The Pitfall of Identity

"Ah!!" Downs, following behind Naimus, let out a pained howl as wisps of black smoke rose from his body.

His body trembled uncontrollably, and the Demon corpse he held fell to the ground. However, the corpse was in an even worse state than Downs.

Flames suddenly erupted from the corpse. The green fire looked eerie and bewitching, and great amounts of black smoke rose from within it, only to be crushed by the power of the spreading Holy Chant.

By the time the Holy Chant ended, the Demon corpse had become a dried rat like a piece of deadwood, while the green flames atop it had turned into ordinary orange-yellow fire.

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans covered Downs's head. His body curled up to one side, making it clear that the pain had been excruciating.

Naimus merely smiled as he watched the open doors of the church in the distance. An aged, hunched figure walked out from within.

This was the Old Priest whom Naimus had previously ordered Nigel to kill.

But now, it seemed Naimus had made things a little too difficult for Nigel.

"A Steel Breed?" This was information the Old Priest had never revealed before. At the very least, Nigel had not known about it.

Otherwise, their contract would have been rewritten long ago. Perhaps Naimus would not have taken Nigel's body so quickly.

Only a Steel Breed could perform a Holy Chant of that caliber.

It seemed bringing Downs here to probe him had been the right move. They had indeed uncovered something unusual.

"Hm? Just a Demon corpse? I thought some Demon had boldly invaded the territory of the gods!" The Old Priest stared at the still-burning dried rat with clouded eyes and muttered to himself in slight confusion.

As he spoke, the Old Priest turned his gaze toward Naimus.

"Perhaps I'm a Demon?" Naimus joked.

Then, growing slightly more serious, he pointed at Downs. "He was corrupted by a Demon's power. The Aura of Life in his body was forcibly awakened, and I used a Breathing Technique to activate some of his traits."

"Perhaps that is why he feels somewhat like a living Demon."

Naimus offered his explanation, and theoretically, it held up.

This was also the background he had designed for Downs, making it seem more reasonable for him to possess power.

Of course, no matter how reasonable it was, some things would naturally arouse suspicion. Naimus himself was one such thing.

He was certain that the Old Priest's Holy Chant had most likely been aimed at him.

Naimus's change in personality after possessing Nigel had been far too obvious. In this era, one of the most likely explanations for a drastic change in someone's character was Demon possession.

Every year, quite a few mentally ill people were burned to death after being mistaken for Demon-possessed.

But after this round of probing, the Old Priest's suspicions of him should have lessened considerably.

A Holy Chant of that level would never be perfectly concealed by an ordinary case of Demon possession.

I'm only special because I'm a transmigrator. The structure of my soul defies this world's common sense, allowing me to perfectly seize a person's identity and soul, then use the stolen soul as an outer disguise.

Even gods might be fooled by such a disguise! The thought flashed through Naimus's mind, and the smile on his face became even more sincere.

"I see..." The Old Priest studied Naimus, then finally accepted his explanation, a hint of emotion appearing on his face.

"Getting old, getting old... Back then..." he muttered softly before turning and walking into the church.

Naimus glanced at Downs, who was gradually recovering beside him, told him to go back and await word, then extinguished the flames on the dried rat. Picking it up, he entered the church.

The church's layout was quite conventional. Beyond the entrance was a corridor, with stone basins on either side filled with a mixture of rainwater and dew.

Ordinary worshippers had to wash their hands, faces, mouths, and so on here before entering the church.

Beyond the corridor lay the church's main hall. Wooden pews stood on either side, surrounded by stained windows made from whale fat.

Translucent whale-fat panels were embedded with shards of glass, depicting the Legend of the God of Precepts, the Temperate Floating Whale. When sunlight shone through them, warped patches of light appeared on the floor.

Further inside stood an enormous bone-carved divine statue.

The statue depicted a faceless figure radiating light, its arms crossed over its chest.

This was the God of Precepts.

Naimus could sense a considerable amount of faith power lingering around the statue, which was actually rather unusual.

Below the statue were somewhat tattered kneeling mats, gleaming with oil as though many people came daily to pray to the god.

To the statue's left was a door leading to the confessional, where the Old Priest listened to the villagers' guilt and sins and comforted their hearts.

To the right was the resting and training area for clergy.

One of the rooms inside belonged to Nigel.

Further back lay the graveyard.

The Old Priest washed his hands and face with water from a stone basin, then naturally walked over to a pew and sat down.

"Nigel..." the Old Priest called his name while looking at the statue, his expression slightly dazed.

"You came from the Dartmenly Family." The Old Priest asked softly, "It seems you have let go of something. Have you considered returning now?"

"No, I won't go back. At least, not yet!" Naimus answered firmly.

That resolute response made the Old Priest chuckle a few times.

Through the soul, Naimus had a thorough understanding of Nigel's past.

The Dartmenly Family was a fairly prominent family with deep ties to the Church of Precepts.

Nigel had been trained as a Paladin from childhood and originally possessed a bright future. Yet after coming of age, he fell out with his family.

That was why he had left prosperous Gas Spring City for a small place like Dorsal Fin Village. Even though his subconscious had already given up on everything, he remained unwilling to accept it. That was how he had ended up entangled with Naimus, who had infiltrated the Material Plane.

"Looks like you merely came to understand it, but you still haven't let it go..."

"Yes. People do not let go so easily." The Old Priest's gaze remained fixed on the statue, and his words drifted lightly, as though they were not directed at Naimus at all.

The atmosphere abruptly stagnated.

After a while, the Old Priest finally brought up the Church's official business.

"In three days, trainee priests and Paladins will arrive. There should also be some migrating people. The inspection work will be left to you."

"Trainee priests and Paladins are coming here for training?" Naimus frowned in curiosity.

"Otto seems to have done rather well. Dorsal Fin Village is fairly stable, so naturally it has attracted some people." As the Old Priest spoke, his gaze shifted toward Naimus.

"Weren't you and Otto on rather good terms?"

"Just ordinary dealings." Naimus immediately sensed the probing intent behind the question. Nigel had once accepted a few bribes from Otto, though Nigel had considered them merely flattering Gifts.

Clearly, the Old Priest's earlier remark that "Otto seems to have done rather well" had been a question. The truth was likely that Otto had done something taboo, drawing the Church's attention.

"Nigel has become far too useless..." Naimus had unquestionably been set up.