Monarch of Death

‘The bastard is observing the entire battlefield from above the building!’

Looking back, it was such a simple thought, and Hudel couldn’t understand why he hadn’t realized it earlier.

But it couldn’t be helped.

After all, he had almost no combat experience.

As a necromancer, he had performed all sorts of secretive tasks, but this was his first time in actual combat.

“I command with the power of the abyss! Arise, De-Petle!”

A crimson tentacle was summoned from the ground.

Hudel leaped onto the tentacle, rising swiftly to the rooftop of a nearby building.

Once he ascended above the mist, he could finally perceive Karnak’s presence.

‘So that’s where he was?’

Beyond the thick fog, he could sense mana.

The mana itself wasn’t very strong, probably around a 6th Circle level.

Of course, that made Karnak an high-ranking mage, certainly not weak, but it was a bit surprising considering the scope of what he had been doing.

‘I expected a more powerful mage.’

Still, it was clear that this man was commanding the entire temple army.

In other words, if he could deal with Karnak, the situation could be reversed.

Dark aura of malice seeped from Hudel’s shoulders.

“Come forth, dominion of hell…”

He summoned his necromantic power, spreading it out in all directions. A chilling darkness began to cover the skies above the battlefield.

“The void shall open its mouth and spew forth disaster!”

Dozens of dimensional gates appeared across the night sky.

From these pitch-black holes emerged Hell Imps, mid-tier monsters from hell with fiery tongues writhing beneath burning eyes.

The Imps flew straight toward Karnak.

A strange noise echoed between the flapping of their wings.

“Kyahaha!”

“Sacrifice!”

“It’s a sacrifice!”

Karnak smiled with satisfaction.

“Oh, he’s doing all of that? Impressive.”

It was quite an elegant use of necromancy—not just brute force.

‘Perfect for causing disruption.’

Raising his wand, Karnak began a light chant.

“I shall become the one who redeems the sins of darkness!”

He activated chaos magic, triggering the spell Redeemer of Necromancy.

Chains of light materialized in the air, snaking toward the Hell Imps, binding them by the neck.

Hudel’s eyes widened in shock.

‘What?’

He could feel it—the sensation of his control slipping away like sand through his fingers.

‘This can’t be!’

The Hell Imps, who had been flying toward Karnak, abruptly stopped and turned around.

They opened their mouths wide, spewing fire toward Hudel instead.

BOOM!

Hudel hastily crossed his arms.

“Gah!”

Darkness spread out, forming a shield.

The flames slammed into the curtain of darkness, causing an explosion.

BAM!

Through the thick smoke, Hudel reappeared.

“Gasp… gasp…”

Thanks to his quick defense, he wasn’t injured, but the mental shock was evident on his face.

‘What is that spell?’

It wasn’t surprising because such magic shouldn’t exist.

He was shocked precisely because he knew it did.

‘…..How does that bastard know Lady Elezar’s spell?’

***

Beyond the mist, the Hell Imps rampaged through the sky, raining hellfire down on the streets below.

Crackling!

The scorching heat was palpable on their skin.

The necromancers were in a state of panic.

“Ahhh!”

“Why are those things attacking us?”

The priests of Saisha didn’t look much better.

“Aren’t those things on our side?”

“I think so… but…”

Logically, they understood that the Hell Imps had switched to their side, but seeing demons up close instinctively made them want to cast exorcism spells.

“This feels really awkward.”

The Hell Imps continued their rampage, attacking the cultists indiscriminately.

Kamiros, the mage of Count Grenthal’s household, anxiously surveyed the surroundings.

The number of fallen cultists was increasing.

‘I have to do something about this.’

But half-hearted magic or necromancy wouldn’t work.

He had no choice but to use the most powerful method at his disposal, even if it meant risking his life.

Kamiros thrust his staff into the ground.

“Arise! Spirit of the Earth!”

The ground in the village square erupted, forming a massive golem.

He quickly followed up with necromancy.

“By the command of your master, descend, Wailing Armor of Darkness!”

A giant floating suit of armor appeared.

The armor and the golem then fused, letting out a powerful roar.

ROOOAR!

It was a fusion spell once used by Detzras, the Golem Knight.

This was the most powerful spell a 5th Circle mage and necromancer could cast.

A few Hell Imps flew toward the Golem Knight, breathing fire.

BOOM!

Explosions erupted across the armor, but little damage was done.

The Golem Knight took a step forward, extending both hands.

Its large, lid-like hands grabbed two Hell Imps by the throat.

“Kek?”

“Kyaa!”

Before they could even react, the Golem Knight clenched its fists.

CRACK!

Like squeezing fruit, demonic juices splattered everywhere.

Though Hell Imps were formidable demons, they were crushed with ease.

Of course, the strain on Kamiros was immense.

“Guh, gah…”

Both his mana and necromantic power were being drained rapidly, leaving him on the verge of collapse.

His entire body felt limp, as though he could fall at any moment.

But he fought to maintain his focus.

‘Not yet! I can’t fall yet!’

He had finally summoned the Golem Knight. At the very least, he needed to eliminate the key figures from the temple side.

Pointing at Baros and Serati, who were sweeping through the battlefield, Kamiros shouted.

“Get rid of those bastards first!”

The Golem Knight thundered forward, swinging its massive hands.

BAM!

With a brutal impact, blood splattered into the air.

“Argh!”

“Aaah!”

