Category: This Necromancer Wants to Capture the Hearts of Deceased Beautiful Girls

Chapter 10: This Saint is Obviously Super Strong But Excessively Timid

Under Flora’s holy light, not only did the zombies on the ground turn to ash and their souls find peace, but even the dust in the house was cleansed. The golden light lingered even after Flora stopped casting the spell, illuminating the unlit hall. A faint sound of hymns echoed in their ears. All that remained on the ground were the armor and clothes the mercenaries had worn and Leiner’s shredded corpse—even the corpse had been purified by the powerful holy light, with all traces of blood and fear-induced filth gone.

Flora looked at her hands in astonishment. She had thought that she could no longer use Divine Arts after becoming undead—and that was usually the case. Divine Arts, regardless of their nature, were highly damaging to the undead. When it came to dealing with naturally occurring undead and eliminating necromancers, the priests in the Church who could use Divine Arts always prided themselves on being a professional team. The reason was simple: they just had to cast any Divine Art on the undead, and the undead would naturally be harmed. Higher-level undead were simply more resilient.

In gaming terms, Divine Arts dealt true damage to the undead, which couldn’t be mitigated.

However, this ironclad rule, recognized by the Church and everyone else, was broken by Abyss.

Looking at the smile on Abyss’s face, Flora quickly asked, “Why am I not harmed? Why is your necromancy different from that of ordinary necromancers?”

“It’s easy to understand once you figure out the principle of how Divine Arts harm the undead,” Abyss said, poking Flora’s palm where she had just released the holy light. “Divine Arts are channeled through prayer to guide the power of the gods into magical effects. Their essence is the power of the world’s origin. Ordinary undead, on the other hand, are the deceased who shouldn’t have been resurrected, existences that violate the rules of the world. When they come into contact with the power of the origin, they are automatically corrected by that power, hence the unavoidable damage.”

“So, am I not violating the rules of the world?” Flora asked, puzzled. “I’m also undead. My heart isn’t beating, and my blood isn’t flowing, but I can still move freely.”

“I used the power of the world’s origin to awaken you,” Abyss said, spreading his hands. “The world’s origin won’t correct its own creation, which means I exploited a loophole.”

“You know Divine Arts too?” Flora looked at Abyss in shock.

“I chatted with the soul of a Divine Arts user from the Church. He taught me everything he knew. With his knowledge, I accidentally stumbled into the realm of the gods and took a stroll around the Divine Realm,” Abyss said casually, as if he had just spent a day in a nearby garden.

Flora found it hard to believe, but she said with anticipation, “Then can you tell me about the nine deities? I’m very curious!” After witnessing so many impossible things, Flora had developed an instinctive trust in Abyss’s ability to create miracles. This single day had been more eventful and exciting than a year of her previous life.

“They’re actually just workers, like the cleaning staff in a tavern,” Abyss said. “If you’re interested, I’ll tell you more on the way. For now, why don’t you use some other Divine Arts? You seemed happy when you used Divine Arts earlier, and I’d like to see for myself how strong the legendary Saint Flora really is.”

Despite his calm demeanor, Abyss was still intensely interested in Flora’s abilities. His necromancy was powerful, but Flora’s Divine Arts were not far behind.

The Holy Light spell Flora had just used was only the most basic one. When used by an ordinary Divine Arts user, it would at most sting the enemy’s eyes, with a light source about the size of a rugby ball. But Flora’s spell had cleansed the entire house. Abyss had peeked out the windows, and the previously grimy windows were now sparkling clean. This astonishing effect went far beyond practicality.

Flora nodded and began chanting another melodious prayer. It was a language with intricate pronunciation and a pleasant melody, specifically used for praying for Divine Arts. It was said to have been passed down from the first human who communicated with the gods in ancient times. It was very difficult to learn, and only priests and other high-ranking clergy in the Church were qualified to study it.

Her entire body emitted a dazzling golden glow, and an invisible wave erupted from her, sweeping across everything nearby at an incredible speed.

“Ah!” Flora was startled by her own display. “I just wanted to use a small-scale Divine Art…”

“Congratulations, the radius of your Divine Art just now was at least one hundred kilometers,” Abyss said, clapping lightly. “Was that the basic Tranquility spell? Based on what I felt, the residents of nearby villages and cities probably won’t have nightmares for a few months. Public order in the city will be much better.”

“You felt it?” Flora’s face flushed slightly. She wondered why she could still blush even though her blood wasn’t flowing. “I saw that you were very angry just now, so I wanted to use the Tranquility spell to make you feel better.”

“Your concern alone is enough to calm me down. I’m as peaceful as a rock troll’s skull now,” Abyss laughed and couldn’t help but reach out and stroke Flora’s hair.

Flora instinctively wanted to stop him, but she didn’t dislike the feeling of his soft, slightly cool fingers running through her hair.

“I haven’t used Divine Arts for too long. I can’t quite control the scale now,” Flora said sheepishly. “I got a bit carried away just now.”

“Feel free to get carried away in front of me,” Abyss said, walking over to Leiner’s corpse and bending down to pick up a severed hand that had been cleansed by the Holy Light spell. “I’ve read your story. You were chosen as a Saint candidate at the age of three, entered the Church for education, assumed the position at twelve, and died at seventeen—in other words, you probably didn’t have much freedom in your childhood and youth, right?”

“Eh? Yes… that’s right…”

“Now you’re not the Saint of the Church anymore. You’re my Flora, my follower,” Abyss said, holding the severed hand and giving it a charcoal pencil. He then took out the previous request notice from his pocket, and the severed hand automatically signed its name on the notice. “So you’re free. You can be willful, you can act spoiled in front of me. You have the right, and the power, to fulfill your own wishes.”

“Ah… really…”

“I have no reason to lie to you,” Abyss turned back and smiled at Flora. “But, speaking of which, can your Divine Arts conjure up an inkpad? I want Leiner’s hand to stamp his fingerprint on the request notice so I can collect the reward from the guild.”

“N… no…” Flora was completely bewildered by the sudden change of topic.

Chapter 9: The Necromancer’s Creed

“Creed One: I am the guardian of life and death, upholding the dignity of both the living and the dead;
Creed Two: I am the balance of life and death, safeguarding the equilibrium between the living and the dead;
Creed Three: I am the messenger of life and death, listening to the will of both the living and the dead;
Creed Four: I am the chronicler of life and death, writing the stories of both the living and the dead.”

Leiner recited these simple phrases, but even these basic tenets were incredibly difficult for him to utter. It wasn’t that he didn’t remember them, but rather that he lacked the courage to speak them.

“You remember them quite well, not a single word wrong. It seems you learned well during your apprenticeship,” Abyss said, closing his eyes with a satisfied expression. “Oh right, the second creed, the second creed, I seem to have forgotten the specific explanation. Could you please explain it?”

Leiner swallowed hard. “Necromancers… cannot… cannot kill unwilling living beings for their own selfish desires and turn them into undead. They cannot command the undead to slaughter the living for their own selfish desires.”

“You remember it very clearly!” Abyss suddenly opened his eyes, grabbed Leiner’s collar again, lifted his upper body, and shook him violently, roaring in anger. “You set traps, deceive the living, and then torture and kill them! You turn them into short-term zombies that eventually rot in the wilderness, uncared for! You command them to attack the living! This is the creed you recite? Damn beast, what have you learned?!”

“I had my reasons…”

“You were only driven by your own desires!!”

“Wake up! Necromancers are not what they used to be!” Leiner seemed to snap, shouting hysterically. “Which necromancer still abides by those four outdated tenets nowadays? Whether it’s wild mages of the necromantic school or Supreme Necromancers of the Council of the Dead, no one follows them anymore! They’re obsolete! The power of necromancy is not for serving the world, but for satisfying oneself! My lord! Times have changed! You’re not a god, you have no right to control other necromancers!”

“Argh!!” Abyss slammed Leiner onto the ground. He trembled all over, his turquoise eyes shining brightly in the darkness, beautiful yet extremely dangerous.

Flora was stunned. From the moment she first met Abyss, he had always been calm and collected, with a touch of humor, even a bit cute for a man. She never expected him to be so enraged in front of a scoundrel who was completely helpless, nor did she expect him to have such a fiery temper.

She recalled how Abyss treated her after her resurrection—although he was a bit too familiar and close, he never forced her to do anything and always respected her will. He summoned an undead warhorse that obeyed his commands unconditionally, but he treated it like an ordinary horse, even praising it occasionally. Earlier that day, at the guild, he didn’t kill the obnoxious and complicit apprentice. It seemed he was truly living by those tenets.

Flora had only known Abyss for a little over a day since her awakening. She didn’t fully understand him, nor did she know how he would react in other situations, but she could clearly sense his current emotions: it wasn’t just anger, but more of a frustration. He was hating himself for having the power of necromancy but being unable to save those hearts that had already started to rot before they stopped beating, unable to awaken those precious tenets that had died in those people’s hearts.

