This Much Is Easy (1)
Isaac didn't even know who this "Shuri" person was.
But then the door opened.
— "What, this punk is my so-called rival?"
Rival.
This punk.
Just those two words were enough to grasp the whole situation.
Really enough, you ask?
First, he said rival—so, clearly not an ally.
Second, a guy who calls someone this punk isn't someone you need to be polite to.
Having judged the situation, Isaac chucked the rattle without hesitation.
He's an enemy anyway, right?
No need to hold back. I can just turn him into my flying hammer, no biggie.
But the one who got hit square in the face didn't seem to see it the same way.
Holding his reddened face, Shuri stood up and grabbed Isaac by the collar.
"Hey! Do you even know who I am!?"
Who cares who you are?
Isaac, who had already sized the guy up at a glance, frowned in disinterest.
He had no desire to know the mug of some priestling—but a kid barging in alone through the door?
That meant he was likely part of this household. Judging by what he said, his age, gender, and all that, there was only one answer.
'A candidate for sainthood.'
And the clincher—brown hair and blue eyes.
Exactly like that rude brat he'd just seen earlier.
Which meant… he was Isaac's cousin.
Plus, he had some kind of paralysis divine technique glowing in his hand—probably meant to strike Isaac down the moment they met.
Plenty of reason to hit him first, no?
Crack!
Shuri's head snapped back again.
"Argh!"
The heavy golden rattle struck his face once more.
Shuri, who was getting beaten to a pulp by his own baby cousin on their very first meeting, screamed in outrage.
He couldn't believe what was happening.
A baby attacks someone the moment he enters the room?
No, more importantly—
'Why is the rattle I threw flying back this way…!? Ugh!'
The golden rattle that had slammed into the back of Shuri's head boomeranged straight back to Isaac.
"W-What the hell! Why is that thing coming back!? I swear it was just over there!"
Shuri clearly couldn't understand what was going on, while Isaac smirked.
Yeah, of course he didn't get it.
In truth, it was Whisper who kept fetching the rattle. And occasionally, adding in a few extra hits of his own along the way.
But to others, it just looked like the rattle was moving on its own.
"W-What is this!? Why is that thing moving on its own!? There's no one here!"
Sensing something invisible nearby, Shuri instinctively tried to grab it—but Isaac, gleefully watching his cousin get pounded, just chuckled.
'Grab what, exactly? Go back to your mommy and drink some more milk.'
Shuri had underestimated Isaac because he was just a baby—but Isaac found this punk easy and useful.
'Whisper won't even be visible for another ten years.'
You'd need to be at least a fifth-level divine caster, someone who could perceive demons and wield exorcism techniques, to even see Whisper.
Which is why Isaac hadn't dared use Whisper openly around Lila or the other knights. But a kid like this?
Even if his divine level was still low now, the Skeleton King had once been the strongest magician in the mortal realm.
'You're a total rookie. Just give up and become my flying hammer already!'
"Gyaaah! Gaaaah!"
Still, credit where credit's due—he could take a hit. Must be that saintly bloodline.
Apparently, the dragonbone gene was alive and well.
'Well, either way, a tough little worker is always welcome.'
"Gaaack! Gyaah! Aaack!"
Eventually, Shuri, who had been getting smacked by this invisible force, started turning red with rage.
"You think I'm some kind of joke!?"
"!"
A powerful surge of divine energy burst out of him.
A blue light shimmered around him, forming a radiant shield like a barrier of light.
"What, surprised? This is a third-level defensive divine technique! I'm probably the only one my age who can pull this off!"
Shuri glared at Isaac like he was staring down a rival.
"Looks like you've got some divine power too!"
"…Babba?"
That wasn't divine power. That was just me smacking you with a rattle, dude.
"Behold the power of the future Pope!"
"Huh? The Pope?"
Inside the barrier, Shuri began tracing symbols in the air with her fingers.
