CHAPTER 53

Transformation (3)

"My God…"

It was an uproar unlike anything seen at any ordination ceremony before.

The priests and guests alike couldn't tear their eyes away from Isaac.

And no wonder.

Hadn't the rumors been swirling for decades already?

—The illustrious House of Eshua is finally falling apart, isn't it?

People whispered about it, of course—how the family's bloodline was drying up, whether direct or collateral. The sons were growing weaker, dying young. They said the house was cursed, hated by the gods themselves.

And in an empire where faith in the gods was everything, what did that mean?

—Do you think the gods hate them for no reason?

—Exactly. They must've done something to deserve it.

—Committed a sin unforgivable even for a saintess, maybe?

—Like… an affair or something? Ha!

Sure, it signaled a fall from grace, but for a house once known as the most devout, it was an unbearable humiliation.

All the more ironic, considering the peace these gossips enjoyed was built on the blood of House Eshua's warriors fighting at the front lines.

Still, everyone kept their mouths shut for now, because the current head of House Eshua was overwhelmingly strong.

The other cardinals were basically just waiting for the head of Eshua to die.

"Once the head is gone, we can devour Eshua."

House Eshua's faith, with its lofty reputation, was a prize many had their eyes on.

For some, it was their soldiers and secret techniques. For others, their wealth and fame. And for a few, it was pure spite—they simply wanted to erase Eshua's name from history. All of it was ripe for the taking.

And right now, Eshua had no heir.

Melissa, the matriarch? Saints like her were forbidden from involving themselves in secular matters. And her seven sons? Each came with their own set of problems.

There was a reason all the other cardinals had already passed on their positions to the next generation, while Eshua still clung to power.

—The grandsons aren't bad, but compared to the current head? It's disappointing.

—Not that the grandkids will escape the curse anyway.

In other words, everyone was quietly betting on who would end up seizing Eshua's legacy.

And then, out of nowhere—Isaac showed up like that?

"Wait, wasn't that growth-stunting curse supposed to be one of the worst kinds?"

"He overcame it?"

"There's really a kid that powerful in Eshua?"

Even Rilai looked like he couldn't believe his eyes.

"H-he's… You see him, right?"

Rilai was shaking, while Goel looked like he'd just found a roach snapped in half inside his sandwich.

"Yeah, I see him. So that's where he ran off to. Thought he disappeared, but turns out he's been hiding out in the bathroom. Guess he got sick and fell in the toilet."

"W-what? No, that's not it! He's grown! And he's even wearing the priest's robe I made for him!"

"Uh-huh. Don't worry, kid. He'll be running back to the bathroom for another bout of diarrhea soon enough. Let's just hope he doesn't get his new robes covered in crap. Maybe I should get him some new poison-laced diapers."

"Come on, Goel!"

Goel kept pretending not to see reality, but at this point, even he couldn't keep denying it.

'I always figured if he did grow, he wouldn't be ordinary…'

He had to admit it.

Among all the men of Eshua's long history, Isaac was by far the most striking.

His strange platinum-blonde hair and those vivid, jewel-like red eyes—an extraordinary combination that was practically unheard of among humans—made him seem otherworldly.

And that smile, gentle and radiant like a true saint?

'Was he always capable of smiling like that?'

It was the first time Goel had ever been creeped out by someone's smile.

Also, the first time he'd seen his own father make that face.

"Your Excellency! Why have you been hiding such an impressive grandson all this time?"

"…What the hell is that kid?"

"Pardon?"

"That damn Skeleton King. Wrecking our fortress wasn't enough for him, now he's controlling the kid's mind too?"

"…S-sir??"

At that point, whispers were inevitable among the Pope's faction.

If Isaac had just been a normal kid—just another talented child—none of this would've happened.

But he had clearly been cursed, unable to grow, and now he had grown?

The priests of other faiths, watching from the sidelines, muttered to themselves.

"Looks like Eshua's still alive."

"!"

Kina Berit, startled, glanced around at the whispering knights and priests.

"Who was it that said Eshua had fallen out of the gods' favor?"

"Isn't that exactly what divine favor looks like?"

Kina Berit bit her lip, while the star of the show chuckled to himself like an idiot.

Yeah! That's right!

The gods absolutely love me!

Come on, heap on the praise! Hurry up and call me a saint already!

Isaac was, in fact, barely holding in his laughter.

'Stupid priests!'

Damn! Honestly, though, it was worth all the suffering. Even now, he could still feel his bones grinding from all those times he stretched himself out in the bathroom.

'And Rilai, that bastard, just had to make the robes huge…'

Rilai must've hoped—maybe even believed—that Isaac would one day break free from the curse and grow into those robes.