She slowly walked over and took Abyss’s hand.

“You can do it,” she said softly in Abyss’s ear.

The trembling in Abyss’s body suddenly stopped, and his erratic breathing gradually calmed down. He turned to Flora in surprise. The girl was looking at him with gentle, watery eyes, her lips pursed, her expression sincere and resolute.

She was a Saint of the Church, a genius Divine Arts user who looked down upon the world. It was impossible for her to trust a necromancer who used evil magic within a day, nor was it her responsibility to understand the obsession of a young man who dealt with the dead all the time—but she still did.

Abyss suddenly realized he wasn’t angry anymore.

“I won’t kill you,” Abyss said calmly, “but I will set your undead free.”

“Free? Free?” Leiner lay on the ground, his scalp bleeding from the fall, black blood oozing from the back of his head. He asked Abyss with a crazed smile, “What is freedom? What freedom do the weak have?”

“Being able to fulfill one’s own wishes is freedom,” Abyss said, looking at him coldly, and then snapped his fingers.

As soon as he snapped his fingers, the kneeling zombies raised their heads as if remembering something. A glimmer of emotion appeared in their previously vacant eyes. They looked around the room with a sluggish gaze, then focused their attention on Leiner lying on the ground. They groaned softly and stood up.

Leiner looked in terror at the zombies slowly surrounding him, hatred in their eyes. He tried to grab Abyss’s leg, but Abyss easily dodged him.

“Roar!” The zombies roared in unison and lunged at Leiner, who was wailing in despair. The female elf zombie on the second floor even jumped down, pouncing on Leiner and biting his throat.

Leiner couldn’t even scream before he was torn to shreds by the mercenaries he had killed. A wisp of a soul, muttering silent curses, drifted from his body, but Abyss caught it with his hand and absorbed it into one of his rings.

After venting their anger, the zombies, no longer clumsy, lined up in front of Abyss and knelt in unison. This time, there was no fear in their kneeling, only a sense of respect emanating from these fading undead. Flora, holding Abyss’s hand and standing beside him, could feel their gratitude towards Abyss and the relief of having avenged themselves.

“Flora, your work begins,” Abyss said. “The undead have fulfilled their wishes. You need to summon holy light to dissolve their immortal bodies and let their souls rest in peace.”

“I can’t use holy light anymore. That’s Divine Arts…” Flora shook her head hastily.

“Who says you can’t use Divine Arts?” Abyss shrugged. “You don’t really think you’re one of those low-level undead who fear holy light, do you?”

“Eh?” Flora’s eyes widened in surprise. She then tentatively extended her hand towards the solemnly kneeling zombies and chanted a melodious prayer.

Her palm seemed to bloom like a sun, emitting a blinding golden light that instantly illuminated the entire house, vaporizing the dust and cobwebs. A heartwarming feeling touched Flora’s soul, filling her with astonishment. The zombies raised their heads, joy on their faces. Their bodies quickly dissolved into ashes under the powerful Divine Arts released by Flora. Countless golden specks of light drifted from the ashes and vanished into the air.

“Welcome back, Saint Flora,” Abyss said, winking at Flora. “Now, you are once again the most outstanding Divine Arts user on the continent.”

Chapter 8: Seems Like We Have a Collision

Hearing Abyss’s words, Leiner frowned and looked around at his zombies. He was shocked to find that these zombies, who shouldn’t experience fear, were trembling and standing frozen, unable to take a step forward.

“What’s going on?” Leiner snatched the staff from the female elf beside him and chanted an ancient incantation, striking the ground with the staff. A dim green light spread outwards, affecting all the zombies. Their eyes glowed with a green fluorescence, and their groaning grew louder.

“Ah, the Undead Invigoration spell. It amplifies the bloodlust of the undead,” Abyss nodded calmly. “You’re quite proficient. You must have been studying necromancy for quite some time.”

“What!?” Leiner looked at his zombies in astonishment. Although they were groaning loudly, none of them, as he had commanded, lunged at the young man and woman in front of them.

Flora whispered to Abyss, “Abyss, do you need my help fighting them? Although I don’t know any spells, I’m at least very strong now…”

“Your job comes later,” Abyss smiled at her. “Let me take care of the trivial matters first.”

Enraged, Leiner pointed at Abyss and shouted, “What are you whispering about…”

“Kneel!” Abyss suddenly roared.

“Woo!!” All the zombies cried out in fear upon hearing this command. The Undead Invigoration spell Leiner had just cast didn’t even give them a moment’s hesitation. Their decaying knees buckled, and they prostrated themselves, not daring to look at Abyss’s face. Even the female elf beside Leiner, resurrected with his most advanced necromantic spell, was no exception. Since her joints weren’t as stiff and decayed as the others, she knelt in a more standard posture.

Leiner could hardly believe his eyes. His prized undead legion had surrendered without even putting up a fight?

“State your purpose. Why did you assemble this zombie army?” Abyss thought for a moment and stretched his neck. “You zombies up there, throw him down. I don’t like looking up at people.”

Before Leiner could speak, he felt his clothes being grabbed by two hands as strong as iron clamps. He was then flung through the air, falling from the second floor onto the first floor. His already aged and necromancy-ridden body couldn’t withstand such a fall. He felt his ribs crack, and his lungs struggled to take in air. He lay on the ground, gasping for breath, before finally managing to lift his head to meet Abyss’s cold gaze.

“Now talk to me,” Abyss said, his breath hitting Leiner’s face, devoid of any warmth, colder than the winter night outside. Frost quickly formed on Leiner’s face.

“You… You’re a necromancer too!” Leiner finally realized. “You can control other people’s undead?”

“Don’t answer a question with a question!” Abyss suddenly roared, grabbing Leiner’s collar. “Tell me your purpose!”

Leiner felt a bone-chilling coldness spreading from Abyss’s hand into his body. If this coldness continued to spread, he would freeze to death!

“I want! I want to break into Princess Leona’s tomb!” Leiner’s arrogance and ruthlessness vanished. Abyss’s grip on his collar wasn’t particularly strong, and his youthful face didn’t seem intimidating, but Leiner felt a genuine sense of suppression. Without Abyss even using any necromancy, a feeling of subservience from the depths of his soul forced him to shout out loud.

“You want to break into Princess Leona’s tomb too?” Abyss brought his face closer to Leiner’s, his turquoise eyes like bottomless abysses that threatened to swallow Leiner’s soul. “And what will you do after you break in? What’s your next step?”

“I… I need to retrieve an item from Princess Leona’s stomach for the Council of the Dead. I don’t know what it is! I swear!” Leiner’s voice was almost a whimper. He trembled all over, and a foul stench emanated from his lower body, nearly making Flora, who was watching from the side, vomit.

“And then!?” Abyss still hadn’t released Leiner’s collar.

“No… Nothing more…”

“You’re lying,” Abyss’s voice turned cold again. “I don’t like that.”

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you! They promised to give me Princess Leona’s body after the mission is complete!” Leiner blurted out, filled with regret. “I was an apprentice court mage in the Western Empire when I was young. I’ve always had a crush on Princess Leona. After she died, I wanted to find another way to have her, so I learned necromancy and later joined the Council of the Dead!”

“You’ve been preparing for over forty years?” Abyss couldn’t help but laugh. “Just for Princess Leona’s body?”

Leiner’s expression became frantic. “You don’t understand how beautiful and lovely Princess Leona was…”

“Does your Eye of Fear have anything to do with this Council of the Dead?” Abyss, unfazed by the man’s twisted infatuation, pulled out the pendant again. It seemed to be absorbing Leiner’s fear, emitting a soft purple glow.

“This is a part of the artifact ‘Face of Hell’ held by the Council of the Dead. They lent it to me because they were worried I wouldn’t be able to complete the mission!” Leiner quickly explained. “Please take it if you want!”

“I don’t particularly want it, but I won’t return it to you either,” Abyss said, putting the Eye of Fear away. “Tell me the location of Princess Leona’s tomb.”

Leiner immediately revealed the address. After hearing it, Flora thought for a moment and said in surprise, “It doesn’t seem to be too far from the city.”

“I was planning to collect zombies as guards on the way to the destination. After stealing Princess Leona’s body, I would immediately retreat. These undead are disposable. They’ll decay soon and won’t cause any harm,” Leiner hurriedly explained.

“So, you’re not keeping them around, but using them and discarding them?” Abyss seemed relieved.

“Yes, yes, yes! I was planning to retire after this job and never get involved with the Council again! Now I’m not even doing this job!” Leiner seemed to have revealed everything he knew, his mood slightly lifting. “Can I go now?”

