Capítulo 155: CHAPTER 154
Hugot was moving swiftly.
The altar had already been set up in the central chapel. However, to adjust it for the descent ritual, a considerable number of necromancers were needed.
Because of the attack from Karnak's group, many of his subordinates had been lost. Now, apart from Hugot, only four dark priests remained in the Wellard branch.
"We're short on manpower."
So, he resurrected the dead necromancers as undead.
When necromancy is involved, the death of comrades doesn't necessarily mean a loss of power.
"When Lord Tesranak descends, he will grant you new life. Until then, serve the cult faithfully!"
"...Yes."
"...Understood."
Even the subordinates, revived as ghouls and elder ghouls with their intelligence intact, were deployed to prepare for the descent ritual.
In total, eight necromancers orchestrated the vast mana of darkness, spreading a barrier around the entire altar for the ritual.
Watching this, Hugot sighed with relief.
"At least things are progressing according to plan."
Laven Strauss from the Strauss family would be used as the sacrificial offering for the descent ritual.
This plan had been prepared for over half a year, ever since Demphis descended from the main temple.
It was fortunate that Laven was the target, not the eldest, Emile. If it had been Emile, the heir to the Martial King, no ordinary force could dare to even touch him.
On the other hand, Laven was not an aura user, just a knight.
Though his skills were quite exceptional, they weren't beyond Hugot's ability to subdue.
However, the situation was far from ideal.
Laven happened to be a member of the King's Order of the Etrial Kingdom.
That meant he was part of a specialized organization that dealt with cults like the cult of the Dark God.
Moreover, members of the King's Order rarely acted alone.
Waiting for a time when he wasn't on a King's Order mission was even more problematic.
After all, he was part of the Strauss family. It was easier to deal with him when he was with the King's Order.
They had been watching for an opportunity for a while.
And just when the Wellard branch's location was exposed, and they were being hunted by the Etrial Kingdom, the situation got worse.
At first, it was merely annoying, as Hugot thought, "Ah, what a headache. This is frustrating."
Then, they received information that Starr was chosen to cooperate with the Yustil King's Order.
Starr was from the same battalion as Laven and also a fellow treasure hunter who had joined the King's Order.
In other words, if something happened to Starr, Laven Strauss would naturally have to step in!
From there, the plan progressed smoothly.
An unfortunate accident befell Starr, Laven Strauss cooperated with the Yustil Kingdom's King's Order, and naturally, he ended up at the Wellard branch.
What they hadn't anticipated was that the Yustil Kingdom forces would be far stronger than expected.
"If Lord Demphis hadn't arrived in time, things would have gone terribly wrong."
Muttering to himself, Hugot looked inside the prison.
He saw the unconscious bodies of Laven, Laficel, Millia, and Edia, who had been put into 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 bewitching spell he had cast on her had completely gone off track.
At this rate, Edia would end up pledging her loyalty to someone other than the cult—a third party, most likely someone from the Yustil Kingdom's King's Order.
Well, in this case, it wasn't a huge problem.
Once the object of her loyalty disappeared, casting the bewitching spell again would be easier.
And without a doubt, they would come to rescue these prisoners.
"If they show up again..."
Thinking of the particularly annoying black-haired young man, Hugot ground his teeth.
"I'll offer them all as sacrifices and convert them into my power!"
***
Outside the collapsed chamber of Maleficus Dungeon, three people were crouched amidst the ruins of sand and columns.
Karnak, Baros, and Serati had barely escaped from Demphis' final attack.
"Hoo, we survived because it was Demphis."
Looking at his cracked wand, Karnak clicked his tongue.
He was truly lucky.
It was a spell from the Dallas family that he had extensively studied. That's why, in that brief moment, he had been able to reverse the formula and deflect the power.
"If it had been pure destructive magic like fire or lightning, we'd all be dead spirits by now."
Serati shuddered.
"Yeah, we all almost died."
Baros shook his head.
"No, we wouldn't have been finished."
"Huh? Didn't we almost die?"
"Yes, we almost died."
"You said we would have become dead spirits…"
"And we almost became dead spirits, too."
There was a significant difference in how they interpreted the terms.
For a true necromancer, 'death' and 'becoming a spirit' are different forms of existence, not the end.
Karnak rested his chin on his hand and mumbled.
"If I hadn't blocked it, our bodies would have been completely destroyed."
After becoming undead spirits, specifically, undead specters, they would have drifted through the dungeon's malevolent energy, accumulating power. They would have gathered corpses from the surrounding monsters and assembled undead bodies, inhabiting them.
"Of course, if that had happened, our lives as humans would have been over, so yeah, it would've been a big problem."
Rubbing his limbs, Karnak let out a deep sigh of relief.
"Really, we were incredibly lucky."
The thought of losing the precious body he had just obtained made his legs tremble.
"But we've lost our other companions, haven't we?"
Baros mentioned Laven, Laficel, and the others.
"How are we going to rescue them?"
