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“Hatoba, with your light, let the hidden truth be revealed.”

The holy light enveloped the corpses and conveyed an image to Alius.

It was a variety of information left behind by traces of necromancy.

“It’s certain. These orcs were being controlled by a necromancer. And the identity of that person is…”

His expression suddenly became strange.

“…a really, really scary person?”

At the very least, it was certain that the Stone Orcs were calling him that.

“Whether it’s the necromancer’s terrible naming sense or the orcs’ poor vocabulary, I can’t tell.”

Baros nodded in agreement.

“Usually, it’s the latter, but the necromancer’s naming sense is as bad as the orcs’ vocabulary.”

Karnak shot Baros a glance.

Baros feigned ignorance as if he hadn’t said anything wrong.

In any case, the necromancer’s title wasn’t important right now.

What mattered was where he was.

Alius continued shining the holy light, concentrating the darkness into a single point.

The condensed darkness wriggled out of the orcs’ corpses like a caterpillar and began to squirm.

Quickly, the darkness was sealed inside a small glass bottle, and he offered another prayer.

“Under the guidance of the earth, the darkness is led into the light…”

The darkness trapped in the bottle thrashed violently as if trying to go somewhere, constantly pushing towards one side of the bottle.

“The tracking spell was successful.”

Alius nodded in satisfaction.

Wherever this slimy darkness pointed, the necromancer who had controlled the Stone Orcs would be there.

That meant their next step was clear.

“Let’s eat first.”

No one laughed; they all took it seriously.

Serati and Baros looked around.

“Where should we eat? Lunch?”

“There are a lot of corpses, so let’s move for now.”

It wasn’t a joke.

Timing your meals correctly was one of the most important things in the field.

What would happen if you suddenly needed to relieve yourself just before a battle?

They moved to a suitable spot, sat down, and unpacked their lunch. It was vegetable bread and grilled sausages, prepared at the innkeeper’s request.

Munch munch, chomp chomp.

“Oh, this place grills sausages well.”

“Lord Karnak, could you pass me some sauce?”

“Ah, here it is, Laficel.”

“Thank you!”

Serati watched the scene with a renewed gaze.

The hero of humanity, who had sacrificed everything to save the world, and the former Death King who had once tortured her, tearing her into three pieces, were now having a pleasant conversation with warm expressions.

‘Come to think of it, they shouldn’t really be getting along so well…’

They all filled their stomachs heartily.

With this, their digestion should proceed smoothly as they pursued the necromancer’s trail.

By the time they encountered their target, they’d be in peak fighting condition.

Standing up, Alius took out the glass bottle.

“Then, let’s begin the pursuit.”

***

The darkness inside the bottle writhed, constantly extending in one direction.

Every time it did, Karnak’s group dashed in the direction it pointed.

In truth, running in a single direction through a deep forest without paying attention to the terrain was extremely dangerous.

Especially in a place like Gallant Mountain, where the landscape was treacherous.

You never knew what kind of terrain awaited you.

How many times had they encountered valleys too deep to descend or hills too steep to climb when they had pressed forward thoughtlessly?

Well, that is, if you were an ordinary person with average physical abilities.

“It’s a valley.”

“Just jump down.”

“It’s a hill.”

“Just jump up.”

“We’ve got thick bushes ahead.”

“Just cut through them.”

Even the lowest-level aura users like the Red Knights could perform a standing jump of nearly 3 meters.

Once you transcend human limits, terrain becomes less of an obstacle.

Baros, Serati, and even Laficel navigated the rough mountain terrain as easily as if it were flat ground.

While Karnak and Alius lacked that level of physical prowess, they had magic to compensate.

If something seemed too high or too low, they simply used levitation magic to float.

With Karnak’s magic, bringing Alius along was no problem at all.

Unless it was an enormous cliff, the rugged mountain terrain hardly posed a challenge.

Karnak’s group continued to cut through the mountains, relentlessly following the trail of darkness. But then, they hit a snag.

“Well… this is troublesome.”

It might not have been 10,000 feet tall, but the towering cliff ahead was certainly not something they could simply leap over.

Baros looked at Karnak with a troubled expression.

“What should we do, young master?”

“Shall we try flying over with levitation magic?”

“Can you transport all of us?”

“It’s possible, but it’s a bit tricky.”

Magic is the act of concentrating mana in one place to bring about changes in the world.

When the same spell is used repeatedly in one spot, the world begins to adapt to the change, and as a result, the spell’s effectiveness gradually diminishes.

This is why mages alternate between different spells during battle.

Additionally, unfocused mana tends to scatter meaninglessly in all directions, causing the magic’s waves to spread over a wide area.

“If we’re unlucky, the necromancers might notice us.”

They didn’t want to have come this far only to end up like a dog chasing chickens.

Alius proposed a different idea.

“Let’s try going around the cliff and climbing up.”

They led the way with the bottle of darkness, circling the cliff and climbing up the mountain.

As they diligently pressed on, Alius’s expression tightened slightly.

“Why is this happening?”

The movement of the darkness in the bottle was acting strangely.

Even though they were walking in one direction, it kept shifting up and down.

“This guy… he’s moving.”

And he was very close by.

