In A Fantasy World I Can Absorbs Abilities

"It is time to prove your faith. Drive out the intruders and sing the praises of Radiance. Show divine wrath to those who dare set foot on sacred ground!"

The priests rose in unison, their movements mechanical yet brimming with fervor. In their eyes burned a blind madness—a willingness to sacrifice everything in the name of their god and to fulfill His will.

But they would not wield weapons directly. Instead, they would prove their existence by shedding noble blood upon the altar.

At the root of their faith lay an old hypocrisy and contradiction.

These Silent Priests called themselves "noble beings" in the name of the divine. Born as illegitimate children of high-ranking clergy, they firmly believed their bloodlines had been chosen by God.

Marriage among clergy was forbidden within the order, allegedly so that they might dedicate everything to the divine.

Yet reality told a different story.

Secret relationships were commonplace. The children born of such unions were quietly absorbed back into the order and raised as clergy themselves. Over time, this formed a kind of informal adoption system.

After all, even Radiance Himself was said to have taken twenty-four wives at the dawn of time. With such a precedent, it was no wonder the order had grown so indulgent.

It was an open secret within the church, but no one dared challenge it. Instead, they justified it as divine providence.

"We are tools of God. Our bodies are merely vessels. True purity comes from within."

Under such teachings, morality and ethics dissolved beneath the name of faith.

At the center of the plaza stood a sacred altar. The priests gathered one by one around it.

"Now! Offer your noble blood to Radiance! Voluntary sacrifice is the most beloved offering in His eyes!"

Agrippa spread his arms wide as he shouted.

The priests gripped their daggers tightly, stealing glances at one another. The blade was a sacred ritual tool, and spilling their own blood with it was considered the greatest act of devotion.

As each priest bled at the altar, a strange fervor filled the square—not reverence, but collective madness.

It was hard to see this as a holy rite of the continent's most dominant religion. It looked more like a gathering of zealots offering human sacrifices to a dark god.

Agrippa watched the self-harming priests, deep in thought, as if entranced by something.

The Holy Knights—tasked with defending the island—had already left at the Pope's summons. Even so, Agrippa was confident.

Once the Silent Priests had sacrificed their bodies and souls, they would amass enough power to stand against their enemies.

But first, there was something he needed to do.

He looked for Julius, the young priest who had brought him news earlier.

"Julius! Where is Priest Julius?"

A hawk-nosed priest, overseeing the bloodletting rites, responded.

No one quite understood why Agrippa protected that novice so fiercely. But on the Isle of Silence, a bishop's words were law.

"Priest Julius has returned to the shoreline," the priest reported.

Agrippa clicked his tongue in frustration.

The enemy would arrive soon—it was too dangerous for him to be there.

Repelling the enemy was important, but protecting Julius took precedence.

He cursed himself for not foreseeing this. If only I hadn't sent him away in the name of experience...

Letting out a sigh, Agrippa scanned the area. His eyes landed on the combat monks—warrior priests secretly raised by the Holy Nation.

They had been born and trained solely to defend the Isle of Silence.

"Bring Julius back here. Immediately."

At the bishop's command, the warrior monks moved without hesitation.

Their robes fluttered in the wind like sweeping shadows. Beneath the coarse black fabric, the glint of metal armor could be seen, and their footsteps pounded heavily against the earth.

Their minds were completely devoted—entirely conditioned to obey the bishop's orders.

Find Priest Julius and bring him back!

High above, Marcus hovered in the sky, puzzled as he observed the scene below.

He had taken to the air for a patrol while Drake and the sailors focused on rescuing the captured mage.

[Michael, what in the world are those people doing to themselves? Are they trying to tenderize their flesh or something? If so, wouldn't it be quicker to just slit their throats? And why are they doing it voluntarily?]

Alfred responded instead, his expression grim.

"They're offering the power within their bloodlines to Radiance. They believe shedding their own blood is the highest form of devotion. In truth, Radiance is no different from the ancient evil gods."

Michael, too, stared down at the ritual with a hardened face.

Each time blood spilled across the stone, an unsettling pulse seemed to echo across the island.

Suddenly, the compass hanging from his neck—Ariadne's Compass—began to glow.

[Target confirmed. A direct male-line descendant of Luciano, last prince of the Kingdom of Helena, has been found.]

The compass's light stretched outward, pointing toward a rock formation along the shoreline.

Michael's gaze followed it—landing on a blond priest hiding behind the rocks.

That one… is a direct descendant of Radiance? Well, this just got a whole lot more interesting.

Julius panted heavily, pressing his body against the rock for cover.

His heart pounded violently, and fear made his breath come shorter and faster with every moment.

His thin garments had long since been soaked with sweat, and his palms were just as damp.

Clutching the rock tightly, Julius forced himself to suppress the creeping anxiety. His face had turned pale from fear.

Once fair and healthy, his skin had lost all color, shadowed by terror.

His deep blue eyes scanned relentlessly through the crevices in the rock, constantly on alert.

Swallowing became a laborious effort, each gulp scraping faintly down his throat.

Julius inhaled deeply once more, but no amount of breath could calm the turmoil in his heart.

This place—this sacred, inviolable Island of Silence—was never supposed to inspire such fear.

What kind of place was this island?

It was a sanctuary untouched by any foul hand of the world, the land where the Radiant One had been born and where He now lay in rest.

Even the protective barrier was imbued with the power left behind by the Radiant One.