Karnak, Monarch of Death-Chapter 156: Rescue Operation (2)

Four sturdy men stood guard at the passage leading to the uninhabited area. To be precise, they stood in the crumbling corridor in the southwest sector of the residential area. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

They were handpicked cultists from the Wellad branch, highly trained in martial arts. Of course, no amount of skill in martial arts could allow ordinary men to stand against Karnak's group. Even Hugot hadn't assigned them as guards expecting them to serve as a meaningful line of defense.

That was why the standard two-man patrol had been increased to a four-man team, and each of them had a whistle made of bone hanging around their necks. If an enemy appeared, at least one of them was expected to survive long enough to blow the whistle and alert the others.

From the start, they hadn't even entertained the idea that they could actually stop an intruder. It was essentially a suicide mission. Yet their vigilance remained strict. They were fanatics of Tesranach, after all.

Even if they died in battle, they believed the Black God would resurrect them. So, the four guards stood gripping their spears and swords, their eyes fixed on the dark corridor ahead.

Then, a chilling sound echoed through the passage, and an eerie cold began creeping into the air. One by one, the torches flickered and went out.

"Huh?"

"What is this...?"

The guards exchanged puzzled glances. In the outside world, such an occurrence would have been terrifying. But here, it was merely unusual.

"What, ghosts?"

"Why would wraiths be here?"

To cultists, wraiths were no more mysterious than the tigers or wolves that lurked in the mountains beyond. They were common enough to be regarded as neighbors of a sort. They were certainly fearsome, but they weren't some unknown horror. The only thing that puzzled the guards was why ghosts had appeared instead of the intruders they were supposed to watch for.

One of the younger guards hesitantly offered a theory. "Maybe the intruders are controlling them?"

His comrades immediately scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Only necromancers can do that."

"The intruders are from the Eustil Kingdom’s King's Order. How could they possibly command wraiths?"

The oldest among them interrupted with a firm voice. "Regardless, we can't rule anything out. Stay alert."

Nodding, the guards fastened their talismans onto their weapons. Had they been in the uninhabited zones, those wraiths would have torn them apart in seconds. But here, in the residential district, it was a different story. A powerful necromantic domain covered the area, limiting the full strength of such spirits. Even regular cultists could handle them in this space.

The eerie wailing grew louder, and the chill in the air deepened. At last, ghostly figures emerged from the darkness. They were the spectral remains of soldiers, their bodies riddled with spears and arrows, frozen in the agony of their final moments.

Raising his weapon, the lead guard shouted, "They're coming!"

He was only half right. The wraiths surged forward, gliding through the corridor, then suddenly stopped. Roughly ten meters away, the wraiths and the guards faced each other in tense silence.

The youngest guard muttered under his breath, “Why are they just standing there?"

And then, the wraiths turned their backs to them. Without a sound, they melted back into the darkness from which they had come.

The guards stared, bewildered. "What the hell was that?"

***

A corpse bat flitted into the underground chapel, darting toward the skeletal throne before dropping to the floor with a dull thud.

"Sector 3-3. Two wraiths have appeared."

A human voice emerged from the fallen bat's mouth. It was a long-range communication spell, powered by necromancy.

“Wraiths?" Demphis, upon hearing the report, tilted his head slightly. "And the intruders?"

"They were not sighted. Only the wraiths appeared. We suspect the enemy may have summoned them..."

That made even less sense. Demphis had already anticipated all the possible tactics the King's Order might employ. But in all his calculations, this scenario had never once come up.

The King's Order using necromancy? Impossible.

Regardless, if wraiths had appeared, he needed to assess the situation.

"Were they dealt with?"

"No."

"No?"

"They... left on their own."

"What?"

The more he listened, the stranger the situation became. The wraiths had simply appeared and then disappeared without doing anything. It almost felt like a few stray spirits from the uninhabited zone had gone out for a casual stroll. Of course, that was impossible.

This is very odd.

But that wasn't the only strange thing. More corpse bats kept flying in, delivering report after report.

"More wraiths have appeared."

"The wraiths have vanished."

And every time, it was the same story. There was no battle. Wraiths would materialize at various points along the residential corridors, loiter for a while, and then fade away. Demphis, deep in thought, suddenly smiled.

“It’s a diversion.”

Of course, being a skeleton, he wasn't physically capable of smiling. He only felt as if he had.

He released more corpse bats into the air and issued a command. "If the wraiths retreat, do not pursue them. Hold your positions."

If the enemy truly intended to lure the guards away, they would react to this strategy. For example, they might escalate by attacking more aggressively in an attempt to draw the guards out.

"What's happening now?" he asked.

More reports came in.

"They attempted an assault, but..."

"They withdrew after a brief attack."

Demphis was now certain of his theory. It was just as he expected. He could roughly guess the enemy's intention now. Whether it was necromancy, magic, or divine rituals, all large-scale ceremonies had one thing in common: The most vulnerable moment was always during the ritual itself. The enemy was undoubtedly aiming for that timing.

They have no chance of winning in a direct fight, so of course, they’ll try to avoid that.

Now that he understood their plan, countering it was simple. This time, he sent corpse bats to the patrol squads.

