Episode 14. Part 4. Omen of Destruction
With the victory in the trial by duel, the copper mine was firmly secured as the property of the Zestrad family. Karnak, who had saved the territory, was also able to solidify his position as its lord.
A feast was held.
Cattle and pigs were slaughtered, and generous amounts of food and drink were distributed to the common folk.
Amid this joyful celebration, one sight in particular stood out—the of the "respected new lord."
"Baros!"
"Yes, young master!"
"It's beef!"
"There's pork too! Not sausage—freshly slaughtered pork!"
"The fat is just dripping!"
"And it's even slathered in sauce!"
The two of them were so engrossed in eating that they nearly shed tears of emotion.
They were so genuinely overwhelmed that the villagers were the ones left feeling bewildered.
"Is it really something to be that happy about?"
"Well, beef is rare, but still…"
For ordinary villagers, cattle and pigs were foods they could only eat once or twice a year, on special festive occasions—and only in years of good harvests.
So even they were deeply moved to be tasting beef and pork again after a long time.
But the reactions of those two were far too extreme.
"Don't nobles eat meat often?"
"Yet they're acting like it's their first time in decades…"
"Come on, that can't be right. They're nobles."
Not knowing the truth, the villagers could only think this way.
"Just how harsh must their training have been, to be so happy over something so small?"
"It must've been harsh. Didn't he stake his life?"
"People really do change in ways you'd never expect."
They all looked at their new lord, Karnak, with eyes full of respect.
Once a good-for-nothing scoundrel, he had not only become a new man but also saved the territory and protected the villagers' future—how could they not revere him?
Of course, Karnak himself was just chewing on meat without a care in the world.
"Ah, this is good. But why is everyone staring at me?"
"Maybe we're eating too much? If we eat more, we might upset our stomachs."
"We should be careful. You're of noble body, after all."
In any case, everything had worked out wonderfully.
He had become the head of a wealthy family and gained the respect and goodwill of the villagers. The family members who had disliked him had destroyed themselves without his help.
All the goals he had desired when he turned back time had been achieved.
Clinking his cup with a broad grin, Karnak laughed.
"Now all that's left is to take it easy and enjoy life, hehehe."
"Indeed, young master. Hehehe," Baros replied with an equally bright smile.
Three months had passed since the trial by duel.
At the Jestrad family's outer training grounds, a group of knights had gathered to watch a sparring match before them.
It was a duel between a knight in his mid-thirties and a young man who looked about twenty.
"Watch yourself!" the older knight warned aloud as he delivered a slashing strike.
"Yes!" the young man replied, carefully parrying the attack and counterattacking.
Blades clashed again and again, and an intense exchange continued for some time.
Despite his youthful appearance, the young man's skill was considerable. He was holding his own even against a full-fledged knight.
After a while, the knight stepped back and sheathed his sword, steadying his breath.
"Whew. Let's end it here."
The young man also sheathed his blade and bowed deeply.
"Thank you for the instruction!"
Wiping away sweat, Sir Balton of the Jestrad family shook his head.
"You've nearly reached my level now."
When Baros had suddenly declared he wanted to become a knight, everyone had been dumbfounded.
They had heard he trained together with Karnak after obtaining the Delphiad sword art, but…
Just obtaining a fine sword technique doesn't automatically make you strong.
Ignorant people really are hopelessly mistaken.
At first, it was so absurd that they couldn't even bring themselves to mock him. They simply felt pity.
After getting beaten around a bit, he'll come to terms with reality.
Yet in just a few months, his skill had grown at a startling pace.
Torres, a veteran knight watching from the side, clicked his tongue in amazement.
"To think you had this much talent, Baros."
His acquisition of techniques was astonishingly fast, his combat instincts flawless, and since he was still in his growth years, his physical abilities improved day by day.
He was an extraordinary genius—far too talented to be buried in such a rural place.
At this rate, in real combat, even I might not be able to handle him soon.
Still, praising him too openly might make him arrogant, so Sir Torres deliberately continued in a stern tone.
"But do not grow conceited. It's common for warriors blessed with talent to meet tragic ends due to lack of experience."
Baros bowed obediently.
"I will keep that in mind, Sir Torres."
Of course, he was still concealing most of his true ability.
If he fought seriously, he could cut down about five Jestrad knights by himself in under a minute.
After all, weren't these rural knights who couldn't even handle a single Randolph?
But that wasn't a reason to mock them.
It's not like I'm some incredible genius, really.
Baros knew well that the reason he was improving so quickly wasn't because of any heaven-sent talent, but because of the immense combat experience he had accumulated in the past.
In truth, before becoming a Death Knight, he had been, at best, a second-rate knight—someone who hadn't even awakened fighting spirit.
I wonder if I can master fighting spirit on my own now, without the young master's help. Well, at least I know all the theory, so it should be better than before.
In any case, there was no doubt that Baros's evaluation had risen tremendously.
The knights began speaking with eyes full of goodwill.
"In any case, he's incredible."
"To have this level of skill at your age…"
"Even with talent like that, are you saying he spent all this time behaving like a delinquent?"
"Well… maybe that's exactly how he developed such sharp combat instincts."
Karnak and Baros had indeed earned plenty of criticism in the past for their rowdy behavior, but in truth, they had never caused any truly serious trouble.
They would sneak off to nearby cities to drink, gamble, and get into brawls in back alleys—that was about it. They were too poor to indulge in women.
That was the sort of thing knights themselves did from time to time.
And if teenagers spent their days indulging in "adult amusements" without a second thought, then yes, they could be called delinquents.
