Chapter 53. We’re Cool with Your Debt (1)
“Faith” is one of those fuzzy concepts in real life, but here, it’s like a superpower you can tap into.
When folks pour their faith into a god, it piles up as divine juice. And this divine juice acts as a fuel that lets priests and bishops bust out miracles. In simpler terms, more followers mean more firepower for priests, if the deity nods along.
“Even tentacles can flex some serious muscle with a divine upgrade.”
The tentacles couldn’t go all out on Golruwa because they were lacking divine oomph, despite being miraculous. But with enough faith in the tank and turned into power, it would beef up Isaac directly.
Isaac had no plans to dish out those chaos miracles to anyone other than trusted allies like Zihilrat. But he mulled over throwing in some basic buffs or miracles on the down-low.
Sure, it’d be messy if a big shot flipped the faith switch. Starting from scratch, Isaac needed to spread his influence fast. Plus, he made sure the faith guidelines were loose enough to not push folks away.
“He pushed universal goodness and fairness, values that other belief systems don’t champion as much… The greedy ones won’t bite on this side anyway.”
This faith was for the underdogs, the runaways, the castoffs… the ones left behind by society.
There were loads of such people in Seor, left crushed by Loracus’ fall. Isaac aimed to sneakily sow his faith among them, along with their beef with the current beliefs.
Isaac wasn’t counting on controlling his followers perfectly. Keeping a tight hold on his inner circle was good enough. And Isaac swore not to let these buddies double-cross him.
The ones who wielded the chaos miracles had no option but to stay true to Isaac.
And Jacquette snagged the first spot as a saint.
Sure, her skills and smarts didn’t match up to other religious folk, but early birds in any pyramid scheme tend to rake in more rewards.
Considering the moves Jacquette made during the Loracus chaos, her shortcomings weren’t a big deal. Plus, teaming up with Isaac early on gave her a shot at leveling up.
Luck’s a skill too.
Isaac didn’t see Jacquette turning on him as a possibility. Like many from the bottom rungs, she knew how to spot an opportunity and run with it.
Plus, folks scared out of their wits often cozy up to that fear rather than fight it. People might forget acts of kindness in a jiffy, but fear sticks around.
Isaac just hoped Jacquette would crush it in her saintly role in Sør.
“Hmm, speaking of which… Did you get your hands on it?”
“Yup, all thanks to you.”
Hesabel proudly whipped out a grubby rag from her chest.
Even though it looked like a filthy scrap, Isaac clocked it as a real relic in a heartbeat.
[Carlyle’s Holy Bandage (B)]
[When slapped on a wound, it works like magic to stop the bleeding and fix up the injury, but it’s bloodthirsty too.]
[So, when this gal got anointed as an archangel at the Carlyle Monastery, she went all out by slicing out her own heart as a final act of faith. Then, she wrapped it up in some cloth and offered the bloody package to the Red Chalice. The Red Chalice was pleased, so it skinned her and did some flesh rearranging, and there you have it, the birth of the Prophet of Red Flesh.]
“Of course, it had to tie back to the Prophet of Red Flesh somehow.”
Even with all its creepy history and being a notch lower than a full-on ritual, this relic still had some serious archangel vibes.
Hesabel handed over the holy bandage with high hopes, thinking Isaac might be some sort of representative for the Prophet of Red Flesh. But Isaac never actually laid claim to that title, nor did he plan on deceiving her. He just went along with the mistaken identity.
“Well, ain’t that lucky.”
Isaac stretched out his hand casually, and after a moment of hesitation, Hesabel passed Carlyle’s Holy Bandage over to him, shifting a prized possession that had once belonged to Yukhar into Isaac’s hands.
[“You’ve scored yourself the ‘Carlyle’s Holy Bandage’ relic.”]
[“Your heroic journey just got a power-up.”]
Seems like he tied up all loose ends in Seor. Cleared debts to unlock most of the Golden Idol Guild’s goodies, won the favor of the Golden Idol, got Carlyle’s Holy Bandage, and even recruited Hesabel Gulmar as a follower.
Not too shabby for a day’s work.
“I wonder how Hesabel will react once she figures out who I really am…”
No denying that pulling in a member of the Gulmar ducal fam as an ally came with risks. For now, she was clueless about Isaac’s true identity, so she wasn’t a full-on traitor yet. But the betrayal was bound to happen at some point.
Isaac didn’t expect Hesabel to stay loyal when push came to shove.
But he still put in the effort, seeing how well it worked with Calzen Miller.
“Way easier to grab believers from someone else’s stash than growing them from scratch.”
After all, the most painful sting comes from the folks you trusted the most.
Hesabel Gulmar, with her potential for growth, was worth the gamble. The fact that she was a vampire didn’t faze him.
After all, Isaac himself was no saint when it came to his diet.
Unbeknownst to Isaac, Hesabel patiently awaited his next move.
“So, what’s the plan, Lord Isaac?”
“Hmm.”
Isaac had a few destinations in mind already. But instead of rushing off, he opted to wait for the perfect moment to strike.
“Someone will come looking for me soon.”
Isaac had no interest in being Mr. Fix-It right away.
If it was a problem worth solving, it made more sense for someone to come to him seeking help.
***
“How much of a mess are we looking at?”
“That’s… umm…”
Lord Kyle Hendrake felt his head spin as he listened to the report.
“Why? Weren’t the Golden Idol Guild involved in this too?”
“The Guild took a big hit from this mess as well.”
The Golden Idol Guild’s financial moves were the talk of the town, a sign of their rock-solid reputation. Investments backed by a deity weren’t supposed to go south so easily. If the Guild faced major losses, it pointed to either an act of sabotage or an attack on the Golden Idol’s faith.
“But why now?”
