Death King Karnak Novel - Chapter 13

Death King Karnak

3. The Dueling Trial (3)

 

Two streams of light from the sword ripped through the air. An eerie light rushed in front of Randolph, drawing two crescent moons.

“……hiek!”

Randolph turned his body with fear. He was really taken aback this time.

And…

“Ha!” The audience let out a sigh.

Randolph’s chest was slightly torn. Red droplets of blood ooze out through the cracks and wet his clothes. It missed. But that was still a bit too much. The priests watching everything shook their heads.

“Oh, my…”

“Such a waste.”

It was a slash that was aimed at the loophole containing all the strength from every part of his body. It was also a great technique that would not be lacking, even if it was called the real thing. However, even though the skill level was low, it was just way too low. To the extent that a regular knight could avoid it unconsciously. One Zestrad knight murmured in vain.

“Will there be no miracle at all…”

Karnak had tried his best. He started training early in the morning, sweating blood all day long, and put in so much effort that he couldn’t even think of the idiots he knew in the past.

Even those who did not have good feelings for him did their best for the time being to get even a sliver of hope. However, the result was a shallow, caring line, as if scratched by a cat.

“Hahaha…” Randolph raised his sword while laughing.

“It’s quite good. At your level, you can say that you did your best.”

The knights turned their heads. That was reality. No matter how hard you try, you can’t do anything in front of an overwhelming difference in ability.

“The world is really…”

One of the knights muttered sadly.

“It’s so cruel and unfair…”

 

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Barros was very satisfied.

‘He’s lucky.’

He was really too lucky.

‘It wasn’t easy for him to get this far from what I had expected.’

The guy who said the world was unfair? Where was he?

Karnak said he tried his best for a month, but when it comes to regular knight training, everyone puts in that much effort. Some even took decades. Even more so, the opponent was the strongest knight in Deventer, Sir Randolph.

A person with a natural talent built up rigorous training from an early age and rose to that position. If such a person lost his life from a skill crammed in just one day, it would rather prove that his efforts were in vain.

‘No way, I shouldn’t say something like this is unfair.’

Barros smiled slightly.

‘The real unfairness will start now…”

 

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“Ah, this is just too…”

Randolph was dumbfounded.

“I heard that even a mouse bites a cat when cornered, so did I experience that just now?”

It only gave Karnak a chance to land a ‘something like that’ single sword cut. He only bled a little. It wasn’t nothing, if not a big deal, but it was annoying enough for Randolph. Surely, whenever fellow knights would drink now, they would serve the story as snacks.

“Damn, they’ll be making fun of me for a while. ”

It was a fight that was reaching its end.

Karnak lowered his head and spoke softly like he was whispering something, “The other person risked his life, but you’re worried about being teased? It’s nice that I won’t need to feel sorry.”

“Huh?” Randolph got confused for a moment.

‘Will you be feeling sorry? To whom?’

Karnak grinned, “Actually, I don’t know what that feels like.”

Something suddenly started to flow out of Randolph’s entire body.

Pooh!

He looked back at himself with a puzzled expression. Black darkness flowed out from between the slightly torn clothes. Darkness instantly submerged in all directions and shaped a huge figure.

“W-What is this?”

Karnak stabbed him with his sword by taking advantage of the opportunity.

“Taaaat!”

Of course, he got kicked off right away. No matter how much the opponent panicked, it was hard to deal with a well-trained knight.

Damn!

The only problem was that the kicked Karnak flew almost 5 meters away.

“Gosh!”

Everyone in the audience was astonished. Was it possible to have the strength to throw an adult, wearing armor all over his body, like that with only one kick? This was supernatural power that a human could never display unless he had awakened the Battle Will!

“This power, what is it?”

“What’s that thing?”

“Like the image of a demon…”

A wave of shock spread throughout the arena.

A priest’s cry rang out.

“Aah, he’s a necromancer!”

 

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Cries were heard from all directions.

“A necromancer?”

“Is that the necromancer you’ve only heard about?”

“Gosh! How could Sir Randolph have such an evil aura?”

Randolph was in a state of great confusion.

‘Necromancer? who? Me?”

