Monarch of Death

Bones and mucus floated within its form. Five legs trampled buildings while eight arms stretched out in all directions. A distorted face clung to its shoulders, rippling like a mirage.

At first glance, it resembled a colossal slime, towering several tens of meters.

But it was far more terrifying and hideous than any real slime, which would seem cute in comparison.

The priests of Saisha gasped in horror and shouted.

“My God, what vile abomination is this?”

“It’s eating its comrades!”

It was necromancy, the most vile and forbidden art, a spell that no human should ever practice.

Glaring at Hudel, Karnak exploded in rage.

“What kind of monstrous act is this? These were the very subordinates who trusted and followed you!”

His proud, upright stance as he looked up to the heavens without a hint of shame left Serati with her mouth wide open.

‘Wow, look at this shameless man.’

Wasn’t this the very same thing Karnak tried to do when he fought Laficel?

Baros shrugged his shoulders proudly.

[As expected, our young master is quite the actor.]

[And you’re proud of that?]

[Better than not being able to act at all, right?]

Baros wore a leisurely expression.

No matter how powerful it was, it was still necromancy. And in this place stood the former Death King himself.

‘The young master will handle it.’

Sure enough, the spreading darkness began to dissipate from the edges.

Balls of light formed in the darkness, drilling into its surface with a strange noise.

Scratch, scratch, scratch…

The spell of Karnak was devouring that massive darkness.

‘So, it’s going this way after all?’

Hudel calmly observed the situation.

‘I don’t know how he knows this magic…’

He had learned the principles of magic through Elezar, though he couldn’t cast it himself since he wasn’t a mage.

This magic exploited the flaws in a spell’s structure, causing errors and turning them against the caster.

Therefore, he either needed to use necromancy so simple that no errors could arise, or…

‘Focus the necromantic power on a single point to avoid creating any gaps!’

Floating in the darkness, Hudel opened his mouth.

“I bestow fate upon a nameless existence.”

The darkness, which had been spreading in all directions, rapidly compressed.

The massive figure, once several tens of meters tall, shrank to just a few meters, tearing the air apart as it did so.

“Come forth, one who speaks the name of death!”

***

The enormous, formless being was no more.

In its place stood a giant of darkness, towering at three meters.

It was still massive, though much smaller compared to its previous size.

Yet, despite its reduced size, it wasn’t weaker. On the contrary, the darkness had become highly concentrated, and its surface shimmered like black obsidian.

“Whatever tricks you think you have up your sleeve…”

The dark giant that Hudel had become opened its red eyes wide.

“They are meaningless before absolute power!”

A black storm swept across the sky over the village.

The fierce winds of destruction engulfed Karnak and the entire village.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

But that wasn’t the end.

The storm split the sky, raining down blood.

Wherever the blood touched, buildings and the stone pavement melted, releasing smoke.

“Take cover!”

“Everyone, deploy the divine light!”

The clerics and temple soldiers scrambled to take shelter under holy barriers to avoid the bloody rain.

Watching from above, Hudel sneered arrogantly.

“Hmph! You look like rats!”

And he had every right to be smug.

With a single strike, the entire area had been turned into ruins.

Alius trembled as he looked up at the rooftop.

“Such overwhelming power…”

Amidst the smoke and flames, a half-collapsed building came into view.

Karnak, his body protected by a magic shield, brushed his hair back.

“Impressive.”

His entire body was covered in dirt, but he didn’t seem injured.

Hudel narrowed his eyes.

“Ho, you managed to avoid it.”

Looking up at Karnak, Serati sent him a message.

[Should we join in, Lord Karnak?]

[Not yet.]

Hudel’s arrogant voice continued.

“Go ahead, try another trick.”

“I see.”

With a subtle reply, Karnak began to float into the air.

Hudel’s expression stiffened slightly.

‘Levitation magic? That’s inefficient during battle.’

Mages flying gracefully through the air, shooting fire and lightning?

It might look cool, but in reality, it made them easy targets.

Sometimes, in large-scale battles, it was used to demoralize the enemy, but in this situation, it was pointless.

And yet, he was intentionally making himself a target in the sky?

“Hmph, I’ll swat you down like a fly.”

Hudel raised both arms with a sneer.

Dozens of black lightning bolts shot from behind his shoulders.

“Let’s see if you can dodge this!”

Indeed, Karnak didn’t dodge.

Every attack struck him head-on!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

And yet, he didn’t fall.

Using levitation magic, Karnak had deployed a barrier, blocking all of the attacks.

Hudel let out a small sigh of admiration.

“Your defense is quite good.”

But it was merely a 6th-circle barrier spell.

Meanwhile, he had devoured countless dark cultists and necromancers, gaining immense power. He had even compressed it for greater potency.

“How long do you think you can last?”

The explosions continued.

BOOM! BOOM!

Hudel’s brow furrowed slightly.

‘Something’s wrong.’

His opponent was holding out too well. Far too well.

‘How can a 6th-circle barrier be this strong?’

It should have shattered long ago.

Unless the barrier had been repeatedly refreshed upon breaking, there was no way it could last this long.

‘What the hell?’

Suddenly, Karnak asked an incomprehensible question.

“Can you see me?”

