Karnak, Monarch of Death

Finally, the reinforcements they had been desperately waiting for arrived.

Karnak shouted irritably, ”You’re late!”

Varos, seemingly indignant, retorted, ”I came as fast as I could!”

Lapicel stood still and calmly observed her opponent.

Unlike before, she didn’t immediately attack. It seemed she instinctively sensed the gravity of the situation. Serati, glancing nervously at the enormous greatsword Varos held.

She asked him in a worried tone, ”Is that demonic sword safe?”

It was a vile artifact, one that controlled its wielder and transformed them into a mindless killer. Even if Varos was once the closest lieutenant to the Monarch of Death, he was now merely a mortal man. How long could he resist the sword’s sinister influence?

Varos replied with a serious expression, ”I’m focusing as hard as I can.”

Handling the power of the demonic sword was no small feat. Even a momentary lapse in concentration could upset the delicate balance.

Damn it! Another mistake!

A chilling wail erupted from Mareda.

”Uaaaaaagh!”

Simultaneously, a pale, ghastly spirit began to emerge from the blade.

”Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhhhh!”

Flailing wildly, it struggled desperately to escape the confines of the sword. Its frantic motions resembled a drowning victim in their final moments.

”There it goes again,” Varos muttered, frowning deeply as he flicked the sword. ”Where do you think you’re going? You’re not leaving.”

Dark energy swirled from the blade, binding the spirit and dragging it back inside. It was like watching a soul being dragged into the depths of hell.

”Kyahhhhhh!”

The spirit’s final shriek echoed before it vanished back into the blade.

”If I let my guard down for even a second, it keeps trying to pass on to the afterlife. It’s just an evil spirit, for crying out loud.”

Serati stared blankly, utterly dumbfounded.

So the wailing was coming from the blade?

Indeed, the servant matched the master. Varos, like Karnak, clearly was the abyss. Serati suddenly felt the weight of her ill-fated destiny. How had she ended up surrounded by people so abysmal that even evil spirits were desperate to flee from them?

While Serati stood bewildered, Varos sent a telepathic message to her.

—Please protect the young master, Sir Serati.

—Ah, yes!

Snapping out of her daze, Serati ran over to Karnak’s side.

Varos raised the cursed sword Mareda toward Lapicel.

”It’s been a long time, Sir Lapicel.”

The blade emitted a sinister hum as crimson aura surged from it, radiating a menacing glow. The power of the sword drew out the essence of dark aura.

”We were never on terms where we’d be happy to meet, but...”

Lapicel had struggled to use this dark aura, needing to convert it into her own aura before she could fully wield its strength. But for Varos, this was his area of expertise.

”Well, since fate has it, I suppose I’ll give it my all.”

The girl with ashen hair twisted her expression in fury.

”Lord Varos...”

Her blue eyes blazed with murderous intent, and violet aura surged, wrapping around her entire form.

”You cursed dog of the Monarch of Death!”

Her voice, filled with hatred, reverberated through the air.

***

The girl with ashen hair brought her sword slicing vertically through the air. The hulking knight stomped forward, countering with an upward strike. Two torrents of aura-clad blades clashed in midair.

Crack!

A deafening sound rang out as if the very air had shattered. Spirals of light rippled outward in a dazzling explosion.

”Ugh!”

”Gah!”

Both combatants groaned, stepping back to regain their footing. The first clash ended in a draw. They were matched in every aspect, including speed, timing, and the destructive power of their aura.

Observing from a distance, Karnak thought to himself, As expected, when Varos wields the cursed sword, even in his current state, he can put out this kind of power.

The raw abilities of the demonic sword alone could never achieve this level of efficiency. At best, it might shatter a few rocks before running out of its residual blood energy.

”Die!”

With a sharp cry, Lapicel unleashed another strike. Blades of light danced chaotically, weaving a dizzying pattern to confuse the eye. But Varos wasn’t fooled.

I’ve been hit by this trick too many times to fall for it again!