"Thoroughly inspect every part of the residential area. Do not leave even the smallest gap where a rat could slip through."

To launch an ambush in the middle of a ritual, there was one prerequisite. They had to be near the altar, watching for the right moment to strike.

If I make sure they can't even get close, then I don't have to worry about an ambush at all.

With that problem addressed, only one question remained. Everything about the situation suggested that the fugitive Eustil King's Order was controlling the wraiths. But necromancy was strictly its own domain.

How can a mage command wraiths? Is there a new kind of magic that allows it?

The world had changed significantly. Just because he didn't know about such a spell didn't mean it didn't exist. The blue flames flickering in the hollow sockets of his skull wavered.

"Karnak, was it?"

***

In the darkness of the uninhabited sector of Maleficus Dungeon, Karnak sat with his eyes closed.

Then, he murmured softly, "Alright. I've identified where and how they've positioned their guards."

Wraiths could pass through walls. They weren't bound by physical terrain, meaning they could be used to scout an enemy's layout and defensive formations with ease.

Of course, that didn't mean it was simple. Controlling such a vast number of spirits while maintaining a clear sight of their surroundings required an extraordinary level of precision in necromancy. For the former Monarch of Death, however, it was hardly a challenge.

"Well, it's not like I have much else left but my senses. I already lost most of my power."

Serati frowned in confusion. "If you could do this, why did we bother sneaking in to steal a map?"

Karnak gave her a look of exasperation, as if the answer was obvious. "Because this is living like I used to."

"Wait, are you saying you could have used necromancy from the start?"

"What, did you expect me to just start off by using necromancy?"

"N-no, of course not. It's just... you're doing it so naturally that I almost forgot."

Karnak continued manipulating the wraiths for some time.

Then, suddenly, he clicked his tongue. "Tsk. I was going to use them as bait, but I can't even do that."

No matter how much he pressed the wraiths to attack, the guards refused to leave their positions. Because of that, he couldn't get a clear picture of the interior of the chapel where the altar was being prepared.

"I guess I'll have to figure that part out another way.” Rising to his feet, he gestured toward the others. "Well, I've found a gap in their defenses. Let's slip inside."

Serati looked skeptical. "Already? The ritual isn't for a while yet, isn't it?"

The cultists were conducting exhaustive sweeps around the chapel, preparing for any unexpected threats. There was no room left to hide.

"I assumed we'd wait here until just before the ritual began."

Karnak waved off her concern casually. "That's fine. No need to worry about it."

***

Most of the necromancers from the Wellad branch, including Hugot, were tied up with the altar ritual in the chapel. The ceremony was so complex that they didn't even have enough manpower. They had been forced to revive the dead to have them participate in the ritual as well. Despite this, two necromancers, Valter and Sores, had been stationed to guard the residential area instead of the chapel.

Both had been among those buried alive when Karnak's group infiltrated the area, left dangling in their pits. By sheer luck, they had been discovered later while the cultists were sweeping through the residential sector. There was a reason Hugot hadn't been particularly eager to find them in the first place.

—Impossible... You two survived?

The inquisitors of the church didn't simply kill necromancers when they captured them. If anything, necromancers often became more troublesome after death. But that didn't mean they left them alive either.

It was just as common for captured necromancers, left intact, to turn on their captors the moment they found an opening. For that reason, instead of killing them outright, inquisitors would often render them permanently unable to fight by cutting off their limbs or ripping out their tongues.

—Well, you're lucky, then. Looks like Eustil's King's Order has a surprisingly kind-hearted inquisitor.

With that in mind, Valter had been assigned to patrol duty, while Sores resumed his usual role overseeing the residential area. It was during a second, more thorough search of the sector—ordered by Demphis—that they reached a particular stone chamber.

Valter and his patrol team stood in front of the door. It was the personal quarters of Sores.

After calling for Sores at the entrance, Valter relayed Demphis's instructions. "He wants every room thoroughly inspected."

"Of course, that makes sense," Sores replied with a nod. He gestured toward his chamber. "I've already checked my own room. You may move on."

"Pardon? But we were specifically told to cross-verify each search...” One of the patrol members frowned, suspicion flashing in his eyes.

The way Sores was speaking made it sound like he was trying to cover something up. Before the tension could escalate, Valter cleared his throat with a deliberate cough. The patrolman immediately seemed to realize something, his face shifting to an expression of understanding.

Right. Sores might have thought he was being discreet, but in a community as small and isolated as this one, there was no such thing as a real secret.

It’s one of those places.

Mmm. Understood.

The glances exchanged between them said more than words ever could.

"We'll move on to the next location."

"Yes, Sir Valter."

It was such an obvious place to keep hidden. And, at the same time, such an unpleasant place to be near.

One of the patrolmen clicked his tongue quietly so the others wouldn't hear. "Damn pervert."

As Valter's group walked away, Sores's eyes lost focus for a moment. And then, from the depths of the chamber, three figures emerged. It was Karnak, Varos, and Serati.

"Let me say this again...” Karnak smiled, looking far too pleased with himself. "Is there any hiding spot more perfect than this?"