Karnak, Monarch of Death

Erantel had been right. There had been no need for Karnak to reach out first. When they returned from the King’s Order headquarters, Lapicel had just finished cleaning the house.

She held out an invitation. ”A priest from the Sellas Temple came by. He asked me to deliver this to you, Lord Karnak.”

The temple had already caught wind of the rumors surrounding the Harthol City incident, and unsurprisingly, they considered it a grave matter. No matter how they looked at it, the giant of light at the end seemed to be imbued with the authority of Latiel.

This had been confirmed by many priests present in Harthol City, especially the priests of the Sun. If they let this matter pass without investigation, they would have no right to call themselves the servants of the goddess.

Thus, they had already dispatched investigators to Harthol City to piece together the details. But no matter how many investigators they sent, there were limits to what could be learned after the fact. Hearing directly from the people involved would be essential. So, they had been waiting all this time for Karnak’s party to return.

”So the Great Sellas Temple has invited us? That will make things easier.” Karnak, slipping off his robe and hanging it on the wall, addressed the others. ”Get ready. We leave at dawn tomorrow.”

***

The Sellas Temple lay a half-day’s journey east of Drunta, the capital of Eustil. Karnak’s group set out early in the morning and arrived around noon. Beyond the fields, they spotted a large settlement in the distance.

At the sight of the massive structures visible even from afar, Lapicel gasped in admiration. ”Wow, the temple is huge!”

”Of course it is,” Leven replied matter-of-factly. ”It’s the main temple of Allium, the goddess of the Moon and Justice.”

The village was built around the immense Sellas Temple, a stone structure, with six other temples devoted to Latiel, Hatoba, and the remaining goddesses encircling it. Like all main temples of the faith, the sanctuary had been constructed alongside branches of the other goddess orders for better coordination among them.

From the seven sanctuaries, paved roads radiated outward like spokes on a wheel. Karnak’s party advanced deeper into the settlement, following the main thoroughfare lined with houses.

Priests from various orders of the goddess faith bustled everywhere. Behind a man in the robes of Saisha walked a priest of Atima, and beyond them, clergy of yet other goddess orders strolled past.

”Priests everywhere,” Serati murmured.

”There might actually be more of them than regular people,” Leven remarked.

Even Serati and Leven, both seasoned warriors, had never seen so many clergy gathered in one place. As for Karnak and Varos? They had seen even more priests than this in their time. Unfortunately, most of them had been charging at them with murder in their eyes.

Glancing around, Serati muttered under her breath, ”As expected of one of the two great temples of the Seven Kingdoms.”

In the current era, the Sellas Temple was far more than just the seat of a single order. With the prophecy of the world’s end having descended upon them, the foremost mission of the Seven Goddesses’ faith was now the battle against darkness.

The Sellas Temple served as the headquarters for this grand crusade. Together with the Idris Great Temple of Hatoba, located in the Kingdom of Felmayer, it oversaw dark incidents across the Seven Kingdoms, managed inquisitors, and bore the critical duty of sealing away fragments of the shadow of doom recovered from every corner of the realm. In many ways, it was one of the central pillars of the goddess faith in the Seven Kingdoms.

”That’s why they’re especially vigilant against attacks involving necromancy. I’d say this is probably the most prepared place in all the seven kingdoms when it comes to defending against the powers of darkness.” Even as he explained, Karnak kept a sharp eye on his surroundings.

Over there, a barrier. Over here, another one. The entire area was saturated with large-scale anti-necromancy wards.

Leven let out a faint laugh. ”You certainly need to be on your guard here, Lord Karnak.”

—Speak telepathically, telepathically! Lapicel might overhear.

—Ah, my apologies.

They continued through the streets and finally arrived at the Sellas Temple itself. As they reached the temple, two middle-aged priests came out to greet them. Judging by their expressions, they had been waiting quite a while.

”Welcome, Lord Karnak.”

Not just Karnak—the priests recognized the entire group.

”Sir Varos, Sir Serati, and Sir Leven as well.”

As they offered their greetings, their gazes flicked to the ash-haired girl in the group, and they stiffened in surprise. ”Could this be Miss Lapicel?”

”We’ve heard rumors that she is an aura user. Is that true?”

A child no more than fourteen had reportedly swept through the city, wielding a blade infused with fighting energy. It was only natural that such stories had spread.

Karnak turned to Lapicel. ”Show them.”

”Yes.”

It would have been improper to draw her sword in the middle of the temple. Besides, there was no need to physically display the glow of aura to prove her power. With a short breath, Lapicel summoned the aura throughout her body. Her hair began to sway, despite the absence of wind.

When it came to high-ranking priests, even this simple display was enough for them to clearly sense her energy. The priests couldn’t hold back their admiration.

”My word...”

”At this rate, wouldn’t she be the youngest aura user in history?”

”She very well might be.”

With that, Lapicel, too, was confirmed as one of the key figures in the Harthol City incident.

After leading them to a guest room within the sanctuary, one of the priests asked seriously, ”The council will convene after the afternoon mass. Have you had anything to eat?”

***

The lunch provided by the sanctuary was rather modest. It consisted of just plain bread, soup, and some pickled vegetables. Yet it didn’t feel lacking in the least.

As Karnak bit into the bread, he tilted his head in mild surprise. ”Huh, I wasn’t expecting much, but this is good.”

