Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 230



Only Krnovel

Episode 230. Gearing up chaos (2)

This event, called the ‘Abyss flood’ in-game, was the biggest event that occurred in the early to mid-game. Depending on the player’s performance, it is not surprising that in the worst case, up to 1/3 of the Imperial Capital was devastated.

The truth of the incident varies depending on the player’s faction.

If the player is from the Baekje Empire, the story will be that “the cultists, with the help of the Immortal Church, awakened the ancient chaos and committed terrorism in the capital.” However, if the player is from the Black Empire, the story will be that “the Light’s Code Church artificially drew out the power of heaven and brought about a disaster themselves.”

In this way, the truth changed frequently depending on the player’s choice and faction, and there were many cases where it was impossible to know exactly what the truth was. Even now, Isaac had become the subject of changing the course of history, so the game’s knowledge could not be completely trusted.

Anyway, I don’t know what the identity of the cult is, but it’s true that there are monsters. I was going to investigate the cemetery anyway because of that, so it was a good thing that I was able to pay my debt to the cult.

‘It’s not the right timing, but if the triggering condition is due to the Dawn Army, it could be brought forward.’

The monster could have eaten hard and grown strong before popping out.

In particular, the fact that the religious order took the lead in making the request provides one more clue to uncovering the truth of the case.

‘It’s not clear who caused the incident right now… … but considering that it was requested by the religious order, is it likely a terrorist attack? No. It’s possible that the religious order started it and then decided to hustle it because they felt they couldn’t handle it.’

Looking at the state of the church now, it is not entirely impossible.

“If it’s called the cemetery murders, that means the bodies were found there, right?”

“That’s the tricky part. There are rumors that a murder has occurred, but no one has actually seen it and it hasn’t been reported.”

It turns out that Hesabel isn’t called an ‘urban legend’ for nothing.

“I don’t know if there are any cult members or not, but I think I can just go to the cemetery and investigate. I don’t think the religious community would have asked me to do this because of a rumor, and I can’t ignore rumors that are making the public uneasy… .”

“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to do that for now. It would be nice to have a suspicious, shady cultist waiting with a crooked dagger… … .”

At that moment, Isolde’s words stopped. Isaac was also looking at the end of the alley at the same time.

At the end of the alley, a monk wearing dark gray robes stood there, a place with particularly dark shadows even among the dark alleys of the old city.

It would have been a sight that would have caused an ordinary person to immediately stop or avoid it, but Isaac and Isolde immediately ran forward as if they were bouncing back.

“Stop! You are under arrest for suspicious crimes!”

It was an extremely brutal arrest order that only a former Inquisitor could make.

But the monk remained motionless, his robes pulled down low, until they drew near. Isaac tried to grab the arm instead of swinging his sword, as there was a chance that the opponent was really just a monk.

However, the shape of the robe became strangely curved, and a dagger suddenly emerged from the sleeve. There was no way Isaac could be hit by a dagger swung by a monk, but the monk extended the dagger as if he was sinking into it rather than swinging it.

Ignoring Isaac’s hand and arm, the dagger came right up to his nose as if a shadow was falling over his face. Isaac barely managed to avoid the dagger by twisting his neck. Even so, it grazed his skin and blood flowed out.

It wasn’t an attack that could be countered or blocked.

‘What is this… … .’

The monk swung his dagger at Isaac again. The sword strike, with its joints twisting and bending, was not human movement. It was more like a gas or liquid clumsily imitating a human.

But at that moment, Isaac had already pulled out the Ruaddin Key and was swinging it.

Hwarurururuk! The heat rising from the Ruaddin Key instantly tore the robe apart and burned it. Isaac waited for the bastard’s identity to be revealed, but all he saw was ashes flying around in vain.

“Isaac!”

At that moment, Isolde’s voice was heard from behind. Even though it was a long, narrow alley with no doors, two other monks were swinging their daggers at Isolde, who had been somewhere. However, Isolde quickly kicked off the wall and floor and retreated.

It was a surprisingly quick and fluid movement. Isaac was instantly reminded of the Walaika headhunter. Then he remembered belatedly that she had eaten the red-flesh prophet’s heart.

