Karnak, Monarch of Death

They woke Lapicel, who had been sleeping, armed everyone, and quickly dashed out of the inn. The temple was already in chaos. Terrified servants were in panic, flailing about in confusion.

”Ahhh! It’s an undead army!”

”Monsters are swarming toward us!”

In contrast, the priests and soldiers of the Saisha Order were relatively composed. They did their best to maintain calm and respond to the situation.

”Everyone, arm yourselves!”

”Take your positions!”

The priests grabbed their staffs, and the soldiers donned their armor, gripping spears and swords. Even the young acolytes, too inexperienced to fight, were working to prepare the holy water in defence against the undead. Karnak scanned his surroundings.

Where are Alius and Priest Belton?

He couldn’t see either of them. They were likely still in the underground prison.

First, I need to assess the situation.

The group quickly made their way to the outer walls of the temple. As was customary for most castles or grand estates, the temple had been built in an elevated location that people could look up to. The Saisha Order was no exception, positioned slightly higher than the surrounding area.

As they approached the walls, a middle-aged priest standing guard called out cautiously, ”Who are you?”

It was only natural for him to be wary of unfamiliar faces. Fortunately, someone nearby recognized Karnak and his group. One of the soldiers who had accompanied Priest Belton when escorting Rimaik’s group stepped forward.

”They’re the shadow hunters of Hatoba from the Seven Kingdoms.”

“Ah, come to think of it, I do recall hearing about having visitors this afternoon.”

The soldier continued, introducing them in more detail. ”Lord Karnak is an advanced mage of the sixth circle. These two are red knights.”

In a situation like this, practical strength mattered far more than names or titles. The middle-aged priest’s face brightened noticeably.

”Saisha’s blessings upon us!”

The Saisha Order had its own collaborators, including aura users and high-ranking mages of the sixth circle or higher. However, all of them were currently away, as this territory was typically a peaceful one. At the moment, Karnak’s group was the strongest force they had.

”What’s the situation?” Varos asked.

The priest’s expression darkened. ”It’s not good.”

Far in the distance, countless monsters and undead soldiers were slowly advancing. The air was thick with malice and death energy rising into the sky, while a cold mist crept across the ground like a fog. Among it all, the dead shuffled forward step by step, their movements slow yet relentless. A haunting sound echoed all around.

Uuuuuuhhh...

Woooooo...

The sheer number of undead was staggering. Even at a glance, there were easily hundreds of them.

The priest let out a heavy sigh. ”I can’t fathom why they would do such a thing.”

”There was an incident earlier today where we captured a group of cultists. They’re likely here to rescue their comrades,” Karnak explained.

The priest looked incredulous. ”You’re saying they managed to assemble such a massive force in less than a day?”

”That’s the terrifying efficiency of necromancy,” Karnak replied calmly.

Gathering hundreds of soldiers was no simple feat. It would require sending messengers to individual homes and villages, waiting for the soldiers to gather at a designated location, organizing units, and distributing weapons. Even at the fastest pace, it would take at least a week.

But an undead army of hundreds? All it took was notifying a dozen or so necromancers. The necromancers would then head to cemeteries and raise corpses from their graves. Unlike disobedient living soldiers, the undead followed orders without question, eliminating the need for complicated unit organization.

With orders sent out in the afternoon, it was entirely possible for an undead army to assemble and march by midnight.

Even considering that, they seem to have gathered rather quickly...

In addition, Karnak noticed a significant number of living individuals among the approaching undead horde. Most of them wore plain clothes and carried only basic weapons like spears and swords. Some were armed with farming tools, such as pitchforks and flails.

They must be cultists who were hiding in this territory. Their network seems far larger than I expected.

The distance between the undead army and the temple continued to shrink.

A middle-aged priest turned to Karnak and his group and made a request. ”We’re preparing to deploy a divine barrier to block their advance. Could you weaken their assault in the meantime?”

”Understood,” Karnak replied.

The group moved along the outer wall, searching for an advantageous position to engage the enemy.

As they watched the undead horde draw closer, Karnak clicked his tongue in irritation. ”What kind of necromancer parades around like that? These people have no sense of subtlety.”

”Isn’t that exactly how necromancers operate?” Varos remarked with a shrug. ”You used to pull stunts like this all the time, young master.”

In his past life, Varos had fought countless battles under Karnak’s command, often standing at the forefront of undead legions, sword in hand. The chaos in Trist City was a prime example.

Karnak glared at him. ”I only did it because it was reasonable.”

Terrorizing the masses with large-scale offensives was indeed one of a necromancer’s main weapons, but it was a tactic best used with careful calculation.

”In a situation like this, what could they possibly hope to gain by raising such a large army?”

No matter how he considered it, he couldn’t find a single logical reason. Necromancers or not, anyone with even a shred of common sense wouldn’t behave like this.

”But these fools did.” Karnak muttered in frustration, ”I can’t begin to figure out what they’re thinking.”

***

At the heart of the undead army, a collection of zombies, skeletons, and other monsters formed the deathly ranks. Two men clad in black robes adorned with skull necklaces stood at the center of the horde, commanding the undead..

As they looked toward the distant Saisha Order, one of the men spoke. ”Are you sure we should be doing this?”

The older man replied solemnly, ”How can you question the will of Tesranach, Sephedes?”

