Chapter 75. Where the Angel Shed Blood (1)
Setting the stage for a battle against the curse itself, as monsters continued to besiege the land as long as the curse lingered.
‘Just as I suspected,’ Isaac thought to himself, prepared for the challenging task ahead.
Isaac totally saw those orders coming when they mentioned the curse on the domain. He knew that without getting rid of the curse, no one would fully appreciate his heroic act of defeating the celestial being.
If he couldn’t lift the curse, Isaac’s dream of becoming a saint would be put on hold indefinitely, and his awesome achievement wouldn’t get the recognition it deserved.
Isaac was determined to make sure everyone knew about his big accomplishment without having to be called a saint.
“I swear to follow the Codex of Light,” Isaac declared. He got down on one knee, unsheathing his sword, making Delia uneasy and Bishop Juan proud.
But Isaac wasn’t the type to kneel for no reason.
“Hey, Bishop Juan. My sword took a beating while I was fighting that red-fleshed prophet.”
“Oh!” Isolde gasped softly.
It was her sword of judgment that he had borrowed, so seeing it all messed up was shocking.
As Bishop Juan inspected the sword, he noticed the engraving that revealed its original owner.
“Did you know Inquisitor Isolde?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah,” Isolde mumbled, looking embarrassed. Bishop Juan stared at her for a moment before pushing further.
“Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?”
“I was worried that my personal feelings would mess things up…” Isolde explained.
It was a valid concern. Mixing personal stuff with official business could be messy. Technically, she shouldn’t have even been involved.
But Bishop Juan examined the sword quietly, then ran his fingers along the blade.
A bright light emanated from his touch, heating the sword until it glowed red. The rust disappeared, and a new edge formed.
The name Isolde vanished from the blade.
“Inquisitor Isolde, you judged well. Your sword helped take down the celestial baddie, so let’s celebrate. Someone new will wield this sword from now on.”
“…Okay,” Isolde sighed in relief, clearly not the typical Inquisitor type.
Bishop Juan gave the newly forged sword to Isaac.
“This one will be more useful than the old sword,” he assured.
As Isaac took the sword, it felt warm, almost alive. Mysterious characters next to his name glowed with white light.
“The Luadin Key?” Isaac read in shock, making Bishop Juan raise an eyebrow.
“You can read that ancient language?”
“Uh, sort of…” Isaac replied, not sure how he managed to impress Bishop Juan, who was probably tired of dealing with less clever knights. He was amazed by the unexpected weapon he now held.
[The Luadin Key (S)]
[The sword of judgment has transformed into its true form: a key that unlocks hidden and trapped things, forged by celestial heat. It gives warmth and strength to its wielder and can unlock intermediate seals.]
The Luadin Key was the real deal, the true form of the sword of judgment. Despite being called a “key,” it remained a sword, with a purpose of freeing what’s hidden or confined, whether a locked treasure chest or something trapped within.
Basically, it was like calling a really sharp blade a “key.”
And yeah, true to its name, this thing could unlock some serious seals, all glowing with light and heat vibes.
“Seems like they’re dead set on pushing me towards sainthood, giving me this weapon fit for a top-notch Inquisitor or head knight.”
The Inquisitors and knights there looked pretty shocked too, signaling that this gift was definitely from Juan, a clear message not to get distracted. While it was a nice gesture, Isaac couldn’t help but feel the weight of it.
“I’ll do what needs to be done.”
Isaac bowed but in his mind, he was like, ‘Sorry, grandpa. The truth is, I fight tentacled monsters… But I appreciate the gift.’
Some knights and holy warriors were sent out to deal with trolls, heading out in a group.
Since trolls could also show up at the deserted fortress, half of them stayed back to guard it. You never know, other cursed monsters might pay a visit too.
“Ugh…”
The knights off to troll-hunt were clearly annoyed. They signed up for noble battles and riches, not sweating it out in the woods after trolls. But sending just Isaac alone wouldn’t look good, especially with holy knights in the mix.
And having Duchess Delia Lyon herself tag along, well, the knights had to zip their lips about their complaints.
Yep, not the ideal situation.
A duchess was no joke compared to a bishop. It kind of seemed like the duchess was calling the shots on behalf of the bishop, not the best look.
“Duchess, you really don’t have to join in the rough stuff. You could chill indoors…”
“It’s all about His Majesty’s people’s safety. We can’t back down from challenges, right?”
Delia chuckled, doing a dramatic stretch.
“And since we’re here, might as well take down a couple of trolls. Can’t return empty-handed!”
At Delia’s words, the knights cringed but agreed. Delia was as fierce a fighter as her size suggested. Her mace could seriously mess up a troll for good. But Delia’s mind was elsewhere.
‘How to handle the Grail Knight now that we’ve bought some time…’
Isaac could feel Delia watching him closely.
