The Saintess Awakens (2)
Eli said nothing.
The knights exchanged uneasy glances.
“L-Lord Eli?”
Still, no answer came.
That silence turned the knights' faces deathly pale.
We shouldn't have said it after all…!!
They had agonized over it themselves, of course. But the knights of the Blue Faith were bound by one iron rule: every word, without exception, was to be reported to the head of the house.
Even if Isaac's words were… problematic, Lord Eli had to know.
Yes. That was the rule. And yet.
They stole furtive glances at Eli, who stood rooted to the spot like a statue.
Well, whatever else might be said, every knight in the house knew that Eli adored Isaac.
Of course the shock would be devastating…
The knights scrambled to change the subject.
“M-My lord, surely the young master only meant that in the sense that—”
“…No. It's fine. Isaac has grown remarkable.”
My lord, you just swayed on your feet.
“No, truly, well done. Don't concern yourself with this old man for now. We should head back to the estate.”
My lord… your face is not okay.
But Eli insisted he was fine. And in truth, he genuinely believed he was.
“For that brat to worry about the family's future at all? That alone is a leap and a half.”
…A leap and a half, is it?
“Given the circumstances, it's the wise choice. Besides, if that's the worst thing he said, we should count ourselves lucky.”
At that, the knights flinched and averted their eyes. If that was the sanitized version, they didn't dare imagine what had been left out.
But well—if the lord said he was fine, that was a mercy.
Maybe we'll get through this after al—
“A grandson who means to kill his own grandfather. How impressive.”
Thud. Eli staggered as the Pope's blade found its mark. And the Pope had no intention of sheathing his tongue.
“Blood worth more than the lives of a dozen grandfathers, spilt.”
A dagger sharper than any steel flew out and buried itself in Eli's chest. His heart ached as though it were bleeding. Honestly, it hurt more than the time a magic beast had torn through his gut.
“Kgh…”
“My lord!”
“I needn't lift a finger. The Blue Faith will destroy itself. No—in a sense, is that not fitting for an heir? Yes. A true successor ought to be prepared to take his predecessor's head.”
The damage to Eli looked considerable.
…Damn it. Whose head, exactly?
He wanted to deny it, but if it was Isaac—honestly, the boy probably was more than capable of it, and that left Eli with nothing to say.
At the sight of him, Melissa snorted in exasperation.
“Sulking over words like that? A grown grandfather, being petty. You wrap your grandson in love, you fool.”
Then the lord of the house replied, deadpan.
“…Swap in your own name and think about it. Imagine Isaac saying that to you.”
Melissa narrowed her lovely brows and tilted her head.
“Even if you put it that way, I still don't see the problem.”
—Grandmother, honestly, it wouldn't matter to me if you dropped dead.
Melissa froze solid in an instant, wearing the face of someone watching the world end.
“Matriarch!!!”
At the rare spectacle of Melissa—the woman felled by nothing in this world—swaying on her feet, the knights nearly screamed.
Before long, the Pope laughed.
Truthfully, the news that Isaac Eschua was heading for the estate had been a genuine surprise.
But…
“Whatever. Losing one is of no consequence.”
“!”
“Unlike the unfilial wretches in your bloodline, mine obeys my every word. Your grandson's little errand changes nothing.”
He unleashed his holy power, making it plain he had no intention of letting either Melissa or Eli slip away.
“I only need to keep the two of you.”
The moment the Pope gathered his strength, Melissa—who had been half-dead from shock not a minute prior—snapped her eyes open.
“Not a step!”
Her monstrous strength clamped down on the Pope like a vise.
BOOM!!!
The Saintess's holy power shattered the monastery's barrier in a single blow.
In the same breath, Melissa shouted:
“Eli! I'll deal with this bastard—go after Isaac!”
Yeah… right.
The lord of House Eschua immediately gestured to summon his divine beast—but he looked somehow bitter about it.
Meanwhile, the unfilial grandson in question was making his way toward the Papal Court.
In truth, Isaac had already guessed something had happened to Eli.
So when the lord's necklace shattered and the dark-blue butterfly signaling the head of house's distress appeared, he hadn't moved at once.
Grandfather's holy power hasn't vanished.
Unlike ordinary humans, Isaac could sense everyone around him through the Skeleton Demon King's mana. That was why, even when the distress signal arrived, he'd known at a glance whether this was Eli collapsing—or merely a broken necklace.
And at the same time, the vast power radiating from the Pope behind it all let him piece together the entire situation.
So it's a dirty little trick.
A man with that much power, refusing to clash head-on? That wasn't strategy—that was someone trying to hobble his opponent.
Which was exactly why he hadn't turned toward Eli, and had made straight for the Eschua estate instead.
Well, sure, Grandfather matters—but the family's future money-lines matter more!
[Ah, Master. Truly, the unfilial behavior is beyond words.]
“What? The old man likes me better for it anyway. This is all for the family, as your future young lord.”
[…That's not what you actually think, is it?]
By the time Isaac reached the estate, however, an unexpected piece of news was waiting for him.
—What? Benyamin and Joseph are gone?
—Ah… yes! Both of them have disappeared, so…
—Lord Benyamin went white as a sheet and rode out.
He immediately contacted Shavnak, whom he'd left in the capital.
She'd been sabotaging the Gold Faction's attempt to move on Berith, exactly as Isaac had ordered, and she reported:
—The Gold Cardinal visited Benyamin Eschua's son. Afterward, he appears to have vanished, leaving only a letter behind. Upon reading it, Benyamin Eschua set out for the Papal Court.