Necromancer? He had only heard the name but had no idea know what that meant. But why did it gush out of his body like this? Why did his power increase so much?

He looked around desperately while holding on to his sword.

“No, I, that’s…”

Needless to say, black energy surges in line with the movement, forming black wings and covering the blade with darkness.

Barros shouted in the meanwhile.

“The devil’s wings! He’s about to run away!”

Only then did the priests of Allium come to their senses and took action.

“Judges! Hurry up and capture that knight!”

Armed battle priests rushed into the arena. Originally, they were the ones who were waiting there as the overseer of the execution of the dueling trial.

“In the name of Allium!”

“Judgement of justice for the evil!”

Holy light flashed from all sides, and swords swung.

The confused Randolph started shouting.

“Aaaaaaa!”

The black giant started to run berserk.

“Aaaaaaa!”

The battle priests spread in all directions, and in the meanwhile, the shady figure flew closer to them as they closed in, and it was a sight that ordinary humans could never display.

“It’s really necromancy!”

“You devil!”

Burning with hatred for the necromancer, the battle priests constantly closed in on Randolph.

Randolph kept shouting while wildly swinging his great sword.

“Aaaaaaa!”

What? What happened? Why was this happening? Feeling unfair and angry, he wanted to do something to protest, but his head was paralyzed, and he couldn’t speak normally. His voice just gushed out and turned into a roar.

“Rargh!”

But that outrage didn’t last long. The black energy that exploded like a seizure for a moment opened up quickly. At the same time, Randolph’s supernatural powers also disappeared.

“He’s getting weak!”

“Subdue him now!”

But they still couldn’t capture him.

Even without necromancy, Randolph was originally Deventer’s strongest knight. Using his natural strength, he burst into anger and went berserk like a wild boar.

“Aaaaaaah!”

In the end, the battle priests gave up on the subjugation and changed their goal to elimination. Swords swung from all directions and targeted Randolph’s vitals.

Randolph, who wasn’t wearing any armor, didn’t have the ability to fend off all those attacks. The swords stabbed and stabbed again. Slashed and cut again and again.

“Uwaah!” Writhing in agony, he eventually lost his life in the middle of the arena.

Karnak smiled bitterly as he watched Randolph die.

‘Did things really turn out the way I had expected?’

Originally, he had thought that Randolph would be subdued and taken to the temple. Since there is a risk of the truth being discovered if that happened, he had ordered Barros in advance to intervene and kill him before that…

‘I didn’t know that he was such a person who couldn’t overcome my temper. Well, I get it, but…’

Randolph, who was filled with resentment to the marrow, ran wild like a wild boar who had been riled up, and the decision was made on the spot.

‘I just had to do what needed to be done. Oh my, it hurts…’

He flew 5 meters away, so no matter how good the armor was, the after-effects were no joke. The Barros die roll at the critical time before the fall saved him, or he could have been broken somewhere.

Karnak shouted while stunned to his feet, “Allium’s priest! What will happen to the dueling trial?”

The priests who were in confusion surrounding Randolph’s corpse made threatening faces.

‘The dueling trial? Does that matter now?’

‘At the peak of the taboo, the seed of a terrible sin has germinated!’

But after thinking about it again, he found it important. Wasn’t the sacred trial held in the name of Allium? It was also the duty of the priests to announce some kind of result.

The judge, who struggled to come to his senses, raised his right hand and began to shout.

“The duelist of Deventer committed an indelible sin in this sacred dueling trial!”

The voice of the priest resonated throughout the arena.

“Baron Karnak of the Zestrad Family, I declare you the victor of this duel!”

There were no cheers. There was only hostility. Everyone just silently watched the corpse in the arena in horror and astonishment.

 

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The Viscount of Deventer was also taken aback. Since one of the knights of the family had a connection with necromancy, the copper mine was no longer an issue.

The priests were dispatched directly from the headquarters of the Allium Church to search the viscount’s house. It was to find traces of the necromancer.

Handkerchiefs with necromantic patterns and underwear with acquired shamanic amulets were found all over Randolph’s accommodation. It was clear evidence that he had borrowed the ugly power of darkness.