He ignored the dazzling swordlight and focused on the flow of her blade. He calmly deflected the incoming strike and immediately countered with an upward slash.

Clang!

Their weapons collided, and the exchange of blows began in earnest. Sparks erupted, and their blades sliced the air with a ferocity that tore through the terrain. Grass flew into the air, splintering apart, and the atmosphere itself howled in anguish.

Boom!

Two beasts locked in a deadly dance, their killing intent leaving no room for error. Their breaths grew ragged with each clash.

”Huff, huff...”

”Pant, pant...”

Both needed to steady their breathing. Varos stepped back and slammed the demonic sword into the ground.

Time to catch my breath!

A wave of crimson-black aura erupted. It tore through the earth and surged forward. It was Shadow Claw, one of his favored ranged aura techniques. Lapicel responded in kind, striking the ground with her sword to release an aura wave of her own. The two torrents of energy collided and intertwined like serpents before erupting into an explosion.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Karnak’s expression softened slightly as he observed the fight.

Hmm?

Lapicel was pushed back more than ten meters, while Varos stood firm, steadying his breath.

So we did manage to tire her out.

It was only natural. She had been fighting nonstop since sundown.

First, she had faced the entirety of the First and Seventh Squad while under the demonic sword’s control. Then, even after breaking free, she had fought on for hours. She was undoubtedly on the verge of collapse.

But Varos wasn’t in much better shape either. The demonic sword, Mareda, was already depleted. Its reserves of blood energy were nearly gone. The dark aura he wielded now was nothing more than the scraps he had painstakingly scraped together. He was compressing what little remained to maximize its efficiency.

If I’d known, I should’ve stockpiled some dark aura specifically for Varos. But that would’ve meant going back to my old ways...

Dark aura wasn’t free. To gather enough to arm Varos, at least a hundred people would need to die.

Well, I’ll think about the moral quandaries later. For now, I need to survive this.

Karnak calmly began drawing on his remaining necromantic power.

Since she’s this worn out, this should work nicely.

***

Lapicel’s identity revealed the answers to several mysteries.

Why had she screamed and fled upon seeing Karnak? Given what she had endured at his hands, it was hardly surprising. Her very soul had been shredded. Who wouldn’t be terrified?

And why had she later attacked him with such ferocity? It was because she had been freed from the demonic sword, Mareda. While under its control, she lacked the mental fortitude to overcome her fear of the Monarch of Death. Only after breaking free was she able to suppress her terror with rage.

When Wallace and Beric died, why had the scene been so unusually clean? Why was it that neither the priests nor Karnak sensed even the faintest trace of darkness?

The answer was simple: she hadn’t used the powers of darkness. Lapicel didn’t need the cursed sword’s aura of shadow. Her innate talent and her enhanced physical abilities alone were enough to slaughter those two.

Still, there still remained a puzzling behavior. When under Mareda’s control, Lapicel had targeted the soldiers of the Seventh Squad in a bizarre order, aiming for those closest to Karnak first. It was an incomprehensible pattern, utterly unlike her. Even more strangely, she had obsessively pursued innocent lives, which was behavior wholly out of character. It wasn’t until Karnak searched deep into her soul that he found the answer.

Welp, this, too, is my work.

Karnak had split Lapicel’s soul and body into three fragments, subjecting each to excruciating torment before making her a gatekeeper of Necropia’s entrances. Each fragment had been imbued with specific commands.

To the skeleton soldier stationed at the East Gate, who was to be ever wary of the human realm:

—Kill any human who approaches.

To the flesh golem guarding the heavily trafficked West Gate, used primarily by Karnak and his closest aides:

—Only the Monarch of Death’s inner circle may pass.

To the living armor at the South Gate, where a diverse array of individuals came and went:

—Discern friend from foe and block anyone with hostile intent.

Layered atop this was Lapicel’s own burning hatred and fury toward the Monarch of Death:

—I’ll kill you, Karnak! I’ll kill you no matter what!

When all these commands were mixed together, the result was utter chaos:

—Kill any human who approaches, unless they’re the Monarch of Death’s inner circle, but discern whether they’re friend or foe first. Then kill them, and definitely kill Karnak!

