Karnak, Monarch of Death

As the illusion magic dissipated, the fire demons once again surged toward the plaza. The necromancers and their army of demons closed in, forming an enormous encirclement around Karnak’s group. At this rate, they would be trapped within the plaza.

But retreat wasn’t an option. If they broke through the encirclement and fled, the demons would descend upon the civilians, massacring them in an instant. Besides, being surrounded wasn’t necessarily a disadvantage.

With the civilians behind them, they only had to focus on the attacks coming from the front.

It’s not exactly an advantage, but not a complete disadvantage either.

As he surveyed the battlefield, Varos sent out a telepathic command.

—Leven and I will handle this side. Sir Serati, you and Lapicel take the opposite flank.

—Understood!

Serati, upon receiving the order, grabbed Lapicel and sprinted toward the other side of the plaza. The necromancers split up as well.

”Arthur, Robert. You take those girls.”

”Understood, Alistar.”

Three necromancers remained on Varos and Leven’s side. Two went after Serati and Lapicel. Since one side had only a woman and a child, while the other had two fully grown warriors, they had allocated more power where it seemed necessary.

The three necromancers facing Varos and Leven stepped forward. One was massively built, another slim and agile, and the third was tall and lanky. Their eyes flickered with disdain as they looked the two men up and down.

”Pitiful fools.”

”You’re only making this harder on yourselves.”

”Why do the doomed insist on struggling? All you’re doing is wasting everyone’s energy.”

For a moment, Leven hesitated. Are... they serious?

At first, he thought they were simply trying to provoke him. But no, they weren’t mocking. They were genuinely furious that he and Varos were resisting.

Flabbergasted, Leven turned to Varos. ”Are necromancers always this delusional?”

Varos smirked knowingly. ”The more shameless a man, the easier it is for him to master necromancy.”

Morality, ethics, conscience, all of it was nothing but dead weight in the pursuit of true necromantic power.

”You’ve already seen it for yourself,” Varos added.

Leven chuckled dryly. ”Yeah... It’s pretty obvious.”

Varos hadn’t mentioned who they were talking about, but the implication was clear. Suddenly, two of the necromancers, the bigger one and the slim one, unsheathed their swords. Dark energy surged over their blades, emanating an eerie hum. The black aura rippled outward, distorting the air around it.

”Dark aura?”

The color was all too familiar.

Varos’s face twisted in irritation. ”So they were dark knights...”

With a battle cry, the necromancers charged forward. ”In the name of our god, Tesranach...”

”We shall purge the pagans!”

***

On the opposite side of the plaza, Serati and Lapicel faced their own necromancers. And their attitudes were no different.

”Foolish pagans. You should accept death with grace.”

”How pitiful. Those who serve a false goddess should not cling to life so desperately.”

They, too, were genuinely perplexed as to why their opponents refused to simply die. Indeed, necromancers were truly absurd creatures.

Lapicel, exasperated, turned to Serati with a frown. ”They’re completely insane, right?”

Serati, however, remained perfectly calm. She didn’t look remotely annoyed. ”What did they say?”

”Oh.”

Right. She had no idea. The necromancers had been ranting in Ralphon the entire time. Seeing Serati’s blank expression, one of the necromancers sneered and spat another curse. His tone alone made it clear that he had said something particularly vile.

Lapicel’s reaction confirmed it. ”Th-Those bastards...!”

But to Serati, it was nothing but white noise. They might have been mocking her, trying to provoke her, but what good was an insult you couldn’t understand?

Whatever. Let’s just fight.

Her mind remained serene, unbothered by words she would never comprehend. Serati drew her aura blade and launched forward.

***

The dark knights were aura users of darkness. They wielded an imitation of true aura through necromancy. The two dark warriors lunged at Varos and Leven, their black aura-cloaked blades extending like fangs in the night.

”Die!”

”Pagans!”

Varos immediately counterattacked. His blue aura blade danced through the air, clashing against the blackened energy of his opponent. A brilliant burst of blue and black light exploded outward, shaking the air with a deafening roar.

In that instant, Varos twisted his wrist. His blade slid up along the enemy’s sword, aiming to cut straight through their torso. But the Dark Knight reacted instantly, shifting their stance and altering their swordplay in response.

What?

The black aura rippled unnaturally, moving in an intricate arc to intercept Varos’s strike. Their swords clashed repeatedly in rapid succession—aura against aura, power against power.

Varos’s expression hardened. These guys... they’re not just ordinary dark knights.

Typically, dark knights were failed aura users. They were warriors who, unable to awaken their own aura, turned to necromancy to obtain an artificial substitute. But these ones were different.

Their control over aura was too refined. Leven’s opponent fought at the level of a red knight, while Varos’s opponent was nearly at the blue-tier. Even their swordsmanship stood out.

Like most adventurers, they had likely learned bits and pieces of various techniques, adopting only what was useful, but their skills were undeniably battle-tested. There was only one explanation for this level of combat experience and aura control.

They used to be real aura users.

These were fully trained warriors who had already awakened aura. But they had then embraced necromancy, infusing themselves with dark aura.

Varos clicked his tongue in disbelief. Why would aura users turn to necromancy?

