Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 126



Only Krnovel

Episode 126 old future (2)

‘First of all, I’ll have to find out where this place is.’

Isaac looked around. Since the Drowned King was the ‘gate’ to the afterlife, the coordinates for his return seemed to have been set based on his body. The body of the Drowned King was drifting here and there on the ocean currents and was stranded on the beach rotting when Isaac returned.

It would have been quite difficult if we had returned to the middle of the sea, so it was a good thing, but it was still an awkward situation.

The air is cold and the waves are rough.

Looking at the vegetation, I saw many tall coniferous trees that mainly grow in the north. Fortunately, it does not appear that Isaac has yet left the North Sea near Port Norden, where he departed.

‘Then, if you’re lucky, you’ll return to the coast around Port Norden. If you’re unlucky, it might be Elil or the area near Kilmar, where the world’s hearth is located.’

Since they are both faiths belonging to the Baekje Empire, they may not be killed or saved, but they could have been held captive for a long time. After learning the identity of Urbansus, I didn’t want to waste my time like that.

Isaac concentrated his will and fired it towards his subordinates who were scattered in various places and carrying out their own missions.

Hesabel, who was working on work related to the Red Grail, Jihillet, who was tasked with finding the ancient god’s retreat, and Kyle, who was managing the Isacrea territory, each responded quickly.

The first to send will was Hezabel.

‘You’re back!’

‘okay. But I still don’t know where this is. ‘Can you guess my location?’

‘I don’t know much other than it’s north.’

Hesabel showed loyalty, as if she would come running immediately when called, but there was a high probability that she would not be of any help. She is a completely inland country person who is unfamiliar with the concept of fishing or boating in the first place. Isaac asked Hesabel to send a message to her council of salt to search the direction she was in. But she gave a surprising answer.

‘That won’t be necessary.’

‘why? Are you going to take this opportunity to completely immerse me in the sea?’

‘yes? What are you saying… … The Salt Council is already searching for Isaac. Now that Isaac has returned, he will be heading towards where he is already.’

Isaac was about to ask how the Salt Council could find him when he suddenly realized that he was holding something in his right hand. It was something I had been holding so tightly until now that I didn’t even realize I had it.

‘… … !’

It was the last thing the boatman, or rather the Drowned King of Urbansus, handed over to Isaac.

At that time, I saw a boat starting to come in on one side of the coast.

Starting with that one boat, other boats that had been searching along the coast came in one after another. Isaac found a man standing almost clinging to the bow.

Aidan, who made eye contact with Isaac, smiled and waved his hand.

***

The island where Isaac was was an uninhabited island in the northern Svanvar Archipelago. The Svanvar Archipelago was the sphere of influence of the Arles tribal alliance, which was influenced by the World Hearth Church.

But fortunately, there were no encounters with patrol boats or guards carrying those furry beasts. This was thanks to the Salt Council’s clever hiding and searching for Isaac.

At the moment the Drowned King died, the priests of the Salt Council all said that they felt connected to the afterlife. He said he felt the energy and assurance of divinity, and the sacredness of its existence.

After that, they said they searched for Isaac for 48 days.

48 days.

That was the time that passed in reality while Isaac briefly entered the afterlife. Isaac felt deeply angry at this enormous waste of time, but he was able to calm his anger when he thought about how he would have been sick for a while in the aftermath of the tentacle monster’s rampage.

The reason they were able to find Isaac as soon as he returned was thanks to a special holy relic.

“therefore… … “So you found me with this.”

“yes. you’re right!”

Aidan answered bravely.

“I was waiting around the body of the Drowned King, thinking that Isaac would return. However, the smell was serious and it would be difficult if we encountered the Arles Alliance guards, so we hid. “In the meantime, I saw this holy object reacting and moving, so I came back right away!”

What Aidan was holding in his hand was a sacred object that Isaac had made, ‘The Castaway’s Hometown.’

[Hometown of the Castaway (Rare)]

[When you put seawater in a bottle, the bow of the ship model always heads towards the place where the seawater was contained.]

I thought it was a really insignificant holy relic, but strangely enough, it was pointed at Isaac. No, more accurately, it was pointing to another ‘Drifter’s Hometown’ that Isaac had. Aidan began to explain.

“While I was unconscious, I also seem to have been sucked into Urbansus. “It was an unintentional ritual of rebirth.”

“You performed a rebirth ceremony? then… … .”

“yes. I also have no memory of being in Urbansus, but when I woke up, I was allowed to perform miracles as a priest. I didn’t go through the proper procedures… … . “It seems that Captain Hayanis and Chairman Yenkos had some expectations from the time they were preparing for the Moon Well Ceremony.”

In any case, in that Aidan entered and exited the underworld, he performed a ritual as a priest.

This was an unexpected benefit. Aidan, who believes in and follows Isaac, goes beyond being simply a merchant or archaeologist and attains the status of a priest. It even seemed that his miraculous powers were much stronger than that of an ordinary priest.

“But after returning from Urbansus, the castaway’s hometown changed strangely. The water turned white and murky, and the boat was tilted and spinning toward the sky, unable to point to a single point. Then, at some point, it pointed in the right direction. So I followed that direction, and there he was!”

Isaac examined Aidan’s sacred object. The color of the water was similar to that lapping at the salt flats that Isaac had seen.

“This is the water of the afterlife.”

“yes?!”

Aidan was scared and almost dropped the holy object, but he managed to grab it. He cherished it and looked at it like a treasure that could not be found anywhere else in the world. It is an object that proves the afterlife that has been cut off for nearly a thousand years. It could never be neglected.

