Now that Beltia was gone, the cult’s necromancers had nothing left to rely on. Their only fate now was to be dealt with. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Serati asked.

—Should we kill them, or keep some alive for questioning?

Karnak answered with a nice smile.

—Kill them, then keep them.

And with that, every last necromancer’s body was torn apart. Soon, the souls of the dead rose into the air while writhing. They struggled to escape the space, but it was futile. One by one, they were sucked into Karnak and vanished.

Karnak muttered telephonically after the deed was done.

—They must’ve been low-level grunts. Looks like Tesranach didn’t bother binding their souls.

Just like that, it was over.

Looking around, Diogres let out a weary sigh. "I suppose the dragon bone here is no longer usable..."

If it were just the shattered barrier, he might have tried rebuilding it on the spot and attempting the unsealing again. But the area had been flooded with Beltia’s aura and the dark curtain. The dragon mana lingering in the bones had dissipated, contaminated and scattered.

The dragon bones here could no longer serve their purpose. Now, the only thing he could rely on was Karnak’s word.

"You said there are dragon bones in the Seven Kingdoms too, right? I hope you weren’t exaggerating. If it’s just a few shards, that won’t be nearly enough."

The faint mana in a dead dragon’s bones needed to be gathered in substantial quantities, like what they’d had on Dragon Isle, to be useful for unsealing.

Karnak replied confidently. "Don’t worry. It might not be quite what you expect, Master Diogres, but it’ll be enough to break the seal."

He sounded so sure of himself that Diogres felt reassured.

"That’s good to hear," said Diogres.

Serati, on the other hand, was growing anxious again.

—But you don’t actually have any dragon bones.

Karnak casually waved her off.

—I’ll just go get some.

She retorted.

—But you don’t have them now. How can you be so confident with nothing to back it up?

He shrugged.

—There’s no point in looking uncertain in a situation like this.

Karnak switched to speaking aloud, gesturing to the unconscious Varos, Desteran, and Leven. "Wake up the sleepers. Time to head back to the pirate island."

"Sleepers...?" Serati shot him a look. "That’s a pretty harsh way to refer to people who gave everything they had in that fight, you know."

***

After tending to everyone's wounds and helping them back on their feet, Karnak’s group departed from Dragon Isle. Then they returned to the pirate island. As they docked their boat on the white sands and made their way toward the pirate camp, an unexpected scene awaited them.

"Welcome back!"

The captain and his crew, faces flushed red, greeted them with arms slung around the pirates’ shoulders, each holding a bottle of rum.

Lapicel murmured, bewildered, "They seem to be getting along pretty well?"

The sailors nodded with sheepish grins. "Turns out, they're pretty decent guys after all."

A few had even gone so far as to get matching tattoos with the pirates. No one had a clue what exactly had happened in their absence. But perhaps it was just another testament to the sailors’ uncanny adaptability.

Milia clicked her tongue. "Should we be glad they bonded?"

The real issue was that most of them were completely drunk.

"We were planning to set off right away," Karnak said, frowning, "but it doesn’t seem like that’ll be happening."

To this, the captain boomed confidently, "Nonsense! This much drink wouldn’t get a real sailor drunk!"

"But you are drunk..." Karnak muttered.

Despite their obvious state, the staggering sailors managed to get to their feet and head toward the anchored Osprey’s Roar. Surprisingly, they began preparing for departure without any major hiccups. Even more surprising, their flushed faces gradually returned to normal. They were sobering up as they worked.

Serati and Leven watched in awe.

"That’s another kind of mastery altogether."

"Should we call it the power of a seasoned veteran?"

Thanks to them, the departure proceeded without issue. The plan was to return to Port Terrister first, procure another ship, and then sail to the Seven Kingdoms Alliance.

At one point, Varos turned and asked, "Sir Desteran, will you be returning to the empire’s capital?"

As the head of Search Black, it was the natural assumption.

But Desteran gave an unexpected response. "I was planning to accompany you all to the Seven Kingdoms."

"Is that allowed?" Varos asked him.

Desteran shrugged. "Why wouldn’t it be?"

"What about Search Black?" Varos pressed further.

"It’s not the kind of organization that falls apart without me. And no one’s going to scold me for not returning either." He then turned to Serati, his eyes glowing with fervor. "As a devout follower of Twilight, how could I pass up the chance to serve the saintess?"

Varos nodded in understanding. "Ah... so that’s your reason."

How could he stop a fanatic from wanting to be fanatical? Besides, Desteran had another reason.

"I’ve yet to preach the truth of Twilight to him!"

Diogres Kolon would be traveling with Karnak’s group to the Seven Kingdoms. Naturally, Desteran intended to follow and spread the good word to him the whole way. Diogres turned to Serati with a silent, pleading stare.

He didn’t say anything, but his expression was unmistakable. It was the look of a cornered cat pursued by a dog. Please... help me.

Don’t worry. I’ll step in. Serati returned an affirming gaze, then came to a realization. Ah, so this is what Lord Karnak and Sir Varos meant when they said they could talk with just a look.

Meanwhile, the captain and his crew had finished the preparations for departure. Once the ship was ready, the captain called out, "All aboard!"

***

The Osprey’s Roar left the island and sailed out into the open sea. Fortunately, there was downwind, and with the sails hoisted and the breeze at their backs, the ship cut through the waters smoothly toward its destination.

Night fell. Karnak turned to Serati and asked, "Lapicel’s asleep, right?"

"Yes, she’s in the cabin sleeping with Milia." She answered absently, then asked in return, "Why? Do you need her awake?"

"No, absolutely don’t wake her." Once he’d confirmed that, Karnak immediately summoned the captain and crew. "Everyone, could you gather here for a moment?"

