Karnak, Monarch of Death

Leven stared blankly at the scene before him. He could do nothing but keep silent. After all, one unbelievable event after another kept unfolding. Some evil spirit had tried to take over his body, only for him to realize that the spirit was, in fact, himself.

And the comrade he had thought was just a member of the neighboring Kings’ Order had actually been a necromancer who saved him using the power of darkness, and in exchange for that salvation, he had become the necromancer’s vassal.

Even just processing this much made his head spin, but the events that followed defied all reason. Sir Serati, who had been struggling against Demphis, suddenly started speaking in a deeper voice—before abruptly becoming a purple knight!

A red-tier knight jumped straight past blue and became purple in a single day?

Not a single case in the recorded history of martial kings had been anything like this. Emil was one thing, but not even his father, the martial king of this era, Gellard, had accomplished such a feat.

Just who are these people?

The King’s Order mage named Karnak possessed necromancy powerful enough to hold his own against an archlich, a master of the ninth circle. Serati was seemingly a heaven-sent genius who had ascended two entire stages of aura awakening overnight. And then there was Sir Varos, whom Leven had always held in the highest regard. Yet compared to the others, he almost seemed the most ordinary of them all.

And this wasn’t even the end of it. Serati, who had just become a purple knight, suddenly radiated darkness from her entire body and transformed once more. Then, she struck down the archlich—an ancient monster of legend—with a single blow!

My goddess...

Leven let out a groan as he watched Demphis collapse. Nothing about the scene before him felt real. All he could do was reel in endless confusion.

***

Varos’s soul drifted out of his body, and having regained control of her body, Serati collapsed to the ground.

”Ugh! Agh!”

It felt much the same as the last time her body had been taken. Her body had been pushed far too hard, and naturally, every finer of her being was screaming in agony. But there was one key difference from before. Now, she could use aura to alleviate the pain.

Ugh, gotta circulate my aura, quick...

She followed the method Varos had taught her, channeling her aura to administer emergency treatment. After a short while, the pain finally subsided to a manageable level.

As she struggled to her feet, Varos scratched the back of his head awkwardly. ”Are you okay? Must hurt a lot, huh?”

He had taken over her body without so much as asking. If he had even a shred of conscience, he couldn’t just pretend like nothing had happened.

With a sigh, Serati nodded. ”I can endure it.”

”I’m sorry. The situation was just too urgent...” Varos said.

”Well, I’m alive, so that’s what matters.”

Of course, there were people in this world who lacked even that much of a conscience.

”Wait a second, Serati.” Karnak frowned as he called out to her. ”You swore at me earlier, didn’t you?”

Clearly, he hadn’t forgotten the harsh words she had thrown at him. As if he himself had done nothing wrong. But Serati’s reaction was unexpected.

She turned to him with a warm smile. ”You did well back there, Sir Karnak.”

Karnak’s eyes widened at the sudden praise.

”Huh? I did?”

At the very least, he seemed aware that he hadn’t exactly done anything deserving of a compliment.

”Yes. If you hadn’t acted that way, we all would have died,” she explained.

”Well... I suppose that’s true.”

Karnak scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Suddenly, Serati’s expression turned serious.

”But this was the last time, right?” Serati asked him.

”What was?”

”The possession. This was the last time, wasn’t it?”

If a person was possessed too often, their soul would eventually break. Varos had already taken over Serati’s body twice. If he did it again, the damage to her soul could become irreversible.

”Yeah. If I try it again, it’ll be too dangerous.”

”I’m not saying never do it again. If everyone’s about to die and there’s no other way. Then something has to be done. I acknowledge that sometimes, sacrifices must be made.”

But one thing needed to be absolutely clear. This wasn’t just some convenient tactic. It was a sacrifice—Serati’s sacrifice—to keep Karnak alive.

”If you don’t want to go back to the way you were before, I hope you’ll understand what your choices really mean. For the sake of protecting your own soul as well.”

Her words weren’t something to be taken lightly.

Karnak’s face hardened. ”Understood. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Serati’s solemn expression finally relaxed. ”Then it’s fine. Either way, thanks to you, we all survived, didn’t we?”

”Thanks for understanding.”

”Don’t mention it. The situation left us no choice, but it’s not like I haven’t gained anything from becoming a vassal. In fact, I’m actually grateful.” She beamed and playfully winked. ”And since I’m grateful, I should do my best to offer you my advice.”

”I see.”

Karnak smiled back. For some reason, he felt good. At the same time, though, he had a nagging feeling of unease.

Wait... why do I feel like I’ve forgotten something?

Serati let out a quiet sigh of relief as she turned her back. Phew, looks like I got away with cursing him out.

Still, there was a chance it would come up later, so she quickly changed the subject. She pointed at the fallen Demphis. The darkness and malevolent spirits that had been surging out of him were now almost entirely gone.

”What do you plan to do with that archlich now?” she asked him.

Karnak had already been waiting for the darkness to fully dissipate.

”I’m still thinking about it.” As he replied, he stepped closer. ”The old me would’ve branded him with a Mark of Contract without a second thought.”

But things were different now.

”And not just because I don’t want to live like I used to...” Simply put, he no longer had the ability. ”I’m in no position to exert dominance over an archlich.”

Extracting whatever useful information he could before destroying its soul was the safest option, but even that wasn’t simple. An archlich’s power and soul were fused together. Even in spirit form, it wasn’t an easy opponent, and necromancy alone wouldn’t be enough to control it.