It wasn’t just decent. In fact, it was better than most of the best restaurants in major cities.

”Of course it is,” Serati replied, nodding knowingly.

Having worked as a shadow hunter in Derath City, she’d had her share of meals at temples before.

”Temple food is always good.”

For the priests of the goddess faith, cooking was considered part of their devotion. By preparing the bounty of the world, created by the Seven Goddesses, with wisdom and care, they gave praise to the goddesses’ grace.

”Though, honestly, I think it’s just because they have fewer physical chores and more time to experiment with recipes.”

Leven, fascinated, sent a telepathic message.

—Lord Karnak, really? You’ve lived this long and never once had a meal at a temple?

—Does it look like I’ve ever had the chance to be a guest of honor at a temple?

—Ah... fair point.

Of course, Karnak had set foot in many temples before. He was even fairly familiar with the layout of this very Sellas Temple. But his reasons for visiting in the past had been quite different. He had been sneaking in to steal, imprisoned in them before escaping, or stormed them with an undead army.

—This is the first time I’ve ever been formally invited. Feels strange, honestly.

After the light lunch, they took a short rest. Eventually, with the afternoon mass concluded, the anticipated meeting began.

The council chamber was a modest hall on the southern side of the sanctuary. Seated as directed, they waited until a group of priests filed in. There were seven in total: an elder with an impressive beard, accompanied by six middle-aged men.

”Welcome. We’re pleased to have you at Sellas.” The elder greeted them with a kind smile.”I am Galahal, the humble First Servant of Allium.”

First Servant could mean only one thing. Serati and Leven stiffened at once. The figure before them was far more important than they’d expected.

Galahal the First, the Pope of Allium?

I never thought we’d meet one of the Seven Popes in person!

On the other hand, Karnak and Varos seemed unfazed.

—So this is who was pope in this era?

—No idea. Back in our day, someone else was already in charge.

—Then Galahal’s successor must have been Sergis?

—Mister Sergis came after the next one, I think. There was another pope in between.

—Yeah? And what happened to that pope?

—Pretty sure I killed him. Can’t remember the name, though.

For people like them, the title of pope wasn’t enough to make them feel pressure. After all, even Jedex had originally been Pope of the Sun. As for the other men, they were all archbishops from various temples. Essentially, the highest-ranking priests of the Seven Goddesses’ faith had all gathered here.

Looking over Karnak’s group, Galahal spoke in a gentle voice. ”Now then, could you share what happened?”

Starting with Karnak, the group calmly recounted the events of Harthol City. Naturally, they omitted the critical details. They glossed over the infiltration of the Tecas estate, focusing instead on the battles against the cultists.

There wasn’t much point in hiding the combat parts. Karnak had barely used necromancy, after all. They only left out the parts where adult Lapicel had intervened to teach them.

”It was mostly good fortune,” Karnak said humbly, clicking his tongue. ”We were only able to prevail because the giant of light weakened at the right moment. Without the goddess’s blessing, we might not have survived.”

The elder, Galahal I, let out a pained sigh. ”So the rumors were true.”

With even the witnesses themselves confirming it, there was no room left to doubt that a necromancer had wielded the miracle of Latiel.

”It can’t truly be the goddess’s authority, of course...” Gretorios, the archbishop of Latiel, also nodded grimly. ”At the very least, we must admit they wielded a wicked art that closely resembles it.”

Still, despite the gravity of the incident, no one seemed overly shocked. In truth, necromancers displaying divine power had already been witnessed all across the continent.

It had become common knowledge within the goddess faith that the Cult of the Black God wielded not only necromancy but also magic and aura. And they had seen plenty of cases where this power was used in conjunction with divine power. It was simply so blasphemous that no one dared to speak of it openly. The archbishops began to question Karnak in turn.

”How exactly did he wield the divine arts?”

”What is the difference between the Red Sun and the Black Sun?”

”Are you certain they fused light and darkness? Could it not have been that they were simply alternating between them?”

To every question, Karnak responded calmly. At the same time, he subtly used the opportunity to probe at points he had been curious about himself.

”Even when he had become the giant of light, he still used Light of Liberation. Is that... normally possible?”

Galahal I stroked his beard thoughtfully. ”That, I cannot say for certain. If we had a sample, perhaps...”

“My apologies. We weren’t able to recover anything. We simply didn’t have the chance.”

”No, no, I don’t blame you for that,” Galahal said with a hearty chuckle and a gentle smile. ”Thanks to your efforts, we’ve already learned far more than we had hoped.”

He offered a warm blessing. “I’m grateful for your cooperation. May Allium’s justice shine upon you.”

***

The meeting ran long, and by the time it ended, evening had already fallen. It was far too late for Karnak’s group to return to Drunta from the Sellas Temple, so they decided to stay the night.

Unlike lunch, dinner seemed to be a much grander affair for the clergy. While it wasn’t an extravagant noble feast, they were treated to fine wine and hearty meat dishes.

It was so satisfying that even Karnak couldn’t help but comment. ”So much for living modestly. These priests eat like kings.”

After a well-fed evening and a restful sleep in a comfortable guest room, morning arrived.

As Serati opened her eyes, she frowned in confusion. ”Huh?”

The entire temple was in an uproar. It was clear that something significant had taken place.

What’s going on?

They found out soon enough. A group of priests rushed to them, their faces pale as they cried out, ”All of the sealed Shadow of Doom has vanished!”