Chapter 237

"Let's succeed moderately and cling to the trend to survive."

That had been Isaac's goal up until now.

Even recently, that goal had not changed. Ultimately, he aimed to make the Dawn Army successful and solidify the dominance of the Codex of Light. His intention was to achieve undeniable merits so that he could live honorably.

Isaac had steadily achieved this goal so far. Thanks to this, he had risen to a position unimaginable for an orphan from a monastery. He even beheaded a corrupt priest without facing any repercussions.

So far, so good. Until now.

But Isaac thought he needed to take one more step forward.

"What is that? Where did you get it?"

By this time, Camille's tone had become stiff.

What Isaac had taken out was the "Book of the Nameless Worm."

It was a nameless scripture that Kalsen had prepared to become a god, and Isaac had created it as a sacred object to block the backflow of Urbansus.

Isaac flipped through the book, which recorded his actions in real-time, with his fingers.

"The Nameless Chaos is a powerful god. Its minions are powerful, and each sacred object is also powerful and strange. It is not easy to restrain oneself from using that power freely."

What if Isaac had purely enjoyed the game and actively embraced the abilities of the Nameless Chaos, using them solely for his own purposes?

What if he had wielded and devoured everything like a weapon without considering the aftermath or the bigger picture for the future?

Moreover, Isaac possessed knowledge about the Nine Faiths and their future.

Isaac believed he could become the catastrophe that would bring about the end of this world.

The reason he didn't do so was simply that he considered this world as the one he would live in.

Even while living under the watchful eyes of the Codex of Light, he enjoyed its solid foundation and warm sunshine.

He could be satisfied with that.

"But despite my efforts... you all wield the dangerous knowledge of chaos as if it were a mere tool."

"You bastard, could it be...!"

Feeling the ominous aura growing stronger from the Book of the Nameless Worm, Camille was shocked and attempted to perform a miracle. The cardinal was granted the most powerful miracle, second only to the pope of the Codex of Light. With the proper rituals and procedures, she could even summon an angel.

Even an immediately manifested miracle could turn a single paladin to ashes in an instant.

At that moment, Isaac's eyes turned a deep shade of purple.

Simultaneously, a purple halo ominously emanated from above his head.

It was an ominous light that seemed to devour both light and darkness. Purple beams of light, like thorny tentacles, spread out, occupying and disintegrating all surrounding space.

"Gah!"

Camille's throat was constricted.

Isaac stood still, merely flipping through the book, yet Camille could not utter a single word, request help, or even gesture for a miracle. It was then that she realized what Isaac was doing.

Her eyes filled with shock.

Lighthouse of the Watcher

A miracle that fixed the surrounding reality into a paradise the caster desired.

Originally, only the clergy of the Codex of Light were supposed to possess such a miracle, yet it was spreading from the body of a heretic.

Isaac, with a purple halo like a crown, looked at Camille with ominous eyes. The surroundings were transforming into a terrible paradise—or rather, hell—of a heretic according to Isaac's will.

"So far, I have used this miracle to shine a light on another paradise outside the Codex of Light only once, Cardinal. It was merely an experiment to see if it was possible. Since then, I thought I would never use it again."

Camille realized that her body was grotesquely transforming. She tried to scream, but the purple light turned her mouth, tongue, teeth, and jaw into a single, amorphous mass.

Her fingers twisted into bizarre spirals, and from those twisted fingers, more fingers sprouted in a fractal pattern.

"But the Church shakes my resolve."

Isaac looked at Camille with cold eyes.

As a cardinal, she should have had some resistance to any heretical miracle. However, she had been too close to Isaac, and Isaac was pouring the full power of the Lighthouse of the Watcher into her.

Naturally, the surrounding area was also affected to some extent. The air turned into sulfuric acid, sulfur, and methane, and eyes, ears, and teeth sprouted from tree branches. The grass melted like mucus, bubbling and fizzling.

In the midst of that hellscape, Camille stood, her form twisting grotesquely.

[Oooooooooh!]

Finally, Camille, or rather, the "Monster of the Old Quarter," lost her humanity and roared with a grotesque scream.

Isaac finally closed the Book of the Nameless Worm.

"You said even the Nameless Chaos can be a tool if necessary. Very well, I agree. But you did not mean to exclude yourself from that, did you?"

***

The horrific screams that shattered the silence of the night turned the Ultenheim Cathedral upside down. The startled priests woke up and rushed outside. The Ultenheim Paladin Order, who were on guard, did the same.

"What's going on? Did the Immortal Order invade?"

"No, I don't know. Even if they did, it should be happening outside the walls, but this..."

"They say they heard screams from the back courtyard! Something's happening there..."

The paladins and priests hurried toward the back courtyard. However, the corridor they were heading down collapsed with a loud crash. Clouds of dust rose, and screams erupted from all around.

"Aaaargh!"

[Oooooooooh!]

Another monstrous roar drowned out the screams. The head of the Ultenheim Paladin Order, Erheim, who had been at the front and got buried under the corridor's rubble, dug himself out and rushed outside. Thanks to this, he was the first to see the monster that had attacked Ultenheim Cathedral.

"What the..."

