Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 213



Only Krnovel

Episode 213. Beyond the Edge of the Sword (1)

“Listen, Your Majesty. Of course, if Your Majesty wishes to become a part of the Great Order, I will be more than happy to assist you. However, if Your Majesty merely wishes to protect the princess, then run far away.”

Calurien’s words were earnest.

Although Elril had apostatized from the Code of Light and had undergone a ritual to become a god, he was still nothing more than a ‘powerful being worshipped’ similar to the Old Gods. To become a true god, he had to undergo an ascension ritual to occupy a place on the afterlife’s axis and rule over the past, present, and future.

But is that what Ellie really wants?

Calurien knew what Elril truly wanted. Hadn’t Elril apostatized from the Code of Light and become a god in order to protect her daughter and achieve a glorious victory?

“Protecting Larabia requires victory, not escape. Calurien.”

But Elil was a warrior.

He has achieved everything with sword, sweat and blood so far.

Elril stared at Calurien with burning eyes.

His eyes were full of anger, longing, and a chivalric desire to avenge his defeat.

He, a conqueror and a victor, could not admit that he was defeated by such a ‘fraud’.

“■■■■ will face me directly on the battlefield. Then we will know who the real warrior is.”

***

When Isaac turned his gaze, he was back in the ruins of Luzberg.

“Do you see? This is Eliel.”

Elril muttered as she walked through the empty ruins.

“A father who protects his family, a knight who stands against the cowards’ methods, a warrior who never surrenders until the very end.”

‘Are you bragging now?’

But Isaac soon came to understand Elil’s meaning.

The individual named Elril no longer exists.

Only the concepts and rules established by Ellil remain. The Ellil in front of him now, the Ellil that Isaac saw, is merely the ideal form realized by the Ellil faith.

This is what Calurien meant when he said, ‘becoming part of the order’.

Did Elril win the war against the Code of Light in exchange for this ascension?

Looking at the territory of the Kingdom of Elril now, it doesn’t seem like that. Even if he had a place in Urbansus, the best he could do would have been to protect the dancers.

Isaac learned from what Elil showed him that to become a true god, he must abandon his flesh and that divine beings are not people who can be persuaded or talked to.

In fact, he was more worried about the latter.

I have always thought that even if we don’t know about an impersonal God, we might be able to persuade a personal God in some way.

‘Then shouldn’t there be any cases of people becoming mentally ill and attempting suicide?’

No, if you think about it, it’s impossible for Ellie to even commit suicide.

From the moment he became an ascended god, he simply became an order that pushed his own subjectivity until the end of the world.

The order wants to fight now, but the result will only be destruction.

Elril explained why she showed him her memories.

“The fight against other faiths will eventually lead to war in Urbanus. If you fail to prevent this, you may win the battle and lose the war.”

At Elril’s warning, Isaac thought of the god of the Undying Cult.

‘Wait a minute, then what happened to the Immortal Emperor Beshek?’

I don’t know if we can call it a ‘living body’, but in any case, Beshek, the god and ruler of the Immortal Cult, is a god who walks the earth with a physical body.

Since the afterlife was brought down to the surface, it was unknown whether Beshek also had the same power as Urbansus.

Of course, since it was a strict nine-faith faith, it was not perfect, but it was not to the extent that it could be swayed by the modifications of the afterlife.

‘I already knew this to some extent, but it’s definitely a fatal fact.’

This was something that had already been realized by Amundalas through Urbanus of the Salt Council. That distortion of history was possible through Urbanus. And that if distortion of history were to occur, reality would also change.

That is, these mere mortals cannot win a fight against a true god even if they die.

Only those who belong to the nine faiths can fight and confront the nine faiths.

Because only they can stop the change of history.

The Red Grail Club still exists despite the efforts of the Code of Light to eradicate it, and the Undead Cult has grown to the point of dividing the world in two.

‘Can the nameless chaos really stand against it?’

Isaac had hoped that even the Nameless Chaos would be able to counter it since it was one of the nine faiths. However, the ones who have to move across Urbanus are ultimately angels, and the Nameless Chaos Urbanus… … It is questionable whether such a thing exists, and even if it does, it is certain that it is in a premature state. It may be better not to intervene.

‘Maybe it would be better to reach out to Elril or the Red Grail Club.’

Elril has a fondness for him, and the Red Grail Club is a secret alliance for one reason or another. It was a shame that the Salt Council couldn’t be moved right away, but it seemed better to hope for future possibilities.

One way or another, it’s good to have a lot of friends.

This leads us to the conclusion that Isaac must ultimately be seen as a useful being. There is only one reason why the faiths that can see into the future and change history do not try to kill him.

Because he is useful to their future.

Isaac couldn’t know what future they envisioned, but he could feel that he would be part of each faith’s declaration of victory.

Now he was a highly political being among the gods.

“I understand, Ellie.”

And Isaac was a great man who could even use God as leverage if he could.

“Then I would like to make the wish I mentioned earlier now.”

Isaac thought that in order to get Elril to agree with him, he had to convince him first.

But that wasn’t the case. Elril was already ready to be persuaded, or rather, to force the other person to do something even if they didn’t want to.

He wants war. He wants a battlefield where he can seek glory, honor, and courage.

He was the one who wanted to start a war even if he had to become an undead.

