The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-60

Galifa was the head of The Church of Death’s Truth.

He, who had the position of archbishop, was quite skilled in necromancy and black magic.

He also believed that, with his powers, he could make the world submit to him.

But, as always, there was always someone greater.

Galifa eventually learned about The Church of Eternal Life.

In the Church of Eternal Life, an organization of black magic users, people of his skill level were commonplace, and there were many people who were much stronger than him too.

When he learned about his limits, he submitted to them to survive.

The Church of Eternal Life crushed him down from above his head.

‘But today... it all ends. I, Galifa, the same Galifa that you all mocked… will succeed in this ceremony and show you.’

Galifa came to the Great Forest to complete the final secret ceremony on the mysterious corpse. And when he checked it out beforehand, he realized that the corpse was immensely powerful.

As long as he could gain the corpse as an undead, The Church of Eternal Life should never be able to look down on him again.

However, there was an incident at the location of the secret ceremony.

Galifa was originally heading to the campsite to avoid anyone who might trail him, but now he was hurriedly rushing to where the corpse was restrained.

And when he saw what was happening at the scene, he had two thoughts.

The first was how powerful the corpse was.

‘As expected! My predictions were right!’

Even with a stiff body and pure animal instincts, she had dealt devastating damage to The Church of Death’s Truth.

A chill ran down Galifa’s spine when he saw her rampage, but a part of him was also satisfied.

‘I will make her mine no matter what!’

Galifa had lost half of his necromancers, but he didn’t mind it. After all, it wasn’t the worst if some talentless necromancers died.

Once he was able to get his hands on the undead, people who wanted power would naturally flock to him. And as such, he didn’t mind the necromancers dying at all.

And the second thought he had was...

‘...The Church of Eternal Life?’

Galifa’s right-hand man said that The Church of Eternal Life responded to their request.

It was… definitely strange.

‘They showed interest in something as trivial as this?’

As long as they were subservient to The Church of Eternal Life, they had to report everything to them.

Because if they didn’t, even if The Church of Death’s Truth was successful in reviving the undead, Galifa would be killed for disobeying church law. Since there was no way the undead would be stronger than the church elders as well, following church law was the correct decision.

And even if they did send reports, The Church of Eternal Life would simply do what they always do and either stay silent or send meaningless responses.

If it wasn’t for the church law, Galifa would have hid this corpse until the very end.

‘So… who are you?’

Galifa openly stared at Seol who was before him. Seol’s calm expression made Galifa think he really was from The Church of Eternal Life.

“Haha… This is our first time meeting…”

It wasn’t as if Galifa knew everyone in The Church of Eternal Life. But even so, it was the first time he heard about such a young member of the church.

The man was silent for a second before speaking.

“Galifa, I thank you for your hard work. I am Kindrik, an envoy from The Church of Eternal Life.”

“Kindrik?”

It was a name Galifa heard for the first time, a name he hadn’t even heard in passing. The envoys he had met with were different people, after all.

“I apologize for our negligence in responding to your request for support. The Church of Eternal Life has been busy recently taking care of a troublesome matter. But as you have requested support, I, the closest envoy to the Great Forest, came here.”

“What happened to Fritten, our original envoy…?”

“He is dealing with a separate matter.”

“What matter?”

“I cannot tell you the specifics. More importantly, this isn’t the time to be having a conversation like this. The problem is getting bigger.”

BOOOOOM!

“Karen!”

“Grrrrrr…”

“Ahhhhhh!”

Blaze…

Fire spread throughout the Great Forest.

Behind the envoy was a scene straight from hell.

Galifa focused and responded to him.

“I understand. Let us take care of this problem first.”

“An excellent decision.”

But as the envoy was slowly turning around, Galifa asked one final question with a curious look on his face, as if he had just remembered something.

“By the way… did you bring your church card?”

“...Church card?”

The envoy responded as if what Galifa said was ridiculous.

“Church card? Why are you asking for something that isn’t a part of church law? Are you making fun of me? Because if you are…”

“Haha… I am not. I must have made a mistake in my old age. Please forgive me just this once.”

