Chapter 24: The Model Necromancer (2)

Karnak couldn’t help but grimace.

He wants to confront a potential necromancer directly? And then what?

The likely scenario played out in his mind:

“Hello there, are you a necromancer?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Ah, my mistake. Sorry to bother you. Goodbye.”

That wasn’t how it worked.

But

Alius wasn't as thoughtless as Karnak initially assumed.

"Of course, I don’t intend to interrogate him outright," Alius clarified. "Inquisitors have our own methods."

Karnak's eyes lit up with curiosity.

Could there be a divine spell specifically developed to detect necromancy that I don’t know about?

It seemed plausible. Necessity was the mother of invention, after all. In his previous life, necromancers weren’t as rampant as they were now.

“Then we should act before the sun sets,” Karnak suggested, already moving to stand.

But Alius raised a hand to stop him. “We’ll move after nightfall. For now, rest.”

“...Is that wise?” Karnak asked, his tone skeptical.

The sun’s light greatly diminished the power of darkness. Necromancers reached their full potential in the depths of the night. Why, then, delay until their enemy was at their strongest?

Alius smiled knowingly. “It’s easier to identify a true necromancer under the cover of night. You’ll see.”

Without waiting for further questions, Alius lay down on the bed. “I’ll take a short nap to prepare myself for the evening.”

It wasn’t just because he was tired. Rather, rest was essential to replenishing divine power. It was the proper course of action for any priest about to potentially face a necromancer. Karnak and Varos followed suit and reclined on their respective beds.

Following suit, Karnak and Varos also reclined on their respective beds. As they stared at the ceiling, Varos used their magical communication link to speak privately.

[What’s the real situation, young master?]

[Both the priest and the nun are under mental manipulation,] Karnak replied.

Unlike Alius, Karnak could clearly perceive the spiritual state of Grass and Julia.

[There’s a dullness around their foreheads—classic signs of necromantic influence. It’s subtle enough that Alius wouldn’t have noticed.]

[So, the necromancer must be strong, then? Isn’t it supposed to be difficult to manipulate the minds of clergy?]

[Normally, yes. But these two have almost no divine power to speak of.]

In truth, it was generous even to call them clergy.

[Which is probably why they were assigned to such a backwater village.]

It wasn’t just the pair who were affected. In fact, the entire village was under a mild form of manipulation. Karnak had verified this as they passed through.

[The necromancer isn’t bad for a third-rate. About where I was in my mid-twenties, maybe? They’re well-concealed. I doubt anyone less skilled would even notice.]

But in his previous life, there were no specialized inquisitors like Alius. Karnak had survived by hiding and running, even with much less skill than he possessed now. Karnak allowed himself a small smile as he glanced at Alius, deep in sleep.

I made the right choice to work with him. This is a good opportunity to study the priests of this era.

***

The three of them rested soundly until dusk. After waking, they enjoyed a hearty meal prepared by Julia. Though modest, the meal was more than enough to restore their energy. Karnak, as always, was generous. He offered a donation far exceeding the cost of their meal, leaving Grass practically glowing with gratitude. Afterward, the three of them returned to their room, feigning an early retreat to bed.

A little more time passed before Alius spoke. “It’s about time for the two of them to sleep... Let’s move.”

His words were a signal to sneak out of the church without alerting Grass or Julia. Their goal was to investigate Cleo, the man suspected of necromancy.

“Is secrecy really necessary?” Karnak asked.

Alius replied with a serious expression. “There’s a possibility that they’re under the necromancer’s influence. If so, they could report our movements.”

“Then wouldn’t it have been better to hide your status as a priest from the start?” Karnak pressed.

“In some cases, yes,” Alius admitted.

He explained that such a strategy was often employed in places with a lot of transient visitors.

“But this village is different. Strangers are rare enough that a priest appearing openly is less suspicious than someone trying to hide their identity.”

Besides, many priests were already traveling across the continent to investigate necromancers. A visiting priest wasn’t unusual. Julia herself had mentioned that another priest had come a few months earlier. An unfamiliar priest in a village wasn’t entirely out of the ordinary in the current circumstances.

But what if that priest snuck out at night?

“Now, that would be highly suspicious,” Alius explained.

“I see your point. I hadn’t considered that,” Karnak replied. Honestly, he was impressed.

Unlike Karnak, Alius had not detected any anomalies from Grass or Julia. Even so, he was preparing for worst-case contingencies.

Alius gave a bashful shrug. “This is standard training for certified inquisitors.”

The world truly had changed. The churches of the seven goddesses had developed systematic measures to combat necromancy, a significant advancement compared to Karnak’s previous life.

Once preparations were complete, Alius rummaged through his belongings and pulled out a set of shabby robes. He draped them over his priestly attire, then handed out two equally worn cloaks and three masks to the group.

“Thankfully, I packed extra cloaks,” Alius said, placing them in front of Karnak and Varos. “Let me explain the plan.”

***

Moonlight filtered faintly through the windows, casting a dim glow across the forest outside.

Cleo stood by the window, his lips curling into a smirk.

The time for harvest is nearly here.

His reflection showed the face of a middle-aged man in his late forties. Contrary to the villagers’ descriptions, he was neither young nor particularly handsome. But that hardly mattered. The villagers saw him as he wanted them to. The human mind was such a fragile thing

.

Foolish creatures. Heh heh.

Behind him, a maid busily tidied his bed. She moved clumsily, untrained hands smoothing the sheets. A true noble’s maid would never work at such an hour. Rather, everything would have been prepared well before the master returned to the room. But this girl was no noble’s servant—merely a village girl dressed in a maid’s uniform.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

As she finished her task, Cleo gestured dismissively. “You may leave now.”

