Who Said A Necromancer Can't Be A Priest?-Chapter 55: Necromancer

Aaran didn't care about questioning the people. He just wanted to gather everyone in one place. If it was the work of a cultist, Aaran would find them.

Only if they were still in town.

"What do you think about this situation?" Aaran asked Valgo. "Anything you might want to share?"

"Your Highness… I think this might be the work of a cultist."

As soon as Valgo said that, the other knights rolled their eyes

"What makes you say that?" Aaran asked, but another knight interrupted him.

"Don't listen to him, Your Highness. We called a priest, and he didn't find any trace of darkness in the city—"

"Except for the corpse," Valgo interrupted. "As you saw, something was clearly wrong with it."

Aaran nodded. He was sure a cultist was behind the attack. But the priest didn't find any darkness? That was strange. Even without manifesting his core, Aaran could feel the darkness surrounding the castle.

Something is off about this priest.

"Where is the priest?" he asked.

"He left the same day. We escorted him ourselves."

Aaran wanted to smack the guy for boasting about it. The one they helped wasn't a priest, but Aaran wanted to let them figure it out themselves.

"Which god did he serve?"

The knights hesitated. They tried recalling, but they couldn't remember a thing. That was the first red flag.

In any ritual, saying a god's name was necessary. The priests would do it, but the cultists couldn't. After all, calling a god's name was a way to conjure divinity, which was poison to the cultists.

Everyone knew this, but it seemed the knights hadn't noticed. Either that or something had messed with their senses. Aaran believed it was the latter.

"Damn it!" Valgo cursed, clenching his teeth.

The knights couldn't believe they had been fooled. Not only had the cultists killed the king, but they had also tricked the knights into helping them reach the magic circle.

The killer had left Brineport.

The case was solved.

Or was it?

Aaran had a feeling the cultist was still in Brineport. Killing the king wasn't their actual goal. If anything, it seemed like bait to lure someone in.

Could it be the Emperor? The knights had gone to him first, so it was possible. But Emperor Trantua wouldn't leave the capital for something like this.

Then… was it me?

[You? Boy, I doubt anyone even knows you exist.]

Thanks for the reality check.

[Always happy to help.]

Despite the sarcasm, Dread was right. Other than his family, only the Emperor and Donovan knew about his dealing with darkness. And neither of them would reveal his identity.

As for the cultists he saw in the Dead Forest, they were already dead. So it couldn't be them either. There was only one way to get the answer.

I'll lure them out. Then I'll get my answers.

But for his plan to work, he first had to get rid of the knights watching him like hawks.

"This will take a while," Aaran muttered. "We should start questioning the people as soon as possible."

The knights looked at each other. It wasn't that they hadn't thought about questioning the citizens. They just hadn't done it because it was impossible.

Brineport had thousands of people. It would take months to question all of them. They didn't have that much time or resources for just one case. That's why they had gone to the Emperor in the first place.

Aaran could tell what they were thinking. But he didn't have time to waste.

"Don't worry about wasting time. Just do it," he said, his eyes glowing. "I'll solve the case before you know it."

The knights relaxed and quickly followed his orders. Aaran felt a little guilty for using hypnosis on them, but he had no choice. He wanted to finish this trial as soon as possible.

"Now, for the disguise…"

***

Back in Velrune.

A single candle flickered in the dim room. A girl lay on the bed, sleeping peacefully. From her calm face, no one would have guessed she was fighting for her life. Only the man sitting beside her knew the truth.

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"…How long do you plan to sleep?"

The Emperor watched the girl, lost in thought. As the wind blew, he gently brushed a few strands of hair from her face. The girl smiled, sensing his touch.

Just then, the door creaked open, and Donovan peeked inside.

"Your Majesty, it's getting late."

The Emperor looked at the child one last time, then patted her head before standing up. Donovan followed him as they left the room, closing the door behind them.

They walked in silence for a while until Donovan spoke.

"Your Majesty, about the third trial—"

"Hm?" Trantua asked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Your Majesty, don't you think the third trial is too much for the young prince?"

"The sooner Aaran gets stronger, the better it will be for all of us," he replied. "But if he can't… at least the temple will be happy."

Donovan hesitated. He wasn't worried about Aaran himself but about the imperial family. The words he was about to say might anger the Emperor, but he had to say them… just in case.

"What if he becomes too strong?"

The Emperor stopped walking. He turned his head slightly, looking up at the moon.

That thought had crossed his mind before. He knew Aaran had a lot of potential. But he also knew Aaran's weaknesses.

"If that happens, then I hope… he knows his place," the Emperor murmured. "For his sake."

***

A few hours later.

Five tables were lined up in the castle's great hall. Hundreds of people had lined up before each table while thousands waited around for their turn to be interrogated by the knights.

People looked tired, and some were annoyed by the situation. But all that changed when, suddenly, all the lamps went out, covering the hall in darkness.

The knights stood up, hands on their weapons. But they weren't worried about the people—they were more concerned about Aaran.

"I'll take His Highness away," Valgo whispered. "Make sure no one else leaves."

"Got it!"

"Your Highness, let's go—!"

Valgo reached out to grab Aaran's hand—but Aaran wasn't there.

"Nobody moves—!"

Before Valgo could finish speaking, the large doors of the hall burst open. In the moonlight, a tall figure staggered inside, swaying like a drunk man.

People panicked. Some tried to run outside, but the doors slammed shut. No one could leave. The knights quickly raised their swords, ready to attack.

"Who are you?" Valgo demanded.

"Me?" the man said in a rough voice. "The name's Bob… Bob the Necromancer."

"…"

Valgo remained silent, not knowing whether he should laugh or cry.