Karnak, Monarch of Death

Dozens of gray wraiths filled the air, drifting through the vast caverns of the dungeon as their ghastly wails spread like weeping across the gloom. An ordinary person would have collapsed unconscious just from hearing those wails. That was how thick and powerful the malice exuded by the wraiths was.

Snorting, Martun leapt forward. His radiant aura blade cleaved through a gray wraith before him. With a pitiful shriek, the wraith scattered into nothing in midair. He was the captain of the Fourth Squad of the Kretas Order. He was a veteran who had practiced aura for over ten years, and he had long surpassed the level where such wraiths could trouble him.

He muttered, ”Pathetic creatures...”

It was no different for the other wraiths. Before dozens of these wraiths, dozens of crimson and blue aura blades blazed brilliantly. The aura users were easily capable of each handling half a dozen wraiths, and they even outnumbered the wraiths. The outcome was obvious.

Watching the Kretas knights clean up their surroundings with precise efficiency, the vice commander, Magnus, shook his head. ”Now I understand why adventurers only explore dungeons in small elite parties.”

When they were leading their full units, these knights had been constantly forced to retreat. But now, without the burden of ordinary soldiers weighing them down, they fought freely and well. All they had to do was protect themselves.

Sir Etiel, captain of the second squad, nodded. ”It means there is a strategy appropriate for fighting within a dungeon.”

After that, the subjugation force advanced without difficulty. Wraiths and monsters continued to appear, but the difference in strength was overwhelming. They were defeated with little effort. They didn’t even encounter Diogres’s forces. It seemed as if he had deliberately pulled all his troops back. It was understandable.

”We’re fighting in the same confined dungeon, aren’t we?”

”It’s the same for them. Ordinary soldiers will only get in the way.”

In just half a day, the subjugation force advanced to the fifth level of the dungeon. It was a place they hadn’t been able to reach in days when they had brought soldiers with them.

Sir Rals, captain of the third squad, looked on with a hint of regret. ”It would’ve been nice if we had done this from the start.”

Of course, without soldiers, the work was harder and busier. But wasn’t it worth it if a little more of their own blood could protect the precious lives of ordinary soldiers? Suddenly, he felt puzzled.

Why hadn’t Elezar and Dreltein moved like this from the start?

Rals pondered for a moment before shaking his head, dispelling the thought.

There must be something I don’t know.

The reputation and authority of those two were too great for him to doubt them.

There’s no way they wouldn’t know what I know.

***

Just as Rals thought, Elezar and Dreltein were fully aware of that reality. Their perspective had simply been a little different. One could flip that logic around. If sacrificing the lives of ordinary soldiers meant they could shed a little less of their own precious blood? Then, of course, they would throw them in without hesitation! However, the situation had taken a strange turn, forcing them to enter the dungeon themselves.

”I had hoped to gather a bit more information, though,” admitted Elezar.

”It can’t be helped. We can’t ignore our reputations,” responded Dreltein.

Conversing calmly, the two strolled leisurely at the rear of the formation. With those at the front clearing every path, there was little for them to do. When they reached the sixth level, they entered a vast space.

They came before a sprawling underground city, formed from buried ruins of castles, buildings, and a plaza. Blue flames of death energy floated everywhere, providing clear visibility. The Kretas knights looked around, murmuring.

”It’s oddly quiet.”

”There used to be a Diogres outpost here...”

”Looks like they all pulled back.”

Dreltein nodded. ”It seems they’re planning to stage a decisive battle deeper inside.”

If that was the case, it was a good point to take a breather. ”We’ll rest and reorganize here before continuing.”

They leaned against the remnants of buildings, taking a moment to rest. During this pause, Dreltein and Elezar wandered around the plaza, inspecting the surroundings. It was an ordinary underground city. A buried ruin, as common as they came, nothing more and nothing less.

”So they’re planning to set the traps deeper inside, huh?” said Dreltein.

”Most likely. The real question is what kind of traps they’ve prepared...” responded Elezar.

Elezar frowned. ”No matter how I think about it, Diogres has no way to break out of this situation.”

She had scoured through every spell and necromantic art she knew, but no domain came to mind that could overcome this kind of power gap.

She continued, ”Unless they’re planning to collapse the entire dungeon and bury us alive, there’s no...”

At that moment, Dreltein’s expression hardened. ”Wait! Isn’t that a serious problem?”

No matter how great a martial king or archmage one might be, if this massive underground space, stretching several kilometers, were to collapse, there was no guarantee anyone would make it out alive.

Elezar let out a small laugh. ”That’s impossible, I’m telling you.”

Who could simply bring down an underground space that spanned several kilometers? Besides, this wasn’t some ordinary underground cave. It was a dungeon. Most of its internal structures were protected by malice and death energy.

To collapse a dungeon large enough to accommodate thousands of people was no different from saying you could take a fortress by simply leveling its walls.

”If Diogres had the power to bring down a dungeon of this scale, he could have wiped us out on his own already,” Elezar commented confidently.

Then suddenly, the ground began to shake, and cracks spread across the ceiling. In the next instant, stones began to tumble down in torrents! Those who had been resting sprang to their feet in shock.

”W-what’s going on?”

