Karnak, Monarch of Death

The past governors of Necropia, Maloka, Kalaf, and Tirafar were once again Karnak’s subordinates in this timeline. Like Demphis, the three archliches scattered across the Seven Kingdoms in order to expand the influence of the Twilight Cult. And just like Demphis, they were taught a special concealment spell.

”This is the Circumventer of Necromancy, but a version made specifically for archliches.” After explaining the magic ritual, Karnak gestured. ”Step forward, my skilled demonstrator.”

Demphis altered his appearance using illusion magic, transforming from a lich into an ordinary middle-aged man. However, even in this form, hint of darkness still leaked from his body. It might deceive commoners, but not aura users, mages, or priests.

”That’s why we use this.”

As soon as he activated Circumventer of Necromancy, all traces of dark energy vanished completely from Demphis’s body.

Karnak smirked. ”With this, even high-ranking priests won’t be able to see through your disguise. Hahaha.”

Varos eyed Demphis, or rather, the man now appearing as Dallas. He scanned him up or down with a skeptical gaze.

”Are you sure about this?” Varos asked him.

Demphis nodded. ”I’ve already encountered several priests. Even a top-class inquisitor mistook me for an ordinary human.”

But the technique had its limitations.

”But if I use necromancy, Circumventer of Necromancy will break.”

After all, it was a spell designed to erase dark energy, so naturally, using the power of darkness would undo it.

”And I can only cast up to fourth circle magic while in this state.”

Since Circumventer of Necromancy was already in effect, attempting higher-tier magic would cause a conflict between spells. Still, Maloka, Kalaf, and Tirafar found the technique more than satisfactory.

”Even with those limitations, this is an extremely useful method.”

”It allows an archlich, the highest form of undead, to disguise themselves as an ordinary human mage...”

”Expecting anything beyond that would be greedy.”

After learning the ritual, they all changed their appearances. Kalaf transformed into a handsome young man in his twenties with brown hair. Tirafar took the form of a sturdy middle-aged man. They were clearly different in age, but both had returned to their appearances from when they were alive.

Meanwhile, Maloka had become a tall, slender woman with long black hair. She was now examining her new form.

”It’s been a long time since I looked like this.”

Even her voice had changed, shifting from the grating rasp of a lich to the clear, ringing tones of a woman.

Serati and Leven blinked in surprise.

”What?”

”Wait, why a woman?”

Karnak looked at them as if they were the odd ones. ”What do you mean? I said it’s their original appearance.”

”Maloka... Miss Maloka, you were a woman?” Serati asked, still stunned.

Varos, on the other hand, responded as if it were obvious. ”You can tell just by looking.”

The skeletal structures of men and women were significantly different, especially in areas like the shoulders and pelvis.

”All you had to do was look. It was clear as day that she was a woman. Don’t tell me you never noticed?” Varos continued.

”Most people wouldn’t, ever.”

Of course, archliches had already abandoned their physical bodies, so whether Maloka had been a woman in life made little difference now.

They also finalized their long-distance communication plan. Like Demphis, the archliches would maintain regular contact at prearranged times. This would ensure that Karnak, who couldn’t yet use high-tier magic, could stay in touch with them.

With all preparations complete, Karnak signaled with a wave of his hand. ”All right, move out. Let’s secure the Seven Kingdoms first.”

It wasn’t yet time to make a move on the Lacania Empire. First, they needed to subdue the Seven Kingdoms, where the influence of the Black God’s Cult was relatively weak.

Leven asked, ”And what if we end up clashing with the Church of the Goddesses?”

After all, the Twilight Cult was undeniably classified as a cult. To the Church of the Goddesses, one heresy was no different from another.

Karnak shrugged. ”I’ve got something in mind for that. Not sure if it’ll work, though.”

The archliches, now disguised as ordinary humans, bowed in unison. ”As you command, my master.”

Then, they stepped out of the hut and gradually disappeared into the darkness. Considering that each of them was powerful enough to shake an entire nation, it was an ominous sight.

They mean well, so why does this feel like a prelude to the end of the world? Serati was shaking her head when a sudden thought struck her. ”But... do we really need to go this far?”

Expanding the Twilight Cult to counter the Black God’s Cult made sense. It was an unpleasant task, but a necessary one. But tracking down Malican Thun and the fallen popes in the present?

”They can’t summon anyone from the future anymore anyway, right?”

Only archliches could create Anti-Space-Time Transcenders, and now all of them had joined this side.

”No, that’s not it.” Karnak pulled out a pitch-black cube.

The third Anti-Space-Time Transcender had not been created by Demphis or Maloka. It had come from the witch.

”I mentioned this earlier, didn’t I? Tesranach isn’t paranoid, so why would he prepare additional countermeasures?”

From the perspective of future Tesranach, both events were already in the past. Did he send all the archliches first, confirm that the results were unsatisfactory, and then prepare additional measures?

That could explain the existence of a third Anti-Space-Time Transcender. The outcome had come first, and the reasoning for the action had followed.

”This is getting confusing.”

Seeing Leven’s expression twist in discomfort, Karnak gave a wry smile. ”When time starts to tangle, this is what happens. It turns into a real headache.”

