Karnak, Monarch of Death

Varos’s purple aura blade slashed a long line down the giant’s right arm. Light-blood sprayed as the giant of light let out a scream. Unlike before, the wound didn’t regenerate. It was clearer this time around. They were dealing real damage to the giant.

Immediately after, Lapicel slashed across the giant’s left arm. Again, light-blood splattered. But this time, there was no scream.

The light giant let out a faint groan, and the wound began to heal, albeit slowly. Unlike Varos, who had pushed his aura to the purple tier, Lapicel’s current reserves only allowed her to reach blue tier.

She lacked the destructive power, and the outcome fell short of Varos’s. Still, it was undeniably a valid strike.

Not to be outdone, Serati lunged in. She closed the distance while dodging the rain of beams and slashed a long line across the giant’s back! But this time, there was neither a scream nor even a groan. The giant counterattacked immediately.

Startled, Serati twisted her body aside. Gah!

The giant’s right arm swept past her, missing her by a hair’s breadth. Had it landed, the blow would have been devastating.

Backing away, Serati grimaced. Tch!

At this rate, it was like cutting water with a blade. Even though she wielded blue-tier aura just like Lapicel, her attacks floundered uselessly, while Lapicel’s landed true with every strike.

Dodging the giant’s wild assault, she drew closer to Lapicel and asked, ”Could you explain it a bit more clearly?”

Fine, she could accept that Lapicel was a martial king and a genius, but couldn’t they at least speak in a way that normal people could understand? Not that Lapicel had chosen to be so vague out of pride.

”This isn’t something that can be explained with words.” She could only help guide others to the truth, nothing more. Circling the giant calmly, Lapicel continued. ”See it, feel it, act on it. You all have the ability.”

Serati narrowed her eyes. ”When you say you all, are you sure I’m included?”

For a moment, Lapicel’s expression turned awkward. ”Ah.”

”Ah?” Serati’s face twisted in displeasure. ”Wait, are you saying I’m too dense to understand this?”

For a brief moment, the noble and graceful Lapicel regressed to her original age. ”I-I never said it like that!”

But she didn’t take it back, either. Even in the eyes of the Martial King of Cyphras, it was absurd expecting Serati to follow this technique on her own.

Feeling wronged, Serati pouted. Even now, you’re discriminating against people?

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t discrimination against people. It was discrimination against talent. But Lapicel was still Lapicel. The Martial King of Cyphras was famed even among the Four Martial Kings for her exceptional adaptability and situational awareness. She drew from experience of countless battles and immediately found a way forward.

”Let’s do it together,” said Lapicel.

”Huh?”

Lapicel approached the puzzled Serati and touched her sword to hers. ”Follow my blade.”

”Wh-what are you talking about...?”

An invisible current flowed between their blades. Their brilliant blue auras intertwined.

Huh...?

Something was guiding Serati’s sword. As if entranced, she followed the flow of Lapicel’s aura. Her movements began to resemble Lapicel’s more and more.

***

Even as he fought the giant of light, Varos kept sneaking glances toward Lapicel and Serati. How are they doing that?

He understood what they were doing. Lapicel was drawing out her aura in fine threads and using it to gently lead Serati’s senses directly. But there was no way he could copy it.

Though in his previous life he had been recognized as being on par with the martial kings, that was only in terms of raw combat power. In skill and mastery, he had been a clear step below the true martial kings.

That was why he couldn’t teach things that couldn’t be explained in words. But a true master, it seemed, was capable of doing even that.

Lapicel guided Serati’s sword, and Serati followed the lead of Lapicel’s blade. Sword arcs crossed and swordlight intertwined.

”Have a little more faith in yourself, Sir Serati. You too possess the rare talent of the common heavens.”

Whether it was meant as an insult or a compliment was unclear, but one thing was certain. Serati’s blue aura blade managed to tear through the giant’s skin. Light-blood splattered into the air.

It worked! Yes. This time, it wasn’t like cutting water with a blade. The attack had clearly landed. But... why is it working?

Even in her confusion, Serati kept up the fight, circling around the giant while keeping her movements sharp. She dodged, slashed, leapt, and dived. Bit by bit, clarity dawned on her. I see...

The highest divine spell of the Latiel Order: Incarnation of Divinity, the Crimson Sun. But this giant of light wasn’t the Crimson Sun. It was the Black Sun. Darkness had seeped in to supplement the gaps in its vast light to produce a similar effect.

To blend divine magic and necromancy so seamlessly was a testament to just how formidable Tesranach truly was. Yet, there was clearly a weakness.

The giant’s body was like a metal plate forged by joining two different kinds of metal. Ordinarily, the seams would be invisible. But under extreme heat, or cold, or with enough accumulated stress, the once-hidden joints would begin to split apart.

Lapicel’s method didn’t actually involve cutting the giant. She was simply returning it to its original state, back to how it should have been, already severed. To do that, she allowed the vibrations of her aura to flow through it, constantly shaking the giant’s body of light.

After reaching that conclusion, Serati shook her head. No, even this isn’t quite the right way to explain it.

If someone had asked her to fight the giant of light with this sort of explanation, she would’ve been too confused to act. That’s why she could only give such vague explanations.