“Go?” Abyss seemed surprised. “We’ll talk about that later. Can you recite the Necromancer’s Creed for me? You wouldn’t be ignorant of the rules of our necromantic school, would you? Every apprentice must memorize the Necromancer’s Creed before they begin their studies. You should know it, right?”

Leiner’s expression suddenly froze.

Chapter 7: Who Are You Trying to Scare?

Holding Flora’s hand, Abyss helped her dismount. With a snap of his fingers, he brought Flora out of the Shadow Realm and walked resolutely towards the large house standing in the wilderness.

It seemed to be a long-abandoned manor. The surrounding walls were nothing more than crumbling ruins, and the fields were overgrown with weeds and shrubs. The house itself was dilapidated, with a partially collapsed roof. In the darkness, the broken windowpanes reflected the pale moonlight, perfectly fitting the description of a haunted house in a knight’s tale. Most people would feel a chill down their spines upon seeing such a house at night, but the two approaching figures felt nothing. Abyss had encountered more dead people than living ones, and Flora herself was undead. This gloomy environment made them feel quite comfortable.

Abyss pushed open the door of the haunted house, revealing the scene within: grass sprouted from beneath the floorboards, dust covered everything, and numerous footprints led inwards, with few leading outwards.

“This must be the place,” Abyss nodded and continued walking inside. “The request notice was very detailed. It seems Mr. Leiner, who wrote the request, is a very efficient person.”

Flora followed behind Abyss and closed the door behind them.

Abyss glanced back at Flora and smiled faintly.

They entered a spacious hall. Judging from the abandoned candelabras and chandeliers, the house had once seen glory. Among these dilapidated objects, one thing stood out—a copper jewelry stand placed on the fireplace mantle, holding a beautiful purple diamond-shaped pendant. The stand was clearly new, recently placed there. The purple pendant reflected the moonlight streaming through the broken windows, emitting a mesmerizing glow.

Flora, having grown up as a Saint candidate in the Church, had seen countless treasures and wasn’t particularly impressed by the beautiful pendant. She glanced at Abyss, who also seemed indifferent.

“This seems to be the crux of the matter,” Abyss said, pointing at the pendant. “It’s not very attractive to us, but for those mercenaries who often risk their lives for rewards, it should be quite tempting.”

“Is there a trap?” Flora frowned and looked around. The footprints left by the mercenaries on the floor were messy. She wasn’t a tracking expert and couldn’t discern any clues.

Abyss didn’t answer but walked quickly towards the pendant and reached for it.

The moment his fingers touched the pendant, it flickered, and a purple light flashed before their eyes.

Flora felt nothing except the momentary flash of light. She looked at Abyss quizzically.

Abyss shook his head and took the pendant off the stand, putting it in his pocket. “I see. I thought it was some ingenious trap, but it’s just a magic pendant with a brief disorienting effect. It’s useless against us. The one hiding upstairs, come out. Your breathing is as loud as a giant’s stomach. We both knew you were here.”

After a brief silence, slow footsteps echoed, and a withered, short old man in a black mage robe appeared on the second-floor landing. He looked coldly at the two figures in the hall, two blue flames burning quietly in his eyes.

“You’re different from the other mercenaries. You’re not affected by my ‘Eye of Fear’,” the old man said in a raspy voice, but with boundless confidence. “But since you’ve come this far, don’t expect to go back.”

“Mr. Leiner, what’s your purpose?” Abyss looked up at the old man. “A necromancer wouldn’t kill for fun, would he?”

Leiner was momentarily stunned but quickly regained his composure. “Oh? He told you everything? Hmph, that simple-minded fool is indeed unreliable.”

Abyss remained silent, staring intently at Leiner as if waiting for something. Leiner didn’t bother talking further. He extended his withered, branch-like hand and clapped twice.

“Ugh…” Low groans echoed from all directions, and shuffling footsteps filled the house.

Along with these sounds, numerous zombies emerged. They shambled towards Abyss and Flora from various rooms, their slightly decayed faces filled with a vacant expression. Some zombies wore the characteristic mismatched armor of mercenaries, wielding various weapons, while others wore mage robes and held staffs. Flora clasped her hands to maintain her composure and counted the number of zombies—thirty-three in total. More than ten zombies still had relatively fresh skin. They must have been the mercenaries who had disappeared in the past few days.

“Sorry, you can’t escape now. Please return the ‘Eye of Fear’ you took earlier,” Leiner said with a sinister chuckle. “These are all mercenaries, and none of them are pushovers. My necromancy allows them to retain one hundred percent of their combat power. My foolish ‘apprentice’ helped me weed out the weak ones beforehand. You have no idea how comical it was to see those arrogant mercenaries scared witless by my Eye of Fear.”

A small figure appeared beside Leiner—a female elf in a bloodstained white robe, clutching a vine staff. She looked very young, perhaps thirteen or fourteen in human years. Her pretty face wore the same vacant expression as the other zombies.

“Finally, let me introduce you to my latest trophy from two days ago. She’s my favorite type,” Leiner’s laughter became increasingly lewd. “This girl only knows healing magic. She ran away with her boyfriend to become a mercenary. This was her first request. You can guess how heartbroken she was when she clung to her crumbling boyfriend and cried in fear. I deliberately didn’t turn her into a zombie immediately. Instead, I tied her up and woke her up, slowly applying the preservation process while she was conscious. Her screams were simply delightful.”

Flora’s brows furrowed tightly. As a Saint, she had rarely encountered such worldly matters, and the necromancer’s words filled her with disgust.

Abyss, however, remained expressionless, listening quietly to the withered old man on the second floor.

“I won’t kill you two immediately. Grey-haired boy, your attitude displeases me. I’ll extract your soul and teach you a lesson with a soul brand—and that little girl over there, I don’t like your body. Your chest is too big, but your voice is quite nice. I imagine your singing voice must be very pleasant as well,” Leiner’s eyes burned brighter, his smile stretching his wrinkles, making him look particularly sinister in the moonlight.

“Trying to use verbal intimidation and the fear-inducing ability of this pendant to activate the Fear spell on it?” Abyss said, seemingly bored as he pulled out the glowing “Eye of Fear” from his pocket. “Save your breath, it’s useless against us.”

“Hmph, a mage with mental resistance, then forget it. A few of my zombies can easily subdue you,” Leiner’s expression shifted from embarrassment at being seen through to disdain. “Servants, attack! Subdue them!”

A brief silence followed.

“What are you waiting for, you stupid zombies!” Leiner yelled, stamping his foot.

“Hehe, don’t push them too hard. Your zombies are in a dilemma right now,” Abyss chuckled softly. “Whether to kneel before me or my Flora is a bit too difficult a choice for their intelligence.”

Chapter 6: Encountering a Fellow Necromancer

“You’re not a mercenary at all, are you? Tell me your purpose. What’s your connection to this request?” Abyss crouched beside the burly man, staring coldly at him.

“Cough, cough… What are you talking about? I’m a genuine mercenary…” The man gasped, lying on the ground, but didn’t dare move. Flora’s slap had completely intimidated him. It felt like being swatted by a griffin.

“Oh? Really?” Abyss wanted to grab the man’s collar, but since the man was shirtless even in winter, he grabbed his beard instead and stepped on his chest. “Then let’s analyze this slowly… When we entered the guild, you were the loudest, but none of those boisterous mercenaries joined in, meaning you have no friends here. After you caused a scene, the receptionist looked at you with disgust, so I asked him before we came out. As expected, you only arrived at the guild a few days ago, just sitting there drinking and never taking on any requests. You even went out of your way to chase away mercenaries who wanted to take on the ghost extermination request but weren’t strong enough—your size is indeed quite intimidating.”

The man’s pupils constricted noticeably.

“What happened next is even more interesting. When you approached us, I took a whiff of your scent. You only smelled of alcohol, not sweat. Logically, you’ve been in the guild for several days, and as a mercenary, you shouldn’t smell so fresh—but you didn’t have those smells. Instead, I smelled certain herbs, the ingredients for short-term undead resurrection. You’ve touched those herbs in a specific order.” Abyss’s turquoise eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, sending a chill down the man’s spine.

“He’s a necromancer?” Flora exclaimed in surprise. “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice.”

“He’s a necromancer’s apprentice,” Abyss released his grip, letting the man’s head hit the ground. “He drank a necromancer’s potion that modified his body, making him impervious to heat and cold and enhancing his recovery abilities. It’s not your fault you didn’t notice. Who would have thought that a guy as strong as a dragon’s liver would be a necromancer’s apprentice?”

The man’s breathing quickened. “Why do you know so much about necromancy?”

“Didn’t you hear what I just told her? We’re colleagues,” Abyss said calmly. “Tell me your master’s name.”

“Impossible…”

Abyss wasn’t in a hurry. “Then I can just interrogate your soul after you die. You won’t be able to hide or lie then.”

“Leiner,” the man gritted his teeth. “His name is Leiner.”

