Karnak, Monarch of Death

They continued deeper into the dungeon. More specters and monsters emerged. The battles followed a familiar pattern.

First, Alius cast his blessings upon the party. Then, Varos and Serati, restricting their aura use, engaged the enemies while Leven and Lapicel assisted them, buying time.

Once enough time had passed, shrieking wraiths erupted, sweeping through the enemies in an instant. This was Karnak's third great necromantic spell, following Redeemer of Necromancy and Circumventer of Necromancy. It was Link of Necromancy.

Ironically, this spell originated from a lie Karnak had once told to Prince Lloyd. Back then, he had deceived the prince by claiming he could merely imitate necromancy by using cursed relics and illusion magic, while in reality, he had simply cast real necromancy without hesitation. But later, an idea struck

—Wait a minute... I could actually create a spell like that, couldn't I?

At first, he intended to develop a spell that extracted necromantic energy from cursed artifacts and channeled its power into magic. But as the research progressed, Serati pointed out a critical flaw.

—So, you're extracting the power from evil artifacts and using it in magic?

—Exactly!

—And how is that any different from necromancy? You're still using the power of darkness.

—Oh.

In the end, it was still necromancy channeled through magic. It carried the same side effects, and worst of all, it would draw unwanted attention from the more orthodox mages and priests.

—Wasn’t your original lie just about making it seem like necromancy?