Someone like Isaac was enough to be the agent and trigger for the war he desired.

“wish?”

Ellie asked, raising the corners of her lips in a sly manner.

“Didn’t you say that your wish was to join the Yeomyeong Army?”

“Elril has already been eagerly wishing for the Dawn Army to participate in the war. If so, then it is Elril’s wish, not mine. Rather, I am the one who brought war to you, and I deserve your praise.”

Ellie burst into laughter. It was a satisfied laugh.

Such a strong person with a high ego prefers to have a confident presence in front of him. Perhaps his colleagues and friends were the same.

Isaac seemed to know deep down what kind of personality the dancer had.

“Okay. Tell me your wish.”

And Isaac knew what wish would satisfy Eliel even more.

“Please have a round of sparring.”

***

Elril accepted Isaac’s request coolly.

He neither laughed nor laughed off the ridiculous wish to spar with the god Elril. It was as if he had expected it to happen.

Perhaps, like the dawn army, he had expected something like this too.

To satisfy the most knightly desires.

But for Isaac, it was a decision made after careful calculation and weighing the pros and cons.

‘I don’t even expect to win.’

If Elril’s skills were even half as good as the legends say, he would die before he could even draw his sword. Even Elril could ascend to heaven and embody his prime body, and still exist as the ideal of swordsmanship.

The passage of time and injuries are not funny stories to him.

But that’s why it was worth fighting for.

‘If I could learn even half of Elril’s swordsmanship, it would be a hundred times more beneficial than a holy relic or blessing.’

Elil stood opposite Isaac.

The place was still a ruined Luzberg. However, it was large enough to allow for a duel.

“Let me explain the rules first.”

Elril said, picking up a knife.

Isaac was puzzled by the word rule.

The rules of sparring are usually set to prevent the opponent from getting hurt or killed. However, it seemed unlikely that Ellil would be so weak as to kill Isaac, and it was also questionable whether Isaac would be able to hurt Ellil.

“First of all, I will not use miracles. I will not erase my presence and disappear from your sight. I will not create shock waves to collapse buildings. I will not burst the air to rip your eardrums and destroy your sense of balance. I will not stop your heart with a killing intent. I will not use my sword or any advanced swordsmanship. I will fight you with only strength and speed.”

“… … The same rules don’t apply to me, but only to you, Ellie?”

“okay.”

“That’s usually called a restriction or penalty… … but thank you anyway.”

There was no reason for Isaac to refuse if he didn’t want to take the penalty himself. However, he couldn’t help but point out something disappointing. After all, what he wanted to learn by stealing was Elril’s swordsmanship.

“But I hope you understand my desire to learn Elril’s swordsmanship. Can I use advanced swordsmanship?”

Isaac thought that he was not at the level of beating an angel with swordsmanship, but he was at the level of holding out. However, no matter how successful Elril was in his prime, could he have done so without using sword skills or advanced swordsmanship?

If that were possible, Ellil would not have been just a mortal, but something unreal from birth.

“It’s up to you.”

After Elril answered, the smile on her face disappeared.

In that moment, Isaac felt the air in the area become heavy.

Suddenly the atmosphere of the ruins changed.

The setting sun smelled of blood, and the air itself was frozen as if it had been there for a thousand years. Isaac felt dizzy as he struggled to breathe just to get a feel for the atmosphere.

‘This is… … Ellie!’

Ellie had no intention of looking at it at all.

Just as duels are sacred, sparring is also sacred. Elril intended to use all his efforts to defeat Isaac, except for the restrictions he had placed on himself.

Ellie took a step forward.

[Nameless chaos watches you.]

At that moment, Isaac twisted his neck violently.

Choke. Isaac managed to escape the forceful momentum and move his body. However, his neck was already sharply scratched by the tip of Elril’s sword and blood was spurting out. Isaac quickly stepped back and stopped the bleeding from the wound.

Ellie said calmly.

“one.”

‘I expected it, but I can’t see it.’

Isaac laughed bitterly.

Elril didn’t try to puncture his neck. He merely brought the tip of his sword to bear on him, but Isaac’s hasty movements only made the wound worse.

But it seemed like he had succeeded in making an impression on Ellie.

“Still, it’s amazing that you reacted.”

“……thank you.”

“But I was clumsy. The moment we started sparring, I should have ignited my sword energy and armed my entire body with miracles. Instead of giving me the lead, I should have rushed in first. If there is anything I can summon, summon it. You are a member of the Chaos Regiment. It is okay to use impure and evil means. If there is a means to win, mobilize it.”

If he had done this earlier, the same unfortunate incident that just happened would not have happened. Isaac willingly accepted Elril’s advice.

Isaac began to arm himself with all the means he had been unable to use out of concern for the eyes of those around him and fear of the aftermath.

As Isaac’s momentum began to change, Elril stood calmly on the other side again, this time waiting for Isaac to attack first.

Isaac didn’t even have arrogant thoughts like, “Can the opponent hold out?”

There’s only one thought on my mind right now.

Unless he fights with the intention of killing Elil, now, today, here, he will not be able to learn even a little bit of teaching from Elil.

Learning and lessons are given only to those who are qualified.

Isaac’s eyes began to turn a vibrant purple.

The tentacles began to wiggle and crawl out of his body.

‘Today I kill God.’