Chapter 152: Master of the Dungeon (3)

One strike of lightning was all it took for Edia to lose consciousness. Milia hurriedly cast a divine barrier to protect her. Varos and Serati sprang into action.

"

Haah!

"

With their aura-clad swords, they attacked from the front and rear simultaneously. Yet, Demphis remained motionless. He simply conjured a shield of darkness that absorbed the blows.

Boom!

The force of the impact sent both of them skidding backward.

A scoffing sound escaped from between the archlich's skeletal jaws. "That won't be enough to pierce my darkness."

Taking advantage of the opening, Karnak cast a spell. "Crawling flames. Fire Snake!"

The fire coiled into three serpents, slithering across the auditorium floor toward Demphis.

Fwoooosh!

A flicker of interest passed through the archlich's glowing blue eyes. "Hm. This could break through."

Raising his golden staff, he countered. "Capturing storm. Blizzard Claw."

A storm of ice howled into existence, taking the form of massive spectral talons. The freezing claws slashed through the fire serpents, tearing them apart. Heat and cold clashed, filling the air with dense, hissing steam.

Shielding his face, Karnak clenched his jaw. "Damn it... I can't match him with magic alone."

Meanwhile, Leven and Lapicel had been watching for an opening. Neither dared to charge recklessly at the archlich.

This is way out of my league.

But I can at least cause some disruption!

Leven pulled out a throwing dagger from his coat. Unlike knights, he had honed his combat skills as a treasure hunter, meaning he carried plenty of small, unconventional weapons. Lapicel wielded a rope-blade, mimicking Varos's chain sword. A true chain was too heavy, so she had substituted it with a reinforced rope.

Milia cast a divine blessing over them. "Let the celestial blade guide their strikes!"

Infused with holy power, the dagger flew toward the archlich's back. Lapicel's blade, now faintly glowing, lashed through the air in rapid succession. Yet, all their attacks were blocked. Every strike was stopped by Veil of Darkness, causing violent shockwaves as divine energy clashed against necrotic power. Neither Leven nor Lapicel dared to fight at close range. Charging a powerful mage head-on without aura was suicidal. They knew that much.

Demphis clicked his nonexistent tongue as he gazed at Leven. "Tch. I can't be too rough with that one."

He tapped the ground with his golden staff. "Freeze to the bone. Freezing Ground."

Frost spread rapidly across the floor, an icy wave expanding outward. Within moments, it reached Leven and Lapicel's feet.

"

Gah!

"

"

Agh!

"

Their legs froze in place, locking them where they stood.

"Flames of illusion, melt the chains of the northern wind!"

Karnak's counterspell activated, instantly dispelling the ice. He had anticipated Demphis's tactics and prepared a resistance spell in advance. Now freed, Leven and Lapicel immediately retreated beyond the spell's range.

Demphis tilted his skull, intrigued.

It's as if he knows my magic well.

He lifted his staff once more. "Pierce through radiantly. Frost Spear."

The lingering frost in the air condensed into a massive ice spear, its blade shimmering like a gemstone. Then it shot toward Karnak.

Damn!

Having just cast a counterspell, Karnak was momentarily unable to cast another spell. He didn't have time to defend.

Screw it...

Just as he was about to resort to using necromancy, a crimson aura blade cleaved through the ice spear.

Boom!

Varos landed smoothly amidst the shattered ice shards and turned to Karnak. "You alright, young master?"

"Yeah. Thanks to you."

Karnak let out a quiet sigh of relief and locked his gaze onto Demphis. From the spells the archlich had cast so far, his intent was clear. He was intending to freeze Leven and Lapicel alive while skewering the rest with ice spears. He was trying to kill them.

Demphis, that bastard...

Mulling over the name he had given him, Karnak became certain.

He doesn't recognize me.

It wasn’t just him either. Demphis didn't seem to recognize Varos either. Yet he did recognize Leven.

Then what about Lapicel?

Karnak briefly considered testing Demphis's knowledge of her.

But if I bring it up carelessly, I might end up revealing her identity instead.

Before he could decide, Milia unintentionally made the choice for him.

When one of Demphis's spells flew toward Lapicel, she instinctively shouted, "Watch out, Lapicel!"

It wasn't a mistake. In a chaotic battle, calling out to warn an ally was only natural. Sure enough, Demphis's movements halted for a fraction of a second. Then, he scrutinized the silver-haired girl carefully.

"Lapicel?"

Karnak closely observed his reaction.

Does he recognize her?

A skeleton's face wasn't exactly easy to read. Even though he himself had lived as a skeleton for decades, it was no different. After all, how often did one see their own face? But if someone had spent decades alongside that skeletal visage, things were different.

—What do you think, Varos?

—He knows her. But he looks uncertain if the girl in front of him is actually that Lapicel.

Indeed, the attacks directed at Lapicel visibly weakened. Now, just like with Leven, he was trying to capture her rather than kill her.

It's good that she's relatively safer now...

But considering that the intent was capture, Karnak found it hard to celebrate.

First Elezar, now Demphis... What the hell is going on?

***

A storm of destruction raged throughout the vast auditorium. Yet, despite the chaos, Karnak's group held their ground. Demphis let out an impressed hum while unleashing relentless waves of magic.

