Necromancer Of The Black Bible (84)

Ragnell dismounted at once.

Without hesitation he approached and knelt on one knee.

“I greet the High Priest.”

“No need for formalities. The situation is urgent.”

Raiernov glanced behind him, then looked down at Ragnell.

He studied Ragnell’s eyes intently and continued.

“You can see wraiths with those white eyes?”

“Yes.”

When Ragnell nodded, Raiernov looked around once more and spoke again.

“Then you must be able to see them.”

Ragnell took a deep breath and nodded.

Raiernov gave a faint smile and muttered.

“The Pope sent the right man.”

“I will hold this place. Please retreat-”

“Wait.”

Raiernov knelt on one knee, looked straight into Ragnell’s eyes, and spoke.

“I will give the orders. Your task is to drive the stake here.”

He marked an X on the ground and looked at Ragnell.

At that moment, the stake at Ragnell’s waist glowed faintly yellow.

Seeing this, Raiernov spoke.

“Your subordinates are carrying out their duties diligently.”

It was astonishing.

Raiernov seemed intimately familiar with the stakes.

Not only did he know that driving them in would create the barrier, but also that each stake driven elsewhere would cause the remaining ones to glow.

Even for a high priest, knowing an artifact fresh from the sealed vault in such detail was extraordinary.

“High priests have access to the sealed vault. And the Apostle’s Barrier is the artifact responsible for the Theocracy’s defense in emergencies. It is unusual for an inquisitor like you to know of it, but every priest of the Grand Temple is fully aware. So… drop the suspicion, Ragnell.”

Ragnell snapped back to attention.

His inquisitorial habit of suspicion had made him doubt even a high priest.

He bowed deeply and spoke.

“My apologies.”

“Enough of that. The enemy is here.”

Raiernov was not wrong.

There was no time for this.

Ragnell drew the stake from his belt.

Inquisitors needed no hammer; all who fought heretics were granted the Power of Steel Body.

As Ragnell clenched his fist, a faint silver light shimmered around it.

He struck downward with all his might.

CLANG—

With a sharp metallic ring, the stake drove into the earth.

CLANG—, CLANG—, CLANG—

Three strikes were all it took. The stake was fully buried, and the barrier formed.

WHOOM—

A thick, transparent golden barrier of light.

Confirming it, Raiernov stood just outside the barrier, closed his eyes, and murmured.

Moments later he opened his eyes and tapped his staff twice on the ground; a blue barrier overlaid the golden one.

‘What in the world…?’

To Ragnell, it was truly astonishing.

In over ten years as a High Inquisitor, he had never seen or heard of a single priest creating a barrier capable of overlaying the Apostle’s Barrier.

While Ragnell stared blankly at the barriers, Raiernov spoke.

“This barrier will not break easily. Still, we must prepare for the worst. Gather your men here.”

Snapping out of it, Ragnell replied.

“Y-yes? The enemy may not come here.”

He meant it sincerely, but Raiernov shook his head.

He looked into Ragnell’s white eyes and continued.

“The wraiths will come here.”

“…May I ask why you believe that?”

It could have sounded rude, but Raiernov answered readily.

“Because I am their target.”

With that, Raiernov turned away.

He calmly walked to the front of his carriage.

At that moment, something appeared in Ragnell’s white eyes.

The distant scenery warped, revealing grotesque shapes.

‘Wraiths!’

He had not seen them often, but he was certain.

Forms that were neither human nor demon—nothing at all.

They slowly encroached upon his vision.

Even with the barrier active, he could not relax.

‘Lord Raiernov…!’

Ragnell raised the flare toward the opposite sky and fired it.

A clear signal tone rang out as a white flame shot high inside the barrier.

His men could not miss this.

They would rush here now.

Having done his part, Ragnell stepped back and looked at Raiernov.

Strengthening his Detection, the shapes ahead became much clearer.

Hundreds of spirits surrounding Raiernov and his maid.

And an army of thousands—no, tens of thousands—of wraiths advancing toward them.

The wraiths looked grotesque.

Even stranger, every one wore iron collars around their necks.

‘Can Lord Raiernov truly repel them?’

Though wraiths could not physically touch or strike, they could gravely affect the minds of the living.

Possession by a malicious wraith could cause inexplicable illness; one must never face them unprotected.

‘And with a horde that size… anything could happen.’

He had only learned today that wraiths could form armies at all.

What power could a mass of wraiths that dense possibly wield?

His curiosity was soon answered.