From the precise, practiced way her hand moved, it was clear—this was the Sign of the Cross.
While magic uses spells for casting, divine arts (성법) rely on semiotics—the science of symbols.
Judging from the finger positions, flow, and sequence…
'A fourth-tier attack divine art, Exploding Star?'
An extremely powerful spell that causes the target's body to explode.
With enough power to turn even fortress walls or fully armored knights into meat in seconds, this was clearly an attack imbued with murderous intent—not something you use on a baby.
Even Whisper let out a mocking, disapproving laugh.
[Hoo boy. A saint candidate, huh? Got some guts. I'll kill her.]
But Isaac, on the other hand, was genuinely surprised.
A kid like her can cast a fourth-tier divine art? That takes at least 15 years of training to master.
Sure, divine arts evolve over time thanks to practitioners improving the craft and passing it down—but this much of a power creep in 150 years?
"Ugh! This isn't right…! I think I messed up the order…!"
Ah. She forgot the sequence and just accidentally stumbled into it.
"Screw it! I'm giving up on three of them!"
Whatever it was, looks like she tried to get flashy and blew it.
Then, apparently giving up, Shuri launched two orbs of light.
That was a third-tier attack divine art: Radiant Star (광성).
It's a basic tracking-type spell. Its power scales with the caster's divine energy and control.
High-ranking clergy often use it in combat, but…
FLASH!
"Ahh!"
Suddenly, the orbs Shuri fired were reflected.
BOOM!
Caught completely off guard by the rebound, Shuri spun around and looked at Isaac in shock.
"Dda-ya."
Hovering in front of Isaac was a familiar shield of light.
The very same defensive divine art Shuri had cast earlier!
Isaac, now having cast the defense spell himself, grinned.
He had been wondering what to do after his uncle ditched him without teaching him divine arts.
"Dda-ya-ya. (This punk's teaching me instead?)"
The baby's eyes gleamed dangerously.
Meanwhile, Shuri was visibly shaken, pupils trembling.
What the hell? How's he using that?
And he reflected it too?!
No, there was an even bigger problem.
"KYAA!"
Shuri fell flat on her butt as an orb of light began to glow above Isaac's head.
Radiant Star (광성)—third-tier.
The very same spell Shuri had just used.
But the quantity was on another level.
"W-what?! Twenty of them?!"
No way!
Even experienced adult clergy could barely manage ten at once!
Isaac, on the other hand, grinned smugly.
This trash body's finally pulling its weight.
His body, it turned out, could hold an absurd amount of divine energy.
And true to his lineage from a Saint's family, just wandering the house filled him up with holy power like a battery.
He'd already observed the spell recipe when that brat cast it—so there was no reason he couldn't use it himself.
He even saw how to increase the quantity, even if she messed it up.
So of course he could do it better.
Then, the orbs of light launched violently toward Shuri.
BOOM! BOOM BOOM BOOM!
"AAAHHH!!"
Shuri screamed and ducked, the relentless bombardment smashing through walls and flooring in a blazing assault.
It was the first time Isaac had ever used an attack-type divine art.
Whisper, watching the scene, practically shivered in ecstasy.
[Ahh! That's my master! The foolish clergy's techniques—he masters them just by watching once!]
Well, yeah. It's just third-tier.
Isaac could replicate any divine art humans could use with his eyes closed.
[Please forgive this fool for ever underestimating you just because you look like a baby!]
Oh, so you were underestimating me, huh?
[At this rate, we could storm the heavens right now! Drive out those useless male gods, keep only the goddess crew, and establish the great Kingdom of Isaac!]
Yeah, sure. Knock yourself out, man.
But then Whisper gave a rare pause, glancing at Shuri, who lay crumpled and groaning.
[You killed a direct bloodline heir… Without even absorbing her magic core, they'll kick you out before you even get started.]
Isaac just snorted.
Kill her? Please. The attack didn't even touch her.
