The Necromancer Appears

Hearing Kristine’s words, Irena nodded.

“Yes, if the professor didn’t love the senior and Aunt Mona, he wouldn’t have let you into this room.”

Black, at the side, had been silent from beginning to end.

He looked at Kristine’s clear pupils, a strange feeling in his heart.

‘Is Kristine really such a simple person?’

‘Did she really not notice anything at all?’

The game hadn’t mentioned this point.

And it was difficult for him to see through her inner thoughts.

Of course, he couldn’t possibly ask.

‘Forget it…’

‘Before this bubble is burst.’

‘Let’s just leave it like this.’

‘Let this silly girl be happy for one more day, and count it as a day.’

Afterward, the group returned to the living room of the main house.

They sat down around the warm fireplace and continued to chat.

The topic naturally turned to the Sacred Rite tomorrow.

As the last night of the annual Golden Feast, besides the core blessing ceremony.

There would also be many festival activities at the church.

Correspondingly, there would be many stalls, with food, drinks, games, and entertainment.

It was a street festival that adults with children and young couples alike loved the most.

At this moment, Irena suddenly remembered something and leaned in front of Kristine.

“By the way, Senior, tomorrow’s Sacred Rite is also your birthday, right?”

“Jianye and I have already prepared gifts!”

Jianye, who was sitting at the side, also nodded upon hearing this.

In fact, she and Kristine were not too familiar, so she naturally didn’t know about any birthday.

But Irena cherished her only three friends very much.

She had dragged her to the store to pick a gift for the senior, under the pretext of giving some advice.

Jianye had bought a gift as well.

This was unexpected for Kristine.

Although she received so many gifts every year that she needed a special room to store them.

But most of them were from admirers, or those with ulterior motives. There were not many from true friends.

So for someone as sincere as Irena, she was genuinely happy.

“Thank you, for specially remembering my birthday.”

Speaking of birthday gifts, her gaze couldn’t help but pass over the others.

And land on Black, who was standing quietly by the window, looking outside.

The others noticed this, and except for Irena, the other three understood.

This Saintess of theirs, her affection for a certain someone was already overflowing.

Perhaps even she herself hadn’t noticed.

Feeling the gazes focused on him.

Black was slightly stunned and was pulled back to reality from his thoughts.

His mind was completely occupied by the necromancer, the Sacred Rite, and the possible changes that might occur afterward.

It was only after Irena’s reminder that he remembered that in the game’s setting, the day of the Sacred Rite was also Kristine’s birthday.

He had indeed forgotten about this.

Facing Kristine’s sparkling, expectant eyes, he really couldn’t bring himself to say that he hadn’t prepared anything, and hadn’t even known.

However, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

‘That thing at the Sacred Rite could also be considered a kind of birthday gift, right?’

Thinking of this, he turned around, a mysterious arc at the corner of his mouth.

“Of course I remember.”

He looked at Kristine, his tone firm.

“A one-of-a-kind gift.”

He deliberately paused, keeping her in suspense, before continuing.

“It will be delivered on time at the Sacred Rite tomorrow night.”

“Please look forward to it.”

This was an unexpected reply, which made Kristine stunned for a moment.

Then, her face was replaced by an even stronger anticipation. She nodded vigorously, her smile bright.

“Okay! I’ll be waiting!”

Compared to this, Irena felt that her gift was immediately inferior, and she said complainingly.

“Tch! So mysterious. What is it? Can’t you reveal a little bit now?”

Black looked at her and shook his head: “It’s a secret.”

…

At midnight, all was silent.

The backyard of the orphanage.

This place where the children played during the day was swallowed by the thick darkness of the night.

The night wind blew through the cracks in the old wooden planks, making a sound like a sigh, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

The huge oak tree, under the bleak moonlight, bent its twisted, gnarled branches.

The shadow it cast on the ground was like a ferocious giant claw intending to seize the earth.

Black and the others were all hidden in the shadows in a corner of the backyard.

Their breathing was deliberately light, blending in with the darkness.

After waiting for a moment, there was still no movement around except for the sound of the wind.

Leon was getting a little impatient. He lowered his voice and asked Black beside him.

“Black, didn’t you just say you saw a trace of an evil spirit?”

“We’ve been here for a while now. Why haven’t we seen a single ghost?”

Not long ago, they had returned to the orphanage.

Just like during the day, they split into groups to investigate the surroundings. As it approached midnight, Black suddenly had them all gather.

Claiming to have found traces of evil spirits in the backyard.

However, as time passed minute by minute, the expected enemy did not appear.

In the shadows, Black’s voice was low.

“Don’t be anxious.”

He hadn’t seen any evil spirit at all. That was just a lie to gather everyone here reasonably.

However, he wasn’t wrong.

The necromancer would definitely appear here tonight.

Kristine gripped the staff in her hand, her fingertips turning slightly white from the force.

She carefully scanned every corner of the backyard.

As a priest, many of her holy spells had a natural restraining effect on evil spirits.

Therefore, if a battle broke out, Kristine was not afraid of any necromancer.

What she was thinking about was how to completely resolve this potential threat.

After all, for every day this evil necromancer existed, the children in the orphanage were in more danger.

Fortunately, the backyard was quite far from the children’s dormitory area.

Even if a battle broke out, it wouldn’t affect that area.

Jianye remained silent, her gaze locked on the huge oak tree, her mind rapidly simulating how to most effectively block the enemy’s route if a battle broke out.

Compared to the others’ solemnity, Irena’s heart was filled more with irrepressible excitement.

This was her first time fighting alongside so many companions.

Black’s calmness, Jianye’s sharpness, and Kristine’s power, she had experienced them all before.

Being able to join forces with them made her feel much more confident, as if she were fearless even in the face of stronger enemies.

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

In the center of the backyard, under the huge oak tree, the situation changed.

A shuffling of footsteps, from far to near, broke the dead silence of the night.

Everyone’s nerves instantly tensed, and their gazes all turned to the source of the sound.

Soon, several figures staggered into the moonlit area.

They had human forms, but their movements were stiff, their eyes were vacant, and they walked like puppets on strings.

They were the ones who had been possessed by evil spirits.

Irena’s pupils constricted, and she exclaimed in a low voice.

“The boy on the left, I recognize him. It’s that Mills!”