“The request notice requires his full name,” Abyss said.

“Leiner Ledios Trafa!”

“Good, you didn’t lie,” Abyss said with a satisfied smile, straightening up and removing his foot.

“What about him?” Flora asked, peering from the side. “Are we going to let him go?”

“Yes, let him go,” Abyss nodded. “I don’t kill the living.”

“You… You tricked me!” the man shouted. “You said you would interrogate my soul after I die…”

“Do you think you can continue living like nothing happened? Your so-called master never considered you a true apprentice. The potion you drank is turning you into an undead. You only have a few days left to live,” Abyss turned back, looking at him with pity. “I’ll go find your master, and you can spend your remaining days atoning for your sins.”

The man’s voice abruptly stopped as if his throat had been constricted. He stared wide-eyed, his mouth agape, like a fish out of water.

“You will forget everything. When you wake up, you will find the names of every mercenary who disappeared because of you and erect tombstones for them. You will not become an undead when you die because I haven’t given my permission,” Abyss said calmly. He then snapped his fingers at the man. A green light flew towards him, and although the light was faint, it caused the man to convulse as if struck by lightning before losing consciousness.

Flora watched Abyss finish all this and asked softly, “Abyss… you seem angry…”

“Ah… a little. He’s just a fool who was used, but I’m certain his ‘master’ is definitely using living people to create undead, and they’re short-term, disposable ones that will spontaneously combust into ashes after a month or two. I don’t like that kind of behavior,” Abyss patted his clothes lightly. “Let’s find an inn to rest for a bit. We’ll set off to find this necromancer named Leiner tonight. I need to have a good chat with him and find out what he’s up to.”

“But we don’t have money for an inn,” Flora said with a troubled expression.

Abyss fell silent for a moment, then pointed at the unconscious man on the ground. “Search his pockets for money.”

“I won’t steal!” Flora crossed her arms firmly. “Even if you’re my master, I can’t obey you on this!”

“Tsk…” Abyss grumbled, puffing out his cheeks. “Fine, we’ll just go to the outskirts and build a fire.”

Flora smiled triumphantly and obediently followed behind Abyss, holding onto the hem of his clothes.

…

The location indicated on the request notice wasn’t far from the city. Just as the sun set, Abyss and Flora rode the undead warhorse towards the so-called “haunted ancestral mansion.” The undead warhorse was far superior to ordinary horses. It was not only faster but also ignored terrain obstacles, even capable of running on water. It also couldn’t be detected when entering the Shadow Realm. Flora wrapped her arms around Abyss’s waist, feeling a hint of romance in the journey. Having had little contact with young men in her previous life, this was a new sensation for her.

After half an hour of continuous riding, the destination appeared before Flora’s eyes.

Flora discovered that as an undead, not only was her vision not limited after nightfall, but it actually became clearer. Not just her vision, but her sense of smell and hearing had also become more acute. Before they even reached the old mansion, Flora’s ears picked up the sound of breathing coming from inside, along with some unsettling whimpering noises. A faint smell of herbs mixed with the stench of blood and decay made her wrinkle her nose.

“This is it. I could smell the stench of low-level undead from miles away,” Abyss said, grimacing. “Flora, let’s pretend to be ordinary mercenaries when we go in. I want to see how this guy killed those ten-odd people.”

“Understood,” Flora nodded. “I’ll put on a mage’s facade.”

“You know, Flora, one of the best things I’ve ever done was digging you out first among the five targets,” Abyss said, looking back at Flora with emotion. “You’re the best partner I’ve ever met.”

“That sounds a bit creepy… Just how many graves have you robbed?”

“Do you remember how many slices of bread you’ve eaten?” Abyss replied. “Of course, I’ve never done anything like turning living people into undead. Abyss’s Necromancy, fifteen years of [using only deceased corpses, never deceiving the living].”

Chapter 5: Flora, Is It Thrilling?

Flora convinced Abyss not to pull a passing spirit for directions and they asked a passerby for the location of the Mercenary Guild.

Forty years of slumber hadn’t diminished Flora’s social skills. Even though she was no longer the revered Saint, her good upbringing and approachable demeanor made people willing to help her and Abyss. They found the Mercenary Guild, located on the outskirts of the city, with little effort.

“You ask for directions as quickly as a rabbit’s heart,” Abyss said to Flora with an excited expression, for some reason. “If possible, I’ll leave all the direction-asking to you from now on.”

“Do you have trouble asking for directions?” Flora looked at Abyss in surprise. Although pale and seemingly perpetually tired, Abyss had delicate features and wasn’t unpleasant to look at. He also seemed to have a cheerful personality.

“I’m not good at dealing with the living,” Abyss pointed to the passersby. “They instinctively want to sleep when they see my eyes, and they don’t quite like the way I talk.”

“Oh… I understand. I’ll take care of it from now on,” Flora immediately understood. Abyss always liked to spice up his sentences with mentions of internal organs, which most people with normal tastes wouldn’t appreciate.

“My Flora, you’re such a good teammate! Let’s hurry inside, find a request, and after we complete it and get the money, we can go to the library,” Abyss said, pointing to the Mercenary Guild’s sign. Flora agreed readily and even walked a little faster than Abyss.

As soon as they pushed open the doors of the Mercenary Guild, a strong smell of alcohol wafted towards them. Many mercenaries were guzzling down cheap ale at the tables, shouting vulgar curses and laughing raucously. It was less of a guild and more of a tavern, except that the person behind the counter wasn’t a bartender but a receptionist holding a book. The Mercenary Guild was simply an organization that facilitated mercenaries earning money. It had no disciplinary restrictions on its members, with the only bottom line being local laws. Flora, who had entered first, quickly became the center of attention—she was too beautiful, her skin too delicate. She didn’t look like someone who belonged in the mercenary world.

As for Abyss, he was too thin and dressed in black, so he was completely ignored.

“Hey, little girl, you’ve got the wrong place. This is the Mercenary Guild, the Maiden’s Club is on the other side of the city!” a mercenary with dried bloodstains on his armor shouted.

“I say, you’re not here looking for your brother, are you?” someone laughed. “If your brother hasn’t come back in a few days, he’s probably dead!”

“Or how about I be your brother instead? Or your husband? I’m quite good in bed, ahahaha…” A bare-chested, bearded man roared with laughter, silencing the other mercenaries around him.

Flora’s face flushed red. No one dared to speak to her like that when she was a Saint, let alone make such vulgar jokes.

“Big guy, watch how you talk to a lady,” Abyss said calmly, stepping in front of Flora and the bare-chested man, his green eyes fixed on him.

The man was interrupted, clearly annoyed, but he felt inexplicably tired and didn’t lash out. Instead, he snorted at Abyss and sat down to continue drinking.

“Excuse me, what can I do for you two?” the receptionist, well aware of the behavior of these blood-money-earning mercenaries, glared at the man and approached them politely.

Abyss immediately replied, “We’re here to take on a request and earn some money.”

“Please tell me your Dou Qi and magic levels so I can arrange a suitable request for you,” the receptionist asked routinely.

“No need, just show me all the requests,” Abyss said, shaking his head and pulling Flora towards the request notices pinned to the wall.

The receptionist didn’t say anything. Mercenaries often danced on the edge of life and death, and not many were mentally stable. This resulted in some mercenaries being difficult to deal with. He didn’t bother correcting these eccentric individuals. It wouldn’t be worth it if a conflict arose and he ended up getting chopped up.

“Abyss, this boar hunting request is exactly thirty imperial coins,” Flora said excitedly, tugging at Abyss’s clothes. “We just need to kill four wild boars that are harassing farmers and bring back their right ears. It seems quite simple.”

Abyss glanced at the request Flora was looking at and nodded. “Receptionist, please make a note that we’re taking this request.”

“Boar hunting, is it? Please tell me your names or titles,” the receptionist nodded, pulling out a charcoal pencil from his breast pocket, preparing to write in the book in his hand.

“Ah, not boar hunting. It’s this request to exterminate the ghosts in the ancestral mansion,” Abyss said calmly. “The reward for this one is twenty thousand imperial coins.”

The receptionist nearly broke out in a cold sweat. Which rich young master was this, choosing requests based on the reward instead of the difficulty?

“Um… Sir, I’d like to remind you that this request is S-rank. It’s been temporarily upgraded to ‘very difficult.’ In the past few days, more than ten people have taken on this request, including a few teams of two or three, but none of them have returned.”

“Is the haunted house far?” Abyss asked.

Was this guy completely ignoring him? The receptionist suppressed his urge to scream and continued, “Sir, you don’t look like a warrior, and if you’re a mage, you don’t even have a staff. You’re also too young. Taking on this kind of request will get you killed, really killed!”

“You’re saying I’m weak?” Abyss narrowed his eyes and walked towards the receptionist.

