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Two men were running down a narrow alley. They were Varos and Karnak, with Serati slung over Varos’s shoulder.

After hiding in the shadows of the alley, Varos looked beyond the street.

“We managed to buy ourselves some time. Lucky for us, he’s just a naive fellow.”

“I said it to make him angry, but it’s not just because he’s naive.”

Karnak smirked faintly as he glanced back toward the Ranpelt Estate.

“Who told him to keep controlling things from a distance?”

If their opponent had shown himself, even someone like him wouldn’t have been able to maintain the illusion.

However, Shutraff had only used necromancy indirectly while hiding somewhere within the estate.

“It’s hard to deceive the caster themselves, but creating an illusion that tricks a clairvoyant spell isn’t that difficult.”

“If he doesn’t even know such basics, doesn’t that make him naive?”

“Being naive and being ignorant are different things. Then again, he’s a clergyman, so it’s to be expected, I guess? He doesn’t even have the most basic skills, tsk tsk.”

As Karnak clicked his tongue, Varos asked him a question.

“So, what now?”

“First, let’s find a place to hide.”

Although it was quiet for now, this silence wouldn’t last long.

Shutraff wouldn’t just sit still after losing track of Karnak and his companions. Any moment now, he’d unleash the Ranpelt family’s subordinates to search the entire city.

They needed to find a hiding place before that happened.

“We also need to make plans for what’s next…”

Karnak pointed toward Varos’s shoulder.

Specifically, at Serati, who was still unconscious and slung over his shoulder.

“We need to deal with this young lady too.”

* * *

It was just as Karnak had predicted.

The enraged Shutraff immediately mobilized the Ranpelt family to scour every inch of Trist City.

Lights flickered on across the city, and people began to move.

“Hey, open the door!”

“Is there any suspicious outsider here?”

The fact that it was the dead of night, with everyone asleep, meant nothing.

The Ranpelt family’s thugs roamed the inns and alleys at will. In the process, more than a few innocent people were unjustly caught up in the mess.

“No, we’re just simple merchants…”

“What is the meaning of this?”

The foreign peddlers who were dragged out of their beds protested fiercely, but no one paid them any attention.

Blood was spilled, and cries of pain echoed everywhere.

“Aaah!”

“For heaven’s sake, who exactly are you looking for?”

“Shut up and follow us! The order is to capture anyone suspicious!”

Among them, there were quite a few who resisted fiercely.

Outsiders had willingly come to this infamous city of crime. Ordinary citizens wouldn’t have sought out a city like this in the first place.

“Do they think they can take us lightly?”

“Do they think we don’t have weapons?”

Bloodshed erupted all around, and chaos continued.

It had been about an hour since the previously quiet night in Trist had been completely overturned.

However, no matter how much they searched, the search teams couldn’t find their targets.

“Where the hell are these guys hiding?”

“It’s impossible for outsiders not to stand out in this city.”

Someone raised the question.

“Could they have escaped the city?”

But this was immediately refuted.

“No way. We’ve deployed so many people.”

Even though it was a lawless city, it had originally been a fortress of the nation. With enough manpower, it could be secured like a fortress.

“But these guys were bold enough to directly attack the estate. Maybe they forced their way out…”

“We haven’t received any reports of that.”

If a battle had occurred, there would have been some traces left behind—be it commotion or corpses.

The guards stationed at the city’s perimeter were all still at their posts without incident.

“…So where on earth are they?”

* * *

Serati slowly regained consciousness.

“Ugh…”

From the hazy edge of her awareness, she heard voices.

“It’d be dangerous to return to the Flad family, wouldn’t it, young master?”

“Probably. In this situation, the first place they’d go would be the factions that opposed them. They’ve likely sent a large number of people there by now.”

“Sigh, we left all our stuff there. We’ll have to retrieve it later.”

“I didn’t expect things to turn out like this. I thought I’d avoid being chased and hiding in this life.”

“Maybe this is just our fate.”

It was the voices of Karnak and Varos. Serati jolted awake in shock.

‘Them!’

Her senses returned with a start.

She had seen it clearly—the dark energy surging from Karnak’s entire body.

She needed to escape from here immediately. She tried to get up.

“Ugh!”

A sharp pain surged through her, and a faint groan escaped her lips.

Hearing the sound, Karnak approached her.

“You’re awake, Miss Serati. How are you feeling?”

“…Are you, a filthy necromancer, really asking about my well-being?”

Her cold response made Karnak scratch his head awkwardly.

“Ah, well, I suppose I can’t help how you feel…”

He was caught off guard.

Since his true identity had been revealed, Serati had expected him to show his true colors. Yet, he still wore a pleasant expression. Who could possibly suspect that this gentle face belonged to an evil necromancer?

‘Come to think of it, why did he keep me alive?’

Even though she was puzzled, Serati first assessed the situation.

“Where are we?”

“We’re in the forest on the southern outskirts of Trist City. It’s safer outside the city.”

“How did you manage to slip through the security? They wouldn’t have let you leave so easily.”

“I’ve had quite a bit of experience with this sort of thing.”

The Ranpelt family had undoubtedly sealed off Trist City completely. It would be tough for even a powerful adventurer or mage to sneak through that security net.

But necromancers were different.

Necromancy specialized in techniques like mind control, memory manipulation, and enchantment. Things that might be impossible for a mage were achievable for a necromancer.

Tight security?

They could simply knock out the guards and then alter their memories for a perfect crime. Alternatively, they could hypnotize or brainwash them from the start.

This was why necromancers were especially difficult to capture.

Necromancy was inherently advantageous for evasion and concealment.

