Karnak and his group, after resolving the issue with the Count Brelant, officially joined the King's Order.
Normally, they would need to undergo about two more tasks during their training period, but because Tarman's evaluation of them was exceptionally positive, Commander Erantel immediately recognized their abilities.
Following that, they were assigned to the 4th Battalion and handled several incidents, continuously achieving successful results.
Now, three months later, Karnak and his group had gained enough trust to be assigned independent missions, such as the task of eradicating a heretic cult.
***
In the western part of the Yustil Kingdom, located deep within the Relzebeth Mountain Range that runs north to south across the continent's northern region.
In the depths of these rugged mountains, adjacent to the Lacaenia Empire, hundreds of people had gathered.
Most of them were ordinary peasants, with over half being children, women, or the elderly.
The weak huddled together, lighting campfires and offering sincere prayers.
"Watch over us..."
"Protect your lambs..."
Having fled oppression, they had hidden themselves deep within this desolate mountain range, clinging to a fragile hope as they prayed. Their devotion appeared truly sincere.
Too sincere, in fact.
An elderly man, filled with piety, raised his hands.
"Receive this offering!"
He then approached the campfire, holding a young infant.
"A blood offering dedicated to you!"
They were all cultists, followers of the Dark God.
Filled with madness, the people raised their voices.
"This is the trial bestowed upon us by Tesranak..."
"Only those who pass the test will knock on the gates of paradise!"
The baby's cries grew louder, as did the prayers of the fanatics.
Finally, the old man stood before the campfire.
Just as he was about to throw the infant into the flames...
"You lunatics!"
With a sharp shout, a streak of red light shot in from outside the fortress.
The light struck the campfire, smashing it to pieces and scattering embers in all directions.
Boom!
Simultaneously, a woman flew over the fortress wall.
Underneath her flowing red hair, a brilliantly glowing red sword of battle aura revealed itself.
The fanatics, startled, began to scatter in all directions.
"King's Order!"
"Oh my god! It's the unbelievers of the kingdom!"
The campfire, meant for the sacrifice, was gone. The old man, still holding the infant, was left in a panic, unsure of what to do.
"T-this... without the fire, the ritual..."
In that moment of confusion, the woman approached the old man.
She swiftly kicked him aside and effortlessly caught the baby in midair.
With grace and without causing any harm to the infant, she gently held the child and sighed in relief.
"There, there, it's okay now."
As the woman comforted the baby, the old man began to weep.
"Cursed dogs of the wicked goddess!"
The woman let out a snort of disbelief.
"Wicked? Who's calling who wicked when you're the ones trying to throw a baby into the fire?"
The old man's attitude did not change. He remained convinced that the woman who had interrupted the sacred ritual was a criminal of the highest order.
"Indeed, you are a foolish unbeliever, deceived by lies! Do you believe only what your eyes can see?"
"Deceived or not, are you seriously saying that throwing a baby into the fire isn't a bad thing? What nonsense are you spouting?"
Behind the woman holding the baby, the sound of a horn echoed beyond the fortress walls.
Bwoooooong!
Soon after, the walls began to crumble, and soldiers started pouring in.
These were the elite troops led by the King's Order, the kingdom's inquisitors.
"Soldiers of the kingdom, punish those who have forsaken humanity!"
***
Screams echoed from all directions. They were the cries of the cultists dying at the hands of the soldiers.
"Aaaargh!"
"Mother…"
"Tesranak, save us…"
These were mostly simple peasants. Having never experienced combat, they were no match for the elite soldiers.
It was truly a brutal massacre.
Yet the soldiers' expressions showed little emotion.
"These cultist bastards…"
"They're completely insane."
They had already witnessed what was outside the fortress.
These "simple" peasants had tied countless corpses to wooden stakes, offering them as sacrifices to the Dark God.
Being simple does not equate to being virtuous.
In fact, their simplicity made them even more susceptible to falling into evil.
"They're a breed that shouldn't be allowed to live!"
The soldiers' swords, filled with righteous anger, showed no hesitation.
Most of the cultists were easily cut down. As they died, they called out for the god they believed in and the priests they followed.
"Tesranak!"
"Lord Palestil!"
"Where are you, Lord Darion!"
The priests of the Dark God, the necromancers of darkness whom they so desperately called upon, could not protect their followers.
They were already being held at bay by another opponent.
***
Deep within the fortress stood a two-story wooden building.
Inside, two necromancers were confronting a group of three—a young dark-haired mage, a sturdy blond knight, and a young cleric woman who appeared quite young.
The necromancers, particularly focused on the young mage, trembled with fear.
"Ugh…"
"How did the King's Order find this place…?"
Despite their careful movements, the King's Order had easily discovered their traces.
And they had tracked them down so effortlessly, arriving at this hidden place with incredible speed.
It made no sense.
'How on earth?'
'By what means?'
The necromancers weren't the only ones puzzled by this.
Millia, a second-tier inquisitor and a cleric of Latiel, the Goddess of the Sun, who participated in this mission as part of the King's Order, was equally baffled.
"How did you find this place so easily, Lord Karnak?"
To her, Karnak's actions were incomprehensible.
There was no information gathering or tracking involved.