Startled, Hudel focused his mind.

‘Is this an illusion or some sort of trick?’

No, Karnak was definitely standing right before him.

“What… are you trying to say?”

“Can you really see me?”

“Why are you asking such an obvious question?!”

An ominous feeling crept into Hudel’s voice, making him sound more irritable.

Karnak smiled faintly.

“Then you’re not looking down.”

‘Down?’

Instinctively, Hudel looked toward the ground below the building, and his face turned pale.

Twenty golems had extended their hands toward him.

‘W-What?! When did they get there?’

On top of the thick stone hands, round magic circles flickered. Twenty magic bullets were roaring, ready to be unleashed.

Whirr… Whirr…

With a playful tone, Karnak snapped his fingers.

“Fire!”

Twenty streams of fire streaked through the sky.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

***

A 3-meter-tall dark giant crashed into the street in the midst of the smoke.

Crash!

The moment it landed, the golems lunged at it all at once.

From all sides, the massive stone golems pummeled it with punches. Panicked, Hudel retaliated.

“Ugh, ughhhhh!”

A savage brawl broke out between the dark giant and the stone golems.

They grappled, struck, kicked, and hurled each other.

Each time, stone fragments and shards of darkness scattered in all directions.

Thud! Thud! Crash!

“Ugh!”

Hudel was growing more flustered.

Each time a golem broke, so did part of Hudel’s body.

‘Why is my body breaking so easily?’

Karnak’s golems were certainly powerful. He had to admit that.

But even considering that, his necromantic armor was shattering far too easily.

‘Is there a spell that breaks the defenses of darkness?’

Hovering in the air, Karnak looked down at the street below, stroking his chin.

“Tsk, tsk. You should at least know what you’re doing.”

Magic requires focus; necromancy requires dispersion.

These are the ways to maximize each one’s power.

“But what happens if you concentrate necromantic power on a single point?”

When necromantic power clumps together haphazardly, it just turns into a formless, fragile darkness.

In the case of the Candy Witch, it was a unique situation that caught Karnak off guard, but normally, it’s ineffective.

Meanwhile, Karnak’s power is focused, creating a single point of destruction.

In other words, Hudel was currently crashing his own weakness into his opponent’s strength…

“If you punch yourself in the gut, who’s going to hurt more?”

And it’s not like using a simpler necromantic spell would neutralize the Karnak’s spell either.

A simpler necromantic spell would be far weaker. Until now, Karnak’s necromantic power had been minimal, which was why it worked.

Despite the vast difference in necromantic power, hadn’t Karnak still come out on top?

The greatest advantage of his spell was this:

Even if the enemy could respond, they’d still end up in a worse position.

The only true way to counter the Redeemer of Necromancy was to reverse-engineer the spell formula and block it through similar methods.

“Of course, he isn’t capable of that.”

Muttering to himself, Karnak aimed his wand at Hudel on the ground.

“I’d feel bad letting the golems do all the work. I should give them a hand.”

A brilliant flash of light tore through the air and struck the earth.

BOOM!

The deafening explosion sent the dark giant crashing through buildings.

A long trail of devastation stretched across the village.

“D-Damn it!”

Writhing on the ground, Hudel began to release darkness in all directions.

“This… this can’t be happening!”

He couldn’t comprehend it.

Even if his necromantic technique didn’t adhere to strict principles, the raw power he had amassed was immense. It shouldn’t be this weak.

“This power, gained through everyone’s sacrifice!”

Slowly descending from the air, Karnak landed in front of Hudel.

“Yes, that’s another reason why you’re weak.”

“What?”

Hudel staggered and tried to get up, but then collapsed again.

“Ugh!”

Whatever was happening, the necromantic power inside his body was going haywire, completely beyond his control.

As Karnak approached, he clicked his tongue.

“You still feel pity for the people you consumed, don’t you? That’s why you’re talking about sacrifices and such.”

Hudel’s face went blank, unable to grasp what Karnak was saying.

‘What? How can I not call a sacrifice a sacrifice?’

Karnak raised his right hand.

“That’s why you’ll never make it.”

A necessary sacrifice for the greater good?

If you’re fooling yourself with that logic, you’ll never become a true necromancer.

If you’re going to feel guilty about the lives you sacrificed, you shouldn’t have sacrificed them at all.

Or, you should kill them so casually that the word “sacrifice” doesn’t even cross your mind.

“Do you cry every time you pick up a spoon, thinking about the farmer’s blood and sweat?”

Karnak’s finger pointed at Hudel’s chest.

“You should eat your meals without a care.”

He whispered an incantation.

“Let there be a piercing flash, Arcane Burst.”

A burst of light tore away all of Hudel’s darkness.

With an explosive sound, the battered Hudel rolled across the ground.

There was no scream, only the faint sound of shallow breathing.

“I’ll keep you alive for now. There’s still much I need to learn.”

Looking down at the fallen Hudel, Karnak clicked his tongue.

Hudel’s necromancy wasn’t weak. But he had failed to use it properly, which left him vulnerable.

Because he still clung to his humanity.

To become a true necromancer, one must cast aside the life of a human.

To live like a human, you cannot become a true necromancer.

“It’s hard to live like a human, isn’t it?”