Paladin of the Dead God Chapter 257:

“Claire, for heaven’s sake. You look awful.”

Hearing the report that one of the people brought in by the patrol was a priest, Isaac imdiately went to identify him. He had thought it odd that Claire was delayed, but he hadn’t expected him to be mixed up with the Ciero Dawn Army.

As soon as Claire saw Isaac, he collapsed on the steps, sobbing.

“I am ashad… to appear before you in such a disgraceful state.”

If Isaac had known that Claire was among the fleeing Dawn Army, he would have found a kinder way to bring him in. However, after hearing the woman’s story and the patrol’s report, Isaac understood that Claire had tried his best to save soone.

The student priest who had caused trouble in Ultenheim was no longer just a priest, but a respectable human being.

‘He might be quite useful after all.’

Isaac, who had been skeptical about Claire, felt a sense of expectation upon seeing his transformation. Now, Claire had beco a person who held skepticism about the Codex of Light and a wary interest in the Naless Chaos.

Isaac thought Claire might even learn that tentacles, too, had their uses.

“For now, clean yourself up and have a al. Then tell about your journey here.”

***

“You say it seed like a miracle of the Naless Chaos?”

Claire, now looking neat, recounted his experiences.

He spoke of his departure from Ultenheim, wandering as a vagrant, joining the Ciero Dawn Army, and the hardships he endured to get here. But the story that caught Isaac’s attention was only one.

When he tried to stop the Dawn Army from looting, the Codex of Light did not respond to his prayers, but the Naless Chaos did.

“Has anything like this happened before?”

“No… I never even considered morizing those prayers. Except during the ritual…”

Isaac touched his face to hide his astonishnt. Until now, miracles had only been granted to a select few. Although Isaac’s physical abilities had naturally developed as he grew, the explicit granting of miracles was rare.

Therefore, it was surprising that Claire had used a miracle of the Naless Chaos.

Although he had perford the Naless Chaos ritual, Claire had not been ordained by Isaac, and there was no reason for the Naless Chaos to respond to him.

“What kind of miracle was it?”

“I prayed for sothing to grab their ankles. A dark energy surged from the ground and seized them. It was only for a brief mont.”

“Can you show now?”

Claire seed hesitant to perform a miracle of the Naless Chaos in front of the Holy Grail Knight. However, he couldn’t refuse Isaac, who had once saved his life in Ultenheim. He hesitated but then recited the prayer he had used earlier.

“Gather the scattered fragnts of oblivion with your touch.”

Black energy slithered up from the carpet near the fireplace and quickly disappeared. It was so faint that it was hard to notice unless one looked closely, but it was clearly a miracle of the Naless Chaos. Moreover, Isaac felt his divine power being subtly drained.

The reason Isaac was concerned about Claire’s miracle was the possibility that it might signal the resurrection of the Naless Chaos or sothing beyond his control. Just as Camille had researched the doctrines of the Naless Chaos, there might be other hidden secrets. For so reason, the coming of the Millennium Kingdom required miracles of the Naless Chaos, which suggested that its influence might be spreading further.

If they all committed acts of terrorism in the na of the Naless Chaos or, in the worst case, triggered another plague, even Isaac might find it impossible to contain.

‘But right now, Claire used my divine power to perform the miracle. It was a small amount, hardly noticeable, but…’

Isaac, wondering, focused on preventing any divine power leakage and commanded Claire to perform the miracle again.

“Try it once more.”

Claire did as instructed. This ti, the miracle did not occur. Even after reciting the prayer a couple more tis, nothing happened, leaving Claire looking puzzled.

Isaac was convinced by this.

‘…It was my divine power that triggered the miracle.’

Isaac rembered being summoned by Claire in the underground crypt of Ultenheim. Although it was only a fragnt of his soul, it was still a summoning, and he had taken over Claire’s consciousness to help him. Claire seed to have been deeply influenced by Isaac and had developed a sense of reverence for him.

There was another possibility, too. This world granted miracles to those who earnestly desired them. Claire’s sincerity might have moved the world, causing a miracle. However, because he prayed to the Naless Chaos, a miracle of that nature was manifested.

In other words, Claire had beco a follower of the Naless Chaos.

Or rather, in this case, the Naless Chaos had a na.

Isaac Issacrea.

“…What will happen to now?” Claire asked in despair.

Seeing Claire’s gloomy face, Isaac realized the weight of his confession. Just performing the ritual of the Naless Chaos was a grave sin, and now he could even wield its miracles, making it reasonable to fear for his life.

Even a benevolent Holy Grail Knight would find it hard to accept.

In short, Claire had confessed to Isaac with the expectation of facing death.

Isaac had no such intention.

“Claire, listen carefully.”

“Yes.”

“Your miracle seems to have originated from .”

“Yes… yes?!”

Isaac revealed the Color Beyond in front of Claire. The swirling colors, erging from his left palm, were much darker and more viscous than what Claire had summoned.

‘This is the only thing I can show for now.’

Tentacles would be too shocking. He needed to persuade Claire step by step.

“Wait… Are you saying, Holy Grail Knight, that you also use the miracles of the Naless Chaos?”

“Yes.”

