Chapter 250

The Millennium Kingdom was the ultimate goal of the Codex of Light, and the position of an Archangel was something all believers aspired to.

Refusing it was akin to confessing, "I am a suspicious person with plans to apostatize."

Isaac decided to accept this as positively as possible.

The Church would now make him perform all sorts of menial tasks to achieve the feats necessary to become an Archangel, but it would also bring him closer to the inner workings of the Church with considerable authority.

Ensuring that no one could accuse him of being a heretic with undeniable authority was exactly what Isaac wanted.

'At least, the blessing of a naming ceremony will remain just a proclamation for now.'

Given the precedent of the exemplary Elil, who had become an angel during his lifetime and then went berserk, all angels were only named after their death. Even if Isaac accepted the proclamation (not that he had any choice), no one knew what might happen in the meantime.

'There's no chance they'll make me the Ninth Faith like Kalsen, right...?'

Kalsen had been a virtuous Paladin, but Isaac was an Agent of Nameless Chaos. They couldn't make Isaac the Ninth Faith as that would effectively aid in the return of Nameless Chaos.

In other words, they couldn't use and discard Isaac like they did Kalsen. Instead, they tempted him with the grand reward of becoming an Archangel, ensuring he wouldn't dream of bringing back Nameless Chaos.

The Church also gained something. By enticing Isaac, who was navigating between the Emperor and the Order, firmly to their side with the trials to become an Archangel, they would secure his allegiance.

Both sides wanted to hold Isaac's leash.

'Fine. Whether an angel or the Pope, they all want to hold my leash. They might not realize that holding a leash means having a ferocious beast right next to them.'

Even without all this fuss, Isaac supported the order pursued by the Codex of Light. In some ways, his faith was stronger than that of many priests in the Order.

He didn't want other faiths to dominate the world.

Yet, the reason these people constantly doubted and guarded against him was that they were believers.

Believers were always trying to prove their faith. Paradoxically, because Isaac was not a believer, he pursued the values of the Codex of Light more diligently than anyone else.

"...Then, I will humbly accept the proclamation. I only hope that my inadequacies do not bring shame to the Codex of Light."

At Isaac's response, Horhel smiled. He grasped Isaac's hands tightly and prayed sincerely.

"This is truly a blessed event, Brother Isaac! I hope you will become a great sword of the Church. If there are any difficulties, please do not hesitate to tell me. I will actively assist you."

Isaac's eyes gleamed at his words.

"Thank you for saying so first, Brother Horhel. In that case, may I immediately speak about my current trial, or rather, my business?"

Horhel, taken aback by Isaac's sudden change in tone, stammered for the first time in front of him.

"Of c-course, go ahead..."

"As you might have seen on your way here, this estate is a poor village. I could not ignore the believers who gathered here upon hearing my humble reputation, so I accepted them. However, I have not been able to pay detailed attention to the management of the estate due to my noble journey."

"For that, the roads are quite well-maintained..."

"To maintain the faith of the believers who firmly believe that tomorrow's sun will rise, it is paramount to feed and shelter them well. If rumors spread that I might be named, even more hungry believers will flock here. In such a case, would it be right for me to leave on a journey, leaving the hungry believers behind...?"

In simple terms, he was asking for money.

As Isaac continued to talk endlessly about welfare plans and ways to raise funds without giving Horhel a chance to speak, Horhel finally excused himself, saying that he would leave the details to Bishop Ramarié, and left.

Watching Horhel leave, Isaac thought.

'They may know how to move and split the world, but they don't know how to cook rice or count coins.'

It seemed they were so occupied with grand plans in the heavens that they couldn't see the small stones on the ground. Thinking this, he understood Horhel's shabby appearance and thin body.

Wearing the authority of the heavens, they probably didn't care about clothes, and delicious food was likely considered a base desire.

But did he realize that faith originally started from the lowly people?

Perhaps Bishop Juan was truly a rare gem.

'Now, let's see, what about Bishop Ramarié of Lenheim Cathedral?'

Bishop Ramarié appeared reluctant when he came to negotiate the "business" with Isaac. However, lacking the courage to flatly refuse the proposal of someone who might soon be named an Archangel, Ramarié had no choice but to provide substantial support to Isaac, which felt like cutting off his own flesh.

Isaac gave him a lower score than Juan.

***

After Bishop Ramarié left, Isaac thought about the White Owl.

Nephilim inherited the miracle of the faith that gave birth to them.

However, the White Owl was an angel from the Codex of Light, and Isaac possessed the miracle of Nameless Chaos. Herein lay the logical contradiction.

'So did the White Owl switch to the miracle of Nameless Chaos?'

While not impossible, Isaac thought it unlikely. All those who knew the true name of Nameless Chaos had died. Angels were unlikely to be exceptions. If any survived, it would mean there were still those who knew the true name of Nameless Chaos.

There was another possibility.

Naturally, children were not born alone.

If the White Owl had been cast out due to procreation, it implied there was a partner involved.

'Since the White Owl seems to be female, let's assume she's the mother. Then, there must have been a father too.'

Thinking of prophets of the Red Flesh engaging in intercourse made Isaac feel nauseous. But it was natural for children to feel this way when imagining their parents having s*x.

Though the appearances of the angels of the Codex of Light were different from those of the Red Chalice, they were equally strange in their own ways.

Suppressing his vivid imagination, Isaac continued to speculate about his unknown father.

It was more likely that the one who inherited the faith of Nameless Chaos was on that side.

It seemed odd that the White Owl inherited the faith of Nameless Chaos while ignoring the lineage of the Codex of Light, but by that time, she might have already apostatized. Although she retained the holiness of an angel, she had no faith to pass down.

