The Saintess's Awakening (6)
A storm had broken loose over the Summoning Hall.
“Aaagh! I can't stay on my feet!”
“Grab onto something—anything!”
A violent gale like a full-blown hurricane slammed into the hall. The priests looked ready to be swept away by the raging waves of wind and rain blinding their eyes.
Kuuuguung!
“Kgh!”
This was the sole place where the Gold Faith, representative of the Five Faiths, could call upon a god. The space was managed by the Gold Faith itself—yet even they could barely withstand the overwhelming power on display.
Those in the temple far from the lake couldn't even rise to their feet.
In a scene that looked like the onset of an apocalypse, making one's way to the very center—where the living sacrifice stood—was nothing short of a dream. The same went for Eli.
Damn it. The Saintess's awakening has already begun.
If it had come to this, there was no turning back. Benjamin had no choice but to give up.
Isaac would probably be fine. His grandson wasn't a target of the sacrifice, after all.
There's no way it would swallow someone unconnected to the Saintess's awakening.
So while the odds of him being outright devoured were slim, the problem was that the one who'd gone in there happened to be Isaac.
There's no way that brat is just going to sit still.
Even hiding quietly, he'd be crushed to death by the god's aura—counting it a blessing if he didn't pick a fight. But that kid was more than capable of stuffing a laxative into a god's body just to make Benjamin spit him back out.
And right on cue, Isaac's eyes were gleaming the moment he came face to face with the god. His fists clenching, of course, went without saying.
Screw it. A mere god dares to eat someone?
Whisper, too, was in an absolute fury.
The dragon-like god was the God of Awakening—a being that devoured prayers and wishes, then upgraded the power of the one who offered them.
And looking at it, Isaac couldn't help but bristle with rage.
Well, it was a Gold Faith god, so merely seeing it was enough to make his blood boil—but the real problem was what the thing was saying.
What? It's going to eat me too? I thought living sacrifices had to be the Saintess's direct bloodline?
Isaac knew a thing or two about the God of Awakening. It was the very god the Pope had invoked when fighting the Skeleton King a few centuries back. Thanks to it, the holy knights' power had suddenly surged, catching him off guard.
Well, of course, back then I just butchered the lot of them anyway.
Right, that offering must have been twisted into a living sacrifice somehow.
With a living sacrifice thrown in, the power of the blessing would climb even higher.
A wish, in the end, comes down to how desperately it's wished for.
And a direct family member would amplify the effect all the more. That was why Isaac had more or less accepted the living sacrifice system as legitimate.
Not that he was defending it—he simply figured that for a human to reach the 10th Tier, you'd have to offer at least that much to gain such power in a single stroke.
And yet—what was this?
It wants to eat me too, when I'm not even Leah's direct kin?
Isaac's quick eyes couldn't help but flash with fire.
Now that I look at it, the whole thing was a show, wasn't it?
It never mattered who the sacrifice actually was.
Yeah. They deliberately picked direct bloodlines to burden the Saintess with guilt.
Sure enough, the approaching dragon smacked its lips.
The damn god had grown greedy on top of everything else?? Being treated as food by his mortal enemy made his blood boil—but Isaac just let out a pfft and laughed.
Hah, fine. I get it. Seeing a premium-grade item as exceptional as myself would make anyone's mouth water. That's only natural…
…Screw it. I'm the low-grade one?!
The god smiled lazily, as if it couldn't care less.
“Then don't bloody well eat me!”
Soon the god, its interest piqued, drew closer and closer to Isaac. Honestly, flaws or no flaws—the truth was that Isaac was so utterly top-tier that those flaws ceased to matter at all.
What is this? Power at this level is beyond the human realm.
The Pope? No—in terms of raw vessel, he already matched the Pope, but this was no Pope.
Then what was he? The only being in the human world with power like that was the Pope himself.
Well. Did it matter?
Eating that one would grant it tremendous power. More than generous compensation for merely awakening a Saintess.
Those words left Benjamin aghast.
Damn it. I thought even Isaac would be beyond its influence…!
It meant to awaken Leah—and to eat Isaac, who wasn't even her direct family? That alone already defied all sense, but at this rate, Isaac really might be devoured after all.
Benjamin shouted urgently.
“Isaac! I'll buy you time—run however you can! You're the one who can escape!”
“What the—uncle? You're telling me to run, in front of a cursed god? How dare you deliver such a vile insult! Even if you are my beloved money-grubbing bas…tard of an uncle! Do you want to die?!”
“……”
Isaac's words left Benjamin utterly at a loss as to where to even begin correcting him—but that wasn't the point.
“If you die now, what happens to Eshua?!”
“!”
Benjamin cried out as if exhaling his very soul.
“It's because you're here, in this family, that I could choose the path of sacrifice with my head held high! Because I know you will lead Eshua!”
“……!”
