Karnak, Monarch of Death-Chapter 200: Target Secured! (1)

A lone, decrepit cabin stood deep within a secluded forest, shrouded in darkness. It was an old wooden structure covered in moss, long abandoned. Or at least, that’s how it appeared. In reality, it was one of the many hidden hideouts Karnak had secretly prepared.

He was expecting to engage in many more questionable activities in the future. Thus, he had constructed secret shelters in places devoid of human presence.

Serati clicked her tongue as she looked around. "Wow. Isn't this a bit much?"

She had a good reason for saying that. This forest lay on the outskirts of the Deventor Viscounty. It was blatantly obvious that Karnak planned to stir up trouble here and shift the blame onto Deventor.

She continued, "Can't you just leave them alone for once?"

Karnak simply shrugged. "Come on, it's not that bad. I do have some conscience, you know."

Apparently, his plan this time was to ensure he didn't get caught.

"And if you do get caught, you're still going to pin it on them, right?"

"It won’t matter if I don’t get caught. Don’t worry."

"Ugh." Serati let out a deep sigh and shook her head.

At that moment, a middle-aged man trailing behind them turned to Karnak. "Is this the place?"

"Yeah."

The old wooden door creaked open, and from inside, a skeleton clad in a black robe emerged. "Welcome, my lord."

A skeleton had just walked out before their very eyes, yet no one was surprised. That was expected for Karnak's party, but even the ordinary-looking middle-aged man remained unshaken.

"It's been a while, Lord Maloka. Nearly a year, hasn't it?" The man casually exchanged greetings while reaching up to touch his face.

A moment later, his human visage melted away, revealing the skull beneath. This man's true identity was none other than Demphis, an archlich disguised as a human. Most of the time, he borrowed Varos' face, but since Varos was present, that wasn't an option. Instead, he had reverted to his familiar old appearance. Right now, he took his old appearance, back when he was Dallas, the royal court mage of the Eustil Kingdom.

Maloka, the other archlich, responded ."It hasn't been that long to me, Lord Demphis."

The two had started their temporal regression together. However, because they had arrived at different points in the past, Demphis had already been in this era for over a year, while Maloka had been here for barely half that time. In any case, standing outside chatting with two skeletons wasn't ideal.

Karnak gestured toward the cabin. "Let's head inside first."

***

Inside the cabin, Karnak's group sat around an old wooden table. Glancing between Demphis and Maloka, Karnak reached into his coat and pulled out three pitch-black cubes.

"Since we're all gathered, let's confirm something first." They were Anti-Time-Space Transcender. "Didn't you say there could only be two of these?"

One had been acquired after eliminating the witch. The other two had been taken from Demphis and Maloka.

Maloka nodded. "Yes, at least to my knowledge."

Only four individuals had ever been taught the ritual to create an Anti-Time-Space Transcender by Tesranach. They were the four governors of the Necropia Empire: Maloka of the East, Kalaf of the West, Demphis of the South, and Tirafar of the North.

"Could it be that Lord Kalaf or Lord Tirafar created one after regressing?"

At Demphis' speculation, Karnak shook his head. "That's impossible."

He could say that with certainty. Because he had already secured the remains of both Kalaf and Tirafar. Couldn't they have resurrected using other remains?

"If that were the case, they would've needed an immense amount of time to regain their abilities as archliches. They wouldn't have been capable of creating an Anti-Time-Space Transcender yet. It's simply beyond their means."

"Th-That's true."

"Then that leaves us with even fewer possibilities."

Karnak narrowed his eyes and asked again, watching the two archliches carefully. "Is there any chance that someone else created these?"

The Cult of the Black God had more than just Demphis and Maloka. There were plenty of other powerful mages and necromancers within their ranks.

"Couldn't they have figured out a way to create them on their own, without your involvement?"

The two archliches tilted their skulls in thought.

"Hmm... I can't say for certain..."

"It doesn't seem likely."

Creating an Anti-Time-Space Transcender wasn't as simple as performing a ritual. It required a Seed of Soulforce, something that had been granted by Tesranach. This seed had to be nurtured within a powerful undead for an extended period and continuously infused with dark energy until it finally bloomed.

"That's why we were chosen."

"There wasn't a single undead in this era strong enough to bear the Seed of Soulforce."

"I see." Karnak pondered for a moment before asking again. "Could Elezar have created a Seed of Soulforce instead?"

This time, the two archliches responded with much more certainty.

"Master Karnak, aren't you a different timeline's Tesranach?"

"If so, you should know better than anyone whether Elezar is capable of something like that."

Karnak's expression twisted in irritation. "Hey, get it right. Tesranach is me from another timeline, not the other way around."

"Ou-Our apologies."

"And besides, we're not even completely certain if it's another timeline or not."

"I was speaking figuratively..."

Seeing the two archliches instantly back down, Karnak smirked. For a brief moment, he was reminded of his days in the Necropia Empire.

It's been a while since I've seen them act like this.

Still, they had a point. Elezar was undoubtedly a great mage, and even Karnak had to acknowledge her superiority in the field of magic. But when it came to necromancy?

"Not a chance. Not at Elezar's level."

Even Karnak himself still didn't fully understand how Tesranach had created the Seed of Soulforce. In other words, there was no way Elezar had mastered such an advanced form of necromancy.

"Besides, if there was an alternative method, Tesranach wouldn't have gone through such a convoluted process in the first place."

The fact that Tesranach had to rely on the four governors to create the Anti-Time-Space Transcender meant that he, too, had no other means. That made the mystery even stranger. Where in the world did this third Anti-Time-Space Transcender come from?

