Chapter 375: The Ultimate Form of Necessary Evil (4)

A hellscape had unfolded over Thea Krahan. Diogres Kolon and Giyen Ren were bewildered as they looked down upon the city.

"Have they lost their minds?"

"As crazy as those Twilight bastards are..."

They weren't trembling in horror at the spectacle before them. After all, they themselves raised corpses and wielded death, didn't they? They were not so soft-hearted as to be moved by such things. It was simply absurd to them.

"If someone was going to do this, it should have been us. Why them?"

"Weren't those the people you were supposed to protect?"

If one claimed they desecrated the corpses of the dead to protect the living, it might not seem entirely evil. But if that's all necromancy was, it would not have garnered such hatred from the world.

A river of endless souls flowed above the capital, constantly screaming. Because a vast darkness had been gathered, the hexagram spread across the capital could wield immense power.

—I do not understand.

—Agreed. Surely someone around him would have tried to stop this.

—Are you saying even the Evil-Slaying Mage approved of this? Wasn't he supposed to be a hero of mankind?

The mental transmission between the two archmages stretched over several hundred meters as they connected the northern and southern towers of the Temple. Thanks to that, their transmission also reached Emil Strauss, who was located deep within the grand cathedral, at the Seal of the Shadow of Doom.

Emil let out a faint laugh. Not only did he approve, he was likely the one responsible for it.

Still, even he hadn't expected Karnak to push it this blatantly. Did he not think of the consequences? Or did he think of them and do it anyway?

***

Karnak had given his companions a simple command.

—Once the signal is given, gather at the southern entrance of the grand cathedral.

They had all memorized the terrain of the capital, so they moved quickly. Those closest to the grand cathedral, Karnak and Varos, arrived first. They were followed in order by Leven, Drel, Dios, and even Milia.

By the time Serati and Lapicel, who had been the farthest away, arrived, Milia had just been returned to her human form by Karnak.

As soon as they arrived, Serati approached Karnak and said, "Lord Karnak."

"What?"

"Do you really..." She was about to say something regarding the horrors that had just unfolded in the capital but, noticing Lapicel glancing over, quickly switched to telepathic transmission.

—Is this really okay?

—Is what really okay?

Serati was momentarily taken aback. Why was he speaking as if this were someone else's problem?

—Won't this damage your reputation, Lord Karnak?

—My reputation? Why?

There was a reason why Karnak was speaking in such a detached manner. To him, it really was someone else's problem. This was the Twilight Order's doing, after all. This hexagram necromantic domain had been cast secretly in a hidden underground chamber. In other words, no one knew that it was he who had done it.

Afterward, the Twilight Order had shown up, proclaiming it as the blessing of the goddess they served. Would anyone truly suspect the hero of mankind, the Evil-Slaying Mage, Karnak Zestrad?

—If anything, Serati, it would harm your reputation, not mine.

The red-haired woman, revered as the incarnation of Serakal and the saintess of the Twilight Order, opened her mouth in disbelief. Is this man seriously trying to pin this on me?!

Profanities slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Wow, shit, ah, shit, wow, shit."

Beside her, Lapicel tilted her head. "Sis?"

"It's nothing."

Serati quickly forced a bright smile, then turned her head sideways with a long sigh. Ah, this is my lot in life, really, what else can I expect?

Karnak, sensing the atmosphere, offered a half-hearted excuse.

—Still, it's not as bad as it looks. I tried to use their corpses as much as possible.

It wasn't a lie. In truth, over the past few days, the imperial army's casualties had not been that severe. Most of the destruction and repeated reanimation had happened to the undead of the Black God's cult. There hadn't actually been that much imperial blood spilled.

Though it appeared like a monstrous tower of corpses born of heinous acts, in truth, he had merely taken the existing undead army that the Black God's Cult was using and mixed them into the darkness he wielded.

In Karnak's mind, he had done his utmost to minimize the sacrifices of his allies.

—Still, it looks bad, and that's the problem.

Regardless, the stage was now set. The Black God's Cult had thrown out nearly all their forces, yet the tide of the battle remained balanced, or rather, it had tilted slightly in the imperial army's favor. It meant he had tied them down perfectly.

For now, there was virtually no one guarding the grand cathedral.

Drel asked, "Are we infiltrating during this window?"

Karnak responded, "Infiltrating implies sneaking in."

In any case, there was no way their presence would go unnoticed. There were two archmages on the enemy's side, after all. They could cast spells to obscure the exact number and composition of the intruders, but hiding their existence entirely was impossible.

Karnak jerked his chin toward the grand cathedral, which was barely visible under the black aurora in the distance. "This isn't infiltration. We're just going to smash through."

***

An army of countless corpses surged forward, swinging swords and spears. The ones trying to block them were also an army of corpses. Ironically, amidst this horrific clash of the dead, the imperial army was able to fight with more ease than before.

Since the Twilight Order's, no, Karnak's, undead army was taking on the fiercest battles in their stead, they could conserve their strength and endure in relatively safer positions. Especially, the casualties among the mages and priests had significantly decreased.

They were positioned to the rear, so the thicker the front lines became, the exponentially the risk lowered. Watching this through farsight magic, Giyen Ren grimaced.

—At this rate, we won't be able to push forward as planned.

Diogres wore a similar expression.

—Just bombarding them from a distance with spells won't cut it. The influence of the domain is too strong.

They both already knew the solution. They had to destroy the six massive pillars that served as the core of the necromantic domain. The problem was that the imperial army was guarding those pillars thoroughly, and doing so exceptionally well.

