Monarch of Death

Baros and Serati leaped forward.

“Hyah!”

“Hah!”

Swinging their swords continuously, they aimed for the front and back of the Arch Lich.

Demphis still hadn’t moved. He merely raised his pitch-black shield to block their attacks.

Boom!

With a thunderous sound, the two were pushed back.

A mocking laughter seeped through the skeleton’s jaw.

“That won’t be enough to pierce my darkness.”

Taking advantage of the moment, Karnak unleashed his spell.

“Crawling flames, Fire Snake!”

The fire roared, transforming into three serpents made of flame.

The fire snakes slithered across the floor of the hall, closing in on Demphis.

Fwoosh!

A strange gleam flickered in Arch Lich’s blue eyes.

“Well, I suppose this could break through.”

Then he raised his golden staff.

“Capturing storm, Blizzard Claw.”

A storm of cold wind swept through, forming into the shape of a giant clawed hand.

The icy talons tore apart the approaching fire snakes.

Boom!

Heat and cold mixed, releasing thick clouds of steam.

Covering his face, Karnak shuddered.

“Tch, I guess magic won’t work against him after all…”

Laven and Laficel had been observing the situation closely.

Neither dared recklessly charge at the Arch Lich.

‘This isn’t a battle I can carelessly get involved in.’

‘But I can at least interfere!’

Laven pulled out a throwing dagger from his coat.

He wasn’t a knight but a treasure hunter, and over time, he’d accumulated quite a few such small weapons.

Laficel was holding a rope sword, mimicking Baros. Since chains were too heavy, she had opted for a rope instead.

Millia cast a holy spell on the two of them.

“Let the swords of the heavens be with them!”

The daggers imbued with divine power targeted the Arch Lich’s back.

Laficel’s rope sword, faintly glowing, sliced through the air.

But all of it was blocked by the curtain of darkness.

The clash between divine power and necromantic power resulted in a series of explosions.

Bang! Boom!

Laven and Laficel kept fighting from a distance.

They knew better than to engage such a powerful mage directly, knowing full well what kind of fate might await them.

Demphis clicked his nonexistent tongue while looking at Laven.

“Tch, I can’t go all out on them.”

He tapped his golden wand on the ground.

“Be frozen to your bones. Freezing Ground.”

Frost spread across the hall’s floor, chilling the air and creeping toward Laven and Laficel.

“Huh?”

“Ah!”

Their legs froze in succession, immobilizing their bodies.

At that moment—

“The flames of illusion will melt the shackles of the north wind!”

Karnak’s spell activated, dispelling the ice.

He had anticipated Demphis’ trick and prepared an ice resistance spell in advance.

Now freed, Laven and Laficel quickly retreated beyond the Arch Lich’s range.

‘It’s as if he knows my magic?’

Demphis, intrigued, continued casting.

“Brilliant spears of ice, Frost Spear.”

The cold that had settled on the ground condensed into a massive spear of ice. Its glittering, jewel-like blade shot toward Karnak.

‘Oh no!’

Having just cast an ice resistance spell, he couldn’t immediately invoke another one. There was a slight delay.

‘Well, nothing to do but…’

Just as he was about to resort to necromancy, Baros’ battle aura sword shattered the ice spear first.

Crash!

Baros landed between the shattered pieces of the spear and glanced at Karnak.

“Are you alright, young master?”

“Thanks to you, yes.”

Karnak sighed in relief and glared at Demphis.

Arch Lich’s intentions were clear based on the spells he had just cast.

He intended to freeze Laven and Laficel and then skewer them with the ice spears. He was clearly aiming to kill them.

‘Demphis… you bastard…’

Muttering the name he had given him, Karnak was certain of one thing:

‘He doesn’t recognize me.’

Nor did Baros, it seemed.

But he seemed to have caught on Laven.

‘And what about Laficel?’

He briefly considered probing Laficel, but revealing her identity wasn’t particularly appealing either.

Millia interrupted Karnak’s thoughts.

As Demphis’ magic surged toward Laficel, she cried out.

“Be careful, Laficel!”

It wasn’t really her fault. In such situations, reactions like this were inevitable.

Indeed, Demphis paused for a moment.

He then carefully scrutinized the ashen-haired girl.

“…Laficel?”

Karnak watched his reaction closely.

‘Does he recognize her?’

It wasn’t easy to read the expressions of a skeleton face.

Even for someone who had lived as a skeleton for decades, seeing one’s own face wasn’t exactly a common occurrence.

However, if someone had observed that skeletal face for years, it might be a different story.

[What do you think, Baros?]

[I think he recognizes her, but he seems unsure if this girl in front of him is really Laficel.]

Indeed, Demphis’ attacks on Laficel noticeably softened.

Like Laven, he seemed intent on capturing her rather than killing her.

‘It’s good that Laficel is relatively safe… but…’

Considering the intention of capturing her alive, it was hard to feel entirely relieved.

‘What’s going on with Demphis and Elezar?’

***

Destruction storms raged throughout the massive hall.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Despite the chaos, Karnak and his party managed to survive.

Demphis, who had been relentlessly casting spells, finally spoke in admiration.

“Impressive. If I weren’t here, the Wellard Branch might have been destroyed.”

