Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 215



Only Krnovel

Episode 215. Beyond the Edge of the Sword (3)

With a loud noise, Elril’s sword clashed precisely with Isaac’s sword.

A blow that even an ordinary sword cannot withstand, no matter how powerful it is.

A dazzling light emitted from the sword that Elril was holding, already broken in half and on the verge of breaking.

Although the sword was already broken, rusted, and worn out, at that moment it was the ideal form of all swords in the world.

The holy sword above all else, no, the most perfect form of weapon above all else.

And the perfect article that will never be repeated in history to hold it.

“That’s amazing.”

For a split second, Isaac heard Elil whisper in his ear.

Elil was speaking to Isaac while stopping Urbanus’ time. As the moment that seemed like eternity flowed again, Elil’s last words were heard.

“… … You are worthy to see my sword.”

It was a brilliant light.

In that light, Isaac could see what was happening thanks to Elil’s consideration. Elil’s sword energy was accelerating beyond any limits.

The displaced air collided with each other, releasing intense heat. As the atomic nuclei collided with the blade, plasma bubbles were created, and dazzlingly bright lights burst out.

At this point, the blade’s composition was not much different from air molecules. It had already fused and started to explode, disintegrating and engulfing not only the blade but everything around it. The aftermath of the explosion, which could not even be followed by sound, swallowed up and vaporized Luzberg in an instant.

Literally in a moment.

It was just an honest horizontal slash that occurred in a split second that would not come out even if one second was split thousands or tens of thousands of times.

This was Elril’s sword technique and Elril’s swordsmanship.

***

Kwarrrrrrrr… … .

Isaac lay on the floor and looked up at the cloudy sky.

A dark wasteland stretched out around them, making it hard to believe that it was where Luzberg had been just a moment ago. The rocks were melting and sizzling, and some were glassy and shiny.

Suddenly, rain clouds rolled in and poured down heavy rain on the surrounding area. It was a heavy rain caused by the convective heat and water vapor created by the tremendous heat.

‘Even though Ellie is strong, isn’t this a bit too much?’

Isaac also knows the principle of nuclear explosion. And that infinite energy is needed for any object to reach the speed of light. Therefore, no object can reach the speed of light.

Elril has so cleanly ignored that basic principle that even the God of Physics, the Code of Light, would cry out in vain.

Isaac was able to realize once again that he had come to another world.

Before he died, Ellil was already a being who could cause a nuclear explosion with a single sword picked up from the floor.

And the gods who fought and defeated such an Elril are crazy. If it were impossible to change history, it is questionable whether they could have defeated him.

Isaac sat up.

The only reason he was able to survive this explosion was because Ellil had frozen his time. Being separated from time, Isaac was unaffected by whatever was happening here.

Elil was sitting on a shard of melted rock. It seemed strangely fitting for her to be getting drenched in the rain after such an absurd feat.

As Isaac approached, Elil opened his mouth.

“I lost.”

‘You must be at least as good as Ellie to be able to say such absurd things so shamelessly.’

Elril could kill Isaac five times, and the moment he unleashed his sword, he could kill him a hundred times more if he wanted to.

But Isaac was just as proud and shameless as Eli.

“I won.”

In any case, it was Elril who imposed restrictions on himself. Since Elril himself broke those restrictions, it was only natural for him to admit defeat.

Elril laughed quietly, seeming to find Isaac’s answer amusing.

“Yes. You won. However, the reason I admitted defeat was not because I used swordsmanship or sword techniques, but because I underestimated you. A swordsman loses the moment he underestimates his opponent. In fact, after the fourth time, I couldn’t kill you unless I used swordsmanship.”

Isaac kept his mouth shut. Elril tilted her head and looked at Isaac.

The reason Isaac died five times was not because he could not block or avoid it, but because he was trying to steal the sword of Elril until he understood it.

It wasn’t that Elril ‘could have killed Isaac five times’, but ‘after he had killed him five times’ that he realized his intentions.

“And yet, you fought as if you were risking your life, and you stole glances at me. To see my swordsmanship, my movements, the way I breathe, walk, and run… … Perhaps you already know me better than Larabia.”

No matter what, I thought it was a bit odd to compare her to my lover and daughter… … but Ellie was speaking very purely.

“It was only on the fifth time that I realized it. During this short duel, you had already grown to the point where I couldn’t kill you unless I used my sword skills. It was only then that I realized there was no point in fighting this. I didn’t think you would grow so fast. I was clearly off guard, so I can say I lost.”

Elril, who realized it on the fifth try, was also a monster. Isaac was actually fighting like that half sincerely.

He was not happy that he had received a declaration of defeat from Elril. In fact, Elril was fighting on a single-legged bridge with his hands tied and his eyes covered, holding a sword in his mouth. Even Isaac was unable to defeat Elril in the end.

If Elril had used the sword from the beginning, Isaac would have been unable to win even if he had died and woken up. Furthermore, even though he had glimpsed the essence of his swordsmanship, it seemed impossible to imitate that swordsmanship, just like Lyanna who had used Lumiad.

‘It may be possible to apply it, though.’

Obviously, Isaac had grown significantly from his fight with Elril. It was all the more valuable because it was an experience he had learned from Elril, who had been beating up angels while alive.