The receptionist instantly regretted his good intentions. Why did he bother trying to dissuade this guy? Wouldn’t it be better to just let him die? Had he somehow offended this young master’s pride? Was he going to cause trouble now?

Abyss grabbed the receptionist’s wrist and pulled hard—

The receptionist didn’t budge.

“To be honest, I am weak,” Abyss said to the receptionist with a grin, then pointed at Flora. “But she’s different. She’s very strong.”

“Eh? Me?” Flora was completely caught off guard, waving her hands frantically. “I’m not strong! I can’t do anything…”

“Puahahaha, are you two here to entertain us?” At that moment, the bare-chested man who had been interrupted by Abyss earlier stood up and strode towards them. He seemed to be drunk, his nose as red as a ripe strawberry. “I thought you were some kind of tough guy, but you’re just a moron! What are you still doing here? Get out of our guild! If this little beauty wants to stay, she can!”

“Flora, slap him,” Abyss said to Flora, wrinkling his nose at the man.

“No, no!” Flora wouldn’t dare slap such a burly man. She only reached his chest, and she would have to stand on her tiptoes to slap him.

“Oh? You need a woman to protect you, you scum? I don’t care if she’s your wife or your maid. If you don’t leave, your woman will be mine today!” The man grew even more arrogant and grabbed Flora’s wrist.

Flora didn’t mind being held by Abyss, her master, but being suddenly grabbed by a stranger, she felt a surge of anger. However, her upbringing as a Saint prevented her from struggling like a frightened deer. She quickly calmed down and delivered a graceful, ladylike slap to the man’s face.

Slap!

Boom!

Before Flora could react, the man was already on the ground, groaning. It seemed the slap had sent him flying. His heavy body, at least two and a half times Flora’s weight, crashed through two tables and finally embedded itself in the wall, creating a human-shaped crater, before landing heavily on the floor. He couldn’t get up, his teeth scattered on the ground, and his mouth full of blood.

“See? I told you she was strong,” Abyss shrugged at the dumbfounded receptionist. “We don’t have any money now, but we’ll come back and pay for the damages.”

“Ah… okay…”

“Flora,” Abyss suddenly called out.

“M… Master?” Flora looked at Abyss with wide, beautiful golden eyes.

“Is it thrilling? Punishing a hooligan with your own hands?” Abyss smiled faintly.

Flora instinctively shook her head, then paused and nodded.

“Yes!”

“This isn’t over yet. Help me carry him to the alley outside. I have important questions for him—I might have encountered a colleague,” Abyss said mysteriously, pointing to the groaning man. “I’ll take on the request and come find you. Don’t worry, he’s in no position to resist.”

Chapter 4: He is the Monarch of the Dead

The city was bustling with noise. Abyss held Flora’s hand, helping her dismount from a semi-transparent warhorse that glowed with an ethereal blue light. He then extended his hand towards the horse, and with a neigh, it transformed into a wisp of blue smoke and disappeared into one of the rings on his finger.

Next, he snapped his fingers, and the two of them emerged from the Shadow Realm.

Flora was no longer wearing the elaborate gown she had been buried in. Instead, she wore a simple white dress, typical of commoner women. The makeup applied before her burial had also been removed the previous night. As the former Saint of the Church, Flora was stunning even without cosmetics. To avoid attracting attention, she lowered her head slightly, staying close to Abyss, and whispered, “Are we just going to appear on the street like this?”

“Don’t worry. In their eyes, we didn’t just pop out of thin air. No one will notice anything unusual. They just won’t be able to recall how we got here,” Abyss shrugged. He had also removed his cloak, now wearing only an inconspicuous cloth armor. His ash-grey hair, while uncommon, wasn’t particularly rare, as many people with elven ancestry had similar hair color.

“Aren’t the rings on your hands too conspicuous?” Flora was still worried, pointing at Abyss. “Wearing so many rings will make people suspicious. If we’re discovered by the Church…”

“Oh, others can’t see them,” Abyss said, wiggling his hand at Flora. “This time, I really did use an illusion spell. Now, the rings on my hands are as nonexistent as an ogre’s brain.”

“Do you have to use internal organs for your analogies…?”

“…Sorry, it’s a habit,” Abyss said, sticking out his tongue halfway.

This city of the Western Empire wasn’t far from Flora’s tomb. The Western Empire was arguably the most powerful empire on the continent, with a thriving economy and the Church’s headquarters located within its borders. As a neighbor to the highest-level Saint’s tomb, the city was naturally quite large.

Abyss had brought Flora out of the tomb just as night fell. They stayed in the cabin until midnight before setting off towards the city. Riding on the summoned undead warhorse, they arrived just as the sun began to rise. Only after daybreak did Flora realize just how high-level the necromancy Abyss had used on her was. While high-level necromancy could awaken the dead with their memories and thoughts intact, the resurrected still suffered from a common weakness of the undead—fear of sunlight. However, Flora walked alongside Abyss on the streets without even using an umbrella, feeling no harm from the sunlight whatsoever. In fact, the warmth of the sun felt rather comfortable.

The young man beside her became more and more mysterious to Flora. According to him, he was only sixteen, even a year younger than Flora’s age at death, yet he possessed such advanced necromantic skills.

Necromantic spells were notoriously difficult to learn. Each spell wasn’t a simple incantation but a complex combination of multiple spells, becoming increasingly intricate at higher levels. The rarity of necromancers on the continent was not only due to the Church’s persecution but also because of the high entry barrier of necromancy itself.

“We’re going to the Church’s library,” Abyss said, pulling Flora’s hand as they navigated through the crowd. “The location of the Church’s Saint’s tombs isn’t a secret, but the location of the Imperial Princess’s tomb is strictly confidential. We have to check the historical records.”

Although Flora wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of digging up a royal tomb with Abyss, she asked curiously, “Can we find the location of the princess’s tomb in the history books?”

“Of course not,” Abyss said, glancing back at Flora. “But we can deduce the whereabouts of those involved in the princess’s burial back then. The princess we’re going to dig up is Princess Leona, the illegitimate daughter of the previous emperor of the Western Empire. She died forty-two years ago, so many of those involved in the funeral must have died by now—and I love dead people the most.”

Flora felt a chill run down her spine. Abyss’s eyes were clear, and his expression was serious. He wasn’t joking. He truly loved dead people.

“Princess Leona… I’ve heard of her deeds. She was the illegitimate daughter of the emperor and a noblewoman. It seems she awakened her Dou Qi at the age of one and her power skyrocketed from then on. By the age of ten, she had already reached the highest level of ninth-tier Dou Qi,” Flora said, searching her memories. “She continued to grow stronger, but the standards on the continent only went up to the ninth tier, so she couldn’t be ranked any higher. Unfortunately, she died from the backlash of Dou Qi turbulence just after reaching adulthood…”

“She died from a malicious curse,” Abyss suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on Flora. “The true cause of Princess Leona’s death was a curse.”

“Eh?” Flora was stunned.

“No undead can lie in front of me, so I know many truths,” Abyss said with a slight smile, taking Flora’s hand again and continuing to walk. “I don’t control the living, but once they lose their lives, they have no choice but to submit to me.”

Flora blinked her beautiful eyes, speechless. She could clearly feel the certainty in Abyss’s voice and a faint aura of royalty, an aura she had only seen in the Emperor and the Pope. It was the pride and composure of a true ruler who looked down upon all beings. The Emperor was the monarch of the people, the Pope was the monarch of the believers, and Abyss… was the monarch of the dead!

…

“Without the blue emblem of the Church or thirty imperial coins, you cannot enter the library,” the librarian said, looking down at the two of them with disdain.

The Monarch of the Dead was blocked at the entrance of the library because he couldn’t afford the fee.

“I forgot that the Church’s library charges a fee, and it’s quite expensive,” Abyss said, turning to Flora with an embarrassed look. “I spent my last coins on buying you a dress.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Flora said, lowering her head. She hadn’t expected someone as powerful as Abyss to be penniless.

“No, I’m not asking for an apology. It’s just that I’m as poor as a werewolf’s stomach right now,” Abyss said, scratching his head. “Let’s go earn some money first.”

“How are we going to earn money?” Flora asked, looking at Abyss’s empty hands. “I’m sorry… I don’t know anything other than Divine Arts and singing… and Divine Arts are…”

“Let’s go to the Mercenary Guild in the city. There should be enough requests there to cover the library fee,” Abyss said, waving his hand dismissively. “Anyway, no matter what the request is, it’s just running errands. It won’t be difficult at all.”

“Ah… the Mercenary Guild…” Flora recalled the organization. It wasn’t a powerful force, just a gathering of mercenaries that facilitated taking on requests and conducting transactions. They existed in almost every major city. The Church looked down upon these mercenaries who would do anything for money, risking their lives on the edge of a blade. As a Saint, Flora had naturally been taught to avoid contact with them. She never thought that she would personally visit the Mercenary Guild to take on a request.

