Death King Karnak Novel - Chapter 24

Death King Karnak

7. A Model Necromancer (2)

Karnak made a puzzled expression.

‘You’re going to visit the necromancer? So what are you going to do?”

The situation is obvious when confronted head-on.

-Hello, are you a necromancer?
– I’m not.
– Oops, I misunderstood. Goodbye.

Wouldn’t it be like this?

Indeed, Alius was not so thoughtless.

“Of course, I’m not saying I will interrogate him openly. Inquisitors have their methods.”

Karnak’s eyes lit up.

‘Oh, could it be that a divine spell was developed for apprehending necromancers I don’t know about?’

It could be the case. Necessity was the mother of invention because, in his previous life, necromancers weren’t as rampant as they were now.

“Then, we should move right before sunset.”

Alius stopped him as he was about to get up.

“We’ll be moving late at night. You can rest for now.”

“……Is that okay?”

The sun’s light would dramatically weaken the power of darkness, so a necromancer could only exert his true power in the deepest part of the night. Even so, would he find someone like that after the sun has completely set?

“Because it’s easier to confirm if a so-called necromancer is a true necromancer late at night. You’ll soon find out.”

Alius headed for the bed after saying that.

“Then, I’m going to get some sleep. I need to prepare for the night.”

It wasn’t only because he was sleepy; he wanted to fill up his divine power by resting as much as possible. If he really had to fight with a necromancer, that was the attitude he would have as a priest. Karnak and Barros also lay down on their respective beds.

Barros asked with a magic message while staring at the ceiling.

[What is the actual situation, Young Master?]

[They both had their minds manipulated.]

Unlike Alius, Karnak could clearly see the condition of Priest Grasse and Sister Julia.

[Their eyebrows were dull, meaning that they were under the influence of necromancy. It was so faint that Alius wouldn’t have noticed.]

[He seems to be a pretty strong necromancer. Isn’t it difficult to manipulate the mind of a priest?]

[Rather than that, both of them have meagre divine power.]

In fact, even their level as a priest could be considered ambiguous.

[That’s why he must have been assigned to a rural town like this.]

Not only the priest but the entire village was in a weak state of seduction. He had analysed everything when he entered the village.

[He is a usable necromancer for a 3rd-rate one. Wouldn’t he be roughly at the same level as me when I was in my mid-20s? He hides so well, so he won’t get caught in the slightest.]

However, in his previous life, no priests were exclusively in charge of capturing necromancers like the Inquisitors. So, even at the time when he was weak, he was able to somehow survive by hiding and running away.

Karnak smiled while looking at Alius, who was deeply asleep.

‘As expected, it was good to move together. I can observe the priests of this timeline.’

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Afterwards, the three of them slept soundly until the sun went down. And they ate a hearty dinner prepared by Sister Julia. It was a simple meal befitting a small village church, but it was enough to restore their energy.

Here, Karnak made the priest of Grasse happy by donating several times more than the meal cost. The three returned to the room after finishing their meal, saying it was late at night and they wanted to sleep.

A little more time passed.

Alius spoke while looking outside.

“It will soon be time for those two to go to bed. Let’s move after that.”

It was the sound of leaving the church without the knowledge of Priest De Grasse and Sister Julia. They were trying to find Cleo, the one suspected of being a necromancer.

“Do we really need to keep it a secret?”

Alius answered Karnak’s question in a serious tone.

“Hey, it’s just in case the darkness of the necromancer has seduced them. Then, there’s a chance of our movements being known to him.”

“Then, wouldn’t it have been better to hide that you were a priest from the beginning…….”

“It doesn’t work every time.”

In fact, it could be said that this was the case only with a specific floating population.

“But there are very few outsiders coming to this town. It’s better to reveal your true identity than to let them perceive you as an unknown outsider.”

Many priests were already travelling all over the continent to continue their search for the necromancer. Didn’t Sister Julia also tell them? Another priest passed by a few months ago.

That’s why it was within an acceptable range for a priest to appear in the village. But what if he suddenly walked out of the church late at night?

“This is very weird.”

“I see. I hadn’t even thought about that.”

Karnak was frankly amazed. Unlike him, Alius didn’t find them suspicious in the least. Even so, it was about dealing with the worst-case scenario in mind.

Alius replied embarrassingly.

“If you’re a formal inquisitor, that much training is natural.”

The world had definitely changed. Unlike before, countermeasures against necromancers were now systematised within the 7 Goddess Church. After finishing his preparations, Alius rummaged through his luggage again.

He took out a shabby robe, put it on over the priest’s uniform, and took out two shabby cloaks and three masks.

“It’s nice to have a spare cloak.”

He said after placing those items in front of them.

“Now, let me explain the plan.”

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The moonlight shone dimly through the window. Looking at the dark forest outside the window, Cleo smiled.

‘The time for my efforts to bear fruit is approaching.’

From the reflection in the window, he could be seen as an ordinary middle-aged man in his late 40s. Contrary to the evaluation of the villagers, he is neither young nor handsome.

But it didn’t matter. The villagers were bound to perceive it differently. Isn’t the human mind that fragile?

‘Stupid things, hehehe.’

In the middle of the room, a maid was tidying the bed. In fact, a maid from a real aristocratic family wouldn’t tidy up the bedroom when it was already bedtime but it was good etiquette to do before the owner noticed anything.

However, since this girl was only wearing a maid’s uniform and was actually just an ordinary girl from a rural village, it would be difficult to expect such a thing.

