The city was bustling with noise. Abis held Flora's hand and helped her dismount from a semi-transparent warhorse emitting a fluorescent green glow. He then extended his hand towards the warhorse, and with a neigh, the horse turned into a green smoke and entered one of the rings on Abis' hand.
Then, he lightly snapped his fingers and the two of them emerged from the Darkness.
Flora was no longer wearing the luxurious dress she wore at her burial, but instead was dressed in a simple white peasant woman's dress. The makeup she wore before the burial had also been removed that evening. As the former saint of the Holy See, Flora was still very beautiful even without any makeup. To avoid trouble, Flora lowered her head slightly and leaned close to Abis, whispering, "Are we just going to appear on the street like this?"
"Don't worry, in the eyes of others, we don't just suddenly appear, and no one will notice anything unusual about us. They just won't be able to recall how we got here," Abis shrugged. He had also taken off his cloak at this point, wearing only inconspicuous cloth armor. Though his gray hair was not common, it was not extremely rare either. Many humans with elven bloodlines had this hair color.
"Won't the rings on your hand be too conspicuous?" Flora still felt uneasy, pointing at Abis. "Wearing so many rings might make people suspicious, and if the Holy See finds out..."
"Oh, others can't see them," Abis waved his hand in front of Flora. "I truly used an illusion this time. Now, the rings on my hand are like an ogre's brain, completely undetectable."
"Did you have to use such a grotesque metaphor?"
"...Sorry, it's just a habit," Abis stuck out his tongue halfway.
This Western Empire city was not far from Flora's tomb. The Western Empire was considered the most powerful empire on the continent, with a developed economy, and the headquarters of the Holy See was also located within the Western Empire's territory. As the neighbor of the highest-level saint's tomb, the size of this city certainly could not be underestimated.
When Abis brought Flora out of the tomb, it was just getting dark. They stayed in a cabin until midnight before setting off in this direction. Riding on the summoned undead warhorse, they arrived here at sunrise. After daybreak, Flora realized how advanced Abis' necromancy was: Advanced necromancy could awaken the memories and thoughts of the deceased, but the awakened undead still had the common weakness of fearing sunlight. However, Flora walked alongside Abis without feeling any harm from the sunlight, and the warmth of the sun even made her feel comfortable.
This teenager by her side was becoming more and more mysterious. According to his own words, he was only sixteen years old, even younger than the age Flora herself died. Yet, he understood such advanced necromancy.
Spellcasting in necromancy was extremely difficult, and each necromantic spell was not a simple spell, but a combination of multiple spells, becoming more intricate and complex the higher the level. The rarity of necromancers on the continent was not only due to the persecution from the Holy See, but also because the entry barrier for necromancy spells was too high.
"We're going to the library of the Holy See," Abis said, holding Flora's hand as they navigated through the crowd. "The location of the Holy See's tomb is not a secret, but the whereabouts of the imperial princess' tomb are strictly confidential. We need to check the records in historical books."
Although Flora didn't really want to dig up a royal tomb together with Abis, she still curiously asked, "Can we find the princess' tomb location in historical books?"
"Of course not," Abis glanced back at Flora. "But we can infer step by step where the people who participated in the burial back then were. The princess we're digging up is the illegitimate daughter of the previous emperor of the Western Empire, Princess Leona. She died forty-two years ago, so many of those who were involved in her funeral must have already passed away. My favorite thing is dealing with dead people."
Flora shuddered. She saw through Abis' clear eyes and serious expression that he was not joking. He genuinely loved dead people.
"Princess Leona... I've heard about her. She was the illegitimate daughter of the emperor and a noblewoman, and she awakened her Fighting Spirit at the age of one. Her strength continued to rise, and by the age of ten, she had already reached the highest ninth rank of Fighting Spirit," Flora searched her memory. "Later, she kept getting stronger, but the standards on the continent only go up to the ninth rank, so she couldn't advance beyond that. Unfortunately, she died at just the age of adulthood due to the backlash caused by the chaotic flow of Fighting Spirit.""Died from a vicious curse." Abis suddenly stopped and stared at Flora, "The true cause of Princess Leona's death was a curse."
"Huh?" Flora was stunned.
"No spirit can lie in front of me, so I know many truths," Abis smiled slightly and somewhat dominantly grabbed Flora's hand, continuing to walk, "Living people are not under my jurisdiction, but once they lose their lives, there is only one way to submit to me."
Flora blinked her beautiful eyes and didn't respond. She keenly felt the certainty and a hint of regal aura when Abis spoke. She had only seen this kind of aura on the Emperor of the Empire and the Pope, it was the pride and composure of true rulers looking down on all living beings. The Emperor ruled over the people, the Pope ruled over the believers, and Abis... ruled over the dead!
...
"Without the blue emblem of the Holy See or 30 Imperial coins, you cannot enter the library," the administrator at the entrance sneered at the two in front of him.
The ruler of the dead was blocked by the library administrator because he couldn't produce the money.
"I forgot that the library of the Holy See is not free and is quite expensive," Abis turned back and looked embarassedly at Flora, "I used my last money to buy you the dress."
"I... I'm sorry." Flora didn't expect that a powerful being like Abis would not have a single coin, and she instinctively lowered her head.
"No, I don't want you to apologize. It's just that now I'm as poor as a werewolf's stomach," Abis scratched his head, "How about this, let's go and earn some money first."
"How can we earn money?" Flora looked embarrassedly at Abis, who showed his empty hands, "I'm sorry... I don't know anything except for Spirits and singing... and Spirits..."
"Let's go to the mercenary guild in the city. There should be enough commission for us to go to the library," Abis waved his hand, "Any commission is just running errands, completely without difficulty."
"Ah... the mercenary guild..." Flora also remembered that there was indeed such an organization on the continent, but it didn't have much influence, just a group of mercenaries gathered together for convenience in accepting commissions and trading. They were basically present in every larger city. The Holy See looked down upon these mercenaries who would do anything for money and lived by the sword, and as the Saintess, Flora was naturally taught not to have any contact with them. But now, she unexpectedly had to personally go to the mercenary guild to accept commissions.
However, Flora didn't feel humiliated, but rather curious and a little excited.