Why? Because they had been doing exactly that for over ten days!

The locations where those pillars had been erected were originally the positions the imperial army had repeatedly secured and retreated from, over and over again. In other words, they had practiced holding those positions to the point of exhaustion.

Emil clicked his tongue.

—Don't tell me... he planned even this?

Of course, if Giyen Ren and Diogres Kolon stepped forward themselves, they could resolve the issue. The resistance was fierce, so it would take time, but eventually, they could destroy it. But they couldn't.

Karnak's party was approaching the grand cathedral as if they had been waiting for this moment. Leaving the Seal defenceless in the meantime was far too dangerous.

From the beginning, the Shadow of Doom was a power that once sought to spread across the entire world. The priests of the church had scraped and compressed it with everything they had, forcing it into a seal.

They were essentially storing something that would otherwise scatter on its own, preventing it from exploding by sheer force. In other words, breaking the Seal on the Shadow of Doom wasn't that difficult.

Any decent necromancer could cause it to rupture. Naturally, the Cult of the Black God knew this. If they didn't, they would never have caught on to Karnak's intentions. So they had wrapped the area around the seal in a powerful necromantic domain, guarded directly by their leaders.

If a necromancer from the Twilight Order tried to sneak in, the necromantic domain would delay them long enough for the archmages to deal with them easily. But even this necromantic domain wasn't something they could trust entirely.

If powerful necromancers joined forces, they could break it. Even aside from that, there were people in the world uniquely specialized in smashing necromantic domains to pieces. One, in particular, was infamous, so much so that their nickname was the Evil-Slaying Mage.

That was why Giyen Ren, Diogres Kolon, and Emil Strauss could not leave this place. What if they left the grand cathedral and the Evil-Slaying Mage snuck in, broke the seal, and escaped?

If it were anyone else, the domain would at least buy some time, but if it was Karnak, there was too high a chance he would succeed before they even realized what was happening. As such, Tesranach's subordinates were left with only one choice.

They had to stay near the seal and eliminate any intruders that approached. They couldn't be too far away, so if Karnak tried anything, they could immediately respond.

Giyen Ren and Diogres Kolon descended from the towers toward the grand cathedral.

—There's no choice. We'll have to deal with them ourselves.

—How close have they gotten?

The two archmages deployed detection magic, and Emil Strauss expanded his sensory domain. They swept across the entire cathedral, pinpointing the location of Karnak's approaching party.

—They're coming from the south.

—Is it the north?

—It's the west.

At that moment, the expressions on all three of their faces twisted.

Huh?

What?

Why are we all saying something different?

***

Eight men and women sprinted down the corridor of the southern passage leading to the seal. It was Karnak's party, who had infiltrated deep into the grand cathedral.

Powerful spells and aura blades continuously carved open their path. Each time the destructive light surged, the domain tore apart and scattered in all directions.

Intruders advanced without hesitation in the northern passage of the grand cathedral as well. Here too, intruders advanced without hesitation. With all the cult's forces having gone out to confront the imperial army, there was no one left to stop them here.

It was the same with the western passage. The necromantic domains were nowhere near enough to stop them. Karnak's party was, unbelievably, storming down all three passages simultaneously, each consisting of eight members.

It seemed unreal, but the answer was simple. Emil clicked his tongue.

—It's illusion magic.

The problem was, which of them were fake, and which were real? All three advancing parties of Karnak were actually breaking through the domains and progressing. In other words, within each group, some members were indeed physically there.

They had likely split the party into three and supplemented the rest with illusions. Why would they bother with such a tactic? Giyen Ren scowled.

—That Evil-Slaying Mage bastard is planning to sneak in amidst all this confusion.

Their goal was likely to detonate the Shadow of Doom. Strictly speaking, there was no need for them to defeat Emil Strauss or the two archmages. As long as they got Karnak safely to the seal, their mission would be complete.

And Karnak was present in all three directions. Most likely, only one was the real Karnak, and the other two were fakes.

Diogres posed a question.

—So what happens now?

Originally, they had planned to combine their strength and deal with Karnak's party directly. No matter how powerful the archmages were, Karnak's party was not an opponent they could underestimate. This was the surest way to secure victory.

But with the enemy using this tactic? Giyen Ren replied.

—We have to figure out which one is the real Evil-Slaying Mage.

Unfortunately, farsight magic alone wasn't enough to discern the nature of the illusions. To determine the truth, they would have to confront them directly.

But it was tricky for them to rush in and simply pick one of the three to attack. If Emil and the two archmages moved together, they could certainly eliminate the intruders coming from that direction.

However, those intruders were by no means easy opponents. They could defeat them, but it would take considerable time. But what if Karnak wasn't among the enemies they were facing?

While they were tied up, the real Karnak could slip into the seal chamber and blow it open.

Clicking his tongue, Emil sent a telepathic message.

—It can't be helped. We'll each take one direction. But let's not stray too far from the seal.

It was risky. Splitting up their forces meant risking defeat, but there was no other choice. Protecting the Shadow of Doom was the most critical task right now.

Giyen Ren and Diogres Kolon agreed.

—There's no other way.

—The bastard is cunning, splitting us up like this.

—And ruthless as well.

Giyen Ren clicked his tongue. The enemies' tactic had one significant flaw: while it forced them to disperse their forces, it did the same for their enemies. Being defeated individually was a risk for both sides.

—Has he thrown his comrades' lives as bait just to accomplish his goal?