They hadn't been taken to be killed, so they were safe for now. But they couldn't be left like that.
Karnak scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"At the moment, I don't have any particular ideas…"
Serati's expression hardened.
"Didn't I say before? To save our companions, we may have to resort to some bad deeds."
Of course, she had never phrased it that way.
But these guys had interpreted it that way, so it was easier to explain it in terms they'd understand.
"Isn't it time for you to return to being a necromancer?"
Of course, that would mean revealing Karnak's true identity to Laven, Laficel, and Millia.
"Still, if we just erase a little of their memories, we might be able to manage…"
Karnak and Baros looked at Serati in amazement.
"Serati, did you really just say that?"
"Yeah, that's usually something I'd say."
"Well, what else can we do? We have to save Laficel, don't we?"
Serati's irritated reply made Karnak chuckle.
"Yeah, there shouldn't be any problems with Laven, Millia, or Edia. We can probably erase about an hour of their memories without any side effects."
But he wasn't sure if the same would work for Laficel.
"Her mental state is so delicate that it's risky to tamper with her mind…"
In any case, it was a problem to worry about after rescuing them.
The real issue at hand wasn't that.
"I said earlier that I don't have any ideas, right?"
Karnak spoke in a serious tone, still resting his chin on his hand.
"I said that based on the assumption that I would use necromancy."
***
Back when Karnak faced Bishop Shutraff in Trist City, he had immediately acted as a necromancer.
Even when he had no answer as a mage, he had absolute confidence in his ability to overwhelm his opponent as a necromancer.
But now...
"Even if I use necromancy, I still don't have a way to defeat Demphis."
An Arch Lich is a monster capable of destroying an entire city on its own. Add to that mastery of the ninth circle of magic, and they become a one-man army.
"No matter how I calculate it, we'll lose if we fight him now."
"So, what are you suggesting? Should we just abandon them and run?"
Serati's question was meant as sarcasm, but Karnak nodded seriously.
"That's what I would have done in the past."
He really would have.
He never threw himself into a disadvantageous situation.
It's not that he hadn't fought against overwhelming odds—he had the whole continent as his enemy once—but he never took on a fight he could escape from.
Hostages? Companions? Subordinates?
He abandoned them without hesitation.
No, he didn't even think of it as abandonment. The moment the situation turned against him, he considered it a loss of power.
Baros muttered with a serious expression.
"Indeed, we've never risked our lives to save anyone."
Serati frowned.
"But haven't we risked our lives to save each other?"
Of course, they had.
Even Karnak saved those who were truly important to him. The only difference was that there was only ever one person inside that circle.
The same was true for Baros.
"So that's what it amounts to, huh?"
Suddenly, Karnak's expression turned chilling.
"If it had been you, Serati, I would have thought about it. You're close enough to be inside that circle now."
But in the end, he would have given up.
Against an opponent like that, with odds like these, even Serati would have been considered "a lost asset."
And the others?
Laven? Millia? Edia?
They were just people he knew, humans he was slightly closer to than others.
They weren't worth risking the precious human body.
"As for Laficel, yeah, I admit she's on my mind."
She was, like Serati, someone close to being inside Karnak's circle.
He was concerned but not certain.
To be honest, if this were the old Karnak, he wouldn't even be thinking about this dilemma.
He would have already abandoned them and been focused solely on how to escape safely.
"But that would just be living the way I used to."
His real worry wasn't about his companions' safety.
"Am I supposed to stop living the way I used to, even at the cost of my life?"
Serati answered firmly.
"Yes."
Her response was so obvious and certain that Karnak was caught off guard.
"Wait, are you saying it's natural for me to risk my life?"
"Of course."
"Why?"
"Because the life you fought so hard to protect, even turning back time for, wouldn't be worth much otherwise, right?"
Karnak was momentarily speechless.
Serati continued in a calm voice as he remained silent.
"Not everyone lives taking such risks. In fact, most people abandon their comrades when their own lives are at stake."
But even those people are more human than Karnak.
Why is that?
"I don't think you'd feel guilty about abandoning them, Lord Karnak."
"Yeah, probably not."
She was practically insulting him to his face, but he didn't react.
Watching him, Serati showed a bitter expression.
"I didn't understand before. I used to think, 'Isn't this just how life is sometimes?'"
But now, she could say with certainty.
Because she had seen Karnak.
She knew what happened when someone stopped living like a human.
"You always say something, don't you?"
Whenever he was tempted to overindulge in food or drink, Karnak reminded himself.
It always starts small, but by the time you realize it, your body's already ruined.
"Well, that doesn't just apply to the body."
This time, let it go and do better next time? Can he really do that? After over a hundred years of not being able to live that way?
"The moment you abandon them…"
In a subdued voice, Serati spoke clearly.
"You'll be abandoning your soul, too."
A long silence followed.
Serati waited quietly without saying another word.
After a long time, a wry smile appeared on Karnak's lips.
"Damn it, looks like I've got to save them."
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