"If it’s okay with you, Master, may I collect this person’s body?" Zihilrat, who had been watching Isaac in embarrassment, suddenly said. "Yes, he was my rival, but it’s a very useful body. I want to have it." Zihilrat wasn’t trying to hold a funeral for Ramael in praise of his powerful rival. He was planning to take Ramael’s skin. Ramael was an enemy worth fighting. But somehow, he was reluctant to touch that corpse. "...... No, well, do as you please." "Thank you, Master. It will definitely be useful." Zihilrat said that and burrowed into Ramael’s corpse. He thought that this was how the ’Saint Under the Ground’ would disappear, but Isaac soon realized that this wasn’t the case. The Saint Under the Ground was the one who mediated and cared for the undead and humans, and he didn’t necessarily have to be a grotesque person wearing decaying skin. Zihilrat would continue to perform the same role with Ramael’s body, and perhaps the believers would guess something while watching Ramael, who had suddenly changed his attitude. As silence fell and Isaac withdrew the barriers he had put around the area, one or two people began to gather again in the market. Some looked down at the market, which had been turned upside down on the ground, and were horrified. "Isaac? Bishop Ramael is..." Isolde looked around and approached, then shuddered in shock as she saw Ramael, who was twitching while standing still, and reached for her sword. But Ramael, no, Zihilrat, silently bowed his head as he looked at Isolde. ".. I don’t know what’s going on. Isaac." "It’s hard for me to explain too. Let’s just say that Ramael has become our ally." Isolde closed her mouth as she looked at Ramael’s hideous, unhealed wound and the fact that he couldn’t even properly control his eyes. The Inquisitor’s intuition was explaining some circumstances to her. [Regent, what are we going to do with these vermin?] Linde dragged out the subdued soldiers of the Millennium Brotherhood. The soldiers who had been wounded or killed had already regenerated and revived, but they were all stunned with terror. They were dragged along by Linde’s hand and then opened their eyes wide as they saw Zihilrat, who was wearing Ramael’s skin. "Did you subdue the demon?" Zihilrat slapped the face of the Scorched One who had uttered nonsense. The sound of a neck breaking rang out. Zihilrat shouted in a stern tone. "What impious words! This person is not a demon, but a prophet sent by the Lighthouse Keeper!" Zihilrat was in a state where he had acquired Ramael’s knowledge, habits, and even speech patterns while devouring Ramael’s body. He wouldn’t be able to imitate miracles, but his authority alone was enough to control the Millennium Brotherhood. "The Lighthouse Keeper is resting below the horizon and preparing for the time of return! But the current Millennium Kingdom has been distorted and contaminated by an imposter! Therefore, the Lighthouse Keeper appointed the Holy Grail Knight, who had competed with him but finally came to know the truth, as a prophet. He made him bear a sword and a whip to give a stern warning of the future in advance!" "Ah, no, but the Holy Grail Knight clearly fought against the Lighthouse Keeper..." Thwack. The neck of the second Scorched One broke. Just in time, the Scorched One whose neck had broken for the first time revived and regained consciousness. Zihilrat roared with burning anger. "Dare you doubt my, Molter Ramael’s, words!" It was common sense within the Brotherhood that Ramael had a terrible temper, so everyone closed their mouths for now. But it was clear that what Ramael was saying was far from the teachings of the Order. Clearly, there was bound to be a problem. "Do you think my words are false? Then how is it that this person uses the Watcher’s Lighthouse, lifts the Luadin Key, and has such a brilliant appearance like the sun?" Zihilrat then gave Isaac a look as if giving him a signal. Isaac wondered if it was the right direction to get involved in this play, but at least he wouldn’t be caught off guard for the time being if he did this. Isaac activated the Watcher’s Lighthouse and raised the Luadin Key. At that clear symbol, the Scorched Ones groaned, bowed their heads, and knelt. Those who were surveying the situation also followed the atmosphere and belatedly knelt. Zihilrat spoke sternly. "I had a conflict with the prophet Isaac, but that was only a phenomenon where the sun was temporarily obscured. Just as the Lighthouse Keeper and the Holy Grail Knight had a conflict but joined hands again, I also realized his true intentions!" ’His ability to incite is growing.’ Isaac wondered if this was also an imitation of him. "If there is anyone who still doubts my words, come forward immediately! I will let you directly experience the pain and repentance I experienced in the discord of the waning sun. Even those who cannot see the light will finally open their eyes to the truth!" Most of the Scorched Ones closed their mouths. But a curious Scorched One stepped forward. Zihilrat brought him over and made him repeatedly experience the ’pain and repentance’ that Ramael had experienced. Even after about five revivals, the Scorched One said that he didn’t understand well, but when he revived for the sixth time, he said that he finally realized it and bowed his head before Isaac in sincere repentance. After returning the Scorched One, who was curious but seemed a little stupid, Zihilrat declared. "The Holy Grail Knight will return to Lichtheim to correct the Millennium Kingdom from now on. Tell those who have covered the eyes of the sun! That the Holy Grail Knight has returned! That he is taking his sword of fire to give stern judgment to the hypocrites who deceive the Millennium Kingdom!" "Do you think they were fooled?" Zihilrat said as he returned the Scorched Ones and helped restore the devastated market. The undead and humans were horrified to see the Molter working while getting his hands dirty, but they reluctantly began the restoration work at the sight of Isaac working with him. "They’ll probably think I’ve been brainwashed by you or that I’ve