There was no need to guess what had happened.
The Gold Cardinal kidnapped Joseph.
“And what the letter says needs no imagination either.”
[And what would that be?]
“Something like Joseph declaring he'll offer himself as the living sacrifice. A farewell note, more or less.”
[Really?]
“As if. It's the Gold Cardinal's handiwork.”
A son of Benyamin's—a man with no sense of holy duty whatsoever—sacrificing himself for a Saintess's awakening? Please.
These bastards are nastier than I gave them credit for.
[What do you mean?]
“It's a trap. No parent can bear to watch their child be offered up as a sacrifice. So they took Joseph to bait Benyamin.”
Whisper sounded baffled.
[Why are they so obsessed with the living sacrifice?]
“They're not obsessed with the sacrifice. They're obsessed with Benyamin.”
[Why? The man's Rank 0. He has no power at all.]
“Exactly. At this point, that's what's suspicious.”
Isaac chewed on it for a moment, then curled his lips upward.
…Power. Ah, right. The archive, is it?
He'd assumed it was simple vendetta—the Supreme God, revenge, the whole grudge.
“Benyamin revived the librarian of the archive.”
The grudge was real, no doubt. But clearly, there was something in that archive the Pope could not afford to see the light of day.
“And Joseph carries Benyamin's blood too. If they're going to be a thorn in his side, he'd rather rip out the root entirely.”
Isaac chuckled—heh heh—as if this had actually worked out in his favor. He'd lost interest in the archive the moment he'd learned the Pope had a twin, after all.
“If you want it this badly, I simply must go take a look at that archive.”
[Well, that's all fine and good, but…]
“What.”
[Are we allowed to just take this?]
“!”
Whisper clicked her tongue, eyeing the enormous whale divine beast Isaac was riding.
[Isn't this the lord's divine beast? You stole it from the estate, didn't you?]
“So what? It'll be mine soon enough.”
[If you're riding it, the lord can't use it, can he?]
“Ah, let the healthy old geezer run for once. I'm a frail mage. Running is not a hobby of mine.”
[You could just teleport.]
“Conserving mana.”
[…]
By the time they reached the Papal Court, Isaac was already heading straight for the place where the strongest power gathered.
As expected—the Saintess's awakening is underway.
A god's mighty presence pulsed from within. Feeling it, Isaac casually clasped his hands together.
Flash!
He released the mana he'd held in reserve all this while—his pure, unadulterated power, sealed away until now.
Normally holy arts are more than enough. But today of all days…
There was a chance he might have to kill a god. And to do that, he would inevitably need magic—the natural nemesis of the divine.
The moment Isaac, preparations complete, moved to step inside—
“Hahk!”
The Gold priests within startled and flinched back. They were clustered together in a dense wall, as if the Gold Cardinal had personally arranged them.
But the far greater shock was the figure standing among them.
“You…!”
There, of all people, stood Noel. His face gaped with why the hell are you here—before it twisted into a spiteful grin.
“The Saintess's awakening has already begun. You won't be permitted to observe it.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Isaac looked at the door they were guarding.
I can't sense Leah's presence. So they're running it on their own authority.
From what he could tell, the Saintess's awakening proceeded automatically as long as the sacrifice was offered—whether the Saintess herself was present or not. A ritual that ate people, through and through.
Isaac spoke.
“I'll say this nicely—step aside. If you don't, you'll regret it.”
Noel let out a contemptuous laugh, as if to say, what nonsense is this.
“A member of the Saintess's own house, obstructing her awakening? Do you mean to drag your family into ruin?”
“Better than your brat being fed to a god, no?”
“You'll do no such thing when it comes to awakening my daughter.”
I'm sorry, what?
“Whatever. I warned you, didn't I? Step aside, or regret it.”
Noel sneered.
“You think we'd let a man bent on destroying his own house through?”
“Haaah. Fine, then.”
Isaac sighed and let his holy power ebb away—and Noel smirked.
“Giving up already, are we?”
“Giving up? Why would I?”
Isaac smiled sweetly—and crack, snapped the necklace hanging around his own neck.
It was none other than the rosario Melissa had given him long ago.
Isaac knew. Both the lord's necklace and the matriarch's bore a summoning inscription etched into them.
Should the wearer judge the situation dire enough to break the necklace—the other would be…
Flash!
“…!!”
The Gold priests recoiled in open horror.
The jewel of the necklace split—and a familiar figure materialized before their very eyes.
“L-Lord Eli!”
“The lord of the Blue Faith?!”
Summoned before them was none other than Eli himself.
At his father's appearance, Noel froze solid. He'd been certain the Pope had Eli pinned down.
But the summoned Eli came sprinting in, glaring at Isaac with utter disapproval.
“Isaac… you…”
At the same moment, Isaac—who knew exactly when he'd put on that rotten grin—beamed up at him with pure, angelic innocence.
“WOW, Grandpa! You're okay?! You're not hurt anywhere, right?! Whew, thank goodness! Fighting the Pope and not a single scratch—you're AMAZING! I always believed in you, Grandpa! I came all the way out here just to summon you! Didn't I do great?”
…Right. You did great. And yet.
“…You genuinely believed in me?”
“Of course! I calculated everything and got here first! Just so I could call you here, Grandpa!”
…Truly?
“Yep! And now these bastards need to be put down, but it'd be a waste to use my holy pow— ahem, it'd be too much of a strain, so, Grandpa! Please and thank you!”
…You shameless little—?!