Karnak, Monarch of Death

Karnak's group returned safely to the Zestrad Territory without incident. This time, Leven accompanied them as well. He said there was no need to return to the Strauss family for a while, as most matters there had been settled.

"I want to become stronger," he admitted.

It wasn't that he realized his weakness while fighting Dreltein or anything like that. He wasn't shameless enough to spout nonsense like that after surviving a fight against a martial king. Rather, looking back at himself, having been able to hold his ground against a martial king, he found himself wanting more.

"I feel like if I push just a bit further, I can grasp something."

He planned to thoroughly review what he had built up so far with Varos' guidance. Serati and Lapicel, on the other hand, were occupied with another matter.

The old butler, Tafel, had pulled them aside with a peculiar request. "Swordsmanship alone is not the essence of a knight, is it? You must also possess the refinement and dignity befitting that title."

Varos was baffled. "Have our territory's knights ever had refinement and dignity?"

The knights of the Zestrad family were admirable warriors who would not hesitate to lay down their lives to protect the people. But if one were to ask whether they possessed refinement and dignity... well, that was questionable.

Tafel did not bother to deny it. "It's a problem precisely because it should be there, but it isn't."

One couldn't expect too much from these rural knights. For that reason, he had given up on the older knights. "But you two are young, aren't you? It's not too late yet."

Varos was once again perplexed. If it's about youth, I'm actually younger than Sir Serati, aren't I?

But he kept the thought to himself. If he said it aloud, he would surely be roped into studying with them. Even if he had lived over a hundred years and been one of the key figures in the world's near destruction, it was still hard to defy the words of the one who had cared for him like a parent since he was young.

Varos nodded. "Well, yes, Tafel is probably right."

For this reason, Serati and Lapicel spent their mornings training in swordsmanship and their afternoons studying various disciplines. Their studies included law, administration, as well as the languages and etiquettes of different kingdoms.

Both of them dedicated themselves quite earnestly to their studies. Lapicel had always been diligent by nature, and Serati was not the type to slack off either. However, a bit of doubt did begin to creep in. The old butler's curriculum emphasized management, administration, and law to a degree that seemed excessive. On top of that, they were made to learn embroidery and even cooking.

They had to wonder. Is this really part of a knight's education?

The truth was that the old butler Tafel had his own hidden agenda. At this rate, it seems likely that Sir Serati will become the future Varosness of Zestrad, so I need to start educating her now!

Karnak was oddly uninterested in women, to an almost saintly degree. He was a man driven by gluttony, not women, and it made Tafel, as the loyal butler, uneasy. In the past, he had been somewhat displeased with Serati due to her commoner background, but now he was at the point where he was actively hoping she would become Karnak's wife.

Then why was Lapicel also receiving this education? You never know what might happen. One should always prepare for every possibility.

Lapicel had already turned sixteen and had blossomed into a beautiful young maiden. She was no longer the little girl they had first taken in, but a young woman with a maturity befitting her age. At sixteen, she was at the perfect age for marriage by noble standards. By those same standards, Serati was practically considered a spinster.

And so, in the spirit of a loyal butler's thoroughness, Tafel had decided Lapicel should join the education course as well. While Serati and Lapicel were thus receiving their training to become the future lady of the house under Tafel's not-so-innocent schemes, Karnak, too, was busy with his days.

As the lord, he had to clear out the backlog of estate affairs, and as the leader of the Twilight Cult, he had to handle the cult's pending issues, while also managing the business operations he oversaw as the head of the merchant guild.

With so many hats to wear, there was no shortage of work for him. It was nearly half a month after returning to the estate before he finally had a moment to breathe.

Signing off on the last stack of paperwork, Karnak shook his head. "Now that the urgent fires are out, it's about time I prepare for summoning Dreltein's spirit."

***

Incomplete souls needed to be handled with particular care. A single mistake could cause a soul Karnak had painstakingly secured to scatter into nothingness. This was why, even with Jedex, Karnak had only attempted the summoning after every possible preparation was in place.

The same applied to Dreltein's soul. One could not predict how a torn-apart martial king's soul might react, and if he attempted necromancy carelessly in the wrong place, it would be difficult to clean up the mess.

This was why Karnak had waited to return to the Zestrad territory before attempting the summoning. Within the Zestrad Territory, there was a necromantic altar he had meticulously prepared long ago. Even if unforeseen variables arose, it would allow him to manage the ritual safely.

"Strictly speaking, this isn't really the Zestrad Territory, is it? It's a forest in the Devantor territory." Varos clicked his tongue as he walked through the dark forest following Karnak.

Serati, who was also following behind, shrugged. "Still, it seems this altar hasn't been discovered yet, has it?"

Devantor had been unfairly raided by the priests of the church countless times whenever they found an excuse. Yet judging from their visit, the Devantor territory seemed to be doing relatively well.

Karnak gave a faint smile. "There's a limit to how much you can keep blaming everything on Devantor, you know. So I took precautions this time."

Karnak had brought along Varos and Serati for this particular trip. Since all he needed to do was perform the summoning, there was no need to bring Leven or Lapicel along.

Serati asked with mild surprise, "Oh, did you manage to deceive Alius' eyes?"

"Not exactly," he replied. Instead, he had used the Twilight Church to keep throwing work at Alius' side. "He's been so busy, it seems he hasn't had the time to pay attention to places near our territory."

"Oh dear." Serati expressed a small prayer of condolence, picturing Alius getting roped into extra duties thanks to Karnak.