For the past ten years, Rilai had stubbornly ordered new priest robes for Isaac every year, despite all the ridicule it brought.

Well, it was sweet in its own way, so Isaac figured he'd repay that loyalty by wearing Rilai's robes today instead of something from the papal wardrobe.

Plus, it'd look pretty pathetic if the size didn't fit at all, right?

So, it was good that he'd adjusted his body to fit the clothes, but…

"Shit! What the hell, why is it still so loose?!"

This bastard had wildly overestimated his nephew's future height.

He'd had to grow about three more years' worth beyond his actual age. That's why his limbs were longer than expected, and every joint was aching like hell right now…

"Honestly? Might've been a good call."

The kids receiving ordination were sixteen, meaning two years shy of adulthood. Naturally, they were all pretty big.

"If you look too young, you come off as weak."

In fact, thanks to stretching his body more, it felt like he'd delivered an extra punch.

The proof? The faces of Nigel Sephet from the enemy's ducal house and his entourage were priceless. They'd clearly been gearing up to mock a little kid who'd just toddle in.

["Well, with looks that could make the goddess of beauty herself swoop in for a kidnapping, I doubt they'll dare open their mouths."]

Pfft, funny, considering that goddess of beauty treats me like I'm a bug.

Oh right. Now that I think about it, she's probably the one who crafted this body with such care, so that'll be interesting later.

"Anyway, like I said before—no matter what happens, don't come out. Lock your power down. Not even 1 mg, got it?"

["Roger."]

These people here weren't your average clergy.

Isaac's sharp eyes turned to the high seat. There sat the cardinals, unable to take their eyes off him, and the Pope himself.

"Looks like I caught them off guard."

It was Isaac's first face-to-face with the Pope.

At a glance, the man looked over sixty, but there was something otherworldly about him that made his true age impossible to pin down.

And those eyes—so unmistakably from the papal bloodline.

Seeing them, Isaac's angelic smile twitched just a bit.

"Goddamn, why do all the Popes I've fought have the same damn face?"

Yep, no denying the family line here.

Even after so many generations, it was suspicious how the aura was exactly the same. And, of course, Isaac had to spot a dead ringer for the one he hated most.

Isaac's gaze turned devilish.

"Should I just cut his head off right now?"

His hand subtly slid toward his pocket, where his only weapon—a golden rattle—waited.

His family freaked out the instant they saw that move.

And then—bam!

CRASH!

SMASH!

"Aagh!"

Suddenly, the sound of a glass shattering and a priest's scream rang out. In the chaos, Isaac's expression turned into a giant question mark.

Everyone, startled, whipped their heads toward the sources of the commotion.

Lylai, with a transparent divine beast no one else could see, grabbed onto Isaac's pants leg—

"..."

The head of the Qing family casually snapped their own table in half with a flick of the wrist—

THUD!

"Kyaa! Sir, are you okay?!"

"The table just—!"

An elder from Eshua tossed aside his sword—

"Ah! The blade—!"

"Oops, guess my grip's gone weak in my old age."

Another elder from Eshua neatly sliced through a rope holding up a giant canopy attached to the ceiling—

"Waaah! The canopy—oof!"

Shuri, imbuing a button with holy power, tossed it at Isaac's waist and then collapsed on purpose as if dizzy—

"Shuriii!"

Goehl, holding ceremonial tools, deliberately tripped a passing priest.

"Ahhh! Guhh—augh!"

"…?"

Isaac's expression turned more and more bewildered as his family erupted into chaos.

"…??"

But, unfazed, Shuri popped back up and slid behind Isaac.

Pretending to retie his waist cord, she smoothly snatched the rattle out of his pocket.

"This is confiscated."

"…"

…These little shits.

Isaac's veins bulged, but—well, whatever. The commotion soon died down.

"They are so dead later."

Honestly, how many times had he thrown that rattle at people's faces for them to react like that just from a hint? Still, Isaac brushed it off and stepped up to the Pope.

The other kids were called forward too. Once everyone was lined up, the bishop brought out the bowl of holy water.

The moment it appeared, the atmosphere shifted—everyone's eyes gleamed.

"We'll now perform the greeting ceremony to the gods."

In other words, the compatibility test. This was the main event of the ordination—the real highlight.

"I heard it's supposed to reveal which god you match with…"

Put simply, it tested which god took an interest in you, who you were compatible with.

And which god chose you was the biggest focus of the ordination.

Of course, the folks from Eshua looked nervous for… other reasons.

Shuri was fine, no worries there.

"But Isaac… is there even a god that suits him?"

The kid's practically got zero faith.

Would any god even react?

"Eh, no matter what, he's still a Qing kid. Their god will take him."

"…Dad's literally bracing to smash the holy water bowl right now, though?"

