Karnak, Monarch of Death

They continued deeper into the dungeon. More specters and monsters emerged. The battles followed a familiar pattern.

First, Alius cast his blessings upon the party. Then, Varos and Serati, restricting their aura use, engaged the enemies while Leven and Lapicel assisted them, buying time.

Once enough time had passed, shrieking wraiths erupted, sweeping through the enemies in an instant. This was Karnak’s third great necromantic spell, following Redeemer of Necromancy and Circumventer of Necromancy. It was Link of Necromancy.

Ironically, this spell originated from a lie Karnak had once told to Prince Lloyd. Back then, he had deceived the prince by claiming he could merely imitate necromancy by using cursed relics and illusion magic, while in reality, he had simply cast real necromancy without hesitation. But later, an idea struck

—Wait a minute... I could actually create a spell like that, couldn’t I?

At first, he intended to develop a spell that extracted necromantic energy from cursed artifacts and channeled its power into magic. But as the research progressed, Serati pointed out a critical flaw.

—So, you’re extracting the power from evil artifacts and using it in magic?

—Exactly!

—And how is that any different from necromancy? You’re still using the power of darkness.

—Oh.

In the end, it was still necromancy channeled through magic. It carried the same side effects, and worst of all, it would draw unwanted attention from the more orthodox mages and priests.

—Wasn’t your original lie just about making it seem like necromancy?

—Huh, you’re right. I guess I got too caught up in the research and lost sight of that.

So he reworked the spell from the ground up, which was why it had taken much longer to perfect compared to the previous two. The final version of Link of Necromancy was designed to mimic necromancy while remaining purely magical in nature.

It disguised ordinary magic as necromancy by altering its visual form through illusions and coating it with dark energy. It had a shell of necromancy, but a core of pure magic. With this, even Alius, a devoted priest of Hatoba, found no theological issue with it.

”It truly is an incredible spell. Anyone who sees it will think it’s actual necromancy.”

Even those who knew the truth about the spell could hardly believe it. But there was no mistaking it. When Karnak activated the spell, a strange, cursed amulet in his possession would emit a dark aura, which then enveloped the spell itself.

So while the end result looked identical to necromancy, its initial activation still carried traces of mana flow. This meant that high-ranking priests or experienced aura users could sense that it was, in fact, magic rather than necromancy. That meant it was safe to use.

“But are you sure this is fine? If we can detect the difference, our enemies might as well.”

Leven and Lapicel nodded at Alius’s concern.

”I agree. Even though I’m not an aura user, I could faintly sense it.”

”Same here. At this rate, we might get caught.”

For now, they were only avoiding detection from the detection ward, meaning that a small mana leakage wasn’t an issue. As long as they didn’t use anything beyond a fourth circle spell, they were safe from detection. But if they wanted to fool the cultists, they needed to conceal it even further.

“I see. This is why it’s important to receive feedback.” Karnak nodded thoughtfully and pulled a small, tattered talisman from his coat before handing it to Alius. ”This one’s spent. Please replace it.”

It was a relic infused with death energy and malice, one of the cultists’ talisman he had been using as a conduit. Alius took the talisman and retrieved a small black emblem from his pouch. It was a sealed artifact taken from confiscated cultist items.

”Here.”

These cursed objects were essential to the technique. That was why Karnak had brought a selection of them from the confiscated vaults of the King’s Order and entrusted them to Alius. A priest was, after all, the safest person to handle such dangerous artifacts.

With a grin, Karnak looked at everyone. ”Next time I cast Link of Necromancy, pay close attention. I’ll refine the activation process even more.”

***

He cast Link of Necromancy again. Once more, a horde of monsters was reduced to charred husks.

Karnak turned to the group. ”How about now?”

Alius let out an impressed sigh. ”This time, it’s much harder to detect the energy leakage.”

Lapicel nodded eagerly. ”Me too! Even when I concentrated, I could barely feel anything!”

”It’s much more discreet than before,” Varos added.

Leven said approvingly. ”If I hadn’t known what to look for, I wouldn’t have noticed anything at all.”

Only Serati wore a blank expression. Sense it? Sense what?

To be honest, she had assumed it was just regular necromancy this time. She had actually been paying attention, focusing hard even. Yet, somehow, the others were discussing it as if they had all noticed something.

Am I the only one who didn’t feel anything? I’m a blue knight, for crying out loud!

Varos was a monster to begin with. Alius, being a priest hypersensitive to dark energy, was another. But Leven and Lapicel? Neither of them were even aura users. Sure, they were prodigies fated to become future martial kings, but could they really be this far ahead of her in terms of perception?

How did I end up surrounded by a bunch of absolute monsters?

A fresh wave of misery washed over her, and she slumped her shoulders.

Lapicel blinked. ”Huh? Sis, what’s wrong?”

”It’s nothing.”

They pushed deeper into the dungeon. Another wave of monsters emerged, and Karnak seized the chance to cast Link of Necromancy again. Soon, with one last agonized shriek, the creatures turned to charred husks littering the ground.

