Monarch of Death

Hugot and the eight necromancers were channeling the mana of darkness into the bloody magic circle drawn around the pentagonal stone altar located in the center.

Watching them, Demphis calmly reviewed his plan.

‘At this rate, the altar should be completed by tomorrow.’

He shifted his gaze to the small stone chamber behind the chapel.

Currently, Laven and the other captured hostages were all imprisoned there, being used as a makeshift prison.

There was a reason he had gathered them in the underground chapel despite having other prison options.

‘Honestly, they weren’t easy to deal with.’

If it weren’t for Demphis, there was no force at the Wellard Branch capable of handling Karnak’s group.

That was why Demphis was personally guarding the hostages.

He was sitting arrogantly on the central throne of the chapel, overseeing both the altar and the makeshift prison.

In truth, being an Arch Lich, his legs wouldn’t ache just from standing, but sitting made him look less trivial.

After all, as the leader, sitting in a high place and looking down arrogantly is what makes the subordinates shrink back and do their job properly.

So, while he was directly guarding the chapel, he had also stationed skilled cultists in martial arts at various points along the hallways.

With this level of preparation, they would be able to detect any attack immediately.

And yet, Demphis wasn’t entirely satisfied.

This formation assumed Karnak’s group was hiding in the non-residential areas.

If they were hiding in the residential areas, an immediate attack on the chapel couldn’t be ruled out.

‘Of course, there’s no evidence of that yet, but you never know when they’ll sneak in, so I can’t let my guard down.’

Therefore, he regularly and thoroughly patrolled the entire residential area.

Regardless of rank, he checked every individual’s private quarters to prepare for any eventualities.

‘With this level of preparation, there’s nothing they can do.’

Just as he habitually reassured himself by being fully prepared, Demphis suddenly tilted his head in confusion.

No matter how much he prepared, every time he thought of that black-haired young man, he had an unshakable certainty that said, ‘He’s coming to rescue his comrades? No way. The sun would rather rise in the west.’

‘I really don’t know. Why do I feel this way about someone I don’t even know?’

***

Karnak was deep in thought.

“What should I do…?”

Even though he had made up his mind to rescue his comrades, it wasn’t as simple as immediately taking action.

The goal was to ‘rescue,’ not charge in recklessly and ‘die together.’

The problem was that if he faced Demphis now, his chances of winning were zero.

“Yeah, there’s no way to win, but…”

After a long period of deliberation, a plan finally came to him.

“…It might be possible to get the others out.”

He considered Demphis’s perspective.

What would be the easiest scenario for him?

Obviously, it would be best if Karnak’s group couldn’t do anything and the ritual was completed smoothly. After that, Demphis could handle any remaining matters at his leisure.

“I have no idea what ritual they’re preparing, though.”

Karnak’s ability to detect evil energy was remarkably formidable.

Even from this distant non-residential area, by focusing his mind, he could sense the flow of darkness to some extent.

Thanks to that, he had already grasped the general situation.

“Looks like they’re setting up an altar in the chapel? Not sure what it’s for, though.”

Baros asked curiously.

“You don’t know either, young master? Even though it’s necromancy?”

“Those guys always use necromancy in such weird ways.”

Like the other followers of the Dark God they had encountered, Demphis was also using some bizarre ritual that mixed mana with necromantic power.

So, while Karnak knew they were up to something, he had no idea what it was.

“Ugh, using such heretical methods for necromancy.”

For Karnak, who prided himself on being a true necromancer, it was an utterly displeasing sight.

Serati, overhearing, had mixed feelings.

‘If a necromancer uses heretical methods, is that good or bad?’

Baros shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s probably no big deal. After all, necromancers performing rituals with an altar is pretty typical.”

“Well, I doubt it’s some common ritual to summon a demon or anything like that…”

Still, Baros wasn’t entirely wrong.

The exact nature of the ritual wasn’t what mattered at the moment. What was important was preventing it from being completed.

“Judging by the flow of energy, I’d say the ritual will be complete in about a day.”

“We’ve got plenty of time, then?”

“Yeah. At least we should be able to prevent it from being completed before we can intervene.”

That didn’t mean Karnak’s group could win by launching a surprise attack before the ritual.

In that case, Demphis would just kill them all and calmly continue the ritual afterward.

So, the best timing was this:

“We’ll interrupt them in the middle of the ritual.”

Baros and Serati nodded.

It wasn’t a particularly surprising suggestion, and they had both anticipated it to some extent.

“The key is timing the interruption perfectly. Based on my experience, I have a good idea of when we should strike.”

Serati suddenly asked.

“Based on experience? Have you interrupted a ritual like this before?”

“No.”

A bitter smile appeared on Karnak’s face.

“There was a time when we were interrupted. While we were setting up the altar and offering sacrifices.”

***

During his time as the Death King, Karnak had offered countless sacrifices to draw power from the depths of hell. And each time, numerous heroes of humanity had tried to stop him.