With a sense of newfound reflection, Sir Torres muttered,
"It's a happy thing. Not just you—even the young master has grown up so much…"
There had been many who doubted Karnak's transformation.
No matter how much becoming a lord might change a man, they thought, a former troublemaker would always be a troublemaker.
But those doubts had long since melted away like snow.
Everyone had seen how deeply moved he became over a single cup of alcohol.
That trembling, almost soul-shaking emotion was unmistakably the expression of someone who could only feel such awe after abstaining from drink for years.
"He clearly restrains himself now, only drinking lightly with meals. Perhaps because of that, the young master—no, the lord—has grown much healthier."
At Sir Torres's words, Baros smiled inwardly with satisfaction.
Of course he has.
Unlike before, Karnak was now paying attention to his physical health.
It wasn't that he intended to become a knight or anything of the sort.
He had simply realized how important health was.
After all, he had lived for decades in a dead body. He had given up everything just to regain this flesh once more.
Not as a figure of speech, but in the most literal sense, this body was truly precious.
Health above all else. Take care of yourself while you're young. If you wait until you're old, it's already too late. I know, because I've already been late once.
The two of them carefully chose nutritious food, kept regular habits, exercised diligently, and devoted themselves to cherishing and refining their valuable bodies.
"I never imagined a person could change so much."
"Indeed. I hear he's also taken up reading with great enthusiasm."
"They say he now spends most of his free time in the study."
"When the former baron passed away, everything seemed so bleak…"
Thinking of their new lord, Karnak, the knights wore wistful expressions.
Ah, surely the future of the Jestrad territory would now shine brightly!
Only Baros maintained a faintly bitter smile.
It's true that he practically lives in the study. Just not as deeply immersed in reading as you all imagine.
After regressing, Karnak's original plan had been to gather treasures across the continent, foresee the future, and establish himself through trade and profit.
His household had been so thoroughly ruined that there had been no other choice.
But the discovery of the copper mine had solved the money problem outright.
At the same time, it removed any reason to travel the continent.
The whole plan had been meant to secure a comfortable life as a moderately powerful regional noble—neither standing out nor being ignored.
Now that he had already achieved that, why would he leave his territory and suffer needlessly?
A thirst for adventure? The passion of youth? Curiosity about the world?
He had already traveled the world five or six times over. Along the way, he had seen everything worth seeing—and even plenty he wished he hadn't.
Still, that didn't mean he intended to grow lazy and do nothing but relax.
Once you owned a copper mine, people like the Devantor viscount's family were bound to appear again.
No—they were guaranteed to appear.
There was no driving force stronger than greed.
At the very least, he needed enough power to defend his territory.
But since he couldn't use necromancy, he needed abilities that could be revealed to the world without issue.
A vast library on the second floor of the Jestrad mansion.
Under the moonlight filtering in through the windows, Karnak sat on the floor, deep in meditation.
"Huuuu…"
With a deep breath, he focused his mind and drew in the surrounding energies.
The darkness of the late night, the yin energy of the moonlight, faint traces of tainted power—all of it gathered toward him and was refined anew.
After a while, Karnak opened his eyes.
"Good. That's a decent amount."
He raised a finger. A small flame bloomed at the tip.
Watching from the side, Baros looked intrigued.
"Huh? I don't feel that necromancy-specific sensation?"
When necromancy is activated, it gives off an aura of death that even ordinary humans—no, any living being—instinctively sense as ominous. Clergy are simply far more sensitive to it.
Yet the flame Karnak had conjured carried none of that feeling. It looked like nothing more than ordinary magic.
"It's red, too. It just looks like normal fire."
"That figures."
Karnak nodded.
"It originated from necromancy, but it's no longer necromancy."
To him now, necromancy was no longer an appealing power. No matter how much effort he put into strengthening it, he knew exactly how it would end.
But at this point, he couldn't start a new life as a knight, a mage, or a priest either.
"Once you learn necromancy, there's no turning back."
"I know. It's not just necromancy—everything works the same way."
There are four ways for humans to transcend their limits.
A knight's aura, which manipulates life force.
A mage's mana, which controls natural forces.
A priest's divine power, which follows light and providence.
And lastly, necromancy—also called black magic—which wields the powers of death and darkness.
What all these paths share is that they accumulate the world's energy within the body and convert it into power. In the process, the caster's soul and body are optimized for the chosen path.
In other words, once you choose, that's it.
A mage who uses mana also learning martial arts?
That's perfectly possible. If you have arms and legs, there's no reason you can't swing a spear or a sword.
But mastering aura is impossible.
Their soul and body have already been dyed with the attribute of mana, so no matter how hard they try, the world's energy will only accumulate as mana.
Necromancy is the same.
Once a soul has been stained black, it cannot be turned white again.
"Well, to be precise, it can be bleached. The bleaching itself, that is."
The problem was that memories and even personality were bleached along with it.
From the start, the act of converting that energy into power is essentially the same as remaking one's soul and body.
That is also why aura users, mages, or priests who learn necromancy fall into corruption. They lose their original powers, and even their personalities change, turning them into entirely different people.
For Karnak to truly make a fresh start, he would have needed to regress to a time before learning necromancy in the first place.
But that was impossible.
The regression spell itself used necromancy as the common anchor for its temporal destination. Because of that, he could only return to a point after he had learned necromancy.
"You, Baros, could return to before becoming a Death Knight since you were essentially riding along with me."
Karnak had been aware of this issue since his days as the Necromancer King. That was why he had prepared a countermeasure early on to enable a new beginning after regression.
"And this is the result."
Waggling the flame at his fingertip, he smiled proudly.
"I've named it Chaos Mana."