38. Dungeon Master (5)
Hugot was busy moving around.
The altar itself has already been installed in the central chapel, but adjusting it for the descent ritual will require a considerable number of shamans.
Many of his men were lost in the attack by Karnak’s party. Currently, only four dark priests remain in the Wellard branch, excluding Hugot.
“We don’t have enough power.”
So, he resurrected the dead necromancers as undead.
When necromancy is involved, the death of a comrade does not necessarily lead to a loss of power.
“When Tesranak comes, he will give you a new life. Until then, serve the church faithfully!”
“……yes.”
“……All right.”
Even his subordinates, the cannibals who were resurrected as elder ghouls with their intelligence intact, were put into preparation for the descent ritual.
A total of eight shamans control the vast dark energy and create a ritual barrier across the entire altar.
Watching the sight, Hugot sighed in relief.
“It’s fortunate that things can proceed as planned.”
Levin Strauss of the Strauss family is offered as a sacrifice in the descent ritual.
This was a plan that had been in preparation since Dempis came down from the headquarters half a year ago.
It was fortunate that the target was not Emil, who was the eldest, but Levon. As Emil, the successor to the King of Mu, no one with any power would dare touch him.
On the other hand, Raven is not an Auror user, but a mere knight.
It is true that he has quite outstanding skills, but it is not to the extent that Hugot’s abilities cannot subdue him.
But things didn’t go as planned.
Unfortunately, Raven was the King’s Order of the Etreial Kingdom.
It is said that he is a member of an organization specializing in dealing with the Black God’s cult.
Moreover, due to the nature of King’s Order, there are almost no cases of them moving alone.
But if you were to aim for a time when you weren’t on a King’s Order mission, that would be even more problematic.
The Strauss family? It’s easier to be King’s Order.
I was watching for an opportunity the whole time.
As it turned out, the location of the Wellard branch was revealed, and the Kingdom of Yustil even targeted them.
Up until this point, my impression was something like, ‘Oh, I have a headache. This is annoying.’
It was at that time that I received information that Sir Starr had been appointed as an ally of the Yustel King’s Order.
Sir Starr was a King’s Order Treasure Hunter from the same battalion as Raven.
That means, if something happens to Sir Starr, Levin Strauss will naturally step in as a substitute!
From then on, the plan progressed at a rapid pace.
An unfortunate accident befell the poor Sir Starr, and Raven Strauss allied himself with the King’s Order of the Kingdom of Yustil, which naturally led to his entry into the Wellard branch.
What I didn’t expect was that the Yustel Kingdom guys were stronger than I imagined.
“If Dempith hadn’t come on time, we would have been in real trouble.”
Hugott looked around the prison, muttering.
Levon, Lapiselle, Millia, and Edia were seen in a coma caused by magic.
Hugot clicked his tongue as he looked at Edia.
“I guess I’ll have to start over from the beginning, ugh.”
The direction of the charm I had cast on her was completely wrong.
If things continue like this, Edia will end up pledging her loyalty to a third party other than the church.
Given the circumstances, it is certain that the target is someone from the King’s Order of the Kingdom of Yustel.
Well, in this case it’s not that big of a deal.
Once the object of loyalty disappears, it will be easy to cast spells again.
And they will definitely come to rescue them.
“If you just show up again… … ”
Hugot ground his teeth as he recalled the black-haired young man who was particularly unlucky among them.
“Offer them all as sacrifices and I will change them into my power!”
* * *
A collapsed common floor outside the Maleficus Dungeon.
Three men and women were crouching in the ruins of sand and pillars.
Karnak, Baros, and Serati barely escaped from Dempis’ final blow.
“Whew, I survived because my opponent was Dempith.”
Karnak stuck out his tongue as he looked down at the half-cracked wand.
I was really lucky.
It was a magic that I already knew well, and among them, I had studied the magic separately. That was why I was able to reverse the magic at that moment and avoid its power.
“If it was pure destructive magic like fire or flash magic, everyone would have died by now.”
Serati shivered.
“That’s right. We were all almost finished.”
Baros shook his head.
“No, I don’t think it’s over.”
“Huh? We almost died, didn’t we?”
“It’s true that I almost died.”
“I guess everyone must have gone crazy… … .”
“It’s true that I almost became lonely.”
There is a great difference in the interpretation of the definition of the term.
For a true necromancer, ‘death’ and ‘ghosting’ are different forms of existence, not the ‘end’.
Karnak muttered, his chin resting on his hand.
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“If I hadn’t stopped that, my body would have been blown away.”
After becoming a spirit, or more precisely a commander, he would have wandered around the dungeon, gathering qi and accumulating strength. Then he would have gathered the surrounding monsters, turned them into corpses, assembled them into an undead body, and inhabited them.
“Of course, if that happens, then my human life will be over, so it was a close call.”
Karnak sighed in relief again as he touched his limbs.
“What a blessing.”
The thought of losing this body I had finally acquired made my stomach churn.
“But you took away my other colleagues.”
Baros asked, mentioning Levin and Lapiselle.
“How do we save them?”
I didn’t take him there to kill him, so he should be safe for now. But I can’t just leave him there.
