Jestarad Mansion, 2nd Floor, Lord's Office.
Once again, Karnak swiftly handled his official duties, quickly finishing them, and then fully immersed himself in his true work. He was reprocessing the Darkness of Doom he had taken from Shutraff.
He manipulated the darkness in the subspace, letting out a sigh as he worked.
"Ah, this is such a hassle."
He had three tasks he needed to complete.
First, he needed to convert the Darkness of Doom he had stolen from Shutraff into Chaos Power.
This was a task that required time to accomplish.
No matter how wise and knowledgeable Karnak, who once held the title of the Death King, was, it would still take several months.
To be precise, because he was once the Death King, what would have taken years could now be reduced to months.
And he also needed to figure out how Shutraff managed to fuse Necromantic Power with Divine Power.
This was another question that could not be answered immediately.
'Although it's been heavily altered, it doesn't seem to have changed much from the original nature of Astra Spiritus.'
Of course, there could be aspects that Karnak hadn't yet discovered, so this was something that also needed to be checked over a long period.
'Or maybe Shutraff had something special about him?'
That possibility seemed unlikely as well.
Before handing the body over to Alius, he had thoroughly examined it but found no differences from other clerics.
Nevertheless, the reason the possibility was considered 'unlikely' rather than 'impossible' was because the time spent investigating was not long enough, and there might have been parts that were missed.
In any case, if the problem didn't lie with Shutraff, then the next possibility had to be considered.
'Could it be that my authority originally had the ability to fuse with other energies, and I just didn't realize it?'
It wasn't an entirely unreasonable thought.
The power of Karnak, who had become Astra Spiritus, was an ultimate force that transcended even necromantic power. It was entirely possible that it could break the usual conventions of necromantic power.
However, this too didn't seem to add up.
He had been Astra Spiritus for 70 years, and during that time, he had used and manipulated power countless times, and yet he was unaware of this?
If he had been that foolish, he wouldn't have been called the Death King in the first place.
'There is a way to confirm this...'
The easiest method would be to trigger the phenomenon once more.
Selecting an appropriate cleric and forcibly injecting the Darkness of Doom to observe the changes would be the quickest way. In the past, he certainly would have done just that.
'But that's not the right thing to do now, is it?'
So, this issue was also set aside for now.
After all, there was a more important matter at hand.
'I need to stop the Doom first.'
He needed to stop the spreading Darkness of Doom from further consuming the world.
'Once this is dealt with, the rest can be resolved slowly. At least the situation won't worsen.'
Thanks to extracting the darkness from Shutraff, he had sufficient information.
He had a rough idea of how the Darkness of Doom flowed and how it traversed through space-time.
Currently, Karnak was creating the 'Eye of Darkness' through subspace. It was a type of magical entity that explored space-time to read the flow of necromantic power.
As he was diligently manipulating the Darkness of Doom, Karnak sighed again.
"Ah, this is really a hassle."
Creating the Eye of Darkness and using it to read the flow of the world was similar to flying a kite to gauge the wind.
The materials for the kite were not expensive. Even the string connecting the kite was the same. It was something Karnak's necromantic power could easily handle.
However, just because the method was simple didn't mean the task itself was easy.
Even flying a kite requires a high level of skill if it is to be done precisely, doesn't it?
And this was not just flying a kite in the sky but launching an authority-bearing entity into the depths of space-time.
It didn't require much necromantic power, but it did need to be incredibly complex and precise.
Of course, the difficulty wasn't so great that Karnak, the former Death King, struggled, but it was an extremely tedious and intricate task.
It was akin to setting up thousands of dominoes.
Anyone can set up a domino, but setting up thousands without making a mistake requires considerable skill, mental strength, and concentration.
Moreover, no matter how skilled one is, it cannot be done in an instant. It's a tedious and repetitive task.
"Ah, back in the day, I wouldn't have needed to do this."
If he were still the Death King, he would have just used his infinite power to shatter space-time and quickly scanned through it.
