Death King Karnak

Chapter 84: Chapter 83: The appearance of a Cursed Sword (1)

Ten days ago, a mass slaughter occurred in the small rural village of Mareda in the Zetelva region.

Not only the villagers, but even the livestock they raised were all dead.

The notable detail was that both the villagers and the livestock had their blood drained, leaving them shriveled up like mummies.

Suspecting the appearance of a vampire or a similar type of monster, a nearby temple began an investigation. And sure enough, they were found as corpses, drained of their blood.

The unknown massacre continued.

Starting from Mareda Village, in just five days, four more villages were wiped off the map.

With casualties reaching the hundreds, it was only natural that the world would be thrown into turmoil.

Eventually, even Archenbart City, the largest city in the Zetelva region, suffered a large number of casualties.

In a city like this, no matter how powerful the monster, it couldn't kill everyone it encountered.

After slaughtering until it was exhausted, it fled, leaving many witnesses behind.

At this point, the Church of the Goddess finally faced the perpetrator of the massacre head-on.

The identity of the monster responsible for the countless killings was a small girl, no older than twelve or thirteen, holding a grotesque, two-handed sword.

In the past, it would have been incomprehensible how such an insignificant girl could commit such a horrendous slaughter.

But the times had changed.

It was an era where the Darkness of Doom ran rampant across the continent, and necromancy flourished everywhere.

The Church assessed the situation coolly and quickly recognized the presence of a cursed sword controlling the girl.

After all, the overwhelming evil energy and bloodlust radiating from it were impossible to ignore.

By examining the witnesses' testimonies, the traces left at the scene, and comparing the energy with ancient records, they were able to make a fairly accurate judgment.

-It's presumed to be a cursed sword that draws power from its human host.

-It seems to be a Blood Eater Cursed Sword.

Spreading evil artifacts to sow chaos in the world was one of the specialties of heretic cultists.

Moreover, the intervals between massacres were too short and the range too wide to be the work of an individual. There was a high possibility it was an organized effort.

Naturally, the Church of the Goddess suspected the cult of the Dark God.

If it was the work of cultists, the King's Order would be involved.

A message was sent to the capital, Drunta, and the 5th Battalion was dispatched to handle the mission.

***

"...And then, just the other day, we received word. The 5th Battalion has been annihilated."

With a sigh, Commander Erantel shook his head. Karnak and Baros nodded grimly.

"Figures..."

"No wonder the headquarters was in such a panic..."

They were standing in the special conference room of the King's Order headquarters.

Commander Erantel, along with the key members of the 1st and 7th Battalions, were present.

The annihilation of the 5th Battalion was the worst incident since the founding of the King's Order.

An event like this couldn't be ignored.

Thus, the 1st Battalion, known as the strongest in the King's Order, and the 7th Battalion, which had recently been gaining prominence, were summoned together.

The 1st Battalion was led by Captain Jiken, along with his adjutants Trib and Harris.

The 7th Battalion was led by Captain Karnak, with his adjutants Baros and Serati.

Commander Erantel addressed everyone as he looked around.

"You all understand the situation now, right?"

The lean man in his mid-forties, Jiken, wore a serious expression.

"It's... far beyond what I expected."

The Church of the Goddess had estimated the power of the cursed sword to be around the upper level of a Red Knight, based on the scale of the previous massacres.

Trib, a knight of a similar age, stroked his chin and muttered.

"The 5th Battalion is no weak force, though..."

Jiken, the 1st Battalion's captain, was a 7th-circle mage, and his adjutant Trib was a Blue-class aura user.

Both were among the strongest in the Yustil Kingdom.

This was why the 1st Battalion was considered the strongest in the King's Order.

Even from their perspective, the power of the cursed sword was alarmingly high.

"To single-handedly take down the entire 5th Battalion... Trib, do you think you could do that?"

"It's impossible. While it's conceivable that one could massacre hundreds in a short time, depending on the circumstances..."

After all, it was a massacre of ordinary civilians. The issue was more about mobility and endurance than individual strength, so it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility.

"Of course, only if someone was supporting them from behind. As humans, we aren't free from the needs of eating and sleeping, are we?"

On the other hand, if someone were under the influence of a cursed sword, they would be relatively free from such needs.

"But against the 5th Battalion? No chance."

Trib glanced at Erantel and asked.

"Commander, would you be able to do it?"

Under normal circumstances, he would have been modest, but this was a moment for assessing their opponent's strength. Objective judgment was needed rather than needless humility.

Erantel responded seriously.

"If I were to give it my all, it might be possible. But there's no guarantee I'd walk away unscathed."

According to the report, the girl with the cursed sword had fought and left the scene without any significant injuries.

The mood in the conference room grew somber.

Erantel, Commander of the King's Order, was one of only two Purple Knights in the Yustil Kingdom. Among aura users, this meant he was treated as a monster.

And yet, a mere sword had turned an ordinary civilian—not even a sturdy man, but a frail girl—into such a monster?

Jiken clicked his tongue.

"Truly, the power of darkness exceeds our imagination. To think such a powerful cursed sword could exist... I never would have believed it."