“Yes, master. Sleep well,” the girl said in a hollow voice, her expression blank as she exited the room.

Cleo watched her go, biting his lip.

Tsk. Leaving her untouched is quite difficult. How tempting.

The girl wasn’t particularly beautiful, but her youth and innocence stirred a primal desire in him. Still, he restrained himself. The soul of a maiden was far more valuable untainted. It had taken him six months to subdue the village, weave the dark energy into a barrier, and prepare the sacrifices needed for summoning the demon. Moreover, it had cost him a pretty penny to purchase to abandoned manor and to fix it up.

Soon... very soon,

he thought, savoring the prospect of the immense power that awaited him. Just as he was about to settle into bed, Cleo froze. The detection barrier he had placed around the manor had been triggered.

Intruders?

He focused his senses sharply.

Could it be dogs of the goddesses?

He had been wary since hearing that a priest had entered the village. But the priest had not taken further action, and he had been put at ease.

But now, I can’t stay still when there are intruders.

He quickly grabbed his sword and stepped out of the room. In the hallway, three masked figures stood silently.

Masked?

If they were agents of the church, they wouldn’t bother hiding their faces. The tattered cloaks and robes they wore made their identities even harder to discern.

Cleo, perplexed by the strange scene before him, raised his sword and demanded, “Who are you lot, and what do you want?”

The man in the shabby robe swaggered forward, a sly grin spreading across his face. “Hey there, big guy. Word’s out about you. I’ve heard that a rich young nobleman’s been throwing money around like nothing.”

He twirled a dagger lazily in his hand, his voice dripping with menace.

“So, we figured we’d swing by and help you lighten your load a bit.”

Cleo’s expression twisted into something indescribable. This was completely unexpected.

...What?

he thought.

Just some common robbers?

But upon reflection, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. When rumors of wealth spread, opportunists like these tended to show up. He was completely taken aback, and a dry chuckle escaped his lips.

“Kuh, kuhuhuhu...”

“Oh, you think this is funny?” snarled the younger man, scowling as he mock-thrust the dagger. “Looks like you’ll need a few holes poked in you to get serious.”

How pitiful. Cleo’s amusement turned to disdain as his eyes gleamed with dark arrogance. A low, scornful voice reverberated from his throat.

“Fools, unworthy even as sacrifices...”

Black tendrils of darkness erupted from his body, filling the corridor with a suffocating presence.

“For the crime of disturbing my rest, you shall pay with your lives!”

Fwoooosh!

A wave of terrifying malice surged outward, thick and oppressive. The sheer aura of death was so overwhelming that any living being would be paralyzed by instinctual fear.

Cleo burst into deranged laughter. “Hahahahaha!”

But then, a calm, mocking voice brought him to an abrupt halt. “Wow, you really just exposed yourself right away, huh?”

***

Alius had explained his

plan

earlier.

“We’ll disguise ourselves as robbers and demand money from him.”

“...Excuse me?”

Naturally, Karnak’s reaction was one of complete disbelief.

“You’re telling me there’s no holy spell to identify necromancers?”

“Oh, how I wish there were,” Alius said with a sigh. “But since we don’t have one, we can’t just sit around doing nothing.”

“Even so... A priest serving one of the goddesses is going to play at being a robber?”

Alius gave a sheepish smile. “This is my personal method. It’s not exactly approved by the church.”

Karnak felt a bit relieved to hear that. At least the churches hadn’t gone completely off the rails.

“But it’s surprisingly effective,” Alius continued.

Necromancers, by nature, were those who broke all taboos in pursuit of power.

“If someone like that were to encounter a group of bandits late at night, with no one else around to witness it...”

Alius grinned confidently.

“Do you think they’d meekly hand over their money and surrender in fear of the consequences?”

***

Dark energy surged and churned in all directions, an oppressive aura of death so chilling that any living creature would instinctively cower. Within the black haze, the necromancer’s crimson eyes gleamed with menace, his silhouette an embodiment of terror itself.

At least, that was how it should have been. Instead, the response was... underwhelming.

One of the hooded figures in shabby robes shrugged. “What did I tell you? This trick has never failed me yet.”

Another, thin-framed man nodded seriously, stroking his chin. “Indeed. Considering human psychology, it’s harder for this to fail than to succeed.”

The largest of the group, a burly figure, seemed less certain. “But isn’t it more that, if this method didn’t work, you wouldn’t even know who the necromancer was in the first place? That might just make it feel like it always works....”

Regardless of the bickering, none of them seemed particularly fazed. They were far too calm for men supposedly facing the living embodiment of death and despair. Clearly, they weren’t ordinary bandits.

“You scoundrels...” Cleo muttered, his composure sharpening. For some reason, their reaction steadied him. He realized the truth. “So, you’re dogs of the goddesses after all.”

With a theatrical flourish, Karnak and Varos tossed aside their cloaks, revealing a longsword and a mage’s wand. Alius stepped forward as well, drawing a sturdy oak staff from his robes.

“Servant of the foul darkness...” Alius intoned, his voice heavy with authority. The staff erupted with brilliant light, driving back the shadows. “Kneel before the light of the goddess!”

Light and darkness clashed violently, the collision shaking the corridor. The walls groaned, the ceiling trembled, and dust rained down from above.

Boom

!

Amid the cacophony, Cleo’s calm voice cut through like a blade. “Yes... I always knew this day would come.”

Though momentarily startled, he wasn’t overly concerned. His opponents were merely a single priest, a warrior, and a mage. Cleo felt confident he could hold his ground against his adversaries.

“Very well, dogs of the goddess!”

He extended his arms wide, and a shroud of darkness unfurled, creeping across the walls and floor. “Let me show you the power of true death!”