He felt the urge to chat with her but kept his distance to keep her guessing. Delia had other knights to supervise, couldn’t just stick to Isaac.
Isaac activated his Chaos Eyes, checking out Delia’s moves in the shadowy forest.
His eyes turned purple in the forest’s dim light.
[Delia Lyon (B)]
[Occupation: Duchess (A)]
[Abilities: Serious Sword Skills, Top-notch Leadership]
[‘If I can’t stop the Grail Knight from becoming a saint, I need to at least mess with his achievements. Can’t straight-up remove him – not an option. Any slip-ups leading to reckless moves would be all on me. But how to play this out…’]
Delia’s deep thoughts were crystal clear, her intentions on full display. Prevent Isaac from becoming a saint, or if that fails, wreck his reputation.
When Isaac felt Delia had marinated in enough anxiety, he went up to her.
“Duchess.”
“Ah, Sir Grail Knight.”
While the other knights and soldiers fanned out to find trolls, Delia made a gesture to her aide to give them some space as Isaac strolled over. The aide casually backed off.
“Man, this forest is so thick, and the terrain is brutal. I never pictured Hendrake’s territory being this much of a natural fortress… Makes me not want to step foot here again,” Isaac remarked.
“But hey, it does show how the King’s authority stretches even to these remote hills. Pretty impressive, huh?” Delia commented, more like shooting the breeze, but Isaac quickly got to the point.
Delia squinted at Isaac’s relaxed demeanor, already sensing he wasn’t quite the stoic, old-school Grail Knight she had pegged him for initially.
Deciding to slyly dig into her hunch, Delia asked, “So, you’re pretty into the King’s authority too, huh?”
“How can I not take the King seriously? He’s like the living embodiment of the Codex of Light!” Isaac replied enthusiastically.
Calling the emperor an avatar of the Codex of Light was some major praise. Just because someone uses a hammer doesn’t mean the hammer becomes a person, right? The Holy Scripture is just a text, not exactly divine enough to be a God’s avatar.
Even so, the emperor’s supporters hailed him as the Codex of Light’s avatar. Not exactly the usual talk for a Grail Knight.
Delia quipped with a playful grin, “Is it cool for a Grail Knight to talk like that?”
Isaac just smiled and said, “Compared to what the King’s achieved, my little adventures don’t even compare.”
“Little adventures? Beating down an angel is the stuff of legends, something the gods themselves won’t forget,” Delia countered.
“I’m just happy if my deeds help the empire,” Isaac humbly replied.
From their chat, Delia got a sense of what Isaac was thinking deep down.
No way she was missing his not-so-subtle hints.
“It looks like the Grail Knight has some big dreams up their sleeve,” Delia teased.
Instead of a straight answer, Isaac just grinned.
With the hints exchanged, it was Delia’s turn to let her mind run wild with theories. Isaac might not have laid everything out clear, but it was enough for Delia to ponder a new possibility.
‘What if I could get Isaac to join forces with the emperor?’
With the emperor already holding the cards, having a new hero on his team would only boost their power.
Saint title aside, if they could bring a potential rival under the emperor’s banner, it would be a major win.
“I’m not one to beat around the bush. What are you after?” Delia asked.
“Me? Like I said, as long as I can help out the empire, I’m good,” Isaac replied.
Just as Delia was about to dig deeper, Isaac kept talking.
“Maybe, Duchess Lyon, you could back me up on my quest,” Isaac suggested, not laying out his demands outright. It was key for Delia to connect the dots and offer something willingly in return.
Isaac needed to keep a balance between the church and the emperor’s camp, reaping benefits from both without leaning too far either way.
In the end, the ball was in the other party’s court to offer up something worthwhile.
Right as Delia was about to inquire more, a shout rang out.
“Trolls!”
Following Isaac’s lead, Hendrake had set the trolls in motion.
With the convo getting cut off at just the right time, Isaac instantly sprinted toward the source of the shout. Delia, watching his back, nervously bit her lip before hurrying to catch up.
***
“Get ’em moving that way!”
“Why the heck are they so quick?!”
As Isaac arrived on the scene, it was chaos with injured soldiers and shattered trees everywhere. A troll’s severed arm lay on the ground, but no bodies in sight.
Arriving a bit later, Isaac inquired, “Where’d that troll go?”
“It went into that valley. The holy knights are on its tail.”
The dark, tree-filled valley showed no signs of hesitation in the pursuit by the holy knights. Paladins, with their fiery skills, were natural enemies of trolls.
About to enter the valley, Isaac spotted something unusual imprinted on the ground and bent down for a closer look. Something unexpected.
“Horse tracks?”
In a place where trees and rough terrain made horse access impossible, clear hoof prints marked the ground.
