Chapter 161: Chapter 161

A flame giant clad in lava armor stood tall, holding a sword of fire. Intense heat radiated from the giant, dispelling the blizzard entirely.

Watching his Blizzard Storm nullified, Demphis was inwardly impressed.

‘Can that really be summoned?’

This wasn’t the first time Karnak had used El Ragnatia. He had summoned it once before during a surprise attack to disrupt the descent ritual.

However, he had immediately recalled it back then, so its true power hadn’t been displayed.

That’s why Demphis had assumed it was just an illusion.

He never thought Karnak had actually summoned a flame spirit.

‘That man? Using spirit summoning? There’s no way!’

Only the purest of souls could possess an affinity for spirits. And Karnak was definitely not that kind of person.

‘…The real question is, why am I even getting this feeling?’

But Demphis quickly dismissed the thought as a mere illusion.

After all, it didn’t make sense in the first place.

If he went with his gut feeling, that black-haired youth would never risk his life to save his comrades. Yet, here he was.

Could it be that Karnak was, in fact, a pure and kind-hearted person? And that’s why he could so powerfully command spirit magic?

‘Impossible, but there’s no real evidence to dismiss it, either.’

His instincts kept triggering inconsistencies.

It felt like trying to perceive a bearded man in front of him as a woman.

‘No, right now, capturing him is the priority.’

Forcing himself to clear his mind, Demphis erased his wandering thoughts.

Losing focus in the middle of a battle was never a good habit.

He struck his golden wand into the ground and began chanting a spell.

“Rise, wall of ice. Ice Wall.”

As the spell dictated, a wall of ice rose up.

It was a very straightforward spell, and in the current situation, a somewhat random one.

But Karnak quickly understood.

‘Is that it?’

Sure enough, Demphis immediately followed with another spell.

“Arise, my guardian.”

As the ice wall crumbled, its shards gathered in the air, forming into a massive giant made of snow.

It was an Ice Golem.

The ice wall had been created solely to gather the material needed for summoning the golem.

The flame giant and the ice giant clashed violently in the center of the chapel.

Boom!

Steam exploded into the air, unleashing a storm in all directions.

“Uwooooo!”

El Ragnatia unleashed continuous fiery slashes, roaring fiercely.

“Kraaaa!”

The Ice Golem retaliated with its massive ice club, countering each strike.

A brutal back-and-forth battle ensued.

Flames and steam erupted in rapid succession.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The power of the two summoned beings was evenly matched.

It might seem a bit unfair, considering Karnak and Demphis’s abilities, but that couldn’t be helped.

There was an inherent disparity between the power of spirits and golems.

Nevertheless, Demphis had a specific reason for summoning the golem.

For one, he couldn’t use necromancy to summon wraiths or demons from the abyss. The risk of losing control over them was too high.

Karnak’s magic, the Redeemer of Necromancy, was so powerful that even Demphis didn’t dare to take reckless actions.

He also couldn’t summon spirits or magical beasts through magic.

Not because he didn’t know how—he was a master of the 9th Circle, after all. If he wanted, he could summon a horde of powerful spirits and magical beasts.

The problem was that the summoned creatures wouldn’t listen to him.

Though strong, spirits and magical beasts often turned on their summoner if the summoner was evil. It was a common occurrence.

That’s why most mages preferred using golems or puppets when they needed a summoned entity. They avoided spirits and magical beasts summoning magic.

And if the summoned creature was a skeleton? It would immediately turn on Demphis and try to kill him.

‘But how is he controlling a spirit so well?’

Demphis marveled once more as he looked at El Ragnatia.

The flame giant obediently followed Karnak’s commands, fighting in sync with him.

It was clear to Demphis that Karnak wasn’t pure of heart.

How could he be, using such a thing?

“Restless wraiths, become arrows and strike down my enemy!”

Behind the flame giant, Karnak unleashed necromancy.

Black wraiths rose from the ground, transforming into arrows that shot toward Demphis.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”

Annoyed, Demphis cast a Curtain of Darkness to block the arrows.

He then alternated his gaze between Karnak and the flame spirit.

‘He’s using necromancy right in front of the spirit, yet the spirit is acting like it doesn’t notice? What kind of trick is this?’

This wasn’t just unusual in terms of spirit summoning.

Behind the battle between fire and ice, Karnak and Demphis were also exchanging magic.

“Hellfire, descend upon this land!”

“Light, become a spear that pierces through all things!”

The former was Karnak’s magic, and the latter was Demphis’s.

It was an absurd scene: a mage of the King’s Order, who should be hunting cultists, was freely using necromancy, while an Arch Lich wielded pure magic in response.

Something was deeply wrong.

As the battle dragged on, Demphis began to ponder.

‘This is more troublesome than I thought.’

It wasn’t that he couldn’t use more powerful magic, but the destruction would be too great.