"Wait, now that I think about it, even if I had the power, I couldn't do it like that."
That would be like declaring to the whole world, "The King of Death has descended here!"
"I can't do that now."
Letting go of his regrets, Karnak refocused on the task of manipulating the darkness.
His appearance resembled not so much an evil necromancer wielding the powers of death and darkness, but rather...
'…more like someone sewing on a button for a living.'
Suddenly, Karnak glanced out the window.
It was about time for Baros and Serati to finish their training.
'Did they get anything out of it, that guy?'
Serati must have gained a lot. Being an empty vessel, anything poured into it would fill it up.
Even though it was considered empty, that was only by Karnak's standards.
The real issue was whether Baros got what he wanted from Serati.
Baros wasn't spending time with Serati purely out of goodwill.
By guiding her and observing her progress, he aimed to find a clue to his own awakening of battle aura.
However, there was still no news of him becoming an aura user.
'Seriously, how is it possible that someone who was once the world's strongest warrior can't even get past such a basic stage?'
At the same time, Serati was pondering the exact same question.
'Is it possible that someone who was once the world's strongest swordsman can't even get past such a basic stage?'
During the morning training sessions, Baros was the teacher, and Serati was the student.
In contrast, during the afternoon training sessions, their roles were reversed.
"Whew…"
Baros sat under the shade of a tree, regulating his breathing. He entered a deep meditation, slowly exhaling long, thin breaths.
"How is it? Do you feel anything?"
Serati asked cautiously, and Baros responded with an awkward smile.
"Not at all."
"That's strange…"
Serati looked perplexed, clearly unable to understand, and Baros asked her a question.
"How was it when you first awakened your battle aura, Dame Serati?"
After a moment of thought, Serati slowly began to speak.
"I observed myself, reaching out to the light within me, transforming into a sword…"
"Not a line from a swordsmanship manual, please."
After all, Baros had memorized every first-class swordsmanship manual on the continent.
"It's not like I don't know that, you know?"
Serati bristled.
"You said you didn't know Tascal swordsmanship, though."
The Tascal school was a prestigious and ancient school in the central part of the Kingdom of Yustil, mainly spread among adventurers. It was also the swordsmanship that she had learned.
Baros scratched his head.
"I mean, I've memorized all the first-class swordsmanship manuals…"
"Oh, so Tascal is just third-class swordsmanship, huh?"
"It's not exactly that, more like it's a common swordsmanship style?"
"That's pretty much the same thing!"
Serati glared at him.
Feeling embarrassed, Baros chuckled awkwardly before speaking.
"It would be helpful if you could share a more intuitive feeling, just your own, Dame Serati."
"Well, that's…"
She took a moment to recall the time when she awakened her battle aura.
If she stripped away all the unnecessary embellishments and described only that moment honestly?
"…It just happened."
"I figured."
That's exactly what every aura user who has awakened their battle aura says.
It just happened. I kept trying, and it happened.
"Is it really a problem with my talent?"
As Baros worried, Serati looked at him with an expression of disbelief.
"How could Sir Baros not have talent?"
After spending all morning making her feel like a fool, he was now claiming to have no talent? What did that make her?
"The talent for wielding battle aura and the talent for awakening battle aura might be different."
Baros was assessing himself critically.
He undoubtedly had the talent to wield battle aura, to wield a sword, to use his body—all of these.
"But the talent to make a sword and the talent to wield a sword are different, aren't they?"
Wielding a sword was the domain of a swordsman, but making a sword was the domain of a blacksmith.
"Maybe battle aura is similar in that way."
With a sigh, Baros sat down again and resumed his meditation, trying once more to feel the battle aura.
Of course, the result was the same as before.
"Ah, it's still not working."
Serati, who had been watching, tilted her head in confusion.
"But am I really helping you with anything, Sir Baros?"
She asked the question, and though he answered, she still didn't know what she was supposed to do for him.
Baros already knew everything she knew, and at a much higher level, too.
