Ileia pondered for a long time before gradually finding a way to solve the problem.
Summoning magic is essentially about dragging undead creatures over from the underworld to enslave or contract them.
And the premise of this magic is the existence of a conceptual space like the “Underworld” or “Realm of the Dead.”
Previously…she had tried communicating with such places, but in the end there was no response at all, not even any sign of such a space existing.
“Mm…it seems my previous judgment was correct.”
Ileia looked at the gate of black mist gradually collapsing in front of her, gently rubbing her chin.
It wasn’t that her aptitude was too dull — it was that this world truly didn’t have anything like an underworld.
So after most creatures died…where would their souls go?
Return to this world?
Return to the so-called Supreme God of legend?
Or…be absorbed by some so-called higher being?
Ileia didn’t know, and besides, such matters were still too distant for her.
Right now…she wanted to verify something that was more important to her current situation.
She felt the flow of mana within her body, gradually gathering it in her palm!
Poof!
In the next second, a ball of ghostly blue flame appeared in Ileia’s hand.
Unlike ordinary flames that brought scorching heat, this blue fire gave a bone-chilling sense of cold, as if anything it touched would instantly turn into a pile of icy shards!
This was called Soul Fire.
One of the basic spells mastered by necromancers, it could be easily summoned by concentrating death magic into the palm.
“Without relying on the Underworld, and just using my own mana, I can use it so easily?”
Ileia nodded.
But…without summoning magic, wouldn’t a necromancer be no different from a crippled mage?
She needed to figure out how to solve this problem…
No underworld, no underworld…then why shouldn’t I just create my own underworld, a kingdom of the dead?!
A somewhat crazy idea suddenly flashed through Ileia’s mind.
But what would it take to create such a place?
Corpses?
Souls?
Resentment?
Or…
Having only just stepped into the field of necromancy, Ileia was a bit lost.
The fire in her heart gradually calmed down.
Forget it, she’d still…ake it step by step.
Thinking so, Ileia got up and walked out the door, opening a window in the corridor.
After everything that had happened, it was now near dusk.
The streets were still bustling with people — after all, the Crystal Capital had no curfew.
At night, as long as you weren’t afraid of running into robbers, you could go out however you pleased.
No one would care.
Since she couldn’t summon skeletal servants from the underworld, then…could she find corpses to transform instead?
Wait, that was jumping ahead.
She should start with souls first.
Touching her chin, Ileia decided to give it a try!
However, although she was a noble young lady and could do as she pleased, this kind of thing…still suited the nighttime better.
With that thought, Ileia returned to her room and continued with her non-summoning magic experiments.
Night fell.
The bright sun slanted westward, no longer able to cover the sky full of stars with its light.
Moonlight…or rather, countless star systems alternately shimmering, cast the night in a mysterious and eerie pale purple.
And under this dim glow, a carriage drove along a small road on the outskirts of the city.
Clip-clop, clip-clop…
The sound of hooves gave the silent night a bit of rhythm, making the owls perched atop treetops turn and gaze.
“Hoo hoo hoo…”
Sitting at the front of the carriage, Yumina listened to the owl calls, felt the surrounding chill, and subconsciously touched her arm through the linen cloak.
Her fair neck slowly stretched forward, peering at the cluster of uneven bluestone gravestones and the field of weeds ahead.
This should…be the place.
She wondered why the young lady had come here in the middle of the night…
Though she thought so in her heart, Yumina had no intention of asking out loud.
She merely turned slightly and whispered,
“My lady…we’ve arrived at Cemetery No. 3 on the outskirts.”
“Mm.”
As Ileia responded, the carriage slowly stopped at the entrance of the cemetery.
This was a commoners’ cemetery on the outskirts — not much different from a mass grave.
There were no caretakers or watchmen, and it was far inferior to the “Resting Grounds” inside the city.
“Ooh…it feels so nice here~”
Whoosh!
First to jump off the carriage was Vell.
At this moment, her black eyes seemed to shimmer with a strange light, as if a black flame was burning within them.
“The scent of death…truly a nostalgic aroma~”
Whoo…
Ileia also jumped down, feeling the chill in the air.
Her somewhat drowsy mind instantly cleared a bit.
So this was the scent of death?
Originally a terrifying, unsettling aura, now felt to her senses so intimate, so tranquil — like the tolling of a distant bell.
“Whew! Well? Can you sense anything?”
Ileia tilted her head to look at the still-enraptured Vell.
“Huh? Sense anything…mm…this place seems to have souls, but not many. They’re just some mindless wandering spirits, not even enough to manifest individually as undead.”
Vell glanced around, then gave a fairly objective assessment.
“Uh…wandering spirits…are there ghosts here?”
Compared to the calm of these two, Yumina was already trembling a bit.
This world also had ghost legends.
It could only be said that humanity’s fear of their own dead held a place in any world.
“It’s fine. I’m here.”
Ileia reached out and pinched Yumina’s cheek, then slowly infused her magic into her eyes.
She couldn’t directly see soul forms like Vell could — she had to use some auxiliary means.
For example, wrapping the aura of death around her eyeballs.
…
As the black mist gradually covered her vision, all the surrounding flowers, trees — in fact, all tangible things — disappeared without a trace.
In the thick black mist, Ileia could faintly see seven or eight ghostly blue figures aimlessly drifting about.
These…were wandering souls.
Although she still didn’t know where the souls in this world ultimately ended up, just seeing that there were souls wandering here set Ileia’s mind at ease.
Thankfully, her path hadn’t been completely cut off.
She could still squeeze something out of this, pick up some scraps.
“Yumina, that paper from before — give it to me now.”
Unable to see the tangible world before her eyes, Ileia groped around in the darkness, reaching out her hand.
“Yes! Here you go, my lady!”
Rustle!
A piece of yellowed parchment was placed in her palm.
Ileia promptly dropped to one knee and pressed the paper against the ground.
“Homeless wandering souls, fragmented conscious spirits — heed my summons! I, Ileia Bartios, call upon you to gather here in my name!”
Yumina felt that right after the young lady spoke this string of words that sounded like some sort of incantation, the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped a little.
What followed was…bursts of eerie winds and…strange, inexplicable whispers.
She actually succeeded in attracting the dead souls on the very first try!?
Vell was a bit surprised.
This was someone who had only just started dabbling in necromancy at noon today — she did have quite the talent…
Wait, no!
It must be because this girl was using the magic power that she, Vell, had provided!
Just thinking of that made Vell’s face heat up uncontrollably.
Looking at Ileia, who was kneeling on one knee and fully focused on casting her spell, she suddenly felt an urge — to just kick this girl over!
But…wouldn’t that get her killed?
N-no!
It wasn’t because she was afraid of her…it’s just…just that the girl had let her freely eat all those desserts…
That’s right!
It was because she herself was generous, not stooping to the same petty level as this girl!
Hmph~