Lord Commander Karnak

Chapter 434 On the Day of the Dead, the capital of Jestrad was bustling. Many people were passing through the flower-lined streets towards the beautifully adorned temple cemetery. They offered various tributes before the statue of Seracal, the Twilight Goddess. They prepared foods that the deceased enjoyed in life and lit candles and incense. The spirits of the dead ascended to the mortal realm. The living and the dead reunited, sharing their feelings and memories. Among them were Karnak and Serati, wearing thick hoods pulled low over their faces. They had deliberately concealed their identities, knowing that if word spread of the King and Queen of the afterlife's arrival, chaos would ensue. Baros ran up to them, delighted. "Young master!" Even now that Karnak had become the God of Death and King of the afterlife, he was still just "young master" to Baros. He had called him that even when Karnak was the Emperor of the Necrophia Empire, ruling the entire world in his past life. He would probably continue to call him "young master" even if they reunited in the afterlife. Karnak, too, was glad to see his long-time loyal servant. "Have you been well, Baros?" Serati, who dealt with the blessings of dawn, could freely travel between the mortal realm and the afterlife. However, for Karnak, who had to maintain the very existence of this new world, this was impossible. That's why they could only meet during this time when the boundaries between the two worlds naturally blurred. Of course, being able to see each other anytime doesn't make a long-awaited reunion any less joyful. "Sister!" "Have you been well, Raphisel?" A small white dragon fluttered over and nestled into Serati's arms, showering her with affection. "Kyuuung!" It was Floke, the divine beast of twilight. After Grateria regained its body, Floke had returned to its original form. As it was actually Serati's acolyte, she could have taken Floke with her if she wanted. However, it seemed wrong to take such a young dragon with a long life ahead to the afterlife. Wouldn't that be something an evil spirit would do? So she left Floke in the mortal realm, where the Twilight Cult was raising it. Now that it followed Raphisel almost as well as Serati, it didn't seem too difficult to raise. "Come to think of it..." Millia smiled wryly as she looked at Floke. "Back then, we thought we'd have to go to the afterlife too, didn't we?" After all, they had been told that when Karnak died, his acolytes would die as well. "Ah, that's not quite right." To be precise, an acolyte's soul is connected to their master's soul, so if the master's soul disperses, the acolyte's soul would disperse as well. The result of that is death. The situation is a bit different. Even if Karnak had crossed over to the afterlife, his soul itself would have remained perfectly intact. Naturally, the souls of the acolytes connected to him would also remain intact. Moreover, due to his acquisition of divinity, he could still exert influence over his mortal acolytes even from the afterlife. "If acolytes were to die just because their master became undead, wouldn't you all have died when I first became a skeleton giant?" "Anyway, let's go!" Reven urged, pointing towards the Grand Cathedral beyond the cemetery. "Everyone's gathered there." *** Karnak's group headed towards the temple, passing through the ornate cemetery. As Baros and Raphisel walked by, the believers bowed their heads repeatedly with expressions of awe. "Looks like you two are doing well in your roles as Pope and Saint." At Karnak's words, Baros suppressed a chuckle. "It just happened naturally." In truth, he had initially wanted to follow Karnak to the afterlife. -Who else would serve you if not me, young master? But Karnak had refused. -Baros, you must live! -Why? -Stay alive and deliver some mortal food to the underworld. Upon consideration, Baros could serve Karnak more satisfactorily by remaining alive than by following him to the afterlife. That's why he took on the role of Pope of the Twilight Cult and was now diligently offering tributes. Raphisel, too, had initially refused. -Being the Twilight Saint seems too burdensome. But Serati had persuaded her. What's the exact definition of a Twilight Saint? A woman who 'believes' in the Twilight Goddess and wields the blessings of twilight. -Raphisel, do you believe in your sister? -Well... yes, I do. -And you can use the blessings of twilight, right? -Light does flicker at my fingertips. I'm not sure if that counts as 'using' it, though... -Great, our Raphisel is the next Saint! That's roughly how it was decided. -You're already called the Warrior King of Jestrad, so why feel burdened by something like Twilight Saint? -Well, that's true, but... And so, Raphisel found herself unavoidably saddled with the position of Saint. -Sister, I feel like your way of speaking is becoming more like Karnak's. As they passed by the people, the group continued walking. Suddenly, Reven asked. "How are