Chapter 38

Chapter 38. 10. Night of the Corpses (2)

A powerful necromancer could subjugate a human soul through a contract of subordination, making it their servant and enslaving it.

The tale of an adventurer who, after being captured by a necromancer and subjected to extreme torture, falls into corruption and turns to evil is a common theme in various adventure stories.

Naturally, Serati was horrified.

‘Become the servant of a necromancer?’

It was something that could never happen. She could never accept it.

‘But...’

It was difficult to outright refuse when both her arms felt so empty. The future ahead also seemed too bleak.

Could she really say that falling into corruption and turning to evil was worse than living miserably with both arms lost?

Serati stammered as she asked.

“...If I really become your servant... can I get my lost arms back?”

After a moment of hesitation, Karnak answered.

“Yes.”

In truth, even with necromancy, regenerating severed limbs wasn’t an easy feat.

It wasn’t that the method was difficult, but rather that there was no need for such techniques to be developed.

The problem could be easily solved by simply grafting parts from another corpse or by growing a new arm of darkness altogether.

Why would an evil necromancer bother with the difficult path of considering their opponent’s life?

However, Karnak did have the ability to fully restore Serati’s severed arms. It was possible even with his currently limited necromantic power.

Varos, who had been his servant, was constantly getting his limbs blown off.

Though his manner of speaking was rude, Karnak could trust no one in the world except Varos. There had been a time when Karnak had devotedly clung to regeneration techniques because he couldn’t bear to see his precious servant disabled.

Of course, those techniques became meaningless once he turned Varos into a Death Knight.

“It is possible. Though I can do it...”

Serati grew anxious at Karnak’s less than enthusiastic attitude.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I don’t want to do it. I told you, didn’t I? I’m trying to stay away from necromancy as much as possible.”

Karnak genuinely intended to erase her memories and set her free.

Make Serati his servant?

As an aura user and a beauty, she would certainly be useful, but at the moment, that wasn’t a particularly attractive option for him.

‘That would be like going back to living as I used to.’

If he had pursued power, he wouldn’t have bothered developing chaos magic. He would’ve just continued to cultivate his necromantic power.

“Th-That’s...”

Serati was flustered. This was an unexpected answer.

In truth, she had harbored some doubts, suspecting that he might be tempting her on purpose to make her his slave.

Karnak, who had been watching her in confusion, suddenly sent a magical message.

[Hey, Varos.]

[Yes, Young Master?]

[Did you do this on purpose?]

Varos knew well that if a person completely lost a part of their body, not even a priest’s holy spell could heal it.

Even though he knew, he deliberately steered the conversation to suggest that necromancy could heal it.

[Why did you do that?]

[The young lady is pitiful, you know. I’ve also lost my limbs before, so I understand how she feels.]

Though he had brushed it off back then, thinking the young master would just make him new limbs later, the despair he felt when he first lost his arms was still vivid in his memory.

[I just wanted to help her if possible. It’s not that difficult for you, is it?]

In the middle of talking, Varos suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

Now that he thought about it, Karnak was no longer the Necromancer King he once was.

[Is it difficult for you now?]

[Well, it’s not as easy as it used to be, but I can manage one person. But are you sure I should make this girl my servant?]

To capture a young beauty’s weakness, force a contract, and turn her into a slave to do whatever he wanted with her soul.

[That sounds like something only a truly vile villain would do, doesn’t it?]

[So you were aware you were a truly vile villain? That’s surprising.]

[That’s why I’m trying to live as kindly as possible now.]

No matter how he thought about it, it was ambiguous.

[Is this a bad deed or a good one?]

Varos came to a clear conclusion.

[You should just let Miss Serati decide.]

Explain the situation clearly and leave the choice to her. Then, whatever happens is her responsibility.

[This way, it’s not the same as living as you used to, right?]

[Right!]

Karnak’s thoughts became clear.