Everyone tensed and prepared for battle. The warriors drew their swords, while the mages and priests gripped their wands.

After cutting through the forest for about ten more minutes, a man came into view.

Dressed in a black robe with a necklace made of skulls, he was the epitome of a necromancer.

Everyone’s expression turned blank for a moment.

It was good they had found their target, but the situation was entirely unexpected.

The necromancer was squatting on the ground, holding a small hoe, busily digging up wild arrowroots.

The group stared blankly at the necromancer.

“…”

The necromancer stared blankly at the group.

“…”

Karnak clicked his tongue.

“Well, I guess even necromancers have to eat.”

Even a necromancer, unless turned into an undead, still needs to eat.

And there’s no reason why a necromancer wouldn’t enjoy fresh wild vegetables.

But if he used monsters to dig them up, they’d probably be mashed to a pulp.

It was already hard enough to find wild vegetables after the first snow had fallen.

The desire to dig up fresh arrowroots before the ground froze completely must have been hard to resist.

Suddenly realizing the situation, the necromancer jumped up in a panic.

“Wh-Who are you people?”

It wasn’t hard to figure out their identity.

Karnak’s group was fully armed according to their professions.

Especially Alius, whose priestly robes clearly marked his status.

“A priest of Hatoba!”

The shocked necromancer waved his hands, gathering power.

Dozens of wraiths began rising from the ground, their eerie screams echoing through the forest.

SCREEEEEECH!

But instead of being startled, the group looked more at ease.

A necromancer summoning evil spirits was far more natural than one digging up wild roots.

Pointing his wand, Alius solemnly shouted.

“Kneel before the name of the Goddess!”

“Hmph! You’ll be the ones to kneel!”

The necromancer didn’t back down.

Emitting an ominous aura in all directions, he roared like a demon from hell.

“None of you shall leave here alive after witnessing my face!”

At this very necromancer-like declaration, Karnak responded indifferently with a mental message to Serati.

[Just to be clear, Serati.]

[Yes?]

[I’ve never said a line like that.]

[…Who said you did?]

More than ten wraiths floated among the snow-covered branches, like drifting shadows.

Being able to summon that many wraiths was a testament to the necromancer’s considerable skill.

He was no amateur who had accidentally stumbled upon the Darkness of Doom and haphazardly gained power. He had clearly mastered necromancy.

He was probably on the same level as Cleo, the necromancer they had encountered in Gelpa Village when they first met Alius.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The summoned wraiths were quickly smashed apart by Baros’s aura-infused sword, bursting like bubbles.

It wasn’t even particularly refined swordsmanship. He was just swatting them down like flies.

“If you can use aura, this much is nothing…”

At Cleo’s level, this necromancer posed no threat to Baros.

Serati, too, was at ease.

Even though she often got scolded by this group, she had made a name for herself as the strongest Darkness Hunter in the northern regions of the Yustil Kingdom.

On top of that, she had gained much more experience and improved her skills since then.

“He’s not that strong.”

There was no need for Karnak or Alius to step in.

Baros and Serati alone were enough to slash through the wraiths like fresh fish being fileted.

SCREEEEEECH!

In no time, all the summoned wraiths had been wiped out.

“Y-You bastards!”

The enraged necromancer trembled and gathered his strength once more.

“I’ll show you the true power of darkness!”

Once again, a dozen or so wraiths were summoned.

It seemed to be the strongest necromantic spell in his arsenal. The same wraiths that had just been swatted away like flies.

Alius smiled awkwardly.

‘This is the first time I’ve ever felt sorry for a necromancer.’

As Alius scratched his cheek, he glanced to the side and noticed a silver-haired girl with sparkling eyes.

“Laficel.”

“Yes?”

“Want to give it a try?”

“Yes!”

Alius placed a finger on Laficel’s longsword.

Her blade began to glow faintly as he cast a holy spell on it, allowing her to strike the wraiths.

‘With Sir Baros and Dame Serati here, there shouldn’t be any danger even though she’s still a child.’

The girl had remarkable talent. She could probably handle at least one or two wraiths, right?

Just as he was thinking this, Laficel sprang forward, launching herself off the ground.

“Hah!”

At the same time, her figure suddenly split into five.

Each version of her slashed at a different wraith, leaving streaks of sword light in the air like blooming flowers.

Flash!

Without even time to scream, the wraiths vanished, all of them destroyed.

Laficel sheathed her sword and beamed.

“I took care of them all!”

The necromancer’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He couldn’t understand what had just happened.

Alius, too, was confused.

There had just been a bright flash, and then all the wraiths were gone?

“…What did Laficel just do?”

Serati hesitated, unsure how to respond. She didn’t know either.

“It’s… a family secret technique.”

In any case, the necromancer had been completely neutralized.

Summoning over twenty wraiths had been an incredible feat, one that must have drained his necromantic power.

It just didn’t look like much because they had been effortlessly cut down.

“Ugh… ugh…”

The terrified necromancer stumbled backward, only to bump into something.

Baros was already standing behind him.

“Hey, there.”

He placed a hand on the necromancer’s shoulder and asked gently.

“By any chance, do you know someone named Hudel?”

It certainly didn’t sound gentle from the necromancer’s point of view.