Still, perhaps he was happy that way. After all, he was the kind of man who found life's purpose in eradicating cultists.

Serati murmured wistfully, "It's been a while since we've seen Alius."

Varos and Karnak responded dryly.

"It has, hasn't it? Can't say I've missed him," said Varos.

Karnak shook his head. "The guy is useful, but having to constantly watch my back around him is tiring."

Varos concurred. "Now that we have Miss Milia, we don't really need him anymore, do we?"

Serati clicked her tongue at their conversation. "Please, can you stop evaluating people solely on whether they're useful or not?"

The two men tilted their heads in confusion.

"Is that not what it means to be human?"

The two men tilted their heads.

Karnak frowned. "Is this not human either?"

Varos chimed in. "Then what exactly should I judge people by? Their face? Their body? Their wealth?"

She gave them a straightforward answer, since they seemed genuinely curious. "Character and integrity."

Karnak scoffed. "Come on, that's way too easy to fake."

Varos nodded. "Exactly. Just look at our young master."

Serati let out a long sigh as he glanced at the said young master, Karnak, the former Monarch of Death and now hero of humanity. "Well, when you put it like that, it does make sense."

Indeed, Karnak's public character and integrity were beyond suspicion.

Serati began to wonder as well. Wait, then how are we supposed to judge a person? Even I'm confused now.

The three of the continued deeper into the forest while continuing to chat idly. After walking for quite some time, a cliff came into view ahead. It was a rather large one, with a cave opening near its base.

After briefly examining the surroundings, Karnak and his companions entered the cave. Deep inside, they found a stone altar. The cave walls and ceiling were covered by necromantic runes drawn in beast blood. Faint traces of death energy and malice drifted above the altar.

Karnak pulled a small pouch from his robes and poured its powdered contents onto the altar. "The altar's intact. We can begin right away."

Serati stood on guard in case of anything unexpected. She asked, "What's that?"

"Dreltein's bone dust," answered Karnak.

Most of Dreltein's body had crumbled to dust and vanished, but not all of it. Some remained, and Karnak had collected every bit of that remaining dust and fashioned it into a sort of prison to contain Dreltein's captured soul.

Karnak declared, "Now, let's summon him."

Dark energy began to seep from his entire body. The blood-drawn necromantic runes on the walls and ceiling stirred on their own and shifted into new shapes.

"By the authority of the Ledger of Souls, I summon you." A sinister aura began filling the cave as he began an ominous incantation. "Come forth, king of those who wield the blade..."

From the bone dust, a translucent figure slowly began to rise. It was too faint to make out its features, but it was clearly humanoid.

The ghost groaned and opened its mouth. "Where am I...?"

The spectre's expression was one of utter confusion, and naturally so. Its soul had literally been torn apart. It was a miracle that the soul was coherent at all.

Karnak swiftly spoke. "I am Karnak Zestrad, the one who summoned you with the power of the ledger."

Through his incantation, he subdued the spirit and issued a command. "Soul, state your name."

The wavering soul stammered out a reply. "Dreltein. Dreltein Thelix..."

Karnak hadn't asked because he didn't know. Of course he knew it was Dreltein. The question was part of the ritual. It was a process meant to anchor the soul's identity.

Time to get some information.

Karnak was just choosing his next question when the spirit reacted in a wholly unexpected way.

Suddenly, it clenched its fists and began trembling with rage, shouting in a frenzy. "Dreltein, you bastard!"

Karnak, Vaross, and Serati all wore the exact same expression.

"Huh?"

"What was that?"

"What's going on here?"

***

The spirit wailed. "Dreltein! You cursed bastard!"

It spat curses and murderous intent again and again, seething with deep hatred and fury.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you for sure!"

Its agitation was so violent that its very form quivered. Karnak and his companions exchanged bewildered looks.

"What's going on?"

"Did we summon the wrong ghost?"

Serati and Varos questioned in turn, and Karnak glared at them. "Of course not! I was the Monarch of Death, remember?!"

He looked like a fisherman being accused of catching a catfish when he'd clearly caught a carp. Sure, someone might confuse a carp with a crucian carp—but no one would ever mistake a carp for a catfish.

"If I couldn't tell the difference, I'd never have been a necromancer in the first place," said Karnak.

There was no mistake. That was indeed Dreltein Thelix's soul, or at least a fragment of it.

Varos questioned Karnak. "Then why is he throwing a tantrum? Does he not know who he is?"

"Well..." Still flustered, Karnak examined the spirit closely, then asked cautiously, "What is your name?"

"Dreltein Thelix," answered the soul.

Karnak continued, "Then why do you hate Dreltein?"

"Because that demon took everything from me." The answer came surprisingly easily.

The only problem was that the answer made no sense.

Karnak asked once more. "You are talking about Dreltein Thelix, right?"

The soul responded, "Yes."

"But you are Dreltein Thelix?"

"Yes."

Karnak pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a massive headache coming on. "What is this supposed to mean...?"

Then, in a moment of enlightenment, Karnak's expression changed strangely. Wait... don't tell me...

With suspicion growing, he asked calmly, "Dreltein Thelix, how old are you?"

"Thirty-two," answered Dreltein.

"Oh, for the love of..." Karnak let out a hollow laugh.

Dreltein Thelix had been in his forties when he died. So that was the wrong answer. However, with careful consideration, Karnak had realized it was entirely possible for thirty-two year old Dreltein Thelix to exist. After all, the future Dreltein had traveled back in time over a decade ago.

Karnak muttered. "So you're the Dreltein of this era whose body was taken over?"