Chapter 84: Dark Mana MLM: Pray Now, Pay Later
"Yeah, it is." the Dullahan said, a heartbroken smile on his face. "It’s nice to finally hear your voice."
Leo watched the poignant moment, How touching. Too bad my lord won’t waste a valuable asset like you. But I swear, you will like working with us.
Then, before Libera’s soul could fade, Karl’s voice cut through the air. "Why not go for another run?"
He stepped forward, raising his hand. A vortex of dark mana swirled, and the throne, radiating an aura of cold, tyrannical power, fell down from the vortex, cracking the ground a few steps away. Karl settled onto it like an undead king on his stolen seat of power.
The Dullahan’s head snapped up. "My lord, what is the meaning of this?"
The assassin’s bones clattered to the ground as its soul dissolved. Karl’s smile was a chillingly wide grin. "There’s a saying," he said, "No one truly resigns—only reassigns." As he spoke, the assassin’s core reformed, its cracks healing, and its level, once 25, dropped to 8. Dark mana swirled, reattaching bone to bone until Libera stood once more.
Karl’s smirk was triumphant. "I simply couldn’t waste such a valuable asset. Since you decided to fire your employee, I made him mine instead. His skills will be very valuable to my company."
The Dullahan stared, bewildered. "I don’t understand, my lord. I thought he was finally at peace, like you permitted."
Karl’s laughter echoed through the cavern, a manic, joyous sound. "He is! It turns out the afterlife isn’t quite what you think it is! But don’t worry, you both will like working for me. HAHAHAHAHA!"
Leo facepalmed and shook his head.
Still reeling, the Dullahan felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Libera. "He’s right, old friend," Libera said. "Let’s give this run one more time."
The Dullahan took his friend’s hand and pulled himself up. "Did I make a mistake serving him?"
"Even if you did, you can’t refuse," Libera replied with a shrug. "Let’s just hope he’s a better one than that pig." The Dullahan chuckled, remembering the ghoul noble they once served. "Yeah," he said, "let’s hope he truly is better."
Karl stood from his throne. "Where’s the Corpse King?" he asked Leo.
Leo pointed below. Karl looked down to see the golem still chasing a handful of stragglers. "Looks like he’s enjoying himself," Karl said with a fond smile, reminded of his pitbull chasing a squirrel. He shook his head dismissing the memory and turned back toward the spiral stairs leading deep down inside the ziggurat. "Let’s get this over with. The sooner this is done, the better. We don’t know what’s happening at our establishment up top."
"Don’t worry, my lord," Leo said, walking beside him. "The three department executives I trained are more than capable. I’ve ensured they can operate independently, just as you desire. An autonomous corporation."
Karl chuckled, patting Leo’s shoulder. "Hearing you say that, makes me feel better. You truly understand my vision. Good job." Leo’s chest swelled with pride, while behind them,
Rook fumed with jealousy. That silver-tongued bastard, he thought.
Behind them, the Dullahan and Libera walked together. "What’s with them?" Libera asked.
"They are vying for our new lord’s favor," the Dullahan explained.
Libera smiled. "Then it makes sense how they managed to defeat the Sword Master, doesn’t it?"
The Dullahan scoffed. "Don’t even start. Those two are terrifying. My arrogance was my downfall; I was playing with them, and they exploited that mistake, forcing me to use Moon Tide. I was just curious to see if they could handle it."
"It’s amazing they survived," Libera said.
"They didn’t," the Dullahan said. "Our new lord stepped in and used Lord Thanatos’s throne. I was shocked he could willingly summon it."
"He’s an emissary, then?"
"No, he’s not from the underworld."
"That just raises more questions than answers."
"That’s what I want to find out too." the Dullahan said.
Libera’s thoughts turned to a forbidden concept. "Is he from the North?" But the Dullahan dismissed it. "No northerners can escape for another 50,000 years. As long as Lord Thanatos lives, their prison holds."
"I don’t know where he came from," the Dullahan whispered, "but I’ve seen heretical scrolls that speak of an unknown deity, stronger than Lord Thanatos himself. The underworld itself. I may be starting to believe it."