However, instead of feeling humiliated, Flora felt a sense of curiosity and excitement.

Chapter 3: If You Love Her, Take Her Grave Robbing

Flora felt utterly lost after being resurrected by Abyss. Necromancy was classified as one of the “Black Magics” by the Church, and mages who used it were to be executed on the spot by Holy Knights. Necromancers and the Church were sworn enemies. Flora, who had received Church education since the age of two, officially became a Saint at twelve, and served until her death at seventeen, couldn’t fathom that she would become the follower of a necromancer after death.

Moreover, what Flora found even more incomprehensible was that she wasn’t resurrected as an ordinary undead with no free will. The boy with sparkling green eyes before her seemed to have used the highest level of necromancy to bring her back. While this allowed her to retain her memories and thinking ability fully, it came at a great cost to the caster and offered no guarantee of loyalty.

She placed her hand on her chest. Indeed, she could no longer feel her heartbeat. She couldn’t feel a pulse in her wrist either. She had undoubtedly become an undead, lingering in the world after death.

“Why did you use such high-level magic to resurrect me? You must have lost a lot of your life force,” Flora asked Abyss after a moment of silence. “I heard in class that necromancers have to pay a considerable price to resurrect the dead as high-ranking undead: a third of their life force, half of their magic power, and high-ranking undead followers will continuously absorb their life force, making them weak and sickly.”

Abyss sat by the fire, leisurely roasting a carrot on a stick over the flames. He smiled at Flora and then, as if suddenly realizing she was talking to him, looked slightly surprised. “Hmm? Is that so? Such a high price? I haven’t felt anything.”

“Why did you bring me out of my grave?” Flora asked anxiously. “Although I was a Divine Arts user, the undead cannot use Divine Arts.”

“About the undead not being able to use Divine Arts… I already told you, I want you to be mine, body and soul, one hundred percent,” Abyss said, pointing a finger at Flora with a smile. “That’s my goal. I wasn’t lying.”

“You… What are you talking about?!” Flora even felt her face heat up… Could the undead blush?

Flora stole a glance at Abyss. He was looking at her with his clear turquoise eyes, his gaze as sincere as could be.

“I’m very capable. Just tell me what your wish is,” Abyss said, sitting cross-legged on the floor and eating the roasted carrot. “I’ll make it happen for you.”

“…” Flora reluctantly lowered her head. Having been raised in the Church, she still couldn’t bring herself to surrender to a necromancer who used evil magic, even if he was now her master.

Abyss shrugged, seemingly unconcerned.

Flora stretched out her hands, watching as her fingers gradually regained their softness and rosy hue. Her vision was no longer blurry, and her senses were returning under the influence of the high-level necromancy, becoming even more acute than they were in life.

Suddenly, Flora heard the faint sounds of clashing armor and hurried footsteps from far outside the cabin. She immediately looked up, her gaze questioning Abyss, who had just finished his carrot.

“Flora, I want to ask you, what do you think of the Church’s Holy Knights?” Abyss suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.

Flora was taken aback for a moment before answering, “There are good and bad Holy Knights. Most of them are just devout believers who follow the orders of their superiors. Only a few are not truly faithful to God and do not treat other kind and innocent people fairly. I don’t like those Holy Knights. The Saint has a position but no power. I can’t change anything. I just hope that the Holy Knights can become more pure.”

Abyss raised his eyebrows, seemingly pleasantly surprised. “I thought you would be… more naive.”

“Serving God requires purity, not naiveté,” Flora said earnestly, placing her right hand on her chest. “His Holiness the Pope taught me that when I was young.”

The footsteps outside grew closer, and the sounds of clashing armor and swords became clearer. Flora, whose hearing had become exceptionally sharp, grew tense. She tried to stand up from the chair, but her knees were still stiff, and she couldn’t muster the strength.

“Outside…”

“Bang!”

The wooden door of the cabin was shattered by a foot clad in a steel boot. A fully armed knight stormed in, accompanied by the cold wind from outside. The flames in the hearth flickered, and the light in the room became chaotic.

“Ah!” Flora cried out in surprise. The intruder was a Holy Knight of the Church, specifically a Judgment Knight tasked with executions. Although she had grown up in the Church, she had always avoided these ruthless and bloodthirsty warriors.

“The necromancer who stole the Saint’s body might be here. Search this place thoroughly! Don’t leave a single rat!” The knight who entered barked orders. More knights filed in behind him, their swords drawn simultaneously. A suffocating sense of bloodlust pressed down on Flora’s chest.

The knights immediately began overturning every piece of furniture in the cabin. Flora instinctively wanted to find a place to hide, but she quickly realized that the knights couldn’t see them at all, even though she and Abyss were sitting there in plain sight.

Abyss gave Flora a cryptic smile and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let the Holy Knights drag you back to your grave.”

Flora asked timidly, “Did you use an illusion spell?”

“In a sense,” Abyss nodded, standing up and walking towards Flora. He put an arm around her, helping her to her feet. “But we can’t stay in this cabin anymore. These Holy Knights are as barbaric as a ghoul’s stomach.”

Flora watched in disbelief as the aggressive Holy Knights passed right through them, ransacking the cabin and even trying to smash the floor.

“Your Excellency, there’s no one in the room, and no secret passage!” a Holy Knight suddenly reported loudly towards the door.

At the same time, an old man in a fur cloak and a helmet adorned with feathers slowly walked in.

“The necromancer might have used an illusion spell. Seal this house! I’ll use the Eye of Truth to search the premises!” the priest commanded calmly.

“Yes, sir!” The well-trained knights immediately guarded all possible exits of the cabin.

“It’s a High-Ranking Judgment Priest!” Flora exclaimed, tugging at Abyss’s clothes, forgetting that he was still holding her. “We can’t hide from high-level Divine Arts!”

After a brief prayer, two golden beams shot out from the priest’s eyes. Flora immediately felt an immensely powerful force sweeping over everything nearby. The Eye of Truth was a high-level Divine Art that could directly scan for any “existing” object from the world’s roots, completely ignoring any illusion spells. Even a High-Ranking Priest could only use it once at the cost of a week of blindness.

“What do we do?!” Although Flora was once a Saint, she knew that as an undead, she was now an enemy of the Church. If discovered, she would be “purified,” which meant being burned to ashes and returned to her grave. The seemingly harmless Abyss beside her would also be cruelly burned alive in public.

The scan of the Eye of Truth was complete. The priest’s eyes dimmed, and he closed them in pain, remaining silent for a while before turning his head towards Flora and Abyss.

If Flora could still sweat, she would be drenched by now. Immense fear gripped her heart. She didn’t want to die again. She didn’t want to experience that feeling of nothingness and the pain of being unable to change reality!

“They were indeed here, but they must have teleported away,” the priest finally said. “Immediately investigate all traces of teleportation portals nearby. Retrieve and purify the Saint’s body as soon as possible, ending her posthumous humiliation. I need to rest.”

“Check for any traces of teleportation portals nearby!” the lead Holy Knight immediately repeated the priest’s orders. “Drag all the villagers from the nearby village out of their beds and interrogate them using the Truth Serum!”

“Yes, sir!” The disciplined Holy Knights didn’t waste any words and left the cabin in a blink of an eye.

It took a long time for Flora to recover. “The power of God couldn’t see you either?”

“We’re not even in the same world as them, of course they couldn’t see us,” Abyss said, releasing his hold on Flora. “Watch this.”

He snapped his fingers, and everything around them changed. The fire in the hearth vanished, and the cabin plunged into darkness. Flora’s undead dark vision allowed her to see the dust and cobwebs filling the room. The sound of the Holy Knights’ footsteps crunching on the snow could be heard fading away. The footprints of the knights who had just entered were still clearly visible—they had just been rummaging through an empty, abandoned cabin.

Another snap of his fingers, and the fire reignited, warmth returning to the cabin. The dust and cobwebs disappeared.

“I discovered this last year while conducting experiments. It’s a parallel dimension that overlaps with our world. I call it the Shadow Realm. What happens here doesn’t affect the real world, and it can quickly recover from any damage. I’ve conducted many of my experiments here,” Abyss said proudly. “I suppose those two fools who broke into the Church’s highest-level Saint’s tomb to save their princess have already escaped safely. Let’s go, we still have things to do. By the way, just tell me your wish whenever you’ve made up your mind.”

“What are you planning to do?” Flora asked hesitantly.

“After offending the Church, I plan to offend the royal family of the most powerful empire on the continent,” Abyss said, extending a hand to Flora with a grin. “It’ll be fun. Let’s go dig up the grave of the princess of the Western Empire together.”

“Dig… dig up a grave?!” Flora looked at Abyss with a complex expression.

