Felicia

"You disappoint me, Felicia Myne... I expected much, much more from the necromancer who faced the Church and survived."

The elven mage hovered above Felicia, looking down from the top of her book. Her expression was one of disgust as she

"And yet, perhaps he did all the work. Perhaps you simply cowered in fear, hiding away in your shadows."

Felicia could not respond.

It was true. Hugo was the one who saved her from those inquisitors.

She didn't do anything.

Felicia gritted her teeth, clenching her staff with her right hand.

It hurt.

Every inch of her body hurt. There must be burns all over her body. It was only by sheer luck that she wasn't set on fire by that spell.

If it were Hugo in her place, he would've defeated this wannabe mage a long time ago.

She chuckled. She promised to be an asset to him yet here she was, lying down on the floor with the enemy taunting her from above.

...No. I can still win this. I just have to use everything I've learned from that book.

She could never be a righteous mage like he was. Back at the academy, she was merely average in subjects not related to alchemy or dark magic. And even now, her non-dark magic spells were far weaker compared to those cast by him.

In the end, her destiny was to delve in the realms of darkness and depravity.

And she was fine with that, if it was for his sake.

"No response? Very well. I'll end your miserable existence, human. Perhaps your beloved will prove more of a challenge, after he learns that I killed you."

A blade forged by the wind formed at her fingertips.

And with a wave of her hand, she sent it right towards Felicia.

Only for someone to jump out from her shadow, taking the blade in her stead.

"...Hmm? What is— Ah, I see. Finally. You're taking our fight seriously."

The elf identified the person in an instant.

It was that perverted orc—the son of that brutish woman.

Or rather, his corpse. For the necromancer had resurrected him as a zombie—to be his loyal puppet.

"You killed him. I'm surprised you could. How did you do it, if I might add? Surely, you wouldn't be able to notice his presence. Unless the cloak he wore was flawed?" she asked, a tinge of curiosity surfacing on her dull expression.

"Heh, it wasn't difficult in the slightest." Felicia grinned as she slowly stood back up, using her staff for her to lean on. "He tried to violate me. The fool could've killed me immediately but no, he had to overstep his role. Unfortunately for him, I despised being touched by anyone other than Milord. I puked right on him and that puke dirtied the cloth, weakening its effect."

"Allowing you to kill him. I knew it. I should've known that spider couldn't do her job right."

Felicia summoned a potion from her storage and drank it all in one gulp before storing the now empty phial back. Immediately her burn wounds receded until not a single one remained.

"Show me, necromancer. Show me the secrets of soul magic."

The elf snapped her fingers, and in an instant, a pillar of fire enveloped the reanimated corpse.

When it receded, however...

"Impossible..."

The corpse was still there, not burnt in the slightest.

No, she could definitely see and smell the smoke coming out from it. And yet, the flesh and clothes that should burn did not burn in the slightest.

Felicia's grin grew. That book didn't lie. The spell really did work as advertised.

"You like what you see, elf?" She patted herself on the chest. "I'm no ordinary necromancer. My corpses are all enhanced with a piece of my soul. Fire magic of that level could never take it down!"

All this time, she had done necromancy wrong. There was no need in preparing a corpse to be used as your puppet by embalming it with alchemy. All that she could do with magic. Soul magic to be exact. The true form of necromancy.

"What is a soul?" It was a question no one could answer satisfactorily. Not even that half-baked book could.

The contemporary opinion was that a soul was simply a lump of something that allowed a creature to be sapient. Something, being the keyword, as no one could really say what it was. You couldn't extract it out of your body. You couldn't measure it with any tool as well. It was simply an object known to exist due to the effects it brought to the outside world, not because of its own existence.

Until she read the Demon Lord of Death's book, that is.

The answer was laid bare. A soul was simply a lump of mana that contained the essence of the Creator Goddess, Gaia.

Yes, the very same Goddess that tormented her dear Hugo.

Think of it like a chocolate ball with a nut at the center. The nut is the essence while the chocolate is the mana.

Of course, said mana is wildly different from ordinary mana you use to cast your spells. It is bound to the essence, immutable by almost any means with the exception of necromancy and soul magic.