If the chapel collapsed as a result, it would be his own foolishness for breaking through the barriers he had set up to prevent an escape.

So, he was continuing to use a method that simply suppressed Karnak with raw mana…

“I can block that, you know?”

Karnak crossed his hands, staring at the encroaching mana.

Necromantic power and mana intertwined, weaving together like fabric, forming a smooth barrier.

Demphis’s overpowering mana slid off, scattering and exploding in all directions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At that point, all Demphis could do was marvel.

‘The way he handles mana is beyond me.’

It wasn’t that Karnak was particularly skilled at handling magic.

He manipulated magic as if it were necromancy, and his mastery of necromancy was so divine that his control over magic exceeded that of a 9th Circle Master.

‘Truly, this is one twisted man.’

Demphis suddenly thought.

Why should he bother dealing with such a complicated individual head-on?

‘Let me show you that underhanded tricks aren’t yours alone, human!’

While continuously pouring out mana, Demphis discreetly selected one of his necromancers and gave him an order.

—Your sacrifice is necessary.

The necromancer’s eyes wavered.

‘No, no!’

It was useless.

Under control, his body faithfully carried out the command.

Boom!

The necromancer exploded, spraying poisonous liquid in all directions.

Just like Karnak, Demphis had cast Corpse Explosion on his subordinate.

However, this was an even more devastating version—poisonous liquid that could melt flesh on contact filled the air.

Baros staggered back in shock.

“Ugh!”

Serati also recoiled in horror, rolling to the ground.

“What the hell is this?!”

The two barely managed to escape the area of effect.

Thanks to their superhuman speed and reflexes as aura users, they barely made it out in time.

But Karnak?

Poison was difficult to block with magic.

A Mana Shield would only deflect it partially; some would still inevitably splash onto him.

‘There’s no way he can avoid this.’

Once again, Demphis was wrong.

As soon as the poison exploded, Karnak reacted immediately.

“Come forth! Delpaz!”

In front of him, several small, blood-red demons appeared, each slightly smaller than a full-grown man.

They were Delpaz, lower demons from hell.

Karnak had instantly summoned them.

His summoning skills were indeed impressive.

But there was something even more remarkable.

The Delpaz appeared precisely between Karnak and the exploding necromancer.

The demons took the full brunt of the poisonous liquid as soon as they appeared!

“Kraaa!”

“It burns! It burns!”

More than half of the summoned demons melted away in agony. But in the process, the poison’s effect was entirely nullified.

The remaining demons, who had been less affected, let out furious roars.

“Kraaaa!”

At that moment, Karnak shouted.

“It’s them!”

He pointed at Demphis and his necromancer monsters, his eyes glowing red.

“They’re the ones who doused you in poison!”

It wasn’t a lie.

And because it wasn’t a lie, the demons were completely deceived.

“Kraaa!”

The Delpaz rushed at the necromancers.

‘…Wow.’

Demphis was genuinely impressed.

‘He is worse than me.’

Necromancy worked by controlling summoned creatures, and the less control required, the more efficient the necromancer’s power consumption.

Because the demons had developed their own hatred and were attacking autonomously, Karnak’s necromantic power expenditure was almost negligible.

Moreover, his response in the critical moment was remarkably necromancer-like.

When faced with an explosion, rather than casting a shield, Karnak had immediately summoned a flesh shield. Almost reflexively.

It was proof that he always used such tactics to protect himself.

Only someone who sacrificed others as naturally as breathing could react like that.

‘What about others?’

Deeply intrigued, Demphis calmly observed Karnak’s party.

Serati was ordinary.

She had the soul of a typical person: somewhat righteous, somewhat compromising, someone who tried to pursue what was right.

‘A perfect candidate for a sacrificial offering.’

Baros, on the other hand, was different.

His soul was deeply murky. Not quite the black of an evil man, but something worse.

To commit evil deeds and yet have no shame while looking up at the heavens—such a soul could only emanate such a color.

Even demons might hesitate to accept him.

Clearly, Baros held little value as a sacrificial offering.

And Karnak…

‘My god!’

Demphis recoiled.

Karnak’s soul was that shocking.

It shone with a wondrously beautiful dark hue.

It was a pitch-black, polished sheen that reflected light, like a deep, endless void.

So black, so filthy, that it appeared almost clean.

That wasn’t the soul of someone to be sacrificed—it was the soul of someone meant to receive the sacrifice!

‘How can a mere human possess such a soul…?’

Finally, Demphis understood.

Why this battle was dragging on for so long?

Why he had been so passive, unable to decisively deal with Karnak and his group.

Even why he had been unable to focus, his thoughts constantly drifting.

That soul’s color had unsettled him.

‘Why? Why do I feel this way?’

He placed his hand on his ribcage, where his human heart had once been, replaced by a heart of blue spiritual energy. He let out a low groan.

“Ugh…”

The great god of death, the Death King Tesranak.

The branding of their contract trembled faintly.