Monarch of Death

“Arise, O departed of the underworld…”

Dozens of summoning circles appeared on the floor of the corridor.

“…Driven by darkness, reveal your wicked fangs!”

With a clattering noise, dark shadows began to emerge.

Skeletons and half-decayed corpses armed with swords and shields. They were Skeletons and Ghouls, the symbols of a necromancer.

The disturbed dead let out painful groans.

“Uuuuuhhh…”

“Aaaahhhh…”

Alius shouted in anger.

“Cursed necromancer! How dare you defile the rest of the dead in such a way!”

Karnak, on the other hand, had a different thought.

‘What a diligent and hardworking fellow.’

Those unfamiliar with necromancers might think that corpses rise easily with a mere gesture. But as the saying goes, seeds must be sown for anything to grow.

The undead Cleo summoned now included 20 Skeletons and 10 Ghouls.

To prepare catalysts for such a number, he must have dug up at least 30 graves.

[Looks like he’s been diligently stockpiling, like a squirrel gathering acorns.]

Varos’s thoughts differed from Karnak’s as well.

[Hardworking, my foot! Do you think he dug up those graves himself? He probably ordered his underlings to do it.]

[Why are you so sure? He might have dug them up himself.]

[I know a necromancer quite well, and no matter what, he never moves a muscle. He always makes his servants do the grave digging.]

[Oh, really? So there’s another one like that besides me, huh?]

[…As expected, young master, you’re not one to be underestimated.]

[Huh? What do you mean?]

Despite their conversation, they were steadily preparing their formation.

Varos took the lead, blocking the corridor, while Karnak channeled his magical power into both hands. Focusing his mind, Alius began chanting a holy spell.

“O Hatoba, bestow your protection upon your servants!”

A divine light enveloped Karnak and Varos.

“Now, neither of you will be affected by the undead’s aura.”

At the same time, Varos’s longsword also gleamed white. It was imbued with the power to cut down the undead.

After bestowing the goddess’s blessing, Alius stepped back.

“Please buy me some time! During that moment, I will take care of them!”

* * *

The first to move was Varos.

“Hup!”

With a short exclamation, he jumped in between the skeletons, slashing left and right.

The skeleton soldiers reacted quickly as well.

They swung their rusted longswords, launching a continuous offensive.

The metallic sounds of clashing filled the air.

Clang! Clang, clang!

Karnak also cast a spell.

“Magic Arrow!”

A simple yet effective flash spell struck the charging group of ghouls directly.

Some of their limbs were severed upon impact. The force of the blow caused them to stagger back.

However, they didn’t fall. Being corpses, losing limbs wasn’t enough to stop their movement.

The corpses continued advancing towards Cleo, while Karnak and Varos fought on, protecting Alius.

Swinging his sword surrounded by holy light, Varos sent a magical message.

[So this is what a priest’s blessing feels like.]

[How is it?]

[It’s similar to the Berserk curse you used to cast, sir. No, I should say it’s exactly the same, just a different color.]

Aside from the brilliant light instead of dark, Varos couldn’t really tell the difference.

[Well, the curse I cast added rationality to the Berserk effect. If a berserker rampages calmly while maintaining their reason, there’s not much difference from a holy knight, is there?]

[I don’t think a holy knight would agree with that opinion, though.]

Blocking two charging skeletons at once, Varos asked casually.

[How about you, sir? This is your first time receiving a blessing, right?]

[It was worth checking.]

Karnak glanced at Alius with a faint smile.

[It seems they haven’t noticed at all.]

Even if it was indistinguishable from mana, the origin of chaotic energy was ultimately necromantic power.

If this collided with a priest’s blessing, who knew what side effects might occur?

In theory, there was no problem, but when had theory and reality ever perfectly aligned?

[What would you have done if side effects had really occurred?]

[That’s why I purposely arranged this situation.]

If he had just gone to any priest and received a blessing, he would have had to silence them if any unexpected side effects occurred.

But now?

[With necromantic energy overflowing everywhere, it doesn’t stand out.]

Just like he pinned everything on Randolph, he could also blame the necromancer.

Even if someone sensed something suspicious about Karnak, he could just claim it was because of a curse.

[I shouldn’t live like I used to, after all.]

[Oh, for once you’re actually making a human-like decision. What’s gotten into you?]

[…I’ve always tried to live like a human.]

Meanwhile, Cleo was frowning.

‘What is this strange feeling?’