'Could it be that both parents were angels?'

Children born from the union between humans and angels were called Nephilim. There was no specific term for offspring born between two angels. Nevertheless, it didn't seem impossible. It would only further appall the gods, who were already enforcing birth control policies.

Just thinking about the eyes of Sword of May rubbing together made Isaac feel even more uneasy.

It was a scene that could drive someone insane. That such beings could even reproduce was as shocking as realizing that their parents were perverts.

'This is giving me a headache... No, I need to figure out how to interrogate Kalsen first.'

Isaac thought about Kalsen, who resided in his belly, only popping out when it suited him to say what he wanted before disappearing again. If he wished, he could try to communicate through meditation, but torturing a dead man to extract answers was frustratingly impossible.

Of course, the secret of his birth wouldn't affect his future actions.

Still, he couldn't help but suspect that his birth might have been part of some grand scheme. Even if he tried not to let it bother him, the idea of being a mere pawn on a chessboard was irksome.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door. Before Isaac could even answer, the door burst open, and Ulsten walked in.

It was an action only a dwarf could do, even to an Archangel, without caring about the consequences.

"Sorry for barging in like this, Holy Grail Knight. I noticed the priests had left."

"It's fine. You mentioned you had something to discuss?"

"Yes. I was worried the priests might be here because of that, but seeing them leave, it seems not, thankfully."

Isaac decided to shift his focus to this new topic.

Secrets of his birth and the gods' grand plans were just headaches and didn't help with his current goals. In comparison, the fascinating items the dwarf might create or the monsters he could immediately kill and devour were far more interesting.

"Something that would concern the priests? That sounds intriguing. What is it?"

"...Are you alright? That doesn't seem like something a Holy Grail Knight should say."

"Oops."

Isaac realized he had momentarily lost his composure and quickly refocused his thoughts.

"I'm fine now. What was it that you found?"

"It's something you're quite familiar with. It's better if I show you."

***

The place Ulsten led him to was the abandoned mine where the fallen angel was buried.

Isaac found it curious that he ended up here right after discussing fallen angels with the priests.

For the first time, he felt a personal curiosity about the fallen angel.

Until now, to him, the fallen angel was merely a "useful rare material," but the thought that she might be his biological mother made him naturally curious.

'Surely, she couldn't be the White Owl.'

If so, Isaac had been farming his mother's remains to create items. That would be an exceptionally creative level of impiety.

However, Isaac thought that wasn't likely. Usually, Archangels had very distinctive appearances, but the fallen angel found in the mine had the "typical" appearance of an angel from the Codex of Light.

Isaac and Ulsten finally arrived before the fallen angel statue.

The fallen angel was still petrified in the wall. Isaac thought Ulsten had likely stripped away much of it to create items, but surprisingly, only one wing was half damaged.

"I told you to use as much as you needed for your creations and even sell it for funds if necessary, yet you didn't take much."

Ulsten's expression turned subtle.

"I told them not to sell it. Nor to strip it."

Isaac looked at him quizzically, and Ulsten resumed walking.

"What I wanted to show you is deeper inside."

Not showing the progress on the fallen angel's work?

Isaac followed him, feeling a bit puzzled.

Ulsten navigated the twisted pathways of the abandoned mine as if he had the map in his head. Isaac would have surely gotten lost if he had come alone.

"Could you just tell me what it is? Is there a monster down here?"

"It's worse than that. It can't be explained with words. You'll understand once you see it."

Isaac followed Ulsten, wondering what could be so intriguing. As the walk continued, Isaac started to ponder again.

"Ulsten, have you ever felt like you were just a pawn on a chessboard?"

"A pawn? That's a luxurious thought. Aren't you all just pawns of the gods anyway?"

Isaac was taken aback by this near-blasphemous statement. But then he remembered that the god of World's Forge was currently absent. It was said that the god was in a massive furnace beneath the earth, melting and refining his body in preparation for rebirth.

In other words, he was not a chess player.

Isaac was about to respond, but Ulsten didn't give him the chance.

"Pawns don't think such thoughts. If they could, they'd already be the chess players."

It was a statement full of pride and dignity, befitting a dwarf. As Isaac tried to ponder its meaning, they came to a narrow passage that required him to stoop as low as Ulsten. The moment he passed through, the air suddenly turned cold.

They entered an open space with clear air. It was air that didn't fit this deep underground.

"Here..."

"Light it up."

Already illuminating the area with the Luadin Key, Isaac was surprised to find that the light didn't reach beyond where they stood. This indicated that the underground chamber was enormous. He intensified the light from the Luadin Key until the far side barely came into view.

Ulsten then struck the holy relic he was holding and threw it. The blazing relic illuminated the surroundings like daylight as it floated up slowly.

Isaac finally saw the scale of the chamber.

An incomprehensibly vast space opened up before them. Isaac was stunned to realize that such an absurd abyss existed beneath his estate. It was large enough to warrant concern over sinkholes or collapses.

But Ulsten wasn't showing this space for its own sake.

He quietly pointed to a massive stone structure exposed in a collapsed dirt pile opposite them. Isaac, seeing the strange patterns, initially thought of a hidden ruin, but as he approached and saw up close, he realized what it was.

Ulsten's words about an "interesting discovery" were a gross understatement.

Isaac felt fear before he could even feel awe. It was an unfathomable number of fallen angels. Fallen angels tangled, clashed, and crushed together like garbage buried under earth and debris. Their number had to be calculated by area, not by count.

Isaac tried to estimate the scale of the fallen angels buried under the dirt but gave up, feeling overwhelmed.

At this scale, almost the entire deep underground of the Issacrea Monastery could be filled with fallen angels.