He had merely arrived at the mountain range, glanced at the terrain, and said:
—It's over there. Let's go.
Though she found it absurd, they followed his lead, and when they arrived, there really was a hideout for the cultists.
Karnak turned to Millia, speaking in a soothing tone.
"This isn't the time for a leisurely chat, is it? I'll explain later."
He was entirely right.
Accepting this, Millia refocused on the necromancers before her.
"You're right. Punishing them is our priority now."
Of course, Baros knew the truth.
[What excuse are you going to make this time, young master?]
[Let's deal with them first and worry about excuses later. Making up stories every time is exhausting.]
At that moment, a red-haired woman entered the building. Having entrusted the rescued baby to another soldier, Serati had arrived belatedly.
"How are things outside, Serati?"
"The resistance is pretty fierce, but we shouldn't suffer any major losses."
She then turned to Millia and respectfully requested.
"Even so, some soldiers might get injured. Priestess Millia, could you please take care of them?"
"Pardon? But as a cleric, I should be here to face the necromancers…"
Karnak gently reassured the flustered Millia.
"The lives of the soldiers are just as precious as anyone else's. We can handle them ourselves, so shouldn't we prioritize saving those lives?"
Millia was moved.
'To value the lives of soldiers over his own safety!'
It was truly the attitude of a nobleman worth emulating.
Refusing here would only be rude to Karnak.
"Understood. Then, may Latiel bless you."
Light flowed from Millia's entire body, enveloping Karnak, Baros, and Serati. It was the blessing of the goddess, meant to protect them against the powers of darkness.
"Please take care of things!"
Millia then dashed out of the building to assist the soldiers.
As soon as she was gone, the remaining group's demeanor changed completely.
"Ah, she's gone."
"Now, take this off, young master."
"Alright."
In that instant, the necromancers were struck with terror.
Mana of darkness began to emanate from the young mage's entire body, erasing the goddess's blessing that Millia had placed on them.
"Gasp!"
"The King's Order using the power of darkness?"
Karnak, who had dispelled the blessing, casually shrugged.
"Ah, what a bother. It's not like I can just tell her not to do it."
Serati looked slightly uncomfortable.
"She did her best to bless us, and treating it like some kind of stain feels a bit disrespectful, don't you think?"
The confused necromancers drew upon their power of darkness.
"I don't know what's going on, but…"
"We are the chosen ones of Tesranak!"
Around them, the forms of ghostly blue spirits began to appear—the spirits of bloodied knights and soldiers let out ghastly wails.
Kyaaaah!
This was the necromancy of calling forth lingering spirits bound to the earth, the cursed souls of a battlefield—The Wraiths of the Wasteland.
Unlike the unskilled foes they had encountered before, these necromancers had truly mastered the darkness.
"Let us show you the true power of darkness!"
Yet Serati remained unshaken, knowing full well how this would end.
Indeed, a smile deepened on Karnak's lips.
"Oh, they've unleashed some proper necromancy? Not bad at all."
This made things easier.
"Rather than dealing with brute idiots who know nothing…"
He raised a finger and lightly traced a circle in the air.
"It's much easier to exploit someone who actually understands what they're doing."
The dark energy reversed its flow, and the summoned spirits turned against the necromancers themselves.
"What the—! What's happening?"
"Why aren't they following my commands…?"
Soon, the building was filled with their frantic screams.
"Aaaaargh!"
***
Karnak extended his right hand toward the fallen bodies of the necromancers.
Sssss…
Power of darkness flowed out, seeping into his hand through his palm.
"Now, I'll take all of this Darkness of Doom for myself."
After absorbing the darkness with his right hand, he extended his left hand. Another wave of darkness flowed out from it, seeping into the corpses.
"But I should leave some decoys. After all, our dear Millia will need something to present to her chruch."
This was Karnak's "darkness," gathered and condensed from the malevolent energy around him.
In essence, its nature was no different from the Darkness of Doom.
"Though the quality is worlds apart."
Even now, Karnak could create the Darkness of Doom.
After all, if he gathered and condensed evil energy and malice, converting it with his necromantic power, that would indeed be the Darkness of Doom.
However, refining it into a truly useful power takes a significant amount of time.
On the other hand, the malice he had just infused into the corpses?
It was merely a haphazardly gathered and densely compressed mass.
Even though it's the same malevolent energy, it's useless for necromancers if it's not refined.
"But to a cleric, it all looks the same."
It could be compared to fake food that you can't distinguish from real food until you actually put it in your mouth and taste it.
"But what sane cleric would actually put this in their mouth to taste it?"
Unless someone is completely out of their mind, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
And the world calls such a person a necromancer.
Feeling reassured, Karnak absorbed the essence of the darkness. Then, spreading his arms wide, he began to manipulate the mana.
"Now, let's separate the necromantic power from the rest…"
His left hand became enveloped in a deep darkness.
"Then separate the chaos power on its own…"
His right hand was bathed in a radiant light.
"If I mix these well and store them properly…!"
Both the light and darkness vanished simultaneously. At the same time, a subtle mana emanated from his entire body.
It was pure mana, completely devoid of any malevolent or malicious energy.
Karnak looked satisfied.
"Great, I've reached the 6th Circle."
[T/L: Please support me: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]