Ch.3636. Anomaly

‘Why on earth?’

Conrad’s face turned pale as he bit his nails.

No matter how he thought about it, the plan had been perfect. He had poured over a year of his life into preparing for this very moment. He had meticulously prepared every detail, no matter how trivial. There was no way he could have made a mistake.

‘I recited the incantation correctly…!’

According to the ancient knowledge passed down through the order, the chaotic disorder—Pandemius—should have answered his call.

The summoning itself had succeeded. But what truly mattered was what came after. The expected elevation of status never occurred.

Rītus Chaōsis is a ritual where offerings are made to receive blessings in return. Only a select few whose exceptional talents were recognized by the order received the seed of chaos to perform this ritual.

The high officials of the order had been keeping an eye on Conrad. Thanks to that, he had received many privileges. Entrusting the seed of chaos to a sanctifier who hadn’t even reached the stage of holy salt was unprecedented in the order’s long history.

They had promised him the position of deacon under the archbishop if he successfully completed this ritual. Even those who could not be named openly had placed their expectations on Conrad.

Once, that attention had been welcome, but now it felt terrifying.

If he returned to the order without achieving anything here…

‘I’ll die.’

The disappointment would return with malice—not just equal to the expectations placed on him, but far worse. That couldn’t happen. Absolutely not.

Crack.

Conrad’s nails were completely torn off, revealing pinkish flesh underneath. Unaware of this, he continued gnawing at his fingers.

And Rex was watching this scene with blazing eyes.

Though he didn’t know the details, it was clear that something had gone seriously wrong.

He could see Conrad in panic and men shouting in confused voices.

Rex twisted his lips fiercely.

‘I can win.’

Conrad’s aura, which had made his skin tingle earlier, had now diminished to the level of an ordinary sanctifier.

Rex looked behind him.

“Uhhh…”

The people still seemed dazed from the shock given by the one-eyed creature, staring blankly into space. If left alone, they would eventually come to their senses, but he couldn’t afford to wait that long.

After brief consideration, Rex lifted his leg.

This was the fastest and easiest way.

Rex brought his raised leg down hard on the floor.

Thud!

People gasped and flinched.

“…Huh?”

“What, what’s going on!”

The group momentarily blinked in confusion, not understanding the situation, then spotted the red crystal sphere floating in the distance and wore expressions of shock.

“Get a hold of yourselves.”

At the voice coming from beside them, people turned their heads.

The questioning looks they gave him were obvious. They were probably wondering why he alone was unaffected. There wasn’t time to explain everything.

Rex offered a brief excuse.

“That thing used some strange technique. Whether it was a blessing or magic, I don’t know. The good news is that it failed.”

The group seemed unconvinced on many levels, but they didn’t question further.

“Thank you, Rex. If it weren’t for you—”

“Save the thanks for later.”

As Harald began to speak with a sigh, Rex shook his head and cut him off.

The crystal sphere was still floating in the sky. Perhaps the one-eyed creature would appear again. Moreover, Conrad, who had been raging like a madman, had somehow regained his senses and was glaring at them with cold eyes.

They couldn’t feel safe until they dealt with all of them.

“…Right.”

The party immediately regrouped and approached Conrad.

Rex was about to follow them when he glanced to the side. The one-eyed creature had already disappeared, but Elin was still subtly holding onto Rex’s arm.

“Elin? Would you mind letting go now?”

When Rex spoke with a troubled expression, Elin slowly removed her hand. Only after confirming that she had taken out a thin twig did Rex move on.

“Damn it!”

Conrad was barricading the entrance to the room. His expression showed not even a hint of composure.

“Cornered” was the perfect description. Conrad knew the difference in power was clear.

‘These vermin who normally couldn’t even look me in the eye…!’

A feeling of indignation surged within him.

‘This shouldn’t have happened!’

If he hadn’t awakened the seed of chaos, the situation wouldn’t have become this serious, but he had spent all the holy power he had carefully accumulated on using the forbidden arts.

“Lord Conrad, should we flee?”

One of his subordinates asked in a cautious tone. Conrad snapped back, incensed by the suggestion.

“You madman. Do you think the order will spare us if we lose the seed? They won’t even grant us a merciful death. If you want to preserve that pitiful life of yours, shut up and prepare to fight!”

