Chapter 52. The Shell (2)

With the message that the seal had been broken, light began to emanate from a part of the armor. It was from the area marked with a crest that signified it as Kalsen’s armor, scratched and crushed. Where the crest had been erased, a sentence now appeared, etched in light.

[“I will be with you.”]

It was a meaningful phrase, but its significance was unclear. However, the anomaly made it evident that the seal had indeed been broken.

“No, I had planned to break the seal eventually, but so soon?”

Isaac was taken aback but also excited about what function would be revealed. Soon, signs of miracles and blessings carved into Kalsen’s armor began to reveal themselves in front of Isaac. True to the armor of a person designated as a seraph, an astonishing array of blessings was listed.

“Superior health recovery, Thread of Truth, Guiding Thread, Watcher’s Hammer… My, what on earth is this?”

Blessings one might hope to receive after completing a heroic journey were listed extensively. This level of favor clearly indicated not only the angels’ interest but also that of the scripture of light.

Until now, Isaac had considered Kalsen to be nothing more than a boss-level monster but now realized anew that he had been designated a seraph.

He must have been a true hero of the scripture of light before his betrayal, a figure of terror to the heretics.

As Isaac thrilled to these new miracles, an intense reaction came from an unexpected place.

[“The Nameless Chaos watches over you.”]

“Ugh…?!”

The brilliance emanating from the armor suddenly dimmed.

Isaac shuddered with the intense pain he felt throughout his body. Tentacles were creeping up on him, reacting as they did when Isaac was gravely injured.

The tentacles wriggled up through the armor, tearing and leaving wounds.

Crackling loudly!

However, the armor spat out flames, refusing to be subdued easily, and burned the tentacles. Suddenly finding himself in a battlefield of tentacles and flames, Isaac struggled to maintain his composure.

“What is this?”

But the pain was not as bad as he had thought. The tentacles were part of Isaac’s power, and the flames were emitted to protect him. Yet, Isaac realized that these two could never coexist.

Even the tentacles that had swallowed Kalsen Miller whole spat out this armor for a reason.

“No, damn it…!”

Isaac reluctantly reached for the lock to take off the armor, but at that moment, the tentacles locked it again. They prevented him from taking off the armor and greedily bit into it.

Crunch!

The armor was severely damaged. Then, both the fire and light emanating from the armor weakened.

It was a fight the armor was never meant to win.

The armor existed to ward off external threats, not to… stop tentacles from within.

Taking advantage of the armor’s weakened state, the tentacles bit, chewed, and tore voraciously. Soon, the miracles engraved on the armor began to fade one by one.

“Hey, wait!”

Isaac screamed in an attempt to save the precious armor from damage. However, the tentacles, having failed to devour the armor before, now seemed determined to digest it completely.

In no time at all, the armor was destroyed.

“Why could it not devour it before, but now it can?”

The answer was simple. In the meantime, Isaac had become strong enough, and the tentacles had grown.

Now, they were capable of digesting it completely.

As a result, the blessings that even the priests of the scripture of light would consider a glory to their family vanished in an instant.

“Ah, aaaaah…”

With Isaac’s final scream, Kalsen Miller’s armor was forever lost to history.

***

“Master Isaac?”

After a long time had passed and Isaac did not emerge, Caitlin knocked on the door.

“Haven’t you dressed yet? If it’s uncomfortable, I can send a servant to help you…”

Despite the lack of response, Caitlin opened the door. Isaac was sitting in the middle of the storeroom, looking utterly defeated and lost in thought.

Caitlin was puzzled to see that Isaac’s attire had not changed much since he entered the storeroom.

“Didn’t you wear the armor?”

“I am wearing it. There was a miracle of storage, so I kept it hidden.”

Isaac raised his hand, clad in a steel gauntlet. It was the only part of Kalsen Miller’s armor left to him. Caitlin, surprised that such a miracle existed, still could not understand why he looked so dejected.

“Do you not like the gift?”

“No, um… No, it’s very good. Almost too much so.”

Isaac forced a smile as he spoke.

“I’m tired, so I’ll head back for today. I plan to stay in Sol for a few days, so if there’s anything you need to tell me, please send someone to my lodging.”

“Yes, I understand.”

With Caitlin’s bewildered farewell, Isaac returned to his lodging.

Once back, Isaac, ensuring he was alone, let out a long sigh.

Then, he willed the tentacles within him to reveal the armor.

With a sound reminiscent of rattling snake scales, the armor spread from Isaac’s glove, quickly covering him from his legs to his head in a suit of full armor. For full armor that usually took at least 30 minutes to don or doff with assistance, it took less than 10 seconds to fully equip. Even though paladin armors inherently contain miracles to assist in donning and doffing, this was an astounding feature.

However, its appearance had significantly changed. Firstly, the marks of carving formed intricate patterns, so it didn’t look forcibly erased from crests and scripture phrases. It almost seemed like viewing a piece of exquisite art. Yet, those patterns were actually divided into pieces as small as fingernails, resembling snake scales.

The seams were connected by tentacles instead of chains or fabric, without any signs of being hammered or glued. The tentacles had ‘created’ it like a clamshell, leaving no trace of processing.

Isaac moved his body around. The full armor was incredibly light and flexible, making it hard to believe it was armor at all.

Each piece moved smoothly and naturally, making it feel as if he was not wearing anything at all.

‘In some sense, since it’s made of tentacles and shell, it’s like not wearing clothes at all…’

Isaac looked down at the armor he was wearing.

[Corrupted Paladin Armor of Kalsen Miller (S)]

Sorry, Kalsen. Your armor has been chewed up and modified by tentacles.

