Karnak, Monarch of Death

The form of the elemental titan, Fel Lestheria, gradually began to fade. The summoning was being released, sending it back to the elemental plane. Watching this, Serati clicked her tongue. Truly, its power was overwhelming.

Relfiana's Incarnation of Divinity was practically the strongest technique of the Order of the Star, yet Karnak had crushed it without much difficulty.

Serati turned to him with a smile. "At this rate, people might start calling you the Spirit King, you know?"

The title of Spirit King had always been reserved only for certain exceptional elven mages. There had never been a single human in history to receive that title. It was unsurprising, given humanity's short lifespan.

Karnak made a displeased expression. "I'm not particularly fond of that."

Serati asked, "Why not?"

"Well, among elves, the title of Spirit King isn't really that impressive," responded Karnak.

In elven sensibilities, Spirit King implied something like "a mage who simps on precious little spirits and handles them gently." They did acknowledge the power, but it wasn't a title they held in pure reverence.

In fact, it often carried a subtle sense of, "Ah, so you couldn't master proper magic and spent your days tiptoeing around spirits, huh?"

"Giyen Ren was called the Spirit King when he was young, but he didn't like it much," said Karnak.

It was said that once he crossed the hurdle of the tenth circle, he much preferred being called an archmage or the Guardian of the Fairies.

Serati quietly switched to telepathic speech.

—Still, it's better than being called the Monarch of Death, isn't it?

Karnak still looked unconvinced.

—Well, that's true, but from my perspective, it's a hassle.

If he carried around the title of Spirit King, every time he used spirit magic, it would draw unnecessary attention. Of course, it wouldn't be an issue if he were casting ordinary spirit magic, but his wasn't exactly ordinary, was it?

—It'd be a real headache if people found out I was using necromantic techniques.

He had no desire to build a grand reputation either. It was best to remain a mage of decent ability in the public eye.

—Being about the ninth circle is perfect. It's neither too weak nor too strong.

—You think the ninth circle is moderate?

—Ninth circle mages are everywhere, aren't they? I know at least twenty myself.

—Are those twenty literally all the current ninth circle mages in existence, by any chance?

—Huh? Oh, I guess so.

Serati clicked her tongue. His standards truly were different. As expected of someone who nearly destroyed the world.

Meanwhile, the soul-stripped giant of light was rapidly collapsing. Its body of light shattered into fragments and scattered in all directions, the divine power mixing with dark power like muddy water, spreading thickly across Astlin City.

Sensing the heavy aura of darkness emanating from all around, Karnak felt satisfied. With this, no one will notice.

Most of the priests in Astlin City had been slaughtered, but there was always the chance that a survivor was hiding somewhere. There was no guarantee they wouldn't witness him using necromancy.

That was why Karnak had fought while avoiding the use of necromancy as much as possible. Summoning Fel Lestheria had still been magic, and dismantling the necromantic domains had been done using Redeemer of Necromancy.

Even dismantling the Anti-Time-Space Transcender had technically been Leoslav's doing, not Karnak's. Only when it came to reaping souls did he have no choice but to use necromancy, but he had been subtly cautious about that. In any case, the pervasive malice had kept it hidden.

Even Lapicel, as overly sensitive as she is about these things, didn't notice. It was a success.

It had ended without any trouble, truly. However, the situation itself was not completely resolved. There were still many cultists of the Black God left within Astlin City. The undead patrols roaming the streets and the forces stationed at the walls remained intact, though they were probably in chaos by now.

The sight of Leoslav and Relfiana transformed into giants of light would have been visible even from the walls. The forces at the two remaining estates were also still intact. It would only be a matter of time before they learned of the popes' deaths. Did that mean Karnak's group should take it upon themselves to take care of them as well?

And why would we?

They had no obligation to go that far. Outside the city, a punitive force of ten thousand was waiting for dawn to break. Meanwhile, the Black God's army, having lost its leaders, was nothing more than a rabble.

Karnak's group, already exhausted from the continuous battles, had no reason to bother taking care of the stragglers.

I'd rather get some rest and interrogate the souls we captured. Karnak looked back at his group and gestured with his hand. "Let's go back and eat. I'm starving after all that effort."

***

The night streets were in complete chaos. Cultists belatedly rushed toward the central government building, raising a commotion as they commanded their undead forces. Well, it wasn't something Karnak's group needed to concern themselves with. They simply slipped past the ruckus and made their way back to their hideout.

Serati suddenly muttered, "Isn't this the first time one of Lord Karnak's plans has worked out perfectly? Until now, things would always go smoothly at first, only to get tangled later. Then we would be forced to improvise."

Karnak glared at her, offended. "It's worked out as planned plenty of times! People just remember the negative parts more vividly, that's all."

"Even accounting for that, it feels like it fails more often than it works."

"That's just how life is. It's normal for things not to go according to plan."

"And what's with you, suddenly saying something so... human?"

"Really? I didn't think much before saying it." Karnak, pleased at being called "human," grinned to himself.

Seeing him like that, Serati smiled inside. Well, compared to when I first met him, he has become more human, I suppose...