The seed of chaos is a sacred object highly valued even within the order.

Although only lower-ranked sanctifiers could receive the seed’s blessing, it was still a genuine sacred object containing fragments of chaos.

Even now, his life was uncertain due to the failed ritual, and returning to the order empty-handed without recovering the seed? Unimaginable punishment would await.

Conrad looked up at the seed with bloodshot eyes.

The seed was floating serenely between Conrad and Rex’s group. He needed to retrieve it, but those people wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

He knew how to recover the seed. If he recited the incantation, it would return to its rightful owner. The problem was time. His three subordinates wouldn’t be able to hold off those seven for long.

The situation was so desperate that he even longed for the help of that rat he had previously ignored.

“Yakov!”

At those words, the approaching group stopped abruptly. Conrad shouted in an urgent voice.

“Get up! Come here right now and help us!”

Yakov remained motionless and limp. With his chest visibly caved in, there was no way he could be fine.

When Yakov showed no response, Conrad finally gritted his teeth and threatened.

“Don’t you want to save your son!”

The group looked at Yakov with puzzled eyes. What was the point of threatening someone who was unconscious?

Then, surprisingly, Yakov, who they thought had fainted, struggled to his feet. Though he looked exhausted, his eyes burned with intensity.

‘His son?’

Rex finally understood why Yakov had been so subservient to Conrad all this time. Conrad clearly held the power of life and death over Yakov’s son, or something equivalent.

In a way, Yakov had also been deceived by Conrad. Judging by his earlier reaction, he hadn’t imagined Conrad would go this far. Perhaps he had been forced to cooperate because Conrad had leverage over him.

Of course, being deceived didn’t justify Yakov’s actions. That fact couldn’t be denied.

So did Yakov deserve to die for his sins?

‘No, he doesn’t.’

The ones who truly deserved death were Conrad and those men. Yakov still had a chance to atone for all his wrongdoings.

“Yakov! I’m the only one who can save your son’s life!”

As Conrad shouted in an angry voice, Yakov clenched his fist and squeezed his eyes shut. The signs of internal conflict were evident.

Rex secretly hoped that Yakov would ignore Conrad’s words and come to their side. But at the same time, he was certain that Yakov would ultimately side with Conrad.

Son.

The image of Yakov muttering about how happy he was that his son was born suddenly came to mind. To a father, a child is more precious than anything else in this world.

When Yakov half-opened his eyes again, Rex sighed involuntarily. He sensed that his premonition had come true.

“Answer me! Are those vermin’s lives more important than your son’s!”

“…No.”

There was no hesitation in Yakov’s eyes.

“My son is… more important.”

Yakov drew his sword at Conrad’s side.

“I’m sorry. I won’t make excuses. I’ll never be forgiven. But still, I—”

“Brother.”

His words were cut off.

In a voice swirling with a torrent of emotions, Harald murmured softly.

“How did you become so ugly?”

Yakov pointed his blade with a bitter expression. It was a silent indication that further dialogue was worthless.

Conrad sneered at Harald, whose face had hardened.

“Not completely stupid after all. You made the right choice.”

“Keep your promise.”

“Of course, if we survive, I’ll completely cure the disease afflicting your son.”

Harald silently raised his halberd. The mercy he could offer after that exchange had ended.

Rex also gripped his greatsword, forcibly swallowing a sigh that was about to escape.

He wasn’t keen on facing Yakov, but what could he do? Regardless of his sympathy, he couldn’t just die willingly.

“We should try to secure that if possible. If it falls into his hands, he might try something again.”

Rex pointed at the crystal sphere. Since it seemed like a reasonable judgment, people nodded readily.

‘Damn brat!’

Conrad frowned, feeling caught off guard.

The blond boy had remained unaffected when Pandemius appeared, and now he had noticed that Conrad was concerned about the seed of chaos and was interfering.

Even Yakov didn’t know anything about this boy. Who on earth was he?

While he was inwardly complaining.

A wind blew from somewhere. Everyone gathered felt the strange current brushing against their skin.

Wind is invisible. That’s a natural law everyone knows.

But in this place, at this moment, even that obvious rule didn’t apply.

