The Steaming Rice Water Is Hotter (4)
"Oh, that hair color! As expected of Young Lord Isaac—you are truly blessed by the gods."
Elden, the priest, beamed.
Rilai also smiled brightly.
"Yes, all of this is thanks to His Holiness the Pope, who serves the Five Great Faiths and the people of the Empire."
"Hahaha, how modest you are. But isn't it thanks to the Blue Knight of Eshua, who always fights the demons at the front lines, that the Empire remains at peace? We are always grateful."
Grateful, my ass. Weren't you the same ones who always treated us like meat shields?
Though Rilai smiled good-naturedly, inside, he was boiling with rage.
He had rushed to the eastern fortress upon hearing that Isaac had gone to meet the diplomatic envoy.
And for good reason.
This wasn't just any inspector—it was a high-ranking superintendent. And not just that, but someone from the Pope's family. Why had he come all the way out here?
'What the hell are they planning to do with Isaac?'
Were they planning to take the child—who couldn't even grow properly—back to the Pope's household just to mock him?
Meanwhile, Elden had his own reasons for being upset.
'I need to steal the Holy Spirit, but why is this annoying thorn clinging like a leech?'
He had called only Shuri out on purpose so he could meet the child alone. But this guy had been watching him suspiciously from the start.
And Rilai Eshua—an 8th-tier holy knight, known as the Silver Orca of the Empire—was staring at him with such intensity?
Of course it was unsettling.
Well, Rilai might not know about his true plan, but he still needed to be driven away.
"There are still many priests who lament that Sir Rilai, the former head priest, suddenly chose the path of a holy knight. They're begging to have at least your nephew!"
"Hah, begging? That makes it sound like they see him as an object. That's not pleasant to hear. You should apologize to Isaac."
Crack.
Elden flushed with anger. This bastard was twisting his words. The resistance was stronger than expected.
How annoying.
Had he perhaps sensed something?
"Ah, I apologize if that offended you. I got a little too excited because of the rumors about Young Lord Isaac, and misspoke."
"Right. My kid is pretty exceptional. At his age, he's memorized all thousand volumes of the Skeleton King's knowledge. He's just so smart."
…Wait, is this guy just a doting idiot?
Well, no matter how much he adored the kid, Isaac was still powerless.
'Alright. The Skeleton King's mana—it's got that holy stench he hates.'
Go berserk! Only then can I snatch the Holy Spirit!
"I understand your worries that he might not be suited for priesthood because of the Skeleton King's mana. But don't worry. With the saint's blood, he must be extraordinarily gifted. Many priests say they'd love to raise him at the Vatican."
Rilai smiled sweetly.
This bastard's obsession makes him even more suspicious!
Sure, normally he might have believed in human kindness. But after seeing the creepy "gifts" sent to Isaac by the Pope's faction, he was done.
That said, he couldn't just kick out an envoy from the Vatican without a proper reason.
So he chose to stay close to Isaac instead.
Why?
Because the Skeleton King's mana despised clergy—if they weren't from Eshua, it shaved their heads and drove them off.
And now clergy from the Holy Vatican itself?
There was no way the Skeleton King's mana wouldn't react!
Well, if they had any pride at all, they wouldn't even dare complain after getting their heads shaved by mana.
'Come on, Isaac! Make a scene and chase that loathsome bastard out!'
Elden, too, was watching sharply.
'Yes, go berserk! Then I can take the Holy Spirit!'
The two adults' eyes gleamed as they stared at Isaac.
'Now, do it!'
'Just lose control and—'
'Kick him out—!'
'Get the Spirit—!'
But then… 10 seconds… 20 seconds… 60 seconds…
Nothing happened.
"..."
"..."
Both men tilted their heads in confusion.
'Was the drug faulty?'
'Is he just nervous around strangers?'
Just then, Isaac reached out his hand. At last, both men's faces lit up.
Yes, he's about to go berserk!
Finally, the outburst—
…
"Dduu-yaya~"
…Wait, what the hell?
They stared at Isaac in shock, but the child simply smiled brightly.
"Ttaya~ (I don't know anything?)"
He even pretended to be innocent. The sight of the angelic child was enough to bewilder his uncle.
"Isaac?"
"Ttaya~ (What, bitch?)"
"N-no need to be nervous. Just be yourself."
"Dduya~ (What does that even mean, asshole?)"
For a moment, Isaac's eyes flashed with his usual sharpness, but then he smiled like an angel, as if nothing had happened.
"Ttaya-yaya~ (I like Priest Elden!)"
He even ran into Elden's arms and hugged him. Rilai and his attendants were visibly flustered.
What the hell?
Why isn't he throwing a tantrum?!
