Karnak, Monarch of Death

In the half-destroyed streets of the capital, blanketed in gray ash, the Twilight forces and the Black God’s army clashed in a desperate struggle. Auras collided, and magic and necromancy tore through the air, shattering everything around them.

Amid the chaotic melee, a streak of golden light struck the battlefield. The explosion sent countless soldiers flying. Those who narrowly avoided it cried out in alarm.

”Damn it!”

”It’s a martial king of darkness!”

Since Tesranach’s descent, two more individuals had emerged within the Black God’s Cult who had reached the golden realm. The Martial Kings of Cyphras, Beltia, and of Kretas, Dreltein, had long been known to the public. These were other martial kings.

They wielded golden aura freely. They had unmistakably reached the realm of martial kings, yet they were completely unknown to the world. With their identities unknown, they had no proper titles. They were simply called martial kings of darkness.

”Where did a monster like that come from?”

”They couldn’t have simply spawned out of thin air...”

A young knight stepped forward from the Twilight ranks. Drawing his sword calmly, he fixed a cold gaze on the unknown martial king. ”I’ll handle this one.”

”Sir Leven!”

”We’ll leave it to you!”

The Twilight soldiers quickly withdrew to engage other enemies, leaving only two knights standing amidst the ruined street. The man in his forties, holding a martial king’s blade, looked at Leven and smiled gently. ”Well now, what a familiar face.”

Leven gave a wry smile. ”I’m not exactly glad to see you.”

It was a face he had never seen before, and yet one that felt strangely familiar. Unlike Varos, who wasn’t used to seeing his own reflection, Leven was a high-born noble. He had spent his life frequently looking into mirrors. So that’s what I’ll look like in my forties...?

This was his future self, the Martial King of Delphiad, Leven Strauss.

”This is the first time I’ve seen you like this.” Before, he had only seen his future self as a soul... or inhabiting the body of Emil Strauss. ”Now that I think about it, you even possessed father’s body for a while, didn’t you? You’ve committed every kind of taboo there is.”

Leven’s voice was laced with sarcasm. The future Leven reacted with interest. ”Aren’t you acting a little too indifferent toward your family? Aren’t you even curious what became of Emil? He is your brother, after all.”

Gallard was already dead, but Emil Strauss was still alive, albeit under Tesranach’s control. Leven did not waver. He leveled his silver aura blade and replied coldly, ”If you were me, you’d already know my answer.”

That was true. The future Leven gave a wry smile. ”It’s not that I’m not curious, but not enough to set everything aside to find out.”

Emil had always been an object of jealousy and envy to Leven. Of course, that was no longer the case. He had grown stronger. He had already surpassed Emil’s level. But did that mean those past emotions had vanished. Familial affection? Apparently not. The human heart did not work so simply.

He thought of Emil from time to time and even worried, but that was all. To those who valued blood ties above all else, he might seem cold-blooded. But what could he do? He had spent his entire life being looked down upon because of that man. Had he not already fulfilled his duty as a brother simply by letting go of his former resentment?

”You truly are me.” Chuckling, the future Leven raised his sword. ”In that case, past self of mine, behold what you shall achieve in the future!”

A dazzling light burst forth.

***

Once, clear water had flowed through the capital’s canals. Now, crimson lava coursed through them, radiating terrifying heat. The surrounding bridges and stone structures glowed red-hot, spewing waves of scorching air.

Two men clashed on the streets, shimmering due to the distortion of the heat haze. A black-haired man in his early fifties swung a greatsword, unleashing a golden slash.

Tenebrae Art, Scorched Nightmare.

Amid the already suffocating heat, an even more dreadful blaze of aura surged forward. Malican Thun met the strike with his own great sword, sweat dripping down his face.

Tenebrae Art, Frozen Cataclysm!

A pure white aura of frost engulfed the flames, but it did not last long. The difference in power was simply too great. However, it didn’t matter. He had bought enough time to move!

The flaming aura blade narrowly missed Malican Thun. A brutal explosion erupted behind him. Malican Thun struggled to catch his breath as he steadied himself.

He was met with admiration from the Martial King of Caelum—his future self. ”You managed to dodge that. Impressive.”

It was somewhat surprising. Scorched Nightmare was a technique he had created after becoming a martial king. There was no way the current Malican Thun should have known it.

The future martial king couldn’t help but wonder, Was I really this strong at this stage?

Naturally, the present Malican Thun knew that technique. Varos had beaten it into him, literally.

Staring at the middle-aged knight before him, Malican clicked his tongue. Wow... that really is me.

To be honest, he had harbored doubts until now. His future self had fallen? He had become a servant of an evil god and returned to the past? And to prevent that, the Goddess of Twilight had passed down his future techniques to him through Varos?

No matter how much of a backwater country bumpkin he was, Malican Thun wasn’t naive enough to believe such absurd claims outright. But with undeniable proof standing before him like this, how could he deny it?

He couldn’t help but wonder, Is this truly the destiny arranged for me by the goddess?

Steeling himself, Malican tightened his grip on his greatsword. Silver aura surged from its massive blade, igniting blue lightning.

Tenebrae Art, Lamenting Thunder!

Nine streaks of lightning-charged aura twisted through the air, crashing toward his future self.

The martial king’s blade effortlessly swept aside every bolt. ””Not bad, but do you really think a mere silver knight can withstand golden sword energy?”

