Paladin of the Dead God

Chapter 298: On the Opposite Side of the Scale (5)

Isaac’s knowledge of the Midas’ Hand was limited to it being a relic with the power to turn everything it touched into gold. He still remembered the scene that unfolded when he acquired the Midas’ Hand. He became an agent of the Golden Idol, and the whole world turned to gold.

However, Leonora pointed out that he was “mistaken” about this fact.

So, Isaac responded firmly.

“Mistaken? You’re the one who’s got it wrong.”

Isaac didn’t know where Leonora had gotten her information, but he had experienced it firsthand. How could she dare to contradict him?

But Leonora replied confidently.

“If there were a relic that could produce gold, the Golden Idol Guild would be the first to do whatever it takes to destroy it. Think about it. If a relic that mass-produced gold existed, what would happen to the value of gold?”

“That would…”

Leonora continued before Isaac could respond.

“The market would crash, and the gold we have would be treated like grains of sand—or perhaps sand would be more valuable since there’s no relic that produces it. The Golden Idol Guild, which holds the most gold, would go bankrupt, don’t you think?”

“…True.”

“Why would we waste time and resources to find something like that?”

Isaac had been asking himself that very question.

The answer “because it’s required to win” didn’t apply here. In the game, it might lead to an ending, but in this world, life continued beyond that point.

This meant that the Midas’ Hand had something far more valuable than merely overwhelming other faiths.

“Then what exactly is the Midas’ Hand?”

Leonora smiled at Isaac’s question.

“Would you like to join the Golden Idol Guild?”

“What?”

“What I’m about to tell you is known only to the inner circle of the Golden Idol Guild’s upper echelons. Sir Isaac, you’re more than qualified. If you join us, I’ll share it with you immediately.”

[The Nameless Chaos is watching you.]

A warning followed, as if to say it was observing closely. Isaac had no intention of joining, and the fact that even the Nameless Chaos reacted like this left him both exasperated and amused.

Isaac bared his teeth and scattered Kaldwin.

“No thanks. I don’t need you to tell me. I’m taking Angela.”

“This… this is troublesome…”

Leonora bit her nails and looked at Isaac with desperate eyes. She was facing someone she didn’t want to antagonize over someone she couldn’t afford to lose.

Leonora didn’t like this situation at all.

“Sir Holy Grail Knight, why don’t we cooperate? If you join hands with me, the Golden Idol Guild can provide your Dawn Army with far more resources and support, equipping them better for the expedition.”

“I don’t need it.”

“Please, reconsider. Think about what it means to receive support from the Golden Idol Guild. More abundant supplies mean a safer and more successful campaign, which also means fewer casualties. Isn’t it our duty to send as many young men home alive and whole?”

“…”

“Would you really ignore the cries of all the orphans, widows, and children who’ve lost their parents just because of one little girl? Isn’t that hypocrisy?”

Leonora whispered seductively, exploiting Isaac’s sensitive conscience.

Isaac never considered himself a kind person, but he did feel guilty about dragging people into war for his own goals. He felt it was his responsibility to bring as many of them back safe and sound.

Save the one girl before him, or save countless children from losing their parents somewhere else.

‘Here we go again…’

Isaac felt his nerves fraying at this all-too-familiar conflict.

This was Leonora’s usual tactic. She always presented a seemingly obvious choice, pushing her target toward her desired outcome.

What made it so frustrating was that her words often sounded right.

Isaac’s conscience began to twist painfully. After all, this was just one girl, whose real name he didn’t even know and with whom he had no deep bond.

If he let go of this one girl, he could return countless soldiers—men who trusted him—to their families whole and unharmed.

“I…”

However, at that moment, something shook Isaac to his core.

[The Nameless Chaos is watching you.]

[The Nameless Chaos wants you to ‘take Angela to Holy Land Lua.’]

[A reward of Chaos awaits you.]

***

“Sir Holy Grail Knight?”

Leonora called out, suspiciously, as Isaac, who had been on the verge of speaking, stared blankly into space. But Isaac, after a long moment of gazing into the void, burst into laughter.

Leonora worried that he might suddenly lose his mind and start swinging his sword, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.

‘Has the Nameless Chaos ever given a mission for someone else’s sake?’

So far, the Nameless Chaos had only ever assigned missions for Isaac or for itself. A mission to protect someone, especially one that could be a long-term task, was a first.

Isaac didn’t delude himself into thinking that the Nameless Chaos had suddenly grown compassionate.

This mission was for Isaac’s own inner turmoil.

Isaac stopped laughing and looked at Leonora.

“Well, it seems I’ve received a divine message. I have no choice. I really wanted to take your advice for the sake of my soldiers, but unfortunately, I have to take Angela. I’m truly conflicted.”

Until now, Isaac had refused the Nameless Chaos’ commands whenever he found them disagreeable.

But this time, he had no inclination to refuse.

“A divine message?”

Leonora’s face contorted.

She clicked her tongue as if she suddenly understood Isaac’s erratic behavior.

“Damn these gods… Huffis!”

Leonora pulled out a relic she had prepared for emergencies from her coat. As the golden scroll unfurled with a sharp snap, waves of golden threads spread out like a flood.

Isaac realized that Leonora intended to summon a divine beast with the relic.

“Huffis? The Happy Cat Huffis? How troublesome.”

The surging golden threads coalesced into a massive, six-legged golden cat. True to her efficient nature, Leonora immediately climbed back into the carriage and fled the scene. The coachman quickly turned the carriage and sped toward Renheim.

