Maloka retrieved the necromantic projector, or rather, the dead soldier’s head.

Serati asked wistfully, "So we have no idea what happened in the rest of the battle?"

"There were no residual thoughts left," Maloka replied calmly. "In other words, from that point on... they were fighting with everything they had."

Residual thoughts only lingered when a person was distracted, when they hadn’t truly committed their whole being to the moment. Simple things like eating or walking could leave behind a trace, because it was just mundane, everyday life, not something anyone thought twice about.

But what about going to the bathroom? Even an ordinary person would rarely leave behind residual thoughts about that. It was, after all, something no one wanted others to see.

Residual thought detection wasn’t some all-seeing, all-knowing spell that allowed one to spy on the entire world. Its limitations were quite clear.

"Both archmages and martial kings would’ve been using secret magic and ultimate techniques they don’t show to others. That’s why no residual thoughts were left behind."

As she spoke, Leven raised another question. "Then what about the thoughts of regular soldiers who saw the battle from afar?"

Surely common soldiers wouldn’t have considered the battle a secret. If anything, they’d be itching to talk about it. After all, boasting was second nature to anyone who’d been in the army.

Maloka nodded in agreement. "There are some. But they’re not of much use."

"Not of use?"

She reactivated the necromantic projector, or rather, the dead soldier’s head. A few seconds later, Leven understood why. "Oh. Yeah, that’s useless."

The projection certainly showed footage of the archmages' battle. It was just that the footage consisted entirely of blinding flashes, deafening rumbles, and screams. This was what the fight looked like from the perspective of an ordinary person caught in the chaos. There was no way to tell what was happening or how.

"I guess we’ll have to rely on rumors for the rest." After ordering the projection turned off, Karnak asked, "So what happened to Diogres?"

Maloka replied respectfully, "According to Elezar’s official announcement..."

The evil leader of the Black God's Cult, Diogres Kolon, had escaped and gone into hiding. The empire would search the entire continent to find him and deliver divine punishment in the goddesses’ name.

Varos asked, clearly unconvinced, "Did they really lose him? Or are they pretending not to have caught him?"

Given Elezar’s personality, the latter wasn’t out of the question.

But Maloka shook her head. "Judging by the circumstances, it seems they truly lost him."

The empire had deployed a widespread search effort across its territory. Even the Brigade of Purification was mobilized, and Elezar and Dreltein’s subordinates were out searching independently.

"If they were just pretending, they wouldn’t go this far," said Maloka.

The expense and manpower required were massive. And during this operation, real cultists of the Black God were being restricted as well. In other words, Elezar and Dreltein were limiting their own subordinates. And more than anything else, there was no need to make such a farce.

Maloka continued, "If they had actually secured Diogres’s body, they wouldn’t have had to say he escaped. They could’ve just claimed he died in battle."

There was no need for a corpse as proof. All they had to do was drag people to the site of the massive destruction and say something along the lines of...

—He was hit by a spell right in the center of that. What, you want proof? I’ll cast the same spell again, so go stand there yourself if you’re curious.

Who would dare argue with an archmage? People would simply nod and accept it.

"Then it really must’ve been a clean escape," Leven muttered, clicking his tongue. "Even with a two-on-one, they still let him slip? Diogres must be absurdly strong."

"Didn’t Varos say so?" Karnak shrugged. "It’s not just about how strong Diogres is. It’s about how hard it is to capture someone intact."

Serati sank into thought. "But is there a reason they had to capture him alive?"

After all, the requirements for summoning someone from the future without a Anti-Time-Space Transcender were extremely strict. That was why only the four governors of Necropia had been able to return. But if they had an Anti-Time-Space Transcender and the original body still existed?

"Then the body doesn’t need to be alive, does it?" Serati asked him.

Karnak himself had successfully summoned two more archliches using Anti-Time-Space Transcenders. Clearly, it worked on corpses.

"And it’s not like they seem obsessed with using living hosts, either," she said.

Future Leven had gladly discarded the current Leven’s body when he got ahold of Martial King Gellard’s. He changed his mind later, but not at first.

Serati wondered. "Unless there’s some reason an archmage specifically has to use a living body?"

Karnak chuckled. "You’re misunderstanding something, Serati."

"I am?" she said.

As it turned out, it was a matter of wording.

"They don’t need to capture Diogres alive, but they do need to capture him intact," explained Karnak.

What mattered was the condition of the body If a corpse was too badly damaged, then no matter how advanced necromancy was, it couldn't be brought back as an undead.

"At the very least, a certain amount of the body must remain. I said earlier, didn’t I? Elezar wouldn’t have needed Diogres’s corpse as proof to begin with."

The problem was that the power of a tenth-circle spell was simply overwhelming. Unlike their overwhelmingly transcendent magic, the bodies of archmages were still those of ordinary humans.

So when archmages fought one another, it was rare for anything like a corpse to remain. The conclusion was usually far more final.

"Until their barrier holds, they might just get a bloody nose at most. But the moment that barrier breaks, their body gets vaporized."

In other words, Elezar had only two options: capture Diogres completely alive, or reduce him to dust. And if she reduced him to dust, then the body would be gone.

"So you're saying that it’s fine to kill him, but the body needs to be mostly intact. And if that much remains, it’s practically the same as capturing him alive?" Serati repeated.

