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In reality, it wasn’t a particularly dangerous situation that warranted calling it an “escape.”

Aside from the hall, the rest of the area was already under Karnak’s influence. Even the witch who originally ruled this space had disappeared.

In fact, they merely trudged toward the entrance, and once everyone was outside, they simply locked the gate to the underworld.

Once everyone had escaped, the candy house vanished on its own.

“It seems that with the witch gone, this place can no longer exist.”

In truth, Karnak had sent it away himself, but that’s how the explanation had to go.

When the gate to the underworld closed, the thick fog that had covered the surroundings also lifted, and the Witch’s Forest returned to being a normal forest.

When Karnak’s party returned to Swindler Fortress, they were hailed as heroes.

“Thank you.”

“You saved our lives.”

No one dismissed them as mere citizens of the Seven Kingdoms anymore.

Even the arrogant Leocolt had a complete change of attitude.

“You have saved my life. I will never forget this favor.”

Though he had been arrogant, he wasn’t someone who would ignore a debt of life.

“If you ever need help from the empire, contact me. I will help with whatever I can.”

This left the Evil Slaying Brigade with a debt owed to them.

For just a few days of delay, it was an unexpected windfall.

However, the change in their attitudes wasn’t just because their lives had been saved.

As soon as they returned to the fortress, the mage Stronoff informed his comrades.

-We must find out what magic he used!

As a mage, he recognized the value of the spell Karnak had employed.

A magic that could reverse the power of a necromancer!

Such a feat was unprecedented in history.

Even the three Archmages had not yet developed such a spell.

Well, to be precise, it wasn’t that they couldn’t—it’s just that they hadn’t.

How long has it been since the Darkness of Doom began to run rampant?

Before that, such a spell was simply unnecessary.

No one paid attention to this kind of magic until recently.

That’s what makes it all the more curious. Where did he learn such magic?

It’s unlikely that Karnak himself developed it.

A mere 6th Circle mage, and still in his twenties, couldn’t have created such a spell.

But it was difficult to ask directly.

For mages, knowledge is power, authority, and wealth.

In the world of mages, probing into the secrets of someone’s magic is tantamount to theft.

“…For that reason, even though they want to ask about Lord Karnak’s magic, they’re just watching quietly,” Alius remarked.

Serati just shrugged.

“He won’t reveal it easily, of course.”

Karnak has committed quite a few transgressions. Naturally, he’d want to keep things hidden. However, Alius seemed to interpret it differently.

“Well, he’s not exactly the type to enjoy conversation, is he?”

“Lord Karnak, you mean?”

“Yes. He’s such a quiet person. Just like Sir Baros.”

“Sir Baros?”

Serati was taken aback.

If it were Karnak and Baros, they were among the most talkative people she’d ever met.

They never missed a chance to boast, even during battle.

‘What do you mean, ‘quiet’? That’s absurd.’

But then again, she thought, maybe it made sense.

‘Wait a minute, we only ever talked through telepathy, didn’t we?’

To an outsider, they would indeed seem like a quiet and serious mage and knight.

‘No way! They’re both so talkative!’

It felt incredibly unfair, but there was no way she could explain the truth.

“Yes… they’re both very quiet… right….”

“…?”

In any case, it seemed that Stronoff wouldn’t be prying into the magic any time soon.

Given the gravity of the situation, he probably planned to make formal contact with the brigade after they returned.

Reporting the developments to Karnak, Serati asked, “Is it really okay to be getting this much attention, Lord Karnak? Haven’t you been trying to avoid standing out this whole time?”

As for the source of the magic, they could always claim it came from the Archmage Dallas of 150 years ago.

“What if someone asks you to teach them?”

Karnak was unfazed.

“Then I’ll teach them.”

“Huh? Is that really okay?”

“I told you, this is actual magic. I developed it to make it known to the world in the first place.”

Of course, he wasn’t talking about revealing all of chaos magic—just the part related to necromancy interference.

Originally, chaos magic had been developed merely as a technique to pose as a mage. As a result, it didn’t differ much from existing magic.

But with the world becoming more chaotic, they found themselves facing necromancers more and more often.

Because of that, Karnak had to increasingly resort to secretly using necromancy.

“As they say, if your tail gets too long, it’ll get stepped on.”

There are two ways to deal with a tail before it gets caught.

Either cut off your own tail, or attach long tails to everyone else!

“What do you think will happen if other mages also start using necromancy interference spells?”

After a moment of thought, Serati responded, “More mages will be able to handle necromancers more easily.”

“There’s a more important point than that.”

Karnak smiled brightly.

“It means that other mages, besides me, will be able to use the power of darkness, even if only indirectly.”

If Karnak alone were using both magic and the power of darkness, it would raise too much suspicion.

But if other mages were doing it too? Then it would just seem like a common occurrence.

“I can’t keep using necromancy in secret forever, can I? I have to make my move before it gets exposed.”

Hearing this, Baros expressed concern.

“But… in this case, wouldn’t you be putting yourself in danger, young master?”

Distributing a magic that is the nemesis of necromancy, when Karnak himself was a necromancer? There was no guarantee that this magic wouldn’t eventually turn against him.

“It’s fine. I have no intention of continuing as a necromancer.”

Karnak waved his hand dismissively.

“And even if I need to use necromancy, it won’t be a problem for me.”