Thus, when a necromancer uses a part of his or her own soul to manipulate corpses, he or she shaves a bit of that chocolate and injects it into the corpse.

But, what if you could create your own chocolate layering? What if you could thicken your own soul, turning your own mana into becoming part of said lump?

Artificial Soul Creation. That was the knowledge she had learned from the book.

It wasn't easy. Not in the slightest. She had to drink a special potion and meditate day after day to achieve it.

But thanks to that, she could do this to a corpse—she could imbue it with far more soul than she could ever before.

And then, by using another spell, she could extend that chocolate to form a thin layer around the corpse, giving it immense durability. For that chocolate was a jawbreaker. It was terribly, awfully hard to penetrate. Other than using soul magic, of course.

Unfortunately, she couldn't do the same to herself. She would be killing her own lifespan by thinning her own soul.

And she would be damned if she couldn't spend her old, grandma days with Hugo, their children, their grandchildren, and their great grandchildren!

"Now, my filthy orc!" She pointed her staff towards the elf. "Jump towards that woman with all your might!"

With that order, the zombified orc jumped, far faster than the elf had anticipated.

"And now, explode!"

This time around, it was the elf who couldn't dodge the blast.

A burst of dark light burst forth from every orifice of the corpse, followed by a cloud of darkness.

The elf reacted by conjuring a barrier out of shadows. Or she would, if not for the fact that explosion occured right before her spell could form.

"Arghhh!"

With a scream, the elf was sent flying off her book and towards the nearest bookshelf. The impact sent the bookshelf down, creating a tremor that echoed through the library as books upon books rained down to the floor. Luckily for the elf, she didn't get buried under them, landing on the top instead. As for the giant book itself, it fell to the ground near her before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

Now! I have to finish her off!

Felicia submerged herself into her shadow, moving as swiftly as she could to where the elf fell. All the while the orc prince's corpse reattached themselves—chunk by chunk, skin by skin, bone by bone, even fabric by fabric as well. It was yet another effect of Felicia's magic, granting every piece of the corpse its own tiny soul.

Unfortunately, when she arrived at the massive pile of books, the elf was nowhere to be found.

Tch, where did she go? There's no way she could've recovered that fast! That explosion wasn't just an explosion! It contains a toxic cloud that would paralyze her from head to toe!

"...I'm impressed. You almost had me there, Felicia Myne."

Felicia looked up.

And saw the elf back on her book, looking down on her.

Only this time she looked visibly disheveled, with the ends of her hair going all over the place and her dress torn in many places  Gone were the lazy, disinterested look she had before. Now, she had a grave expression on her face. And she was standing on her two feet instead of sitting.

And resting on top of her head was a white, fluffy creature. Felicia could only describe it as a miniature dragon.

"If not for my Holy Dragon, I would have perished for sure. That poison of yours was strong—strong enough to stop my heart and lungs."

Holy Dragon? Why does she have one? I thought holy dragons only serve priests of the Heavenly Dragon!

The elf's gaze switched to the side. "Even that doesn't destroy it, huh? What a spell. I suppose you couldn't tell me how you cast it?"

"Hmph," Felicia smirked triumphantly, placing a hand near her chest. "Sorry but it's a trade secret."

"The selfishness of human mages… No. All mages worth their salt are like this. Knowledge is power. And you would be a fool to share that power with others. Look at this library for instance. It took me hundreds of years to gather all the books in it. The Library of Absolute Wisdom. That was its name before I moved it to this floating fortress."

Felicia paused, biting her thumb with her lip. That name… I've heard it somewhere…

Oh! It's from that legend!

Once, there was said to be a library where all the knowledge of the world was held. That library was named The Library of Absolute Wisdom and it was said to be ruled by the Demon Lord of Wisdom. However, grieving at the foolishness of the world, he decided that no one deserved his knowledge and so he took his library to the skies, leaving the impure world behind forever.

...Hold on a sec.

"Are you... are you the original Demon Lord of Wisdom? You're the caretaker of this library, right? How long have you been here?"

"How long? A foolish question. We elves do not count our lives the same way as you humans do."

Felicia wracked her brain, trying to remember her studies regarding the history of the Demon Continent.

