth and observed their actions.

Fifteen spirits.

Their appearances were grotesque.

So severely distorted that their living forms were unrecognizable.

Only their vividly glowing red eyes were uniform.

‘Something feels off. Very… ominous.’

Darkness swirled within their red eyes, flickering endlessly within the crimson aura—like predators lying in wait for prey.

Geo instinctively sensed danger.

Feeling he must never fight them, he hid underground completely.

-Hehehe. It ran away?

-I had high hopes because of its size.

-Yeah. It’s been a while since we could have fun hunting.

-Hey, you. What are you?

One of the cackling spirits discovered Verdin’s spirit body.

Verdin looked at them, and soon three approached him.

-What’s this guy? No mark?

-A newcomer?

Verdin remained silent.

There was nothing he could do at the moment.

There were many enemies, and they had not yet harmed him.

After examining Verdin for a long while, one of them spoke with glowing crimson eyes.

-Shall we devour him?

At that moment, the eyes of the others changed. Thick darkness stained them, turning the previous crimson into deep purple.

Verdin flinched.

He was already dead.

Whether the dead could die again was unknown, but the aura they exuded was utterly ominous.

Then another spirit stepped forward and spoke.

-Who are you? Why have you come this far?

Compared to the others surrounding them, the tone was gentle, yet an irresistible power emanated from it.

Eventually, Verdin answered.

-Calix. He said if I came here, I could meet the Lord of Wraiths…

-Lord of Wraiths!

The spirit emphasized the honorific with a loud echo and stepped closer to Verdin.

-Repeat after me. Honored Lord of Wraiths.

-…Honored… Lord of Wraiths…

-Good. Very good. That’s how you do it. That exalted being is not someone trash like you can address casually.

Verdin remained silent.

The spirit looked at him and continued.

-So… Calix sent you? To the Honored Lord of Wraiths?

-…Yes.

-Do you have some business?

-That… I will speak of directly when I meet the Honored Lord of Wraiths.

Verdin answered firmly.

In life, he had possessed great martial prowess and rarely ever cowered before anyone.

But now was different.

For some reason, facing those deep purple eyes made him extremely uneasy.

Thus, his voice trembled faintly.

The other smiled with a grotesquely torn mouth.

-Good spirit.

He tapped Verdin’s shoulder lightly.

It was astonishing.

Verdin was clearly a spirit and had felt no sensation until now, yet he clearly felt the tap on his shoulder.

And that wasn’t all.

The being wrapped around Verdin’s neck as he continued.

-Come with us. Calix is actually our comrade. If it’s Calix’s request, we’ll grant it.

Before Verdin could reply, the spirit grabbed his arm and pulled.

-I’m Zerdak. Everyone calls me Zer.

-Zer…

-Good. Call me that. Now…

Zer led Verdin and his subordinates toward the mountain summit.

Though the sun still hung in the sky, the purple pillar rising from Shadowpeak’s summit was clearly visible to Verdin.

And Geo, peeking just his head out from underground, watched the scene.

The world seen through Verdin’s eyes was undeniably bizarre.

Though the sun was up, the sky was dark.

Unknown black clouds obscured the mountain peak.

And the mountain path was strange too.

Thorny vines he had never seen before lined both sides of the path, and each time he brushed against the thorns, sharp pain shot through him.

‘How can this be?’

That wasn’t the only odd thing.

The colossal creature he had just passed.

It had burst from the earth—a grotesque lifeform he had never seen in life.

Even more shocking was that it had spoken to him.

‘It told me to turn back.’

Its voice had reached him clearly.

Yet his own voice seemed inaudible to it.

Even so, it had desperately warned him not to proceed.

‘Why? And what exactly is that creature?’

It had said it was present when Verdin died.

And that its master had ordered it to guard Verdin’s corpse because there was a plan for him.

Honestly, hearing that far had made him suspicious.

It felt like a ploy to use him.

‘But that creature knew my purpose.’

Now that Verdin had awakened as a spirit, his clearest memories were of Princess Lillian.

The oath of loyalty, and the memories of failing to uphold it.

Even now, when everything else appeared hazy, his memories of losing her remained vivid.

‘I must find Princess Lillian. To do that, I have to meet the Lord of Wraiths.’

Calix had definitely said so.

But could Calix be trusted?

Who was he again?

As confusion set in once more, Zer, walking ahead, spoke.

-Snap out of it. Keep spacing out and you’ll disintegrate before we even arrive.

Startled back to awareness, Verdin realized he was about to walk straight into the massive thorny vines.

He stopped just in front of them, and Zer continued.

-You’re a spirit. These thorns absorb spirits like you and turn them into nutrients. So stop daydreaming and walk straight on the path. Stray from it and you’ll become food for these “Demonic Vines.”

Verdin nodded.

After taking a few more steps behind Zer, he asked.

-Is it still far?

-Almost there.

Zer moved beside Verdin and continued as they walked.

-We just have to pass through there.

The wavering red tentacle pointed to a gate.

A massive gate shimmering entirely in purple light.

At the very top center hung a skull with four horns, and on either side were skeletal wings.

As Zer, Verdin, and the other spirits arrived, the gate opened.

Zer whispered softly.

-Welcome to the Citadel of Wraiths.