Monarch of Death

He wasn’t particularly taken as a disciple, as he had no aptitude for magic.

Instead, he was appointed as a secretary.

From that point on, Hudel managed the administration of the magic tower and secretly learned necromancy from Elezar.

Where she obtained it from, Hudel never knew, but she possessed a wealth of information on necromancy.

By then, he had already gathered enough necromantic power from the Darkness of Doom, and it took less than a year for him to become a powerful necromancer.

Once he could handle his tasks to a certain degree, Elezar led Hudel to the cult of the Dark God.

Besides being an Imperial mage of the empire, she held another identity.

She was one of the three saints of the cult of the Dark God, known as the Saintess of Destruction.

“Wow, to think the Imperial mage of the empire was the Saintess of Destruction…”

Serati clicked her tongue in astonishment as she listened.

The Pope of Death, the Buddha of Darkness, and the Saintess of Destruction.

They were the three saints leading the Order of the Dark God, which worshiped Tesranak.

Of course, the Seven Church of the Goddesses referred to them as demons.

Karnak wasn’t surprised.

“Someone like Elezar wouldn’t be in a low position, would she? If she was truly involved with a cult, she’d naturally be at the top.”

Unfortunately, the identities of the other two saints remained unknown. Hudel had no information on them either.

“I’ve never met them personally. Lady Elezar never mentioned them either.”

Still, the fact that one of the three saints had been exposed was significant.

If the Empire or the Church of the Seven Goddesses heard this news, they would be greatly pleased.

“It was a good thing I kept this one alive.”

By handing Hudel over to the Evil Slaying Brigade, the empire would also learn about Elezar’s true identity.

“It’d be ideal if they handle it themselves, and even if not, things will become much easier from here on.”

With a grin, Karnak urged Hudel to continue.

“So, what happened next?”

***

Even after pledging his loyalty to the cult of the Dark God, Hudel continued to work as Elezar’s trusted confidant.

Publicly, he was the secretary of the imperial mage, and within the cult, he served the Saintess of Destruction with utmost devotion.

During this time, his necromantic power grew stronger, and his position within the cult rose to that of a Cardinal.

With power and authority in hand, he returned to his homeland, the Grenthal Territory, and cleanly resolved an old grievance.

That is, by killing his entire family and monopolizing the territory for himself.

“This part isn’t much different from what we investigated.”

With Elezar backing him, there was no issue in assuming the position of the new lord.

He smoothly became the lord of the Grenthal Territory.

Afterward, Hudel’s main task was to serve as the messenger between the cult of the Dark God within the Seven Kingdoms Alliance and the empire.

He acted as a sort of vanguard to expand the order’s influence into the western regions of the empire.

Baros nodded.

“If this guy disappears, the cultists within the Seven Kingdoms Alliance will be shaken as well.”

Karnak waved his hand dismissively.

“Come on, there’s bound to be other connections besides him. Do you really think this is the only one?”

From this, a further, more plausible assumption could be made.

Serati pointed it out.

“It seems like most of the cult’s key forces are concentrated in the empire.”

If there were someone like Elezar in the Seven Kingdoms Alliance, there’d be no reason to have Hudel act as the vanguard.

“We can probably trust the strong forces of the Seven Kingdoms Alliance to a certain extent.”

“That’s good news.”

Even after this, Hudel traveled between the imperial capital and the Grenthal Territory, handling the various duties of the cult as per Elezar’s command.

While most of it was new to Karnak and his party, there were also incidents closely related to them.

“Was it this guy who sent Laficel around wielding a cursed sword?”

They had discovered Hudel by backtracking the incident where the souls of the princes of Yustil were swapped, so it was naturally connected.

But Karnak hadn’t expected that the Cursed Sword Mareda incident was also this guy’s doing.

Realizing the timing was right, Karnak asked seriously.

“Why did you give Laficel that cursed sword?”

An unexpected answer came.

“I didn’t.”

Hudel’s only involvement in the incident was the cursed sword Mareda. He hadn’t sent Laficel with it.

A necromancer from the Grenthal Territory, who had received the cursed sword, had conducted experiments on orphaned children as sacrifices, and the girl with the best results was sent to the Kingdom of Yustil.

It just so happened that the girl was Laficel.

“So it was just a coincidence?”

Serati’s words made Karnak scratch his cheek awkwardly.

“It’s not an impossible coincidence, but still…”

Of all the girls, it just so happened that Laficel was chosen as the host for the cursed sword?

That would indeed be an extraordinary coincidence.

However, out of the many orphans gathered, Laficel was selected because she handled the sword particularly well.

That wasn’t impossible, though.

“Come to think of it, wasn’t Laficel originally from the western part of the empire?”

Karnak’s question made Baros shrug.

“Since they speak the same language, I mistakenly thought she was from the Kingdom of Yustil as well.”

In the central western continent, where the Barakant Mountains are located, the Kingdom of Yustil, Kingdom of Atringen, and the western region of the Lacaenia Empire all use the same Isola language.

Despite being different countries, they share a common cultural sphere.

That’s why Karnak’s group didn’t face any language barriers when they crossed the border into the empire.

Usually, when you cross into another country, the language changes, but the central western continent has a unique historical situation.

Until about 200 years ago, the rulers of the current Kingdom of Yustil and the Kingdom of Atringen were known as the margraves of the western part of the Empire of Lacaenia, defending its borders.

It used to be the Five Kingdoms Alliance, not the Seven Kingdoms Alliance.

The Barakant Mountains, being so large, made it difficult for the empire’s influence to reach easily.

As a result, the two border regions developed independently.

Tensions with Lacaenia increased over time, eventually leading to their independence as separate nations. Despite this administrative separation, their language, culture, and societal systems remained quite similar.

