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Chapter 42: Chapter 41: Curse of the Dawn (2)

\'Is this really a wine cellar? It\'s way too big.\'

It wasn\'t until she looked closer that she realized the reason.

In reality, it was originally divided into the first and second basement floors, but the walls and floors had been demolished to create this massive space.

\'Where are Mr. Alius and Mr. Riltein?\'

While she was searching for her companions, Shutraff was struggling to calm his excitement.

Although he was briefly taken aback, after thinking about it, it wasn\'t something he couldn\'t understand.

The tactic itself wasn\'t particularly impressive. They had merely diverted his attention to the outside of the mansion, and then taken advantage of that distraction to infiltrate.

He simply hadn\'t expected that a cowardly necromancer would deliberately leave the safety of his zombie army and plunge directly into a dangerous situation.

Staring at Karnak\'s group, Shutraff muttered.

"You\'ve deceived me well."

"And you fell for it so easily."

Karnak continued with a mocking tone as he looked Shutraff up and down.

"You look pretty tired. Did fighting off the zombies take a lot out of you?"

"Ugh..."

Shutraff groaned softly.

It wasn\'t an incorrect statement. Indeed, he had expended a significant amount of mana constantly using necromancy up until now.

He was still far superior to Karnak. However, the gap in necromantic power was no longer so overwhelming that he could guarantee victory as before.

He could no longer be certain of a flawless victory.

\'Should I withdraw the necromantic power deployed outside the mansion even now?\'

While Shutraff was contemplating, a voice echoed in his ears.

"Thinking of withdrawing your necromancy to replenish your mana? Well, go ahead and do that."

Karnak\'s attitude was indifferent, as if it didn\'t matter.

"Then we\'ll just run away again. The zombie army can leisurely make its way down to the basement."

"Huh? Can the zombie army alone capture that guy, young master?"

"Eh, that would be tough. That man is pretty strong."

Karnak pointed around them.

"But we can certainly destroy this underground facility, can\'t we?"

Red magic circles and symbols were drawn everywhere. Blood-red chunks of flesh were clumped together on the walls and pillars, constantly writhing.

To a newcomer, this might just seem like a scene from hell, but to Karnak, it was a familiar sight.

This was an altar.

An altar where captured sacrifices were steeped in evil energy and malice, then offered to demons.

Having created many similar ones himself, Karnak knew exactly what it was.

"Do you think he can restore an altar of this size in just a few days?"

"So we can just take a nice rest and come back tomorrow night?"

"Exactly!"

Shutraff frowned.

Indeed, if the zombie horde outside the mansion pushed into the basement, it would become troublesome.

It wasn\'t a matter of winning or losing. Once this place becomes a battlefield, the altar would be lost.

After all the effort put into it over such a long time, losing it so easily was unacceptable.

However, the thought of being led around by their plan was equally unpleasant.

"Run away? After coming all this way to rescue your comrades, you\'re just going to abandon them?"

"Of course, I\'m a bit worried..."

Karnak shrugged.

"But if the altar is destroyed, at least we don\'t have to worry about being sacrificed as offerings, right?"

Baros interjected again.

"What if he just kills them off?"

"You think a necromancer would just give up on valuable sacrifices like high-ranking clerics and mages, just to irritate me? Not likely."

Shutraff\'s expression twisted even more.

They were blatantly toying with him, and the problem was that, even though he knew it, he had no choice but to go along with it.

As Karnak said, there was no way he could just kill off such valuable sacrifices like high-ranking clerics and mages without gaining anything in return.

"Fine, I\'ll play along."

Shutraff stepped out from behind the barrier.

"But there\'s one thing you\'ve misunderstood."

The tentacles that had been wrapped around his arms slowly unwound and returned to the wall of flesh.

"While it\'s true that I\'m exhausted..."

From beneath his feet, darkness began to rise, swirling and spreading in all directions.

"...it\'s not to the point where I can\'t deal with the likes of you."

Uuuhhh...

Uuuuhhhh...

All around the basement, corpses began to rise.

They were all heavily armed ghouls with massive, muscular bodies.

These were the corpses of the Darkness Hunters that Shutraff had captured earlier.

The mana of darkness resonated throughout the entire basement.

"Just because a lion is tired, doesn\'t mean it can\'t catch a rat!"

***

The ghouls, heavily armored with swords, shields, and armor, charged with ferocious roars.

"Rraaah!"

"Uwaah!"

Baros and Serati also sprang forward as if they had been waiting for this moment.

Amidst the horde of ghouls, their two swords danced wildly.

Karnak raised his hands as well.

At this moment, he had quite a bit of necromantic power stored up. It was different from the times when he had to fight using only Chaos Power.

"Come, slaves of the soul, I summon you from the depths of purgatory..."

The black magic spell, \'Echoes of the Underworld,\' which summons cursed souls, was activated.

Evil spirits rose from various points on the basement floor and attacked the ghouls.

"Kekekekeke!"

"Keekeke!"

Groans, screams, and eerie noises blended together as messy combat erupted.

The outcome was not easily decided.

Shutraff\'s necromancy was crude, but his necromantic power was overwhelming, while Karnak\'s necromancy was extremely efficient, though he was far behind in total mana.

This was reflected in the ghouls and evil spirits, resulting in a stalemate.

As Karnak continued to wield his necromancy, he observed his opponent\'s reactions.

\'Now, how will you respond?\'

Shutraff didn\'t cast any additional necromantic barriers. Instead, he continued to pour dark mana into the ghouls, enhancing their power.

"Rise, my servants! Let death bestow its blessing upon you!"

A cloudy power of darkness rained down on the fallen ghoul warriors, causing them to rise again, now even stronger.