As the wraiths approached, the nearby bushes withered and died.

Vibrant green leaves turned yellow and fell in an instant; sturdy trunks shriveled and twisted.

That was not all.

A thick darkness followed behind them.

The sun still hung in the west, yet the opposite sky was darkening. Crimson mist swirled with it.

Ragnell’s hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

He was almost certain.

The wraith army would swallow Raiernov, his maid, and the hundreds of spirits in an instant, then surge into the Theocracy.

Even with double barriers, they would break—it was only a matter of time.

The final line of defense would be Ragnell and his men.

Ragnell gripped his black-iron battle axe tightly.

‘How many can I take down with this? Ten? Twenty?’

Fear crept into his heart—this was his first time facing anything like it.

Then an unexpected voice rang out.

[Do not be nervous. The battle is only just beginning.]

It was unmistakably Raiernov’s voice.

Somehow he was speaking from afar, just as the Pope once had to Ragnell.

[I repeat: do not leave the barrier. And whatever you see, it would be best to forget.]

Looking ahead, Raiernov was gazing toward him.

After meeting Ragnell’s eyes once, he stepped forward alone toward the wraiths that had reached him.

And in that instant, the staff in Raiernov’s hand transformed.

‘That’s… a scythe?’

It was indeed a scythe.

An enormous one.

Raiernov swung it lightly sideways, and in that moment hundreds of triumphant wraiths vanished in a single stroke.

SWISH—

WHOOSH, SWISH—

Was it because I had trained with it?

The Soul Harvester felt remarkably light.

And the more I swung, the faster it seemed to accelerate.

[Its power is considerable.]

Equinox’s brief comment.

I agree.

I hadn’t expected it to be this effective.

With each swing, the scythe released a wave twice the length of its blade, and any wraith touched by it was mercilessly sucked in.

None could resist.

Where they vanished, only large and small orbs rained down.

For a single Soul Harvester to be this powerful…

Given enough time, it felt like it could absorb every spirit in the world.

WHOOM—

On my fifth swing, Nocturne’s voice rang out.

Master, something’s wrong with this thing.

[Wrong?]

It seems to be because it’s devouring powerful wraiths like crazy.

The moment Nocturne finished, the Soul Harvester in my hand began to tremble violently.

But only for a moment.

KYAAAAAAAA—!!!!

A piercing scream erupted from it.

The sudden deafening shriek sent every nearby spirit and wraith flying in all directions.

Even Natasha, who had been gathering orbs into a basket, clutched her ears and collapsed.

Yet it barely affected me.

It was undeniably sharp and loud, but not painful to hear.

Just a little noisy?

Then Equinox spoke.

[With the activation of Master’s fifth Mana Ring, your senses have automatically gained a defensive mechanism. It now blocks external attacks on its own. This grants resistance to mental attacks and illusion magic.]

I smiled in satisfaction and looked at the Soul Harvester wailing in my hand.

Its cry was devastating the surroundings.

At the same time, it was absorbing every nearby wraith with terrifying force, like a vortex.

The blade glowed with an ominous light.

Normally pitch black, it was now streaked with purple and crimson.

Even the orbs embedded in the blade shone in unusual colors.

Nocturne’s urgent voice rang out.

This thing… it’s going berserk. I’m trying to stop it…

[Do not stop it.]

I commanded instinctively.

[An opportunity to absorb this many wraiths has never existed before and never will again. Let it be.]

But Master, if it truly goes berserk, it could harm you…

[It’s not going berserk. It’s trying to evolve.]

Evolution.

An apt description.

It was evolving.

With the energy absorbed in mere moments, it was raising itself to a higher existence.

This phenomenon was necessary not only for the Soul Harvester, but for me as well.

The enemy was vast, and my power still small.

‘It would be perfect if the Soul Harvester grows as much as I hope here.’

As if hearing my thoughts,

the Soul Harvester let out another massive scream—and began to change.

RRRIP—

Its outer shell tore open.

Like a giant beast bursting from its womb, it shed its old form and revealed a new scythe.

The handle grew thicker and longer; the blade tripled in size and sharpness.

The newly reborn Soul Harvester instantly absorbed its shed husk.

Then it wrapped me in a gentle aura—and began moving on its own.

Master! I can’t control it anymore!

Nocturne screamed, but I felt no danger.

Instead, exhilaration surged through me.

Was this the smile of a child tasting the world for the first time?

The Soul Harvester laughed like a child—and began devouring everything it desired without end.