< 55 : The Necromancer King, Arcrosis (2) >
In the northern region of the empire, there was a secret society of black mages who hid themselves from the empire’s oppression.
The name of the secret society was ‘Abyss’.
The members of Abyss were all black mages who had mastered the necromantic magic to a high level.
Black mages were usually difficult to unite, but Abyss was an exception.
The reason why they formed a secret society named Abyss and shared their purpose was only one.
They had the ambition to overthrow the empire with their black magic someday.
“…”
And Kerington, the leader of Abyss, was looking at the meeting room with a serious face.
There were five executives of Abyss in Kerington’s eyes.
They were all fearsome black mages who could handle high-level magic.
However, those beings were now all silent, staring at one place.
The uninvited guest who participated in this meeting was the cause.
The uninvited guest acted as if he owned the place, even though no one here had invited him.
Moreover, none of the officers here expressed any dissatisfaction with the uninvited guest.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
The red gleam in his eyes looked at the black magicians from under his worn hood.
The immortal, who had a gaunt face and a skeletal hand holding a staff.
The king of death, who had never answered anyone’s summons except for the origin of black magic.
The undead king, Arcrosis.
He was a demon who had existed before the black magicians were born, surpassing the lifespan granted to living beings.
He was also a person who had achieved magic that surpassed everyone here combined.
As Arcrosis flashed his eyes and transmitted his will, Kerington, who was facing him, opened his mouth.
“Lord of death. Who among us do you intend to make a contract with?”
Dealing with demons was not something new for Kerington.
Black magicians were more familiar with demons than anyone else on the continent.
Whatever the being in front of him wanted, he would give him a suitable reward if he granted his request.
That was the rule of contract that all demons accepted.
Of course, if he offended the demon’s mind, everyone here could be annihilated.
Kerington asked Arcrosis with a tense face, and Arcrosis slammed his staff on the ground and said.
“If you want, I’ll make a contract with everyone here.”
“A contract with all of us?”
“Someone like you… with so many humans?”
At the words that he would give everyone here a chance, the officers who were listening couldn’t help but marvel.
The opponent was a king of death, different from other demons.
He was a being who could raise tens of thousands of dead and turn the world into a hell.
He decided to make a contract with all the humans here.
There was no more shocking offer for black magicians than this.
As the black magicians in the meeting room reacted to the contract, Arcrosis’s eerie voice continued.
“There’s no reason why I can’t. But there’s one condition for that.”
“What is the condition? Do we have to offer our souls? I’ll bring some humans right away.”
Kerington tried to calm his excited heart and asked Arcrosis.
It was a contract with the king of death himself.
It was the same as the highest honor for a black magician.
It would be strange if there was no condition for such a contract.
He was ready to pay whatever price Arcrosis wanted.
As Kerington asked him expectantly, Arcrosis brought up an unexpected story to them.
“Souls of dozens of humans are trivial to me.”
“Then what do you want…”
“But the great being who looks down on the earth thinks differently about offerings.”
“The being who looks down on the earth… Do you mean the evil god!”
The officers of Abyss were in an uproar at the unexpected mention of the evil god.
They were discussing the contract, and suddenly he brought up the topic of the evil god.
Kerington swallowed his saliva at the situation that was going worse than he thought and looked at him.
“You humans call him so often. He is a being who cherishes even the humans who pray to him.”
“…”
“And it’s all thanks to him that you can make a contract with me.”
“Does that mean…”
“Pray to him every day. And perform the ritual of offering to him regularly.”
The contract condition that the king of death, Arcrosis, proposed to them.
It was to pray to the evil god every day.
It meant that only those who sincerely served the evil god could make a contract with the king of death.
The officers of Abyss looked at each other’s faces once after hearing Arcrosis’s words.
They seemed to have their own thoughts.
Edella, the only woman among the officers of Abyss, looked at Kerington, their leader, and asked him.
“It sounds like he wants us to become his followers.”
“Edella. It’s just a matter of having one more god to worship. Where can you find such an easy condition?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“It’s a chance to make a contract with the king of death! I would even offer him my soul if I could!”
Edella, who had a nervous expression on her face, reluctantly nodded at Kerington’s words.
Everyone here knew how important the king of death was.
After the origin of black magic disappeared, how many people had tried to summon the king of death?
And now, the king of death suddenly appeared before them.
Even if their faith in the evil god was not in vain, most of the officers sitting here were willing to pay the price.
All the officers, including Edella, nodded their heads, and Kerington’s eyes turned back to Arcrosis.
And then he spoke his opinion to Arcrosis in a serious voice.
“We have all decided to serve the great one.”
“Is there no falsehood in your heart? Do you truly believe and follow the great one?”
“Of course!”
“False faith will lead you to ruin.”
“My heart is sincere for the great one. As long as you are with us, our hearts are also his.”
Arcrosis smiled at Kerington’s words.