Eshua had been walking the road of decline. Burdened with the karma of failing to kill the Skeleton King, mocked by all—but even so, they had never given up, urging their knights onward, striving to protect Eshua.
Because they had loved the Blue Faith, and everyone within it, so very dearly. He had always believed that one day they would reclaim their former glory.
And Isaac was the only one who had shown them hope amid that despair.
To let such a child die…
“No. Honestly speaking—I don't want to let my precious nephew die.”
“!”
To Benjamin, Isaac was the child of his beloved elder brother—the child he could never love enough no matter how much he doted. What kind of uncle would he be, incapable of protecting even a single nephew?
But at that sight, the approaching god smirked.
Just as the god moved to close in—
A flinch.
The god, which had been drawing near to Isaac, hesitated for some reason.
What is this?
The closer it came to Isaac, the more a certain ominous presence made itself felt. A cold, derisive, imperious pressure that could freeze even an Upper God solid.
Wait. This feeling—?
The god froze solid in an instant.
There was no mistaking it.
The Supreme God?!
Hold on—why is the Supreme God's aura in a place like this?
And whether it noticed the god's faltering or not, Isaac flashed a sly grin.
“What's the matter? Weren't you going to eat us?”
“Hiding? What would I be hiding? Oh—wait, did this scare you?”
Isaac slyly unraveled the cover wrapped around his hand. Then he raised it high enough to show the back of it.
“I'm soooowwy! I became a god's servant, and I never even introduced myself.”
Ordinarily, one would go out of their way to subtly reveal the brand marking their pact with a god—it was, after all, their holy identification for priests. And if it were an Upper God, there would be all the more reason not to hide it.
But Isaac deliberately walked around with a sealed cover over his hand, hiding it. Precisely for moments like this.
Sure enough, Isaac, waving the brand about to make it plainly visible, grinned.
“You—could you really bare your teeth in front of this?”
The god could not hide its shock.
No—it began trembling outright. And with good reason: the brand Isaac was showing off was, beyond any doubt, the mark of the Supreme God.
And not just any mark, at that.
The Mark of Preemption?
Simply put, it meant a god had already laid claim to this soul.
And displayed on the most visible spot imaginable…!
The more visible the placement of a brand, the greater the god's interest in its bearer. One's exposure was said to be directly proportional to a god's attention.
As proof, even now a bone-chilling cold wind was swirling around Isaac.
The god, masking its dismay, demanded:
At those words, Isaac flashed a wide grin.
Yes. That's it, you bastard.
I've been waiting for you to panic!
The instant the god's eyes were drawn to the brand, Isaac pulled something out. It was none other than his rattle… no, his gold rod.
<Blue Secret Art — Ring Toss>.
A technique the Saintesses had favored, one that hurled an object into the sky like a shot put with savage, mindless force. A projectile flying at near light-speed—if it hit you, you died.
Back in his Skeleton King days, he'd been smacked around by Melissa with this very technique and fractured his— no, that's not the point!
Isaac channeled holy art into the rattle and hurled it straight at the god's maw.
KA-BAAM!
Granted, holy arts meant nothing before a god—but all he needed was to land it in its mouth! And the moment the rattle slid past its teeth, Isaac roared:
“Benjamin! Cover your eyes!”
“!”
Shielding his uncle's eyes, Isaac mouthed the words silently.
<Hell Flare>.
In that instant, the mana he had compressed into the rattle detonated. Simultaneously, a ferocious burst of flame erupted with the rattle at its heart.
BOOOOM!!!
As if an explosion had gone off inside its very body, a monstrous torrent of fire seared the god's insides black.
The god writhed in agony.
Watching it, Isaac laughed—kya-ha.
He hadn't bothered with the Skeleton King's signature magic; a plain, ordinary spell had done just fine.
Still gonna hurt like hell, though!
At that spectacle, Whisper gave him a scolding.
Khehehe. No worries. I didn't come to face a god in person for nothing.
He'd been half-uncertain, but seeing it with his own eyes had made it clear.
The core of the awakening is that thing's internal organs.
Carve that out, and we can trigger the awakening even without the god.
But it wasn't a god for nothing—the thing snapped its eyes wide open and rose.
…Ah. So it wasn't quite enough after all?
As the god lunged savagely, jaws wide to swallow Isaac whole, Isaac thrust the back of his hand forward.
“You're really going to eat me? Hm? In front of this?”
Before the Supreme God's mark, the god faltered yet again. And Isaac flashed a gleeful grin.
“Benjamin! Cover your eyes!”
Then the gold rod went flying into the god's mouth once more!
<Hell Flare>.
BOOOOM!!!
“You're really going to attack me? In front of this?”
“Benjamin! Cover your eyes!”
BOOOOM!!!
“Benjamin! Cover your eyes!”
KA-BOOM!!
By now, Benjamin had stopped opening his eyes at all.