Isaac also lifted up the castaway’s home that the Drowned King had given him. The same water was contained there too. Isaac remembered Amundalas’ words.

‘You said you would send along evidence, but you sent something simple.’

However, Isaac did not ignore it, saying it was simple. There were times when the history and events contained within a sacred relic created a more dramatic effect than the function itself.

Isaac’s most precious sacred item, the ‘Rite of Splitting’, was a simple dagger, but after pulling out Elil’s heart, it became a magical tool capable of tearing even angels to pieces.

Above all, it was difficult to think that a sacred object containing water in the afterlife would be ordinary.

“First of all, I don’t know how to use this right now. Amundalas said he would send me down as proof that he would reveal me as a dreamer, so it might be useful somewhere. First, let’s get out of this island… … .”

Then Isaac saw Aidan looking at him with an expression that made his eyes pop out.

“No, wait, before that, Amundalas? Who is that? Are you an unknown angel? And the dreamer? Please tell me in detail what you mean by that! Sir Isaac!”

***

Isaac removed Aidan, who was clinging to him annoyingly, and entered the cabin.

There was nothing I couldn’t explain to Aidan, but I had a strong feeling that I would have to repeat the same explanation when I met council captains like Hyannis and Yenkos in the future. Anyway, Isaac had to stop by Port Norden again before returning.

“Please bring me a pen and paper.”

Isaac received paper and pen from the sailor in charge of errands and began to draw.

The Salt Council priests will ask Isaac about what kind of place Urbansus is, whether because of their academic curiosity or their thirsty piety. But apart from their curiosity, Isaac also felt the need to organize his memories.

‘Urbansus will be deeply involved with me in one way or another in the future.’

Isaac began to draw and record the landscapes of Urbansus as he remembered them.

The salt flats were only a small part of Urbansus.

The first structure that caught my eye was the pyramid.

A pyramid that was so huge that it felt unrealistic.

As with all things that exist in Urbansus, it seemed right to approach it as a concept rather than as a physical entity.

Maybe the pyramid itself is Urbansus.

‘And the prominent places that exist in the pyramid’s parts can be seen as the afterlife of each faith.’

Isaac recalled the strange spaces he had seen throughout the pyramid. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now that I think about it, I realize that each faith has its own characteristics.

For example, the red river flowing down the wall could be thought of as blood overflowing from the red chalice.

The crack where the fire burns is the hearth of the world, and the space where the broken pieces are in order is Elil, and so on.

Naturally, the salt desert at the bottom of the pyramid is the afterlife of the Salt Council.

The salt flat seemed huge when standing on it, but when you looked down at the pyramid, it was as small as a fingernail. Isaac checked off several other notable parts of the pyramid, but it was difficult to be sure what specific beliefs these meant.

However, it was clear that the sun at the top symbolized the code of light.

Because that very ‘order’ was defeating the dark hordes encroaching on the surroundings.

‘Then this black group is the Immortal Church?’

But Isaac soon denied it himself. The afterlife of the Immortal Church does not exist in Urbansus. Because they brought the afterlife down to earth.

‘then… … There is a high possibility that it is nameless chaos.’

Suddenly, I remembered what Amundalas had said.

‘Urbansus said that only the afterlife of the nine faiths exists.’

It’s nine, not eight.

If so, it means that there is also a nameless chaotic afterlife somewhere in Urbansus.

There may be an afterlife somewhere in Urbansus where all of the believers who were wiped out 300 years ago are concentrated. Isaac couldn’t think of a place like that anywhere in the pyramid.

However, in the landscape of Urbansus he had last seen, a place he had been guessing, despite his unwillingness, immediately came to mind.

Groups of people eroding from the outside of the pyramid, not from the inside.

The dark hordes encroaching on the surroundings may be the nameless, chaotic afterlife where he committed suicide 300 years ago.

Isaac, whose thoughts became complicated, stood up and looked down at the picture he had drawn. I wasn’t sure how much value this painting, which can be seen as a map of the afterlife, would have, but I wondered if expressing the abstract world through painting would have great meaning.

What needed to be made clear right away was Isaac’s future.

‘My purpose is to play an active role in the Dawn Army and retake the Holy Land and make a great achievement.’

In this way, you can be recognized for your work, receive praise, eat well, and live well.

Needless to say, it is a neat goal.

However, the interests surrounding it did not seem to be like that. The Code of Light seeks to recapture the Holy Land, and the Immortal Church seeks to protect the Holy Land.

Other minor faiths cooperate or hinder it depending on their affiliations, but in the end, the outcome largely depends on who becomes the owner of the sacred site.

Beliefs complicate Isaac’s purpose.

‘That means something important is happening because of the Holy Land.’

It was difficult to think that the result would be exactly the same as the game. Isaac saw the ending of the game several times, but the game did not show how the world changed after the ending.

In the end, occupying the Holy Land could be seen as determining a certain superiority of Urbansus.

Isaac put his mind back together before it got too complicated.

He did not come to this world to serve anyone.

It’s nameless chaos, it’s the Code of Light, it’s the Immortal Order, and so on… … If it was beneficial, I would take it, and if it was a hindrance, I would just get rid of it.

He erased the complicated relationships from his mind one by one.

All powers, angels, faith, time, and ideas were erased.

There was only one thing left in his mind.

Survive until the end in this world.

‘If everyone’s purpose is clear, does that mean it’s easy for me to take advantage of them?’

In other words, his purpose still hasn’t changed.