Father and Brother doing?" "I'm not sure if 'doing well' is the right expression for those who are already dead, but they're managing." Both Gallard and Emil had their souls captured by Teslarnak and only regained consciousness after the afterlife was created. Emil, in particular, was completely blindsided. One day he suddenly lost his body, and when he finally came to his senses much later, he was already in the afterlife. Naturally, he was extremely angry at first. However, after hearing that Reven had become the new Warrior King, Gallard calmed down. He was relieved that the honor of the Strauss family would continue. "Time heals, they say, and Emil has calmed down a lot too." Both of them are now guarding the afterlife while preparing for their next life, he said. "After all, that's what the afterlife was created for." *** As they entered the temple, a group was waiting for Karnak and Serati. "Welcome, Lord Karnak." "It's been a while, Lady Serati." Serati's expression brightened. These were familiar faces. "Have you all been well?" Drel had returned to being Dreltain Telix, the Warrior King of Kreta. He had regained his honor and status. This was because it had become widely known that the one who had disrupted the world was a fake created by the Dark God, and the real Dreltain had fought under the Twilight Goddess to save the world. Well, it wasn't entirely a lie. Diogress Colon had also returned to his position as the Lord of the Dawn Tower. The reason he was able to return was the same as Dreltain's. The only difference was that, having regained his original body, he was now an old man approaching his sixties. "Don't you miss your younger body?" "It would be a lie to say I don't, but isn't following the natural order the right way to live? As humans, we should age when it's time and pass on when it's time." The man who had nearly destroyed the world because he didn't want to age or die on time discreetly turned his head away. "Ah, sorry." They also heard news about Elezar and Guyen Ren in the mortal realm. After becoming the King of the Afterlife, Karnak had restored them as well. Just as he had separated Drel from Dreltain, he had split their souls back into present and future. Just as their future souls were diligently guarding the underworld, their present selves were once again active as Archmages in the mortal realm, focusing on cleaning up the aftermath. "Though they're feeling quite wronged about being held responsible for things they don't even remember." As Diogress said, it must be quite unfair from their perspective. They just closed their eyes and opened them to find years had passed, and now everyone was pushing them to clean up the mess they supposedly made? For Guyen Ren, it was only a matter of months, but for Elezar, it was nearly a decade. "She must be the biggest victim of all." At the mention of 'victim', Karnak glanced furtively at Raphisel. In fact, he had intended to separate the young Raphisel from the adult Raphisel as well, but she had refused. "Are you really okay with this?" "Yes, this is what we wanted." The adult Raphisel had chosen a second life within the child's body. So Karnak had no choice but to respect her decision. "Oh, and the Dragon Emperor has gone back into hibernation." Baros reported. "He said he'd take a short rest now that the world is stabilizing." "A short rest?" "Yes, a short one." For reference, the Dragon Emperor's "short" rest is easily several hundred years by human standards. "Guess we won't be seeing him again in our lifetime." "Young master, you're already dead. What do you mean by 'lifetime'?" There was one more significant piece of news. "Alius has finally become the Pope of the Hatova Order." Not only the Hatova Order but most of the Seven Goddesses Church had lost their Popes and leadership. In the midst of this, Alius was an exceptionally renowned cleric, so it was almost inevitable. "As a result, he's become a high-ranking official who can't move freely." "Can't move freely..." Seeing Baros grinning, Serati made an incredulous expression. "He's right here, isn't he?" Indeed. Alius, the Pope of Hatova, was present at this gathering. "Is it okay for you to be here?" "I've never been good at following the church's rules, you know?" Clicking his tongue, Alius looked at Karnak. "It's good to see your face after so long. I was quite dumbfounded when I learned the whole truth." Alius was truly shocked when he learned the truth about Karnak. It was enough to shake his belief that one should trust a person completely once they decide to trust them. The remarkable thing about Alius, however, was that his belief was only shaken, not broken. "All's well that ends well, isn't it?" "You're still a good person, aren't you?" Incidentally, Desteran wasn't present at this gathering. You might wonder why the fanatic who used to have fits (?) at the mere sight of Serati isn't here, but the reason was simple. "We didn't tell him." "It's troublesome when we meet that fellow." "And