A dark night street, about two blocks away from the Lanfelt Mansion.
Two men were running through a narrow alleyway. They were Baros, carrying Serati on his back, and Karnak.
After hiding in the darkness of the alley, Baros peeked beyond the street.
"We managed to buy ourselves enough time to escape. It's a good thing that guy is genuinely naive."
"I said that to get him angry, but it's not just because he's naive."
Karnak smirked faintly as he looked toward the Lanfelt mansion.
"Well, who told him to keep controlling things from a distance?"
If the opponent had shown himself directly, no matter how skilled he was, he wouldn't have been able to maintain the illusion for long.
But Shutraff had only been using necromancy indirectly, hiding somewhere within the mansion.
"It's difficult to deceive a necromancer directly, but creating an illusion to fool a distant-view spell is not that hard."
"If he doesn't even know such basics, isn't that naive?"
"Being naive and being ignorant are different things. Then again, he was a cleric, so it's to be expected, right? He didn't even have the most basic skills, tsk tsk."
As Karnak clicked his tongue, Baros asked him, "So, what do we do now?"
"First, we need to find a place to hide."
It was quiet for now, but this silence wouldn't last long.
Shutraff wouldn't just sit still after losing track of Karnak's group. Soon, he would unleash the Lanfelt family's subordinates to search the entire city like a fine-tooth comb.
They needed to find a hiding place before that happened.
"And we need to plan our next steps..."
Karnak pointed toward Baros's shoulder, more specifically at Serati, who was still unconscious and slung over his shoulder.
"We need to deal with this young lady too."
***
Karnak's prediction was accurate.
The enraged Shutraff immediately mobilized the Lanfelt family to search every inch of Trist City.
Lights flickered on across the city, and people began to move.
"Hey, open up!"
"Is there any suspicious outsider here?"
The fact that it was the dead of night didn't matter at all.
Lanfelt's thugs roamed the inns and alleys indiscriminately. In the process, many innocent people were unjustly dragged into the chaos.
"What the— We're just ordinary merchants..."
"What on earth is going on?"
Even when the merchants from out of town, who had been dragged out of their beds, protested fiercely, no one paid any attention.
Blood flowed and cries of pain echoed all around.
"Aaah!"
"Oh no, I'm asking you, who are you looking for?"
"Shut up and come with us! We've been ordered to round up every suspicious person!"
Among them, there were quite a few who resisted violently.
After all, these were outsiders who had come to this infamous city of crime by their own choice. Ordinary citizens wouldn't even think of coming to such a place.
"You think you can push us around?"
"You think we don't have weapons?"
All around, bloodshed ensued, and the uproar continued.
It had been about an hour since the once quiet night in Trist was turned upside down.
But no matter how much they searched, the search parties couldn't find their target.
"Where the hell are these bastards hiding?"
"There's no way outsiders wouldn't stand out in this city."
Someone voiced their doubt.
"You don't think they managed to escape the city, do you?"
And they were immediately shot down.
"No way. We've deployed too many people for that."
Even though this was a lawless city, it was once a fortress of a kingdom. With enough manpower, it was possible to have an impenetrable defense.
"But considering they were bold enough to attack the mansion directly, they might have forced their way out..."
"We haven't received any reports of that."
If a battle had taken place, there would have been some trace—either an uproar or corpses.
Yet, all the guards stationed at the city boundaries remained in their positions without any incident.
"...Then where the hell are they?"
***
Serati slowly began to regain consciousness.
"Ugh..."
Voices could be heard from her hazy consciousness.
"Returning to the Pulad estate would be dangerous, wouldn't it, young master?"
"That's likely. In this situation, the first place they'd go would be their enemies. They've probably already sent a large number of people there."
"Ugh, I left all my stuff there; I'll have to retrieve it later."
"I never expected things to turn out like this. I thought I'd avoid being chased and having to hide in this lifetime."
"It seems it's just our fate to live this way."
The voices belonged to Karnak and Baros. Serati's heart skipped a beat in alarm.
'Them!'
She suddenly became fully alert.
She had seen it clearly: the energy of darkness rising from Karnak's entire body.
She needed to get away immediately. She tried to get up.
"Ugh!"
A sharp pain surged through her, and a faint groan escaped her lips.
Hearing the sound, Karnak approached her.
"You've woken up, Miss Serati. How are you feeling?"
"...Are you really concerned about my well-being, you filthy necromancer?"
Her icy response made Karnak scratch his head awkwardly.
"Ah, I can't blame you for thinking that..."
It was unexpected.
She thought he would reveal his true colors now that his identity was exposed, but he still wore a kind expression. Who could suspect that this gentle-looking man was an evil necromancer?
'Come to think of it, why did he keep me alive?'
Despite her confusion, Serati decided to assess the situation first.
"Where are we?"
"We're in a forest on the southern outskirts of Trist City. It's safer outside the city."
"How did you manage to slip through the perimeter? They wouldn't have let you go easily."
"I've had a fair amount of experience with this sort of thing."
The Lanfelt family undoubtedly had Trist City under a tight lockdown. Even powerful adventurers or mages would find it difficult to sneak past such a well-established perimeter.
But necromancers are different.
Necromancy specializes in mind control, memory distortion, and illusions. What might be impossible for a mage can be easily done by a necromancer.
Think the guards are on high alert? Just knock them out in one blow and then manipulate their memories—it's the perfect crime. Alternatively, you could hypnotize or brainwash them from the start.
This is precisely why necromancers are notoriously difficult to capture.