”Is the cave collapsing?”

Boulders the size of houses pounded various parts of the underground city in quick succession.

Dreltein turned to look at her with narrowed eyes. ”Didn’t you say it was impossible?”

Elezar could only blink in response. ”Oh my?”

***

The thunderous noise continued without pause. Each time a boulder struck the ground, clouds of dust billowed up. Yet, it didn’t inflict any real damage on the subjugation force. It was all happening on the outskirts of the cavern, far from where the subjugation force was positioned.

Boulders fell and dust rose in the distance, but it didn’t reach them. Still, no one knew when the tremors might spread to where they were, so everyone responded swiftly. The priests each deployed their protective barriers, while the aura users and mages gathered their energy.

A short while later, the shaking ceased. No more boulders fell. The mages from the empire’s tower of magic wore expressions of disbelief while gazing at the ruined fortress in the distance. They had finally grasped the situation.

”What the...?”

”That was it?”

They had panicked, thinking the entire dungeon was collapsing, but in the end, it turned out to be nothing more than rolling down fragments of a fortress that was already in ruins. Of course, it was still a remarkable feat. Who could even manage to roll down boulders the size of houses?

But something like that was within the capabilities of a decent aura user or a high-ranking mage. Naturally, it had no effect on the subjugation force. At most, the dust that rose had clouded their vision.

”Why would they pull off something so pointless?” Dreltein was sweeping away the dust with a gust of wind conjured by his aura when a faint smirk appeared on his lips. ”I guess it wasn’t entirely pointless, was it?”

Beyond the dust settling over the ruined cityscape, figures began to emerge from the half-collapsed fortress. They were familiar faces. There were aura users of Search Black and the high-ranking mage of the Tower of Dawn, led by Diogres himself. Before they knew it, the enemies had encircled the subjugation force.

”So it was enough to distract us for a moment, huh?” Dreltein muttered.

The knights of Kretas and the mages of the empire’s magic tower quickly assumed battle formations. From every corner of the ruined cityscape, killing intent began to rise.

Finally, a man in his fifties climbed onto the fortress wall. His voice, amplified by magic, echoed softly through the air. ”It has been a while, Lady Elezar, Sir Dreltein.”

As expected, Elezar amplified her own voice with magic to respond. ”Oh my, Master Diogres. It truly is a pleasure to see you again.”

At a glance, her voice sounded calm, but there was a faint trace of unease within it. ”Though I must say, I didn’t expect we would meet here again.”

Diogres continued with a gentle smile. ”You didn’t expect it? Was it not to see me that you came all this way?”

”Well, that’s true, but...” She glanced around. ”I thought we’d meet again under different circumstances.”

In truth, Elezar was flustered. What is this? Wasn’t he avoiding an all-out battle?

In this situation, there were very few ways Diogres could win. No, in fact, there was only one.

He would need to somehow lure Elezar and Dreltein away separately and use traps to take them down one by one.

That was why she had been on constant alert for traps the entire time. But he had suddenly made an appearance along with all his subordinates.

”What are you planning, Diogres?” Elezar clicked her tongue as she slowly raised her staff. ”You’re not foolish enough to face us without any preparations, are you?”

Diogres, too, raised the wand in his hand toward her. It was a temporary replacement he had picked up after losing the Dawnshroud Staff.

He asked, ”Why do you assume I haven’t prepared anything?”

She replied coldly. ”Because you haven’t.”

She swept her gaze broadly around as she continued. ”I’m a practitioner of the tenth circle, you know. I can at least tell whether there are traps nearby.”

If she had let her guard down and passed by carelessly, she might have missed them, but she had been on high alert the entire time. There was no way anyone could lay down a magical domain without deceiving her senses.

Even so, Diogres remained unshaken. ”Then go ahead and assume there are no traps.”

Then, suddenly, he explosively drew up all the mana in his body. ”That would make things easier for me, too!”

The air around them was instantly pushed back as invisible waves swept in every direction. It was the phenomenon that occurred when an immense amount of mana manifested at once. Every aura user, mage, and priest capable of sensing energy froze on the spot in shock.

Damn it, he really is an archmage!

Of course, for those on the same level, it was nothing to be surprised about.

With a seductive smile, Elezar released her own mana in response. ”Oh my, you’ve grown quite aggressive, haven’t you?”

Two invisible forces collided in the air. Waves of mana overflowed in every direction, tearing through the air with a constant rip. That was the signal.

Along with Desteran’s roar, the aura users of Search Black lunged forward. The mages of the Tower of Dawn launched their attacks in unison. The knights of the Kretas Order and the mages of the empire’s magic tower scrambled to counterattack.

”Damn it! Is it starting?”

”So suddenly?”

It was bewildering. According to their expectations, the battle wasn’t supposed to break out until they had advanced at least five or six more floors. But they had been caught off guard. But that only made it all the more incomprehensible.

Just because you catch them off guard doesn’t mean you win.

What’s the point of throwing yourself into a disadvantage?

Regardless, the situation had already erupted.

”Whatever trick you’re trying to pull...”

”This time, we’ll settle this once and for all!”

Aura and magic from both sides surged and clashed chaotically across the battlefield.