The wind was visible.

It swirled around the people once, then changed direction and headed toward the crystal sphere floating high above.

Whoosh.

The dull crystal sphere gradually began to gain light. The wind seeped into the sphere as if breathing life into it.

“Ohhhhh!”

Conrad shouted in an exultant voice. The faces of the men lined up beside him were also flushed with deep excitement.

“Haha! Of course. There was indeed a mistake.”

Conrad glared at the people with a twisted smile.

His previously confident demeanor was gone, replaced by a sweaty, disheveled appearance that was gratifying to see.

Conrad chastised his past self. How could he have feared that Pandemius would abandon him? That was impossible.

‘My faith was so lacking!’

Conrad resolved that upon returning to the order, he would spend some time in the repentance chamber. But first, he needed to kill all those inferior beings.

“Pandemius, come forth!”

As Conrad shouted with fervent enthusiasm.

Rex looked away. It wasn’t out of fear. His eyes, calmer than ever, stared at the crystal sphere. The warrior’s gaze had been activated continuously since the one-eyed creature appeared.

‘This is…’

What Rex saw was completely different from the one-eyed creature. Even without enhanced intuition, there were many clues to this fact.

The crystal sphere was glowing with a bluish hue, not the eerily sticky red color.

“Huh?”

Conrad also belatedly noticed the anomaly and opened his mouth.

Bang!

The entrance door closed by itself with a harsh sound. It happened so suddenly that no one could react. Conrad and his men hurriedly turned around.

One of them pulled on the doorknob, but the door didn’t budge, as if it had been locked from the outside.

“What, what’s going on!”

Rex narrowed his eyes and observed Conrad. Judging by his bewildered expression, it didn’t seem like he was using any ability.

The anomaly didn’t end there. The crystal sphere, which had lost its original bright red appearance and somehow turned sky blue, slowly descended to the floor.

The sphere stopped descending at about human height. Then its smooth, glass-like surface began to writhe on its own.

The crystal sphere, which instantly grew in size, transformed into the shape of a beast.

It had a height three times that of a human, two pairs of sharp horns protruding above its head, a body covered in powerful muscles, and a snout that jutted out like a bull’s.

Rex didn’t know the name of this monster, but others did. Chloe’s surprised voice came from beside him.

“A minotaur?”

The minotaur, a monster half bull and half human, stood up on two legs. In its hand was a massive greatsword, though it was more like a blunt weapon than a sword. The blade was very thick and the edge was blunt.

“Vrozz’thak…”

The minotaur made a low moaning sound as it slowly scanned the people.

“I never heard about this from the order?”

Conrad muttered with a pale face. The seed of chaos was supposed to be a medium that facilitated connection with the god. He had never heard or seen anything about summoning monsters.

The dizzying feeling that struck his mind was momentary, and soon another thought blossomed in a corner of his head.

Regardless, the fact that the monster came from the seed of chaos remained unchanged. So didn’t that mean there was still hope for him?

If that minotaur were an ordinary monster, it should have shown hostility and attacked anyone immediately. Yet the creature was just looking at the people without taking any action. That appearance almost seemed like it was waiting for its master’s command.

Finding his own conjecture quite plausible, Conrad turned around to inform his subordinates.

“For now, don’t provoke it and just watch—”

But his words were cut short.

“Yvok’thara!”

The minotaur, which had been still all along, suddenly exhaled a rough breath and charged at Conrad.

Crunch!

Conrad was flung far away without even being able to scream. His waist folded like a piece of paper, and his broken spine protruded from the opposite side of where the greatsword had struck. The blunt blade didn’t cut through the flesh but simply crushed it.

In the cold silence that followed, Conrad, lying on the floor, made a choking sound and then stopped moving. Bright red blood flowed out and pooled around him.

The minotaur slowly turned its head to glare at the other men.

“GRRRRRRROOOOOAAAR!”

As the roar erupted, shaking the air, Rex swallowed dryly and drew upon his holy power.

‘Can we win?’

He didn’t know.

But one thing was certain.

This bull-headed monster was much weaker than the giant one-eyed creature.

Rex put strength into the hand holding his greatsword, Zweihander.

Golden flames rose along the blade.