Karnak, Monarch of Death-Chapter 196: Triumphant Return (2)

Demphis had admitted to not knowing the ritual for breaking it down. And that wasn't a lie. He couldn't have lied under the contract's binding mark. So why did Maloka know? The answer turned out to be surprisingly simple.

"Well... actually..." Maloka hesitated for a moment before answering in a small voice. "Before the time regression, Lord Tesranach called me aside and taught me."

"Huh? Just you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

The reason was, frankly, kind of pathetic.

—Maloka, you die way too easily. You need some kind of insurance, or you'll get yourself killed before completing the mission.

"That's what he said."

"Ah..." Karnak understood. It made perfect sense.

Maloka had already died three times at Lapicel's hands before barely managing to resurrect himself. Demphis, on the other hand, was an absolute powerhouse. There had never been any concern about his survival.

But Maloka? The moment he entered a fight, it was a constant state of anxiety.

"Yeah... If I were Tesranach, I'd have made sure to prepare for that too."

By now, Maloka was aware of Karnak and Varos's past.

Still looking somewhat dejected, he asked, "Was I really that unreliable?"

"In combat? Yeah."

"I see."

But there was something else Karnak still didn't understand. "Why did you go out of your way to capture me during the fight?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, I get that I was the target, but..." Karnak gestured toward the young man with deep tawny brown hair standing behind him. "What about Leven?"

It was one thing to kill Varos, Serati, or Lapicel. There were no consequences to that. But Leven's body was a different matter. Wouldn't he need it in the future? Shouldn't it have been secured?

"He can't stay inside Emil's body forever, can he?" Karnak questioned.

Maloka gave an answer that Karnak found difficult to understand. "I actually checked on that myself."

He explained that Jedex, the Fallen Pope of the Sun, had made a firm declaration. They only needed Karnak, and no one else.

"They said Sir Leven's body was no longer needed. Whether we secured it or not didn't matter anymore. So I simply stopped paying attention to it."

"That's an odd claim." Karnak furrowed his brow.

It was true that Emil's potential surpassed Leven’s. But no matter how gifted Emil was, his soul would never align perfectly with a foreign body the way it did with his own.

"What's their angle? He won't last long like that."

At least one thing was clear. Neither Demphis nor Maloka knew the whole truth.

Tesranach sure is secretive. Then again, considering he’s another me, maybe that’s only natural.

Now that their business was finished, Karnak gave his next order. "For now, stay hidden nearby. Demphis will be here in a few days."

There was something that needed to be done once both archliches were together. As he melted into the darkness, Maloka bowed his head. "Yes, my master."

***

It had been a long time since Karnak had returned to his domain. A long time since he had stepped foot inside his mansion. And in that time, he had accumulated a great deal of wealth. So what needed to be done first?

"Open the stores! Slaughter the cattle and pigs!"

It was a lord's duty to comfort his people after their hardships and to lavishly entertain the honored guests who had helped reclaim the territory.

"And of course, we should treat ourselves to some fresh meat," said Karnak.

"With all the traveling we've done, we haven't had a proper meal in ages," Varos agreed.

Karnak and Varos licked their lips in anticipation. Just thinking about the thick, juicy flavor of freshly grilled beef made their mouths water. But there was a problem.

"There are no cattle or pigs to slaughter."

Karnak blinked in surprise upon hearing the unexpected words from Katail, the head servant. "...What?"

"The cultists took them all."

"Why would a lich need to eat?"

Not to mention, all their undead minions had been zombies or skeletons. They didn't even need food.

"Don't tell me a handful of necromancers ate all the livestock."

Of course, that wasn't the case.

"They sent them to their main headquarters."

Since the Cultists of the Black God lived in secrecy, they were always struggling with food shortage. So they had seized the opportunity to steal whatever they could.

"They didn't just take the cattle and pigs. They took the goats, the horses—everything."

If they wanted to resume farming, they would have to buy new livestock from outside the territory. Katail explained the situation with a grim expression.

"These bastards really did a number on us," Karnak grumbled.

"The chickens are still here. They said they needed eggs, so they left those alone."

"So they wanted fresh eggs but had no issue taking everything else?"

It wasn't an unfixable problem. They had money, and there were merchant guilds. It would take time, but it was manageable.

But right now, I want fresh meat, meat so juicy that the red juices drip down with every bite!

After a brief moment of consideration, Karnak adjusted his command. "Slaughter the cattle and pigs from Deventor."

"Deventor?" Katail's face twisted in disbelief. "You mean to tell me that Viscount Deventor will send us his livestock?"

"No, I mean tell him to send them. Right now."

"And will he oblige?"

The feud between Zestrad and Deventor had been going on for generations. At this point, they were practically mortal enemies. Karnak himself only became lord because Deventor had wiped out his family.

Karnak let out a mocking snort."What are they going to do if they refuse?"

In the past, Zestrad had cowered in fear of Deventor. The barony had been weak and poor, and they had been forced to tread carefully.