There was something that needed to be dealt with before reaching Port Terrister.

The captain and sailors gathered, eyes sparkling with hopeful anticipation.

"What’s going on?"

"Maybe he’s handing out bonus pay?"

Then, they witnessed something strange. Karnak, who had called them together, suddenly clasped his hands and began casting magic. Dozens of glowing magic needles floated up around him.

What is this...?

It didn’t seem like an offensive spell, so no one panicked. They just looked on, confused.

Karnak’s voice rang quietly over the deck. "Go."

The needles shot forward all at once. "Pierce."

In the next instant, the countless needles embedded themselves deep into everyone’s minds. They were all stunned, but it was too late. The needles had already burrowed in.

Serati rubbed her forehead and asked, "Did you just erase their memories?"

He responded, "We can’t have them knowing we’re with the Twilight Cult, can we?"

Erasing or adjusting individual memories in detail would be too time-consuming. So Karnak had simply wiped the last week entirely.

"And what excuse are you planning to give them for that?" Serati asked him.

"Simple. Watch," responded Karnak.

A moment later, the captain and crew stirred, blinking in confusion.

"Th-the pirates!"

"Where did they go?"

"We were attacked by pirates, weren’t we!?"

It seemed their memories had been rolled back to just before the supposed pirate attack.

"What happened to us?" the captain asked.

Karnak replied without a hitch, "You were captured by the pirates and mentally enslaved through necromancy."

He shamelessly elaborated that they had spent a week like mindless zombies.

"Is everyone feeling okay?" Karnak said.

Now that he mentioned it, their bodies felt strangely sore and their heads throbbed. The captain and crew shouted in disbelief.

"So that’s why I feel like this!"

"I-I even have a pirate tattoo on my arm!"

"Those bastards must have branded us like property!"

Serati narrowed her eyes. Yeah... that wasn’t exactly the reason.

Karnak, still the picture of audacity, addressed them all. "We freed you and broke the curse. Thankfully, you’ve all regained your senses. I’m glad."

The crew burst into cheers and bowed in gratitude.

"Thank you!"

"You saved our lives!"

They all returned to their duties, swearing to give their all for their saviors.

Serati glared at Karnak. "You’re really okay with this?"

"Why? Is there a problem?"

She didn’t respond. It was sad. This didn’t even feel like a problem anymore. It just felt like effective crisis management.

She asked, "You’re not wiping the pirates’ memories too?"

"They’re from the Twilight Order."

They were heretics to begin with. Even if they shouted to the world that Karnak was their leader, all he had to do was deny it. Who would the public believe—the heroic mage, or a bunch of lowlife pirates? But the sailors aboard this ship were different. They were decent people who’d lived honest lives.

"Which means, naturally, they had to pay the price for living righteous lives," Karnak concluded.

Serati sighed heavily. "Could you at least say it more nicely?"

***

This is definitely magic. Watching the scene unfold beside him, Diogres let out a faint, wry chuckle. But the result is definitely necromancy.

He quietly approached Karnak and asked, "You’re a necromancer too, aren’t you?"

Redeemer of Necromancy had technically been a spell, but the nightmare incantation placed on Beltia was unmistakably necromancy. Karnak had tried to mask it by layering chaos mana over necromantic energy, but not even that could fool the eye of an archmage. Not that Karnak had expected to fool Diogres in the first place.

He answered calmly, even nonchalantly. "Is it so strange for the High Priest of Twilight to use necromancy as well?"

"So... necromancy as well, is it." Diogres picked up on the implication hidden in his words and nodded slowly. "Yes, I suppose you are indeed a mage as well. Which makes it all the more difficult to figure out how I should treat you."

He, too, had once harbored extreme contempt for necromancy, just as anyone with a normal sense of morality would. But now, that contempt had faded.

If not for Desteran’s help, he would never have escaped in the first place. Afterward, he’d traveled aboard ships crewed by necromancer pirates, and even survived thanks to the likes of the Twilight Cult’s leader and their so-called saintess.

He was only human. No matter how strong his convictions, after receiving that much help, it was hard to keep his emotions from shifting. And yet, when he remembered the essence of necromancy, he felt he still couldn’t bring himself to fully accept it.

Karnak offered a refreshing conclusion. "Just treat us the same way others treat the Twilight Cult."

After all, neither the Church of the Goddesses nor the royal houses officially recognized the cult. They simply tolerated it while it helped deal with the Black God’s Cult.

"That’s all we ask," said Karnak.

"I see..."

The plainness of the response somehow made him more likable. It was a fondness Diogres knew he ought not feel as an archmage and as the Master of the Tower of Dawn.

"Come to think of it, just a short while ago, I couldn’t have imagined any of this." Diogres let out a long, weary sigh, lost in thought. "To think that my life would one day become entangled with cultists."

Desteran spoke gently, as if to comfort him. "Still, isn’t it a blessing that you encountered the truth of Twilight?"

Diogres said with a frown. "Huh?"

"Huh?" Desteran responded, apparently confused in kind.

For a moment, both of them tilted their heads in confusion. It was Serati, standing to the side, who understood what had happened. Desteran had completely misunderstood Diogres’ words. He thought Diogres was lamenting his connection to the Black God's Cult.

Wow. He really doesn’t think the Twilight Cult is a cult at all, huh? Serati thought.

Fanatics truly were terrifying. And the fact that this particular fanatic sometimes looked at her with the eyes of a loyal puppy just made it worse.

How did I end up in this situation...?

While Serati silently despaired, the Osprey’s Roar continued carving through the waves, sailing steadily toward Port Terrister.