"They're remarkably strong. If I hadn't intervened, the Wellad branch would have been annihilated."

Hugot, on the other hand, was growing visibly anxious, not because of Demphis, but out of concern for Karnak's party.

"Is there no way to capture them? They would make excellent sacrifices..."

Just moments ago, he had been praying simply to survive. But now that the immediate threat had eased, greed crept into his voice.

Demphis shook his head. "They would indeed make fine sacrifices, but..."

Attempting to capture them all ran too high a risk of failure. It was better to take only what was necessary.

His hollow gaze fell upon Leven and Lapicel. "Those two are important."

Then, his focus shifted to Milia and the unconscious Edia. "That woman is essential to the cult."

Finally, his eyes locked onto Karnak, Varos, and Serati. "But these three are too much of a hassle to keep as offerings."

It seemed that Milia wasn't particularly concerning to him, but it was clear he intended to eliminate the three.

Varos discreetly sent Karnak a message.

—Judging by that, I'd say this is the Governor Demphis we know, right?

—Seems like it.

Looking back, it all made sense. Even after being resurrected as a lich, even after being reduced to nothing but bones, Demphis had remained oddly cautious and pragmatic. He had never been one for reckless action, always preferring stable, methodical approaches. That strangely human-like nature hadn't changed.

It really is the Demphis I know.

So why didn't he recognize Karnak?

Demphis raised his golden staff, his tone chilling. "There are times when one must learn to let go."

From the tip of his staff, light erupted. "Radiant blast of searing light. Arcane Blast."

A blinding beam carved through the auditorium, causing an explosion that sent Karnak's party flying like leaves in the wind. With only their aura and divine barriers shielding them, they barely avoided being reduced to ash. Still, the situation was looking grim.

Varos let out a frustrated groan. "Why the hell is a lich this powerful in arcane magic?!"

Hearing that, Karnak's expression darkened.

Just as I thought...

When a warrior retained their power after becoming undead, they became a death knight. When a mage retained their original abilities in undeath, they became an archlich. However, neither death knights nor archliches used pure aura or mana in their new form. Aura, which was tied to life energy, transformed into dark aura, while mana became necromantic power.

Despite this, dark aura and necrotic power could still replicate the effects of their former swordsmanship and magic. That was why, even if a lich could theoretically use all the spells they had mastered in life, they rarely employed arcane magic. Arcane spells relied purely on mana amplification, which clashed with the nature of dark energy.

But this... its power hasn't diminished at all.

It was magic. Pure, potent magic.

He's using both dark energy and mana, just like the other cultists.

At the same time, Karnak realized why he had failed to detect the trap placed on Edia. No necromantic technique in existence should have been able to deceive his eyes—the eyes of the former Monarch of Death. At least, that was what he believed.

But what if instead of necromancy, it was magic capable of fooling Baron Karnak, the seventh circle mage? There were plenty of spells that could do that. Any mage of the eighth circle or higher could easily trick his current abilities. And Demphis was a ninth circle master.

There's no way I could have noticed a ninth-circle spell in my current state.

Had he still been using necromancy, it might have been different, but he wasn’t. So this was inevitable.

Do I need to start considering things like this from now on? Everything’s changed, so I can’t continue using my old methods.

But now wasn't the time to worry about the future. The immediate problem was how to deal with the archlich in front of him. Karnak narrowed his eyes at the monstrous being, overflowing with both dark energy and mana.

Redeemer of Necromancy won't work.

That spell functioned by reversing necromantic power against its user. But Demphis wasn't actively using necromancy. His existence itself was the result of necromancy, but all his combat techniques were purely magic-based. The only application of necrotic energy he displayed was his Veil of Darkness, which was no different from a human instinctively moving their limbs. It was too simple to be reversed.

And if I try chaos magic, I have no real chance of winning...

The power gap between Karnak, who had only just reached the seventh circle, and Demphis, a ninth circle master, didn't even need to be explained.

Damn it. Should I just use necromancy?

That would reveal his true identity to Leven, Lapicel, and Milia, but that wasn't a major issue.

I could just erase their memories later if needed...

But even that option wasn't ideal. If he wanted to properly wield necromancy now, he needed preparation. He had spent all this time trying to live like a normal person. As a result, he didn't have enough latent necrotic energy to immediately cast high-level necromantic spells.

Damn it, this is what I get for trying to be a decent person!

He had no choice. For now, he would have to set his decency aside and revert to his old ways.

"Leven! Lapicel!” Karnak whipped his head around and shouted. "Run!"

The two turned to him in confusion.

"What?"

"There's no way we're abandoning you...”

"Besides, where are we supposed to run...”

"That bastard isn't even planning to kill you! Just turn your backs and get moving!” Karnak quickly continued before they could argue. "And while you're at it, clear a way for us to escape! Let's see how he reacts!"

At last, the others seemed to understand. After all, neither Leven nor Lapicel could contribute much in a direct fight. But as bait? They were extremely valuable. They didn't know the reason, but they had already sensed it from Demphis's attitude.

"...Alright!"

Leven and Lapicel sprinted toward the collapsed corridor.

Watching them go, Demphis let out an amused chuckle. "Oh? Now that's interesting."

It was a reasonable, logical tactic but something about it also felt incredibly underhanded.

Why does this feel so familiar?