Who Said A Necromancer Can't Be A Priest?-Chapter 47: Flare (1)

Amara paced back and forth in her room. Across the room, Analeis stood silently with her hands clasped behind her back.

As a maid, she should have offered words of comfort in that instance. But as a warrior, she wasn't trained to comfort others. So she said nothing. Yet she knew why Amara was so restless.

Unlike what Aaran believed, the temple did not stop after attacking him once. Only now, they were more subtle, more careful. In the last five years, Amara and Analeis had protected him from sixteen assassination attempts.

Assassins, spies, even poison plots—they had stopped them all without ever letting Aaran know. They never told him about it to preserve what little normalcy he had in his life.

But now, they weren't there to protect him, and Amara was restless. Her instincts screamed at her that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

While she was worried about her son, the ground shook.

It was faint at first, but then it got stronger. The furniture, windows—everything shook.

"An earthquake?" Amara mumbled.

It was probably the first time she had felt an earthquake in Velrune. Although it wasn't in an earthquake-prone zone, these things could happen.

Meanwhile, Analeis peeked out of the window and saw people rushing out of the dorms. They weren't running in panic but were looking at something in the sky.

"Your Highness, they are looking at something above us," she told Amara.

Amara hurried to the balcony, her hands gripping the stone railing as she followed their gazes. The moment her eyes landed on the sky, all the color drained from her face.

It was the flare.

Aaran was in danger.

Her fingers dug into the metal railing, twisting and reshaping it. It was happening—her fears had come true.

"Damn them and damn their rules!" Amara cursed before jumping off the balcony.

"Analeis!"

"On it, Your Highness!"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Analeis grabbed the weapons and jumped behind her.

***

Igor stared at the flare through his floor-to-ceiling window. He didn't think Aaran would actually use it, but that wasn't the reason he was in a foul mood.

From the distance and the height of the flare, he could roughly deduce Aaran's location. He wasn't anywhere close to where he should have been. He was far too deep into the Dead Forest.

"This brat…"

Just then, the door opened, and Donovan, as composed as ever, entered the room.

"Young Master Aaran appears to be in danger, sir. What are your orders?"

Donovan sounded like he was asking him what to make for dinner and not like someone's life was in danger. Being composed in crisis was one of his many charms.

"Assemble the knights," Igor ordered. "Bring my weapon. We're heading into the forest."

"At once, sir."

***

About fifteen minutes ago, in the Dead Forest.

"Return the giant's corpse at once!" the abbot roared in rage.

"Eh… what are you talking about?" Aaran said, tilting his head in confusion.

The abbot's hands clenched into fists.

"You took it! Give it back!"

"Eh… you want to take a gift back? That's low, even for a demon worshipper. Is your favored demon as stingy as you? Good thing I destroyed the altar. Who'd like a stingy demon?"

"You little—!"

The abbot lunged at Aaran with lightning speed. But before he could reach the boy, Brute stepped in, absorbing the blow. The force sent Brute sliding back, his feet digging into the ground.

The abbot tried backing away, but Brute grabbed his hand, restraining him as Cerbie let out a stream of blue flames. The abbot kicked Brute away and jumped, dodging the flames by a hair's breadth.

However, he found no respite, even in the air.

A shot rang out as the abbot twisted his body midair, trying to dodge, but the bullet struck his shoulder. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the abbot landed on his knees, clutching his burned shoulder.

"You're full of surprises, brat," the abbot said, gritting his teeth. "To think a child would push me to this extent… I can't let you live."

With that, the abbot closed his eyes and began chanting.

"Brute! Cerbie! Don't let him finish!" Aaran ordered.

They didn't need to be told twice. Brute jumped, aiming to crush the abbot. But even with closed eyes, the abbot was aware of his surroundings and evaded the attack.

Cerbie tried to bite him and jumped over him. Everything was happening so quickly that Aaran did not find any opportunity to attack.

"Damn it," Aaran cursed.

There was no other choice. If he couldn't hit him from a distance… he had to get in close. But just as Aaran neared, the abbot's eyes snapped open.

"It's over."

Aaran's eyes widened in horror as a massive magic circle lit up beneath his feet. Brute and Cerbie got caught in it too.

The abbot had prepared the magic circle in advance. The chanting was his way to lure them in. Aaran overlooked the fact and was trapped now.

"Jump!"

Aaran yelled, but before they could do anything, an invisible force pulled them down. Aaran gritted his teeth, barely able to keep his head up.

Brute and Cerbie weren't as lucky. They collapsed onto the ground, their bodies flattened by the overwhelming gravity.

"Gravity manipulation. The greatest magic in my arsenal," the abbot laughed, walking toward Aaran, unaffected by the spell.

Brute struggled to grab the abbot as he walked through, but the gravity crushed any possibility of interference.

The abbot licked his lips, kneeling beside Aaran. He lifted Aaran's chin with a finger, looking into his defiant eyes.

"Such soft skin…" he mumbled. "Ah… I can't wait to have it. ARGH—!"

A sharp pain jolted through the abbot's hand as soon as he touched his face. He looked down, shocked to see his arm turning to ice.

"You thought you were the only one setting traps?" Aaran smiled.

Before the abbot could say anything, the magic circle turned to ice before shattering.

They were free.

The abbot scrambled to his feet, only to be kicked by an invisible force. He crashed into the ground, rolling several times before stopping. He turned to face Aaran, only to see someone he hadn't seen before.

"He can see you?" Aaran asked, noticing the abbot's gaze and shocked expression.

"Barely, but yes," Darius replied. "He is a dark mage, after all."

"You… You tamed a spirit?" the abbot stammered. "With my three-star core, even I couldn't—!"

"Why don't you die first? Then I'll tame your spirit and show you how it's done."