Feeling at ease, Karnak called out to her in a gentle voice.

“Miss Serati.”

“...Yes?”

‘Ugh!’

For a brief moment, she almost activated her aura to resist. But then, she heard his voice again.

“Then you shall regain what you have lost.”

With that, Serati retracted all of her aura and willingly accepted Karnak’s darkness. At the same time, an intense pain radiated from her severed arms.

“Ugh! Ahhhh!”

As she groaned in pain, her eyes reflected the change that was happening.

The charred scabs on her arms began to peel away. At the same time, new arms started to grow.

To be honest, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Unlike the radiant light and seamless healing of holy spells, necromantic regeneration involved bones sprouting, raw red muscles covering them, and grotesque tendons and blood vessels forming. It looked truly horrifying and repulsive.

Yet, Serati was filled with joy.

“Ah... Ahhh...”

Her arms. The arms she had lost were growing back.

Even the pain was a sweet sensation in the face of such a miraculous sight.

Karnak withdrew his hand from her head.

“Serati Allen, from this moment on, you are my servant.”

Without realizing it, she spoke in a formal tone.

“Yes, my master...”

And then she collapsed on the spot.

As Varos supported the unconscious Serati, he smiled faintly.

“This reminds me of the old days. I fainted like this too.”

“Is it really that painful?”

“It feels like your whole body is being torn apart. That’s why I couldn’t use it in the middle of a battle.”

“True, I always envied the healing powers of priests.”

Suddenly, Varos tilted his head in thought.

“Wait, I’m no longer your servant, right?”

“That’s right.”

When Karnak returned to the past, all past events were erased. Naturally, the subordination contract with Varos also ceased to exist.

“So that’s why you were able to take Miss Serati as a servant? With my current power, I can only handle one servant at a time.”

“Does that mean if I lose my limbs again, I won’t be able to regenerate them?”

Varos shuddered, wondering if he had dug his own grave by trying to be kind.

Karnak responded casually, as if it were no big deal.

“Why not? Of course, you can.”

“How?”

“I’ll break the contract with Serati and make you my servant again.”

“...But if you break the subordination contract, Miss Serati would die on the spot, wouldn’t she?”

“That’s unavoidable. I can’t turn you into a cripple just to keep her alive.”

“Oh, that’s... very considerate of you, but...”

Varos stared at the unconscious Serati.

‘I’d better take good care of my body. This young lady’s life depends on my limbs.’

It was fortunate that she had passed out. Had she heard this conversation, she might have regretted her decision deeply.

In any case, it was time to start planning for what lay ahead.

Varos asked, “So, what will you do now?”

“I’ve been thinking about that.”

Karnak had two options available.

The first was to prepare for a counterattack and rescue Alius and Riltein.

The second was to abandon them and flee from Trist City.

“To live like a decent person, I should obviously choose the first option, right?”

The problem was that he couldn’t face Shutraff with chaos magic alone.

He would have to use necromancy. Only then would he have a chance of winning.

“Why is that an issue? You’ve used necromancy plenty of times when no one was watching.”

“That’s exactly the problem; too many people are watching this time.”

Shutraff’s necromantic power was quite formidable. To face him, it wouldn’t be enough to use power covertly and sparingly, as Karnak had done until now.

“I’d have to use necromancy on a large scale, in full force, and that feels too much like going back to my old ways.”

Return to being an evil necromancer, turning the city into hell while rescuing his comrades.

Or, avoid using dark powers and abandon his comrades, choosing instead to flee.

“Which is the right choice?”

“Indeed, it’s really confusing.”

They racked their brains together for a long time but couldn’t find an easy answer.

Finally, Varos came to a similar conclusion as before.

“Let’s ask Miss Serati when she wakes up.”

“Hmm?”

“She’s a proper human being, unlike us. So, she might be able to come to a proper conclusion.”

“You’re right! Varos, you’re getting smarter by the day!”