Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 112



Only Krnovel

Episode 112 Deep in the sea (5)

The sea at night was surprisingly calm. Perhaps the Drowned King is in control.

Isaac felt a shiver run down his spine as he met the Drowned King’s ultramarine eyes shining beneath the still waters. Those pale eyes reminded me of a dead, drowned body floating in the sea.

Isaac seemed to know why he was called the Drowned King.

“… … “I would like you to speak a little more politely.”

Yenkos, who was next to me, spoke cautiously.

Not only Isaac, but also Yenkos, Hyannis, and Aidan were participating in this conversation with the angel. There were many captains and sailors who wanted to participate in this meeting.

However, Isaac was going to be in charge of the conversation anyway, and the Drowned King disliked unnecessarily busy atmosphere. Thanks to this, the people gathered here were the interpreter, the ship’s captain, the chairman, and Aidan, who happened to be involved, although I’m not sure of the purpose.

When there was no answer from the Drowned King, Isaac spoke again.

“I think you know who I am by now. “But the reason you’re not turning the boat over right away is because you intend to talk.”

Isaac thought that the Drowned King at least recognized that he was a Nephilim. Not only the ancient gods, but also the red-fleshed prophet could immediately recognize it. Just being a Nephilim is enough to make angels uncomfortable.

Finally a response came from the Drowned King.

A crab came up on the deck. The crab, which was smaller than the palm of your hand, spouted bubbles from its mouth. As the bubble burst, a voice came out.

[I didn’t know there were still living sins. Who are your parents?]

His tone of voice was harsh and arrogant, but since he was only conveying the message on behalf of the Drowned King, Isaac just ignored it.

What the Drowned King said was, as expected, archaic. He was very considerate when speaking to other sailors.

‘Living sin’ was one of the titles used for the Nephilim. It was difficult to see it as a friendly expression, but it was not hostile either. It was polite enough just to not call him a mongrel or a fry.

“Parents don’t know. Both sides. “Are you careful not to talk to people you don’t know?”

The Drowned King laughed lowly. I couldn’t hear his laughter, but I could feel the sea bubbling and rolling.

[Conversation is good. But I didn’t know you were a member of the Salt Council.]

“I am not a follower of the Salt Council.”

The Drowned King was silent for a moment. Isaac felt that the Drowned King’s eyes were burning underwater again, but it could have been due to the reflection of the moonlight.

[You are not a member of the Salt Council?]

“But I know what you asked the Salt Council to do. I don’t know the original text, but he asked for someone to drown. “So the members of the Salt Council are freaking out because they think you’ve asked for human sacrifice.”

[Human sacrifice?]

A low laugh rang out again. Yenkos and Hyannis looked uncomfortable at the sound of laughter. The laughter that continued for a long time ended in a long sigh.

[Once again, I feel like the period of disconnection has been long. The children are finding it increasingly difficult to understand me. I’m trying to learn a new language, but it’s becoming difficult to even stay awake.]

There was no twist. As expected, he did not ask for human sacrifice.

Isaac said what the Drowned King really asked.

“You were planning to perform the ‘Moonwell Ceremony,’ right?”

When Isaac mentioned the unfamiliar ritual, the Drowned King remained silent as if he had not expected it.

[okay. It’s ironic that a heretic paladin, and a living sin, would accurately recognize my intentions, even though the members of the council did not. It would be difficult to find records now, even in the Salt Council.]

The Drowned King spoke as if he were lamenting.

[The disconnect was too long. It would be nice if I could go in person, but there is no medium or priest to help with the ceremony. And even if I go, I don’t think I’ll be able to come back. So a brave volunteer was needed.]

“Are you going to send someone directly to the afterlife to ask what happened to your gods and when this suffering will end?”

[okay. I can’t put it off any longer.]

The Drowned King muttered slowly.

[The children have been neglected for too long, and I have become too weak. We must find out God’s intentions before it is too late. If God is later… … .]

The Drowned King omitted the afterword.

It was difficult for Isaac to imagine what it would mean to the angel to have to watch his faith be destroyed.

Perhaps it was a feeling of being denied one’s existence from the very root.

There are cases where one becomes a fallen angel by committing apostasy or committing a sin, but the Drowned King has been quietly working as an angel for a thousand years under an unresponsive god.

Anyway, to get things going, we needed the Drowned King, the ritual caster, and volunteers to be thrown into the Moonwell Ritual.

Needless to say, it is dangerous. The probability of failure was also incredibly high.

Isaac remembered what happened when he was connected to the afterlife. If you’re lucky, you’ll land in the salt council’s paradise, but you could also be taken to the Red Grail’s banquet hall or thrown into the Colosseum of Elil.

Isaac looked back at the people who had come as representatives of the Salt Council.

In fact, they were only listening to half of the conversation and could not hide their anxious expressions. Isaac recalled the conversation he had had with the Drowned King before he began his meeting.

***

“I think you definitely know about the ritual of rebirth.”

Yenkos and Hyannis looked bewildered. It was a waste of time to ask. The resurrection ceremony was the most important and frequently performed ceremony among the few remaining ceremonies in the Salt Council.

Yenkos and Hyannis were also those who received the ordinance.

“Are you talking about the priestly ordination ceremony mentioned in the Code of Light?”

“yes.”

“Of course. “It’s a ritual we also received.”

The procedure for the resurrection ceremony is as follows.

First, the person selected as a priest candidate is taken to the beach. Then, he slowly submerges his entire body into the water, including his head. At first, put it in and take it out quickly. He then asks if he heard God’s voice. If you heard it, you have awakened as a priest. If not, dip your head in the water again. As time passes, the soaking time becomes longer and longer.