The problem was that, while he was human, he wasn't exactly a good one. In any case, they returned safely to their hideout, slipping past the cultists' eyes. As soon as they opened the door, a fluffy white baby dragon flew into Serati's arms with a flutter.

She smiled as she hugged the baby dragon. "You've been well, Floke?"

Thank goodness. She had been a little worried, leaving it alone like this. "At least nothing happened—"

Just as she turned her head, Serati's expression stiffened. The entire house was filled with cold air. It was unmistakably the residue of a white dragon's ice breath. And that wasn't all.

Everyone's packs had been torn open! All their lunch boxes had been ripped apart, each type of food bitten into, sleeping bags were strewn everywhere, and their neatly organized utensils lay scattered across the room.

A heavy silence befell the room, only to be broken by Milia's quiet voice. "Oh my."

It was the perfect picture of a one-dragon party enjoyed to its fullest. Serati's sharp gaze turned to the baby dragon. "Floke? What's all this?"

The baby dragon fidgeted, averting its eyes, and let out a strange sound. "Meow?"

"Hey! You're in dragon form! Why are you sitting there meowing like a cat?!"

The sound of a drum followed soon after. It was the sound of Serati's hand drumming rhythmically on the drum—Floke's bum.

After a thorough scolding, Floke sulked and flew off to hide in a corner. Serati turned to Karnak with a scowl. "See?! This is what happens when you leave it alone!"

Karnak pouted, looking wronged. "No matter how I see it, I don't think this one's on me."

***

Their precious rations had been wrecked by a bratty dragon. No, that wasn't a slip of the tongue. When it was cute, it was a baby dragon, but when it was annoying, it was a bratty dragon.

Thanks to that, the group had to scrape together a rough meal with what remained. They cut off the parts that weren't too dirty and chewed them down with dry bread.

Karnak grumbled, "Ugh, I don't want to fill up on stuff like this."

Still, eating while starving made it taste better than expected. Now that their hunger was taken care of, only one task remained. They needed to interrogate the souls of Relfiana and Leoslav, which they had painstakingly captured. It would allow them to uncover Tesranach's plans.

Normally, necromancy was performed in remote, deserted places, or in abandoned buildings within cities where people rarely ventured. Conveniently, Karnak's group was staying in exactly such a place. Honestly, there would be no problem performing it here.

If only Lapicel wasn't around. Karnak glanced at the ash-haired girl, who was diligently cleaning up the traces of Floke's mischief, and thought for a moment. It's about time to test it out.

He rummaged through his pack and pulled out a small censer. Lapicel flinched, turning her head in brief surprise. Oh?

A chilling aura was seeping from the censer. It was originally an item used by cultists. But she quickly lost interest. She already knew that certain cultist items were required to use Mediator of Necromancy.

Karnak spoke with a strange tone. "With Mediator of Necromancy, I'm going to summon the souls of the two popes we just fought."

Everyone blinked and echoed in shock.

"What?"

"You're going to summon their souls?"

However, they were surprised for different reasons. Lapicel was shocked by the method itself, which so blatantly resembled necromancy. The others, on the other hand, were stunned that Karnak had blurted out something like that in front of Lapicel.

Has this man lost his mind?

What's gotten into him all of a sudden?

Everyone glanced at Lapicel anxiously. If the Martial King of Cyphras were to suddenly pop out now, it would be a headache for everyone.

Fortunately, that did not happen. The young Lapicel simply looked flustered as she asked Karnak, "Calling souls... isn't that forbidden necromancy?"

"That's right. Mediator of Necromancy is a magic that replicates the effects of necromancy. It's to replicate it if I really want to do it."

"B-but is it really okay to do that?"

"It's not, originally." Putting on an expression that suggested it was truly unavoidable, Karnak continued, "But if we can't uncover their plans, the tragedy in this city will spread across the entire empire. I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to prevent that."

Lapicel's voice shrank as if she were confused. "I see."

But she did not object outright. Her expression suggested that, since it was for a good cause, there was nothing else to be done.

Seeing the change in her expression, Karnak quietly let out a breath of relief. So this much is permissible.

If she had been absolutely opposed to the idea, the Lapicel of the future might have appeared again. It seemed that, compared to before, she now saw Karnak in a better light. Of course, that didn't mean he could let his guard down.

With Lapicel's tacit approval, Karnak gestured. "All right, Varos, Serati, you two come with me."

Whenever he performed necromancy, he always kept guards around just in case. That had always been Karnak's practice.

As Varos rose to his feet, he asked, "Where are we going?"

"Next door," answered Karnak.

Drel tilted his head in confusion. "Aren't you summoning the souls here?"

"It's always better to perform spirit summoning in a quiet, secluded place, with less people."

That was the true reason. Even if Lapicel had allowed it in her heart, there was no telling how she would react if he summoned spirits right before her eyes.

You have to be mindful of such things.

That was why he had deliberately brought along the cultist's censer. He didn't actually need it, but it was useful to maintain the ruse of using Mediator of Necromancy in front of Lapicel.

As they stepped outside, Karnak called back to those remaining, "Get some rest. This won't take long."