it's even more troublesome for Sister when she meets Lord Desteran." It was a perfectly understandable reason. Karnak and Serati nodded. "You did well." "He's a grateful person, but a bit burdensome, isn't he?" Currently, Desteran was said to be active as a Twilight Knight in Vespa Krahan, the new capital of the Empire. Karnak asked incredulously, "Knight? Did the Twilight Cult even have knights?" Baros snorted. "Since when did we have a Saint for Lady Serati to be called one?" "Still, how can there be knights without divine spells?" "Um..." Millia timidly raised her hand. "The Twilight Cult priests can use divine spells now." "Huh?" It was thanks to Millia. She was no longer a cleric of Lathiel. To be honest, it had been more unnatural for her to insist on being Lathiel's cleric all this time. The reason she could still use divine power was that she had unconsciously drawn power from Seracal, a new channel, rather than Lathiel. It was similar to the Taal faith of the fairy folk. Millia had spread this method widely among the Twilight Cult priests. Many Twilight priests passionately embraced this new power. This was because necromancy was no longer a useful ability. In an era where it's difficult to even create a small will-o'-the-wisp after digging up graves and performing rituals for days. The position once held by necromancy has now been replaced by black magic. The last in Karnak's Death Series, the Mediator of Necromancy. This unprecedented technique of using mana to perform necromancy was certainly less powerful than traditional necromancy. However, in the current world where evil energy and tainted energy have disappeared, this method is far superior. That's why the name black magic or black sorcery is now replacing necromancy. "Wait, if necromancy has weakened, wouldn't the influence of the Twilight Cult have decreased significantly?" Reven shook his head at Serati's question. "That's not the case." The Twilight Cult still wielded formidable influence. It was simply because the cult's military power was overwhelmingly strong. The Twilight Pope, Baros, was a Warrior King-level fighter, and the Twilight Saint, Raphisel, was the Warrior King of Jestrad. Reven Strauss, the Warrior King of Delphiad, and Dreltain Telix, the Warrior King of Kreta, were elders of the Twilight Cult, and even Diogress Colon, the Lord of the Dawn Tower, belonged to the Twilight Cult. Most of the continent's strongest individuals were concentrated in the Twilight Cult. Moreover, even Malikan Toon, a Warrior King candidate, was affiliated with the Twilight Cult. "Malikan still hasn't become a Warrior King?" "He's struggling right at the threshold." "Oh dear, maybe I should have given him a little shortcut." Except for Baros, Raphisel, and Malikan Toon, everyone else was Karnak's acolyte, so they couldn't betray him even if they wanted to. It seems the Twilight Cult's influence will remain strong for the foreseeable future. "Come on, please release this acolyte contract soon. Our family needs to continue its lineage, you know?" It was a pressing issue for Reven. Becoming a Warrior King was good, but at this rate, the Strauss family line would end with him. "Just be patient a little longer, I'm almost done with the research." "You're a god now, and you still can't do this?" "That's the kind of God I wanted to be, even creating the afterlife for it." He didn't want to be, nor could he be, an omnipotent being. "That's why I can say things like this." Karnak looked around at everyone and declared. "Let's eat." *** They indulged in a feast of delicacies. It was a joyous gathering, enjoying good company. There was one dish in particular that caught Karnak's eye. "Oh, isn't this a nostalgic menu?" People were puzzled. It was just ordinary ale, common barley bread, and a chicken stir-fry dish. How could such simple fare evoke nostalgia? Only Baros was looking smug. "I specially procured it, thinking you'd like it, young master." "I knew I kept one good servant around." Karnak took a bite of the barley bread, then gulped down some ale. A look of pure happiness spread across his face. "This is wonderful. Back then, I thought I could die without regrets if I could eat this..." "You actually did die, young master." "Why do you have to ruin the mood when someone's reminiscing?" "You're not even human anymore, you're a god, remember?" "Shut up..." Baros was still Baros, just as Karnak was still Karnak. To be honest, he wasn't sure. Had he really changed? Was he now living a life worthy of being called human? At least he wasn't living like he used to. He had been trying his best to make amends for his past actions. Still, he didn't particularly feel like he had repented or atoned. 'Am I really doing the right thing?' He briefly questioned himself, but Karnak soon cleared his mind. "Who cares?" Whether dead or alive, human or god... "As long as the food tastes good, that's all that matters!" The God of Death grinned broadly as he took a big bite of a juicy chicken leg.