Karnak, Monarch of Death

Chapter 273: Back to the Empire (2)

Milia came running with joy.

Captain Karnak chose me! she thought. Her heart pounded with joy.

Strictly speaking, he wasn’t her captain anymore. Ever since Karnak became the Vice Commander of Eustil’s King’s Order, the Seventh Squad had been assigned a new leader. Milia now worked under that person. But old habits were hard to break.

”Thank you so much for calling me, captain! I’ll give it my all!” She stood in front of Karnak with an expression of overwhelming emotion.

It was understandable. A hero whose name shook the entire Seven Kingdoms had singled her out. Who wouldn’t feel proud to be recognized for their ability? Of course, Serati knew the real reason Milia had been chosen.

No, well, um...

Milia hadn’t been chosen because of her exceptional divine power. Karnak had explained the real reason behind his choice.

—We’ve known her for a long time.

—So it’ll be easy to stick the needle in with no side effects, right?

—Exactly! You’re finally starting to get it, Serati.

Serati sighed inwardly.

—Why do you always view relationships like this?

—What, you expect me to trust people without a bit of memory tampering?

—Most people get by just fine without doing things like that.

—And that’s why they all get betrayed.

—I can’t even deny that, which is depressing.

Still, it wasn’t a big problem. Milia wasn’t unqualified. In fact, she was far from it. She might not measure up to Alius in all aspects, but she was still far superior to most priests. Well, most inquisitors were exceptional talents anyway. The title sounded noble and prestigious, but the actual position? It was far less appealing.

Inquisitors fought cultists with their lives on the line. The weak were either long dead and by the sides of the goddesses, or worse, captured and subjected to horrors no priest should ever face.

That was why noble lineage or family connections meant nothing when it came to qualifying for the role. Only skill mattered. And Milia had spent nearly a year assigned to the King’s Order, enduring the most brutal frontlines of all.

—She’s still young, but her divine power is beyond that of most middle-aged priests. She’ll pull her weight just fine.

—That’s the least of my worries! I’m worried that you’re going to stick a needle in her head later.

Lapicel was all smiles after being reunited with Milia. ”Milia! It’s been so long!”

”Oh my, Lapicel! You’ve grown so much!”

The two girls laughed and caught up joyfully.

”But... who exactly is this Count Hudel?” Milia asked. She’d been given only a vague outline of the mission from Commander Erantel. ”There was too much classified information, so I wasn’t told the details. They said I’d get the rest after arriving.”

”Ah, right...” Lapicel gave a brief explanation of what had happened with Hudel in the Grental territory.

Milia clicked her tongue. ”I can’t believe something like that happened.”

”And that’s why we’re moving to eliminate his successor this time,” Lapicel said.

Serati wore a conflicted expression watching the two girls chat. I feel like the only thing I’m getting better at is lying...

The group’s actual destination was the Kabrat Region of the northern empire, where the Tower of Dawn stood. They planned to travel with the Altas merchant guild to the general area and then go off on their own.

Still, Karnak wasn’t expecting to get much intel from around the tower itself. Too much time had passed. As mentioned before, residual thoughts were things left behind by the deceased. Even Karnak couldn’t gather information that simply didn’t exist.

So instead, he planned to dig through local cultists for leads. If the Cult of the Black God was desperately tracking Diogres, perhaps he could extract something from their progress.

In short, Grental was nothing more than a waypoint. It had nothing to do with their real objective.

However, Milia was completely convinced that Hudel’s successor existed.

She was burning with motivation. ”So Alius left behind such a legacy. I can’t fall behind!”

Only Leven and Serati looked at her with pity in their eyes.

Falling behind?

That person doesn’t even exist...

Three days later, Karnak and his party departed the capital city of Drunta alongside the Altas merchant guild. It was their third journey to the empire.

The trip proceeded without incident. Preparations had already been arranged in advance through the King’s Order, including contact with the empire’s Brigade of Purification. They passed through the border without issue, crossed the Baracant mountain range, and weren’t troubled by any monster attacks.

All the menial chores were handled by the caravan workers. This was an unexpected luxury for Milia, whose duties had always been limited to missions under the King’s Order. The food was good, the ride was comfortable, and everyone treated her with respect just for being a priest.

Following Captain Karnak really does bring good fortune!

And so, on the seventh day since their departure from Drunta, the group arrived at the Grental territory without any trouble.

***

The city below the Grental castle was as bustling as ever. As a key trading hub, it was full of traveling merchants. Naturally, that meant a lot of inns, taverns, and restaurants too.

Karnak glanced around and murmured, ”This place has become fairly livable.”

Varos agreed. ”Sure has. Finally starting to smell like a real town.”

Leven, however, was confused. ”This? Really?”

It was his first time visiting the Grental territory, since they didn’t stop by on their previous journey to the Governor’s Vault. So he was taking a careful look around, and to him, the town didn’t seem all that secure. There were shady-looking thugs everywhere, and the alleys were filthy. It didn’t seem well-managed at all.

Leven asked, ”Was it some kind of hell on earth before?”