Karnak surveyed the group. ”How about this time?”

Alius nodded. ”I couldn’t detect anything at all.”

Lapicel and Leven shared the sentiment.

”Wow! This time, I couldn’t feel anything either! It really seems like actual necromancy!”

”I see. So as you refine the spell, you also improve at concealing its power.”

A pleased smile spread across Karnak’s face. ”Good. This should be fully viable for real combat now.”

The moment Serati saw that smile, she realized. Sensing necromancy? Sensing energy? Who cared about that?

But that look on his face? She could sense that.

—Lord Karnak.

—Yeah?

—That last one... it was real necromancy, wasn’t it?

Karnak’s smile deepened.

—Serati, you’ve gotten a lot sharper, haven’t you?

The real reason he had developed Link of Necromancy was exactly this. By showing the process beforehand, he could convince them it was fake when he used actual necromancy later.

Leven looked flustered. Varos? He looked entirely unsurprised.

—T-That’s what this was all for?

—That’s our young master for you. Mhm.

Regardless, Alius and Lapicel had already bought the deception completely. The objective had been achieved.

—Now I can use real necromancy every now and then without raising suspicions.

***

From that point on, everything moved quickly. The Governor’s Vault was certainly a powerful dungeon, and in many ways, a difficult challenge.

However, compared to Maleficus Dungeon, it was easier for their group. Ghost-type monsters. No matter how powerful they were, they posed no real problem. With Circumventer of Necromancy, Karnak could simply erase their presence from the specters’ awareness.

If the enemy couldn’t detect them, there was no fight to be had. They could simply walk past, or better yet, ambush them from behind. As for undead or monsters with physical forms? They simply repeated their previous strategy.

If the enemy was manageable, Varos, Serati, and the others would stall for time, allowing Karnak to finish things with Link of Necromancy.

But if the enemy was too strong? Karnak would simply pretend to use Link of Necromancy, while casting actual necromancy instead. Since he had prepared the deception in advance, Alius and Lapicel didn’t even question it, even as real necromantic spells were cast right before their eyes. The only one suffering internally was Serati.

—How can he lie so effortlessly without even flinching...?

At this point, it was almost impressive. How could someone so brazenly deceive their own party members day in and day out?

—If it were me, I’d slip up from sheer guilt at least once.

Karnak, brimming with pride, answered smugly.

—Humans are creatures of adaptation. With enough practice, there’s nothing they can’t master!

—And why, exactly, are you practicing something like this?

—Why are you talking like this doesn’t apply to you? You’re getting good at it too, Serati.

—And that’s exactly what I hate most about this!

And so, their party continued to advance toward the heart of the dungeon. Thanks to Link of Necromancy, their battles had become significantly safer, yet Karnak remained as cautious as ever. Each time they entered a new section of the dungeon, he meticulously scanned their surroundings, never letting his guard down in combat.

”If things seem dangerous, don’t risk your life. Just go all out,” he advised his team.

”And if that triggers the detection barrier?” Serati responded.

”Better than dying,” was his response.

If they encountered an enemy so powerful that they had no choice but to use excessive force, the plan was simple: eliminate the threat and immediately retreat. They would abandon the mission and return at a later time. In such a scenario, there was a high likelihood that Elezar would take the remains and disappear, but...

Karnak shrugged. ”That’s still a better outcome than getting wiped out by an archmage.”

Leven found himself hesitating at those words. ”Is Elezar really that terrifying?”

Sure, luck had been on their side, but Karnak’s group had still managed to defeat a ninth circle master like Demphis.

—Is there really that much of a difference between the ninth and tenth circles? Even if you all went all out, is there no chance at all?”

Karnak scoffed.

—Chance?!

Varos scoffed as well.

—Even speaking the word chance in this situation means you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

—In the first place, we didn’t beat Demphis with our own strength.

—If he had been any other ninth-circle mage, we’d all be long dead.

At that moment, Karnak’s expression hardened. ”Hm?”

A different presence stirred from the corridor ahead. Though it was still steeped in dark energy, it felt distinct from wraiths, undead, or monsters.

”Looks like a necromancer has finally decided to show up.”

***

Peering around the corner of the bent corridor, Karnak spotted a robed figure seated in front of a large metal door in the distance. There was no doubt about it. This was one of the four necromancers assigned to guard the Governor’s Vault.

Alius whispered, ”Shall we take him out?”

Karnak shook his head. ”Not yet. We need to disrupt the detection barrier first.”

If this necromancer had direct control over the detection ward, he could trigger it at any moment. They had to prepare accordingly. A faint flow of mana leaked from Karnak’s body and spread across the walls, ceiling, and floor. It was a temporary disruption spell that would block the detection ward from registering them.

However, this method had one major flaw. The moment the interference began, the necromancer would realize something was wrong. There was no way he would be oblivious to the surge of mana around him.

Suddenly, the robed man jerked upright, dark energy flaring around him as he shouted in alarm. ”De... Dera Spalata!”

Serati frowned, puzzled. That wasn’t Isola, the language she was familiar with. What the hell is that guy saying?