Death King Karnak

Chapter 45. 12. The End is an Open Door

Alius and Riltein were safe. They hadn’t gone through any significant hardships.

They had been captured early in the evening, while Karnak and his party defeated Shutraff at dawn the next day. There simply hadn’t been enough time for them to suffer much.

Upon being rescued, the two were eager to know what had happened.

“What exactly happened here?”

They had noticed that something was amiss while they were imprisoned, as the building shook and explosions echoed around them. It was clear that something major had occurred.

But once they were freed and had a chance to look around, they realized it wasn’t just something major—this was catastrophic.

Corpses were strewn everywhere, traces of necromantic barriers lingered, the once grand mansion was half-destroyed, and the entire city was in chaos.

How could just three people have caused this level of destruction?

“And how did you manage to defeat that man, Shutraff?”

Even Alius, who had been through countless battles, had never seen such powerful necromancy before.

Though he was glad to be rescued, he couldn’t fathom how these three could have possibly brought down Shutraff on their own.

If their opponent had been that easy to deal with, Alius and Riltein wouldn’t have been captured so easily in the first place.

Karnak began to calmly explain.

“We were fortunate.”

Shutraff’s necromancy had indeed been formidable. They had thought they were going to die right there.

“But it seems he hadn’t mastered the art completely, as part of the barrier suddenly deactivated.”

They took advantage of that moment to escape the mansion.

Of course, Shutraff had tried to capture them with all his might, but thanks to the strength of Serati, an Aura user, they barely managed to get away.

Afterwards, while they were hiding and trying to figure out how to rescue Alius and Riltein, something strange happened in Trist City.

A conflict broke out within the Ranpelt faction.

“For reasons unknown, they started fighting amongst themselves.”

As the members of the organization began to clash, the entire city descended into confusion.

“We went back near the mansion to assess the situation. And we witnessed a truly horrific sight.”

A massive zombie horde was advancing towards the Ranpelt mansion!

Seeing the mansion’s necromantic barriers fighting off the zombie horde, it was clear that this wasn’t Shutraff’s doing.

“Perhaps another necromancer under his command decided to rebel?”

Alius nodded in agreement.

“That’s possible. Necromancers are always eager to betray one another.”

Hadn’t they all witnessed Shutraff blowing off the heads of his subordinates before? It was only natural that his followers would eventually rebel.

Riltein shared a similar thought.

“Shutraff must have shown a moment of weakness while dealing with us, and another necromancer took advantage of that opening.”

Karnak continued his explanation.

“As the opportunity arose, we discreetly infiltrated the mansion.”

The place was filled with a foul aura, making it easy to find their way to the hideout.

When they descended into the mansion’s basement, they found Shutraff preparing something at a bizarre altar.

“He confronted us with ghoul warriors and summoned demons. However, he didn’t use the powerful necromancy that could turn the entire space into hell. It seemed that he had exhausted much of his strength dealing with the zombie horde.”

With Shutraff having already expended a significant amount of his necromantic power, Karnak and his group were able to hold their own against him.

They narrowly escaped death several times, but they managed to endure. With the help of Serati, the Aura user, they defeated the demon and then beheaded Shutraff.

“We intentionally didn’t touch the corpse. After rescuing you, we planned to ask you to perform a purification ritual.”

“I see…”

Neither Alius nor Riltein could find any flaws in the story.

After all, everything he described had actually happened.

The city had indeed been thrown into chaos, there had been infighting, they had used that opportunity to sneak in, and Serati had indeed fought and defeated the demon. While it was actually Varos who had won, Serati’s body had been the one wielding the power.

The events were real, and the evidence was right there to see. There was no room for doubt.

All they could do was marvel at their good fortune.

“It truly seems like we were blessed by Hatoba’s favor.”

Of course, Serati, who knew the truth, was utterly exasperated.

‘Wow, no wonder necromancers are so hard to catch.’

By cleverly mixing truth with lies, it was almost impossible not to be deceived unless one knew the full story.

Afterwards, Alius quickly began the cleanup process.

The first task was to extract the *Doom of Darkness* from Shutraff’s corpse.

As he sealed the darkness with holy power, Alius clicked his tongue in astonishment.

“What an immense aura. It’s nearly ten times greater than what we’ve seen in the necromancers we’ve captured so far.”

Varos, watching from the side, felt a jolt of surprise. Hadn’t Karnak said it was thirty times greater?

[Young Master? Didn’t you say you just extracted the information and put the rest back?]

[I kept a bit extra, just in case. You never know when it might come in handy.]

[But didn’t you say you wouldn’t live like before?]

[That’s why I left that much behind. If it were the old me, I would’ve taken it all.]

[That’s not the point! What will you do if they find out you’ve been accumulating necromantic power?]

[Don’t worry. If I take my time, I can dissolve it all and convert it into chaos mana.]

Karnak’s core mindset remained unchanged.

He no longer sought the absolute power he once did. He only needed enough strength to survive in his new reality.

However, his definition of “enough” had grown somewhat broader.

To have enough power to protect his own territory and navigate through a world tainted with corruption.

[You never know when someone like Shutraff might show up again. I need to ensure my mana is strong enough to deal with such threats.]

