Who Said A Necromancer Can't Be A Priest?

"You're quick on the uptake," the high priest smirked. "But realising that won't change—!"

"You talk too much."

Aaran was a necromancer. He couldn't possibly harm him using darkness. On the other hand, the high priest had the physical strength to crush him.

"And you need to tone yourself down while talking to an elder. But what was I expecting from Lucien's son—"

BANG!

Aaran fired another bullet. The ever-so cocky high priest didn't even bother dodging, and ended up paying for it with a hand.

"Argh!"

The high priest screamed in pain as his left arm hit the ground with a dull thud. But a moment later, shock replaced the pain. Divinity... how come the brat could use both darkness and divinity?

He had tried to achieve the impossible and failed, only to give up on divinity and embrace darkness. Yet a brat who hadn't lived a tenth longer than he was using contrasting elements?

"How—?"

"Does it matter?"

It was Aaran's turn to smirk.

"You're going to die either way, so what's the point of telling you?" he shrugged, pressing the barrel against the high priest's head. "It's sad. If you hadn't attacked Aurelia, you could have seen me in all my glory."

"Glory?" the high priest scoffed. "You're already dead, boy. You'll kill me, but can you kill everyone here? My messengers have already left for Velrune. The Emperor—"

"I am the Emperor. And as for your messengers…"

Aaran didn't continue. He simply pointed behind the high priest. The latter's eyes widened in disbelief when he saw it. The Aurelian army… they had arrived. It didn't take long for the head priest to realize what must have happened to his messengers.

All of them… were killed.

The little confidence the high priest had evaporated from his eyes. There was nothing left for him to do.

"Don't look so sad," Aaran chuckled, squatting down to meet his eyes. "The so-called emperor will learn about what happened here. I will be punished for it. Hell, I might even die, but guess what? You'll never see me again. Not in hell and certainly not in heaven."

"You bastard—"

BANG!

With a final gunshot, the high priest's headless body fell to the ground. The priests who shared a connection with their elder were shocked when their link disappeared.

They couldn't believe it. The strongest person leading their temples was defeated by an Aurelian. That, alongside the army's appearance, threw their superior army into chaos.

Some surrendered, some fought till the end, but the result remained unchanged.

Aurelia had won.

And it was just the beginning.

***

It took a few hours to subdue the remnants of the high priest's army. Unfortunately, they couldn't capture any mages, since most of them ate poison when the tide turned against them.

As for the priests and soldiers, they were imprisoned, awaiting trial. The problem was with the commoners who had joined the rebellion.

Although their actions were punishable by death, doing so would give the Emperor an excuse to march down with his army. If that happened, even the ghosts of Aurelia wouldn't be enough to protect them.

"Kill them all."

"Mother—?"

"They'll reveal your secret if we don't. They made their choice by betraying us."

Dread was back in his teddy form and had joined them for the discussion, while Darius went off to celebrate the victory with ghost prostitutes. Since Aaran's abilities were common knowledge, there was no point in hiding, so Aaran left Brute and Cerbie to play with the goddess in the back gardens.

The servants were apprehensive at first, but they realized if it hadn't been for Aaran, they wouldn't be alive to judge him. That thought shut them up quickly.

"Amara, you're supposed to be the collected one between the two of us," Lucien said, holding her by the shoulder. "The emperor is looking for an excuse to—"

Before Lucien could continue any further, there was a loud explosion outside. It wasn't one of destruction, but one of arrival.

Amara and Lucien looked outside, worried, while Aaran casually sipped tea.

"Dread, tell other to hide," he instructed, getting up. "Stay here and protect mother and father till I get back."

"Aaran, what are you talking—?"

"Your Highness! It… It's the Emperor's knights! They are here to arrest the prince!"

"What? The communications are down, so who told them—?"

"I did," Aaran said.

Before leaving for Aurelia, he had already sent a letter to the Emperor informing him about what he was going to do to the priest and everyone else involved in the attack.

The Emperor had seen him grow and knew exactly what Aaran was capable of. He would not take any chances with him, not when the Emperor knew Aaran had played him like a fool for nearly a decade.

"…have you lost your bricks!?" Amara yelled, shaking Aaran by his shoulders. "Do you have any idea what you have done? They'll kill you!"

Aaran smiled, wiping away Amara's tears. Unlike her, who was blinded by motherly affection, Lucien understood why Aaran did it.

"Where…" he mumbled as Aaran approached him.

"My left side should be enough—"

SMACK!

To everyone's horror, Lucien struck Aaran on the face. Amara didn't even register it as she was too busy bawling her eyes out. Dread thumped his chest twice, reassuring Aaran that he would protect his family.

With everything taken care of, Aaran stepped outside. As he did, the goddess came rushing inside. Dread had asked Brute and Cerbie to bring her back.

"Where are you going without informing me?" the goddess pouted. "You haven't even completed any duties of a priest."

Aaran chuckled, looking at her tiny, yet fierce, form. He couldn't help it and ruffled her hair. If a goddess could exist with beings of darkness, then the rest of the world shouldn't have any problems, right?

"Oh… I almost forgot."

Aaran picked the goddess in his arms and ran back inside, entering Analeis's room. She was still unconscious from the event of the last night. But Aaran couldn't ignore what she did for him and his family.

"Goddess?"

"I know. I know."

She rolled her eyes before placing her hand on Analeis's forehead. A golden glow surrounded them and a moment later, all of Analeis's injuries disappeared.

"She's fine now," the goddess said, expecting praises.

Instead, she got her cheeks pulled.

"You useless priest!"

She cursed, but it was too late. Aaran jumped out the window, landing in front of the knights.

"Shall we go?" he smirked.