Karnak, Monarch of Death

In the deep of night, in a lavishly decorated bedroom, a man in his mid-forties was lying bound on the floor. His entire body was covered in wounds, as if he had endured great suffering.

”Ugh, ugh...”

The man groaned as three unidentified figures looked down on him. They were dressed from head to toe in black robes and fully covered with dark hoods, which made their faces completely hidden. It was impossible to even distinguish their gender.

With terror in his eyes, the man weakly asked, ”Who are you?”

Just the night before, he had comfortably fallen asleep in his bed. But now, upon waking, he found himself bound and thrown onto the floor of the bedroom.

”Why are you doing this to me?”

No answer came. They simply raised the red-hot iron rod once more—an iron bar heated with magic.

”Please, please!”

He begged for mercy, but it was useless. The searing heat of the metal burned mercilessly through his body.

”AAAH!”

The pain was so intense that he felt as though he might lose consciousness, but the pain was too much even for that.

Struggling and writhing, the bound man screamed in agony, ”What—what do you want from me?!”

Still, there was no response. Only the iron rod came closer, glowing with fierce heat.

”AAAH!”

The torture continued without pause. No questions were asked, no demands were made, and the silence was only broken by the relentless pain. He felt as though he might go mad.

Why... Just why...

No matter how much he screamed, no guards appeared, not even a servant. It seemed as though some sort of soundproof barrier had been erected.The torture continued for what felt like an eternity, until finally, the assailant spoke.

”You’re the head of the Drunta branch of the Tecas merchant guild, Maddington, correct?”

Maddington’s eyes widened in shock. He hurriedly nodded in agreement. ”Yes! Yes!”

After all that, they were only now asking his name? What would they do if they had the wrong person? But after all the torture, he couldn’t even think of such things anymore. The fact that his captors were speaking to him at all seemed like mercy.

”I have a question for you,” one of them said in a cold voice. ”You must know the name Owent?”

”I do! He was the former leader of the Altas merchant guild!”

Even as he responded, Maddington was puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Owent’s name had come up in this situation.

”I’ve heard you reported Owent and his wife to the Allium temple,” the figure continued.

”Yes, that’s true,” Maddington replied hesitantly.

The figure laughed, a cruel and mocking sound. ”Hah... You pagan! Did you really think you could harm followers of Tesranach and walk away unscathed?”

At that moment, Maddington realized who these people were.

Could they be from the Cult of the Black God?

He hurriedly answered, panic rising in his voice. ”Harm them? They escaped properly, I’m sure of it!”

”We don’t know where Owent and his wife are. You must have killed them and buried their bodies somewhere,” came the chilling reply.

One of the masked figures drew a menacing longsword from their side. ”In the name of Lord Tesranach, I will deliver divine retribution.”

”Wait, just a moment!”

Maddington’s face turned pale.

”There’s been some misunderstanding! I’m also a follower of Lord Tesranach!”

The masked figures scoffed.

”Do you think we’re fools?”

”Do you honestly believe such a lie would work in this situation?”

”Do you think anyone can claim the glory of serving the black god?”

Maddington’s voice grew louder with frustration. ”It’s not a lie! I swear by the black god’s name!”

He struggled against his bound arms, desperately pointing to a table in the corner of the bedroom.

”Over there, inside that drawer, there’s a hidden compartment! Look for it! There will be a symbol of the black god!”

One of the masked figures opened the drawer and pulled something out. It was a small emblem, proof of being a lay follower of Tesranach. Such an item would be considered blasphemous in the eyes of the church, and merely possessing it would warrant being burned at the stake.

”See? We’re fellow believers!”

Just as Maddington sighed in relief, a cold voice spoke again. ”If you’re a disciple of the black god, why did you betray your fellow believer, Owent?”

Maddington scrambled to explain. “Owent was in on it from the beginning.”

He wanted to take control of the Altas merchant guild and increase Tecas merchant guild’s influence, while Owent wanted to bring his wife into the Cult of the Black God. Their goals aligned, and they had devised this plan together.

“Then...” The masked figure spoke with a tone that expressed disbelief. ”Why can’t you tell us where Owent and Edia are?”

”They returned to our brothers in Ethriel!”

Owent and his wife had headed to the Wellad branch of the Cult of the Black God, located in the Ethriel Kingdom. Naturally, they couldn’t be found in the Eustil Kingdom.

”That’s a lie. We’ve never heard such a story.”

“That’s normal! We don’t normally exchange much information, right?” Maddington replied defensively.

He then told them the location of the Wellad branch.

”Go there and check for yourselves! You’ll see that what I’m saying is true!”

The masked figure slowly nodded, then suddenly removed his hood and turned toward the door.

”Is that so?”

As the door opened, a group of men entered.

”Huh?”

For a brief moment, Maddington’s eyes widened in shock.

”Good work, Lord Karnak.”

”What a vile wretch, trying to deceive us!”

The figures were familiar. They were all wearing robes with the moonlight crest. They were the very same priests from the Allium Church that Maddington had rushed to report Owent to just a few days ago.

”Ugh?”

***

Maddington was dragged away right then and there by the priests of the Allium Order.

Before they parted ways, Karnak turned to the priests and asked, ”Do you think the head of Tecas merchant guild might be a cultist as well?”

It wasn’t clear whether this was the decision of just a branch leader or if it involved the entire Tecas merchant guild. If the whole company was involved, Karnak would have to take it more seriously.

