Chapter 74. Designation as a Saint (5)
The chaos that started at dawn continued until morning.
Delia, having gathered the nobles and knights, paced anxiously in the dining room.
“Are all the knights and nobles here?” she asked urgently.
“Some are still sleeping…” a response came.
Delia’s face twisted in frustration. “Break down their doors if you have to, but get them here now!”
Her sharp tone ruffled some feathers among the nobles, making her feel like she was going crazy.
The encounter with darkness and hallucinations had left her in a state of shock earlier. Her guards had calmed her down, but the state of her room showed the ordeal they had all been through.
While Delia was handling it relatively well now, not everyone else was.
In a corner of the room, a noble was trembling, another had fainted, and a knight was nursing bite wounds.
Delia seemed to be in better shape compared to them.
“Do you think it’s a curse?” a noble cautiously asked her.
‘Curse…’ The word echoed in her mind.
Isaac had warned about a curse, but with priests present and Reinhardt’s reassurance, Delia hadn’t been worried.
“It’s affecting others too, so it’s possible…” she replied.
The nature of celestial curses was beyond her understanding, but it seemed to be the most likely explanation.
“What’s all this fuss about?” Bishop Juan and a holy knight entered the room.
“Causing a ruckus during morning prayers…” Juan remarked, puzzled by the commotion.
He was all set to give them a piece of his mind, but when Delia shot him a fierce look with bloodshot eyes, he paused and stayed quiet. Delia marched up to the holy knight, pointing a finger at him and demanding,
“Did nothing go down on your end? We got plenty of priests here, and nobody can handle this curse? Even with the Bishop around? Are the inquisitors just here for a show?”
“What a load of nonsense…”
The holy knight, turning red with anger, tried to fire back, but he realized he was dealing with a duchess. Despite being a holy knight, he couldn’t be disrespectful to a dignitary close to the emperor.
“People have been wrecked by this curse all night!”
Only then did the holy knight notice the folks in the corners of the dining room, struggling after the curse. He hesitated for a moment before making a quick exit.
“I’ll go fill in the Bishop and be back.”
Shortly after, the church folks and nobles gathered.
Seven people, all from the top nobility, had suffered from the curse overnight. The priests tried their healing and calming tricks on those affected by the curse, like Delia, but the chaos was hard to soothe.
One priest went up to Delia and said,
“Sorry, but we can’t pick up any curse vibes.”
At that, Delia shot him a piercing look, her face twisting.
“Are you calling me a liar? Even when I was hit too?”
The priest, feeling the heat of her words, carried on carefully,
“A bad dream could be a curse itself. The delirium you’re seeing might just be from the psychological shock. If it was a curse, everyone’s symptoms would match. But, Lady Lyon, everyone’s symptoms are different, right?”
He had a point, so Delia stayed quiet. The bite marks she wanted to show as proof of the curse had disappeared.
“Everyone having nightmares at the same time can’t be just chance, so we do think it’s some sort of curse. We haven’t found any clear signs yet, but it’s unlikely the celestial being left quietly after getting kicked out.”
“Ahem…”
Delia felt her mind get all jumbled up.
The idea of a curse had thrown her off initially, but if this curse was from the celestial being that Isaac had booted out, then Isaac truly had pulled off something big. Realizing this made her mission to stop Isaac from becoming a saint a whole lot tougher.
Right then, Isaac came over to her.
With a serious look, Isaac said sorry to Delia.
“It looks like my lack of skills in dealing with the celestial led to this mess for you, Duchess. I’m sorry.”
Delia was surprised by his apology and waved it off quickly.
“No, Sir Grail Knight. How could this be on you? It’s because of my shaky faith and weak spirit that I fell prey to such foul influences.”
Delia’s words now held admiration. She could see that Isaac had indeed done a great thing by taking down the celestial. Despite the challenges his presence posed for her, it was clear he was a knight worthy of admiration.
“Still, this is a problem. If the curse keeps hanging around here, the locals will get uneasy. This place might end up with a cursed tag.”
Delia sensed something in Isaac’s words. A thought crossed her mind, but it was too delicate to speak aloud, especially in front of others.
Tap, tap.
At that moment, someone gave a tap on the table, drawing everyone’s attention. Bishop Juan and a young priest then spoke up in unison.
“Hey there, folks! So, there’s been some spooky vibes going on in this fortress overnight. But no worries, Bishop Juan here has decided to sprinkle some holy water and consecrate the place to keep the bad juju out. It’s just a quick daily ritual, so relax and enjoy your time here, alright?”
The nobles were relieved by this news but couldn’t help feeling a bit miffed that the clergy and knights seemed to be looking out for themselves only, leaving them to deal with the curse alone.
