Necromancer Of The Black Bible (82)

The Inquisition moved with lightning speed.

The moment High Inquisitor Ragnell proclaimed the papal decree, the Director of the Inquisition obeyed without question.

Thereafter Ragnell headed to the sealed vault, and at the same time the great bell atop the Grand Temple began to toll.

Dong, dong, dong, dong-

The sound of the bell was anything but ordinary.

It rang faster and sharper than ever before.

The people of the Theocracy looked toward the bell and murmured among themselves.

“What’s going on?”

“Is it war?”

“I think I heard this at the Cathedral once… When the Grand Temple’s bell rings urgently like that, we’re supposed to take shelter at home.”

“That’s the evacuation bell?”

People whispered and looked around nervously.

But their hesitation and speculation did not last long. Holy Knights dispatched from every district began issuing orders in thunderous voices.

“Everyone return to your homes!”

“This is an emergency!”

“It is not safe to remain outside!”

The Holy Knights’ commands were absolute.

Even in normal times, disobeying them meant immediate arrest.

The people hurried home in accordance with the orders.

Then priests began patrolling the streets, continuing the instructions.

“Go home at once and lock your doors. Lock the front gate, back door, and every window. Lock every door in the house. Then hang the Theocracy’s protective crest on every door, starting with the front gate. If you lack crests, write on the doorknob how many you need and hang it there. Holy Knights and priests will patrol and distribute them.”

At that moment, a woman opened her door from across the street and asked,

“Father, has war broken out?”

“Something of the sort.”

The priest who answered was Sanchez.

He approached the woman, asked how many crests she lacked, and hurriedly handed them over.

“Place the crests on the outside of the doors. As long as they are properly attached, your home will be safe.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Those who had watched Sanchez distribute crests opened their doors one by one and told him how many they needed.

Dozens of households requested a considerable number, but Sanchez gladly gave them out.

Thus, every house attached protective crests to front gates, windows, and back doors.

Sanchez confirmed that every house in his sector had crests, then moved on.

Just then, the front gate of a house he had just passed opened, and a little girl peeked out.

“Father.”

“Hm?”

Sanchez smiled gently, walked over, and the child asked,

“If we do something wrong, will we all get taken away?”

Sanchez shook his head.

“No. We will absolutely prevent that from happening. Have you ever seen the Holy Knight Corps of the Kallios Theocracy lose?”

The child shook her head, and seeing this, Sanchez grinned and continued.

“See? We’ll win. So don’t worry and stay inside.”

The child nodded, and Sanchez ushered her inside and firmly closed the door.

“Lock the door. When everything is over, the bell will ring again. Until then, do not open any door.”

“Okay-”

Only after hearing the child’s reply and the sound of the lock did Sanchez finally move on.

‘What on earth is happening all of a sudden?’

Until this morning everything had been normal, yet an emergency order had suddenly come down from above.

An army of wraiths was marching here, and they had to prepare.

In truth, he knew little about wraiths.

He had never seen one, and their exact effects on the living were not clearly documented.

Even among the priests of the Inquisition, none had seen or encountered wraiths, so for Sanchez, today’s orders felt stranger than ever.

‘Still, it’s a papal decree, so there must be something to it.’

It was an order from the Pope who had led the Theocracy until now.

Pope Lactea would never issue such an order lightly.

‘Anyway, I need to get home quickly.’

Elin, the librarian of the Grand Library, was waiting at his home.

The moment the Inquisition’s order came down, he had gone to Elin first and told her to go home and wait.

As he walked, messages came in from the priests under him.

-Investigator, Sector 1 complete.

-Sector 6 complete.

-Sector 8 is short on crests. What should we do?

“Sector 7 has extras—coordinate with each other.”

-Understood.

Fortunately, everything was finished before he reached home.

The priests had moved with remarkable swiftness.

That very responsiveness was surely what had sustained the Kallios Theocracy until now.

‘Almost there.’

Sanchez attached a protective crest to his front gate, then opened the door and stepped inside.

Elin rushed over and threw her arms around him.

“Why are you so late? I was worried.”

“I just finished carrying out the orders. Did you put up all the crests?”

“A few were missing. That’s why I couldn’t put one on the front gate.”

“I just put one on the front gate.”

“Then put these up too.”

Sanchez followed Elin and attached crests to the back door and the upstairs windows one by one.

After every crest was in place, the two returned to the living room.

Elin sat on the sofa and let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew. I was so nervous earlier because we were short on crests. So, what exactly is happening?”

“An army of wraiths is coming. That’s what I heard.”

“An army of wraiths?”

Elin’s brow furrowed.

Having lived a long life and read countless books in the Grand Library, even she seemed unable to easily accept the phrase “army of wraiths.”

After stroking her chin in thought for a long while, she slowly nodded and spoke.