Varos chuckled. ”It used to be peaceful. Too peaceful.”

”What?”

Ignoring Leven’s confusion, Karnak and Varos nodded knowingly.

”Right, right. Now, this is how it should be,” said Karnak.

”Exactly. If only one place is peaceful during an era of chaos, you can bet something shady’s going on there,” agreed Varos.

Afterward, the group went to the inn they’d arranged with the Altas merchant guild and dropped off their belongings. And then, naturally, they set out on a tour of the local eateries.

Karnak suggested, ”How about that inn we stayed at before? They grilled sausages real well.”

But Varos shook his head. ”You won’t be eating those sausages anymore.”

”Why?” Karnak asked him.

”The innkeeper got arrested,” responded Varos.

”Ah, right. He was a cultist too.” Karnak clicked his tongue in disappointment. ”Shame. Guess we’ll find another place.”

Finding another restaurant wasn’t difficult. Grental had no shortage of them thanks to the bustling trade. But as it turned out, having too many restaurants gave birth to a new issue. Even the terrible ones managed to stay in business.

”Ugh... this is awful...” Karnak frowned as he stared at a plate of stir-fried pork and vegetables.

They’d chosen a place with a decent crowd, but the food was borderline inedible. The cooking wasn’t terrible, but the ingredients were definitely subpar. The meat was old and carried a strong gamey stench.

Watching Karnak pick at his food, Serati let out a small laugh. He actually looks kinda cute when he’s like this.

She sliced off a better portion and handed it to him. ”Complaining about food isn’t very adult-like, you know.”

He shot back immediately.

—I came back decades in time just to be able to complain about food, you know?

—W-Well, fair point...

Of course, Karnak wasn’t the only one unimpressed. The rest of them finished their meals with equal disinterest.

Wiping her mouth, Milia asked, ”So, are we moving out now?”

”Huh? You got somewhere you want to go?”

”Somewhere I want to go?” she replied with a confused look. ”Aren’t we supposed to be looking for cultists?”

Ah, right... Karnak realized that both Milia and Lapicel genuinely believed that Hudel’s successor was here.

After a moment of thought, he issued an order. ”Let’s split into pairs. Milia, you go with Lapicel. Two young girls wandering around will attract less suspicion.”

”Yes, captain!”

Milia and Lapicel smiled at each other brightly. They seemed genuinely excited at the idea of spending time together again.

—Let’s ditch them and find another good restaurant, Varos.

—My thoughts exactly, young master.

Not once did Karnak express concern about sending two girls out alone into a town with questionable public order.

—What’s there to worry about? Lapicel’s with her.

***

In a cold, dimly lit basement cloaked in darkness, a group of men gathered and conversed in hushed voices.

”My god!”

”Karnak? That man?”

They all appeared visibly shaken.

”Are you certain?”

”There’s no doubt. The report came from an agent we planted in the Altas mere scant guild.”

No matter how skilled the Cult of the Black God was, they couldn’t infiltrated the King’s Order. The organization was far too vigilant for that. However, the Altas merchant guild wasn’t some elite intelligence agency. The cult had planted spies within it and closely monitored its activities from the start.

Granted, placing spies in the merchant guild didn’t grant them access to any of the King’s Order’s classified information. All they could gather was information about Karnak himself.

In that sense, it was arguably a waste of personnel, but the cult didn’t care. At present, the Cult of the Black God viewed Karnak as a greater threat than the entirety of the King’s Order.

”He truly is a man of remarkable resourcefulness,” came a voice from within the shadows. ”How did he manage to discover our presence so quickly? We moved with such care...”

”We don’t know.”

”There’s no way to guess.”

”But this is exactly how he caused us so much trouble. This is the type of person he is.”

A brief silence fell over the room.

Then one of them broke it. ”What shall we do? With our current strength, we don’t stand a chance against them.”

Karnak himself was already an eighth circle mage. On top of that, he was said to command two purple-tier aura users and two more at blue-tier. Furthermore, the biggest issue would prove to be the strange magic he wielded, Redeemer of Necromancy.

It was magic that turned necromancy against itself. In other words, he was practically a natural enemy of the cultists. Even Gellard, the martial king-turned-death knight, had been defeated by him. And one of the cult’s Three Saints, the Pope of Death, had fallen and returned to Tesranach’s embrace.

The men hidden in darkness spoke one by one.

”Should we cut our ties and disappear?”

”We do not fear death, but I fear bringing harm to the cult.”

The leader among them, a man in his forties, slowly shook his head. ”That is no longer an option. The ritual has already neared its final stage.”

His voice turned solemn. ”There’s no helping it. We must die.”

Their tones shifted along with his.

”We follow your lead.”

”Our lives are already dedicated to Tesranach...”

”So long as they are used for the right cause, that is enough.”

Their voices carried no fear, only a twisted sense of purpose.

The man in his forties, Harbert, the successor to Hudel and newly stationed in the Grental territory, felt his eyes grow damp. ”It has been an honor to stand alongside you...”

These men were not mere followers. They were sacred companions, guided by Tesranach’s divine hand.

”Let us meet again in a better world.”