He was Bishop Lehein of the Cult of the Black God, presiding over the Grental diocese.

”Under Tesranach’s gaze, all will proceed as ordained,” he continued.

His tone was so earnest it bordered on reverence, making Sephedes grimace inwardly.

I’m questioning you! You and your judgment, not Tesranach’s will!

Of course, he dared not voice that thought aloud. Honesty was not a virtue when dealing with a necromancer vastly more powerful than oneself.

Instead, he muttered under his breath, ”We could’ve just used people to quietly clean up this mess...”

It seemed Lehein had sharp ears, as he responded. “Clean up? How can we, as the servants of the righteous god, stoop to such vile schemes like cultists?”

Lehein rebuked Sephedes with unwavering conviction. ”The righteous walk the path of justice with pride. Surely you’re not suggesting abandoning our brethren?”

Abandoning them would be the normal course of action—essential, even, for a sinister secret cult.

But I can’t say that in front of him.

Frustrated, Sephedes sighed inwardly. He had joined the Church of the Black God to become a powerful necromancer. In truth, to him, faith was far from the most important thing. On the other hand, Lehein was a devout follower of Tesranach. His unwavering loyalty had earned him a higher position and greater necromantic power than Sephedes.

Lehein truly believed. If they endured and waited, a new world would eventually emerge.

When asked when that day would come, the Cult of the Black God had a standard teaching:

”When the day comes, all believers will know it instinctively!”

To Sephedes, this sounded like nothing more than a vague, evasive statement. If they set a specific date and nothing happened, it would shatter the congregation’s faith. But there was one thing the cult hadn’t accounted for.

In this world, a surprising number of people genuinely believed that their reality was a universal one, and their feelings were universally shared as well. When Lehein heard that the cultists hiding in Gallant Mountain had been captured by the Saisha Order, he interpreted it as a revelation from Tesranach.

He saw it as the sign—the moment to rise up and begin reshaping the world. Why? Because he felt it. It was a spiritual revelation.

This is the realization Tesranach spoke of!

In truth, it was likely just the result of his desperation and unconscious self-hypnosis after waiting so long. But none of that mattered to Lehein. He genuinely believed this was the day Tesranach had foretold.

Without consulting Sephedes, he took it upon himself to mobilize their network, incite an uprising among the cultists, summon monsters, and raise all the corpses they had painstakingly hidden. Then, with his newly formed undead army, he marched straight toward the Saisha Order. By the time Sephedes realized what was happening, it was too late to undo the damage.

Damn it. I thought no sane person would ever do something this insane...

Of course, fanatics weren’t sane to begin with. That was what made them fanatics.The problem was, Lehein firmly believed that he was the rational one and that the rest of the world was out of its mind. Unfortunately, Sephedes hadn’t anticipated just how fanatical Lehein truly was.

Their decentralized structure of their organization was partly to blame. They rarely met in person, and without regular contact, it was nearly impossible to fully understand someone’s nature.

While a decentralized organization was excellent for maintaining secrecy, it was riddled with drawbacks in every other aspect. As Sephedes sank into despair, Lehein remained elated.

”Though we have lived in hiding until now, weak and unseen...” He raised his voice boldly, his words echoing through the suffocating aura of death that blanketed the area. ”The time has come to proudly spread the true teachings to the world!”

At his command, the undead army quickened its march. As the Saisha Order came into clearer view, Sephedes began calculating their options.

It seems there’s no other choice now.

Fortunately, the temple’s powerful mages and aura users weren’t present. That gave them the upper hand, for now.

If we wipe them out completely and erase all traces... then... then what?

His thoughts stalled. What could they possibly do after that? How would they explain a massacre at a functioning temple to the empire? How could they fend off the imperial army and the Brigade of Purification, who would undoubtedly descend upon them afterward?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a solution. It only gave him a pounding headache.

I’ll worry about it after getting through tonight. If we don’t annihilate the Saisha temple now, there’s no point in worrying about what comes next.

***

Karnak and his companions positioned themselves atop the large outer wall between the main hall and the barn. The spot provided a wide field of view for casting magic, with Saisha’s symbolic structures on either side offering cover if the need arose. In the distance, cultists armed and chanting the teachings of the Black God steadily approached.

”Death is but a new beginning...”

”Fear it not, for it is sacred...”

”Tesranach has opened the way, and we follow with joyous hearts...”

Serati, tense, drew her sword. ”It’s starting.”

The hordes of zombies and skeletons were now within mere dozens of meters.

The temple’s commander shouted, ”Fire the arrows!”

Every arrow had been soaked in holy water. As they struck the undead, bursts of divine energy erupted, causing explosions across the battlefield.

Boom! Boom!

But the effect was limited. The arrows were far too few to make a dent in the overwhelming number of undead.

”The dawn of a new world is upon us...” Lehein began murmuring in a singsong voice. ”We shall be its vanguard!”

Suddenly, the undead horde surged forward, their pace quickening. With terrifying speed, they charged toward the temple, pounding the earth beneath them.

”They’re coming!”

”Saisha, protect us!”

Hundreds of corpses and skeletons crashed against the temple walls.

Booom!

The battle erupted into chaos. Ominous roars and agonized screams echoed throughout the temple grounds.

“Graaahhh!”

”Aaaahhhh!”