Holy Necromancer: Rebirth of the Strongest Mage

[A few weeks ago]     

Gabriel bid his farewell to Lira before going to the Royal city on the mission, occasionally glancing back. He had taken his first step toward his destiny, going all alone in the midst of enemies in the Lumen Empire.      

Watching Gabriel leave, Lira remained silent for a few minutes as if thinking something. She didn't look very happy though. It was as if some worry was eating her up from the inside.      

The silence was only broken when a voice echoed in her head. "Good work on winning his trust, little one."     

Lira remained silent even as she heard that dark voice, not even surprised.      

"Now all that's left is for him to bring the Ancestral Staff back… and then we can have everything!"     

"Do we really have to do this to him?" Lira asked, slightly hesitant.      

"Are you really asking that question?!" The Dark Voice exclaimed. "Don't let feelings get in the way of your purpose!"     

"Don't forget that he isn't a friend! He is a tool! A tool for you to use! A tool that doesn't need free will! A tool that can get us everything that we need! As soon as he brings the Ancestral Staff of Darkness back, you will be able to cast the spell that can even overwhelm his mind! We need no distractions!"     

"I haven't forgotten anything…."     

 Lira's visage changed as soon as she heard about her purpose. It was as if she was a completely different person now, showing an entirely different personality that had never made an appearance before Gabriel.      

Her friendly personality was nowhere to be found.      

"We can use that boy… he holds the Origin Element. Never forget why we approached him… just wait for him to bring the Ancestral Staff back to us. Once you control the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, then we will be able to make some real use of him…."      

It was unclear where the voice was coming from, but only Lira could hear that voice.      

Lira nodded. "I remember. Once he brings the Ancestral Staff back…."     

Deep inside, she didn't want to have to do it, but she knew that she had no choice. On one end, she wanted to have Gabriel as a friend since only he could understand the side of her. On the other end, she knew that if she had to achieve her goals, she had to do it!     

Unfortunately for her, even she didn't realize that Gabriel didn't trust her entirely either. His recent experience had already taught him how to wear a mask, never showing his true thoughts.      

Just like she had plans for him, Gabriel was no different… Once burned, Gabriel had learned his lesson.      

****     

[Present Day]     

Lira wanted the Ancestral Staff back, which could give her enough strength even to control a Ruler of Element, especially someone like Gabriel, who wasn't even an advanced Mage yet!     

Gabriel also knew that the Ancestral Staff could make Lira too strong, even for him.     

Presently, he had lower spiritual strength with the Ancestral Staff to boost it, which could match Lira's high spiritual strength, which didn't have the Ancestral Staff boost. He didn't want to break that balance without ensuring that this imbalance couldn't hurt him.      

He wanted to place a failsafe on the Ancestral Staff of Darkness!     

Gabriel bit his fingers, ignoring the suggestion given to him by Novius. Even though it was risky, he was fully prepared to attempt what was supposed to be impossible.      

A blood droplet fell on the Ancestral Staff of Darkness that was lying on the ground, unmoving.     

As soon as Gabriel's blood touched the Staff of Darkness, it evaporated instantly. It didn't stay on the Ancestral Staff for even a second before disappearing, as if the Staff didn't allow his blood to be there. Not only did the blood burn, but Gabriel also felt a bit hurt at the same time.      

He didn't know why but as soon as his blood touched the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, his hand felt a burning sensation, even though it wasn't touching the Ancestral Staff of Darkness.      

"One drop won't be enough for a treasure like the staff," Cylix reminded Gabriel, who was staring at his hand after that burning sensation. His hand was still looking fine.      

Gabriel placed his bleeding finger on the Ancestral Staff of Darkness directly this time.      

"Urgh!"     

As his finger landed on the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, he felt as if he had placed his finger on molten lava. The pain was just so much that subconsciously, he would've already taken off his finger if he wasn't making a conscious effort in forcing it there.      

Unfortunately, this wasn't just a burning sensation like before this time. His finger's skin was actually being burned. For Gabriel, a single second here felt like an eternity before this pain.      

Despite all the problems, he kept his finger hard-pressed on the staff as he started carving the binding symbol on the Ancestral Staff.      