It was a complete and total mess. Once Karnak understood this, a solution became clear.

If I reunite her fragmented soul, the madness should subside.

However, fully restoring her soul wouldn’t work either. If Lapicel were to return as the Martial King, she would undoubtedly kill Karnak.

I’ll have to suppress her memories deep within her subconscious during the process.

This would seal away all her memories, including her hatred and anger.

Karnak began weaving a spell, forming seals with his hands. ”Oh, tormented soul, guided by the Sovereign of the Other Shore...”

A dark magic circle etched itself onto the ground. It exuded a sinister aura. Mist-like particles radiated outward, drifting toward Lapicel. Perhaps because there was no malice in the spell, Lapicel made no effort to avoid it. She didn’t even seem to notice, her focus solely fixed on Varos.

Karnak’s incantation continued, ”Follow the path of repose and enter the realm of peace...”

***

Crimson-red and violet aura intertwined in midair.

Crackle!

Electricity sparked as two figures were thrown backward. Varos, wielding the demonic sword Mareda, and Lapicel, holding an ordinary longsword, glared at each other, their breathing heavy.

”Huff, huff...”

”Haah...”

Blood trickled from Varos’s shoulder and Lapicel’s thigh, staining their clothes. The bleeding stopped almost immediately. For those whose mastery of aura was at such an advanced level, halting blood flow was a simple matter of manipulating their energy. Of course, stopping the bleeding didn’t mean the wounds were healed.

Ugh, if I move too much, it’ll reopen, Varos thought grimly, glancing over his shoulder. He seems busy with something.

From earlier, an intense surge of death energy had been emanating from Karnak’s direction.

Why is it taking so long?

As someone who was once the mighty Monarch of Death, Karnak shouldn’t have this much trouble. If he lacked the necrotic energy for the spell, that would be one thing, but since he had begun the spell, it should have taken no time to completion.

Keeping his gaze locked on Lapicel, Varos sent a cautious message.

—Young master, is it not done yet?

—Just hold out a little longer!

The reply was frantic. Karnak was clearly engrossed in his task.

—What exactly are you doing?

—Sealing Lapicel’s memories!

—How is that taking this long?

—It’s not something I normally do!

Varos was even more confused. Memory manipulation? Wasn’t that something Karnak did all the time. It was what had earned him curses and infamy from numerous individuals.

Karnak snapped back defensively, —I’m healing her soul right now! When have I ever healed anyone but you?!

It was true. Shattering, crushing souls and erasing memories were second nature to him. He had done that so often it was practically routine. But nurturing a soul, carefully mending it without causing harm, and gently subduing hostile memories? That was entirely new territory.

—Ugh, I should’ve lived a better life... Karnak groaned under his breath.

Watching him struggle, Serati couldn’t help but marvel.

—Since when did you start doing good deeds?

Could it be guilt? Was he risking his life to save Lapicel’s soul out of remorse for what he’d done?

Of course not.

—If she senses even the slightest bit of hostility, she’ll attack immediately. I need to coax her gently into accepting the healing!

Karnak’s current power wasn’t enough to dominate or brainwash Lapicel’s soul. Her mental fortitude was simply too strong. But mending her fractured soul? That was within his ability. It was only because healing didn’t carry malice or hostility. It was a gesture of goodwill.

This fell within the bounds of what Lapicel’s instincts could tolerate. It was like trying to coax a wild beast into taking medicine without alarming it.

—So just hang on a little longer!

—Well, I’ll manage somehow, but...

Varos glanced uneasily at the greatsword in his hand. From between the blade’s cracks, the ghostly form of the sword’s spirit peeked out. The figure was gaunt, almost mummified. It was a clear sign that the sword had already consumed all available life essence. Even its remaining spectral energy was precariously low.

—I don’t think this thing’s going to last much longer.

Lapicel steadied her breath, her blood-red eyes glowing with renewed intensity.

”...Die, dog of the Monarch of Death!”