Moreover, Karnak and Varos had faced situations like this dozens of times in their past lives.

They had operated in secret for months in the imperial capital, where security was said to be the strictest on the continent. A small-town city like this was nothing in comparison.

“We only left the area briefly because we needed time to ‘deal with’ Miss Serati.”

Though his tone was calm, the content of his words was anything but.

‘Deal with me?’

Her face turned pale. Karnak, noticing this, continued with an awkward smile.

“Is ‘deal with’ too harsh a word? But I can’t just leave you be when you know my secret, can I?”

“…Are you planning to kill me?”

Even as she said this, Serati didn’t believe it.

If he intended to kill her, he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of bringing her all the way here.

As expected, Karnak shook his head.

“I have no such intention. Believe it or not, I’m trying to live without committing any crimes.”

“Hmph, coming from a necromancer?”

“I ended up learning necromancy, but it’s not something I particularly like. In fact, I try to avoid using it whenever possible, and instead…”

Karnak summoned a faint magical energy.

“…I diligently pursue the path of a mage.”

As an Aura user, Serati could recognize the nature of his energy quite accurately.

The power Karnak displayed now was undoubtedly mana. It wasn’t necromantic energy.

‘That’s true, he’s used magic several times, and no one ever noticed it was him.’

Not only Serati, but even the mage Riltein and the priest Alius hadn’t noticed anything, so it clearly couldn’t have been dark magic.

‘So, is he lying?’

However, there was something that made her hesitant to accept it so easily.

“Aren’t necromancy and magic incompatible?”

“Usually, that’s true. This is my own unique method. I avoid learning necromancy as much as possible.”

Come to think of it, even Shutraff, who had been a priest, used necromancy. It didn’t seem entirely impossible.

Serati began to waver a little.

Was Karnak truly someone who had no choice but to learn necromancy, and was he now solely walking the path of a mage?

“If that’s the case, why haven’t you completely abandoned necromancy?”

Karnak chuckled softly.

“Miss Serati, let me ask you the opposite. Can you abandon your Aura?”

“Huh?”

“The fighting spirit you’ve mastered—can you give it up?”

“What nonsense is that? How could I possibly give up the Aura I’ve already mastered…”

“Exactly. That’s the reason I can’t abandon my necromantic power.”

Serati found herself at a loss for words.

As someone who also wielded Aura, she understood immediately.

Indeed, once you’ve mastered a certain power, it’s impossible to simply discard it.

“Fine, let’s say that’s true…”

She sighed and asked, “If you’re not going to kill me, then what do you intend to do with me?”

“I plan to erase part of your memory. Just the moment when I used necromancy.”

Her expression hardened.

Erase a person’s memory? Could necromancy really do such a thing?

“It’s not such a big deal. You’ve probably experienced something like that once or twice yourself, haven’t you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! How could it be common for perfectly normal memories to be erased?”

“Never blacked out after drinking too much?”

Once again, Serati was left speechless.

Honestly, who hasn’t?

In fact, not just once or twice—quite a few times. She did enjoy drinking, after all.

“There won’t be any problems. You passed out during the fight anyway, right? It’ll just be like you passed out a few minutes earlier.”

She was now confused.

The terms were surprisingly generous. It wasn’t something one would expect from a wicked necromancer.

“…Why are you going this far? Are you trying to win me over?”

As she softened slightly, Karnak gave her a somewhat ambiguous look.

“I hesitate to say this, but…”

He glanced pointedly at her shoulder.

“Right now, there’s no need to win you over. You wouldn’t be of much help anyway.”

For a moment, she didn’t understand.

An Aura user is of no use? Why?

Instinctively, her gaze followed Karnak’s.

He was looking beneath her shoulder. Naturally, she expected to see her elbow.

But her arm was gone.

All that remained was the charred, blackened stump where her arm had been severed from the elbow down…

A groan, like the soul itself was decaying, escaped her lips.

“Ah…”

* * *

The realization, dulled by her numbed senses, now hit her with full force.

‘That’s right, I lost my arms…’

Both her arms were gone.

She could no longer wield a sword.

No tears came, only the uncontrollable trembling of her body.

Of course, with proper care, she could regain the ability to use Aura again. But the swordsmanship she had honed over a lifetime was now useless.

No, the sword wasn’t the issue.

Having no arms meant she couldn’t grasp anything.

Even the most basic daily activities would be impossible. She couldn’t even wipe herself after relieving herself.

This young woman, in the prime of her life, would no longer be able to maintain even a shred of dignity.

“Aah…”

Her vision darkened with despair.

In the midst of her hopelessness, Karnak’s words of consolation reached her ears.

“I’m sorry, Miss Serati. You were truly a talented Aura user.”

To her, they were nothing but hollow echoes.

“…Just kill me.”

She murmured despondently.

“My memory? There’s no need to erase it. Just kill me here…”

With a tone of regret, Varos asked cautiously, “Is there really no other way, young master? What about seeking out a powerful priest for healing…?”

“In cases where limbs have been severed, it’s impossible. You know that, right? No matter how powerful the magic or divine spell, it can’t restore lost limbs. It’s an act that goes against the natural order.”

“Yes, it’s different from necromancy.”

Varos let out a deep sigh.

“Different from necromancy?”

Serati, lost in despair, suddenly lifted her head.

“Wait! Then with necromancy? Are you saying necromancy could restore my arms?”

Karnak blinked for a moment, then responded quietly.

“That is true…”

He scratched his cheek, looking uncomfortable.

“But it’s not something I would recommend.”

“Why not?”

“Because the only way to do it would be to make you one of my minions. Surely, you don’t want to become the servant of a wicked necromancer, do you?”