Karnak scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“For now, I can’t think of a solution in the current situation… … .”
Serati’s complexion hardened.
“I told you before, right? It’s okay to do some bad things to save your comrades.”
Of course, she never said anything like that.
But since these guys accepted it that way anyway, it’s easier to understand if I say it this way.
“Isn’t it time for you to go back to being a shaman for a moment?”
Of course, in this case, there is a problem that Karnak’s identity is revealed to Levon, Lapiselle, and Millia.
“But if I just erase the memories a little bit, somehow… … .”
Karnak and Baros looked at Serati with curiosity.
“Is Serati saying things like that?”
“Yeah, that’s what I usually say.”
“Then what should we do? Anyway, we have to save Lapiselle!”
Karnak chuckled at Serati’s nervous response.
“Yes, there won’t be any problems for Levin, Millia, or Edia. They only need to erase about an hour of their memories without any side effects.”
However, I wasn’t sure if Lapiselle could do that.
“The balance is so precarious that it’s hard to just mess with someone’s mind… … .”
Anyway, this was something to worry about after saving them.
That’s not the real problem with the current situation.
“I told you earlier, right? I can’t think of a solution in the current situation.”
Karnak spoke in a serious tone, his chin still clenched.
“That’s assuming you’re using necromancy.”
* * *
Long ago, when I was dealing with Bishop Straf in Trist City.
At that time, Karnak moved without hesitation after returning to being a necromancer.
Even though he had no answer as a wizard, he had the firm confidence that he could overpower his opponents as a necromancer.
But now… … .
“Even if I use necromancy, I can’t think of a way to defeat Dempith.”
Archlich is a monster that can destroy a city by himself. If he is also the master of the 9th circle, he will soon reach the level of a one-man army.
“No matter how I calculate it, if we keep going like this, we’ll lose.”
“Then what should we do? Should we just abandon them and run away together?”
Serati had meant the question as a sarcastic remark, but Karnak nodded seriously.
“It would have been like that in the old days.”
That’s actually the case.
He never threw himself into an unfavorable situation.
It’s not that we never fought unfavorable battles, since the entire continent was our enemy. But we never recklessly charged in when we could have escaped.
Hostage? Colleague? Subordinate?
Thrown away without mercy.
No, there was no awareness of being abandoned. At a disadvantageous point, it was simply considered a loss of power.
Baros muttered with a serious face.
“Well, we’ve never saved anyone knowing it would be dangerous.”
Serati was impressed.
“But have you ever risked your life to save each other?”
Of course it is.
Even though it was Karnak, the people inside the line that were truly important were saved. There was only one person inside that line.
The same was true for Baros.
“So is that it, really?”
In an instant, Karnak’s expression turned eerie.
“If it was you, Serati, who was caught, you would have been worried. You are at a level where you are within my control.”
But eventually I would have given up.
Against an enemy of that level, with this level of odds of winning, even Serati would have been included in the ‘loss of power’.
What about them?
Levin? Millia? Edia?
They are just acquaintances. Among humans, they are people I am somewhat close with.
It’s not worth risking the safety of the precious flesh that I just got back.
“In Lapiselle’s case, yes, it is true that I am concerned.”
She was, similarly to Serati, on the Karnak line.
If you are worried but not sure about it.
To be honest, if it were the old Karnak, I wouldn’t have even had to worry about this.
They must have abandoned me a long time ago and were only worried about how to escape this place safely.
“But that’s not like living like before.”
His real concern now was not the well-being of his colleagues.
“Should I not live like before, even at the risk of my life?”
Serati answered firmly.
“yes.”
It was such an obvious statement that Karnak was taken aback.
“Wait? You think it’s natural for me to risk my life, right now?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“After going to all that lengths, didn’t you think that your precious life was worthless, so you even went so far as to turn back time?”
For a moment, Karnak was speechless.
Serati continues speaking calmly to the silent man.
“Of course, not everyone lives with such risks. In fact, when their own lives are at stake, there are more people who abandon their comrades.”
But even they are more human than the Karnak before our eyes.
Why is that?
“I don’t think Lord Karnak would feel guilty or anything for abandoning them.”
“Well, I guess so?”
Even though it’s no different from swearing at someone in front of their face, there’s no reaction.
Serati made a bitter expression as she looked at Karnak.
“I didn’t know that before either. I thought, ‘Isn’t this such a big deal? Isn’t it possible for something like that to happen in life?’”
Now I can be sure.
Because I saw Karnak.
I learned what happens when people live in an inhumane way.
“Is there a saying that Lord Karnak always has on his lips?”
Whenever he felt tempted to overeat or binge drink, Karnak reflected on this.
It’s the law of the world that you start with such trivial things and before you know it, your body is ruined.
“It’s not just a physical problem.”
Let’s get through this and do better next time? Can we really do that? Knowing that we haven’t been able to live like that for over 100 years?
“The moment you give up on them… … .”
Serati spoke again and again in a calm voice.
“Karnak will have to give up his own soul.”
There was silence for a while.
She also waited quietly without opening her mouth any more.
Only after a long time did a curt smile appear on Karnak’s lips.
“Tch, I have to save the kids.”
