Chapter 74:

Chapter 74:

The commotion that began in the early dawn continued until morning.

Delia, having summoned the nobles and knights, paced the dining room anxiously.

“Are all the knights here? Are all the nobles gathered?”

“Some still haven’t awakened...”

Delia’s face twisted as she yelled.

“Break down their doors if you must, but get everyone here now!”

Her edgy response stirred unrest among the nobles.

She felt like she was losing her mind at the nobles’ reaction.

When she first encountered the darkness, hallucinations, and auditory hallucinations, she fell into a state of delirium. Her guards rushed to her aid upon noticing her frenzy, pulling her out of her delirious state, but her ravaged room spoke volumes of what had transpired.

While she was relatively stable now, not all nobles were.

In a corner of the dining room, a noble wrapped in a blanket was trembling, teeth clattering. This was a noble who had ridden through dust and grime with her, a person of resilience. Nearby, another noble had fainted after vomiting several times, and a knight had to be bandaged after scratching his skin, marked with bite wounds, till it bled.

By comparison, Delia was in a fairly good condition.

“Could it really be a curse?”

A noble cautiously approached Delia and asked.

‘Curse...’

Even without him saying it, the word was deeply ingrained in her mind.

Grail Knight Isaac had already warned about the curse. But since there were priests of the Codex of Light present, and Reinhardt had assured her there was nothing to worry about, she had stayed without concern.

“It’s not just me who experienced it, so the probability is high...”

The nature of curses left by celestial beings varies widely. Delia, lacking theological knowledge, couldn’t be certain, but there seemed no other explanation.

“What is all this commotion?”

Bishop Juan and one of the holy knights entered the dining room.

“To cause such a disturbance at the time for morning prayers...”

He was about to scold them, but when Delia glared at him with bloodshot eyes, he hesitated and fell silent. Delia approached the holy knight, pointing and demanding,

“Did nothing happen on your end? With so many priests around, you can’t deal with this curse? Even with the Bishop here? Did the inquisitors come just for show?”

“What blasphemy...”

The holy knight, his face reddening with anger, tried to retort, but he was facing a duchess. No matter his status as a holy knight, he couldn’t disrespect a dignitary who served the emperor closely.

“People have been tormented by this curse all night!”

Only then did the holy knight notice the people in the corners of the dining room, struggling with the aftermath of the curse. He hesitated for a moment before retreating quickly.

“I will report to the Bishop and return.”

***

Shortly after, the clergy and the nobles gathered together.

Seven people had suffered from the curse overnight, all from the central nobility. The priests offered healing and tranquility miracles to those, including Delia, suffering from the aftermath of the curse, but the delirium was hard to calm.

One priest approached Delia and said,

“I’m sorry, but we can’t feel any curse.”

At his words, Delia glared at him, her face contorting.

“Are you saying I’m lying? Even though I was affected too?”

The priest, intimidated by her fierce tone, continued cautiously,

Bang! A holy knight nearly hit by a boulder cursed as he ran toward the walls.

“These damned beasts!”

As the knight ascended the stairs, trolls threw more boulders at him. The knight’s aura intensified, deflecting a boulder with a dull thud. But the boulders targeting him weren’t finished.

Thump, thud!

Struck by successive boulders, the knight stumbled and lost his balance, tumbling down the stairs.

Isaac sprinted past him, climbing up. A boulder aimed at the holy knight fell directly in Isaac’s path. Or rather, Isaac had leaped towards the boulder.

Crack, boom!

Isaac deflected the boulder with the shoulder of his armor. Although he didn’t have an aura enveloping his armor like a holy knight, the tentacles wrapped inside mitigated the impact.

‘In a consecrated domain, even the armor’s defense seems to be enhanced.’

Reaching the top of the wall in an instant, Isaac swung his sword. Crick-crack! However, the sword made an unpleasant noise as it roughly scraped the troll’s skin. The troll, splattered with blood, screamed and retreated.

The sword of judgment, worn from the battle with the prophet of the red flesh, no longer possessed its ability to burn the wicked. Such a wound would leave no more than a scar on the troll.

[I will order a retreat.]

“Ooooh! Aaaaah!”

The trolls, screaming, descended the wall just as they had climbed it. The holy knight, climbing back up the stairs belatedly, watched the retreating trolls in dismay. It was foolhardy for even a holy knight to chase after and fight a number of trolls in the isolated woods.

The wall and the inside turned into a chaotic mess after the trolls’ rampage. The clergy and nobles looked around in bewilderment.

“What’s all this about?”

Isaac feigned ignorance as he responded.

“Trolls are the dogs of the Red Chalice. Perhaps they were drawn here by the curse.”

Isaac’s statement worsened the clergy’s mood.

“If monsters are drawn to it, it must be a strong curse...”

“And if it’s trolls, the range of the curse’s influence could be quite extensive.”

Given the antagonistic nature between the Light’s Scripture’s miracles and the trolls’ regenerative abilities, trolls were usually found deep in the mountains. Though Hendrake’s domain was mountainous, trolls weren’t commonly seen.

Of course, this was a misconception by the clergy.

Already in the vicinity, there were not a few trolls gathered as guard forces by the prophet of the red flesh. They hadn’t helped when the prophet was defeated, and some had become Hesabel’s minions.

“It seems challenging to proceed with the saint designation under these circumstances.”

Delia spoke with a hint of malice towards Bishop Juan, whose expression visibly hardened.

Vanquishing a celestial being was indeed a commendable act. However, if the place of vanquishment remains cursed, leaving the land and its people in misery and desolation, it could hardly be considered a complete achievement.

It might even be ridiculed.

“However...”

“If the curse I’ve brought upon this land causes hardship for its people, I have no desire for any honors.”

A young priest attempted to interject, but Isaac cut him off with his declaration. It was a noble statement fitting a Grail Knight, but it ultimately conveyed his lack of interest in being designated a saint.

Since his reasoning was sound, the clergy found themselves unable to argue.

Then Bishop Juan spoke up.

“Then let us dispel the curse.”

Both Isaac and Delia, hearing Bishop Juan’s voice for the first time, looked at him in mild surprise. Bishop Juan, his face full of wrinkles, spoke with clarity and determination.

“I will remain here to find a way to dispel the curse. Therefore...”

He pointed at Isaac with his wrinkled hand.

“You all must fend off the unwelcome guests that have descended upon this land. Ensure that the faithful do not suffer.”