Karnak nodded. "Exactly."

Maloka added her own explanation beside him. "Even without that reason, they would prefer Diogres to be alive. All Three Saints of the Black God's Cult must have living bodies."

The true role of the three Saints was to act as catalysts for fusing mana, aura, and divine power with necromantic power. And that was something no undead could accomplish.

"It’s only natural they’d want a backup in case something happens to Elezar," she continued.

After all, they'd already lost Jedex. Even if Jedex had been weaker than Elezar or Dreltein, they surely wouldn’t be so arrogant as to believe nothing else could go wrong.

Come to think of it, they must’ve brought in another pope to replace Jedex.

Originally, Tesranach had planned to bring back two martial kings and two archmages using his four archliches. Karnak had completely wrecked that plan. Now that he understood the truth about the Anti-Time-Space Transcenders, it made sense why they had prioritized summoning those four over the fallen popes.

They were simply stronger. But there had to be at least one priest. That was essential to serve as a catalyst for fusing necromantic and divine power. But, in truth, they didn’t need more than one.

If they summoned a fallen pope first, it would only delay the summoning of martial kings or archmages. Naturally, it made more sense to summon the stronger ones first and leave the popes for later. That way, they could secure more battle strength sooner.

"But now that things turned out like this, they’ve probably summoned another pope in Jedex’s place," said Karnak.

Who could it be?

Karnak went through the list of popes he remembered. "With six candidates left, I have no clue."

***

In the space between reality and void was a hall of darkness created by Tesranach’s authority. The Three Saints of the church were gathered for the first time in a while. As usual, they stood at the center of the hall, each wrapped in a veil of shadow and forming a perfect triangle.

The strongest aura user, Martial King Dreltein, raised his hand into the air. "In the name of Tesranach..."

Archmage Elezar followed his lead. "I now stand within his darkness..."

The third point of the triangle had once belonged to Jedex. But now, in his absence, it was filled by a girl in her late teens.

Valeria Verily stood in his place and continued the ritual. "And I shall sow the Seed of Reversal."

Golden aura flowed from Dreltein’s fingertips, pure white mana streamed from Elezar’s, and dark blue divine power radiated from Valeria’s hand. The three strands of light blended with the surrounding darkness. Above the hall, a black vortex began to rise.

It was the Shadow of Doom. Instead of the earth, the aura was seeded with shadow. Instead of sunlight, divine power rained down. Instead of rain, mana quietly fell.

The black vortex expanded and bloomed countless sprouts. They were sprouts of darkness nourished by aura, mana, and divine power. These sprouts would soon cross space and time to descend across the continent alone with the Shadow of Doom and reach the faithful of the Black God everywhere.

Those who received the sprouts would no longer be bound by old conventions. Aura, magic, and divine spells could now coexist freely. This was the ultimate necromancy, possible only through Tesranach, the God of Death.

Valeria pouted. "At least, that’s how it’s supposed to be. So how does that Karnak guy use both magic and necromancy?

Elezar let out a long sigh. "I’ve tried to find out for so long, but I’ve learned nothing. I’d love to go find him myself, but Lord Tesranach absolutely forbids it. Ugh."

They had lost Maloka, future Leven, and Jedex in the process.

Dreltein cast a sidelong glance at the grumbling Elezar. "Do not act rashly. Above all else, what must be prioritized is his plan."

"I know. I’m just saying," responded Elezar.

Valeria shifted the topic. "Anyway, the important matter right now isn’t this Karnak."

She looked between the two and asked seriously, "So what are we going to do about Diogres?"

They had practically emptied the imperial treasury, built a mobile mage tower, and dragged it across the land, claiming they’d handle him once and for all, only to let him slip away in the end.

Elezar scratched her head awkwardly and looked away. "Well, who could’ve predicted they’d show up there of all places?"

***

At that same moment, in the guest room of the Strauss estate, Karnak was mulling over the same question. "What do we do about Diogres?"

As he was now, he was merely an 8th circle mage. Sure, he was a mage unusually proficient in necromancy, but still not someone in a position to be worrying about an archmage.

"Still, I can’t exactly leave him alone and hope he figures things out on his own, can I?" he said.

If he could bring Diogres over to their side, the gains would be substantial. It wasn’t just about adding strength to his own forces. It also meant subtracting from the enemy’s.

"Right. I can’t let another archmage fall into their hands." But what exactly should he do? "I don’t feel great about heading into the empire myself."

The current Lacania Empire was practically the main base of the Black God's Cult. Up to this point, Elezar and Dreltein hadn’t made any direct moves against Karnak, but would they really look the other way if he stepped into their territory?

Serati offered a suggestion. "Then how about using the Twilight Order to make indirect contact?"

That idea was dismissed immediately.

"There are two problems with that." First, the Twilight Church simply didn’t have the reach to locate a fugitive like Diogres. "No matter how much they’ve grown, there’s no way they can outperform the empire’s search network."

The only way there was a real chance of finding him was if Karnak personally got involved, whether that meant using old intel or necromancy. Of course, maybe one of the four elders could track down Diogres. But that led to the second issue.

Karnak explained, "If an evil archlich suddenly shows up in front of him, do you think Diogres is going to welcome them with open arms?"

Varos nodded in agreement. "I’ll pack, young master. When do we leave?"