Then he struck, slipping through the present Malican Thun’s defenses and striking at his vital points. Though he blocked and deflected as best he could, the accumulated impact grew heavier with each exchange.

Even so, he did not fall. He might be pushed back, but he would not break. Watching Malican Thun, his future self felt a renewed sense of admiration.

As expected, that’s my past self. And with it came a trace of greed. It is my past body, after all.

The future Malican Thun’s body was not real. Like the other martial kings and archmages of the future, it was a constructed vessel granted by Tesranach. It was satisfactory enough, but that didn’t mean he felt no attachment to his true body.

He started to harbor other thoughts. Is there really any need to kill him?

Victory would belong to Tesranach anyway. If he could simply keep his past self tied up until then, this body would become his. As a result, the future Malican Thun’s assault weakened slightly.

Malican Thun’s gaze wavered. This is exactly what Sir Karnak said would happen...

***

”Leven and Malican Thun aren’t in their real bodies either, right?”

”So?”

”So they’ll still have some attachment to their own bodies. From their perspective, rather than splitting their own body in two with a lethal strike, they’d rather drag things out and take it whole. That means a silver knight can hold out to some extent.”

Serati took on a disdainful expression. ”So you weren’t just having faith in your comrades?”

”Having faith in them? Of course I do.” He had full faith that they would lose. ”How is a silver knight supposed to beat a martial king?”

But at the same time, he believed they could at least buy some time. ”You can’t just make people do the impossible and call it trust.”

Trust meant knowing what couldn’t be done, and believing in what could. Surprisingly, it made sense. Serati nodded, then asked, ”But doesn’t that only apply to Sir Leven and Sir Malican Thun?”

Drel’s soul resided in an artificially constructed body created by Karnak. He was in a similar state to Tesranach’s subordinates. And Dios was inhabiting the body of a completely unrelated child. He had merely gained a reprieve by becoming Karnak’s subordinate. The body itself wasn’t his.

Karnak grinned confidently. ”Naturally, I accounted for that too.”

***

The martial king’s blade shone brilliantly as it cleaved through the blood-red sky.

Kretas Swordsmanship, Celestial Thunder!

A silver aura blade fluttered as it met the radiant slash.

Kretas Swordsmanship, Snowflower Storm!

Two techniques belonging to the same swordsmanship, wielded by the same soul, collided in midair. However, the two wielders were not on the same level. A golden flash pierced through the swirling storm of blades. Drel twisted his body in a panic, but blood still sprayed from his shoulder.

He had evaded as best he could, yet he had failed to block the blow completely. Even so, Drel’s fighting spirit did not falter. ”Dreltein! I will make sure to deal with you!”

He unleashed his aura again while roaring with hatred and fury. Sharp blades of energy threatened to tear Dreltein apart, but it was useless.

Dreltein casually deflected the attack before unleashing another barrage of aura strikes. Blood spurted from all over Drel’s body once more. Unlike the future Malican Thun, who held back to some extent, Dreltein showed no mercy as he pressed his assault.

After all, the current Drel was also using a constructed body. It wasn’t his real body, so there was no reason to hold back. Even so, Drel had managed to endure this long because he had support.

”Lady Latiel, grant me the light of healing!”

A winged angel descended upon Drel and cast healing magic. His wounds began to close visibly.

Dreltein frowned as he glared at Milia. That nuisance again!

He attempted to intercept her with an attack. Golden aura shot toward her—it was a strike from a martial king, something she could never evade on her own. However, she still evaded the blow. The winged angel had reacted automatically and moved on its own regardless of her will.

Then she called down a barrage of luminous spears. ”Take this!”

Flashes of light rained down on Dreltein. They did little damage, but it was more than enough to create an opening for Drel to escape danger.

—Much appreciated, Miss Milia!

—Not at all!

***

”If we’re lacking in strength, we can simply make up for its,” continued Karnak.

Moreover, Milia’s Angel of Radiant Wings had been pre-programmed to counter Dreltein’s movements. It allowed her to predict his attacks, evade them, and mount automatic responses against him.

”As for movement data, we just pulled it from Drel. They’re both Dreltein anyway.”

Watching Karnak boast, Serati asked, ”But they could reinforce their strength just the same, couldn’t they?”

If Dreltein simply called over a few subordinates and assigned them to deal with Milia, the whole plan would fall apart.

”He won’t do that.” Karnak shook his head. ”That’s one of the reasons I had them beating drums and blowing horns.”

***

Staring at Milia, Dreltein hesitated for a moment. What should I do...?

In truth, they also had Angels of Radiant Wings on their side. They couldn’t perform healing like Milia’s, but if he called over a few and assigned them to the task, they could deal with her well enough.

The problem was, those forces were already assigned elsewhere. Since they didn’t know what trick Karnak might pull, they had been stationed throughout the capital to prepare for any contingency. If he recalled them now, it would create openings elsewhere.

His deliberation did not last long. I can handle this alone.

It was better to play it safe than risk being blindsided again. Even if he fought both at once, there was no chance he would lose.

Do you think I’ll fall for your tricks again, Karnak?

Decision made, Dreltein unleashed his blazing aura once more.

Kretas Swordsmanship, Dragon’s Breath!

The form of a massive fire dragon surged forward and engulfed both Drel and Milia. Drel roared in response, enduring the blast while increasing his aura output.