Paladin of the Dead God

Chapter 69:

The prophet of the red flesh did not respond.

She was merely substituting her shock with silence. In her mind, the pieces of the puzzle were belatedly starting to fit together.

The moment the attack began, Hesabel’s assassination, Zihilrat’s infiltration, the soldiers of Reinhardt who had been waiting in advance, the fact that she had been attacked solely with swordsmanship without using tentacles, and the revelation of her true form only to face the Rite of Division and the Lighthouse of the Watcher…

In the end, it was Isaac’s victory, keeping his cards hidden until the last moment.

Of course, there were many flaws and aspects that were hard to accept. But the prophet of the red flesh was starting to feel a vague fear of Isaac only belatedly.

This fact fueled countless imaginations about Isaac.

‘Fear stems from a rich imagination… especially if it’s someone who thinks a lot.’

Isaac deliberately remained silent, looking at the prophet of the red flesh. He could have boasted about how he had targeted the prophet of the red flesh, but he chose not to.

It was better for her to imagine and fear on her own.

After all, it wasn’t as if there had been no coincidences.

However, Isaac was already preparing for the moment he would meet the prophet of the red flesh again. The damage inflicted now might only amount to a lost hand for her, but the psychological shock and fear would be etched in her mind.

As Isaac approached, the prophet of the red flesh let out a scream-like outcry.

[Do not think you have won! The arrangements of the Red Chalice are deep and wide. Her followers are everywhere! You have only toppled one of them!]

“Such cliché words.”

[If I return…!]

Listening to the prophet of the red flesh ranting, Isaac thought that angels are truly hard to kill. If she focused only on ranting, she could spew nonsense for a hundred days even in that state.

But Isaac still had a weapon left to properly discipline the yet to be sober prophet of the red flesh. He picked up the dagger, the Rite of Division, that the prophet of the red flesh had flung away.

The prophet of the red flesh shuddered as if convulsing at the sight.

[You, you!]

“Yes. The needle to sew your mouth shut.”

[Wait…!]

The prophet of the red flesh writhed, trying to escape. She attempted to evaporate her body belatedly, trying to dissolve faster, but Isaac’s hand was quicker.

Crunch. The moment the Rite of Division burrowed into her flesh for the second time, a scream that seemed to tear the sky apart rang out.

Crash…

Red fragments shattered like porcelain, making a loud noise. With this, the prophet of the red flesh was completely banished from the earth.

Isaac pocketed the Rite of Division.

It was over. With this, Hendrake Fortress had completely turned.

Then, footsteps were heard.

The soldiers of Hendrake Fortress, who had come to their senses, were opening the city gate. The soldiers of Reinhardt were looking up at Isaac from below the city walls. What expression they had was not visible.

Cheers? Fear? Or shock?

They had witnessed everything. They saw the prophet of the red flesh reveal her true form, be sliced by Isaac, and finally fall into ruin. A completely different atmosphere flowed among the knights and soldiers who had witnessed this scene from the previous cheers.

Finally, one of the knights at the front knelt before Isaac.

Starting with him, the other soldiers also slowly knelt down. The residents who had come out upon hearing the commotion, the soldiers of Hendrake Fortress who had belatedly come to their senses, and even Hesabel, who had made the greatest contribution, all knelt in silence before Isaac.

Isaac felt faith filling up inside him.

It was not the cheers towards a hero.

It was worship towards an awe-inspiring being.

You consumed the ‘Red Flesh’.

Due to the ‘Dead God’s Intestine’ perk, your consumption efficiency increases.

The power of miracles from the ‘Red Chalice’ faith increases permanently and significantly.

The power of miracles increases permanently.

You have acquired the ‘Red Worship’ perk. Your charm among the masses increases.

The blessing remains until digested.

After the situation was resolved,

Isaac was watching the cleanup at the Hendrake fortress from atop the walls.

Reinhardt’s soldiers had subdued the soldiers of Hendrake fortress and preserved the evidence. The soldiers of the Hendrake fortress were already weakened and in mental disarray, so there were no difficulties. In fact, they were in need of care.

Isaac was sorting out the results of the battle.

‘First, as a result of consuming the Red Flesh… the power of the Red Chalice faith miracles has significantly and permanently increased. This is a better outcome than expected.’

Numerically, the power of the Red Chalice faith seemed to have increased by about 20%. While this might seem ambiguous, considering that Isaac’s miracles of the Red Chalice faith, ‘Red Prayer’ and ‘Bloodsucking’, could both be used frequently, it was a significant increase.

The other miracles had strengthened by about 10%. Simply consuming had brought such results, which was a great benefit.

Additionally, the ‘Red Worship’ perk was the only non-combat ability gained this time. True to the angel of deception and conspiracy, the effect of consumption seemed to increase the ability to sway the masses.

This perk was useful to Isaac in many ways.

However, the real achievement was the reward received for completing a mission bestowed by the nameless chaos.

[‘Chaos Reward for Consuming the Prophet of Red Flesh’ has been granted.]

[One of the miracles of the ‘Nameless Chaos’ faith can be strengthened or combined.]

Strengthening and combining miracles.

This was an exceedingly rare reward from ‘Nameless Chaos’. Depending on the outcome, it could be classified as beyond S-grade, into EX-grade. However, it was also a somewhat troublesome reward for Isaac.

‘The problem is that there are almost no known miracles related to the faith of the nameless chaos, so it’s unpredictable what the result of the combination will be…’

Of course, a rough prediction was possible. Combining A and B would result in AB or BA, not something completely unrelated like C. However, whether it would be efficient was the issue. It was ambiguous whether a knife for slaughtering chickens would become one for slaughtering cows.