Isolde shook the bracelet she had taken out earlier.

The moment the bracelets collided, a flash of light that hurt the eyes burst out. It was a holy relic containing the miracle of the Code of Light. While the monks staggered, Isaac burned one of them, and Isolde stabbed the other one with her dagger. The monk with the dagger emanated light from his entire body and fluttered as if bubbling before collapsing.

“That dagger… … .”

“Oh, His Majesty gave it to me as a gift. He said it was good, and it really is powerful.”

It seemed like a relic imbued with a considerable miracle, even if it wasn’t as powerful as the Ruaddin Key. With her physical abilities strengthened by the Prophet’s Heart and a relic this strong, it didn’t seem like Isolde would be easily defeated.

“Is it the end?”

“I guess so.”

When there were no more surprise attacks, the two looked around. The alley where the commotion had occurred was filled with the smell of burnt coal. However, neither Isaac nor Isolde knew how to explain these strange beings.

“Hmm… … There are some really evil cultists out there. No, I’m not even sure if this is a cult in the first place. Are these guys really walking around the center of the capital? And what religion has this kind of ability?”

Isolde muttered in confusion. It was no wonder she didn’t understand. Certainly not the Undying Cult, and no other faith she knew of deals with such monsters.

But Isaac had seen monsters like these before.

The robes are a bit more worn and tattered, but they are priests who have already lost their flesh and are wandering around the outer world without a form.

Nameless Priests of Chaos.

***

Isaac and Isolde searched the alley some more, but they couldn’t figure out where the men had been hiding or where they had appeared. However, they did find something that might give them a clue.

Isolde lay on the floor and looked into a hole in the drain the size of the palm of her hand.

“If your body is that flexible, going in and out of holes like this should be nothing.”

That was the only possibility. The other possibilities were that she had the ability to suddenly teleport or that she had the ability to move while hiding in the shadows, but the former made any speculation impossible, so we ruled it out for now, and the latter would have meant that she would have been unable to move when hit by the flash of light that Isolde emitted.

“Where does this drain lead?”

“hmm.”

Isolde shook her head, remaining silent as if recalling the intricately tangled design of the old city.

“It’s impossible to make an accurate estimate because the old city was built on top of the old city, and then again. It’s also possible that people used to walk around here freely. However, if this was actually used as a drain, then it moved here… … .”

Isolde measured the distance by drawing her finger on the virtual map, then stopped in one place.

“… … It is highly likely that it is connected to the cemetery.”

The cemetery itself is a hill of graves piled high. They have to be connected. Isolde muttered as if she didn’t understand.

“How did they know we were talking about them and come looking for us?”

“There’s a saying that if you tell a scary story, ghosts will come to visit you.”

“Ghost? There’s no way an evil spirit from the Immortal Church could be roaming the capital without any trouble.”

“… … .”

Isaac was joking, but it couldn’t be a joke in a world where dead people shamelessly came back to life as skeletons.

But Isolde didn’t seem to take it too seriously and was lost in thought.

“… … Someone didn’t like this investigation and leaked the information?”

When Isolde spoke to herself, Isaac immediately thought of Cardinal Camille.

Isaac started investigating with Isolde as soon as he received Camille’s request. He didn’t think it was necessary to report to Waldsemer or Dietrich, so he didn’t say anything. Isolde was involved only because she was in the old town.

But there is no reason to interfere with the commission that Cardinal Camille has entrusted to you.

“It’s possible that information was leaked within the church.”

Isaac muttered.

Even if it wasn’t Camille, if the information was leaked, it was likely from the church. It could be that someone inside the church with a different interest than Camille was trying to interfere with Isaac’s investigation.

“There is a cult within the Church of the Light’s Law, and that cult summons monsters… … It’s not entirely unreasonable. The cemetery is under the control of the Church, so if there are apostates hiding there, it would be a good hiding place.”

Isaac hesitated to say that these might be nameless chaos cultists. But even Isaac was not sure. Usually, when the chaos cultists appeared, either Isaac or the monsters were strongly attracted to each other or had hostility toward each other.