The original consciousness ends here.

But things changed after their gods were buried beneath the salt flats.

Because I couldn’t hear God’s answer.

Therefore, the ritual of returning to life has now become considerably harsher. The priest candidate repeatedly immerses his head in the sea until the ritual is successful or he gives up. Eventually, the lungs fill with seawater, the heart stops, and the skin turns blue. Only then do they take the priest candidate out of the water and perform CPR.

Some survive, but most never return.

Only those who are revived in this way become priests.

Hyannis and Yenkos were the ones who became priests against such slim odds.

Only by having at least one foot in the afterlife can they reconnect with their God.

The only faith that had the miracle of connecting the afterlife while still alive was the Salt Council. Because the Immortal Church had no afterlife at all.

Isaac wanted to talk about it.

“The ritual that the Drowned King wants to perform will be the ‘Moonwell Ritual.’”

“… … “What is that?”

Even Yenkos, the chairman of the Salt Council, had heard of this ceremony for the first time. In fact, it was a ceremony that had never been performed since the burial in the salt desert.

“It is a ritual that sends a person alive to the afterlife and then brings them back.”

The ritual of returning to life is dangerous enough. But needless to say, the ‘Moonwell Ritual’ was an even more dangerous ritual. A ritual that can endanger the person being sent to the afterlife, the caster, and everyone around them.

It is a vain and dangerous ritual, literally like going into a deep well to retrieve the moon.

Yenkos asked in bewilderment.

“Something like that… … Is it possible?”

“As far as I know, this is a miracle that only the Salt Council can do.”

“What about the Immortal Church? “I understand that they can open the door to the afterlife at will.”

“They are bringing the afterlife down to earth. So, for the Immortal Church, there is no such thing as an afterlife. “Because the earth is their starting and ending world.”

“Why would the Drowned King perform such a ritual?”

“It is believed that people who return from the rebirth ritual hear the voice of God in the afterlife and become priests. But no one remembers what God said, right?”

Both Yenkos and Hyannis nodded at Isaac’s words. They all attained the status of priests, but they did not remember the voice of God. Only then did Hyannis seem to realize something.

“The Drowned King… … “You’re trying to send a messenger to God.”

Isaac nodded. He concluded that in order to fully communicate with God and remember the contents and return, he had to send his living body to the afterlife and bring it back. To ask when the suffering of their declining faith will end and when the salt desert will be broken and their temple will be revealed again.

The lawmakers fell silent for a long time.

I don’t know how Isaac knows things that even the lawmakers don’t know. However, doubt was meaningless at a time when he was almost the only person who knew archaic language and could talk to the Drowned King.

Hyannis raised his hand.

“Then I was wrong. Chairman.”

“There is no point in discussing right or wrong right now, so let’s put it aside, Hyannis. “We all misunderstood the Drowned King’s intentions.”

“No, you still have to take responsibility for your disrespect.”

Hyannis clenched his fists and stood up.

“I will volunteer for the Moonwell Ritual. “I’m lucky, so it will work this time too.”

Yenkos frowned at those words.

“What are you talking about? As Chairman, I have also committed the same sin. If you can’t even speak Gore, can you properly hear what God is saying? “I’m younger and have more knowledge, so it’s right for me to go.”

“No. So wouldn’t it make sense to stay here? He has many years to live… … .”

“for a moment.”

Isaac stopped the fighting man and woman. I couldn’t tell if the reason they were fighting was really for the forgiveness of sins or because they didn’t want to miss the opportunity to talk to God, but in this ritual, things other than will and motivation were more important than will and motivation.

“I heard that there is no consistent pattern to those who come back alive during the rebirth ceremony.”

Isaac’s words stopped the two of them. As Isaac said, just because one had a very deep religious faith or was respected by many people, the chances of coming back alive during the resurrection ceremony were not particularly higher.

“The moment you are sent to the afterlife, no one knows where you will fall. I mean very few people are lucky enough to fall into the afterlife of the Salt Council and return fortunately. Can you two do that?”

“I’m lucky enough to have been there once… … .”

“What if I’m not so lucky this time? If the Moonwell Ritual was an easy ritual, the Drowned King would have performed it several times over the past thousand years. “He kills a dozen people a year just to make priests, so there’s no reason why he can’t kill a thousand people over a thousand years to talk to God and awaken him.”

It was a cruel story, but considering the number of people dying due to the power of the gods, it was nothing.

In other words, the Moonwell Ritual was a last resort for this giant octopus angel. A thousand years is too long to just wait. In a situation where the afterlife is cut off, such a ritual would be quite risky even for the Drowned King.

“Perhaps if this ritual fails, there will be no second chance. And if it fails, I don’t think the Drowned King will end up just disappointed.”

Hyannis and Yenkos were speechless again.

Yenkos spoke again after silence.

“Then what further conditions do you think the Holy Grail Knight needs?”

“First of all, luck is natural.”

Isaac spread his fingers one by one.

“Strong physical strength to face anything you encounter in the afterlife, the ability to boldly respond to any crisis situation, language skills fluent in archaic words, and a charm that is liked by everyone. “More than anything, we will need someone with God’s strong protection based on devout faith who can withstand the afterlife.”

People looked at Isaac with his fingers incessantly stretching them out, making expressions of bewilderment. But then Yenkos looked at him with an expression that made him feel like he had been punched.

“It could not be possible that the person speaking just now…” … .”

***

Isaac opened his mouth to the Drowned King.

“I recommend Aidan Verbeek.”