But now? Karnak alone was a seventh circle mage, and under his command were two aura users. That alone was more than enough to overwhelm Deventor's entire territory.

And on top of that, he had the perfect justification. Who was currently in the Zestrad territory? None other than the Commander and Vice Commander of the King's Order, and they served directly under the royal family.

There was also an eighth circle mage with significant influence in the magical community, as well as a high inquisitor overseeing the entire northern branch of the Hatoba Order. With such distinguished guests visiting the north, was it really unreasonable to expect Deventor to contribute some livestock for a nourishing meal?

"Deventor doesn't have the guts to refuse."

"But it's not like they have much livestock to spare either."

"That's their problem."

It was customary for neighboring territories to lend aid when a major disturbance occurred in a nearby domain. In fact, the Zestrad Reclamation Army had been composed of central forces from the Kingdom of Eustil and reinforcements from northern territories. But among them, there had been no troops from Deventor.

Karnak pursed his lips as he glared westward out the window. "There's no reason to be considerate of neighbors who didn't even send reinforcements."

***

After hearing the situation, Varos had a strange look on his face. "Actually... it turns out they really couldn't send reinforcements."

"Really? Something happened in Deventor?"

"Well..."

The Deventor family had already been thrown into turmoil once before when Sir Randolph was exposed as a cultist. To smooth things over back then, the viscount had been forced to spend a fortune in damage control. But a few months ago, yet another suspicious incident had surfaced.

"What happened this time?" Karnak asked him.

"Dark rituals were detected within Deventor's lands."

As a result, a large number of priests had been dispatched, the entire family had undergone thorough investigation, and the viscount himself had been summoned to the capital.

"Wait, were they actually practicing necromancy in secret?" Karnak said.

"No, not exactly..." Varos responded.

It was Karnak's doing. "Oh... that thing?"

The traces of his necromancy had been discovered when he had conducted a spatial exploration in search of the Shadow of Doom and encountered Tesranach.

"Right... I didn't exactly try to be subtle about it." He had cast those spells knowing full well they might draw attention. "Still, I'm surprised our territory wasn't suspected."

"Well, young master, your reputation in the King's Order speaks for itself."

Not to mention, the investigation had been ordered by Alius.

"There's no way he'd suspect our domain. He's known you for too long," Varos said.

"Come to think of it, Alius never mentioned anything about this to me." Karnak paused for a moment but quickly realized why. "Now that I think about it, he wouldn't have had a reason to."

Alius had no obligation to report every suspicious activity in his neighboring territories. It had nothing to do with Karnak, after all. As a result, the Deventor family had been going through an especially difficult time. Their power was weakening, their wealth had dwindled, and their military was stretched thin. They weren't in a position to send reinforcements. They were struggling just to defend against northern monsters.

"The Deventor family really has it rough..." Listening from the side, Serati let out a long sigh. "They keep getting caught up in misfortunes just because they live next to us."

"They're the ones who attacked us first!" Karnak shouted.

"Still... this time, we're the ones at fault." Serati corrected him.

"True." Karnak spread his arms wide, looking utterly unrepentant. "That's why this time, I plan to actually pay for the cattle and pigs."

"You were planning to take them for free, weren't you?" Serati asked him.

"I thought about it, but I didn't do it. Doesn't that make me practically a better person now?" Karnak retorted.

"That's something any decent human should do." Serati thought about continuing, then stopped herself.

Wait... if he’s doing what a normal human should be doing, does that actually make him human?

***

A few days later, the feast began. Dozens of massive tables were set up in the castle village village square. Every table was piled high with fresh beef, pork, lamb, and chicken, alongside abundant fruits and bread. Vendors flooded the square, seizing the opportunity to sell their goods, and musicians played lively tunes.

The air was filled with music and the scent of roasting meat. It was a celebration grand enough to help people forget the suffering they had endured under the cultists and the undead army.

Off to the side, Varos grinned brightly as he tore into a piece of beef. "Fresh meat really does taste the best."

"Well... yes, but..." Serati, however, looked somewhat uneasy. "It's just... thinking about how much Viscount Deventor suffered for this meal makes it hard to enjoy."

Technically, Karnak hadn't stolen anything. He had paid for the livestock fair and square. But... there had been a rather aggressive negotiation process. Still, it felt good to finally have some peaceful downtime.

"Maybe it's just me, but this really feels like the first vacation I've had in a long time." Tilting her head, Serati mused aloud.

Varos chuckled. "We've had plenty of vacations. We just never got to relax during any of them."

Their entire King's Order leave had been spent getting dragged into one incident after another.

"Now that I think about it, we've never actually had a break where we did nothing at all." Watching the two, Karnak casually shrugged. "Just take it easy for now."

Then, in a subtle magical transmission, he added,

—We'll be staying here for a while anyway.

Demphis was still making his way here in secret, moving under the cover of darkness.

—It'll take him at least a few more days to arrive.