Randolph’s sister strongly stated that it was just an item she bought from an unidentified peddler and had nothing to do with Randolph, but it only made her suspicious.

His younger sister, fellow knights, their families, servants, and maids were also interrogated. They didn’t commit any crimes, so they were out of the circle of suspicion, but…

“They say he suffered quite a bit.” At Karnak’s explanation, Barros smiled strangely.

“I’m feeling a little sorry for the lady who said she was Sir Randolph’s sister. She probably doesn’t know anything.”

He felt sorry from his words, but his expression stated otherwise.

Karnak also tilted his head.

“Is it because you’re now a living human being that you feel sorry at times like this?”

“Isn’t that it? Most people seem to be like that.”

That was all they said about mass-producing unfair people in double digits. It seemed that these guys had a long way to go before they could act like humans.

Anyway, Karnak laughed cheerfully.

“It worked out very well. I was terrified to risk my life as soon as I came back.”

If he had necromancy in front of the priests, he would’ve been captured, irrespective of the result. Even Karnak, who had reached the pinnacle of necromancy, had no means to deal with it right now. That’s why he changed his approach.

‘I’m going to get caught, anyway! Let’s use Randolph in my stead!’

The duel was in a faraway arena anyway. It was an evil darkness bursting out of their intertwined state anyway. At that level, Karnak’s secretly made a hoax that easily be transferred to Randolph.

“The problem was that the opponent had to bleed to use necromancy naturally, but the hard work was worth it.”

Karnak became happier as he recalled his training so far.

Barros suddenly asked, “Wouldn’t the church doubt or suspect it? Isn’t it the first time you’ve used this technique? There have been necromancers before.”

“I’ll be the first.”

“Huh? Is that so?”

In close proximity, making it look like someone else is using necromancy while hiding their own powers?

“This kind of advanced technique is something that was only possible because of the current me. I couldn’t do it otherwise.”

Even Karnak of the past couldn’t ever accomplish that. It was possible because he had an experience that was so extreme that he was called the Death King.

“There is no precedent, so it won’t be a problem. But…”

Karnak hardened his complexion slightly before speaking.

“There’s something I don’t understand.”

“What?”

“The fact that things worked out so smoothly.”

Objectively, Randolph was a person who did not need to borrow the power of the necromancer at all. He had already been recognized as a knight with a bright future ahead.

On the other hand, the person who benefited the most from this situation was Karnak, who seemed to have avoided death.

“Even if it’s unprecedented, this is enough to doubt me.”

Even if you didn’t openly doubt it, it was normal to do a test.

“So I deliberately hid my command power and got prepared for interrogation…”

The Church did not doubt Karnak. No, no one was sent to the Zestrad family. It just blew all over Viscount Deventer.

“What do you mean by saying Sir Randolph took it for granted when he was exposed to the necromancy?”

Karnak tilted his head while saying he couldn’t understand at all.

“Why? Why is it that someone like Sir Randolph, who had no regrets in life, used necromancy, and no one suspected him?”

 

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The Great Temple of Geselan of the Allium Church, which is in charge of the northern parish of Yu Steel Kingdom

A middle-aged priest prostrated himself in front of an old man in his 60s. He was an old man wearing a splendid robe embroidered with gold leaf.

The old man asked, “Are you sure? This is a serious matter. Even the slightest mistake is unacceptable.”

Nodding his head, the middle-aged priest took out a small glass bottle from his bosom.

“It has been three years since I received the rank of Inquisitor. During that time, I accumulated a lot of experience.”

A faint darkness squirmed in the glass bottle for a moment. It was an extremely weak energy that nonetheless could not be felt by those who served the goddess.

“It’s not your average necromancer by any means. The attributes match perfectly.”

With confidence, the middle-aged priest continued his words.

“The fragment of the transcendental being warned by the goddess, the death that will destroy the world.”

He hardened his expression while exposing the darkness extracted from the corpse of Deventer’s knight, Randolph.

“It must be the darkness of the end.”

The archbishop, who received the glass bottle, burst into a sigh.

“Did the power of darkness spread all the way here…”

 

[To be continued.]