"I’ve seen those scrolls too," Libera admitted. "It gives a reason why Lord Thanatos is so desperate to purge the heretics. If that word got out, there would be chaos."
The Dullahan sighed, a hollow, rattling sound. "I’m surprised. I’m starting to believe that we, the ones who follow his faith are the ones who are corrupted all along.
"Perhaps," Libera said, a genuine smile on his face. "Back then, even when we utter heretical words, our minds are suppressed and corrupted by Thanatos. Perhaps we’ve just found our freedom with a new master."
As they descended the spiral staircase, a faint, sickly green light began to pulse from the walls. Karl, Schalezusk, and the others couldn’t help but be in awe as they saw what caused the glow: twisting, serpentine veins of green energy grew across the stone, pulsing and fading in a rhythmic dance, as if powered by a great heart deep below.
The stairs opened into a vast chamber. Lines of skeletal figures, robed and bound to the walls by thick, heavy chains, knelt in silent prayer. At the far end of the chamber, a colossal statue of a robed skeleton holding a scythe stood sentinel over the scene.
"Is that what Thanatos looks like?" Karl asked, a flicker of genuine curiosity in his spectral eyes.
"Yes, my lord," the Dullahan said, his voice a low reverence. "Though meeting him personally is quite... different."
Schalezusk, staring at the bound skeletons, his own one eye wide with confusion, pointed a finger. "What about these? Why are they bound in chains?"
Karl, ever the pragmatic businessman, chimed in. "Yeah, are they not priests or acolytes?"
"They are Sacristans, my lord," the Dullahan confirmed.
"Damn, are they heretics?" Karl asked.
"No, my lord," the Dullahan replied, a note of somber pride in his voice. "This is a requirement of our faith. To ascend to a rank higher than a Sacristan, one must dedicate one thousand years of continuous prayer, bound by these chains. It is to prove their devotion as a word-bearer of Lord Thanatos."
Karl’s composure broke. "One... one thousand years?!"
"Indeed, my lord," the Dullahan said. "They choose to be bound to test their faith. Those who succeed gain not only a higher rank but also advanced scriptures to refine their dark mana more efficiently, as well as new, powerful spells. It is also one of the ways to weed out heretics and spies."
Karl’s viewpoint shifted. He noticed the chains seemed to drain energy from the kneeling figures, a faint but steady siphon he could detect. "And they also chose to have their dark mana drained out?" he asked.
"Sadly, yes, my lord," the Dullahan confirmed. "Those who wish to ascend must be efficient in their dark mana refining, or they will face their doom. There are even prodigies who fail this step. If they cannot balance the collection, their souls will be collected and sent to the afterlife."
The news stunned the group. "Th-that’s quite brutal," Leo stammered.
"But those who are steadfast and iron-willed," the Dullahan said, "and who succeed after one thousand years, are rewarded with not only privilege but also a percentage of immense amount of refined dark mana collected from all the participants. The rest is spread throughout the underworld."
Karl’s mind began to work, his thoughts racing. Hmm... that’s an efficient system. It’s a tithe, but a tithe that benefits the entire underworld. A working ecosystem. He then said out loud. "So, basically a way to give tithes to the church."
"That is exactly it, my lord," the Dullahan said.
"So they’re basically farmed of their dark mana," Karl said. "Those who fail to balance the collection will essentially die, and those who are able to withstand 1000 years are promoted and given an incentive. It’s brutally efficient, but it justifies the benefits for all of the underworld. I get why the church is so powerful."
"Yes, my lord," the Dullahan said. "Even if most citizens aren’t part of the church, they still benefit from the dark mana that is spread across the underworld. Being part of the church requires a greater sacrifice for the greater good."
Karl’s brain whirred. "Hmmmmm... why not industrialize the production of dark mana?"
"I beg your pardon, my lord?" the Dullahan asked, clearly confused by the alien concept.
"Don’t you have people who research these kinds of things?" Karl asked.
"Yes, my lord," the Dullahan said. "The Cardinals are responsible for studying the deeper topics of dark mana."
"Then why not build a machine for this?" Karl asked. "It could refine dark mana, and all the non-members would have to do is give their natural mana as a donation."
The Dullahan and Libera were taken aback, staring at Karl in stunned silence.
"What?" Karl asked.