At a glance, it seemed like a typical adventurers’ battle.

The warrior held the front line to protect his comrades, the mage cast spells from the rear, and the cleric supported the battlefield.

Yes, there was nothing particularly unusual about it.

It was a steady and traditional team-based combat style.

‘But something…’

What bothered Cleo was the attitude of the two fighting against the undead.

They weren’t fighting half-heartedly, but they also didn’t seem tense. Their expressions were so natural, even comfortable, that it was strange.

Come to think of it, he had seen similar expressions before.

The old baker Errol, who had been baking bread in his hometown for 20 years, had that exact same look on his face when he started kneading the dough every morning.

It seemed like he was just going through the motions, yet the baker’s dough was always perfectly kneaded and glossy.

In contrast, no matter how much effort and care his apprentice put in, the dough always seemed lacking in some way.

‘So… those guys have fought undead that often?’

Cleo let out a small chuckle.

It was a ridiculous thought.

‘They’re just oblivious to the situation.’

Still, there was no denying that they were strong.

By now, the horde of skeleton soldiers and ghouls that had been summoned were almost entirely defeated.

But it didn’t matter.

After all, those guys were just bait to buy time.

“They were quite skilled.”

With a sneer, Cleo formed a seal with both hands.

“But this was just a warm-up…”

Necromantic power painted a black magic circle in the air, emanating a dark hue.

“Now, taste the true power of darkness!”

The summoning circle began to expel a massive entity.

“Come forth, beast of hell! Descend upon this land according to my will!”

A gigantic demon, its entire body stained red, set foot in the corridor.

It had a fearsome appearance with enormous horns, a body covered in bulging red muscles, and rough battle hammers gripped in both hands.

Standing close to two meters tall, it made the corridor feel cramped.

“Grrrr…”

The summoned demon spewed flames as it spoke.

“Contractor, what do you desire?”

“The death of those fools!”

“It shall be as you wish…”

An intense killing intent spread out with the demon’s terrifying aura.

Cleo grinned with satisfaction, fully expecting their expressions to finally contort in fear.

“Ah!”

“Finally!”

But Cleo’s expectations were completely shattered.

Varos and Karnak, instead of showing fear, were actually beaming with excitement.

* * *

Varos adjusted his grip on his sword and grinned slyly.

[Now we can finally get some proper practice in, sir.]

Karnak felt the same way.

[Indeed.]

Skeletons and ghouls weren’t particularly strong. To be blunt, they were barely different from regular soldiers.

Their utility lay in how easy they were to create and the fact that they could turn fallen enemies into allies, making them valuable assets in an army. But individually, their combat prowess was ordinary.

The reason seasoned warriors sometimes fell to these low-tier undead was due to a lack of familiarity.

In terms of attack power and movement, they weren’t much different from ordinary human soldiers. But when it came to defense, there was a significant difference.

Being corpses, they continued to move even after losing limbs or having their heads severed. Warriors accustomed only to fighting the living might assume they had finished off an enemy, only to be caught off guard when the undead kept coming.

There was also the psychological burden of fighting something that didn’t die no matter how much you stabbed or slashed it.

But if you looked at it coldly, the ability to keep moving despite losing limbs wasn’t that impressive.

A severed limb didn’t reattach itself, after all.

If you cut off an arm, the enemy was left with one arm; if you severed both legs, they became immobile. They didn’t die, but their combat power was significantly reduced.

Once you became accustomed to the fact that the dead could still move, they weren’t much of a threat.

Karnak and Varos were among the most experienced fighters against the undead in the world, making these low-tier undead unworthy opponents.

The demon that had just been summoned, however, was a different story.

[What rank would that demon be?]

[It’s a low-rank demon, but that’s perfect for our current level.]

[True, since we’re starting over.]

They were no longer the Necromancer King or the Death Knight Lord. At this point, they needed to reassess their strength and refine their senses.

As a training opponent, this demon was just what they needed.

Varos let out a battle cry full of determination.

“Demon! I’ll take you on!”

Just as he was about to charge forward—

“Light of Hatoba, cleanse this evil!”

Alius slammed his staff into the ground, unleashing a massive holy radiance.

“Holy Dispel!”

Wings of light spread across the corridor’s ceiling and walls. The brilliant light engulfed the demon’s entire body.

The demon, who had been exuding a murderous aura, looked around in panic.

“This, this is—!”

A rift opened in space. With a scream, the demon’s crimson body began to be sucked into the void.