Necromancy is inherently suited for evasion and concealment.
Moreover, Karnak and Baros had been in similar situations dozens of times in their previous lives.
They had operated covertly for months in the imperial capital, the most heavily policed city on the continent. Compared to that, this rural city was nothing.
"We just needed some time to figure out how to deal with Miss Serati, so we temporarily withdrew."
Karnak's tone was calm, but the content was anything but.
'Deal with me?' Her face paled. Karnak, noticing this, continued with an awkward smile.
"Perhaps 'deal with' isn't the best way to put it? But you know my secret; I can't just leave you alone."
"...Are you planning to kill me?"
Even as she said it, Serati didn't think that was the case.
If they intended to kill her, they wouldn't have gone through the trouble of carrying her all the way here.
Indeed, Karnak shook his head.
"I have no such intention. Despite how it may seem, I'm trying to live without committing any crimes."
"Hmph, and you're a necromancer?"
"I ended up learning necromancy by circumstance, but I don't particularly like it. In fact, I try to avoid using necromancy as much as possible..."
Karnak subtly summoned a faint mana.
"...and I've been focusing solely on the path of a mage."
As an aura user, Serati could accurately sense the nature of the energy being emitted.
The power Karnak displayed was undoubtedly mana. It wasn't necromantic power.
'True, he's used magic several times, but no one noticed.'
Not just her, but even Riltein, a mage, and Alius, a priest, hadn't noticed anything either, so it certainly wasn't the power of darkness.
'Could he be telling the truth?'
Yet, something still didn't sit right with her.
"Aren't necromancy and magic incompatible?"
"Normally, yes. But this is my unique method. I really don't want to delve into necromancy any more than necessary."
Upon reflection, even Shutraff, a former priest, used necromancy. So it wasn't entirely implausible.
Serati began to waver.
Could it be that Karnak had no choice but to learn necromancy and was now solely pursuing the path of a mage?
"If that's the case, why don't you completely abandon necromancy?"
Karnak chuckled slightly at this.
"Miss Serati, let me ask you the opposite. Could you give up your aura?"
"Huh?"
"I'm asking if you could give up the battle aura you've trained in."
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could I give up the aura I've already trained in...?"
"Yes, and that's exactly why I can't give up necromantic power."
Serati was at a loss for words.
As someone who also wielded aura, she understood immediately.
Indeed, once you've mastered a particular power, giving it up becomes impossible.
"Alright, let's accept that for now..."
Serati sighed and asked, "If you're not going to kill me, then what do you plan to do with me?"
"I'm going to erase a part of your memory. Just the moments when I used necromancy."
Her expression hardened.
Erase a person's memory? Could necromancy really do that?
"It's not a big deal. I'm sure you've experienced something similar at least once before."
"That's nonsense! There's no way losing memories like that is common!"
"Never blacked out from drinking?"
Once again, Serati was struck speechless.
To be honest, who hasn't?
In fact, it wasn't just once or twice—there were quite a few instances. She did enjoy drinking, after all.
"There won't be any issues. After all, you passed out during the battle, didn't you? It'll just seem like you lost consciousness a few minutes earlier."
She felt a wave of confusion.
It was a surprisingly generous offer. Not something one would expect from an evil necromancer.
"...Why are you going to such lengths? Are you trying to win me over?"
Karnak, noticing her slight softening, made a vague expression.
"It's a bit awkward to say this, but..."
At the same time, he glanced at her shoulder.
"The truth is, there's no real need to win you over right now. You wouldn't be much help."
For a moment, she didn't understand.
An aura user not being helpful? Why?
Without thinking, she followed his gaze.
He was looking at her shoulder. Naturally, she saw her elbows.
But there were no arms.
What she saw was a charred, blackened stump where her arms had been severed...
A groan escaped her, as if her very soul were crumbling.
"Aah..."
***
The realization that she had been too numb to notice hit her like a wave.
'That's right, I lost my arms...'
Both arms were gone.
She could no longer hold a sword.
No tears came. Her body just trembled uncontrollably.
Sure, with proper recovery, she might be able to use her aura again. But the swordsmanship she had honed over a lifetime was now useless.
No, the sword wasn't the issue.
Without arms, she couldn't hold anything.
Even the most basic daily activities were impossible. She wouldn't even be able to clean herself after using the toilet.
A young woman in her prime, unable to maintain even the slightest dignity.
"Aah..."
All she could see was darkness.
In the midst of her despair, Karnak's voice reached her ears, offering what felt like hollow comfort.
"My condolences, Miss Serati. You truly were a talented aura user."
To her, it was just an empty echo.
"...Just kill me."
She muttered desolately.
"Erase my memory? There's no need. Just kill me here and now..."
Baros, filled with pity, cautiously asked, "Is there really no other way, young master? Perhaps if we found a powerful cleric to heal her...?"
"If the limbs are severed, it's impossible. You know that, right? No matter how powerful the magic or holy spells are, they can't restore lost limbs. It's an act against the natural order."
"True, it's different from necromancy."
Baros sighed deeply.
"Different from necromancy?"
Serati, lost in despair, suddenly lifted her head.
"Wait! Does that mean necromancy... necromancy could restore my arms?"
Karnak blinked a few times before replying in a low voice.
"It could, but..."
He scratched his cheek, looking uncomfortable.
"I wouldn't recommend it."
"Why not?"
"Because it would require turning you into one of my subjects. You wouldn't want to become the subordinate of an evil necromancer, would you?"
[T/L: Please support me: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]