“Seems like only the nobles got hit by this curse, huh?”
“Yep, and check it out – after some digging around by the Inquisitors and priests, turns out our buddy Grail Knight Isaac totally smoked the bad guy right here. That’s some top-notch hero stuff right there, deserving of some serious props from the big shots.”
Everyone, from nobles to priests and knights, couldn’t help but admire Isaac for his epic deed, regardless of their usual cliques.
But Isaac, being his serious self, didn’t crack a smile; his face remained as solemn as ever.
“So, Bishop Juan’s thinking of putting in a good word with the higher-ups and recommending Isaac for sainthood.”
Delia nervously bit her lip. If this news got to the Pope, Isaac becoming a saint seemed like a done deal.
“Still gotta run a few checks on Isaac’s holiness, though…”
Suddenly, a loud noise rocked the fortress, causing everyone to jump.
“What in the world was that? Better go check it out.”
Before Delia could even react, the knights and holy warriors dashed outside.
Turns out, a massive boulder was hurled their way, giving the whole scene a real “siege” vibe.
Unsheathing their swords, they were all set to charge out, but a shout from the scouts stopped them in their tracks.
“It’s those pesky trolls!”
***
[I’ll reposition the trolls.]
Isaac sent a quick nod of approval to Hesabel. The trolls, doing their troll thing, were tossing huge rocks towards the dining hall where the VIPs were huddled.
‘These guys really know how to follow orders.’
Isaac observed, noting that Hesabel’s mojo from the Red Chalice was still going strong.
Trolls were basically the Red Chalice Club’s furry alarm system, and Hesabel had the power to boss them around.
And she was clearly doing a good job, even though she was totally breaking the club’s rules.
Ka-thud! A holy knight narrowly dodged a boulder, yelling as he sprinted towards the walls.
“Ugh, these cursed creatures!”
As the knight scaled the staircase, more boulders came flying his way. He managed to block one, but the barrage didn’t let up.
Thump, thud!
Hit by the rocks, the knight stumbled and tumbled down the stairs.
Isaac quickly zipped past him, dodging another boulder aimed his way.
Wham, bam!
Using his armored shoulder, Isaac deflected the rock. Even without the shiny aura of a holy knight, his tentacle-infused armor softened the blow.
‘Seriously, this blessed armor is really coming in handy.’
Reaching the top of the wall in a flash, Isaac swung his sword with a loud crick-crack! However, the sword made an unpleasant noise as it roughly scraped the troll’s skin, splattering blood everywhere. The troll screamed and retreated in response.
The once mighty sword of judgment, worn down from battling the prophet of the red flesh, had lost its ability to burn the wicked. This wound would now only leave a scar on the troll.
“I think it’s time to retreat,” Isaac uttered casually.
The trolls, screaming in a mix of fear and frustration, hurriedly descended the wall as they had climbed it. The holy knight, climbing back up the stairs a bit late, watched the retreating trolls with dismay. It was a reckless move even for a holy knight to chase after and fight a group of trolls in the isolated woods.
The aftermath of the trolls’ rampage turned the wall and the inside into chaos, leaving the clergy and nobles bewildered.
“What’s going on here?” someone inquired.
Isaac played dumb before responding, “Trolls are just the henchmen of the Red Chalice. Maybe they came here because of the curse.”
This statement darkened the clergy’s mood even further.
“If monsters are attracted here, the curse must be strong…”
“And with trolls involved, the curse’s influence could be vast.”
Contrary to popular belief among the clergy, trolls weren’t just limited to mountainous regions due to their natural regeneration and connection to the prophet of the red flesh. Some had even become minions of Hesabel after the prophet’s defeat.
“Trying to make Isaac a saint now seems pretty tricky with all this curse business going on,” Delia remarked with a hint of malice towards Bishop Juan, who visibly stiffened.
While defeating a celestial being like the prophet was undoubtedly impressive, leaving the cursed land and its suffering people behind would tarnish the supposed victory.
“Nevertheless…”
“If my actions have cursed this land and brought suffering to its people, I don’t seek any honors,” Isaac declared firmly, shutting down a young priest who tried to interject. His words, though noble, hinted at his disinterest in becoming a saint.
The clergy, unable to argue with his logic, fell into a thoughtful silence until Bishop Juan spoke up.
“Then let’s lift the curse.”
Isaac and Delia, surprised by Bishop Juan’s sudden resolve, looked at him in mild astonishment. With clarity and determination, the wrinkled Bishop outlined his plan to remain and find a way to dispel the curse.
“I’ll stay to deal with the curse. As for you all…”
Pointing at Isaac, Bishop Juan tasked them with fending off the unwelcome guests drawn by the curse to ensure the safety of the faithful inhabitants.
