Karnak, Monarch of Death

Chapter 292: Dragon’s Isle (4)

From the shattered deck rose a figure. It was a young man in his thirties with white hair and crimson eyes. There was silver aura radiating from his body.

Leven recoiled in shock and muttered, ”A... silver knight?”

There was no doubt. The sheer pressure radiating from him was enough to rival Varos at full strength. The silver-haired man landed firmly on deck and gave a short shout as he slashed his arm again.

”Hah!”

The chain blades that had swept across the pirate ship now flew toward the Osprey’s Roar.

If they hit, the ship would suffer massive damage.

”No!” Leven flung himself forward, drawing his fighting blade in one swift motion. purple aura flared along the blade as he struck the incoming chain, deflecting it. An explosion rocked the entire pirate ship.

The silver-haired man turned to Leven with a startled expression. ”You’re a purple-tier? At that age? Impressive.”

He’d already realized the boy was an aura user, but he hadn’t expected him to be at such a level so young.

”But it won’t matter.”

The man kicked off the deck with explosive force. In an instant, he closed the distance, reeling back the long sword linked to his aura chains and gripping it in one hand. Then he brought it down with a seemingly effortless strike.

Leven barely blocked it, but the impact crushed his knees, forcing him down. ”Guh!”

It had felt as though a mountain had slammed down on him, even though the blow had seemed effortless.

You think I’ll just fold?! Gritting his teeth, Leven launched his counterattack.

—Delphiad Swordsmanship: Talon of the Fire Dragon!

When Martial King Gellard used it, it was a blazing whirlwind of strikes, almost like shimmering flames. Leven’s strikes weren’t quite so refined, causing only his aura to flare in fiery shapes. Still, it was one of the best techniques for deflecting and countering in a clash like this. His sharp slashes targeted the enemy from three directions at once.

”Gellard’s swordplay?” The white-haired man muttered, seemingly intrigued. ”What’s a western pup like you doing in the empire’s south?”

Even as he spoke, he twisted his body effortlessly and extended his chain blade again. Unraveled aura chains cloaked his entire body like armor.

”Well, I guess it’s not strange. This place is crawling with all kinds of riffraff these days. With those cryptic words, he deflected Leven’s strikes with ease. Then, in a flash, he closed the distance.

He came right up to Leven’s face and thrust with a lightning-quick strike aimed at his heart. ”Die.”

It was so fast that Leven couldn’t even react. Death flashed before his eyes. Suddenly, the white-haired man leaped back. A bolt of light streaked through the space where he’d been, smashing into the pirate ship’s deck.

Rotten planks burst into the air, and a hulking figure soared forward through the flying debris. He landed between Leven and the attacker.

Varos had arrived just in time to save him. ”You alright?”

Catching his breath, Leven staggered back. ”Y-yes...”

The silver-haired man’s face twisted oddly as he stared at Varos. ”He’s an aura user too?”

He had already sensed Leven’s power. A higher-level aura user could easily identify those of a lower rank, even if they didn’t manifest their aura. But Varos’s power had gone unnoticed until now. The implication was obvious.

He’s my level...? At that age?

As if to answer his question, silver aura surged from Varos’s blade. Pointing it forward, Varos muttered in disbelief. ”Wow. So it really was Sir Desteran.”

***

The silver-haired man—Desteran—examined Varos closely. ”A silver knight, huh...”

The coincidence was nearly absurd. Two of the continent’s rare few master-class fighters, meeting here on the southern sea? But Desteran didn’t seem too fazed by that fact.

He appeared more surprised by Varos’s youth than anything else. ”Are you older than you look? Or just a heaven-sent prodigy?” Varos called Desteran a young man in his thirties, but that wasn’t quite accurate. In truth, he was in his late thirties, thirty-eight, to be exact. He was just shy of forty.

He was still technically a young man, but hardly someone you’d call youthful. Varos, on the other hand, looked to be in his early twenties at most. Desteran had seen his share of martial kings in their prime. Even compared to those heaven-blessed geniuses, Varos’s power was disproportionately high for his age.

A strange smile suddenly curled at the edge of Desteran’s lips. ”So... you attained it through the power of darkness?”

Varos blinked, startled. How did he know?

It was frighteningly accurate—pure, undeniable truth. But there’s no way he should know that right now.

Desteran gave a cold, dismissive smile at Varos’s confusion. ”Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”

And then, he unleashed a surge of murderous intent. ”Die.”

Formless killing intent enveloped Varos from all directions. Desteran’s unbound aura chain-blades unraveled, stretching across the deck like serpents. Brilliant trails of aura slashed through the air, distorting vision itself.

Not just the pirates, even Leven, and the rest of Karnak’s group and the sailors watching from afar, were thrown into disarray.

”My... my eyes...!”

The reflected light from the whirling chains fractured their field of view into pieces and stitched it back together like a kaleidoscope.

Only Varos remained unfazed. This guy could already use this technique at this point?

As if familiar with the illusion, Varos slipped through the fractured seams of space. With just three sidesteps, he dodged the entire assault effortlessly.

Desteran’s expression hardened in disbelief. He avoided it that easily?

Even as the one who’d created the technique, he wasn’t confident he could dodge it so easily. But Varos moved like someone who had already seen through everything.

Well, because I did.

Varos closed the distance and slipped to Desteran’s left.

Sensing danger, Desteran launched another chain-blade strike. ”You’re no ordinary man!”

Silver aura clashed violently in the air. Each collision of their blades sent shockwaves through the atmosphere. It created a whirlwind of aura and steel. They were evenly matched. Neither side yielded nor gained the upper hand as they exchanged blow after blow.