Skeleton King's mana! What's going on?!
'That priest is your least favorite person! What are you doing?! Go berserk!'
Even the Holy Spirit inside Isaac couldn't take it anymore and burst out in betrayal.
[Hey! You little brat! What are you doing?! Just kill him like you always do! Shred that priest bastard to pieces!]
Isaac looked at the spirit with disapproval.
This damn spirit sometimes seemed to forget it was on the side of the divine.
And somehow, it seemed to equate the Skull King's magic with Isaac himself.
'Well, sure, since I'm the master, that part's true.'
Isaac gave it a brief sideways glance, but the spirit was in an uproar.
[Hey, brat! I'm not going to purify that thing, so hurry up and take care of it! Get rid of it!]
Yeah, it needs to be removed.
By you, not me.
At that moment, Isaac smirked. Then he slipped away from Elden and scurried out the door.
"Huh? Isaac! Where are you going?"
Rilai hurriedly chased after him. Elden, watching the direction Isaac went, smiled brightly.
"Ddaa-ya!"
"Huh? Master Isaac?"
Where Isaac ran to, his nanny Asili was standing.
But what made Elden smile was the item in the nanny's hands.
A handkerchief.
It was soaked with a concoction designed to neutralize the spirit, and had been placed at the eastern castle gate.
And they already knew that only the nanny came and went from the estate regularly. Naturally, if something like that was dropped at the entrance, a servant would pick it up.
Whether she threw it away or went looking for its owner, Elden didn't care in the slightest.
"This was lying around—could it belong to one of your guests?"
The important thing was that she had picked it up—
"Ddaa-ya!!"
"Oh my, why are you so fussy, little master? Want me to hold you?"
And she touched the child with that hand. That would directly affect the spirit, which was linked to Isaac Eshua.
Sure enough, the moment Isaac was held by Asili—
FLASH!
[…Urgh!]
The spirit, who had been chasing Isaac, suddenly collapsed to the ground, as if unconscious.
"Mr. Froggy!"
Asili and Rilai were both shocked. And Isaac, sensing the spirit's power weakening, released the Skull King's dark magic.
Boom!
"Isaac!"
Black magic surged from Isaac's body, filling the entire room.
It was so intense, it was a wonder no one fainted. The view was completely blocked—one couldn't even see an inch ahead.
Whisper wept with joy.
[Kyaaa-ha! As expected of you, Master! I thought your temper and power had weakened after being surrounded by all those priests! Let's kill that priest bastard now!]
No. I've got something better in mind.
And this will be my home, so I can't destroy everything—just released a little.
[What? I thought from the way you were glaring at that priest, you were going to turn him into fertilizer!]
No? I was glaring because of the smell that bastard was giving off.
[Smell?]
'That guy has Witherweed on him.'
[What? Isn't that the herb that neutralizes spirits?!]
Yeah. I specially modified it when I was a skeleton.
Never smelled it before—being a skeleton and all—but all things emit waves of power.
Humans need training to sense them, but Isaac was a Demon King. For him, sensing magical energy was as natural as breathing.
Back when he had no senses as a skeleton, he used this to perceive the world.
[But isn't that a special breed you only planted in the Demon King's castle garden? It looks like a shabby weed—like you, Master.]
This bastard really talks too much.
Anyway, it was originally created to capture spirits. Since it was still in testing, no one but Isaac would know about it.
But a priest brought it here? By chance?
No way.
'Those items he's wearing…'
Touching them by pretending to fall into his arms confirmed it.
Necklace, bracelet—obviously fireproof items. And he has Witherweed too?
Isn't his intent painfully obvious?!
'This bastard came to kidnap my spirit!'
That made Isaac furious. He was curious how the guy got the rare herb, but that wasn't important right now.
'How dare he target my spirit?'
Isaac had gone through hell to obtain it to reach the transcendental realm! Originally, he planned to destroy the mansion and turn the priest into a rescue case.
But this would make the cleanup easier.
As expected, the unconscious spirit began to go berserk.
BOOM!
Uncontrolled flames erupted in all directions.
Elden's eyes lit up as if he had been waiting for this.
'The spirit's powers are going wild!'
An unconscious spirit was easier to capture.
And the interlopers? Not a problem.
He had come fully aware that the spirit in Eshua was harboring the Skull King's power.
And if the spirit lost control, the power it had been holding in would also spill out!
BOOM!
People gasped for air from the surging black magic.
The power that had been suppressed for 10 years now surged wildly, wrapping around the entire castle. It made Rilai grimace.
"Urgh…!"
She had been by Isaac's side longer than anyone for 10 years.