“Hm… Well, if you’re going to go that far to apologize, sure. Regardless, let us work together.”

“Okay!”

Galifa stared at the back of the envoy’s head with an evil look.

He’s a fake.

Galifa didn’t know why the man was pretending to be an envoy of The Church of Eternal Life to help The Church of Death’s Truth but he was undoubtedly a fake.

‘After all, the church law changed three years ago.’

An envoy must, no matter what, carry around a church card, which acts as their identification. Galifa could give an ounce of belief if he claimed that he had forgotten his church card, but it was impossible for a member of The Church of Eternal Life to not even know about its existence.

‘What should I do…? That’s probably the best.’

As the undead was powerful, Galifa planned to receive help from the envoy to first suppress it. And after that, he was going to look for an opportunity to kill the envoy.

The shrewd Galifa had come to a decision.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

A while ago, Seol saw these options.

[[Archbishop Galifa of The Church of Death’s Truth has requested you to prove your identity. How do you respond?]

1. How dare you act in such a disrespectful manner to an envoy of The Church of Eternal Life?!

2. Must I really have to prove myself to you, archbishop?

3. How arrogant. Are you really going to come out like this? …I will be taking my leave.

4. There is no such thing as a church card. What are you plotting?

……]

Cold sweats ran down Seol’s spine.

‘Has the church law changed? I’ve never made something like a church card.’

The Church of Eternal Life that Seol created didn’t do anything as annoying as that.

After all, an envoy of the church had to be able to make others submit to them with just their existence and the pressure they exuded.

‘This is a gamble.’

Regardless of whichever option Seol picked, it was a fifty-fifty.

Either a church card existed or it didn’t.

“Church card? Why are you asking for something that isn’t a part of church law? Are you making fun of me? Because if you are…”

If the church card really existed, Galifa would attack Seol here. And if it didn't, he would apologize to Seol.

“Haha… I am not. I must have made a mistake in my old age. Please forgive me just this once.”

Luckily, it seemed to be the latter.

And as they finished their conversation and Seol turned around, he thought to himself.

‘No, he found out. The church law had changed.’

Seol sensed bloodlust from Galifa for a split second.

Galifa hid it right away, but that was still enough for Seol to realize that he answered incorrectly.

‘But if he’s pretending to be ignorant of it… then that means he plans to use me. And in that case…’

It was better.

Because Seol intended on using him as well.

Seol was now going to be on guard against Galifa, and Galifa was going to be on guard against Seol. All the while trying to defeat Karen during it.

‘It’s all going to be decided in an instant.’

Seol took a breath and confirmed Galifa’s skills.

[[Galifa: Archbishop of The Church of Death’s Truth]

Rank: Rare

Estimated Level: 15~20

The leader of an organization that professionally trains necromancers.

Though his combat ability is not that high, his crowd control and ability to control undead are much higher than those of similar-rank necromancers.

Basic Skills: [Corpse Toxin 2], [Corruption and Disease 1], [Suppress Will 2], [Mental Pain 1], [Summon Undead 3], [Agony of Death 1]

Unique Skills: [Vortex of Hatred 1], [Corpse Night 1]]

Galifa was about as powerful as a rare rank boss monster.

Seol, keeping that information in mind, entered the battle.

BOOOM!

“Aaaargh!”

Each time Karen casted a fire spell, a necromancer would scream in agony as they were melted to death.

‘It really is intense heat.’

Karen regaining her strength so quickly that Karuna holding on this long was a surprise more than anything.

“Ah… Ah…”

“Karen!”

“Ah…”

Karen’s consciousness was slowly returning, soon, she should be able to hold a conversation.

Galifa, seeing this, spoke to Seol.

“The situation isn’t good, Kindrick.”

“I agree.”

“First, I’ll weaken her.”

Galifa gathered an eerie energy in his hands and murmured something.

“Karuna.”

“Yes, master?”

“Restrain her no matter what.”

“Understood.”

Glooow…

Karuna raised his energy and faced off against Karen’s flames.

Flaaare…

Clang!

Each time their swords clashed, an explosion would occur like they were resonating with each other.

And as Karuna held on, Galifa finished casting his spell.

“Hah!”

