Karnak, Monarch of Death

The earth trembled. The air quaked and resounded. Faced with the vast, overwhelming mana before him, Maloka forced himself to stay calm, or at least, that was the intent.

That bastard is only a seventh circle mage. There’s no way he can control mana of that magnitude!

Mana overdrive was one of the greatest dangers a mage had to guard against. Hadn’t even Theoderic, an eighth circle mage, collapsed due to mana reflux caused by an uncontrolled surge?

That bastard will cough up blood and collapse any moment now!

But he didn’t.

”Haven’t handled this level of power in a while.”

With a sweeping motion of both hands, Karnak skillfully adjusted the raging mana and regulated its flow with ease. The massive energy that had surged like a storm now coursed through the air, flowing like a mighty river.

It settled calmly into the world, splitting, merging, compressing, and dispersing with flawless control. There wasn’t even the slightest sign of mana overdrive. In fact, Karnak was handling it far more adeptly than Maloka himself could.

This is impossible. How is he doing that so naturally? After perfectly subduing the surging mana, Karnak grinned from ear to ear. Can’t deny I got lucky this time.

His gaze landed on the inside of Maloka’s robe, or more precisely, on the jet-black cube peeking out from a torn section of fabric.

***

At first, he hadn’t realized it. Karnak’s group had leaped off the cliff only after Maloka’s mana had suddenly surged. By then, the situation had already unfolded, leaving Karnak no way to discern the sequence of events. But the second time was different.

He had witnessed Maloka drawing mana firsthand. He was drawing power from the jet-black cube, the Anti-Time-Space Transgender.

Yeah, now that I’ve seen it for myself, it’s obvious.

Until now, no matter what he tried, Karnak had been unable to decipher the Anti-Space-Time Transcender. It was an enigma he simply couldn’t unravel. Even Demphis, who had extensive knowledge, hadn’t known how to open it. Yet, for some reason, Maloka did.

So that’s what it was. It’s another form of chaos mana.

The Anti-Space-Time Transcender, with its extreme compression of power, initially seemed to defy the principles of necromancy. Magic required focus while necromancy thrived on dispersion. This was the fundamental principle for harnessing power.

But what if that black cube wasn’t necromantic energy at all? What if it was a condensed mass of chaos mana? Then everything made sense. Why had there been no traces of necromantic energy or malice? Because chaos mana, by its very nature, excluded those impurities from dark power.

Why had the power been compressed to such an extreme degree? Because chaos mana, like conventional magic, became stronger through concentration rather than dispersal.

Why had it seem like necromantic energy? It was simply a misconception. The Anti-Space-Time Transcender had never emitted necromantic energy or malice in the first place. Yet, because it was wielded by someone who looked unmistakably like a witch, conjuring ominous black energy, people had instinctively assumed it was necromancy.

’Even if chaos mana were converted back into necromantic energy, everything that witch did would still be possible. Yeah, now the pieces are finally fitting together.’

The techniques Demphis had mentioned for crafting the Anti-Space-Time Transcender were essentially a reverse-engineered version of Karnak’s own Transcendent Space Runes.

If you invert the formula for Transcending Space-Time, it naturally becomes chaos mana. I never realized because I’d never tried it before.

That said, it didn’t seem like Tesranach had deliberately created chaos mana the way Karnak had. Karnak had developed it to survive without using necromancy, but Tesranach had no reason to avoid necromancy.

Chaos mana wasn’t Tesranach’s intended goal. It was merely an incidental result. This was evident from the method Maloka had used to unseal the Anti-Space-Time Transcender.

When Karnak had first obtained the construct, he had experimented with various ways to unlock it. One of those methods had been injecting aura into it, using Varos and Serati as conduits. Back then, the construct had responded, but just barely. The reaction had been so faint that it had seemed meaningless.

So my hypothesis wasn’t completely wrong after all.

It didn’t respond to aura, but rather dark aura. The moment Maloka had infused a precise flow of dark aura into the Anti-Space-Time Transcender, its structure had unraveled seamlessly.

No wonder I couldn’t figure it out.

This was a technique Karnak would never have considered. He had walked the singular path of necromancy his entire life. Only after devising his plan for temporal regression had he even begun studying conventional magic.

Meanwhile, Tesranach—according to Demphis—was essentially Varos, who had his fate intertwined with Karnak’s. He was a necromancer, but also a warrior. Naturally, he would have mastered dark aura as well.

Judging by the current situation, it seemed that Tesranach had also walked the path of a mage. He had used chaos mana in the way that corresponded to magic.

I should’ve realized when the Black God’s cultists started merging different types of energy with necrotic power.

Considering that, there might even be a third type of energy corresponding to divine power. Regardless, Karnak had once reached the pinnacle of his craft.

Even if the approach was different and he hadn’t thought of it first, he wasn’t the type to fail to understand something when he saw it in action—especially when its foundation lay in necromancy.

”I do have a lot of questions, but...” Holding a jet-black cube in each hand, Karnak spoke in an indifferent tone. ”Right now, I need to deal with you first, Maloka.”

***

Vast amounts of mana poured ceaselessly from Karnak’s body, nearly twice that of Maloka. It was nothing more than basic arithmetic. He had two Anti-Space-Time Transcenders.

”Ho-How do you...?!” Maloka’s voice trembled as he stammered, his entire body shaking.

His broken sentence held multiple implications. How was Karnak able to harness that power? And more importantly: How did he have two of them? As far as Maloka knew, only two of those artifacts should have existed in the world.