”I need to examine it first and decide based on the situation.” Karnak reached toward the skeletal remains on the ground. His expression hardened. ”If it seems too dangerous, I’ll abandon the idea of extracting information and just destroy it immediately.”

He let a stream of darkness flow out to assess Demphis’s condition.

Huh? Something felt off. A Mark of Contract?

Someone had engraved a powerful mark upon Demphis’s soul.

It’s not mine, but was this what I sensed before?

The strange thing was that the brand was eerily identical to the one Karnak himself had once placed on Demphis. It was the same technique, same placement, and same target. Even the necromantic energy and spell formation within the brand were completely identical.

There was only one difference: The name of the one who had engraved it, the owner of the binding words.

Tesranach...

It was as if the same contract had been written, but signed by a different person.

How could it be this identical? Regardless, this presented him with another option. If I just change the name, I can make him mine.

It was risky, but just within the limits of what his current necromantic power could handle. It was worth trying.

If it works, I’ll gain a useful slave, and possibly valuable information about the Cult of the Black God and Tesranach.

And if he failed? Then I’ll just destroy him on the spot.

Rolling up his sleeves, Karnak reached toward the brand. ”Alright, let’s do this.”

Focusing his mind, he channeled his necromantic energy.

”In the name of Karnak Zestrad, Master of Darkness, I command you...”

He began to tamper with Tesranach’s brand.

Huh?

But found that it was too easy. As if it had belonged to him from the start, the contract’s authority transferred over effortlessly.

With a faint groan, Demphis’s scattered bones began to reassemble. His skeletal remains reformed in midair, and a dark aura settled over them once more.

”My king... Master of my soul...” The newly resurrected Demphis knelt before Karnak. ”Give me your command... I shall obey...”

***

Leven let out a hollow laugh. ”Hah... Haha...”

As if there weren’t already enough incomprehensible things happening, now the fallen archlich had risen again and was swearing loyalty to Karnak?

He had been holding back since the mood made it hard to interject, but he was reaching his limit. ”Who exactly are you people?”

Serati looked at him with an expression that said, I figured this was coming. He was trying his best to stay composed, but his voice was trembling.

Yeah, I know exactly how he feels.

She felt a strange sense of camaraderie. That was, until Leven suddenly shot her a sharp look.

”Especially you, Sir Serati.”

”Me?”

”Yes! What exactly are you? Are you some demon descended upon this land?”

Serati, utterly baffled, darted her gaze between Karnak and Varos. He thinks I look more suspicious than those two?

Of all the people in the world, why did she have to be compared to them? Then again, after hearing Leven’s next question, she could see how he might think that.

”Or were you always a purple-tier knight and just hiding it until now?”

”Oh, that...”

To an outsider, it must have seemed utterly ridiculous. Karnak and Varos exchanged shrugs.

”Well, since Leven’s already a vassal now, there’s no need to keep it a secret.”

”Now that things have come to this, it’s better to explain quickly.”

Demphis, watching carefully, hesitantly raised a hand. ”To be honest, I’d like to know as well...”

It was this damned curiosity that had ultimately cost him the chance to use his full power before being defeated.

The blue flames in the archlich’s eye sockets flickered violently. ”Who exactly are you people?”

The one who was supposed to become the martial king of the future and the one who had returned from that future both gazed at him in silence. Karnak pondered for a moment. What was the quickest and simplest way to sum everything up? Then he found the easiest method.

“Serati!” he called out.

”Huh? I have to explain?”

”You’d probably do a better job than me.”

Indeed. If it was a hassle, just dump it on a subordinate.

”This is about dealing with people, right? You’d handle it better than I would.”

”I guess?”

She hesitated for a moment before realizing that this was actually incredibly difficult to explain.

”Uh... so...” After much deliberation, she awkwardly pointed at Karnak. ”A long time ago, he conquered the world...”

Then, her gesture shifted toward Varos. ”And he helped him do it.”

Before she knew it, her explanation was practically identical to the one she had once received. Karnak and Varos smirked.

”See? It’s harder to explain than you thought, right?”

”Even Sir Serati struggles with this, huh?”

Naturally, the response was just as predictable.

Leven’s expression stiffened as if he had just been told the worst joke imaginable. ”I’m asking this seriously.”

Meanwhile, Demphis spoke in a solemn tone, looking at Karnak. ”If you suspect me, master, then you should already know there’s no need for that.”

Serati let out a wry chuckle. ”Just listen for now.”

She gave roughly the same explanation as before. How Karnak, an illegitimate son of a fallen noble house, had learned necromancy. How he and his attendant, Varos, had caused trouble and been pursued. How they had gained power during their escape and ultimately became enemies of the continent. How Karnak had succeeded in world domination as Astra Shunaph, only to return to the past in search of his lost humanity.

When the explanation ended, Leven furrowed his brows. ”What do you mean...? you came from the future...?”

Unlike Serati, he had never been interested in common hero tales, so he found this sort of story hard to accept.

Demphis, on the other hand, had also come from the future. Naturally, his doubts lay elsewhere. ”That’s strange. In the future I came from, the two of you did not exist.”

Karnak responded as if he had expected that. ”But you have an idea why, don’t you?”

Demphis nodded. ”Yes.”

Indeed, there had been someone whose actions overlapped with Karnak’s to an uncanny degree. It was the God of Death, Tesranach.

”If what you say is true...” The archlich turned to the golden-haired knight, Varos. ”Then you are Tesranach.”

Karnak’s group all widened their eyes at once.

”Huh?”