Isaac’s honesty was partly due to his trust in Claire, but mostly because he knew no one would believe Claire if he went around talking about it.

His grandmother had transford into a monster while researching the Naless Chaos doctrine, and Claire himself had run away from seminary to join the vagrant Dawn Army.

Even if Claire now claid that the Holy Grail Knight, Isaac, used miracles of the Naless Chaos, no one would believe him.

‘I can control the miracles whenever I want.’

But if he could speak honestly and persuade Claire, his usefulness would greatly increase.

Claire was the only person, besides Isaac, who could use the miracles of the Naless Chaos with a clear mind. His character had already been proven, and the rest depended on how Isaac handled him.

More importantly, Isaac wanted to verify a possibility.

That it wasn’t the followers of the Naless Chaos who beca mad, but that mad people followed the Naless Chaos, causing disasters like the white plague. Neria and her cultists were also part of that experint.

“It’s shocking, but it’s the truth. However, you must have already judged enough. Do I look like a madman performing rituals, summoning monsters, and devouring people with tentacles?”

Isaac spoke boldly, and Claire, calming down, shook his head.

“…No. You do not.”

“Exactly. I also think you’re not a mad cultist, which is why I didn’t behead you. If you were, I would have killed you in Ultenheim. I wield the power of chaos, but like you, it wasn’t by choice.”

‘Well, creating the character was a choice, but…’

Since there had been no warning that he would have to fight for his life in the ga world, it wasn’t exactly a lie.

Claire nodded as if coming to his senses.

After all, he had co to the Issacrea estate to earn recognition through undeniable good deeds.

To live honorably. And to do that, he first had to be honorable to himself.

As Isaac withdrew the Colors Beyond, he said,

“But the important thing is how you use this power.”

“…I understand.”

“I have taken it as a sign to use this power not for existing order or system, but for my own sense of good. The more dangerous the power, the more one must strive to do good. That is the duty of all who wield power.”

Isaac stood up and said,

“For now, don’t show or use that miracle around others. It’s easy to misunderstand. But starting tomorrow, I’ll teach you a few more things.”

“Yes.”

If Claire lived up to Isaac’s expectations, he would grow significantly. And he could beco an unexpected asset when Isaac joined the Dawn Army.

“Where should I stay?”

Isaac smiled at Claire, who had nowhere to go.

“There are so people in a similar situation. They eat their vegetables and are kind to animals. You should get along well with them.”

Claire tilted his head at the strange introduction.

***

‘The empire is heading for a bad situation.’

Through his etings with Gebel, Isolde, and Claire, Isaac had grasped the overall atmosphere and situation of the empire.

The empire was descending into chaos.

Massive numbers of people were voluntarily heading towards the Holy Land, and the church was resorting to all ans, even researching miracles from other faiths. At this rate, even if they recaptured the Holy Land, the empire might collapse or co close to it.

Such a desperate move ant the church was staking everything on this expedition.

As if there was no need to consider what ca after.

‘…Does the coming of the Millennium Kingdom an sothing like an apocalypse or a cataclysm?’

Isaac recalled the apocalyptic theories from his world. The idea that after a series of disasters, the world would be destroyed, and the gods would judge who survived, bringing the dead back to eternal paradise.

So might think, ‘Who would welco such a thing?’ but the faithful would not. To them, it was a sacred and holy conclusion. A world where justice was served, and their suffering was rewarded. Many had died or sacrificed themselves for this conclusion.

It must have been the sa before the white plague arrived 300 years ago.

Isaac recalled the scenes Amundalas had shown him and fell silent.

If he was in any way contributing to that outco, the Holy Land should not be recovered.

‘…Honestly, I’m not blaless in the current situation.’

It was Isaac who persuaded the emperor to incite the Dawn Army. But even if the emperor had refused, the Dawn Army would have risen. His persuasion was to lead an inevitable movent more successfully. But he hadn’t anticipated such madness.

Especially the Ciero Dawn Army was a problem.

‘If they start targeting the Golden Idol Guild, the situation will spiral out of control, and even the church will struggle to manage it.’

The utility of the Golden Idol Guild was undeniable, and many bishops and priests received tribute from them. Naturally, they would try to control it, but with more people ca more problems.

Problems were bound to arise.

The question was how big those problems would be.

The expedition from the Kingdom of Elil would soon be dispatched, and church supplies were flowing in from the Furnace of the World. The Golden Idol Guild was constantly transporting logistics for the Dawn Army, experiencing both the benefits of war and the lack of security. The Salt Council was also moving to awaken the sleeping god.

Worrying about vagrants causing trouble seed almost trivial.

‘So what is the Black Empire doing?’

The Red Chalice must have already started plotting and scheming. The Olkan Code would surely show movent too, but whether it would be before or after the Dawn Army’s proclamation, Isaac couldn’t tell.

However, the Immortal Order was eerily quiet.

It was always the case. Apart from occasional acts of terrorism or plundering, the Immortal Order never ford large-scale expeditions to subjugate the empire. They focused solely on defense.

But they wouldn’t remain idle before such a large-scale expedition.

They must be doing sothing.

***

A while later, as Isaac had feared, a problem arose.

Not only for Isaac but for the entire empire, and in a completely unexpected form.

_____________

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