Other than the resistance and the pain of being burned, he didn't face much trouble, thanks to which he was able to finish carving the binding formation successfully, but that was just the initial part. Just carving the binding formation wasn't enough. It needed to succeed as well.      

As soon as he finished the formation, he retracted his hand, observing his burned skin.      

"Minor Heal."     

He cast a Minor Heal on his finger to give some relief in the pain. Unfortunately, the Minor Heal didn't work for a wound like this.      

Even though he could see his finger bones through the burnt flesh, the healing didn't heal his skin as if this wound was too much for it.      

It was also somewhat because it was his right hand that was burned. His Mark of Death was also in his right hand, which decreased the influence of other elemental spells around it, especially the element of Light.      

The pain was hard to deal with, but more than that, Gabriel was concerned about the Ancestral Staff of Darkness. His blood was still on the staff, but the trail of his blood on his mark was slimming down. Even after all this, the binding hadn't even started taking effect.      

"Is it really not possible?" Gabriel muttered, noticing his Blood Mark almost on the verge of disappearing.      

"Hmm?"      

It was as if Gabriel had already given in when he noticed something different. The blood had stopped deteriorating just when the spell was on the verge of being destroyed, being held by a small thread.      

The Ancestral Staff of Darkness started shaking on the ground as his blood finally started taking effect.      

Gabriel had used more blood on the Ancestral Staff of Darkness than he did on any other Numen, and finally, it looked like something was happening.      

The Blood formation that he cast on the Ancestral Staff started shining as the spell finally decided to attempt the binding to Gabriel.      

Cylix straightened up. Finally, something was happening. He looked at the Ancestral Staff of Darkness getting down from his throne. He wanted to look from closer.      

Novius also followed behind. The two moved within a five-meter range of the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, coming close but not too close.      

As the symbol on the Ancestral Staff started shining, Gabriel felt his head beginning to thump as if someone was hitting his head again and again with a hammer.      

He also felt like all his strength was being sucked down by the Mark of Binding in an attempt to keep the Staff in Control until the binding was successful.      

With time, Gabriel weakened more and more until he felt no different than he did after Axion's battle. The burden on his soul was too much, similar to when he used a high-tier spell before.      

The only difference was that at least the high-tier spell was successful, even though it harmed him. But this Mark of Binding? Even now, it hasn't succeeded. The binding mark was still shining, trying to gather more and more strength.      

The Ancestral Staff of Darkness also didn't stop resisting. Its shaking intensified only. Even though it was in a different space, the Ancestral Staff of Darkness was still connected to the Holy Grimoire of Darkness.      

Lira was in the forest, wondering if she should send someone else inside the Lumen City to find out what happened inside the city with Gabriel, when she felt her Holy Grimoire coming out to its real form.      

The Holy Grimoire opened on its own; without any command from Lira, the pages of the Holy Grimoire started flipping on their own, turning from one blank page to the other.      

"What is happening?" Lira wondered, confused. Even she hadn't seen something like this happen before. She failed to understand what was happening. Why was her Ancestral Grimoire getting so impatient?     

The Holy Grimoire of Darkness stopped on the middle page, which was completely empty at the moment.      

Some words started appearing on the page.      

Lira read those words, only to be stunned.     

"That bastard!" The mysterious dark voice echoed in her head again.      

****     

The Ancestral Staff of Darkness kept resisting to Gabriel, even as the binding formation tried to tie it.      

Gabriel was already feeling very weak after having to use so much energy to control the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, and his Grimoire wasn't helping him either. It was as if it was his Grimoire's way of telling him that he had to do it himself.      

The Ancestral Staff of Darkness also started shining as a mysterious black energy surrounded the Ancestral Staff. The dark energy soon exploded, spreading all over the floor, making everything pitch black.      

In the Darkness, only Novius and Qin were able to see as they were Mages of Darkness who could see in this darkness as well.      

Both of them saw Gabriel closing his eyes as soon as the dark energy spread out. It was unclear if it was from weakness or from something else, but Gabriel lost his consciousness.      

The Darkness that had spread all around also disappeared as soon as Gabriel lost consciousness. The darkness disappeared, revealing the Ancestral Staff of Darkness. The binding formation was still there, but it was even weaker as its shine decreased with time.