After all, the necromancy interference spell was a magic that only Karnak could use effectively.

This spell required a precise understanding of the opposing necromancy to be fully effective.

In other words, the caster needed to possess more knowledge and wisdom than the necromancer they were opposing.

“And there’s no necromancer in the world wiser than me, right?”

“Uh, yes…,” Serati replied, looking deeply impressed by his confidence.

She was so stunned that she was at a loss for words.

On the other hand, Baros still seemed worried.

“And what will you say when you use it properly? Won’t that just prove you know too much about necromancy?”

“I’ll just insist that I’m a genius and that I handled it instinctively. There are actually a few prodigies like that out there.”

And to those who fail to master it, he’d say this:

Why are you blaming me for your incompetence?

“Something like that,” Karnak concluded with a grin.

Baros finally seemed reassured and smiled as well.

“That should be safe enough to reveal to the world.”

Then, with a curious glint in his eye, he asked, “You’re not planning to teach it for free, are you?”

“Of course not. Nothing in this world comes for free.”

He planned to sell it for a lot of money. A great deal of money.

With a smirk, Karnak squared his shoulders.

“Anyway, things worked out well. Originally, I was planning to subtly reveal this at the Grenthal estate.”

This necromancy interference spell was based on a technique from the Dark Cult. Meaning, someone from the Dark Cult might recognize it.

And what then?

That’s actually a good thing.

“It means they’re the culprit.”

If someone recognized it, that meant they either came from the past or were connected to it.

“We can’t keep chasing after invisible enemies forever, can we?”

The original plan was to discreetly drop hints while securing Hudel.

However, the Evil Slaying Brigade had influence across the entire empire. The bait would be spread even more effectively this way.

Karnak rubbed his neck and muttered, “We’ve been delayed a little, but in the end, things have worked out pretty well.”

They had rescued those in danger, built connections with the Evil Slaying Brigade, and earned greater recognition from the public.

Doesn’t this seem like a rather decent way to live?

“What do you think, Serati?”

Karnak and Baros both looked at Serati like students waiting for their grades.

With a wry smile, she nodded.

“Surprisingly, it seems like you’ve really done well this time.”

***

Laficel was safe at the inn.

“Welcome back, Lord Karnak!”

“Yes, Laficel. Everything went well, I hope?”

“Everyone treated me kindly!”

That was only to be expected.

Even though the world was in turmoil and leaving a young girl alone in a foreign land was dangerous, it had only been less than two days.

Furthermore, they had paid the innkeeper extra to keep a close eye on her, and this was a fortress town with regular troops stationed. Besides, her guardians included a powerful aura user, a high-level mage, and a senior cleric—if trouble arose despite all that?

“In that case, there would definitely be something suspicious going on.”

“Exactly, there’d have to be some grand conspiracy for it to make sense.”

Even after reuniting with Laficel, they couldn’t leave Swindler Fortress right away. There were still matters to attend to.

The recently captured members of the Evil Slaying Brigade and Alius were in no real danger. However, the members of the first witch-hunting expedition, who had been kidnapped a week earlier, were not in normal condition.

While they didn’t seem to have any physical problems, mentally they were half-gone, likely due to eating the witch’s sweets for so long, and they had all plumped up noticeably.

Considering what the true nature of those sweets might have been, they couldn’t just leave them as they were.

So Alius was spending a day using divine spells to care for them in detail.

Normally, this task would have fallen to Felix, the 2nd-rank inquisitor stationed at Swindler Fortress. However, Felix had also been captured and had plumped up like the rest of them.

Alius sighed as he cast a divine spell on each of the people lying on the bed.

“Whew… truly pitiful….”

As he spoke, he paused, hesitant for a moment.

Even though everyone was out of their minds, they were all smiling brightly. Even their skin was plump and oily.

“…But they do look surprisingly happy, don’t they?”

Karnak and the others, watching nearby, couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Seems like they were well-fed.”

“That’s what the witch kept saying, wasn’t it? That she was going to fatten them up.”

“It’s a classic line from grandmothers everywhere.”

In any case, there didn’t seem to be any major issues.

It looked like they’d be able to get up on their own in three or four days.

In the meantime, Alius provided minor healing spells to other residents of the fortress as well.

It was customary for clerics to offer the blessings of the goddesses as a gesture of gratitude when crossing the boundaries of an estate or nation.

It wasn’t for no reason that Karnak and his party had passed so easily through the border gates. When foreign clerics appeared, people were happy to receive free healing, making it mutually beneficial.

It wasn’t that Felix was particularly greedy. The 7 Goddesses Church simply had strict rules against providing free healing without cause.

Once all the patients were stable, Karnak and his party were finally able to leave the fortress.

“Ah, it was quite a busy time,” Alius remarked, clicking his tongue as they rode their horses along the winding mountain path.

“Come to think of it, what exactly was that witch’s true identity?”

Most traces of the witch’s existence had completely disappeared.

As a result, the Evil Slaying Brigade seemed to be struggling to uncover the truth.

“She didn’t even leave a body behind, so…”

Karnak nodded.

“Indeed, not even a body was left behind.”

And he smiled inwardly.

‘I didn’t lie, after all.’

He subtly slipped his right hand into his coat. His fingertips brushed against a small, square object.

It was a black, hexagonal cube with a surface that rippled like flowing shadows.

‘She didn’t leave a body behind, that’s for sure.’