Chapter 19:

Chapter 19:

Chapter 19. The Plague God (1)

“The timing is quite perfect.”

Hearing the message from the nameless chaos, Isaac carefully picked up the inquisitor. He needed to get her to the monastery quickly, and for that, Gebel had to finish his fight swiftly.

Isaac cautiously approached the scene where Gebel was fighting, taking a detour to the rear of the battle.

Boom, boom!

Even from a distance, the earth-shaking sounds were deafening. The giant bear looked much larger up close than it had from afar – it was as big as a dump truck.

“Fortunately, it’s not very fast.”

Whether due to its injuries or sheer size, the bear was circling in one place, trying to confront Gebel. Isaac set the inquisitor down and stealthily moved closer to the bear’s rear.

“Isaac?!”

Gebel was surprised to see Isaac approach but didn’t waste the moment. Isaac, with his sword raised, rushed in swiftly. It was a thrust he had repeated tens of thousands of times over the past two years.

Growl! The giant bear, belatedly noticing Isaac, tried to turn around, but Gebel didn’t miss the opening Isaac had created.Reead new chapters at novelhall.com

Gebel charged and targeted the bear’s neck. The bear, already fiercely battling Gebel, knew in its mind that Gebel was a bigger threat than Isaac.

But instinct screamed otherwise.

It must not lose sight of Isaac.

Isaac, however, aimed for the less lethal lower half. Torn between two instincts, the bear failed to make a proper choice.

It just wildly thrashed around.

Clang!

Sparks flew from the bear’s claws as it blocked Gebel’s sword, but that move cost it its hand, which was torn to shreds. Gebel didn’t stop there; he slashed deeply across the bear’s neck.

Simultaneously, Isaac’s sword pierced through the bear’s hindquarters.

It was a flash-like thrust that seemed to stop the wind itself. The delayed gust ruffled the bear’s fur.

Something was wrong.

“Stupid creature.”

After stabbing his sword, Isaac immediately inserted a tentacle into the wound. The tentacle, piercing through the thick hide, naturally tore into the bear’s innards, rapidly reaching its heart. Isaac felt the bear’s heart throbbing madly through the tentacle.

He grabbed the heart, as big as a human head, with his tentacle and crushed it, absorbing it.

Grrrr... The giant bear let out a strange groan, struggling.

Gebel, surprised by the bear’s abnormal reaction, didn’t miss his chance. He swiftly swung his sword, almost completely severing the thick neck. The neck was shredded enough to suffice.

The tentacle had already rapidly consumed the bear’s heart. Blood gushed from the cut neck as the bear collapsed with a thunderous sound.

[‘Plague Giant Bear’ consumed.]

[‘Dead God’s intestines’ perk enhances absorption efficiency.]

[‘Temporary Superhuman Strength’ perk acquired.]

[Disease resistance significantly increases.]

[The blessing continues until digestion.]

‘Superhuman strength?’

Isaac was puzzled by the single perk but had no time to ponder. As the dust settled, Gebel hurried over.

“Isaac! Are you okay?”

“Yes. I think I hit the jackpot with that last move.”

Gebel looked down at the giant bear with a disgusted expression.

“I’ve lived in this monastery and never seen such a crazy monster. Something you’d only expect to find in remote areas... I wonder where it came from.”

“Should we dissect it?”

“No, it seems diseased, so it’s not edible, and we can’t carry it. Better to leave it here. I’ll ask the abbot to cleanse the land. Ah, because of that damned inquisitor, we didn’t need to sweat this much.”

“That ‘damned’ is actually a ‘she.’”

Whether it was a ‘he’ or a ‘she,’ it was ironic that the two who were most uneasy about the inquisitor’s arrival had saved her.

“Isolde Brant?”

Hearing this, Gebel couldn’t hide his surprise either.

“The daughter of the Brant ducal family?”

“Yes. I remember her from her coming-of-age ceremony.”

“She must be a distinguished person.”

Isaac chimed in.

Even Isaac had heard of the Brant ducal family, a household famous enough to be known in the Gerthonia Empire. It was said that the current emperor of the Gerthonia Empire rose to power with the Brant family’s support.

If the abbot attended her coming-of-age ceremony, it surely indicated their significant influence.

“Although there is no high or low under the Codex of Light, the Brant family is known for their deep faith. But I never imagined their only daughter would be working as a harsh inquisitor.”

The inquisitor, with her absolute authority, had many enemies.

Like Isaac had secretly thought, there would be many people who wouldn’t mind her disappearance, thinking it would cause no suspicion.

Eventually, they all reached the same conclusion.

If Isolde died here, it would be problematic for more than just a few.

‘Perhaps it would have been better to let the wolves have her.’

Isaac regretted internally but showed no outward signs.

“Let’s keep her alive for now. Whether she’s a Brant or a Barbarian, I don’t want to waste effort saving her just to let her die.”

“Gebel tore Isolde’s clothes to check her wounds. The foul smell emanating from the wound made the three of them close their mouths. Especially Gebel and Isaac, who involuntarily stepped back, recognizing the familiar stench. Evhar examined Isolde’s wound, which seemed to have been bitten by a wolf.

“Blisters and discoloration, signs of decay...”

“It’s the plague,” Isaac muttered.

Hearing this, Evhar also stepped back.

On reflection, the wolves, boars, and bears had all been infected with the plague. This meant that some plague was widespread throughout these mountains. But there had never been a case of humans being infected.

Isaac felt a chilling premonition

.

‘Could it be they deliberately didn’t kill her?’

He was troubled by the fact that, despite hours of effort, the giant bears and packs of wolves had only driven the inquisitor to exhaustion without killing her.

But what if this was someone’s intention?

Isaac recalled the change in the wolves’ behavior when they smelled the plague.

Someone had intentionally infected the inquisitor with the plague to get her into the monastery.

Evhar kept silent for a moment, then spoke.

“Let’s start with treatment. Gebel, please sprinkle garlic and salt around the room. Isaac, go get leeches from the basement. I’ll prepare a prayer meeting with the monks.”

“Leeches?”

Isaac looked puzzled by the odd instruction.

“We need to perform bloodletting therapy. Removing bad blood is essential to get the plague out of the body.”

‘What nonsense is this? Drawing blood from a patient?’

Isaac almost blurted out but managed to hold it back.

This world lacked basic medical knowledge, typical of the Middle Ages.

On second thought, it made sense.

In a world where most diseases and injuries were healed by the miracles of monks, it would be stranger for medicine to be advanced.

‘But this plague is targeted at the monastery.’

It was an attack on the monastery, and it was unlikely that they hadn’t prepared for a miracle. Isaac concluded that the monks would not be able to handle this plague properly. Even Gebel seemed to agree with Evhar’s opinion.

‘I have to do something about this.’

If the lady inquisitor is so valuable, it would be beneficial to keep her alive.”