Frss…

[Galifa used Suppress Will.]

[Karen’s movement speed is decreased by 30%. She is now immune to other slow effects.]

And then another spell.

Frssss…

[Galifa used Mental Pain.]

[Karen’s Mind Control Resistance activates.]

[Karen resists Mental Pain.]

“Wh-what? Damn it…”

As Galifa’s mind magic failed, he changed his methods.

Knowing that Seol’s summon was restraining Karen, Galifa knew that it was his role to deal damage to her.

Glow…

Fwirl!

[Galifa used Undead Summon.]

[Yon, the Corpse-Eating Scarecrow, is summoned.]

Dun…

A massive scarecrow wearing a crow mask showed up.

“Go, Yon! Deal critical damage to her!”

“Caaaaw…”

Yon let out a crow’s cry and slowly lumbered over to Karen.

Clang! Clang!

“Ah… Ah, ah…”

Flare!

“Krgh…”

Karen’s movements were becoming more refined.

Her animalistic movements were slowly becoming more and more like a knight’s.

Karen has had the upper hand for quite a while, but now, with the addition of Yon, they were just barely even with her.

‘We don’t have much time.’

Seol was hoping that Galifa would land a blow on her before then. Galifa, sensing Seol’s urgency, spoke.

“An undead without an owner won’t last long in the first place. She might be strong now, but corpses are always bound to rot.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“It’s a bit of a waste to use it here, but I have a suitable skill. Please buy some time for me.”

“Understood.”

Truthfully, there was nothing Seol could do other than buy time.

As Karuna was reaching his limits in the Half Moon stage, Seol had no choice but to reveal Karuna’s true strength in order for Karuna to not die in vain.

“Karuna! Unleash it!” shouted Seol.

“Understood.”

Glow…

Karuna’s light, which had been fading in front of the fire, suddenly rose massively.

[Karuna has entered the 3rd Stage of Soaring Moonlight, Full Moon.]

Crackle!

As the flames faced off against the moonlight, sparks poured out.

Color slowly, slowly returned to Karen’s gray pupils when she saw the sparks.

“......runa.”

“Karen! Have you—”

“...RUNAAAAAAAAAA!”

BOOOOOOOM!

[Karen used Ignite.]

Her ash-colored armor flashed before bursting into flames.

“Krgh…”

Karen’s attack landed cleanly on Karuna. He could do nothing but stumble from the shock of it.

‘This is bad! She used a skill.’

It was hard enough hanging on when she was fighting purely with her stats; now, skills were being unsealed.

When Seol took the number of skills she had into consideration, Karen was now going to win this fight.

And then, Karen started to speak.

“Why… Whyyyyyy.”

“Have you regained your senses, Karen?”

“...didn’t you… come back… why…”

“Karen! I… I…”

“WHYYYYYYYY!”

BOOOOOOM!

The following explosion was catastrophic.

Fwooosh!

Karuna was blown far away from Karen’s attack.

“...Argh!”

“Karuna!”

“Why… didn’t you come back…? Why… didn’t you keep your promise…?”

And it was then…

As Galifa shouted, he filled the burnt area with black.

“It’s complete! Hahahahaha!”

“A-Archbishop Galifa!”

“Why…”

The remaining necromancers, even the fat necromancer who was Galifa’s right-hand man, were sucked into the spell.

Crush… Cruuuush…

“Aaaargh, Galifa!”

“I’ll kill you, you old man! I-I’ll… Aaaargh!”

The necromancers were being turned into lumps of flesh before Seol’s eyes. It was completely unbearable to watch. Galifa’s spell was cast using others as a sacrifice.

‘This fucking bastard!’

Seol didn’t sense even a shred of humanity in him.

How could he use his allies, not even his enemies, as a sacrifice for his spells?

Seol wasn’t sure whether Galifa didn’t notice his gaze or if he was intentionally ignoring it, but in the end, Galifa calmly finished casting his spell.

“Take this, you monster! Hahahahaha!”

A massive amount of energy was released from Galifa’s hand.

[Galifa used Unique Skill: Vortex of Hatred.]

[You will decay if you are hit by the vortex.]