The evil spirits, as well as Baros and Serati, who had been holding their ground, started to be pushed back.

"Ugh!"

"These guys... They\'re getting stronger..."

Inwardly, Karnak gave Shutraff some credit.

\'He\'s got some learning ability, it seems.\'

He wasn\'t using necromantic barriers. He was simply maneuvering the pre-placed ghoul warriors efficiently.

It meant he was wary of the method to nullify barriers.

\'Though I doubt he knows exactly why he\'s doing it.\'

It seemed that Shutraff only understood that "necromantic barriers don\'t work, but other necromancy does."

\'If he had figured out the cause, he would have used the simpler necromantic barriers that rely on basic incantation, wouldn\'t he?\'

Regardless, the situation wasn\'t bad.

As things stood, Karnak could steadily drain Shutraff\'s mana.

Of course, this relied on Karnak\'s group being able to hold out in the meantime...

"Miss Serati! To the left!"

"Yes, Mr. Baros!"

The combination of the experienced Baros and the aura-user Serati was proving to be more effective than expected.

Although they were initially a bit flustered, they quickly adapted.

As Baros supported Serati\'s movements, the number of fallen ghouls steadily increased.

Karnak glared coldly at Shutraff, whose expression was becoming more grim.

\'It\'s about time you reveal your trump card, isn\'t it?\'

Baros and Serati clashed fiercely, alongside the summoned evil spirits and the endless waves of ghouls.

Each time they collided, the dark mana within the basement churned relentlessly.

Woom, woom, woom!

Shutraff broke out in a cold sweat.

\'Damn it...\'

The more violent the vortex became, the faster his necromantic power was being depleted.

\'To think these bastards could push me this far...\'

At this rate, he\'d be completely drained without accomplishing anything. He had to make a move before that happened.

Fortunately, he still had enough strength left to play his final card.

Gritting his teeth, he raised his voice.

He summoned all his remaining necromantic power to call forth the strongest being he could control!

"Come forth, Demon of Gehenna!"

A dark gate opened in midair.

Beyond the summoning gate, the landscape of hell was visible, and a crimson giant, standing nearly 3 meters tall, emerged.

Serati screamed in terror.

"A demon!"

In contrast, Baros had a nonchalant expression.

"Ah, it\'s Maz-nun. Using that again, huh?"

Karnak also smirked.

"I figured you\'d do that."

There was no way Karnak wouldn\'t have anticipated this, especially since even Baros had guessed it.

Of course, he had expected Shutraff to summon Maz-nun after being pushed this far.

The abyssal demon, on par with the Purple Knight, was indeed the strongest card Shutraff could play to turn the tide in this situation.

Darkness bloomed behind Karnak\'s shoulder.

Demon summoning, like necromantic barriers, is an equally complex ritual. And if it\'s a complex ritual, it can be broken!

"Let\'s end this."

A simple necromantic barrier enveloped the demon summoning ritual.

Chaos ensued, and the summoning itself began to unravel.

Boom!

The dark gate began to shrink, and the energy of hell that had been leaking out rapidly lost its intensity.

The demon that had been summoned looked around in confusion.

"W-What?"

Both the demon and Shutraff were taken aback.

Karnak watched them with a broad smile.

\'Once this is nullified, there shouldn\'t be any necromantic power left.\'

Everything was going according to plan.

At least, it was until now.

Boom!

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed, and the shrinking dark gate came to an abrupt halt.

Karnak\'s eyes widened in surprise.

"...Huh?"

***

Originally, the dark gate had been several meters tall—more than large enough for the 3-meter-tall demon, Maz-nun, to pass through.

But now, it had shrunk to barely a meter in size, more like a window than a gate.

Baros stared blankly at the demon standing on the other side of the window, still in hell.

"..."

Maz-nun also stared blankly through the window at the humans standing on the other side in the human world.

"..."

A bizarre scene unfolded, with human and demon staring at each other, blinking in disbelief, something so strange you couldn\'t buy it even if you wanted to.

Baros, bewildered, turned to look at Karnak.

"Young master? It looks like the gate just stopped closing."

Maz-nun was just as baffled.

\'What is this?\'

The dark gate was open.

Yes, it was open, but it was barely the size of a mouse hole.

He could squeeze through if he really tried, but it would require him to crawl on all fours.

The idea that a noble abyssal demon like himself would have to crawl like a dog was unthinkable.

\'Should I just abandon the contract?\'

But that would be a great loss.

His summoner had promised him many souls in exchange for answering the call.

"There\'s no other choice..."

Maz-nun extended his hands toward the summoning gate.

The crimson fingers of the demon grasped the gate, infusing it with his power. Red sparks flew in all directions.

Crackle!

At the same time, the summoning gate began to widen again.

The demon was using his own strength to reopen the dark gate.

Serati shouted out.

"Lord Karnak! The gate!"

Boom!

With an explosion, the dark gate shattered. Amidst the smoke and debris, a dark silhouette stood tall.

A voice echoed through the air.

"Contractor! State your desire!"

Shutraff, who had been in a daze, hurriedly responded.

"K-Kill the men and bring the woman to me!"

"The same terms as before."

With a bitter smile, Maz-nun turned to face Karnak and his group.

The conditions were the same, but there was one difference this time.

"This time, I can see you clearly... Heh heh heh..."

The demon\'s eyes flicked over Baros and Serati, who both appeared tense.

Both of them were breaking out in a cold sweat.

The abyssal demon Maz-nun was far beyond the reach of either Baros or the aura-user Serati. The difference in power was too vast.

Baros, gripping his sword, asked in a trembling voice.

"Young master? This is part of the plan too, right?"

The response was less than reassuring.

"Uh, I didn\'t see this coming..."

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