That’s right! The current Demon Lord didn’t rise into prominence before the last three hundred years! Before that, no one has the title of the Demon Lord of Wisdom! There was only the myth and nothing else!

“I see it now.” Felicia smirked. “You really are the old Demon Lord of Wisdom. Tell me then. Why did you decide to surrender your title to your husband?”

“…None of your business, human. But, if you wish to know that badly, tell me the secret of your necromantic spell.”

Felicia clicked her tongue. Oh well. Like she said, it really is none of my business.

“I’ll tell you. Once you defeat me in combat first. Come, my zombie! Strike her down once more!”

She couldn’t tell her. No matter what.

For the book had made her promise not to tell the knowledge resting in it to anyone unworthy of it.

And this elven woman—she was just like those selfish mages of the Magocracy. There was no worthy bone in her body in the slightest.

The orc zombie flew towards the the elf.

This time around, however, she was ready.

Or rather, the dragon was ready.

The dragon let out a screech. A barrier formed around the elf.

The very same barrier used by the priests of the Heavenly Dragon.

“Stop!” Felicia yelled.

The orc halted its movement just before it crashed into it.

However, the dragon wasn’t finished. It screeched once more, shattering the barrier that surrounded the elf.

Turning it into shards that swarmed both the orc and his mistress.

Tch! This is new!

Felicia erected her shadow barrier, just in time to prevent any of the shards to hurt her. As for the orc, it just tanked all the shards, resulting in it being shredded into pieces. Unfortunately, it was unable to reform itself immediately, thanks to the holy energy that had poisoned it.

And that gave an opening for the elf to strike.

"Water Spout." She pointed her finger towards her.

No. Not her.

Under me!

Felicia jumped backwards, using her shadows to throw herself further into the distance. Just in time to dodge the massive torrent of water bursting out of the floor she was standing on.

"Shadows! Transform into swords and swarm her!"

She aimed her staff towards the elf, sending a rain of swords made out of shadows towards her.

The dragon screeched again, erecting a barrier just in time to block all of them.

Tch! It's not working!

Knowing she was at a disadvantage, Felicia retreated, submerging herself inside her shadow before slithering away.

This is bad! My dark magic is weak to her holy magic! I have to think of something!

"Running away? This can't be all you can do, can it?"

The elf descended, and the moment her feet touched the floor, the giant book slammed itself shut before transforming itself into its small, normal book-sized form. It then hovered around the elf, whose eyes were now sweeping across the room.

"It doesn't matter where you go. There's no escaping this place."

She snapped her fingers.

With a loud rumble, the books around her came to life, forming golems made out of paper and leather. Their sizes varied, from the small ones the sizes of dogs to the towering ones the size of a house.

Every book she collected over the years was charmed by her, allowing her to use them as her loyal watchdogs.

Truthfully, she didn't care whether her books remained in good condition or not. After all, she already remembered every single knowledge written on them.

"Flawless Memory". It was the mutation she possessed from the day she was born.

It was her who told Balthazar of the truth of the world all those years ago. For she had lived a long, long time, far longer than the average elves of the world. Indeed, she possessed the lifespan of a high elf. For she had lived through two Cycles of the world.

She was there when the old Demon God was born. She was there too before when the world was a completely different place.

"You can't stay inside your shadow however, you know. Just like a human needs air as she swims, so do you as well. Unless, of course, you prefer being swallowed by your own shadows."

She snapped her fingers again and in an instant, ink began to leak from the golems, slowly spreading to every inch of the library floor.

"My ink will find you. It is only a matter of time."

"As for your little puppet here..."

She aimed her left hand towards the reforming corpse, her right hand holding onto her book.

"He can take a good, nice rest under the ice."

With a Frost Nova, she buried the orc under a pile of snow and ice.

ᅠ

Come on Felicia! Think! Think what you can do! How can you counter that dragon?

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the elf, Felicia (in her shadow form) was jumping from bookshelves to bookshelves, trying to dodge both the golems and the ink they were now drowning the place in.

The brute force option—casting a spell strong enough to break the barrier. I probably can do it, if I can charge enough mana into the spell. But that's the problem, isn't it? I can't stand still and charge up without getting hammered by her golems.