***

In a void of pure darkness, the Sanctuary of the Black God, Dreltein and Elezar exchanged words. Their faces were obscured by veils.

”It is certain. All contact with Demphis has been completely severed.”

”The same goes for Maloka.”

Since they bore the Mark of Contract, betrayal was impossible. That left only one possibility. They had been defeated and annihilated.

”As expected, is this Karnak’s doing?” Dreltein muttered.

A young man, his face also veiled, shook his head. It was the Saint of the Sun, Jedex. ”It’s hard to believe that man has the power to take down two archliches.”

”I feel the same. But we can’t ignore reality,” responded Dreltein.

”And this is something we only recently discovered...” Clicking her tongue, Elezar continued. ”Kalaf and Tirafar’s remains were stolen as well.”

On the surface, it appeared to be the work of the western division of the Brigade of Purification. But after digging deeper, Elezar found another party involved.

Elezar continued, ”A group of dark hunters from the Eustil Kingdom had intervened. Quite an interesting coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”

If it was Eustil, there was only one possibility that came to mind.

Dreltein clicked his tongue. ”That man again? What in the world is he?”

All four archliches had vanished. And in every case, Karnak had been involved.

Jedex let out a dry chuckle. ”We even played the Maloka card to figure that out, and yet this is the result.”

They had never underestimated their opponent. Assigning a ninth circle master to deal with a mage who was only a seventh circle was already overkill. And yet, things had turned out this way.

”Even so, the situation isn’t favorable for us to act directly.”

Dreltein and Elezar were still bound to the empire. If the conflict was within the empire, they could intervene as much as they wanted, but moving into the Seven Kingdoms was an entirely different matter.

Elezar spoke gravely. ”It seems the time has come to offer prayers to Lord Tesranach.”

Jedex sighed. It would require a significant offering to reach Tesranach in the Sanctuary. ”But we have no other choice. I’ll prepare the altar.”

***

About five days after parting with the archliches, Karnak and his group returned to the capital, Drunta. Karnak’s territory had stabilized somewhat over his stay.

The first order of business was visiting the Altas merchant guild. He needed to review the report he had received a few days prior.

—The first investigation into the Tecas merchant guild has been completed.

The volume of collected information was staggering. The stack of documents alone towered past the height of an average person. Had he given instructions to focus solely on the merchant guild’s connections to the cult, he feared crucial information being omitted.

If the investigators were left to determine what was valuable, they could have discarded something critical. So, even if it meant more work, Karnak had ordered them to gather everything. He would personally sift through the data and make the judgments.

After staying up the entire night, he finally finished reviewing the report. Calling Varos into his office, Karnak shared his findings. ”For now, it doesn’t seem like the entire Tecas merchant guild is connected to the Black God’s Cult.”

A cult and a merchant guild made for a poor match. A cult had to operate in secrecy, whereas a merchant guild had to meet countless people and travel extensively. In many ways, they were polar opposites.

That was why disguising a cult as a merchant guild was nearly impossible. Indeed, the Black God’s Cult had not founded the Tecas merchant guild from the beginning.

”But at the same time, there are few places better suited for cultists to hide.”

Since a merchant guild regularly interacted with large numbers of people, they weren’t expected to form deep personal relationships. And no one found it suspicious if they traveled frequently.

”From what I can tell, some cultists infiltrated a merchant guild that was already there.”

The current leader of the Tecas merchant guild was Valent Tecas. Karnak remembered him as the group’s original master. That much had not changed. However, the scale of the company had. Tecas had now grown into one of the two largest merchant guilds across the entire Seven Kingdoms Alliance.

”If history had followed its original course, they should still be idling away in Eustil.”

According to intel, everything had changed six years ago when a man joined the Tecas merchant guild. He was handpicked as Valent Tecas’s secretary, and as a man of exceptional skill, he contributed significantly in expanding the guild’s influence.

He utilized vast sums of money, money of unknown origin, to primarily invest in developing new mines and dungeons. Every venture he touched had turned into a resounding success. As a result, Tecas had rapidly grown into one of the top two merchant guilds in the Seven Kingdoms Alliance. Though the public remained unaware, the truth was that he was essentially the real owner of the guild.

”Banner Ralphstadder. He originally hails from the Altail Kingdom. Currently thirty-five years old.” Tapping the documents with his fingers, Karnak smiled coldly. ”They say he possesses an uncanny insight, as if he can see the future.”

Hearing the explanation, a grin spread across Varos’s face as well. ”I see. The future, is it?”

Karnak himself had used knowledge of the future to carve out his own success. And when combined with what Demphis had mentioned, the picture became clearer.

Karnak voiced out his thought. ”Doesn’t this guy seem like Jedex?”

Neither Karnak nor Varos had ever taken much interest in others. As a result, they knew little about the current Jedex. However, there was one thing they could be sure of.

When Karnak had defeated Jedex and turned him into an undead, he had been in his fifties. That had happened roughly twenty years in the future. Calculating backward, they could estimate his current age.

”A man in his thirties, who seems to foresee the future, with vast funds of unknown origin.”

According to Demphis, Jedex had only managed to establish himself within the Seven Kingdoms after receiving Elezar’s backing.

”It all lines up.” Flipping through the documents, Varos asked, ”So, where does this man live?”