Its silhouette appeared through the dust clouds—a gigantic giant nearly ten meters tall. The giant, with pale skin, stood among the twisted trees, its thirteen arms, which grew haphazardly, flailing and reaching toward the sky, while its lower body was fixed like a pillar, rooting into the ground.

It seemed as if an unknown entity awkwardly mimicked a tree, mocking the heavens.

Erheim felt a primal revulsion.

"Paladins, assemble! A heretical angel has invaded! We must hold out until the priests can summon an angel!"

Erheim didn't know exactly what it was, but he assumed it must be some heretical angel. Even if it wasn't an angel, if it was powerful enough to break through the walls of Ultenheim and the miracles surrounding the cathedral, they had to respond at that level.

"Form four squads with the senior knights as leaders and attack from all sides! We don't know the enemy's abilities, so approach defensively! Respond as safely as possible! Vice-Captain Cedric, find out where this thing infiltrated from!"

The Ultenheim Paladin Order, the elite among elites, did not panic despite the sudden situation and proceeded with their extermination mission according to protocol. However, Erheim couldn't shake his doubts.

There were no signs of breaches or attacks in the surroundings.

'So it was summoned here, but by whom, right in the middle of Ultenheim Cathedral?'

The monster began to thrash its arms more aggressively as it was attacked, causing widespread destruction and collapse throughout the cathedral. However, as the attack continued, unsettling reports followed.

"Captain Erheim, miracles aren't working!"

"...Miracles aren't working?"

For dealing with such grotesque entities, miracles were more effective than physical attacks. A paladin's sword, imbued with holy flames, should work, yet reports kept coming that they weren't causing proper damage.

As the dust and moonlight settled, the creature's form became clearer. Its twisted shape, with wrinkled skin like tree bark, was adorned with all kinds of sacred objects—relics, vestments, and icons—in a grotesque array.

It was unclear how these sacred objects, which should have been treated with reverence, ended up in the monster's possession, but it was evident that these relics were preventing miracles from working. The paladins were horrified by the blasphemous sight. Even while continuing its assault, some of the monster's hands made gestures as if crossing themselves and praying.

Each time it made those gestures, an intangible force radiated like a miracle, causing further destruction throughout the cathedral.

The creature itself was an abominable blasphemy.

"Damn it..."

Erheim cursed as he prepared to join the fight, frustrated by the monster's seemingly mocking movements. At that moment, he saw someone wielding a sword of light, charging through the dimly lit forest. The figure swiftly passed the paladins and, with a shining sword strike, severed the monster's wrist.

[Oooooooooh!]

The monster roared in agony, twisting its body. Seeing the previously invulnerable creature's wrist being severed, Erheim couldn't help but shout in exhilaration.

"The Holy Grail Knight!"

***

'It's taken on a more grotesque form than I expected.'

Isaac had distanced himself from the area immediately after the monster appeared, knowing that being found nearby would raise suspicion. Fortunately, only Camille, who had now turned into the monster, knew that Isaac had gone to the courtyard.

The cathedral was now nearly a third destroyed by the monster that Camille had become.

Camille had requested Isaac to prevent incidents in the old quarter. While resolving that task, Isaac had successfully preempted a monster that might have appeared in the old quarter.

However, by turning Camille into a monster, it ended up with a monster in the old quarter after all.

'Honestly, she dug her own grave.'

"Holy Grail Knight! The creature uses invisible powers! Be careful!"

The injured paladins, who had fallen from the attacks, called out while protecting themselves with miracles. Isaac nodded. Although others couldn't see it, Isaac's chaotic eyes could.

It was likely because the miracles were created by the Doctrine of Chaos.

Camille, now a monster, had more than just thirteen hands. Four long, invisible hands were waving in the air, praising the heavens. These hands moved to strike only when the other hands made prayer gestures.

As the monster Camille swung her hands fiercely, seemingly enraged by Isaac, she made a strange praying motion, aiming at Isaac. Being able to see the invisible hands, Isaac easily dodged. The movements were too large to be difficult to avoid, the problem was merely their invisibility.

"No way..."

"Who is that man?"

To the surrounding paladins, Isaac appeared to be evading invisible attacks with a miraculous ability.

Isaac continued his assault. Although miracles did not work, slashing attacks with his sword did.

The creature was too large, and it was unclear where its head was, making it difficult to kill it instantly. However, Isaac slashed and wounded its body as if chopping down a tree.

The monster Camille tried to crush Isaac with its grotesque hands, but she was far too slow for Isaac, who had evaded even Elil's swordsmanship.

The ground around them was soaked with the monster Camille's red blood. Priests arriving at the scene were horrified and began performing sealing and exorcism rites.

As the sacred hymns and prayers began to flow, the monster Camille's movements visibly slowed and weakened. Just as Isaac made a deep slash to its waist, causing it to stagger and fall.

Isaac seized the moment and shouted.

"Now!"

The paladins understood immediately and charged en masse. Dozens of weapons, wrapped in miracles, simultaneously tore into the monster Camille's body.

'What a pitiful end for a cardinal.'

Isaac felt a strange sense of satisfaction at the ironic and tragic end of Camille, who had once been revered by the Church.