He had no lips to curl up, but still everyone here felt his smile.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Arcrosis’s staff hit the floor of the meeting room several times.
As his eyes flashed and his staff hit the floor, a bleak voice echoed in the meeting room.
“Then I will make a contract with you.”
“From today on, your hearts will stop beating, and only my magic will keep you alive forever.”
As soon as Arcrosis’s words ended, all the officers in the meeting room collapsed on their seats.
Thump.
Kerington’s neck twitched as he bowed his head.
His heart stopped completely, and death magic took its place.
Even though their hearts had stopped, the blood color of the fallen black magicians did not change.
Rather, they began to regain consciousness one by one and lifted their heads.
The black magicians who got up from their seats looked at each other with surprised eyes.
The curse of immortality that guaranteed eternal life to the living.
That was the identity of the curse that the king of death, Arcrosis, had cast on them.
***
“Archbishop. What is that snake on your shoulder…?”
In the meeting room that was set up temporarily in the barracks, an officer of the church asked him, looking at Roan.
It was because Roan had brought a strange snake into the tent prepared for the meeting.
On Roan’s shoulder, there was a sleek snake with black scales.
The scales that wrapped around the snake were smooth and graceful, but unlike other snakes, they had a strange texture.
It looked ominous on the outside.
Roan smiled as he recalled the identity of the snake on his shoulder, answering the question about it.
“It is a guardian beast that the great one has bestowed upon us.”
“The church’s guardian beast…!”
“That little snake is the church’s guardian beast?”
The officers of the church asked him in surprise at Roan’s voice.
The great one had personally sent a guardian beast for the church.
It was an inestimable grace for the believers who served God.
Of course, Roan, who had met the guardian beast, also thought so.
Sssss.
He stroked the head of the snake that flicked its tongue and introduced the church’s guardian beast to them.
“Say hello to everyone. His name is Beta.”
Shadow beast Beta.
That was the identity of the guardian beast that came down to the church.
He looked like nothing more than a small snake on the outside, but no one would say that if they faced his true form.
The shape of a huge snake that wriggled and moved in the dark shadows.
That was the dreadful true form of the shadow beast Beta.
As Roan called Beta’s name, Beta revealed his head from the shadows and flicked his tongue.
“Th-that is…!”
“That is the guardian beast that the great one has sent…!”
“…It looks like a giant snake.”
All the believers who saw the true form of the shadow beast marveled at it.
The shadow snake that showed its head from the darkness was beautiful enough to awe anyone who saw it.
A great guardian beast that hid in the shadows and protected the believers of the church.
No one here could doubt his majestic appearance.
A believer who met his golden eyes shining in the shadows clapped his hands and said to Roan.
“What a magnificent sight. That’s amazing.”
“I agree. Beta. You can go back in now.”
Sssss.
At Roan’s gesture, Beta tucked his head back into the shadows.
Maybe it was because everyone here had witnessed his strange spectacle.
Everyone seemed more excited than before the meeting started.
After confirming that Beta had completely disappeared into the shadows, Roan looked around and began the meeting.
“Well, that’s enough introduction for Beta. Let’s all be grateful for the grace of the great one who gave us the guardian beast.”
“Yes, Archbishop.”
“Then I’ll talk about the reason why I called you all here today.”
“Yes.”
“Apart from the restoration project that is currently underway in the church, we will separately mobilize some people for the next operation.”
They would launch a new operation with the church’s personnel.
One of the believers swallowed his saliva at Roan’s words.
There was only one operation among the huge ones that the church had planned that required new personnel.
He tensed up as he recalled the contents of the operation in his head and asked Roan.
“Do you mean… that operation is starting?”
“Of course. We can’t just sit still after what happened to us.”
“…”
“How do you think the great one sent us a guardian beast himself? I have no face to look up at the sky these days.”
Roan looked at the church members who had changed their expressions to awkward ones.
The church headquarters raid by Cloud for Agent Period.
The church suffered a severe human loss from this incident.
Many of the believers who followed the church lost their lives to Cloud.
In the end, their master intervened and slaughtered all the enemies, including the agent, but it was a very shameful situation for Roan, who had not fulfilled his duty.
He had no face to look up at the sky, and that was not an empty word.
“That’s why I’m going to make sure that such a mishap never happens again.”
“Huh.”
“We have to make them pay for it, too, but we have something to deal with first.”
“…Yes.”
“What we’re going to start from now on is one thing. The great operation that we planned for the longest and prepared for the biggest.”
The biggest operation that Roan had been preparing for since he became an archbishop.
The most troublesome operation was to keep an apostle with him just for this.
More than anything, it was one of the processes that the church had to go through at least once to expand its power actively.
Roan spread his arms wide and looked at them.
And then he declared his grand intention to the officers here.
“It’s to take over the Count’s territory!”
The succession war of the Count’s family led by Rex Meyer.
It was time to put an end to this long story.
