Modern World Warlock-Chapter 318: A Paladin’s Corruption

As Isidor stood before Alice, the knight had his entire back stained with blood from Claudia's previous projectile.

It wouldn't have been a big deal if Claudia weren't a vampire lady, but considering that she was able to manipulate blood, Isidor knew he was at a disadvantage.

The moment that Isidor tried to take a step forward, the blood on his back began to sizzle as if it were trying to burn through his armor. Still, he ignored it and rushed with his sword in hand.

The cacophony of the blades striking each other echoed on the streets, and while Isidor got more frustrated and angry as their encounter prolonged, Alice kept her focus unwavering.

While their blades crossed, Isidor felt numerous projectiles striking his armor and splashing him with blood all over, which started sizzling almost instantly. Nonetheless, the knight couldn't ignore Alice's presence.

To Isidor, killing Alice was of higher priority than killing Claudia. In the world of Terra, there were vampires who devoted themselves to the church and to the Pantheon of Four, so their existence wasn't seen as sacrilege by the priests and holy knights. However, there hadn't been a single dark paladin who was loyal to the gods.

Paladins were virtuous and righteous warriors who fought for their embodiment of justice. They used ether to cast their spells, and they worked closely with the church of Terra.

When a paladin doubted the integrity of their tasks, they would "unlock" the ability to control umbra, turning them into their dark paladin counterpart.

Truthfully, there wasn't much of a difference between the two types. A common paladin could use ether to cast spells, and a dark paladin could use both ether and umbra. Still, their personalities remained the same.

Nevertheless, the act of simply doubting their actions or that of the goddess was enough for the church to place a target on their backs.

"I must follow the will of the goddess…" Isidor muttered, surrounding himself in necrotic energy and making Alice step away from him.

When Isidor's long sword began to glow with a teal hue, Alice could see the energy surrounding him very clearly.

Usually, her perception wasn't developed enough for her to sense or see any kind of energy coming from others unless it was extremely powerful. However, she could clearly detail the outline of Isidor's aura.

"This is not personal…" Isidor muttered.

"The moment you doubted the goddess was the moment you sealed your fate," he continued.

Alice scoffed with disinterest without taking her gaze off the knight. "As I said, I don't even know your goddess…" Alice replied.

"And, from what I've heard, I would rather keep it that way," she continued, and even though her words sounded somewhat sarcastic, she was dead serious.

Isidor seemed to consider the woman's words for a brief moment and said that it couldn't be possible for her to corrupt a white blade without any knowledge of it.

"But it did. The moment I grabbed the sword, it turned into a black blade," Alice replied, and she was telling the whole truth.

Once again, Isidor considered her words and delved into his own thoughts.

'It's not possible for someone to reject the goddess ideals if they don't know them… Is it?' The knight pondered.

'Or, could it be that this woman's ideals totally differ from the goddess?' He kept thinking.

"Listen up, Mr. Knight…" Alice said aloud, noticing that Isidor was thinking too deeply about their conversation.

"I understand you did things a certain way in your world, but this is not the same. Our world has its fair share of tragedies—more than you could imagine— but even so, it's mostly a peaceful world…" Alice explained.

"If your goddess is the type to make you kill innocents in the name of her godhood or whatever, then you can bet I don't agree with her from the very start," Alice said, her tone unwavering.

"Well said, Alice!" Claudia interjected, taking a few steps and standing beside the ex-detective.

"I may be a vampire born in this world, but I've heard tons of stories about the Pantheon of Four and the church…" Claudia commented.

"They are no different from a shadow world government, controlling different rulers and influencing the course of history to match the church's narrative," she continued.

Isidor was slightly taken aback by their comments, feeling a mix of disbelief and offense. However, he was interested in listening to their opinions.

"Hey, holy knight… Do you know who the 'Arkanists' were?" Claudia asked, sharpening her gaze and staring at Isidor.

For a few seconds, the knight kept clenching his sword before lowering his guard, feeling like small remembrances were filling his mind.

In these memories, Isidor looked like a healthy young man, seemingly in his early 20s, wearing his pristine silver armor.

Isidor was standing in a row with other holy knights standing tall beside him, and in front of them, the figure of a giant woman sat sideways on a massive throne, using the armrest to place her legs.

The woman wore a long, white dress that kept her legs uncovered, and her resplendent blonde hair seemed to sparkle with starry lights.

Isidor's memory was too hazy for him to detail the face of the godly woman, but he knew perfectly well who it was—Goddess Aelara.

As the goddess turned her attention to the row of holy knights with little interest, she pointed her finger down and showed them the location of a village far away from the holy capital.

"Do you see this, my knights? There are still people praising my father…" The goddess muttered with an angelical and soothing voice.

"Eliminate them," she continued, her tone switching to a more severe one.

Suddenly, the memory shifted from the throne room to a small village that was burning down, with Isidor standing in the center.

When Isidor looked around, he spotted other holy knights executing the innocent villagers in cold blood. Women, children, pets—none of them could escape.

'This… I remember this!' Isidor thought, widening his eyes in horror.