Who Said A Necromancer Can't Be A Priest?-Chapter 49: The Gathering Storm (1)

Dust and dirt shot up as boots pounded on the forest floor. The trees blurred past the knights as they ran through the Dead Forest.

"We're close! The flare was fired from the clearing just ahead!" a knight announced.

"Maintain formation. Be ready for anything," Igor instructed the knights before turning toward the woman running alongside him.

"You should stay back, Your Highness. We can deal with them," he said.

There was no response.

Igor sighed. He should've known better than to expect them to listen.

When he and the knights had met them near the entrance of the forest, they had stubbornly refused to turn away. No matter what he said, they wouldn't take no for an answer, forcing him to bring them along.

Stubbornness runs in the family, Igor thought, remembering Aaran. However, his thoughts were interrupted when he sensed a disgusting aura up ahead. The closer they got, the more unbearable it became.

"How did this much darkness go unnoticed for so long?" one knight mumbled.

No one had an answer. Even though the forest was filled with monsters, once in a while, a group of knights would venture inside and look for oddities. That's why it was surprising that so much darkness had gone unnoticed until then.

Most knights hadn't lived through the tumultuous era when demons dominated the world. Hence, they didn't know what or who could have such vast darkness.

As for Amara and Igor, they already knew what was going on.

Someone was trying to summon a demon there.

As they entered the clearing, Igor expected to see an altar. Instead, he saw a man holding Aaran by the neck. Aaran struggled in his grasp, firing mana blasts at his attacker, but all in vain.

"You should've left when you had the chance, brat. But no! You had to destroy the altar and fire that flare," the man snarled, choking harder. "And now, you'll die because of your bravery—"

The next moment, the man's hand, still wrapped around Aaran's throat, was severed from his body. Not satisfied with that, Analeis kicked the man toward the knights. They could deal with him.

Amara caught Aaran before he hit the ground, cradling him as he heaved. Aaran pointed at the man with his trembling hand.

"Cultist…" he mumbled before falling unconscious.

"Surround him!" Igor barked.

The knights wasted no time and surrounded the man, their swords ready to chop him into pieces.

Igor scanned the clearing, quickly noticing the strange markings on the ground.

As I thought. A summoning ritual was underway here.

He still found it hard to believe Aaran had destroyed an altar. But he heard it himself—the man mentioned it was the boy's doing.

Just what kind of creature are you, brat?

Igor shook his head. He could interrogate the cultist for the details later. For now, there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Restrain the demon worshipper. We'll interrogate him—"

The man suddenly let out a deep, guttural laugh. Igor turned to look at him. Something was off.

"Grab him!"

Igor yelled, but before anyone could react, the cultist bit down on his own tongue. Blood spurted from his mouth as he collapsed to the ground.

The knights stood frozen in shock. Not at what had happened, but at their inability to stop it.

"…Tch, damnit!"

Igor clicked his tongue. Capturing the cultist alive would have helped them find out more about them. But that chance slipped away from their hands.

"Seal this place off and contact the temple," Igor instructed the guards, gazing at Aaran.

***

[Wake up already, boy.]

Dread's voice woke him up. Aaran's eyes fluttered open, yet they felt heavy. He could only open them halfway. The familiar scent of antiseptic and medicine filled his nose.

Slowly, he regained the sensation in his fingers and noticed the IV attached to his hand. He had always felt strange seeing such medical equipment in a world of magic.

But an even stranger thing was Analeis sleeping in the chair next to him.

Aaran expected to see his mother there. But it was good she wasn't. He wanted some time to himself, and Amara would have coddled him to death if she saw him awake.

It's not like I can keep her away for long.

[I must say, your acting was convincing. Especially the fainting part.]

It wasn't intentional.

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[…?]

Aaran kept forgetting he was only nine. He couldn't spend the entire night awake, especially after all the powers he had gained and used. His body was bound to get tired. It just so happened that he passed out in his mother's arms.

He turned his head, looking out the window and noticing it was still dark.

How long was I out for?

[Three days.]

If Aaran could move, he'd have sat right up after hearing that. At most, he expected to be out for a day, not more than that.

I guess I overestimated myself.

"Little liege!" Darius yelled, entering through the window. "I'm glad you're awake."

[It's no thanks to you.]

"Shut it, ape," Darius retorted, turning back to Aaran. "Everything has been sorted out. All according to my plan!"

Aaran's lips curved a little. He didn't want to admit it, but Darius's plan had worked. After the abbot's death, he took control of the corpse and staged a scene to fool Igor and the rest.

At first, Aaran was skeptical if it'd work, but it looked like it did. Now, his interrogation was the only thing left before closing this chapter for good.

What about your body, Dread?

[…We'll have to talk to the backstabber to lift the curse.]

That's not the only issue, is it?

If Lucien had put a curse on Dread's body, then it was likely he already knew Dread had gotten his corpse.

It's been three days… He's already here, isn't he?

[Yes.]

Aaran sighed. Things kept getting complicated. First, there'd be Igor's interrogation, and then Lucien's. Even as a child, Aaran couldn't catch a breather.

But that wasn't all.

This time, he was involved in a much bigger mess. Depending on Igor's interrogation, even the Emperor might get involved, and he was one person Aaran did not want to meet.

He'd see right through me.

Little did he know, someone worse than the Emperor was eagerly waiting to meet him.