But this time, there was no effect whatsoever.

“Let’s do this. I’ll investigate the cemetery, and Isaac, you investigate the priests in the cathedral.”

Isaac looked at Isolde in disbelief.

“Aren’t you against it?”

“I was recently kicked out of the church, so I find it awkward to meet priests. I was able to greet Cardinal Camille because I had a connection with him in the past, but that’s all. But Isaac has many people he likes in the church.”

You say there are a lot of people in your church who like you?

It was a strange thing for Isaac, who had recently beheaded a priest and was worried about being branded as an imperialist.

‘I think the only people who don’t like Juan are people like him.’

Isolde shrugged as Isaac looked at her as if he didn’t understand.

“Just go and meet him. And my experience as a heretic is not easy. My specialty is investigating the same religious sect as you, rather than monsters. Don’t worry, I’ll go with you to places that seem dangerous.”

Although Isolde has a reckless side that drives straight ahead when she gets fixated on something, she doesn’t act that way if she doesn’t have something she believes in.

Isaac decided to trust Isolde and accept her offer, but he did not forget his own safety measures.

***

The Ultenheim Cathedral had a shabby appearance that matched its long history, and it had various facilities that matched its shabby appearance. In addition to the chapel where people prayed, there were dormitories where priests ate and slept, a large library, a dining hall, a garden, a seminary, etc., which spread out like branches.

Even if they were Grail Knights, there were many places that were not open to the public unless they were members of the same church. However, Isaac felt a strange sense of familiarity with the religious facility he was visiting after a long time.

‘It reminds me of when I lived in the monastery.’

Of course, the Ultenheim Cathedral was a much larger and more ornate place than the monastery where Isaac had lived, but it had a similar feel to an old building.

Suddenly, Isaac, who was walking around the garden, noticed young priests who seemed to have just become priests, passing by quietly, chattering. He felt strange as he thought that if he had not become a Grail Knight, he would have entered the Monastery of Lancel and studied like them.

“uh?”

Then a young priest looked at Isaac with a surprised expression.

“Oh, isn’t that Isaac Isaacrea?”

“Huh? A Knight of the Holy Grail? Huh? Does that sound right?”

Isaac, who had let his guard down when he entered the cathedral, belatedly pulled his hood down. However, the young priests who had already discovered Isaac rushed in.

The young men surrounded Isaac with bright faces and spoke to him to prevent him from running away.

“Ah, Holy Grail Knight! I wanted to meet you!”

“We were so envious when Brother Ahel met the Holy Grail Knight first and even got his autograph on the Bible! We thought he would come and have a word with us!”

“Uh, uh, um. Sorry. That.”

Isaac was taken aback by the unexpected enthusiastic response from the young priests.

Were the priests of the monastery like this? Of course, Isaac was young at the time, so the priests of the monastery may have seemed mature. The priests living in the capital city were mostly wealthy, so they may have had some leisure time.

‘Young people these days… … .’

But the reactions were too enthusiastic to simply say that they had met a famous Grail Knight. Then, suddenly, a young man wearing glasses grabbed Isaac’s hand and shouted with a bright smile.

“Isaac Isaac, our new lighthouse! We have heard much about your teachings! You are our idol!”

Teaching? Idol?

Isaac couldn’t understand what he was saying. Isaac had a lot of memories of running around, cutting, and slicing, but he didn’t remember teaching anything.

But the bespectacled priest poured out his words with eyes sparkling with desire.

“The ‘new doctrine’ you spread in the Isacre territory is the true teaching that can replace the old doctrines! I really wanted to meet the pioneer of this new doctrine!”

ah.

It was only then that Isaac suddenly remembered.

The words he spoke while conducting a service at the monastery in the Isacre territory.

Stories of how they had mixed all sorts of good science, philosophy, and ideologies they had picked up somewhere and spread the doctrine of chaos within the Code of Light flashed through my mind.

Only then did Isaac realize the reality.

The fact that he himself is a member of the ‘new generation’ right before our eyes, and is even at the forefront of it.