Then again, it wasn’t all that surprising. Unlike in the past, even aura users could now grow stronger through necromantic power. The ability to merge different energies changed everything.

”Tesranach, grant me your blessing!” The enemy roared a prayer before swinging his dark aura blade with even greater force.

Everything about his speech suggested he was completely insane, and yet, his swordsmanship was frighteningly precise. Worse still, his aura was stronger. Even if he was only blue-tier, the boost from dark aura pushed his destructive power close to purple-tier. Varos could not match that sheer force. He was steadily forced backwards.

Leven’s situation was no different. His opponent was slightly weaker than Varos’s, but so was Leven himself. Red aura clashed against black, but every exchange pushed him back.

Damn it... His swordsmanship isn’t that great, but the difference in aura...

A red-tier aura user infused with dark aura essentially became as strong as a blue-tier warrior. For Leven, who had only just awakened his aura, this was far too much to handle. To make matters worse, beyond the raging battle, the lanky necromancer raised both hands high.

”Come forth, those who burn with death beyond the veil of darkness...”

A sinister shadow gleamed in his eyes as four pillars of darkness erupted around him. Each one slowly took form. Long black hair flowed like smoke, bodies floating in the air, utterly devoid of light. They were spectres, ethereal wraiths of endless night.

”Drape this land in the chill of terror!”

The four specters brandished their reaper’s scythes, mouths stretching impossibly wide. Then, they screamed. A piercing, soul-chilling wail rang through the battlefield.

Leven’s face paled. You’ve got to be kidding me...

Even an average necromancer would need three or four allies to summon just one of these monsters. But this guy had summoned four—alone. Varos’s brows furrowed.

These were, without a doubt, the strongest necromancers they had faced so far.

This won’t be easy...

***

The necromancers Serati and Lapicel faced were different from the ones battling Varos. They were not aura users, but former mages. Both had once been fifth circle mages before turning to heresy. Striking their staffs against the ground, they began their necromantic incantations.

”Cast the shadow of death...”

”Summon the heat of hell onto this land!”

A powerful surge of energy swept through the area, engulfing the fire demons nearby. Their magic empowered the summoned demons of the Infernal Hell, doubling their size and enhancing their strength. The massive, burning creatures let out horrifying screeches as they charged forward.

And right on cue, the necromancers unleashed destructive spells immediately after sending the summoned creatures to lock down their opponents.

”Energy Bolt!”

”Flame Strike!”

It was their signature strategy. They would first immobilize the enemy with summons, then finish them off with overwhelming magic.

”Take this!”

Lapicel lunged forward, her red aura flashing as she struck at the demons’ massive bodies. Her attacks landed, but she failed to cut through them. It was because a destructive beam forced her to leap out to safety. The missed spell struck a section of the plaza, erupting in a violent explosion.

Lapicel clicked her tongue as she dodged to the side. Damn it!

The enhanced demons were no joke. Their attacks were predictable, making them easy to dodge, but they were fast and durable, which made counterattacking almost useless.

This was the limit of a red-tier aura user. Serati, on the other hand, looked completely at ease.

Their attacks are obvious. Dodging them is simple.

Her opponents were just as fast and tough, but Serati was now a blue-tier aura user. In other words, she was just as fast and tough.

”This is nothing!”

Wrapped in brilliant blue aura, she swept across the burning battlefield. The demons collapsed, sliced apart in an instant, their screams fading into the roaring flames.

The necromancers watching gasped in shock.

”Sh-She’s a blue-tier aura user?!”

”A mere woman?!”

It was clear now. The necromancers on this side were weaker than the ones Varos was fighting. Necromancers often fell to corruption in their pursuit of power, and those who sought only strength tended to be highly arrogant and macho.

On Varos’s side, they saw two trained warriors, but they only saw a woman and a child on this side. So they had underestimated them from the start.

”Why the hell is a mere woman this strong?!”

Lapicel’s eyes flared in anger. ”What? Mere woman?!”

Serati also caught something from the enemy’s words. Thanks to her beginner Ralphon studies, she recognized only two words: woman and strong.

She grinned. ”Oh? At least they’re acknowledging my strength!”

”Serati, that’s not what they meant...” Lapicel stared at her, dumbfounded.

”Damn it! In that case...!” One of the necromancers threw aside his staff and raised both hands high. ”Come forth! Spirits of the earth, clad in death, rise upon this land!”

The ground split open, and from the cracks emerged a massive, pitch-black golem. Dark energy swirled over its body. It was a fusion of magic and necromancy. Once, something like this would have been unheard of, but now...

”Oh, please. We see this kind of thing all the time.” Serati remained unfazed, slashing out with her blue aura blade.

Her strike slammed into the golem’s chest, sending shards of stone flying in all directions. But it didn’t fall.

Huh. It’s a tough one.

Just as she prepared to finish it off, the golem raised its right arm. From its palm, a brilliant blue sword aura ignited.

Serati’s eyes widened. ”It’s using an aura blade?”

And it wasn’t just any aura blade. The golem stepped forward, its blue sword aura extending as it swung downward. It was the exact same sword technique she had just used.

Serati’s expression hardened. ”Did it just steal my technique?”