Chapter 2: Undead Girl Collection?

“A necromancer should treat every undead he awakens with kindness.”

Abyss’s master used to repeat this phrase until his death two years ago, when he succumbed to a plague contracted from dissecting a zombie he had awakened.

Abyss gently helped the somewhat dazed Flora into a chair covered with goatskin. He was now in a warm wooden cabin. Despite the howling wind outside, the fire in the hearth warmed his and the girl’s skin, illuminating everything within the room. A small iron pot hung over the fire, simmering herbs that emitted a strange aroma. He gently brushed the dust off the girl’s clothes and combed her long hair with his fingers.

The Church had extremely strict standards for selecting Saints. Saint Flora, during her lifetime, was not only the youngest and most promising Divine Arts user in the Church’s history but also a woman of unparalleled beauty. Her long golden hair was soft and slightly curled, her features as delicate as a doll’s. Her eyes were a dreamy pale gold, and her fair skin was flawless, breathtakingly beautiful even without a trace of blood. Abyss admired her for a while, like a piece of art. He enjoyed this quiet beauty.

“Flora Cicathia Saint Floracess Ping. With me as your master, obey my command, through the cycle of reincarnation, your soul shall return.”

Abyss’s slender fingers pressed against the girl’s forehead as a string of obscure and archaic words flowed from his lips. A flash of blue light flickered in the girl’s eyes, and her dilated pupils began to constrict. A spark of life gradually spread within her lifeless gaze. Necromancy had recalled her soul, and her consciousness was slowly returning to her body.

“Don’t move yet. I need to give you some herbal medicine. Your vocal cords were damaged by poison before your death,” Abyss gently patted Flora’s shoulder.

With that, he turned to retrieve the small pot from the hearth. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his thin, pale arms, and, ignoring the heat of the flames, reached directly into the fire. A layer of frost covered his arm, protecting him from the scorching heat. He grabbed the boiling iron pot by its base, and the herbs inside instantly stopped bubbling. By the time he brought the pot to Flora, the herbs weren’t even steaming anymore.

“Come, open your mouth and drink this,” Abyss said, bringing the pot to Flora’s lips.

Flora, still not fully conscious, didn’t obediently open her mouth to drink the medicine. Her eyes widened in sudden fear. She whimpered in a hoarse, barely audible voice, refusing, turning her head away. Her stiff body instinctively recoiled, and tears streamed down her beautiful golden eyes.

Abyss frowned in silence for a moment, then sighed softly. “Sorry, I was negligent.”

He extended his left hand, and a gentle blue light emanated from his palm, enveloping Flora. The girl quickly calmed down.

To this day, Abyss didn’t know where his talent came from. From the time he gained memories at the age of one, he had been raised by his master, learning necromancy. By the age of three, he had mastered all apprentice-level spells, entering the realm of true necromancy. By eight, his master had no new spells to teach him. So, his master, already old and frail like a withered blade of grass, took him on a journey around the world, visiting the homes or tombs of every renowned necromancer, searching for advanced or forbidden necromantic spells.

Three years ago, when Abyss was thirteen, his master declared that he had learned ninety-nine percent of the world’s necromantic spells and instructed Abyss to develop new spells himself. A year later, his master, weakened by age, succumbed to a plague and died before Abyss’s eyes.

Abyss didn’t care much. To him, there wasn’t much difference between the living and the dead. It was only because of his master’s dying wish not to be resurrected that Abyss refrained from simply bringing him back to life. After his master’s death, he quickly grasped the ultimate secrets of necromancy and glimpsed the realm of the gods. He spent an entire day wandering the Divine Realm unnoticed, not only confirming the existence of the gods worshipped in this world but also discovering that gods didn’t actually need to use the restroom.

He fed the herbal medicine in the pot to the now-calm Flora. Her throat moved slightly as she swallowed it all.

The herbs took effect quickly under the influence of magic. Abyss closed his left hand, the light disappeared, and Flora regained her consciousness once more.

“Who are you… Where am I…?” Her restored voice was beautiful, but her tone was still filled with panic and unease.

“My name is Abyss. Don’t worry, you’re not in the Church anymore. You’re in a small cabin in the mountains,” Abyss said, looking at Flora with his gentle turquoise eyes.

“So cold…” Flora suddenly shivered, her eyes widening as she looked around anxiously. “I… I remember them holding down my limbs, prying open my mouth… My stomach hurt so much, and then there was nothingness, a long nothingness… Your Majesty, where is His Holiness the Pope?”

“You’re dead, Flora,” Abyss shrugged. “You’ve been lying in your tomb… for forty years. Your Pope at the time fell from a building and died three days after your death. The current Pope is already the second one since then.”

Flora was startled by Abyss’s words. She grabbed his wrist. “I’m dead? You’re a necromancer? I… Yes… I should indeed be dead.”

“That’s right. Technically speaking, I’m your master now,” Abyss said, holding Flora’s cold hand in his, a faint smile playing on his lips as he gazed into her eyes. “In other words, I’m the only one you can rely on now. You can entrust me with any unfulfilled wishes you had in life.”

Flora’s small mouth opened slightly, but she couldn’t speak.

“No matter what you think now, you can trust me completely as long as you need me,” Abyss said, bringing his face closer to Flora’s. “I know what you went through in your final days, and I know who caused it all. From today onward, I am your new hope. Flora, I want you to belong to me, body and soul, one hundred percent. Are you willing to follow me?”

Flora’s heart, which had stopped beating forty years ago, suddenly fluttered.

Having grown up in the Church, she knew that necromancers were cold-blooded evildoers. She instinctively wanted to refuse, but the words caught in her throat. After experiencing so much despair, this slender young man before her was like a final lifeline, making it difficult for Flora to let go.

On the day he visited the Divine Realm, Abyss had initially intended to just take a look around and return. However, during his time there, he discovered a secret unknown to the world.

The world worshipped nine deities, but they were merely puppets, their true master being the Creator God of this world.

The world Abyss lived in was just one of many created by the Creator God. The Creator God didn’t care about the fate of this world. Several major disasters in history were actually caused by the Creator God’s whims.

Three hundred years ago, the Creator God, out of boredom, started a crazy game. He summoned five “Transmigrators” from another world and granted them a portion of his divine power, calling it the “System.” These five individuals achieved extraordinary feats, but a century later, as they passed away, their divine powers naturally vanished.

Then the Creator God messed up.

A few decades ago, the descendants of these Transmigrators suddenly awakened the powers that should have disappeared with their ancestors. These powers manifested as superhuman talents, quickly turning these descendants into legendary figures. However, when the Creator God learned of this, he didn’t want geniuses to appear outside his plan. So, he manipulated the threads of fate, secretly orchestrating various accidents that led to the untimely deaths of the five young women, severing the Transmigrators’ bloodline in this generation. After doing this, the Creator God went off to other worlds to continue his game, but a journal left in the Divine Realm recorded everything.

This might be meaningless to an ordinary mage, but for Abyss, who had thought his life would be peaceful, it gave him a new purpose—to steal the power of the gods.

So what if the five girls were dead? Necromancers cared little about life and death.

The Creator God was conveniently away. This was an opportunity he couldn’t miss. Supreme Necromancy allowed the caster to gain the power of their followers, and this power would gradually increase from zero to one hundred percent based on the follower’s loyalty… What would happen if he used necromancy to resurrect these five girls who possessed divine power and made them his followers?

Abyss was very excited about the possibilities.

As for how to maximize the loyalty of these five followers, based on Abyss’s experience, the answer was to fulfill their greatest wishes from their lifetimes. Once an undead’s desires were fulfilled, building a close relationship would be much easier.

After some investigation, Abyss found the first of these geniuses, the Saint of the Church forty years ago, Flora, who died at the age of seventeen. Today, Abyss’s plan officially began.

Looking at Flora, who seemed somewhat adorable in her dazed state due to her still-recovering mind, Abyss smiled happily.

Volume 1

Chapter 1: The Necromancer Stole Something Important

“Roar!”

Within the dark, dust-filled underground palace, a knight’s armor, shimmering with magical runes, swung a massive hammer ablaze with the fiery flames of Dou Qi. With the force of a thousand jun, it smashed towards the lightly armored woman wielding a sword and shield standing before it.

The woman let out a furious shout, unhesitatingly raising her shield and bracing against it with all her might. Dazzling purple Dou Qi flames erupted around her. Behind her stood a young girl in a blue mage robe, who swiftly waved her wand, casting a thick magical shield around the woman.

“Boom!”

The hammer and steel shield collided, causing the surrounding air to warp and explode. A faint sound of crystal shattering echoed as the magical shield, after only a moment of resistance, crumbled. The woman coughed up blood, her joints cracking, yet the Dou Qi aura surrounding her blazed even brighter as she forcefully withstood the armor’s blow. Gritting her teeth and enduring the pain, she twisted her body, her sharp sword instantly severing the knight armor’s legs. Seizing the opportunity, she followed with a thrust, piercing the armor’s chest.