"Why do you even need me?"
"Just in case."
Baros had his own reasons.
"There's a saying that even a frog forgets its tadpole days."
Baros had played in waters filled with frogs of the highest caliber, the stage of the super king frogs.
All of his swordsmanship theories came from these king frogs.
"I thought maybe hearing a tadpole's perspective might reveal something different…"
"..."
For a moment, Serati thought.
'Should I really stay calm after hearing something like this? Even if it means dying, shouldn't I just bash this guy's skull in?'
Of course, it was just a thought.
She was too scared to actually do it.
"Ah…"
All she could do was let out a sigh.
'Even so, I think this is the first time I've been treated so poorly despite being an aura user.'
Conveniently, Baros let out a sigh at the same time.
"When I think about how much effort I put in during my previous life and still failed, only to end up obtaining the dark aura through the young master's power, I wonder if I truly have no talent in this area."
Watching him sulk, Serati suddenly had another thought.
'Even so, isn't this just too strange?'
He knew nearly all of the world's top-class swordsmanship. If he could just grasp any aura, he could wield it as if it were his own. His physical abilities were extraordinary, and his combat instincts were top-notch.
Leaving aside experience and other factors, Baros was undoubtedly a born warrior. There was no question about that.
So how could he lack the talent to awaken battle aura and therefore be unable to use it?
'Is it even possible that the talent for awakening battle aura is entirely separate from a warrior's talent?'
Sure, the talents of a blacksmith and a swordsman are different.
'But a swordsman doesn't gain a blacksmith's skills just by intensely training in swordsmanship, right?'
On the other hand, battle aura is something that a swordsman can awaken through rigorous training in swordsmanship. In that sense, it should be seen as an extension of martial prowess.
The more she thought about it, the more it seemed that his analogy about the blacksmith was off.
'Could there be some other reason?'
***
It had been a little over a month since Karnak returned to the Jestarad territory.
During that time, Serati had firmly established herself as a knight of Jestarad, while Baros continued to struggle with finding the key to awakening his battle aura, as usual.
Then one day, Karnak called both of them.
"It's finished."
"Oh, finally?"
Baros asked, delighted.
"Does that mean everything's done now?"
"If everything goes according to plan, yes."
Only Serati, who wasn't in the loop, looked confused.
"What do you mean by 'done'?"
"Oh, it's… something."
"I'll explain it to you later."
Karnak, Baros, and Serati prepared to leave the mansion.
Officially, they were heading into the nearby forest to absorb the natural energy in order to advance Karnak's mana by a level.
Of course, there was another reason entirely.
"What if someone catches us launching the Eye of Darkness in our territory?"
After all, this was necromancy. If the Churches of the Seven Goddesses caught even a whiff of it, things would get really complicated.
"That's why we're doing it in the neighboring territory, the Deventor estate."
Baros nodded in agreement, appreciating the clever plan.
"If we get caught, we can always pin the blame on the Deventor side!"
"Exactly!"
Serati hesitantly raised her hand.
"Um, didn't you say you were done with doing bad things?"
"Huh? Is this considered a bad thing?"
"...I'm more curious as to why you think this isn't a bad thing."
"It's not that I don't realize it's bad..."
Karnak wasn't some fool who couldn't distinguish between good and evil.
What he struggled with was not the existence of good and evil but the degree of it.
"I mean, isn't this something that other people do too?"
His goal was to live a balanced life, doing a mix of good and bad deeds like any normal person, not to avoid all evil and live purely virtuously like a saint or sage.
Serati hesitated.
The Deventor Viscounty was a long-standing rival of the Jestarad Barony, with a history of bloody conflicts. They had killed not only the previous baron but also Karnak's siblings, and Karnak himself had nearly been killed by them.
Was it really an "unacceptable evil" to frame such an enemy?
"It does seem like something others would do as well..."
Karnak smiled brightly.
"Then let's get going."
[T/L: Please support me: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]