Chapter 26: Search and Annihilation (3)
Isaac was just about to share his will with Isolde when he casually mentioned, “Let’s go ahead with the investigation, like you suggested. But hey, Inquisitor?”
Isolde perked up, “Yeah?”
Isaac pondered the nature of their mission.
“If the Immortal Order’s crew is lurking around here, what’s the game plan? Are we just gonna snoop around, investigate, or go all out and exterminate?”
Isaac didn’t believe wiping out the Order was the main goal. It didn’t seem likely that their bony sidekicks had infiltrated this far. But, local undead could easily join the party.
So, Isaac saw it more as a recon or investigation gig, not a full-on extermination. Isolde, on the other hand, had a different take on things.
“Initially, it’s snooping, but if we stumble upon them, it’s lights out.”
Isaac was surprised by Isolde’s no-nonsense approach but realized her caution was on point.
“Don’t sweat it. If things get spicy, just stall them, and we’ll handle the rest.”
It seemed like Isaac and Gebel were on backup duty in case things got messy. Isaac nodded and ventured deeper into the valley.
Meanwhile, lurking in the valley, Isaac’s chaotic offspring were on the move, scouting swiftly. ‘Scope out what’s lurking in the shadows down there. Confirm it.’
After the showdown with Zihilrat, the chaotic offsprings’ numbers grew, making recon a breeze. Isolde was meticulously inspecting each statue, treating them like treasure troves of heretical knowledge. The remnants of a demolished temple were scattered around the area.
“Why would folks build a temple for a god of disease? What’s so appealing about a plague?”
In ‘Nameless Chaos,’ the focus was on the nine faiths. Other divine beings, like ancient gods, were more of a side story.
In other games, ‘old gods’ might be terrifying hidden bosses, but in Nameless Chaos, they were more like mid-level bosses.
Other gods mainly communicated through angels, and apart from the Immortal Emperor, meeting a god face to face was rare.
“People used to worship loads of deities,” Isolde chimed in with surprising nonchalance.
“Anything beyond their grasp was labeled a god. Probably, a nasty pandemic hit this region in the past. As folks perished, they elevated the disease to divine status, hoping for mercy.”
“Mercy?” Isaac quizzed.
“When it’s dry, prayers for rain come in, and during floods, they beg for mercy. Similarly, a plague god can switch to a healing deity.”
‘A healer from a plague god, huh? The one who brings the sickness can also bring the cure,’ Isaac mused.
“But when Luadin introduced the Codex of Light and the Tablets of Dawn, these lesser gods were cast aside. Quite the divine makeover.”
“What about the other eight faiths?” Isaac inquired. Isolde chose to stay mum.
Though unspoken, Isaac picked up the hint. Snuffing out the ancient gods wasn’t just the Codex of Light’s doing; it was a collective effort from all nine faiths. It was part of the game’s lore, so Isaac was privy to the backstory.
Luadin’s introduction of the Tablets of Dawn marked a turning point, shifting from the Age of Barbarism to the Age of Reason, igniting the ‘Age of Light.’
During the Age of Light that lasted for a thousand years, old faiths were wiped out, and only the eight faiths that played nice, bent the rules, or vibed with the Codex of Light survived. Even the Immortal Order, which arrived fashionably late, was down with the Codex of Light’s program.
‘Just the Nameless Chaos ghosted,’ Isaac thought, pondering the irony of why the supposedly vanished Nameless Chaos was still part of the ‘nine faiths.’
Thud, thud, thud.
Suddenly, gravel cascaded down from a cliff above. Isolde glanced up at the valley top but saw nada. Swift on his feet, Isaac pointed, “Over there!”
Thunk, thud.
A huge shadow flitted between the cliffs. Initially resembling a wild critter, it was clearly out of the ordinary.
Isolde’s eyes widened, “What in the world?!”
“Let’s head inside!” Isaac and Gebel unsheathed their swords but awaited Isolde’s lead. With a determined expression, she stepped forward and let out a long whistle.
Whistle─.
The shrill sound resonated in the valley, causing a raven – the same one Isaac had infected with a parasite – to soar up. In sync with Isolde, the raven promptly pursued the mysterious beast above the valley.
“Let’s go after them!”
Isolde followed the raven’s flight path keenly, never losing sight of it even from a distance.
The enigmatic creature appeared intermittently, never quite evading the relentless chase but seemingly drawing them in.
‘Looks like a trap.’
This creature was one of Isaac’s chaos spawn, physically larger due to its base organism, making it easily detectable for the task at hand. Its peculiar form made precise identification tricky.
‘Perfect. If we draw it out of the valley…’
It would imply a presence that had slipped away, leading Isolde to eventually piece it all together. With the Immortal Order’s priest already out of the picture, there shouldn’t be any issues. If Isaac wanted to wrap things up neatly, he could even offer up this chaos spawn to Isolde.
“Hang on, seems like we’re walking into a trap!”
As the beast maintained a tantalizing yet unreachable distance, Isolde grasped the situation. Slowing their pace, they noticed the mysterious creature’s movements also decelerating, likely due to the raven tailing it.