apostatized. But it will be enough to divide or confuse the Millennium Brotherhood. Then wouldn’t it be much easier for you to move?" Isaac’s judgment was the same, so he was relieved that Zihilrat wasn’t foolish. "The Codex of Light Order might send another Molter or Ascendant to subdue you." "Don’t worry. I can take care of my own body." Zihilrat licked his lips while clenching and unclenching Ramael’s hand. A long tongue, like a long tentacle, stretched out particularly far. "Ramael’s body was full of power. If I’m allowed just a little more of your power, Master, I feel like I could fight Ramael again if I were to face him again now." Zihilrat hadn’t used anything other than miracles related to bodies until now, or miracles that controlled rats and plagues. If he could use the miracles and rituals that Isaac used, he wouldn’t have been unilaterally defeated by Ramael like that. Isaac nodded at that appearance. "I’ll help you be able to use miracles. And..." Isaac thought that it would be better for Zihilrat to remain here and help expand his influence. Ushak still needed a mediator, and if he could gain the support of the undead in the long run, it would be a great help in the future. And for securing believers as well. "Stay here, reorganize Ushak, and spread the Issacrea Dawn Prayer Meeting faith. There are more skeptics within the Millennium Brotherhood than I thought. Subvert them and cause division. As if we are the only ’true’ Codex of Light believers." Isaac was still planning to go to Lichtheim, bringing terror and despair. He had no intention of acting as a beautiful and mysterious Holy Grail Knight again now. The rumors that Zihilrat would spread were to spread internal strife and fear among them. Because the Lighthouse Keeper, who would tell the truth, wasn’t here right now anyway. "But where are you going, Master?" Isaac looked to the west. Although he was delayed for a while, his purpose hadn’t changed. "Gehenna Prison Fortress." Three days later, Isaac crossed the Katlan Ridge and arrived near Gehenna Fortress. Thanks to Zihilrat ordering the Millennium Brotherhood in the area to reconvene, Isaac’s group was able to arrive at Gehenna Fortress without any major incidents. Read full story at noᴠelfire.net "This valley is the Valley of Despair... Gehenna." A desolate rocky valley, Isolde murmured as she looked into the huge crack in the ground that had no bottom in sight. It was a precarious act because a gust of wind created by the enormous height difference was constantly blowing, but Isaac was doing a similar thing, so the only one who was sensibly stopping him was Linde. [Please be reasonable, Regent. Are you planning to jump straight into the underground and meet Dead December?] "But Dead December still hasn’t answered, has he?" The reason why Isaac and Isolde were leisurely looking at the valley at this busy time was because of that. On the opposite side of the towering Gehenna Valley was the Gehenna Prison Fortress, a natural fortress that seemed impossible to attack. The Gehenna Prison Fortress was a fortress and a prison, as its name suggested. There were many legends about what the Immortal Order was imprisoning inside, but no one knew the truth because no one had ever invaded it, and no one had ever escaped from it either. No, there was one person. ’I’ve been in and out of it several times in the game, after all.’ But Isaac was only interested in one thing inside. It was Gebel’s soul, which was felt at the bottom of the deep underground. If it was that deep, it was the depth where the worst of the worst prisoners were imprisoned, but frankly, Isaac thought that Gebel, even though he was his mentor, wasn’t at a level where he could be so highly rated. ’It’s probably because of the Sword of May.’ Whatever the reason, he had to meet the warden, Dead December, to meet Gebel again. So, as soon as Linde arrived here, she had requested an audience through mental waves several times, but there was no reply coming back. "Hmm, look at this, Isaac. When I throw a stone, it gets pushed so far to the other side because of the wind." "Should we light it on fire and throw it? I’m curious how far we can see." Thanks to that, Isaac had no choice but to chat idly with Isolde. If there was no reply by night, he was planning to leave Linde and Isolde here and charge in directly. But that wasn’t going to happen. Because Dead December had judged that it would be better to lure Isaac in and kill him in a trap instead of rejecting him . And Isaac frowned, feeling a strange sense of incongruity. [Nameless Chaos is watching you.] A familiar but very long-missed message. Isaac now knew who the identity of that message was, and what it meant to send it. A white owl, as if sprouting out of thin air, was circling overhead. Isaac wasn’t surprised by the sight of an owl roaming around even though the sun hadn’t completely set yet. ’I don’t know how you do it, but don’t say things like that because it’s annoying.’ [I’m sorry. It’s become a habit. But since Urbansus has collapsed and I can’t manipulate it anymore, it seems has become my ability.] The Archangel White Owl was watching them. The world was quiet as if nothing had happened at her simple return. But this was how she was manipulating the world. ’What kind of ability is that? To manipulate the world or thoughts?’ [No. To give plausible reasons.] A roar began to echo from across the Gehenna Prison Fortress. It was the sound of a huge steel bridge coming down. The steel bridge, made by artisans from the World’s Forge, who were among the few in the Immortal Order, landed on the ground with a heavy sound. Linde, as if she had heard a mental wave, conveyed Dead December’s voice to Isaac. [Dead December has allowed you to enter the fortress.] Isaac looked back at the White Owl with a hollow expression. But she had disappeared somewhere. ’So I have to enter myself knowing that it’s a trap, huh?’ But there was no choice of leaving Gebel behind. And if he already knew that it was a trap, he could turn it around and trap the other side. Isaac stepped into the trap without hesitation.