Karnak, Monarch of Death

A roar erupted as the giant fist of light came crashing down on Karnak. If it landed, it would spell his doom. There was no way he could just stand there. Summoning every ounce of strength, Karnak cast Wind Walk.

Damn it! It’s not giving me even a moment to breathe!

The giant narrowly missed its target, and just then, a purple chain-blade shot toward its legs. Four chains of fighting aura wrapped around the giant’s ankles. The giant’s massive frame wavered for a moment, as the other ends of the chains were anchored to a nearby building.

Varos’s weight alone was never going to hold the giant’s legs in place, of course, but this way, he could at least disrupt its movement for a moment. Naturally, the instant the giant put strength into its legs, the aura chains shattered. Violet fragments scattered through the air and dissolved into nothing.

Varos hurriedly sent a transmission.

—Lady Serati! The back!

Serati, positioned on a rooftop, responded to the signal and delivered a follow-up strike. A long stretch of blue aura lashed out, slamming into the back of the giant’s head.

—Sir Leven, take this opportunity to strike and retreat!

Leven, his whole body reinforced with crimson aura, darted in like a bolt of lightning and landed a fierce blow. The attack scraped across the giant’s light-formed skin with a screeching impact, then he immediately pulled back.

Amid the successive explosions, Varos kept issuing commands through their transmissions.

—We don’t have to bring it down! We just need to make it recognize us as obstacles!

This covert magic transmission wasn’t just useful for exchanging secrets. It had enormous value in battle as well. In the chaos of running, swinging weapons, and casting spells, shouting instructions out loud was hardly wise. It was far too easy to lose breath and trip over your words.

Not to mention, if they were too far apart, their voices wouldn’t carry. Worse yet, the enemy could overhear their plans, and spoken commands had limits in speed and clarity.

But covert transmission magic eliminated all these drawbacks. Still, few mages actually used this spell, because it was notoriously difficult to control. It was similar to crafting a translation necklace.

Translation magic itself was a ninth circle enchantment, but only the Tower of Dawn, led by Archmage Diogres, could produce the actual necklace. Even legendary figures like Elezar or Giyen Len were incapable of it.

The spellwork was so complex and delicate that unless you had a team of specialists, even an archmage couldn’t create it properly. Covert magic transmission barely consumed any mana at all. A third circle mage could manage the casting itself.

But to use it effectively required exquisitely precise control over mana flow. If the flow got even slightly tangled during casting, static would creep into the communication. Well, for Karnak, who had superb control but lacked mana reserves, this wasn’t much of an issue.

—Keep pressing the attack!

Following Varos’s orders, the aura users continued their assault on the giant of light. Lapicel couldn’t hear their covert transmissions, but it didn’t matter much. Just by reading the flow of battle, she kept pace without missing a beat.

In fact, she even felt a flicker of admiration. As expected of veterans! They’re in perfect sync without saying a word!

Varos, Serati, Leven, and Lapicel kept circling the giant. Their attacks didn’t cause much damage, but they kept the giant distracted and off balance. It was all to buy even a little more time for Karnak to finish his spell.

Under their relentless assault, the giant of light finally turned its head. Seizing the moment, Karnak swiftly began preparing his necromantic magic. But just as he started chanting, dozens of light beams shot toward him.

Damn it! Again?

That giant, even while distracted, never failed to send a few beams Karnak’s way. It was like swatting flies with one hand while going about your business with the other. Frantically, Karnak canceled his spell and threw himself to the side.

Explosions erupted right where he had been. The attack wasn’t especially fast or precise, so dodging it wasn’t too difficult. But right away, a fresh barrage of beams came chasing after him.

Breaking into a cold sweat, Karnak cast Wind Walk again. At this rate, they had no options left. It was time to think of something else.

Varos sent a suggestion through the transmission.

—Why not just use necromancy, young master? It’s all well and good to live like a human, but right now we need to survive!

Of course, it wasn’t out of some noble desire to live as a human that Karnak hadn’t used necromancy yet.

—If I thought it would work, I’d have done it already!

No matter how much darkness had tainted it, that giant was still powered by divine magic. And divine power had always been the bane of necromancy. This wasn’t just any divine magic, either. It was the pinnacle of divine arts, the trump card of the Latiel Order, known to some as a

—The gap is just too wide! With my current necromantic power, I don’t stand a chance!

Chaos magic, which allowed him to borrow the mana of the Anti-Time-Space Transgender, was a far more viable option.

—Well, there is a way for me to amplify my necromantic powers in the short term...

Leven hurriedly asked.

—There’s a way to amplify it in the short term? What is it?

If there was even a chance, it was worth asking. But he should have known. He should have realized why, at that moment, Serati wore an expression that all but screamed, Oh no, not that. It’s obviously a terrible idea.

—Corpse-eating.

—Pardon...?

—Eating corpses. Human corpses.

That was it. There were reasons necromancy had earned the contempt of all.

—My apologies. Let’s try to think of something else.

Karnak hastily added.

—Just so there’s no misunderstanding. I never stooped to that even in my past life, alright? No matter how desperate things got, I drew the line there.