Cleo gestured toward the maid after she finished tidying up.

“Go away.”

“……Good night, master.”

The girl left the room with empty eyes. Looking at her back, he licked his lips for a moment.

‘It’s unbearable to just watch it like this.’

She’s not particularly off-white, but she’s a young girl in the end. He couldn’t control his desire to pounce upon her. But Cleo persevered.

Because the soul of a virgin was a highly valued sacrifice.

‘I can’t come this far and lower its value with a momentary desire.’

It took him half a year to take control of this village, gather the power of darkness, set up a barrier, and prepare sacrifices as offerings to summon the devil.

The amount of money spent on purchasing and repairing an abandoned villa in order to blend into the village naturally was not small.

‘Hahaha, it’ll be soon.’

He was just about to lie in bed and dream of the mighty power he would soon acquire, but the detection barriers laid throughout the villa caught on to something.

“……Intruder?”

Cleo was startled and became focused.

‘Could it be the dogs of the goddess?’

He was already feeling uncomfortable when he was informed that a priest had come to the village. But it wasn’t that rare, and he felt relieved when he found out there were no movements after they entered the church…….

‘Anyway, I can’t sleep when there are intruders inside.’

Cleo hastily grabbed the sword. When he left the room, three men with masks covering their faces were standing in the middle of the hallway.

“A mask?”

If they were priests, they would have no reason to cover their faces. Moreover, they were wearing shabby robes and a cape, making it difficult for him to identify them based on their attire.

The confused Cleo drew his sword.

“You guys, what are you doing?”

A man in a shabby robe moved forward.

“Hey, Mister, there’s a lot of rumours going around lately that some rich kid was spending his money like water.”

Holding a dagger in one hand and spinning it lightly, he carried on with a mean voice.

“Isn’t it right for us to come here to get a share of that extra money?”

Cleo’s expression darkened. It was a totally unexpected situation.

‘……What? Mere thieves?’

But there was nothing strange about it when he gave it a thought. This kind of thing was more likely to happen if rumours about him having a lot of money were to spread.

Cleo let out a laugh at their absurdity.

“Kek, Kekekekek…….”

“Wait, are you laughing right now?”

A young robber frowned and pretended to do a dagger stab.

“I guess I’ll have to hit him with a knife to let him regain his senses?”

It was funny. It was genuinely irrelevant and ridiculous. Cleo’s eyes changed. An arrogant voice could be heard.

“Ha, this bug-like thing can’t even be used as sacrifices…….”

A jet-black darkness gushed out of his body and filled the hallway.

“You will pay with death for the sin of daring to ruin my sleep!”

Waaaaaa!

A terrible aura started spreading everywhere. It was a mighty dark force that would freeze all living people in a visceral fear just by looking at it.

Cleo burst into madness.

“Hahahaha~”

And he was instantly stunned by the voice that followed.

“Wow, are you really revealing your identity right away?”

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Alius’ ‘plan’ was like this.

“We’ll pose as robbers and threaten him with money.”

“……pardon?”

Of course, Karnak’s reaction was absurd.

“Are you saying you’re not using a divine spell that characterises a necromancer?”

“How nice it would be to have such a spell, but I can’t just sit there and do nothing.”

“But according to you, is it right for a priest who serves the goddesses’ church to pose as a robber?”

Alius put on a puzzled expression.

“This is my own method. It is not the method recommended by the church.”

Karnak was slightly relieved. Fortunately, the Goddesses’ Church didn’t seem to go out of their way that much.

“But it works surprisingly well.”

Necromancers are those who break all sorts of taboos in order to gain power.

“Such people met robbers in the middle of the night, and there is no eye around them…….”

Alius smiled in repentance.

“Will he be afraid of consequences against those who look down on him and threaten him, or will he surrender everything when asked for surrender?”

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Their surroundings were overflowing with a black aura. If you were a living being, it was the energy of death that would make your limbs go numb just by looking at it.

The figure of the necromancer with flashing red eyes in the darkness was a genuine fear itself!

……It should have been, but the reaction was not zero.

The masked man in a shabby robe shrugged.

“What did I say? This tactic has never failed.”

The skinny man nodded thoughtfully.

“Indeed, it must be more difficult not to work according to human psychology.”

The big man was a bit ambiguous.

“Rather than that, if this technique hadn’t worked, wouldn’t it have been impossible to figure out his real identity in the first place? Of course, it now felt like everything worked…….”

Anyway, everyone seemed very relaxed, even in front of the necromancer, who was considered one with death and fear. There was no way they were ordinary robbers.

“You guys…….”

Instead, Cleo calmed down.

“As expected, you were the dogs of the goddess.”

Karnak and Barros threw off their cloaks. The hidden long sword and the wizard’s wand were clearly visible. Alius also took out an oak staff from the inside of his robe.

“You evil person who serves the darkness…….”

The staff began to push away the darkness with a brilliant light.

“Kneel before the light of the goddess!”

Light and darkness collide to create a roar. Corridors and ceilings shook, and dust fell in torrents.

Kwak kwak Kwak!

Amidst the loud noise, Cleo muttered calmly.

“Yes, I knew that a day like this would come one day…….”

He was only surprised a bit, and it didn’t seem like a big deal to him. The opponents were only a priest, a warrior, and a mage. He thought he could handle it if it was only this much.

“Okay, hounds of the Goddess!”

Cleo spread his arms left and right. A veil of darkness started spreading in all directions.

“I’ll show you the great power of death!”