Rubbing his chin, Karnak fell into thought. "Seed of Soulforce, huh..."

He absentmindedly tapped the cubes on the table. "Take another look. Do you sense anything else?"

Maloka hesitated before asking cautiously. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"Anything. There might be some clues about its origin."

***

Demphis and Maloka carefully examined the Anti-Time-Space Transcender. In particular, they focused on the third cube—the one acquired from the witch—since it wasn't something either of them had created.

After a long while, Demphis finally spoke in a hesitant voice. "I can't tell at all."

Maloka nodded in agreement. "I have no idea where this thing could have come from..."

Karnak murmured dryly. "So, the only thing we do know is that it's incomplete."

Thanks to Maloka, they had been able to deconstruct the Anti-Time-Space Transcender and uncover some of their internal workings. Though all three cubes looked identical on the surface, their level of completion varied significantly.

If Demphis' cube was at 100% completion, the one taken from the witch was at 70%, and Maloka's was only at 50%. Both Maloka's and Karnak's cubes were incomplete. In hindsight, it was obvious.

Had Maloka's cube been complete, he would have already used it to regress his designated target.

"Maloka, you mentioned your target was Diogres?"

"Yes."

Diogres Kolon was one of the three archmages and the Master of the Tower of Dawn. Although he was an imperial citizen, unlike Elezar, the imperial court mage, he always maintained a certain distance from the empire itself.

"He had been focusing entirely on this project... until he received the sudden order to capture you, Master Karnak. That puts everything on hold."

However, just because Demphis' cube was fully constructed didn't mean the chaos mana within it was at full capacity. Demphis had already used his cube to summon future Leven. As a result, its remaining chaos mana was significantly depleted.

The only reason Karnak had been able to utilize it was by scraping together the last traces of its energy. Since the amount of chaos mana that could be used at one time was fixed, it had merely felt like twice the normal amount had been expended.

As if remembering something, Karnak picked up Demphis' cube. "Now that I think about it, I should work on replenishing this whenever I get the chance."

It was essentially an external mana reservoir for him. There was no reason to leave it sitting idle.

"This wasn't its intended function, but still."

The Anti-Time-Space Transcenders were designed as beacons for navigating time, not as external mana batteries. But in reality, even lighthouses had to store large reserves of oil and fuel to keep their fires burning, guiding ships across the sea. In that sense, a lighthouse was just another type of fuel depot.

"And besides, summoning future Leven didn't destroy this thing, did it? That means it's not a one-time-use tool."

Demphis and Maloka both nodded.

"That is correct."

"We were originally instructed to replenish it with necromantic energy after completing our first task, then await further orders."

Karnak stroked his chin. "Yeah. If this were disposable, four of them wouldn't have been nearly enough to begin with."

To execute Tesranach's plan, there were still many subordinates from the future that needed to be summoned. Malican Thun remained among the Four Martial Kings. Among the Three Archmages, Diogres and Giyen Ren were yet to be retrieved. Among the corrupted popes of the goddesses, a staggering six still had to be brought back.

"So, the plan was to keep replenishing chaos mana and continue summoning more subordinates from the future?"

"Wait a moment, Lord Karnak." Serati, who had been listening to the conversation, tilted her head. "Does that mean... just one of those black cubes is enough to summon everyone from the future?"

"It should be. As long as it's properly recharged."

"Then why did Tesranach bother making four of them?"

Karnak muttered indifferently, as if it were obvious. "I would've done the same."

Anyone preparing for a large-scale plan would always want contingency measures in place.

"If four archliches could create up to four Anti-Time-Space Transcender, then of course he'd make the maximum number possible. That way, even if something went wrong, the plan wouldn't be completely derailed."

And in reality, Tesranach's choice had been correct. From the very moment they attempted to summon future Leven, things had already gone off track.

Karnak narrowed his gaze at the third Anti-Time-Space Transcender—the witch's cube. "Come to think of it... could that have been an additional safeguard as well?"

"What?"

"The witch. What if she was another one of Tesranach's backup plans?"

Demphis and Maloka shook their heads firmly.

"That's impossible."

"There was no such thing."

The task of creating the Anti-Time-Space Transcender had been assigned exclusively to the Four Governors of Necropia.

However, Karnak entertained another thought. "Oh, sure, before you regressed, there wouldn't have been anything like that. But what if something was added after you returned?"

"After we returned?"

"Yes, after."

Temporal regression wasn't always a linear process. It was entirely possible for someone who departed later to arrive earlier in time. Tesranach could have decided to create an additional backup plan after sending the four of them back in time, resulting in the existence of the witch's cube.

"Although, this theory does seem a bit off."

If this were true, it would mean Tesranach had not only relied on the four governors as an insurance policy but had also created yet another safeguard on top of that.

"Even I wouldn't be that paranoid. But then again... this isn't me we're talking about. It’s Tesranach."

Varos nodded in agreement. "Yeah, young master, you actually hate anything too tedious. You procrastinate all the time."

Still deep in thought, Karnak scratched his head. "Ugh, whatever. I'll think about it later."

"See? The moment it gets annoying, you put it off."

"Shut up, Varos."

"Yes, sir!" Varos swiftly changed the subject. "But did you really summon Lord Demphis all the way here just to check this?"

"Not just for this."

Even Karnak wouldn't go out of his way to pull a competent subordinate away from his duties in another country just for this. It had taken days for Demphis to even get here.

"There's another matter. This was just something to check while he was here."

With that, Karnak dumped a pile of bones onto the table. They were the remains of Kalaf and Tirafar he had retrieved from the Governor’s Vault.