At least, that cleared away any lingering hopes about necromancy. Evading the giant’s relentless onslaught, Karnak continued weaving through the city streets. He kept activating Wind Walk, gliding between buildings and alleys.

Normally, even with enough mana, he would have collapsed from exhaustion by now. But surprisingly, his body was holding up better than expected. It seemed all that good food and hard training had paid off.

Building stamina didn’t just improve physical ability. The mind was tied to the limits of the body, and with better endurance, his thoughts turned sharper as well.

Wait, maybe this could work? A strategy suddenly flashed through his mind. Drawing up his mana, Karnak sent the transmission.

—Everyone! Forget about trying to tie down its legs! Just hold out for five seconds with everything you’ve got.

***

Varos and Serati exchanged glances.

Five seconds?

We can manage that much.

Until now, they had been attacking in sequence, doing their best to keep up the pressure and buy Karnak as much time as possible. But if the goal was simply to buy five seconds, they could take a different approach.

All they had to do was throw everything at the giant for five seconds, then pull back right before it became too dangerous.

Varos hurled his chain-blade with both hands and charged. Serati, Leven, and Lapicel followed right behind. They went for the giant’s head, shoulders, and ankles all at once, aiming to draw its gaze downward.

A flurry of colorful aura flashed and streaked around the giant. The giant of light retaliated immediately. As it swung its arms wildly, a haze of particles spread through the air, and beams of light rained down like a storm.

The deluge of destructive rays ripped through the earth, exploding one after another. Everyone did what they could as they faced the giant’s relentless assault.

They dodged, deflected, and fought with all their might to block its attacks. Thus passed five brief seconds. It was fleeting, yet feeling like an eternity to them.

At last, Karnak completed his spell. ”Rise, spirits of the earth!”

Over thirty golems began clawing their way up from the streets like zombies. It was a mass summoning of golems, a branch of necromantic magic. Given its roots in necromancy, it naturally had a somewhat ominous appearance.

With heavy steps, the golems charged at the giant of light. The vanguard golems swung their stone fists in a full-force assault, while the rear ones raised their arms and fired volleys of mana shots.

Leven caught his breath, frowning as he watched from where he had retreated. They’re too weak. They’re not going to do any real damage.

The golems fought valiantly, but they couldn’t overcome the giant. Those that launched their melee assault were smashed to dust, reduced to nothing but rubble. The mana shots from the rear lines simply bounced off the giant’s skin.

But Karnak wasn’t disheartened. What mattered was that they were still holding the giant in place. From the start, he had planned to buy time in layers. There was no way he would waste this hard-earned opportunity.

Karnak immediately began preparing his next spell. Four different magic circles flared to life around him. ”Come forth, El Ragnatia!”

With a surge of blistering heat, the fire elemental giant revealed its magnificent form. That wasn’t all. Giants of water, stone, and wind spirits emerged one after another. And once again, the fire giant manifested its blazing body upon the earth.

It worked!

Sequential Elemental Summoning—this was the strongest spell Karnak could wield at present. In terms of destructive power, it rivaled ninth circle magic. Its duration was excellent, and above all, the sheer number of summons made it perfect for buying time.

With this, even in the worst-case scenario, they could hold out until the time limit of the divine spell Jadex had cast!

Brimming with confidence, Karnak gave the order. ”Go! Smash that thing to pieces!”

The elemental giants all charged at the giant of light at once. Their force was clearly on another level compared to when the golems had attacked. Their colossal bodies were not much smaller than the giant of light, and the energy they wielded was not far behind either. Most importantly, there were so many of them.

Explosions erupted relentlessly around the giant of light. The giant staggered backward. For the first time since it had descended to earth, it showed signs of faltering.

Good, if we can just hold out like this...

A smile crept across Karnak’s lips. But at that moment, the giant of light wrapped both arms around its head and let out a thunderous roar into the sky.

It was as if it were appealing to the heavens. Ripples of light formed rings around the giant and spread outward in every direction. The waves of light swept over the summoned elemental giants, engulfing them one after another. Enveloped in light, the elementals all froze in place at the same time, as if on cue.

Karnak’s expression hardened. What?

It was the divine spell Jadex had used before—Light of Liberation.

It can use that even in this state?

Before, the giant hadn’t been able to wield such complex powers. It had lacked any trace of sentience. It had merely swung about the pure authority of the goddess, nothing more.

But why now? Is it because darkness has mixed into it? But can darkness-infused power really let it use divine magic like that?

The elemental giants began to fade, all at once. Their summons were being dispelled. Since the Light of Liberation had washed over them, it was inevitable. The countermeasure Karnak had worked so hard to prepare crumbled to dust.

Karnak ground his teeth. ”Damn it...”

And then, something happened that he had not anticipated. Lapicel suddenly started screaming while clutching her head.

Startled, Serati and Leven turned to her.

”Lapicel?”

”What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

Karnak’s face went pale. No!

The giant of light had just unleashed the Light of Liberation. And that light hadn’t only engulfed the elemental giants. It had swept over the entire area, including Karnak’s group.

And in Lapicel’s mind were the old memories Karnak had sealed away. It was the very memories of unbearable agony, of her soul being torn apart as she wandered hell for decades.

”Aaaaaaaaagh!”