Another option—using the poisons I have in my storage. I remember storing a gas bomb that can kill you in an instant if you breathe it. But Holy Magic also includes anti-poisons. That dragon will just neutralize it, I'm sure of it.

Grr, where did she get that dragon anyway? And how can she make it her familiar? Holy Dragons hate demons and any signs of dark magic! It doesn't make sense in the slightest!

For now, I should just get to her. She's letting her guard down, walking on the ground like that instead of hovering up with her book. If I can ambush the dragon, I can take them both by the same time.

Felicia slithered onto the edge of the bookshelf she was on. She then waited until both the golems and the elf looked away before jumping across to a different one.

Good! Now, the next one!

It took her a good few minutes until she was right on top of the elf. Just in time before she reached the limit of her spell.

Now, I'll form a blade with my shadow and stab it right through the dragon!

She jumped out of the shadow, holding the blade with her left hand in a stabbing motion as shadow tendrils surrounded her, aiding in her descent.

Only to find that the barrier was still there.

She had fallen into her trap.

"Found you."

The elf glanced towards her, a victorious smirk appearing on her face.

And fired a point blank lightning spell, right towards her chest.

"Gyaaaahhhhhhh!"

Felicia screamed, her vision darkening as she fell to the floor. Her shadow tendrils dissolved, losing the strength needed to continue as their caster failed to supply the requisite mana.

The elf gave her body a kick, making her face towards her and not towards the floor.

"Her pupils are entirely white... and I don't see her chest moving... I guess she really died from that spell...."

"Humans... they're so fragile and short-lived..."

"Now, I just need to extract any objects she stored in her Dimensional Storage. I have to do it quickly before it collapses entirely."

She knelt down, placing one hand on her chest while the other held onto her book. She closed her hands and began to concentrate, linking her mana flow with hers.

She never realized that Felicia... was not completely dead.

SLICE

A simple dagger, made out of shadow, sliced her on her left wrist, the one that was near her body.

It was all she needed to win.

With a smile, she whispered the chant, gripping her staff as tightly as she could as she smiled at her.

"Blood Magic. Blood Marionette."

The elf froze.

She could no longer move.

Realizing that its mistress was in danger, the dragon leaped forward, fully intending to chomp Felicia's head off.

Unfortunately, it was dismissed by the very same mistress it was supposed to save.

"Drop that book."

Her right hand obeyed, letting the magic book fall to the ground.

"Now, kill yourself, would you kindly?" Felicia smirked.

The elf's eyes went wide with fear. Tears began to brim inside her pupils as she slowly brought her hands towards her neck.

She could do nothing. Even her mental commands to her golems weren't received by them. She had ensured that she wouldn't be able to cast any spells either by blocking the flow of her mana.

It was the pinnacle of Blood Magic. She casted Blood Marionette without a chant and at such a high speed. And she managed to gain control in an instant as well.

She had lived for thousands of years. And yet, she never managed to master Blood Magic to that level.

Just like how she never mastered necromancy to her level.

A human! Surpassing me in my magic potential!

"This-this is unfair!" She yelled, as Felicia still allowed her to speak. "You can't do this to me, you human! You've planned this from the start, haven't you?!"

Felicia's smirk only grew. "That's right. I know it was a trap from the start. Do you take me for a fool?"

Her fingers were now wrapped around her throat. And against her will, they began to dig themselves into her skin.

"W-wait! I give up! I surrender! I admit that you're a superior mage than me!" The elf squealed.

"I don't care about that. All I want to know is where that Victoria girl is, as well as Lord Hugo and the others' whereabouts."

"The girl is below this library, at the very core of the fortress... As for your friends, I don't know. The spell couldn't bring you all to a single place so it scattered your group all around the fortress."

"Ah, so it was you who made the spell."

"Haa... haa... haa..."

Adele took a deep, long breath, relieved that Felicia was merciful enough to stop the choking.

"Tell me then." Felicia kneeled in front of her, giving her a smile that terrified the elf. "What's your plan with her, hmm? Why do you care so much for a half-fey like her to be doing all of this? You're the brains of this whole place, aren't you, Miss Former Demon Lord of Wisdom?"

The elf had no choice but to respond.