She had lived surrounded by the Skull King's aura and thought she could handle the real thing after growing stronger herself.
'Was I completely mistaken?'
But that wasn't the real problem.
BOOM!
"Sir Sharlak!"
The real issue was the berserk spirit.
Normally, the spirit could control its immense power through reason. But the moment it lost consciousness, its king-level power exploded outward.
Its unsealed eyes glowed, and its once-human form had turned into living fire.
RUMBLE!
It looked just like a demon god.
Rilai quickly activated a spirit-sealing technique.
'If this keeps up, it won't end with just the castle's destruction!'
And to make matters worse, the fire's holy anti-demonic nature was clashing with the Skull King's magic—like pouring oil on a fire.
At that moment, the eastern castle gate burst open as someone sensed the immense power.
"Rilai! What's going on here?!"
"Lord Elden!"
"Why is the Skull King's magic… urgh! What the hell is this?!"
"The spirit!"
The elders and overseers who rushed in were horrified at the sight of the berserk spirit. The searing heat was unbearable.
"Damn it, why is the spirit doing this…?!"
"First, we need to restore the Holy Spirit to its original state! Only then can we suppress the Skull King's magic!"
Only the Holy Spirit can suppress the Skull King's magic, which is reacting violently to the Flame of Exorcism.
That's why the Holy Spirit must be subdued…
Boom!
"Gah!"
"Elder!"
Even the elders and Rilai couldn't subdue the berserk king-class Holy Spirit. It was already powerful, but now its strength was enhanced by the Skull King's magic.
As the elders coughed up blood, they shouted desperately:
"Bring the Clan Head! There's no time to lose!"
"Priests, please stay back!"
While the people of Eshua were in chaos, Elden smiled.
'Perfect. Now's the time.'
Elden began chanting a holy spell to neutralize the Holy Spirit.
Unlike the Qing, whose faith granted them extraordinary power against demonic slaughter, Elden's power came from a different belief.
Crackle!
A powerful red holy spell struck the Holy Spirit. Using that brief moment, Elden attempted a reverse-summoning spell to steal the Holy Spirit away…
"Gah!"
But the Holy Spirit deflected the pain spell and engulfed Elden in flames.
"Aaargh!"
"Was that Priest Elden screaming?"
"You lunatic! We told you to stay put! Why can't you just listen?!"
Could it be that he was struck down by the Skull King's power or the Holy Spirit's wrath?
"Is the Clan Head still not here?!"
"Hurry!"
"Only the Clan Head or the Holy Spirit can contain the Skull King's magic… huh?"
The expressions of the elders and examiners who could perceive magic turned strange.
It wasn't an illusion—the magic was shrinking. And it was being absorbed into Isaac's body.
'What's going on? Is this an illusion?'
Shuuuuk!
Wait a minute—it's not an illusion!
Shu-shuuuk!
The Skull King's magic was really being sucked back into Isaac!
"That's a sealing spell!"
"Is Isaac using holy power to control the Skull King's magic?!"
But that wasn't all.
"Stop breaking things now."
Isaac clenched his tiny hand—and something incredible happened.
[Gasp!]
The berserk Holy Spirit regained consciousness. As Isaac poured intense holy power into the connected spirit, it recovered its mind.
The examiners and elders were left speechless. Suppressing the Skull King's magic with holy power and restoring the Holy Spirit's mind? Incredible!
"Don't tell me, is Isaac…!"
"Rilai!"
"Yes! That's right!"
"You saw it, didn't you? Isaac!"
"Isaac spoke!"
Huh?
The elder's eyes widened.
But Rilai looked at Isaac through tears.
"My child finally spoke! After ten years of only babbling!"
Wait a sec, you idiot.
That's not the point right now!
A ten-year-old just sealed the Skull King's magic and controlled a king-class Holy Spirit?!
This is not normal?!
"Rilai, listen…"
"Ah, yes. Sorry, Elder. I misspoke."
"Right? The important thing isn't that he spoke, but—"
"Isaac! My child is walking now! He's walking!"
"…?"
"???"
What… the hell?!
The elders stared at him in disbelief, while Rilai covered his mouth in shock watching Isaac walk on two feet, not all fours. He was ready to fall to his knees sobbing.
"Isaac, after ten long years, is finally walking! Elders, I'm so shocked my heart might stop."
The elders wiped away sweat.
No, you madman!
That's not the heart-stopping part here!!
"Ah. Examiner! Anyway, since Isaac just saved a—well, not a person but a Holy Spirit—do you think he could get a recommendation letter for ordination?"
Seriously?! You're asking for a recommendation letter right now?!
This might not just change the successor the Clan Head gave up on—
it could change the future of the whole empire!
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]