The Hendrake place was like, way out there in the Gerthonia Empire. Not close enough to the happening spots to get all the glory. Just a chill rural place in a weird spot, but it had its good times, you know?
Kyle, though, he was all about that hustle. Especially after his pops passed from some mystery sickness. He saw the Loracus surge going down in Seor and thought, “This is my chance to level up.”
“I even flexed the Brandt ducal name to get cash from other nobles!” To get them to invest, he spread rumors that the big-shot Brandt fam was eyeing this deal. Everybody low-key knew it was Kyle behind the whispers, but they were cool with it ’cause more investors meant more gains for them.
But then, boom, the deal tanked. And guess who gets the blame? Kyle, of course. “What if I just ghost them?” He panicked, but deep down, he knew that wasn’t gonna fly.
He’d already locked in a deal with his neighbor Reinhardt for some top-tier Loracus. When the Loracus prices were up, Kyle was living for Reinhardt’s envy. But now with prices crashing, Kyle was on a one-way train to Brokesville. If he didn’t cough up the dough, Reinhardt would be coming for his head, not just the trees.
Kyle was stressed to the max. He could see bankruptcy looming, and even his bro Reinhardt would go down with the ship. The other nobles would be all over him like vultures trying to claw back what they could.
Weak-kneed and falling apart, Kyle was about to hit the ground when a red-headed lady caught him, saving the day. “My lord,” she whispered, and just like that, Kyle was back in the game.
Raela, the sage maid always dropping truth bombs, reminded him of her warnings to sell the Loracus ages ago. But Kyle, thinking he was sitting on a gold mine, ignored the advice. “I should’ve listened, huh?”
“No time for regrets now. Let’s figure out why this Loracus disaster went down,” Raela prompted, snapping Kyle back to reality.
Why did the Loracus prices take a dive, despite everyone and their grandma cashing in? Was it an attack on the Golden Idol Guild, or something bigger?
“Maybe it was a hit aimed at me?” Kyle pondered.
“Yup. Seems like someone wanted to throw the whole empire into chaos by messing with the Codex of Light loyalists,” Raela dropped the bombshell.
Kyle was shook. Caught in a game he didn’t even know he was playing, his world was upside down.
Hey there, lend me your editing skills and let’s make this text vibe a bit more laid-back. Try to keep the word count close to the original:
Despite his sharp mind, he just couldn’t find the right words to sway the other nobles. How could he convince them it wasn’t his fault, but rather some shady entity messing things up?
“You know, there’s talk going ’round about this Grail Knight, Isaac, playing a big part in the Loracus market crash.”
“Isaac? I’ve heard tales about a Grail Knight, but Isaac?”
“Yup, word is this Isaac dude took down bad guys in the shadowy markets and saved folks from being mind-controlled by a monster, which tanked the prices.”
“Pretty heroic stuff. If he swings by our turf, we oughta show him some serious respect.”
“But that’s not the whole deal.”
Raela abruptly paused, getting into a prayer position out of the blue. Her devotion was impressive, but Kyle found it hard to keep up.
After a quick ‘grant me patience’ prayer, Raela spoke again.
“Don’t you think this all seems too perfect? Mind control tied to the Loracus mess? Would a lord living so far from Seor, like yourself, be under mind control too? What about the other nobles? And a Grail Knight suddenly showing up to smack monsters, causing prices to plummet… It’s all a bit odd, don’t you think?”
“Maybe… the Grail Knight went after the Codex of Light forces?”
“Just ’cause he’s a Grail Knight doesn’t mean he’s all about the Codex of Light. I’ve heard these knights could come from Elil’s Order or the World’s Forge too.”
Kyle felt a chill as the truth unfolded.
A Grail Knight from a different faith hitting the Codex of Light, and he was the first in line to feel the blow. Beyond just dealing with bankruptcy, Kyle sensed a duty to protect the faith.
Shifting blame to another faction wasn’t solely about saving himself.
“Who knows, maybe this Isaac fella serves some other dark faith, playing dress-up to spread influence and power.”
“That’s quite a leap there, Raela.”
Though her advice was wise, Kyle felt a need to separate fantasy from reality. Sometimes Raela’s ideas were way out there and he had to rein things in.
Becoming a Grail Knight wasn’t something to take lightly.
Having grown up on Grail Knight legends, Kyle’s interest in this Isaac character was piqued. If Isaac was on his side, creditors might think twice before pointing fingers at him.
“We gotta send folks to check it out.”
Kyle had made up his mind.
“I’ll send the Hendrake Knights. Ask that Grail Knight to swing by, and I’ll have a chat with him myself.”
“Smart move, mate.”
Raela nodded with respect. Kyle left her behind and dashed out of the hall to give orders to the knights.
***
Once Kyle disappeared, Raela’s face shifted. It wasn’t like a normal face; it almost seemed like it wore its skin inside out, devoid of humanity. With a quiet order, a massive black knight silently emerged from the shadows behind a pillar.
“The Gullmar girl seems to lack a bit of faith.”
With calm confidence, Raela instructed the knight.
“Last anyone heard, the daughter of the Gullmar family was trailing that Grail Knight, Isaac. Keep an eye on her while shadowing the Hendrake Knights.”
“Wait, wasn’t it Hesabel Gullmar, not Isaac?”
“Hey, that old-timey Grail Knight doesn’t matter to the Red Chalice. What we gotta focus on is that heir from the Gulmar fam. If she really ditched her faith, then we gotta take her out and grab the relic pronto.”
The black knight paused for a sec before speaking up cautiously.
“Could the Grail Knight have gotten to her first?”
“If that’s the deal.”
Raela replied like it was obvious.
“Then he’s way out of your league. Don’t even think twice, just book it.”
Hearing Raela’s advice, the black knight just nodded silently.
“Got it, Prophetess.”