Demphis had one. And Maloka had the other. Since he still possessed his own, even if Karnak had somehow stolen Demphis’s, he should only have one at most.

Then why are there three?

Before he could finish that thought, Karnak’s clear voice interrupted him with an incantation. ”Let the spreading rays of light strike down my enemy!”

A white beam of energy burst forth in a wide conical blast. It was Arcane Blast, a seventh circle magic of the light-element. Even with a barrier deployed, Maloka’s entire body shook from the impact.

Ugh, is this really just a seventh circle spell?!

With such a massive mana reserve backing it, even a seventh circle spell packed overwhelming power.

Karnak’s incantation continued. ”Mass Inferno Cannon!”

Dozens of flaming projectiles streaked through the air, exploding one after another. It was another seventh circle spell of the fire element.

And immediately after that... ”Lightning Vortex!”

Blinding golden lightning crashed down with a deafening roar, striking Maloka’s barrier in rapid succession. However, the barrier held strong. No matter how powerful the mana supply was, they were still just seventh circle spells.

Wait... hold on a second.

It was only then that Maloka realized he didn’t actually need to panic. Karnak’s current mana was undeniably overwhelming. It was enough that even a ninth circle master like Maloka felt pressured. However, the mage casting the spells was still a seventh circle mage.

”I see. I was briefly fooled.”

No matter how much mana Karnak had, he couldn’t cast eighth circle or ninth circle magic. His magic circuits simply wouldn’t be able to handle it.

”All you can do is brute-force your way through with sheer mana, isn’t it?” Maloka sneered.

”Well, that’s true.” Karnak remained unfazed.

He elegantly twirled his wand, flashing a sly smile. ”But in other words, I can brute-force my way through.”

Even if his circle was low, an overflowing mana reserve meant he could simply fire an endless barrage of spells to overwhelm his enemy. Of course, this was easier said than done.

Spamming the same magic repeatedly weakened its effectiveness. To maintain pressure, he needed to alternate between different spells, which naturally introduced delays. Karnak was well aware of this.

”So, I might as well just use this again.” With a grin, he tapped the ground. ”Come forth, El Ragnatia!”

The fire spirit giant emerged, radiating searing heat.

”Hah! Summoning that useless thing again?” Maloka scoffed, unimpressed.

Karnak continued his incantation. ”Come forth, El Terrastia!”

This time, a stone spirit giant rose, its massive form shaking the ground. With so much mana to spare, summoning spirits barely put a dent in Karnak’s reserves. Of course, even two spirit giants weren’t much of a threat to Maloka.

”You really think summoning another one will change anything?”

Just as Maloka was preparing a spell to sweep away the two spirit giants, Karnak’s incantation continued. ”Come forth, El Aquaria!”

From the air, currents of water gathered and condensed, forming a water spirit giant.

”Come forth, El Silpherisia!” Winds howled, swirling into a tornado before taking the form of a storm giant, letting out a thunderous roar.

It was only then that Maloka’s tone changed. ”What...? All four elemental giants of earth, water, fire, and wind?”

Regardless of whether he could properly control them or not, summoning this many spirits was something even a ninth circle master could no longer ignore.

”I-I have to admit, that’s impressive.” Maloka muttered with growing tension.

”That’s one full cycle, isn’t it?” Grinning, Karnak tapped the ground again. ”Come forth, El Ragnatia.”

”What?” Maloka muttered.

”Come forth, El Terrastia,” Karnak continued.

”W-Wait a second!” Malok cried out.

One after another, giants of water, fire, earth, and wind kept appearing. Before long, dozens of spirits filled the forest, their massive forms packed so densely that the entire battlefield was swarming with them.

Seeing the endless wave of summoned beings, Maloka’s jaw dropped open. ”This is absurd... That shouldn’t be possible...”

The only response he got was a smug, triumphant sneer. ”It is possible for me. Because I’m me.”

***

Embers scattered in every direction and dust billowed in thick clouds. Violent torrents of water crashed like waterfalls, and razor-sharp winds tore through the air. It was a spectacle of relentless punishment.

The forest had become a merciless battlefield of fire, stone, raging currents, and howling storms. Through it all, endless echoes of anguished wails reverberated.

”Ghk! Gaaah! Aaaaargh!”

The sight of dozens of spirit giants trampling a single skeleton was so utterly brutal that even Serati, an enemy, couldn’t help but feel a tinge of pity. Never thought I’d see the day when I’d feel sorry for a lich...

And yet, Maloka was still an archlich. Even under such relentless, overwhelming violence, he did not die. Yes, he was battered. But not dead.

”Ugh... Ghhh...”

Looking down at the tattered archlich, Karnak smiled cheerfully. ”Now that’s a nicely tenderized target.”

”W-What are you planning to do with me...?”

”Well, first thing’s first. I’m going to split you in half.”

A blade of darkness sliced through Maloka’s ribs, exposing the ethereal heart within.

”As expected. There it is. The Mark of the Contract.”

It was exactly the same as Demphis’s. Even the inscription of the contract itself was identical. Without hesitation, Karnak replaced Tesranach’s name with his own. A moment later, with a faint groan, Maloka’s shattered bones began to mend.

As his body slowly reassembled itself, Karnak casually posed a question. ”How do you feel?”

”It’s a strange sensation.” Speaking in an eerily calm voice, Maloka dropped to one knee. ”I submit to you. My king... my master of souls.”