Karnak and Baros exchanged secret messages through telepathy as they watched the situation unfold.

[This is becoming harder and harder to understand, young master.]

[I agree. At that level, it's not even just Blue aura anymore—it's more like Purple.]

[Can such a powerful cursed sword really exist?]

[Absolutely not.]

[Right? I thought I was mistaken for a moment.]

Serati interrupted their conversation.

[Um, what exactly are you basing that on?]

The world is vast.

Even though Karnak had reached the pinnacle of necromancy, wasn't it a bit of a stretch to make such a definitive statement?

The reason was surprisingly simple.

[Because I don't know.]

[That's it?]

[No, really, if I don't know about it, then it doesn't exist.]

After Karnak became the Death King and ruled the world, he had scoured the entire continent, collecting all the dark artifacts he could find.

At least when it came to necromantic items, nothing could escape his notice.

[Then it's possible someone newly created the cursed sword.]

[That's impossible too.]

[Why?]

[Because I can't make one.]

[.....Wow, that's quite an arrogant statement.]

But Karnak had every right to be. At least when it came to necromancy.

[Lately, there have been a lot of people using necromancy in strange, new ways, so I can't be completely sure...]

Even if it were a fusion of other energies with necromantic power, such a cursed sword couldn't exist in theory.

[There's a clear limit to how much power can be granted by external objects.]

Even if there was some new method Karnak didn't know about, allowing the creation of a cursed sword with power equivalent to a Purple Knight...

[There's no way a mere human could withstand that kind of power, right? They'd have exploded long ago.]

[Maybe there's a way to make them endure it.]

[If there were, do you think I'd have abandoned my powers and gone through space-time regression?]

This was coming from someone who had captured countless humans and made them explode in his quest to regain some human sensations.

It was a well-founded assumption.

[There's something else going on here.]

***

The meeting concluded, and a course of action was decided.

Given the gravity of the situation, Commander Erantel had initially intended to handle the matter personally.

Since the power of the cursed sword was equivalent to a Purple knight threat, he believed it was his duty as a Purple Knight to face it.

But Jiken and Trib dissuaded him.

"Commander, it would be unwise for you to leave your post."

"We don't know what the heretics might be plotting next."

Commander of the Royal Knights, Alonde, and Commander of the King's Order, Erantel, were the only two Purple aura users in the Yustil Kingdom.

If the heretics were planning something in the capital, Erantel was one of the major obstacles in their way.

"It could very well be a scheme to lure you out of the capital."

"Even if it's not, the risk of you leaving Drunta at this time is too great."

They had already lost Prince Alford due to the heretics.

While the end of the long royal feud was a relief, it left only Prince Lloyd as the sole heir to the throne.

If something were to happen to him, the entire political situation of the Yustil Kingdom would be thrown into chaos.

Jiken and Trib continued to persuade Erantel.

"Please leave it to us."

"We can handle this."

"If we combine our forces, even you wouldn't escape unscathed. And we have Lord Karnak and the 7th Battalion as well."

Erantel was convinced.

"Very well, I'll leave it in your hands."

Thus, the 1st and 7th Battalions moved together in a joint operation.

Jiken, captain of the 1st Battalion, was appointed leader, and Karnak became the vice-leader.

Additionally, the cursed sword was officially given a name.

Of course, it wasn't like such cursed swords carried their name engraved on the blade, so no one knew its original name.

But it was inconvenient not to have a name for it.

They can't keep writing 'A cursed sword appeared in Region XX in the year XX of the Royal Calendar' in every report, right?

Thus, it became customary to give specific names to notable events or monsters, much like naming typhoons or earthquakes.

"The Mareda Cursed Sword..."

As they returned to their quarters, Karnak clicked his tongue.

"As the world changes, even cursed swords get strange names."

Normally, cursed swords like these would naturally acquire names over time, like "Lord of the Abyss" or "Summoner of Darkness."

In contrast, this sword was named "Mareda"—simply because the village where it was first discovered and where the first casualties occurred was called Mareda.

"Is this really okay? I bet the people who died would feel pretty wronged."

The name of a village filled with precious memories had now become the name of an evil cursed sword.

"At this rate, they won't be able to rest in peace, even in death."

Baros replied indifferently.

"It's just a name slapped on by some bureaucrats, right? That's how things usually go around here."

"True, it does feel very 'government-like.'"

Serati, somewhat exasperated, asked.

"You don't care about the lives of the living, but you're worried about the feelings of the dead?"

"Why? Is that strange?"

"...What's strange is why you don't find it strange."

"Well, it's a common thing for me."

Serati's expression turned odd.

Come to think of it, it made sense.

Ignoring the lives of the living while caring about the feelings of the dead? That's the essence of necromancy, isn't it?

In any case, the three of them continued to walk briskly.

The Mareda Cursed Sword was likely still out there, continuing its massacre. They didn't have much time.

By the end of the day, the entire 7th Battalion had to be gathered to join the 1st Battalion and head to the Zetelva region.

Baros sighed as he voiced his complaint.

"The King's Order is always busy. We just returned from our leave today."

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