We might have to hand over the copper mines to someone else.

The Allium priest, wearing a thoughtful expression, replied, ”We don’t know yet. He denies it, but it’s possible he’s hiding the truth.”

The priests promised to inform him if the truth came to light, and then they left. Karnak and his group returned to their home after leaving Maddington’s residence.

As they walked through the night streets, Serati quietly spoke up. ”Sir Karnak.”

”Hm?”

”Why did you start with torture without asking any questions?”

”Because that way, he won’t have time to think about anything else. I kept going until he couldn’t think straight. Why? Is there something wrong?”

”No, the interrogation itself wasn’t too strange, but...”

Though the torture itself was severe, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The real issue was that he had promised to act like a human being before initiating the interrogation.

”I just think you should at least be aware that you’re not exactly being humane here,” Serati said.

The goal was to adjust the man’s sense of morality so that, in the long run, humanity’s future would be more peaceful. Karnak was puzzled.

”Isn’t this what everyone else does?”

”That’s true, but they wouldn’t think it was the right thing to do. If you’re going to go this far, wouldn’t it be better to just stick a needle in his head?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

They would have discovered Owent’s whereabouts, no matter what method they employed. But this method resulted in the disruption of the Tecas merchant guild’s Drunta branch.

”If we do this, it’ll be easier to get the guild back on track once Edia returns, right? Tecas merchant guild will be too busy dealing with their own problems,” Karnak argued.

Karnak felt justified in thinking he had acted humanely. This method was based on a technique used by Alius, who had disguised himself as a bandit to find a necromancer.

”Serati, didn’t you say it yourself? When in doubt, just follow the good people.”

Karnak had mimicked the actions of a good person (Alius), punished the wrongdoer while considering the victim, and even had other good people (Alium priests) affirm his actions. They had even praised him for doing a good job!

”Yeah, I have to say, I did a pretty great job this time,” Karnak said with a satisfied grin.

”I have to agree, young master,” Varos added.

The two of them smirked as they congratulated themselves. Serati, on the other hand, was becoming increasingly confused.

Wait... did they really act humanely?

Here were people who weren’t exactly human trying to act like humans. Why did that make her doubt humanity instead of them?

But... if it means we can save Edia, then I guess it’s for the best, right?

***

Now that they knew Edia’s whereabouts, all that remained was to track her down. Karnak immediately organized a tracking team. Along with Varos, Serati, and Lapicel, their usual companions, one more person was added to the team: Millia, a second-class inquisitor from the Seventh Squad of the King’s Order.

Since it was a formal mission for the King’s Order, they had to bring along an inquisitor. What if they accidentally discovered something they shouldn’t? It was no big deal. She had been accompanying them on official missions for the King’s Order before.

And now, with Lapicel along, there was even less of a reason to worry. Whether Millia was there or not, they’d have to be cautious with their words and actions anyway.

”If things get complicated, we could always just stick a needle in her head,” Karnak muttered.

Of course, Serati responded.

”You’re still trying to act like a decent person, right?”

Karnak remained confident. ”I acted like a decent person last time, so I think I can take it easy this time.”

”Where is that logic coming from?”

“Being picky isn’t healthy, so we need to balance both good and bad deeds.”

”At this point, I don’t even know where to begin to argue.”

Millia, unaware of the scary conversation held behind her back, eagerly joined the group.

Captain Karnak really cares about me!

Working under Karnak brought many benefits. After being assigned to the Seventh Squad, Millia’s reputation had greatly improved. She had gained a lot of experience and developed her skills far more than her peers. Regardless of the circumstances, it was a good thing for her. The one most thrilled about Millia’s addition to the team was the gray-haired girl, Lapicel.

”Hello, Priest Millia.”

”Nice to meet you, Miss Lapicel.”

The age difference between Lapicel and Millia was only about three or four years. For Lapicel, who had been surrounded by young men in their twenties, Millia was the first person her own age to join the group.

And among those young men, two of them had been around for over 120 years. The two girls quickly became close friends. As they packed their bags for the journey, they couldn’t stop giggling. They found everything amusing.

Lord Karnak and Sir Varos are like old men!

Sometimes they have silent stare-offs!

And yet they only pick the best food and drinks to eat and drink! Total picky eaters!

They argue over inns and sleeping arrangements endlessly! But it’s so fun to follow them around!

These were the kinds of lively stories that passed between the two girls as their laughter filled the air. Karnak and Varos, who were listening in, exchanged puzzled glances.

”What’s got them so excited to laugh like that?”

”Well, it’s nice to see them getting along.”

With the packing done, the last of the supplies were placed on the saddlebags, and the preparations for the journey were complete.

Karnak turned to his companions, his expression growing serious.

”Let’s hurry and find Miss Edia. We don’t know what kind of hardships she might be enduring among those cultists.”

The statement was so natural, so expected, that Lapicel and Millia didn’t find it strange at all.

”Yes!”

”Of course!”

But Varos and Serati were shocked.

—What’s going on? Young master is actually speaking some sense!

—If someone didn’t know better, they’d think he was genuinely worried about Miss Edia.

Karnak mounted his horse with a pout on his face.

—Isn’t this what I should be saying in a situation like this? I’ve been studying, you know.

The others also mounted their horses. The five horses left the house and began to gallop down the streets of Drunta.