“Then it makes sense. The protective crests were created precisely to drive away wraiths like that. It was a very long time ago, though.”

“Really?”

Sanchez sat beside her and asked again.

“What exactly are wraiths? Can they affect the living?”

“Wraiths are literally dead souls. In ancient texts, they refer to souls that have not yet been scheduled for reincarnation and wander the world.”

As expected, Elin knew a great deal about wraiths.

Sanchez listened intently, and Elin calmly continued.

“According to the first-generation texts that record the creation, the god Kallios created angels to guide them and had the angels lead the wraiths to the Ethereal Gate. However, the angels rebelled, and because of that, the current spirit realm is said to remain very different from the god’s original plan.”

“Are there documents that describe what form it took?”

“Rare, but yes, there are.”

After recalling for a moment, Elin looked at Sanchez and asked in return,

“But it differs quite a lot from what is taught here in the Theocracy. Still want to hear it?”

Sanchez slowly nodded.

Having already been warned that an army of wraiths was marching, he judged that any information was better than none.

‘I need to know something to respond properly.’

He had never seen or experienced a wraith, so he had no idea how to fight an army of them.

Seeing the look in Sanchez’s eyes, Elin spoke.

“After the rebellion in the Ethereal Realm, it is said that the god Kallios died.”

“That contradicts the official truth, doesn’t it?”

“Of course, the Theocracy teaches that the god suffered grave wounds and was healed here in the Grand Temple. But many historical records from that time state that the god died.”

Sanchez fell silent.

What she had said was undeniably blasphemous here.

Yet raising an objection now would not help.

To hear the rest, he had to accept what Elin had just said as the premise.

Seeing that look in his eyes, Elin calmly continued.

“After the god died, the angels who succeeded in the rebellion seized the artifacts belonging to the Ethereal Realm. Among them, the angel who governed death stole the artifact that could bind dead souls—the ‘Wheel of Eternity’—and from then on began calling himself the Lord of Wraiths and ruling the spirit realm.”

“Wait…”

Sanchez began connecting the information he had just heard from Elin with what he already knew.

‘In the Theocracy’s Bible, it is written that after the god was gravely wounded, the Pope who received divine power healed him, and afterward, on the god’s command, the Ethereal Gate was sealed. Moreover…’

The story of artifacts stolen from the Ethereal Realm matched exactly.

The Bible stated that many artifacts necessary to govern the Ethereal Realm were lost at that time, and to prevent further loss, the god ordered the Gate sealed.

‘It fits together strangely well. The only difference is whether the god died at that time or not.’

Sanchez’s gaze deepened.

Then a sudden question arose.

‘If these records are true, then the wraiths marching here… are they the army of the Lord of Wraiths?’

It was possible.

Above all, he remembered a passage from the Bible that read:

-…The demons who seized the artifacts did not go far. They were too heavy and valuable for them to carry far away. Instead of fleeing with them, the demons chose to cunningly hide from the eyes of the world.

‘It was definitely written that way in Genesis Chapter 12.’

Feeling several convictions settle, Sanchez asked Elin,

“Did the book you read mention where the Lord of Wraiths hid?”

“Of course. Wait a moment.”

Elin closed her eyes and cast a spell.

It was a memory-enhancement spell that all librarians of the Grand Library could use.

With it, even the most distant memory could be recalled as clearly as if it had just happened.

After a moment of recollection, Elin opened her eyes and spoke.

“The Lord of Wraiths hid himself in the spirit realm to escape the eyes of the world. However, the artifact he possessed was among the most powerful even in the Ethereal Realm, making it difficult to conceal completely. Thus, on moonless nights, a purple aura can still be seen rising into the sky. That purple aura sometimes appears even during the day, casting shadows, which is why the nearby people called that place ‘Shadowpeak.’”

Sanchez’s eyes widened.

“Shadowpeak.”

It was not far from here.

If the records were accurate, the Lord of Wraiths would arrive very soon.

‘Is there anything I can do to help? Even just providing support…’

At that moment, Sanchez’s eyes met Elin’s, and he asked her again.

“The true name of the Lord of Wraiths—was that written in the book too?”

“…Penbris. Why?”

“If we know the true name, even Holy Knights can harm demons.”

Elin stared at him with round eyes, then slowly shook her head.

“You shouldn’t. If you go outside, you won’t be safe. As long as the protective crests are up, the wraiths cannot harm us.”

“But there are knights fighting out there. I’ll just go tell them the Lord of Wraiths’ true name and come right back. Then we can win this battle easily.”

Elin tried to stop him, but Sanchez was faster.

He leapt to his feet and grabbed the doorknob.

That very moment.

An unexpected figure stood right in front of him.

A young apprentice priest with a youthful face.

It was Andre.