Hugot, on the other hand, looked anxious.

It wasn’t Demphis he was worried about—it was Karnak and his group.

“Isn’t there some way to capture them? They could be excellent offerings…”

Just moments ago, merely surviving seemed like a dream. Now, with a bit of safety, greed began to creep in.

Demphis shook his head.

“They would indeed make excellent offerings… but…”

There was a risk of things going awry if he tried to capture them. It was more certain to just take what he needed.

The Arch Lich’s gaze shifted to Laven and Laficel.

“They are important.”

Then, he turned to Millia and the unconscious Edia…

“That woman is necessary for the church.”

Finally, his gaze landed on Karnak, Baros, and Serati.

“But those three are too strong to be bothered using as offerings.”

He seemed to care little about Millia, but his intentions for the other three were clear: he planned to kill them outright.

Baros subtly sent a message to Karnak.

[This definitely seems like the governor Demphis we knew, doesn’t it?]

[It does.]

Reflecting on it, Demphis had always been that way.

Even after becoming an undead lich, retaining only his bones, his personality remained cautious and conservative, with strangely human-like tendencies.

‘So it is the Demphis I knew…’

But why did Demphis fail to recognize Karnak?

The Arch Lich raised his golden wand and spoke coldly.

“You must know when to give up.”

Light radiated from the tip of his staff.

“Blazing light, Arcane Blast.”

A dazzling beam of light tore through the hall.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Caught in the explosion, Karnak and his party were tossed like leaves in the wind.

Barely managing to shield themselves with aura and divine defenses, they could feel the grimness of their situation.

“Why is an undead lich so powerful with Arcane magic?”

Baros grumbled, but Karnak’s expression darkened.

‘Just as I thought…’

When an aura user retains their strength upon becoming undead, they become a death knight. When a mage retains their abilities after becoming undead, they become an Arch Lich.

But neither death knights nor Arch Liches typically use pure aura or mana.

Aura, the essence of life, transforms into dark battle aura, and mana becomes necromantic power.

Yet, dark battle aura and necromantic power could still produce the same effects as living swordsmanship or magic.

So, even though an Arch Lich could theoretically use all their former magic, they usually avoided Arcane magic.

Pure mana-based spells didn’t mesh well with the power of darkness.

‘But this time, there was no reduction in its power.’

It was magic.

Pure, powerful magic.

‘Like other cultists, he’s controlling both the power of darkness and mana.’

This also explained why Karnak hadn’t sensed the trap that had ensnared Edia.

No existing necromancy could fool the former Death King, Karnak. At least, that’s what Karnak believed.

But what about a spell that could fool Baron Karnak, the 7th Circle mage?

There were plenty.

Any mage of the 8th Circle or higher could deceive him.

And Demphis was a master of the 9th Circle.

‘There’s no way I could detect 9th Circle magic in my current state.’

If Karnak had been using necromancy, maybe he could have, but that wasn’t the case now, so the outcome was obvious.

‘I guess I need to account for this in the future. Things have changed too much for me to act as I once did.’

In any case, now wasn’t the time to think about the future.

The immediate problem was how to deal with the Arch Lich standing in front of him.

As Karnak eyed the monstrous being, brimming with necromantic power and mana, he pondered his next move.

‘The Redeemer of Necromancy won’t work…’

The Redeemer of Necromancy turned an opponent’s necromancy against them.

But Demphis wasn’t using necromancy.

His existence itself was due to necromancy, but he fought entirely with magic.

The only use of necromantic power was in his defense through the curtain of darkness, which was no different than a human moving their limbs.

It was too simple to be exploited by necromancy.

‘Attacking with chaos magic doesn’t seem like a winning strategy either…’

The difference in strength between Karnak, who had just reached the 7th Circle, and Demphis, a 9th Circle master, was glaringly obvious.

‘Should I just use necromancy?’

This would reveal his identity to Laven, Laficel, and Millia, but that wasn’t a big issue.

‘I could just erase their memories afterward…’

But even that didn’t sit well with him.

For Karnak to properly wield necromancy, he needed adequate preparation.

He had spent a long time trying to live like a normal person, and as a result, his necromantic power wasn’t as readily available.

‘Looks like I’m paying for trying to live a good life now!’

He had no choice.

He’d have to temporarily abandon his good deeds and act like he did in the old days.

“Laven! Laficel!”

Karnak turned and shouted.

“Run!”

The two looked back at him.

“What?”

“But how can we leave you behind…?”

“And where are we supposed to run to…?”

“That bastard doesn’t intend to kill you! So don’t worry, just turn your backs and go!”

Karnak quickly added.

“And make us an escape route while you’re at it! Let’s see how he reacts!”

Finally, they seemed to understand.

After all, Laven and Laficel were of little use in the current battle.

But as bait, they were invaluable.

Though the reasons were unclear, they had already noticed Demphis’ reluctance to kill them.

“Alright!”

Laven and Laficel dashed toward the collapsed passageway of the hall.

Watching them go, Demphis let out a laugh.

“Hah?”

It was a strategy that seemed reasonable and logical, but it also felt strangely cheap.

‘Why does their behavior feel so familiar?’