Then, as Varos swung instinctively, a realization struck him. Wait. This isn’t the time to be fighting this guy, is it?

It was clear now that Desteran was the hidden ally helping Diogres. And their whole reason for being here was to aid that very man.

Varos stepped back and shouted. ”Hold on! We’re not your enemy!”

Desteran hesitated, his expression quirking. ”Hm?”

He glanced between the two ships. On one side was a pirate vessel, and on the other, a ship that had just been under siege by pirates. From the outside, it was an absurd claim. It was like a merchant yelling, ”We’re not enemies!” while being robbed by bandits.

”Oh, no, I meant...” Varos quickly corrected himself. ”We came here looking for you! For the mage you’re protecting!”

He deliberately avoided saying Diogres’s name. Surely, they wanted to keep that secret. Varos had been through enough in his past life to know better.

That should be enough to at least spark a conversation, right?

His hopes were crushed immediately.

”I know that already,” said Desteran.

”Huh?”

”Of course you came for us. Why else would a silver knight come all the way out here to the back end of nowhere?” Desteran continued.

Varos was put in a daze. Then why the hell did you attack us? Just to play pirate? Against the people who came to help you?

It made absolutely no sense. And Desteran seemed to have no intention of offering clarity.

”Die!”

Once again, a merciless bombardment of aura-imbued blades came raining down. Veins began to bulge on Varos’s forehead. He was starting to lose his temper.

This guy... He had been trying to be polite, given the man had once done him a favor. But now, this was just getting out of hand. Screw it, whatever.

It clearly wasn’t the right time for talking. In that case, he needed to create the kind of situation where the other party might be willing to listen.

Let’s just knock him flat first and then talk! In the end, Varos resolved to go all in.

The moment he shifted from cautious counters to a full-on offensive, Desteran’s expression hardened. So he wasn’t using his full strength before?

As they exchanged several blows, Varos flicked his right hand. Well, now that I’ve met Sir Desteran again... I might as well show him this.

A silver chain-blade unfurled from Varos’s fingertips with a fluid motion.

Desteran’s face froze. ”What... is that?”

A smile crept onto Varos’s lips. Surprised, huh? Curious, aren’t you?

Seeing a complete stranger use his very own original technique—surely that would make anyone want to start asking questions. Apparently not. Instead, Desteran let out a hollow, almost sob-like laugh, his shoulders trembling.

Huh? Why’s he laughing like that?

Varos blinked in confusion, just as he heard Desteran muttering to himself through clenched teeth. ”A silver knight, and a chain-blade, no less...”

The muttering sounded like someone barely restraining a simmering rage. ”You cursed bastards!”

In a frenzy, Desteran lashed out with his chain-blades. A dozen silver chains spiraled in every direction, curving violently in arcs of destruction. Parts of the pirate ship shattered and went flying.

Varos furrowed his brow while dodging the barrage. He wasn’t wrong about the cursed bastards pat, but he couldn’t understand Desteran’s reaction. Even after showing off the chain-blade, Desteran didn’t seem the least bit intrigued.

What’s with him? Well, I guess we’re doing this the hard way.

Varos gave up on talking. He shifted his goal from conversation to subjugation. And with that, he went all out. Matching stance for stance, the same silver chain-blades lashed out from Varos’s hands, undulating like serpents ready to devour the world.

But there was a clear difference in skill. When Varos’s chain-blades clashed with Desteran’s, they effortlessly tore through the latter, ripping them apart as if by design. Though the two were close in rank as silver knights, when it came to mastery of the chain-blade, Varos held the clear edge.

”H-How...?” Desteran’s voice trembled as he stammered. ”How can you use my own chain-blade better than I can?”

A dry smirk tugged at Varos’s lips. Because you were the one who taught it to me, in the final days of your life.

***

Karnak was once the Monarch of Death and enemy of all humankind. But not everyone in the world had stood against him. Throughout the continent, infamous outlaws and those who could no longer live within the realm of the Goddess’s faith had willingly rallied to Karnak’s side.

Desteran had been one of those very men. He was a man who loathed the Seven Goddesses above all else, and Desteran had little aversion to necromancy. If anything, he’d been enticed by the promise of immortality through the power of darkness.

And from Karnak’s perspective, Desteran was a valuable subordinate. After all, he was the leader of Search Black, the most powerful criminal organization on the continent. Under Karnak’s banner, Desteran committed countless atrocities.

And in reward for his loyalty, he received the immortality he’d so craved, becoming a death knight. At that time, Varos had indeed been one of Karnak’s inner circle, but he had not yet become a death knight.

He was junior to Desteran and often even served as his acting adjutant. That was when he’d learned the Desteran-style chain-blade technique. Though Varos was his subordinate, it was common knowledge that he was Karnak’s favored vassal.

And in an effort to curry favor with the Monarch of Death, Desteran had earnestly trained Varos himself. Ironically, for all his hunger for eternal life, Desteran’s own lifespan turned out to be surprisingly short. Not long after becoming a death knight, he faced off against the Martial King of Delphiad—Leven Strauss—and was utterly annihilated in battle.

And now here they are again... fighting once more across time? Watching a younger Desteran duel a younger Leven, Varos clicked his tongue. Is this fate? Or just absurd coincidence?

One thing was certain: Desteran had been a thorough villain. And among all Karnak’s followers, few had meshed as well with the Monarch of Death as Desteran had. At the very least, it was a known fact that he was despised by humanity’s great heroes, especially the Three Archmages and the Four martial kings.

So how the hell is a guy like him helping Diogres right now? None of this makes any sense.