No joke—if anything weird shows up, he looks ready to shatter it on the spot, eyes blazing.

At that, Goehl clicked his tongue.

"Don't fret so undignifiedly. You don't need to worry—every one of the Five Ducal Houses always gets a patron god. This is the same body that withstood the Skull King's curse. Isaac's from Eshua too, so there shouldn't be any problem."

"..."

No, but the way Brother Goel is saying it all nicely is just making me more anxious?!

Rilai's eyes quivered, and the elder pushed his monocle up with a groan.

"Well, you never know… Back in the day, when a child of the Black House was about to be ordained, another major god laid claim at the worst possible moment, and a fight broke out. They even demanded the child be sent away as an adopted heir."

"That was a bastard child though, wasn't it? This has nothing to do with Isaac."

Meanwhile, the kids who had gone ahead were celebrating or sighing over their results.

"Shuri Eshua. God of Light."

"Oh! The patron god of the Blue House himself came down!"

"Knew it, that's my son!"

The pope pressed the seal onto Shuri's arm. With that, he could now officially make a pact with the god.

Shuri clenched his fist and looked worriedly at Isaac, whose turn was next.

'What if no god chooses him?'

Judging by his personality test results, there was no way a god would pick him.

Still, at least it wasn't the pope's own god; that was a bit of relief. Honestly, he really didn't want to be treated like an outsider in Eshua any more than he already was.

"Isaac Eshua."

As Isaac stepped forward, the entire atmosphere of the banquet hall shifted in an instant.

Even Kina and Berit were watching with interest now.

People buzzed with eager faces.

"Who do you think it'll be?"

"Could it be the first time two major gods claim someone at once?!"

Goel let out a wry chuckle, like it was already over.

'Shuri already drew the best one. No way something better's coming now.'

Everyone looked on expectantly, waiting to see which god would respond. The house head looked ready to rig the results if it came to that.

But Isaac, sticking out his finger, looked utterly bored.

'Ah. So the god that Blue House serves is the God of Light?'

No wonder all those Blue House guys turned out like that.

And the God of Light, well, that wasn't bad. Actually, it was fine.

True to its name as the god of honesty and purity, it was one of the few blasted gods that was actually favorable toward him.

So anyone from that side would be acceptable.

'Well, what matters is what kind of blessing I get.'

Might as well hope for one that boosts vitality or combat strength.

Just then, the bishop lightly pricked Isaac's finger with sacred power. The moment Isaac let a drop of blood fall into the holy water—

Flash!

The red blood dispersed into the clear holy water, then started to shift and form shapes, like it was alive. It was revealing which god matched with him.

Finally, when the blood completed its pattern, the pope, who had been watching indifferently from behind, suddenly looked… off.

A slight crease appeared between his brows.

And with good reason.

The symbol that appeared was none other than the mark of the Gold Faith.

'An Eshua-born matching with the God of Gold?'

No, that wasn't even the real issue.

The symbol that appeared… was a script that hadn't shown up even once in the thousands of years of recorded history.

And this was the god of the Gold Faith, the very one who had longed, in vain, to connect over millennia—

'…The Supreme God?'

The one that stands above even the Five Major Gods?

That impenetrable god was showing interest?

And of course, Kina and Berit weren't about to miss this.

'What's going on here?'

It was too far to see clearly.

And the god's symbol could only be deciphered by the pope and the gold cardinals who were trained in it.

At the same time, feeling the chilling tension, the head of the Blue House discreetly drew his knight's sword.

Was it time to break this up?

Had an evil god shown up after all?

"The god who has shown interest in this child is—"

But just then.

Boom!

"Ahhh!"

"Kyaa!"

Black smoke suddenly burst out of the holy water bowl.

And as the smoke shaped itself, the priests all gasped in horror.

"The Skull King!"

It was a smoky figure in the form of the Skull King. The mark was now hidden, smothered beneath the swirling smoke.

At the sight, Rilai and the Blue House people's eyes changed in an instant.

"The Skull King! Do you have any idea where you are?!"

But the smoke ruthlessly snatched at Isaac like it meant to kill him.

"Isaac!"

"The Skull King is taking an Eshua child!"

"He's trying to drag away the one who survived his curse!"

Everyone stared in shock at Isaac, now seized by dark magic.

[I have waited so long for this saint to appear.]

"What?!"

Isaac blinked in confusion.

What the hell?

But the Skull King, as if this was the moment he had been waiting his whole life for, yanked Isaac hard.

And then, as if declaring war, he growled:

[Starting with this wretch, I will wipe out every last seed of the Holy Empire.]

Crack.

Isaac's forehead veins bulged.

You son of a bitch…?

[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]