“Gah! A reverse summoning!”

The demon’s form vanished.

The demonic aura and killing intent that had filled the area also dissipated.

With “Holy Dispel,” the holy spell that erases darkness, Alius had obliterated the demon summoning ritual itself.

Varos, who had been about to charge forward with enthusiasm, blinked in confusion.

“…Huh?”

Alius shouted coldly, “It’s useless, necromancer! Before the light of the goddess, all wickedness shall wither away!”

Cleo, having lost his trump card so easily, shook his head in disbelief.

“H-how did he figure it out?”

The holy spells used to banish undead and those used to dispel demon summoning are fundamentally different. Yet Alius had been preparing the appropriate spell even before the demon was summoned.

This meant that he had seen through the fact that the skeletons and ghouls were merely distractions, and that the real attack would be a demon summoning.

Indeed, Alius had anticipated everything.

“Your actions in this village revealed it all, necromancer.”

As an experienced inquisitor, he could deduce the specialties of his opponents based on the crimes committed by other necromancers.

Necromancers who spread undead usually turned entire villages into living hells, often by spreading plagues.

Cleo, however, had bewitched the entire village and lured the maidens here.

“This means your specialty lies in black magic, specifically in offering sacrifices to gain power from demons, doesn’t it?”

As he turned to face his companions with a triumphant expression, he continued, “Now, let’s put an end to th—”

Alius suddenly froze mid-sentence.

Both Karnak and Varos were openly displaying expressions of disappointment.

“…Did I do something wrong?”

The two, startled, quickly tried to compose themselves.

“No, not at all.”

“We were just… momentarily stunned by how you took down such a massive demon so easily.”

They tried to play it off, but it was clear they couldn’t hide their disappointment.

[Ah, there goes our practice.]

[Let’s just finish this, sir.]

Judging by Cleo’s state, he had very little necromantic energy left. They could just walk up and slice him down, and it would be over.

Varos began striding forward, his longsword exuding a cold, menacing aura.

“Surrender, necromancer.”

Seeing death approach, Cleo’s face twisted in grotesque desperation.

“It’s not… it’s not over yet!”

He reached deep within, pulling forth the darkest energy, tainting his very soul as he sought more power.

“Arghhh!”

With a horrifying scream, Cleo’s entire body began to distort.

His limbs stretched out, his clothes tore apart, and his very flesh grew in size.

In no time, he had transformed into a monstrous figure, letting out a beastly roar.

“Graaaaah!”

There was no longer any trace of the human Cleo in that spot.

What stood there now was another demon, almost identical to the one that had been summoned earlier.

“Demon Knight! He still had that much power left?”

Alius was horrified. He turned to warn his companions.

“He’s used a demonification spell! Everyone, be ca—”

But once again, his words trailed off.

Karnak and Varos’s eyes were gleaming with excitement.

‘Wait, why are they so happy?’

* * *

Finally, the opportunity for practice had returned.

Opportunities like these were to be cherished.

[Let’s take him down quickly before that priest interferes again!]

[Agreed, sir!]

Varos leaped into action.

“Hoo…”

He exhaled lightly as he dove straight into the embrace of the demonified Cleo.

“What the—! You wretch!”

Cleo, startled, frantically swung his massive arms, but it was no use.

No matter how powerful the attack, it was meaningless if it didn’t connect.

Effortlessly dodging every strike, Varos delivered a relentless series of blows. Demonic blood splattered everywhere, and in the blink of an eye, Cleo’s body was torn to shreds.

Simultaneously, Karnak unleashed his spells.

“Fireball, Magic Arrow, Lightning Shock.”

These were common, low-level attack spells, but their timing and angles were flawless.

Every single spell struck the demon’s weak points with pinpoint accuracy, as if orchestrated in advance.

With each explosion, Cleo’s agonized screams echoed through the corridor.

“Gah! Aaargh! Uwaaaah!”

After about a minute, the demonification wore off, and Cleo, now reverted to his human form, collapsed in a mangled heap.

[Ah, that was a good warm-up.]

[Quality over quantity, after all.]

It had been a short but satisfying practice session. With a contented smile, Varos stomped on Cleo’s back.

“Guh!”

Then, with an innocent expression, he turned to Alius and asked, “So, what do we do now? Kill him? Or capture him?”

Alius, who had been watching in stunned silence, could only stand there, dumbfounded.

‘My god…’

The situation had ended before he could even do anything.

‘Just who are these people?’