[True, Young Master, you know what you’re doing. But right now, the important thing is not arousing Alius’s suspicion, right?]

[That won’t be a problem.]

Alius had never encountered a high-ranking necromancer like Shutraff before. Without a reference point, how could he tell if the dark mana was unusually powerful or not?

“Indeed… With this level of darkness, it makes sense he could use such formidable necromancy.”

To be suspicious, one had to know something to be suspicious about. Naturally, he accepted it without question.

After finishing their business, Karnak and his group left the mansion.

Alius then contacted the Flad family and the Hatoba Diocese of Trist City.

Even though Shutraff had taken control of the Trist Diocese, not all of the clergy had fallen into corruption. Alius selected those who were beyond suspicion to handle the aftermath of the incident.

Of course, those individuals would also need to be interrogated later to confirm their integrity, but for the time being, they were necessary.

There was no significant resistance. Too many of the Ranpelt family’s members had died the previous night, leaving no forces strong enough to oppose them.

Thus, Trist City quickly began to stabilize.

Amidst all this, there was one piece of news that surprised Alius.

“What? Serati has become a knight of the Zestrad Barony?”

There was nothing unusual about a warrior pledging their allegiance to a lord, but Serati wasn’t just any swordsman. He was an Aura user, no less.

“How did that happen?”

Alius asked in surprise, but quickly changed his expression.

That question could easily be rephrased as, “Why would someone as skilled as an Aura user become a knight for such a rural domain?” which was extremely impolite.

“No, I didn’t mean it that way…”

‘What do you mean, you didn’t? That’s exactly what you meant.’

Serati explained the situation with a wry smile.

“After last night’s events, I realized that Baron Karnak is a person worthy of my loyalty.”

He said that he had received great help from Karnak, and after witnessing his wisdom and character, he felt Karnak was a suitable lord to serve, so he swore an oath of loyalty to him.

More or less, that was the gist of his explanation.

And it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Great help? He did receive that.

Wisdom? Karnak certainly had immense wisdom as a necromancer.

Character? Well, he didn’t say Karnak was kind-hearted, just that he was someone worth serving.

‘I didn’t lie. I didn’t.’

With the situation in Trist City more or less settled, Karnak and his group left the city.

However, they didn’t head to Derat City with Alius and Riltein.

“In carrying out the goddess’s sacred duties, I have experienced much joy. But now, it’s time for me to return to my territory.”

The official reason was due to Serati.

“I’ve taken her as my knight, but it was only an informal appointment. To properly knight her, I need to return to my domain, don’t I?”

The real reason, however, was that he had already gathered enough of the *Doom of Darkness* for his needs, so there was no longer any reason to continue hunting necromancers.

“I see. Thank you for your cooperation thus far.”

Though he felt some regret, Alius said his goodbyes.

“May all the paths you walk be connected paths, and may Hatoba’s blessing be upon your journey.”

***

Serati followed Karnak, now her lord, to the Zestrad Barony.

Her mind remained in turmoil. The events of the previous night were beyond anything her understanding could explain.

After crossing mountains and rivers, they traveled for another half-day.

Eventually, Serati could no longer hold back.

“Who exactly are you?”

Even though her question seemed sudden, neither Karnak nor Varos were surprised. They had anticipated that she would ask something like this sooner or later.

They tried to give vague answers at first.

“I’m the Baron of Zestrad.”

“And I’m a knight of the Zestrad Barony.”

“Oh, and I secretly practice necromancy.”

“And I secretly help the Young Master when he uses necromancy.”

Of course, this wasn’t going to work.

“You know that’s not what I’m asking, don’t you?”

To be convinced, one had to be shown a reasonable amount of truth.

Karnak had destroyed an entire city, raised countless corpses, and conjured massive illusions.

Varos, who hadn’t even mastered aura, had demonstrated extraordinary swordsmanship and experience, possessed another’s body with ease, and even effortlessly wielded aura, ultimately defeating a high-ranking demon like Maznun.

There was no way such extraordinary feats could be explained away by simply saying they were secretly practicing necromancy.

Just considering the unbelievable knowledge and experience they had displayed was enough to prove that.

“You both look, at most, in your early twenties. Does that even make sense?”

Karnak and Varos shrugged their shoulders.

“Honestly, it doesn’t, does it?”

“It’s a bit much to ask you to believe it.”

Karnak stared intently at Serati.

She kept her eyes fixed sharply on them, waiting for an answer.

[What do you think, Varos? Should we tell her the truth?]

[Leaving her in the dark wouldn’t cause any issues, would it?]

[She might start guessing wildly and cause trouble. Besides, now that she’s bound to us, there’s no risk of betrayal.]

[Do you think she’ll even believe us if we tell her the truth?]

[Whether she believes it or not is up to her.]

[You have a point.]

Having made up his mind, Karnak’s expression turned serious.

“Alright, I’ll tell you the truth.”

Serati’s face hardened. Karnak and Varos continued with a grave tone.

“I once conquered the world.”

“And I helped him do it.”

Her previously stern expression twisted into one of utter bewilderment.

“…What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Yeah, that’s the normal reaction,” Karnak said with a bitter smile before continuing.

“Just hear me out.”