Now, she understood. There were things in this world that simply could not be explained in words.

Serati pulled away from Lapicel. ”Thank you. I see it now.”

She approached the giant alone. Her blue aura blade erupted in a fierce blast. Seeing this, Lapicel gave a smile. Serati’s blade had entered the realm of understanding, and it was now slicing cleanly through the darkness within the light.

***

Serati wasn’t the only one who had been struggling against the giant of light. I can see it.

Gripping his crimson aura blade, Leven sprinted across the ground. I see... the darkness within the light.

He closed the distance in an instant, aiming for the giant’s leg. His crimson aura drew a brilliant slash through the air, but it passed through weakly.

Leven, having dealt no damage, gritted his teeth. ”Damn it!”

That was right. He understood everything now. He knew exactly what to do to cut the darkness within the giant, but his blade wouldn’t reach it!

It was the complete opposite of Serati’s situation. He had grasped the method the moment it was explained, but he lacked the strength. Blue aura was the minimum threshold needed to deal damage to the giant.

He could see Serati on the opposite side. She was pressing her attacks against the giant after having learned from Lapicel. ”Haaah! Take this!”

Clinging to hope, Leven quickly approached Lapicel and asked, ”What should I do?”

Dodging the giant’s counterattack, Lapicel retreated. After widening the distance, she hesitated before answering him. ”Well, in your case, Sir Leven...”

If someone had the ability but lacked the method, she could teach and guide them. But what if they lacked the ability itself? The Martial King of Cyphras began to avert her gaze. ”Maybe... it’s not necessary for you to get involved?”

”You’re saying there’s nothing I can do?!”

”I didn’t say it quite like that...”

Leven felt an overwhelming sense of injustice. His face twisted in frustration. Then, a hand of salvation reached out, or more precisely, a transmission.

—Do you desire power? I shall grant it!

—Why are you speaking like that, Lord Karnak?

Blushing, Karnak crossed his hands.

—I, uh, slipped into my old way of speaking. Anyway, take this!

A portal of darkness opened in midair, and a crimson suit of armor emerged.

—What is this?

—The armor of the blood demon! It will make up for your lack of strength!

A sinister aura billowed from the armor.

Lapicel frowned. ”To think you’d rely on demonic power...”

Though she was cooperating for now, given the situation, it was still hard for her to tolerate necromancy unfolding right before her eyes.

Watching her reaction, Leven asked cautiously.

—Isn’t this the same armor those guardian generals summoned by Jedex were wearing?

—Exactly.

—They seemed to be in tremendous pain, though...

But if it meant gaining power, he’d endure that pain. Leven threw himself forward. He reached for the armor, and it disassembled on its own and wrapped itself around him. The moment it fastened onto him, a strange expression crossed Leven’s face.

Huh? Why does this feel... so comfortable?

It felt almost cozy, like he was nestled safely in a parent’s arms. A completely different reaction from the knights of light.

—That’s because the guardians are beings of light.

—So what you’re saying is... I’m not a being of light?

Karnak dodged the question.

—Ah, well, it’s not exactly like that...

Leven chose not to press further. He wasn’t brave enough to hear the answer.

Anyway, I’ll just be satisfied with pulling my weight for now!

Empowered by the surge of energy coursing through him, he sprang forward. His crimson aura blade slashed through the giant’s side. This time, light-blood splattered from the light giant’s body, and a pained groan escaped its lips.

***

The four aura users launched their attacks one after another against the giant of light. Four streams of aura blades steadily chipped away at the giant’s power.

Watching them, Karnak nodded to himself. I think I get it now.

Unlike Varos and Leven, he hadn’t immediately understood Lapicel’s explanation. It was an insight tailored to aura users. As a mage and necromancer, Karnak operated on a different system of understanding. But by watching the unfolding battle, he could grasp it.

So that’s how it’s done.

He understood the giant’s weakness. And now, the way to exploit it was playing out before his eyes. If he still couldn’t act, he wouldn’t have been worthy of the title of Monarch of Death in his past life.

There’s no need to wait for the time limit anymore.

Gripping the Anti-Time-Space Transcender in both hands, Karnak spread his arms wide. ”As a beam of light falls to earth and becomes a star...”

Twelve grey magic circles appeared in the air. Thanks to the aura users’ efforts, the giant of light no longer focused on Karnak. He now had the leisure to calmly prepare his chaos magic.

”May the wailing of phantoms dwell within it...”

Karnak continued to refine his spell. He precisely traced the faint currents of darkness flowing within the giant, aligning his targeting with their flow. At last, the spell was complete. The twelve magic circles blazed with ferocious light.

”Everyone, fall back!” At his signal, the aura users retreated at once.

The giant of light turned its head toward Karnak, and just as it reached out to strike him...

”Necromantic magic: Shattering Ashen Meteor!”

Karnak’s spell fired first. Dozens of streaks of light tore through the giant’s body. The spaces between beams of light split open, and darkness burst forth, geysering like blood. Explosion after explosion erupted, and the thunderous blasts shook the heavens.

It was a spell rivalling the might of ninth circle magic. In the end, the giant body of light exploded entirely, and the dying giant’s final death cry echoed across the night sky.