“I’ve heard stories that the Martial King Beltia took Laficel as her successor while wandering through the empire. Could this have been here?”

“Was it really just a coincidence?”

Karnak clicked his tongue and looked back at Hudel.

“This guy says he doesn’t know Laficel.”

That’s when it happened.

Another unexpected answer came.

“I don’t not know her.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve heard the name Laficel before.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

***

It was right before Hudel returned to the Grenthal Territory, after completing a mission Elezar had assigned him.

“This is the cursed sword Mareda, Lady Elezar.”

“Mm, good work.”

Elezar closed her eyes for a moment with the stolen cursed sword in hand.

“Ah, so that’s what happened.”

“Did you confirm the reason?”

Ignoring Hudel’s question, she smiled slightly.

“The host just happened to be Laficel? Well, that’s not so strange, then.”

***

“Wait, Elezar knows Laficel?”

“She definitely mentioned her at that time.”

Karnak’s face brightened at Hudel’s bewildered response.

This confirmed Elezar was a Space-time Regressor.

‘Looks like it’s safe to track down Elezar now.’

Once they got a hold of Elezar, they’d likely uncover why this world had turned out the way it had.

Perhaps she could even help reverse everything.

“Things are going to get much easier.”

As Karnak delighted in this thought, Hudel’s voice interrupted.

“Afterward, Lady Elezar asked me a question.”

***

“What has become of Laficel now?”

“One of the battalion captains of the King’s Order has taken her in.”

“Oh? And who might that be?”

“Baron Karnak of the Jestarad Family, a 6th Circle mage who commands the 7th battalion of the King’s Order.”

Hudel then briefly reported on Baros and Serati as well.

Upon hearing the names, Elezar murmured quietly.

“Karnak, Baros, and Serati, huh?”

She seemed puzzled for a moment before shaking her head.

“They must have taken her in without knowing anything.”

She handed the cursed sword back to Hudel.

“You’ve done well, Hudel. Go back to your hometown and rest for a while.”

“Yes, Lady Elezar.”

***

“…..Wait a second.”

Karnak’s face turned stony.

“Why did Elezar speak as if she didn’t know me?”

Baros had the same reaction.

“She acted like she didn’t know me, either.”

“Could she not be a regressor after all?”

“Then how does she know Laficel? That only makes sense if she’s a regressor.”

“If she’s a regressor, why doesn’t she know us?”

It was a contradiction. None of it made sense.

Karnak rubbed his temples, lost in thought.

“What on earth is going on?”

***

They pondered for a long time but couldn’t find an answer.

At this point, there was simply too little information to make any conclusions.

“For now, we’ll just have to proceed cautiously.”

Since they had brought it up, they decided to question Hudel further on other matters of curiosity.

“What did you do at the border gate?”

Hudel knew nothing about the infamous “Candy Witch Incident.”

‘Was it not the cult of the Dark God that orchestrated it? Or is it that this guy didn’t know, and some other cultists acted separately?’

Still, they managed to gather a lot of valuable information about the cult scattered across the Seven Kingdoms Alliance.

Even just the list they compiled was a significant achievement.

“All that’s left now is to wait for the Evil Slaying Brigade, hand Hudel over, and return to the Kingdom of Yustil.”

Serati asked.

“Shouldn’t we inform them that Elezar is the leader of the cult?”

“We can’t reveal it outright. They’d realize I’m involved, wouldn’t they?”

While necromancy was one thing, memory search through needle sticks is not a very honorable act.

So far, Karnak had gotten by pretending to interrogate suspects before killing them and presenting evidence after their death, but he couldn’t treat an imperial noble like Hudel in the same way.

“We need to make sure the Evil Slaying Brigade interrogates and handles him directly.”

Karnak shrugged.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.”

***

Two days later, the Evil Slaying Brigade finally arrived at the Grenthal Territory.

As veterans in dealing with cultists, they quickly began tidying up the aftermath of the incident, allowing the Clerics of Saisha to finally be relieved of their burdens.

However, the atmosphere wasn’t pleasant when they interacted with Karnak’s group.

Most members of the Evil Slaying Brigade were imperial nobles who despised the people of the Seven Kingdoms Alliance.

“A Yustil Kingdom citizen?”

“We acknowledge their contribution in defeating the cultists, but for them to be from the Seven Kingdoms, of all places…”

But the mood soon shifted.

The leaders of the Evil Slaying Brigade happened to be familiar faces.

It was Leocold, Lestain, and the mage Stronoff, who had recently returned from leave.

They were the very ones whom Karnak’s group had saved at the border gate.

“Lord Karnak!”

“Sir Baros! You’re here!”

Leocold, known within the Evil Slaying Brigade for his arrogant nature, was the first to welcome them enthusiastically, which naturally softened the attitudes of the others.

‘Oh, they were the ones who did that?’

‘I’ve heard they’re incredibly strong.’

Thanks to this, everything went smoothly.

Karnak and his group, who had been preparing for a tense standoff with the Evil Slaying Brigade, found the situation much more comfortable.

Watching how things unfolded, Serati clicked her tongue.

“Well, what a coincidence.”

Karnak shook his head.

[It’s not really a coincidence.]

Baros looked like he had expected it.

[I had a feeling it might turn out this way.]

[Yeah.]

From the beginning, Karnak had suspected they might be part of the western fortress of the Evil Slaying Brigade.

Because the Lacaenia Empire was so vast, it was common for locals to be assigned to their region’s fortress.

And those men had been on their way home for leave when they introduced themselves, meaning they were from this area.

[They had just returned from leave. If something happened, wouldn’t they be the first to be assigned to the task?]