But the ones who had been crushed were Count Grenthal’s own knights.

They had relaxed, thinking reinforcements were arriving, only to be struck down mercilessly.

Kamiros let out a dumbfounded groan.

“…What?”

***

Observing from beyond the mist, Karnak smiled faintly.

“Sorry, but I’ve already seen that one before.”

Detzras’ Golem Knight was indeed a powerful spell, but Karnak had long since understood every aspect of its structure.

He twirled his wand, creating glowing points of light in the air.

“Here, here, here, and finally, here!”

Tap, tap, tap, tap!

A wave rippled from the final point, flying straight toward the Golem Knight.

A ring of light coiled around the golem’s stone head.

With that, all control of the Golem Knight shifted entirely to Karnak.

ROOOAR!

The massive figure charged into the cultists’ ranks.

The Golem Knight was a monster that even knights wielding dark battle aura could barely withstand. The common followers had no chance.

“Ahhh!”

“Noooo!”

As the sky filled with screams, blood flowed like a river.

Kamiros trembled at the horrific sight.

“W-What… is this?”

The Golem Knight was completely out of his control. Despite that, both his mana and necromantic power continued to drain away.

His power was killing his own allies.

Was there any reason to hold on to his consciousness any longer?

“Damn it…”

Without a reason to concentrate, his focus naturally broke.

His consciousness faded, and with it, the Golem Knight was unsummoned.

“Already? That guy has no willpower,” Karnak muttered, clicking his tongue as he looked elsewhere.

By then, Baros was already rushing toward the fallen Kamiros.

The distance between the rooftop and the street below was too great for subtle communication.

So, Karnak just shouted loudly.

“Capture him alive, Baros!”

If it had been just Karnak’s party, they would have killed him and used necromancy to extract information. But they were working with the priests now.

‘To live like a human, you have to be considerate of the situation.’

Baros fully understood the situation.

Approaching the fallen Kamiros, he lightly swung his aura blade.

Slash!

The mage’s wrists were severed.

With the heat applied during the cut, the cross-sections were charred black.

Whether it was a mage or a necromancer, without hands, they couldn’t form seals, greatly limiting their power. It was a quick and safe way to neutralize them.

Of course, to onlookers, it was a horrifying sight.

Ancent was terrified and ran with his teeth chattering.

“Kamiros!”

Behind Baros, a red battle aura sword extended.

The red aura sliced through the air.

And was effortlessly deflected.

“Gah!”

The one who blocked the strike was the red-haired swordswoman who had been clashing with him from the start.

“Damn, where did these monsters come from?”

The blonde knight was formidable enough, but this woman’s skills were no ordinary thing either.

She looked like a young maiden, and yet she was on par with himself, the strongest knight in Count Grenthal’s territory.

As Serati watched his expression of frustration, she couldn’t help but be puzzled.

‘A monster? Me?’

But when she thought about it, it made sense.

Facing Ancent wasn’t particularly difficult for her. In the past, it would have been a fierce battle that could have gone either way.

‘Since when did I become this strong?’

Even as she marveled at herself, she effortlessly deflected his battle aura sword and brought down a diagonal slash.

“Ugh!”

Ancent, already exhausted, had no strength left to resist.

He dropped his sword and fell to his knees.

“Urgh…”

Hudel looked down at the ground with a gloomy expression.

‘Ancent, Kamiros…’

To be honest, he didn’t have much attachment to the other necromancers.

Despite his high position in the cult of the Dark God, he wasn’t particularly fond of zealots.

After all, weren’t those zealots the ones who caused this entire mess?

But those two were different.

They were loyal vassals of the Count’s household and had shown great dedication to him.

It was thanks to Ancent and Kamiros that they had been able to hold the line, even while being pushed back.

Now that both had fallen, the collapse of their forces was accelerating.

In the sky, the Imps spewed fire, while on the ground, holy light and red aura flashed, and each time, more of his allies were slain.

At this rate, the outcome was clear.

Hudel steeled himself.

‘There’s no other choice now.’

If he hesitated any longer, even the slim chance he had left might vanish.

‘…I have no choice but to abandon the path of humanity!’

Hudel clasped his hands to his chest, drawing upon the vast dark energy within him.

“By the bindings of the contract, I compel these to justify their existence…”

The darkness spread, consuming the mist.

All the cultists scattered throughout the street fell under its influence.

“Huh?”

“Your Eminence, Cardinal?”

A black mark appeared on the foreheads of the necromancers. The cultists and the knights of the Count’s household were no different.

From the pitch-black symbols, dark energy began to pour out.

“My lord!”

“Could it be… he’s turning on us?”

Screams erupted from all directions.

Vast amounts of vital energy were being drawn from their bodies, along with their souls.

“Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.”

As the darkness gathered, Hudel spoke solemnly.

“When a better world comes, we shall meet again.”

The hardcore zealots were filled with ecstasy as they cried out.

“For Tesranak!”

“We offer our bodies and souls!”

Those still sane screamed in terror.

“Damn it, you son of a…!”

“I don’t want to die!”

Regardless of how they felt, the result was the same.

The drawn-out souls and energy converged into Hudel. His entire body was engulfed in darkness, swelling larger and larger.

“O Abyss, pierce the eye of the moon and cast a night of blood!”

The night sky turned crimson, revealing a gigantic form.

It was a creature of darkness that had consumed every necromancer and cultist present.