"Huh?"
'He was never my real target to begin with.'
"What do you mean…?"
Isaac grinned slyly and looked off in a direction. At the same time, Shuri rose to his feet.
"You little brat! Don't sneak up on people like that!"
[!]
Shuri stood up with a vicious gleam in his eye.
He glared at his cousin like he'd been utterly humiliated. Somehow, Isaac was perfectly mimicking the sacred technique Shuri had used.
No—calling it mimicry would be putting it nicely. He had improved upon it, taken it to another level.
As if to say he was the real Saint candidate.
'Damn it, this isn't going to work.'
The position of Saint—and beyond that, the Pope—had to be his.
It was the only way to escape this cursed land of Eshua, the only way to earn his father's praise.
No way in hell he was going to lose to some snot-nosed baby!
"You can use all the offensive sacred techniques you want, but against me, a Saint candidate—!"
But then it happened.
A chill swept through the air, and Shuri shivered.
Without realizing, he turned his head—and then…
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Right in front of his face loomed a Shadow Lich. Shuri nearly passed out on the spot.
Turns out Isaac's talk about aiming for the papal seat wasn't just bluster. Despite being a kid, Shuri immediately recognized the creature for what it was.
"A-a-a Shadow Lich?! One of the Skull King's lieutenants—the one who destroyed an entire country?! WAAAAHHH!"
Was this thing that infamous, that even a child would know it by sight?
In truth, Isaac had only attacked Shuri in the first place because of the Shadow Lich's resurrection.
He'd known from the start that Shuri had the totem.
He'd been wondering how to retrieve the thing his uncle stole—who would've guessed they'd hand-deliver it back?
Anyway, Isaac had purposely attacked Shuri to knock the totem from his pocket and revive the Lich.
Even though the creature had a savage nature, it seemed obedient enough. Letting it loose should be fine.
Regardless, the Shadow Lich loomed menacingly toward Shuri.
"You dare attack the King?"
"He's gonna eat me!!"
The once-cocky brat burst into tears the moment he saw the Lich.
He even fell on his butt and started crawling away.
"A-a skull! One of those cursed Skull King's minions! WAAAAAHH!"
Hey now, I don't have anything that dramatic in my ranks.
But Isaac just calmly sucked on his pacifier, satisfied.
"Daya (come back)!"
And just like that, the Shadow Lich vanished in an instant.
"Huh? H-huh…?"
As the eerie aura dissipated, Shuri looked around frantically.
The Shadow Lich was gone?
And it disappeared at Isaac's command?
Shuri's gaze slowly turned to Isaac.
'N-no way… did he get rid of it?'
His eyes trembled—but then his face twisted into a scowl.
'No. No way. That's impossible.'
The Shadow Lich was a high-class demonic beast, so dangerous that even a Cardinal had to step in to seal it.
How could a kid possibly control something like that?
Demons following human orders? He'd never even heard of such a thing.
It had to be a hallucination—or maybe…
'Was it me? Did I destroy it?'
My power?
Could that be it?!
Of course! I must really be the Saint!
I must be the beacon of hope in this cursed Eshua!
As Shuri's eyes began to sparkle with that self-important realization, something heavy dropped onto his body.
"Gah!"
It was Isaac.
He climbed on top of Shuri like it was the most natural thing in the world. Shuri, stunned, tried to push him off—but it was like trying to move a boulder.
"Daya. Daya (Take me now)!"
Isaac even started smacking Shuri's head with a golden rattle, pointing in a certain direction.
"Dayayaya (To the annex, Boongboong)!"
Now saddled with the role of a carriage driver, the son of a Duke was at a complete loss for words.
"What the hell is this? I swear, I'm gonna—"
He was just about ready to toss Isaac out the window when—
"Didn't you hear? The King ordered you to move."
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
The Shadow Lich appeared again beside him, and Shuri screamed in terror.
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