A flurry of crackling sounds erupted from within the armor, and a torrent of magical lightning, like a fountain, gushed from the pierced point before dissipating on the ground, leaving behind only a pile of ordinary armor.

“Haina… we’re here! Just ahead is Saint Flora’s tomb!” the woman said excitedly to the mage girl behind her. “As long as we get Saint Flora’s personal pendant, ‘The Fountain’s Draw,’ Her Highness the Princess will be saved! Saint Flora was the most powerful divine arts user in the continent’s history. Even her personal accessories possess powerful healing and calming effects. We’ll be able to… Wah!”

Before she could finish, she coughed up more blood, her expression turning weak.

“Captain!” Haina cried out in alarm.

“Cough… I’ll open the door for you. There should be more of these armored guards inside. I’ll hold them off as long as I can. You use the Levitation spell to grab the Fountain’s Draw and run. Don’t waste time on me,” the captain said with a wry smile.

“Everyone else in the squad is dead, Captain. You have to go back alive, or how will I explain it to everyone…” Tears streamed down Haina’s face.

“Now is not the time for such talk! Get the Fountain’s Draw and save Her Highness the Princess’s life! Save our country!” the captain roared hoarsely. “We acted on our own, intruding into Saint Flora’s sacred tomb. Even if we escape, the Church won’t spare me, the commander. But as long as the Princess survives that unspeakable monster that keeps appearing in her dreams, she can lead our people to restore our nation! Retrieve our last hope! Cough… Get ready!”

The captain staggered forward, mustering the last of her strength amidst exhaustion and pain, and forcefully pulled open the heavy stone door of the tomb.

“Woo—” A low growl suddenly echoed in their ears.

They both looked up. Standing behind the stone door were not the armored guards they had encountered along the way, but two colossal stone statues, each six men tall. Dazzling magical runes danced across their bodies, and a massive magical core in their chests spun and burned furiously. Just their presence exuded an aura of death that choked the captain and Haina’s throats.

“Su… Supreme Golems…” The captain and Haina’s hearts sank simultaneously.

Supreme Golems were the most powerful magical servants in the world. A single punch could pulverize even a formidable eighth-tier warrior, and their magical blasts rivaled the seventh-tier magic of a mage. Though the captain was a strong seventh-tier warrior, she stood no chance against them, not even a chance to escape. Why were there two of them in this tomb? Just how much had the Church invested in protecting this grave?

Now, forget holding them off; the captain and Haina wouldn’t even survive a second.

“It’s over…”

“Uoooooh!!” The Supreme Golems roared, their massive fists descending with a speed that defied their size. The captain and Haina’s vision instantly went dark.

Silence—

“Excuse me, may I interrupt?” A young man’s voice suddenly came from behind them.

The Supreme Golems’ fists hovered a foot above their heads. They quickly turned around. Behind them stood a slender young man in black cloth armor and a black cloak, seemingly appearing out of thin air.

He had ash-grey hair, turquoise eyes, pale skin, and a thin frame. Each finger on both hands was adorned with rings of various colors, making him appear eerily out of place in the dark tomb.

“Are you a mage from the Church…?” The captain finally gave in, her legs collapsing beneath her. “We’ve failed…”

Haina also slumped to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Wait, you’ve got it wrong. I don’t know anyone from the Church,” the young man said, waving his hands. His voice was low but pleasant. “I’m just an ordinary wild mage passing by. I saw two living people when I came in, so I thought I’d say hello.”

“Eh?” A glimmer of life returned to the captain’s unfocused eyes, and Haina stopped crying in surprise.

“You want the Saint’s belongings, right?” The young man smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth. “I don’t like to stand by and watch people die. It makes me feel useless. Since I’m here anyway, and I don’t need that thing, I’ll give it to you. In return, just don’t go blabbing about me after you get out.”

“Are you crazy? You can’t possibly defeat…” The captain instinctively questioned, but as she looked up, she saw that the Supreme Golems seemed to be bound by some invisible force, trembling violently but unable to move an inch.

“So, deal?” The young man nodded with satisfaction. “No one can refuse a deal this good, it’s like a Magic Swordsman’s heart.”

Before he finished speaking, he raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

“Gaaaaah!!!” A green light shot out from beneath the young man’s robe, instantly coalescing into a giant skull in mid-air. The skull emitted a chilling shriek, but its eyes, burning with green flames, were focused on the Supreme Golems like well-trained hounds.

“You have five seconds. Take them out,” the young man said calmly.

“Gaaaah!” The green light on the skull intensified, its eyes flashing with a blinding radiance. The terrifying magical fluctuations nearly stopped the captain and Haina’s hearts.

The golems raised their heads, opened their mouths, and unleashed scorching magical waves.

At that moment, dazzling beams shot from the skull’s eyes, colliding with the golems’ magical blasts.

The shockwave instantly pulverized a large swathe of floor tiles, sending debris raining down from the walls. The captain and Haina were blown off their feet, pressed firmly against the ground. The green-eyed young man stood leisurely in the center of the explosion, his robe flapping in the strong wind.

Rumble!

The golems’ magical waves melted like snow in a fire before the skull’s beams. Each beam struck a golem, and the magically resistant golems were instantly blasted into white-hot fragments.

The deafening echoes reverberated through the underground palace for more than ten seconds before gradually fading.

Having finished this, the young man strolled through the shattered stone door, kicked apart a clay funerary urn next to the coffin, rummaged through it, and tossed a small object to the captain.

The stunned captain, still on the ground, caught the object the young man threw. A tingling sensation spread through her wounds. She focused her gaze and saw a teardrop-shaped moonstone pendant in her hand—the very “Fountain’s Draw” that their entire squad had risked their lives for?

“It’s the Fountain’s Draw!” Haina cried tears of joy as she saw the pendant in the captain’s hand.

The captain clutched the Fountain’s Draw tightly, biting her lower lip as she stared at the young man who seemed to be casually browsing through the tomb.

Just who was he? His magic seemed to be necromancy. Could he be a necromancer?

Necromancers were the Church’s sworn enemies! Divine arts naturally countered necromancy, and any necromancer with common sense would avoid the Church at all costs… But why was he here… What was he planning?

The young man fumbled around the coffin and then lifted the lid, adorned with various gems, revealing the Saint’s ornate coffin! He didn’t stop there; he reached inside and started rummaging around.

That was the body of a Church Saint! Desecrating a Saint’s body was a far greater sin than the captain stealing a pendant!

Right before the captain and Haina’s eyes, the young man’s movements became increasingly bizarre. He reached into the coffin, seemingly grabbing something, and slowly pulled it out.

The captain and Haina’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads—from within the coffin, a stunningly beautiful young woman with long blonde hair, dressed in a magnificent gown and with closed eyes, slowly sat up as the young man pulled her out.

“He… he…” Haina trembled all over. “The Church will chase him to the ends of the earth…”

The young man helped the Saint’s now-sitting body step out of the coffin and onto the ground. Her eyes were now open, but although her body had been preserved by the Church’s magic and remained unchanged from her lifetime, her eyes were cloudy and unfocused, devoid of any expression. The underground palace was silent, except for the rustling of the Saint’s clothes as she moved and the desperate gasps of the captain and Haina as they tried to suppress their breathing.

“What does he want with the Saint’s body…” The captain’s expression was a mixture of confusion and fear. Her premonition had been correct. He was a necromancer, and a powerful one at that!

“Let’s go,” the young man said to the Saint’s body in a gentle voice.

The Saint’s body obediently took a step forward, but her joints seemed stiff, and she nearly fell before the young man caught her.

“Hmm… It seems we’ll have to wait a bit longer. In that case, I’ll carry you,” the young man said, stroking his chin as he opened his arms towards the Saint’s body.

The Saint’s body obediently opened her arms and clumsily nestled into the young man’s embrace.

“Flora is so cute… ♪” The young man chuckled softly as he held the Saint horizontally, seemingly delighted. He then started walking towards the exit.

The captain and Haina were completely dumbfounded.

As he passed them, the young man smiled and offered a parting remark: “I’ve already deactivated all the remaining traps along the way. Don’t tell anyone what I look like after you get out, okay? Although it doesn’t really matter if you do, I’d just have to dismantle the Church as a precaution. I hate chaos, you see.”

And so, this mysterious young man, brazenly carrying the body of the Church’s most talented and revered Saint as if he were on a casual stroll, walked towards the exit.

“He! He’s a necrophili…”

The captain swiftly covered Haina’s mouth.

***

• Dou Qi (斗气): Also translated as “Battle Qi” or “Fighting Aura.” It’s a form of internal energy cultivated by warriors, granting them superhuman strength and abilities.