But it was much better than not doing it at all.

‘I’ve already decided what to enhance.’

The primary consideration was ‘Touch of Chaos’. Tentacles, needless to say, were Isaac’s most frequently used skill. It was best to enhance it whenever the opportunity arose. The problem was what other ability to combine it with.

‘It’s not an urgent issue, so I’ll have to think about it more.’

It would be nice to see the results beforehand, but it seemed unlikely that any combination would result in a disappointing outcome. Isaac decided to ponder a bit more before choosing.

And there were many other issues that needed attention at the moment.

“Sir Isaac of the Holy Grail.”

As Isaac was contemplating, Reinhardt approached.

Upon locking eyes with Isaac, Reinhardt respectfully bowed and saluted.

While he had always been respectful, it had been more a matter of courtesy towards Isaac’s background in the order, nothing more. But now, he behaved as if he were a subordinate.

Isaac felt a brief surge of pride but couldn’t indulge in it for long.

He had to play the role of a humble Grail Knight.

“Do not do this, Count Reinhardt.”

“It is not for me to say, Sir Grail Knight. How could I possibly…”

Of course, Reinhardt had also witnessed Isaac defeating the prophet of the Red Flesh. Seeing an angel, which one might only see once in a lifetime, being defeated by a mere human body was something out of a myth.

That event convinced Reinhardt that Isaac was an agent or perhaps a candidate angel sent by the scripture of light. Isaac liked Reinhardt’s respectful attitude, but he did not want it to hinder their work.

He quickly got to the point.

“How is the cleanup going?”

“Yes, all the bodies inside the castle have now been dealt with. The passages are still being repaired, but the main routes are finished. And we’ve found the survivors who were imprisoned in the dungeon…”

Reinhardt trailed off. He had hurried to find Isaac before the work was fully completed because of this matter. Isaac knew what it was about but pretended not to know, waiting for the response.

“We’ve found Lord Kyle Hendrake. He was in a state of shock, as if he had lost his mind.”

“That’s regrettable.”

The disposition of Kyle Hendrake was in a grey area.

He embezzled funds, attacked soldiers and knights of neighboring lords, brandished a sword at a Grail Knight, and involved suspected heretics Raela and Owen… It was a situation where several heads would not be enough to pay for the crimes.

However, the problem was that the ‘Prophet of Red Flesh,’ an archangel of the Red Chalice, had conspired within his domain.

All of this could be excessively excused as ‘falling for the temptation of the Red Chalice and being manipulated.’

How could a mere human stand against an archangel of conspiracy and strategy?

Of course, even so, the lord’s responsibility was not small. But who could decide how much he should be held accountable? Reinhardt, who had holed up in an inn? The inquisitors who arrived late to the scene?

The person who could make that decision was Isaac, who had observed and resolved the entire situation.

And Isaac had deferred judgment on Kyle.

Of course, Isaac had already decided how to make use of Kyle, but for the sake of his reputation, it needed to be revealed a bit more leisurely.

“Understood. Since Kyle Hendrake is an important witness, please ensure he is well protected. I will continue to investigate the heretical evidence related to Raela.”

The inquisitors would soon arrive.

Until then, Isaac needed to uncover what Raela had been scheming here.

***

Isaac searched Raela’s room.

However, there was hardly any result. Isaac didn’t have high expectations.

The Red Chalice is a faith of conspiracy and secrets. It would be more surprising if the ‘Prophet of Red Flesh,’ an archangel among them, left any trace. Having prepared for a siege in the castle for days, any evidence that could be found had likely been destroyed.

There were suspicious ingredients, but far from decisive evidence.

‘There must have been a reason for her to hole up here…’

The Immortal Order and the Red Chalice Club had designated Hendrake’s domain as the ground for birthing a new god. Though Kalsen Miller had disappeared, there must have been a clear reason for establishing a base here. Isaac knew the secret but didn’t know where it was.

It’s like knowing the contents of a treasure without knowing its location.

‘And then there’s the matter of awakening the ancient gods besides the new one. Is that related?’

The Immortal Order’s actions weren’t just about birthing a new god.

They were also awakening the ancient gods.

It’s unclear what they hoped to achieve by awakening these less-than-angelic beings, but the Red Chalice Club was assisting in this effort. Perhaps Raela had established a base here to prepare for the revival of an ancient god.

Upon focusing on Raela’s purpose and reviewing the materials, some connections emerged.

Among the documents found in Raela’s room were distribution materials for Loracus, including some familiar names: Seor and Ariet, along with several border regions.

Recalling his gaming days, Isaac recognized that more than half of these areas contained sanctuaries.

‘Were they creating relay points for the revival of ancient gods? The good locations definitely would have helped…’

Perhaps they used Loracus distribution to facilitate the movement of the Wallachia hunters. However, it was uncertain if this warranted the direct involvement of an archangel.

But with this information, Isaac could predict where the revival of ancient gods was being prepared. Not all these areas would be involved in the revival, but collecting such information could help infer their goal.

‘And the Immortal Order…’

No matter how cunning the Red Chalice Club was, it was insignificant in scale and power compared to the Immortal Order. Isaac had witnessed the Order attempting to hatch an ancient god at the Ariet Monastery. The Wallachia hunters were merely guards and couriers then.

‘Remembering the start of the game, most ancient gods were treated as field bosses or named monsters. They were at best a source of experience points, but why revive them?’

As he pondered, Isaac realized he might be thinking about it all wrong.

‘What if the focus wasn’t on reviving ancient gods from the start, but on the experience points?’

Isaac realized a new possibility.

‘What if someone was preparing to defeat the resurrected ancient gods to absorb their power?’