Most of the time, he completed the rituals without issue.

Karnak’s dominion was powerful, and humanity’s desperate efforts were trivial at best.

But there had been a few cases that posed a significant threat.

“Even during a ritual, not every phase is equally dangerous.”

In the early stages, when the necromantic power is focused on enveloping the entire altar, outside interference isn’t much of a problem.

“You can just pause the ritual for a moment, deal with the interruption, and then continue.”

In the later stages of the ritual, you could simply summon your minions to hold off the intruders while you hurriedly finished the ritual.

“If you just endure for a bit, the ritual will be completed, so it’s not a big deal.”

The truly worst time for an interruption is in the middle of the ritual, right after the power transitions from the necromancer to the altar.

“At that moment, the necromancer’s power is completely tied to the altar.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean the necromancer is defenseless. They could simply abandon the ritual.

“But you’d have to forfeit all the power and resources invested in preparing the altar, the sacrifices, and the ritual.”

It would mean giving up everything you had worked for.

“There’s a tricky window where greed gets in the way.”

At that moment, there’s still too much time left to just continue the ritual, but giving up means losing everything you’ve worked for.

Karnak once hesitated at that exact moment and suffered for it.

“They rushed in right when the ritual reached its climax. And then I have to reverse the flow of darkness and use it to protect myself.”

Serati raised an eyebrow.

“They put you in that situation?”

“Yeah. All the necromantic power invested in the ritual was turned into a giant wall surrounding me that would deflect all attacks.”

“…That sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it?”

“Not in that situation.”

Once that spell is triggered, all the necromantic power used in the ritual forms a powerful barrier that protects the necromancer.

“The problem is, the necromancer can’t break through that barrier themselves.”

In other words, the wall of power you created becomes your prison.

To escape, the necromancer has to manually dismantle each layer of their own power.

“We can’t use this spell to defeat Demphis. It would practically make him invincible for a while.”

But Demphis was already a monster beyond their ability to handle, so temporarily trapping him would be enough to rescue Laven, Laficel, and the others.

Baros nodded.

“Oh, I remember now. That was the magic Elezar used, right?”

Serati looked at Karnak.

“Elezar? The Archmage Elezar?”

“Yeah. I was kidnapping her talented students to sacrifice them.”

“Ah, I see…”

That magic wasn’t particularly difficult, but it required perfect precision in predicting the flow of necromantic power.

Only someone like Elezar, who was hailed as an Archmage, could pull it off. No one else could.

“But now, with my current self, I think I can manage it.”

Karnak’s magic wouldn’t compare to Elezar’s, but his necromancy was more than enough to gauge the flow.

“Of course, since mana is mixed with necromantic power in this case, I can’t guarantee success, but it’s still our best bet.”

“I understand.”

Serati nodded and asked,

“So, what happened back then?”

Suddenly, Karnak looked away, trying to avoid the question.

“Well, uh… you see…”

“Lord Karnak?”

Baros answered for him.

“That was the day Elezar became one of the young master’s subjects.”

“…Are you sure this method is really that useful?”

Karnak frowned.

“That’s why I wanted to just run away in the first place!”

The method sounded impressive when explained, but in reality, theory and practice didn’t always align.

Honestly, the old Karnak would never have taken such a reckless gamble.

“But, like you said, Serati, I can’t live the way I used to.”

***

Exactly five minutes after deciding he couldn’t live the way he used to:

“Come, lost souls…”

Karnak was back to his old ways.

“Submit to my hand and obey my command…”

With vast darkness cloaking his entire body, he reached out into the air. A vile energy poured from him in all directions.

Even Baros, who had served Karnak for a long time, felt uneasy in the presence of this overwhelming aura.

“Wow, being in a living body makes it way more disturbing.”

On the other hand, Serati felt nothing. That only made it more unnerving.

“Are you sure I should keep living as your subject like this?”

Around Karnak, the wraiths began to gather.

They wailed, groaning as they wept, slowly flowing into his grasp.

And then, they screamed in agony.

Their faces twisted in despair and suffering.

“Aaaaah!”

“Uuuaagh!”

“Gyaaah!”

It was the kind of scene you’d expect from a textbook depiction of sinners being dragged to hell, like those taught in the Church of the Seven Goddesses.

Serati sighed inwardly.

Since this was all to save his comrades by gathering power, there was nothing she could say. Yet, she still found herself wanting to say something.

“What? What? You said it’s okay to live like I used to in moments like this, right?”

“No, no, keep up the good work…”

“Right? I’m doing well, aren’t I?”

A moment later, Karnak lowered his arms.

“Alright, I’ve stored up enough necromantic power for now…”

With his full dominion, he issued the command.

“Go, wraiths of darkness. Ride the flow of death and carry out my will.”

Dozens, then hundreds of wraiths let out eerie sounds and began to surge toward the depths of the dungeon.