The tentacles had digested Kalsen’s armor and recreated it as Isaac’s new shell.

It was only natural that they removed all the miracles that interfered with digestion. Luckily, the basic miracles that remained before the seal were still there, but the balance-breaking miracles were gone.

‘That’s… right. It would have been too much of a cheat to expect those as well.’

Looking purely at the functionality of the armor, it was much better now than before. It’s not feasible to wear armor all year round, so reducing the inconvenience of having to don it every time for battle, not to mention the softness and lightness, was a huge improvement.

Moreover, there were no longer any marks that could identify it as Kalsen’s armor.

‘And since the blessings of the scripture of light were erased, I can customize it with blessings that suit my taste. When I think about it, it’s not so bad.’

Honestly, the blessings that had been granted were merely flashy, strong, and rare, without any consideration for compatibility and synergy. Since Isaac found it difficult to use the miracles of the scripture of light, it would be more fitting to inscribe new blessings.

Thinking positively, Isaac felt slightly better.

Nonetheless, a sense of regret was hard to erase.

‘Master Isaac.’

At that moment, Isaac felt a will being transmitted to him.

It was Hesabel.

After becoming an apostle, like a child of chaos, Hesabel could send her will to Isaac, expressing her intentions. Isaac felt her full loyalty in her voice.

‘Everything is ready.’

It meant she had completed the mission he had entrusted to her.

Isaac nodded and headed to where she was waiting.

It was the slums of Seor.

***

In the slums of Seor, drizzle was pouring down.

Although the raindrops were not heavy, they were sufficient to make the cold temperature even chillier.

However, in the middle of a filthy open space, a group of people gathered, breathing out puffs of air.

They nervously fiddled with the weapons hidden inside their clothes with anxious eyes. But that was merely to comfort themselves; they dared not draw them out. The reason was a woman standing in a corner of the square, wearing a deep hood.

Even in the darkness of the hood, her red eyes shone clearly, staring menacingly at them.

In those eyes, the barbarians couldn’t help but recall the rumors of a cannibal monster that had roamed Sol for some time.

“Attention, everyone!”

Then, a familiar voice woke them up.

Isaac, along with Jacquette, was entering the square.

As Isaac entered the clearing, he looked at the group. The people gathered here were none other than a band of Barbarians, driven to desperation by the skyrocketing prices of Loracus. The disruption in logistics caused by the Loracus surge had forced the Barbaries, who had been slash-and-burn farmers, to come down to the city in search of work.

The Barbaries tensed up as Isaac, dressed as a paladin, stood before them. Previously, they had attacked without hesitation, seeing him as just another mercenary. But now, Isaac presented himself in the full attire of a paladin, a figure of fear for the Barbarians.

“It’s quite diverse, isn’t it.”

Barbarian does not refer to a specific ethnic group or community but rather to those who, by choice or circumstance, lack faith. And there is one peculiar trait among these Barbarians.

Because they lack faith, the power of faith doesn’t work well on them.

In other words, they have a high resistance to magic.

This was also a reason they could easily resist being swayed by other beliefs or exist as independent forces. Yukhar cunningly planned to exploit this very trait of the Barbarians.

“Even if Golruwa was to resurrect disguised as a golden idol, he would have lacked a way to immediately gather faith… That’s why he wanted to use them.”

Yukhar employed the Barbarians, who were indifferent to any faith, with money. By first bringing them under his command and then providing them with Loracus alcohol, he intended to subjugate them to his faith. As a result, the Barbarian’ resistance to magic had significantly weakened.

And now, Isaac intended to make use of them.

Isaac slowly began to speak.

“Ladies and gentlemen.”

The Barbarians were shocked by his opening remark.

A paladin using honorifics towards them? Barbarians, even though they were fellow citizens, were often treated as criminals or outcasts simply because they lacked faith.

“Would you consider embracing faith again?”

Isaac began to proselytize, making full use of his charm.

***

The proselytization did not take long.

It consisted of a short conversation of about 10 minutes and a Q&A session for about 30 minutes. Isaac skillfully mixed the doctrines of the Codex of Light with his own philosophy. After all, the doctrines of the Codex of Light were most similar to the beliefs of Isaac, a modern person from the 21st century, so mixing in his own thoughts went unnoticed.

The Barbarians, who had expected to be conscripted or, at worst, arrested and disposed of by Isaac, were baffled but impressed by this unfamiliar method of proselytization.

“It seems you’ve made quite an impression, Lord Isaac.”

Hesabel approached him and said. However, Isaac just shrugged.

“I’m not so sure. I didn’t expect a few words to persuade them. And I’ve killed some of them before.”

“Despite that, it seems there were quite a few who were persuaded. Among them, Jacquette seemed to be particularly impressed.”

Jacquette had shown the most questions and enthusiastic reactions during the proselytization. Since she had also helped Isaac with the Loracus trade, it seemed she had already been somewhat spiritually subdued.

Isaac nodded, thinking of Jacquette.

“That’s true… Jacquette has already offered to become a saint, so it seems she will serve us well in the long run.”

Isaac had Hesabel directly under him to carry out his commands and created the position of saint beneath the apostle.

It was a common position like that of a cleric or priest. Although Isaac could not grant miracles directly, in this world’s faith system, an individual’s faith grew stronger over time, and gathering many followers through proselytization further increased one’s strength.

As Jacquette was a significant leader among the Barbarians, she was sure to become stronger quickly.

And thus, the created hierarchy became stronger the higher it went. The faith accumulated from the bottom up became increasingly powerful.

‘And… this accumulated faith becomes my power.’

Naturally, Isaac was the apex predator of this faith-based pyramid.