The moment Isaac moved to follow, Huffis swiped at him with one of its six legs.

Bang! It was just a cat’s soft paw, but when it was ten meters long and weighed several tons, the impact it left on the ground was devastating. Huffis watched Isaac with curious eyes, occasionally raising and lowering its paw as if playing with a mouse.

Isaac couldn’t help but smile wryly at his sudden role reversal, now feeling like a trapped mouse.

“Meow?”

Isaac tried to communicate, though he wasn’t sure if it was cat language for “Come at me.” Huffis let out a sharp cry and extended its claws to slash at Isaac.

Isaac countered the claws with Kaldwin, but the sheer weight of the attack struck him with massive force.

Huffis’s assault didn’t stop there. Frustrated that its attacks weren’t effective, it began to shake its body, releasing countless strands of golden threads that enveloped Isaac.

Isaac swung his sword desperately, but the threads didn’t cut; they felt soft, like striking feathers. Only when he enveloped his blade in sword energy did he manage to sever some.

However, where the threads touched, he began to feel his limbs grow numb, and his wariness and tension toward Huffis gradually faded. Even his sword energy waned.

The threads had the power to absorb hostility and anger.

This was an extreme disadvantage against Isaac’s sword aura, which bristled with killing intent.

“They neutralize even sword energy? This is ridiculous.”

Huffis was a divine beast summoned not to kill but to subdue. Like a cat, it would often bat its prey around until it was near death, and if the opponent was particularly troublesome, it might kill them. But typically, it just toyed with its target.

Isaac, however, had no intention of meekly allowing himself to be caught like a mouse.

“Let’s see who’s got the fluffier fur.”

Muttering nonsense to himself, Isaac unleashed the new ability he had recently gained.

The moment “Hidden Rite” activated, a curtain of chaos softly enveloped the area.

***

Huffis didn’t immediately realize something was amiss.

It was nighttime, and the darkness made it difficult to sense the changes. Soon, the stars in the sky, the fresh scent of the forest, and the hoots of owls vanished, replaced by a tepid, sticky atmosphere.

More than anything, the sensation of being connected to Urvansus was severed.

A disquieting feeling set in, akin to being submerged in water.

Realizing this, Huffis sprang up in a frantic leap, flailing the threads it controlled as they scattered in all directions.

Isaac seized this moment to escape, watching Huffis thrash around violently.

He felt a twinge of regret at tormenting the creature after always telling his followers not to harm animals.

“Then again, Huffis has six legs, so maybe it’s more of an insect than an animal?”

The thought seemed fitting. It was better to frame it that way given the awful things Isaac was about to do.

Rather than struggling to cut Huffis with Kaldwin, this seemed the more sensible approach.

Isaac raised his hands, positioning them to encircle Huffis.

“Touch of Chaos.”

The tentacles of the Nameless Chaos extended from the darkness, starting with a few strands but quickly multiplying.

This battle was an experiment for Isaac. How effective would chaotic miracles be within this space filled with colors from beyond, and how powerful could they become?

Testing the power of the darkness was as simple as seeing whether the cat inside the box would survive when the curtain broke.

As expected, the tentacles extended fluidly as if they were Isaac’s own limbs. In this place, the colors from beyond felt like extensions of Isaac himself. Here, Isaac could unleash miracles and devour his opponent freely.

Huffis sensed the abnormality and flailed desperately, batting away the tentacles. But as their numbers increased, more and more tentacles began to wrap around Huffy’s limbs.

A horrifying scream echoed through the darkness.

***

Leonora repeatedly leaned out the carriage window, peering anxiously behind her. The coachman warned her to stop, fearing the danger, but she couldn’t help herself.

Huffis had never let her down before, but she had never deployed it against the Holy Grail Knight, a man who could even slay angels.

Boom!

Suddenly, a heavy thud resounded atop the speeding carriage.

The coachman, feeling the shock, quickly drew his sword and swung it, only for pain to shoot through his wrist as his blade was knocked into the woods.

“Stop the carriage if you don’t want to end up crashed in the forest.”

Isaac, somehow having caught up and climbed onto the carriage roof, stared down at them with a chilling expression.

The coachman gritted his teeth and reluctantly brought the carriage to a halt. Isaac leapt down, wrenching the door open to reveal Leonora, biting her lip.

Isaac ignored her and reached for Angela, gently helping her down.

Leonora muttered as she watched the scene.

“No persuasion or threats work on you, do they?”

“Not true. Persuasion works on me sometimes—especially when accompanied by bribes.”

Leonora thought Isaac was joking, but he was dead serious.

If the Nameless Chaos hadn’t assigned this mission, even Isaac couldn’t say where his heart would have leaned.

“Did you kill Huffis?”

“No.”

Isaac tossed the battered scroll back at her.

“But it might be a little stressed after losing some fur. Make sure to give it a dark space and some wet food.”

“What on earth are you…?”

Before Leonora could finish, Isaac grabbed her face, and golden hairs sprouted from his hand, embedding themselves in her skin.

It was a benefit gained after devouring Huffis’s fur.

[You have devoured ‘Fur of Happy Cat, Huffis (A).’]

[Efficiency of consumption increases with the ‘Intestines of the Dead God’ perk.]

[You have acquired the ‘Anger Reduction (Temporary)’ perk.]

[Temporary perks are maintained until digestion is complete.]

Isaac sensed Leonora’s defiance dim and whispered to her softly.

“Keep your temper down, just for a little while. Please.”