“If it’s a setup, could there be an ambush waiting?”
“We can’t let this eerie creature slip away. Stick close and move cautiously.”
Isolde instructed as she brought a necklace to her lips, murmuring something aloud. Simultaneously, ash-gray dust billowed from her form, swiftly camouflaging her presence.
‘The Moth Doctrine.’
An ability of Isolde’s that Isaac was already aware of.
The Codex of Light represents illumination, and moths are drawn to light.
The Moth Doctrine was a secretive technique passed down to those in the order who required stealth.
Nearly indistinguishable from the roadside gravel, Isolde swiftly continued tracking along a different path.
If the beast was leading Isaac and his crew into a trap, it wouldn’t spot Isolde’s sneaky approach under the Moth Doctrine.
While Isolde focused on the creature, Isaac quietly manipulated the chaos spawn, closely observing her movements.
“…”
Even under the Moth Doctrine’s cover, Isolde couldn’t bridge the distance, growing uneasy.
That’s when Isaac received an unexpected message.
[Body. Found.]
The message came from one of the chaos offspring he had sent out.
‘A body?’
Understanding the message was tough because the chaos offspring, based on rats, had low cognitive abilities. But stumbling upon a body was definitely worrisome. The offspring cautiously approached the body but jerked back, sensing a presence nearby.
Suddenly, the connection with the chaos offspring was cut off. They were taken out without even realizing they were under attack. Despite having strength like a cat, the ease of their defeat suggested it wasn’t by a wild animal.
‘Let’s gather for investigation.’
Isaac ordered the chaos offspring to convene at the spot where the body was found, not to hunt but to track. However, the place where the connection was lost wasn’t too far.
‘Could this be an ambush?’
Isaac was taken aback by this unexpected turn of events. Despite taking control of the sanctuary’s altar, he thought he knew everything about the monastery and its surroundings. Not detecting any strange presence meant it was either undetectable even by the sanctuary’s powers or it had appeared overnight.
“Ms. Isolde!”
Isaac called out impulsively, causing Isolde to halt in her tracks. Arrows suddenly landed where she was about to step, one grazing Isolde but only passing through the ashen dust enveloping her body.
As the Doctrine of the Moth faded, revealing her form, Isaac demanded, “Who’s there!”
Gebel’s voice echoed through the valley, followed by figures in hunter attire with crossbows emerging from among the rocks. They looked like villagers-turned-hunters.
“S-sorry, we mistook a strange creature for…”
“So you shoot arrows randomly!”
Angrily, Isaac approached the hunters. Seeing the inquisitor clad in extravagance and the monk’s robes, the hunters realized they had picked the wrong targets. Feeling an unsettling aura as Isaac advanced, they sensed undeniable intimidation from the Nephilim’s peculiar charm.
“We are also trailing that creature; we’ll let this go! Where did it head?”
“Over there, up the cliffs…”
Swiftly, Isaac stabbed one of the hunters in the throat. Gebel and Isolde reacted instantly, not out of retaliation but because they sensed something amiss.
Isolde noticed regular hunters couldn’t breach the Doctrine of the Moth, Gebel observed their advanced crossbows, and Isaac noticed the chaos offspring’s blood on the stabbed man.
Ching, crackle!
Without a battle cry, they attacked together, forcing the hunters back with injuries but no fatalities, proving they were no ordinary adversaries.
“Kugh, urgh!”
Even the vampire Isaac had pierced was pulling back to heal the wound.
Isaac, displeased at the sight of the wound closing, and Isolde, gritting her teeth, realized these were no ordinary foes.
“Wallachia human hunters? How dare you intrude here!”
Wallachia was one of the smaller nations nestled between the Black and White Empires. Its history was pretty complex, surviving many conflicts by latching onto different powers, but it was generally seen as closer to the Black side.
They were basically the vampire crew, creatures who had a thing for blood. These fancy vampires often went on ‘human hunts’ just for kicks.
“Hey, dude!” The vampire who got impaled by Isaac seemed kinda important among them, still barking orders even with a busted neck. The vamps, realizing their cover was blown, whipped out their dark-red swords – the fancy weapons of choice for Wallachian nobles.
Isaac was feeling a bit on edge. ‘If these guys are Wallachian nobility, they basically hit as hard as paladins in the game…’ This meant the vamps in front of him were about as tough as six paladins each. While paladins might differ in levels, vampires were specialists at taking down humans.
Isaac braced himself for what seemed like a tough battle.
“Ha, take that!” Surprisingly, the vamps weren’t as tough as Isaac expected in actual combat. He smoothly parried the attacking vampire’s sword and managed to cut his arm. The other vamps hesitated, not rushing in as confidently as before.
‘Was I always this good?’ Isaac felt a swell of pride seeing his sword skills translate well in real combat, but he soon figured out why.
‘It’s the sunlight.’ The place was pretty shaded, but the occasional ray of sunshine hurt the vamps. Their failed sneak attack and the whole hunter charade were probably because it was still daytime.
‘This works for me.’ Isaac wasn’t looking for a fair fight and decided to relish in the advantage he had while the vamps were scrambling.