But at the same time, Isaac learned something scary about the sword through this battle.

“It seems like you’ve already realized a lot, but if you have any questions, just ask. You won’t get another chance like this.”

Just then, Elril spoke. Isaac decided to ask about what he had learned during the battle.

“There’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“Any questions?”

Isaac took a deep breath and asked.

It may be a simple question, but it may also involve the secrets of the gods.

“Isn’t the sword really a miracle of Elril?”

Black magic is clearly an alien force in this world.

Even with just advanced swordsmanship, it is possible to perform strange phenomena that ‘go against the laws of physics’ without the miracle of a god. Furthermore, sword skills go beyond that and are visible to others and even have physical power.

It’s like creating something out of nothing.

There already exists something similar to black magic in this world. It is even activated under much easier and simpler conditions.

In the name of miracle.

At Isaac’s words, Elril looked at him with a big smile.

“You got there on your own. You really are someone worth pursuing.”

Elril turned and looked at Isaac.

“That’s right. The sword is not my miracle. The sword existed before I became a god, and it was the basis of my ability to become a god. It wasn’t given to me by anyone. As you said, the sword is not Elril’s miracle.”

It was an expected answer, but Isaac found Elril’s words strange. There are many excellent warriors in other faiths. Karlsen himself has greater swordsmanship than Lyanna or Siddrik. However, he had never heard of him awakening the sword.

“Then why can’t people of other faiths have the sword?”

“All other gods strictly forbade the sword.”

As he spoke, Elril stuck his sword into the ground. His sword energy began to seep out, seeping into the cracks of the wasteland that had been scorched by his fight with Isaac.

“Only I, Ellie, have permitted the believers to possess the sword.”

In each crack, sprouts, flowers, and stems sprouted and grew. It was a strange sight to see life sprouting from the sword that killed people, but to Elril, it was as easy as breathing.

Isaac seemed to know what black magic was.

“Is the sword a miracle that you bestow upon yourself?”

A satisfied smile appeared on Elil’s lips.

“In return for your victory, I will reveal to you the secrets of this world.”

Soon he began to whisper secrets about the world, life, and will.

***

Let’s say you desperately want something and desire it, and you do your best to get it, and you think about it all day long, and you show passionate affection and belief in it.

In the world Isaac originally lived in, the world did not reward him for that.

But this world rewards.

There is a force in this world that will reward you if you wish for it earnestly enough.

Originally this power had many names, but now it is called by one name.

It’s called divine power.

“And in a time when the wisdom of the intelligent beings was still primitive and it was difficult to foresee even what would happen a day or two later, there were beings who first recognized the existence of that power and began to gather it.”

Even if an individual has a strong desire for another individual, that power only reaches that individual. But what if it reaches ten, twenty, no, a hundred, a thousand, and countless others focus their divine power on one person?

It becomes a monster that holds the power of tens of thousands in its body.

“These are the gods born in the beginning, the ancient gods.”

The desire to be free from the pain of disease, the greed to acquire more, the awe of the vast and fearful nature, the fear of the unpredictable future… … the gods drew worship from all kinds of people.

The gods were the ones who could free the intelligent beings from fear and dread. The intelligent beings could now be free from fear through the power of the gods. If they were sick, they could pray to the god of plagues, and if they wanted to have a good harvest, they could pray to the god of abundance.

They did not realize that the power came from themselves and instead relied on gods of their own creation.

The most powerful one was the wish for safety, ‘I hope tomorrow will be like today.’

A desire for order, where the sun sets and rises again, winter passes and spring comes, and seeds are sown and sprouts appear.

It is a principle that is taken for granted, but the desire for stability comes from that very same obviousness.

The ‘order’ desired by all, even by the ancient gods, created the most powerful god.

However, because of its ‘obviousness’, this faith was vague and had only a small number of believers without a proper name. The simple faith that only the shepherds of the desert believed in was finally given the name of the Code of Light when the prophet Ruaddin was born.

“And Luaddin, through the wisdom whispered by the Code of Light, shed light on the world that had hitherto been hidden in darkness. The power to hope for the eternity of tomorrow, the wish that all things will be whole after death… … That is Urbansus.”

All living beings are born with a strong desire to live, and to want the world to continue and be eternal after they die.

This wish created the afterlife called Urbansus, and Ruaddin ‘discovered’ this afterlife.

“Everything that is done in the name of faith is actually done by man. Man is infinite power and change. God is nothing more than an old thief who exploits that power. And so am I.”

Ellie spoke cynically, but Isaac actually thought the term thief was too harsh.

There is a limit to what a person can do on their own. No matter how strong Elil is, it is impossible to unify the continent on his own.

However, if you gather enough human power, you can create monsters like Elil, and even create spaces like Urbansus. The existence of gods, whose origins have been forgotten, is ultimately a history of overcoming created by the earnest desires of humans.

“But even among the intelligent beings, there are those who have particularly strong desires.”

Let us assume that one person can have as many wishes as ten or twenty.

Beyond that, if you have the confidence, skill, and strength to believe that it is ‘natural’ to single-handedly cut down armies, kill monsters, and even defeat angels.

“Those people are not granted ‘miracles’ as far as their hands can reach.”

The power to believe in yourself and make yourself a god.

“That’s black.”