Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 232



Only Krnovel

Episode 232. Gearing up chaos (4)

Isaac looked at the decorative tiles with a trembling expression.

“Is it a symbol of the cultists?”

Isaac deliberately did not mention the nameless chaos.

It was obvious as day that Isolde thought about the nameless chaos, so I didn’t really want to hear it.

Originally, the term ‘cult’ referred to believers who practiced ancient religions.

However, since Nameless Chaos is also officially a destroyed faith, the cult also became a name that included followers of Chaos.

But surprisingly, Isolde shook her head.

“We don’t know yet. It could be a carving of the Angel of the Salt Council, or it could be a mistake due to some distortion. So we need to look further inside.”

There must be only one reason why she showed this to Isaac first.

Isaac let out a long sigh as he remembered showing his tentacles to Isolde.

I thought about leaving Isolde behind, thinking that there might be some nameless chaos involved. However, Isolde was not someone Isaac needed to look after while telling him what to do, and I needed Isolde, who was a former Inquisitor, to analyze theological knowledge such as the teachings of the owl.

“Okay. Let’s go down and take a look there first.”

The two stepped into the ossuary again.

Since Isolde had already checked the route while finding the way, the speed of descent was much faster. Soon, I arrived at the collapsed hole that Isolde had discovered. The lower I went, the more unmanaged it became, and it seemed like the floor had collapsed.

Isaac peered into the gaping black hole, then leaped in, igniting the flame of the Ruaddin Key.

The flames burned more fiercely, consuming the darkness, illuminating the surroundings. Isolde soon followed suit.

“……her.”

A fairly large space appeared. It was a catacombs with a different architectural style from the ossuaries or graveyards on the ground. It was much more rustic, but it was large and wide enough to give off a majestic feeling. The walls were densely packed with things, layer upon layer, like bookshelves.

Isolde groaned softly as she looked at the space. It was filled with countless skeletons. Isolde looked at the skeletons and said.

“These are purified skeletons after the funeral. Even if a crazy shaman were to come in and move them, they wouldn’t have much effect.”

The presence of skeletons means that the site is at least 300 years old.

However, when I looked at the floor including the collapsed area, I saw that there were quite a few traces of people coming and going. Isolde also noticed a different amount of dust on the floor and made a displeased expression.

“It seems like there are other secret passages besides the one we came through.”

“Like the drain that leads to the old town?”

“Yes. Well, no one knows how complex the Ultenheim underground is… … .”

Traces of the nameless chaos religion that Isolde had been anxiously examining were surprisingly easy to find. Tentacles and strange fractal shapes were blatantly carved into decorative bricks, patterns, and even coffins.

Isaac thought back to the world that the Salt Council’s angel, Amundalas, had shown him, just before the White Plague outbreak.

At that time, the nameless chaos was one of the faiths that was believed and longed for by everyone, from the upper class to the lower class. Even if it was a faith that was secretly worshipped, if one-third of the population at that time died because they knew the name of God, it would not have been possible even if it had been worshipped openly.

‘It wouldn’t be strange if Claire and the MZ priests unearthed the teachings buried in this tomb.’

Isaac didn’t look deeply into Claire’s mind, but even just from a quick conversation, he could tell that they weren’t crazy socialites. Their minds were filled with the curiosity, enthusiasm for learning, and desire for recognition that befit the young generation.

It was clear that they gathered in this underground tomb because they thought they could find knowledge they had not learned. If they were caught doing so, rumors of them being a cult would spread.

But they might not be unrelated to the ‘cemetery murders’.

‘Those monster monks that appeared in the old town and the monsters that might appear in Ultenheim in the future… … Maybe Claire and her rascal friends studied knowledge that they shouldn’t have studied.’

Perhaps they have found the nameless knowledge of chaos, just as they have found the teachings of the owl. The nine faiths have pathologically censored and deleted the knowledge of nameless chaos, but they would not have censored it by digging up the coffin.

***

Isaac and Isolde searched the graveyard for a long time, but there were no attacks from cultists or monsters. They found places where people gathered or where some kind of ritual was performed, but since there was no culprit, it was meaningless.

Isolde stood up after checking the ceremonial quilt drawn on the floor.

“Is this some kind of sorcery you don’t know about?”

“… … No, rather, it’s a really crudely drawn truth, so I don’t know what it is. It seems like it was crudely imitated with only fragmentary knowledge. It’s a jumbled mix of Olkan discipline, chaos, and the rituals of the Salt Council.”

But Isaac had the opposite sentiment as Isolde.

It is true that the hodgepodge is a bit awkward, but I felt that the ritual had at least partially succeeded.

[Nameless chaos watches you.]

Even the nameless chaos was watching this situation closely. Isaac could tell from the scratch marks and energy around him that something had come out of this ritual. Even if the summoning of a specific being had failed, it was possible that Urbansus’ energy and fragments had come out.

Isaac looked down at the floor for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

“I can’t help it. I’ll go back for today and come back tomorrow.”

“Hmm, I think it would be better to lie in ambush… … .”

“The air is murky, and you never know when they’ll come. I’m not prepared to stay here for long. At the very least, I need to prepare something to drink and something to eat.”

Isolde nodded because it was true.

It was already late at night. The area around the ceremonial tent looked like it had been a while since anyone had been in or out, so he couldn’t just wait around. Of course, Isaac didn’t want to wait around, so he planned to plant a rat here that had been used as a host by a parasite from beyond.

But before he left, Isaac had something to do with Isolde. He couldn’t leave Isolde defenseless as they were investigating what might have popped out of her consciousness.

“Isolde, I have a favor to ask of you, but I hope you won’t be angry.”

Isolde looked taken aback at Isaac’s words.

“I can accept any favor you ask of me, but… … what is it that would make me angry?”

“You can’t use miracles now, can you?”

Although he had chosen useful relics and armed himself with them, the miracles of his time as an Inquisitor were no longer permitted.

So Isaac decided to take some risks.

“I think I might be able to grant you some miracle….”

It is also possible to secretly plant a ‘safety device’.

No, in fact, there was already a kind of safety device in place. But what was more certain was that, with Isolde’s consent, he would grant her his own miracle.

Isolde was silent for a moment at the mention of Isaac granting miracles rather than any other priest. However, she couldn’t help but look to Isaac’s left hand.

“Is it related to those tentacles?”

“I too have controlled and tamed the tentacles. I am sure they will never harm Isolde.”

Perhaps it would be an act that would hinder Isolde’s path. However, Isolde was already an inquisitor from the Church of the Light’s Code who had eaten the heart of the angel of the Red Grail. Adding a little nameless blessing of chaos to that wouldn’t be a particularly noticeable flaw, Isaac whispered to himself.

Isolde hesitated for a moment, but nodded.

“I believe in the Code of Light, Isaac.”

She carefully reached out her right hand and interlocked her fingers with Isaac’s left.

“But I believe in you as well.”

“……thank you.”

***

“Ugh, gasp!”

Claire, who had been sleeping in the dormitory of the theological school at Ultenheim Cathedral, woke up with her eyes wide open.

At about the same time, the priests who were sleeping in the same room also woke up. Claire, covered in cold sweat, realized that she was not simply dreaming when she saw the priests who had opened their eyes in the middle of the night.

They said nothing, but shared the silence of accomplices. Filled with fear, curiosity, and guilt, they cautiously walked out of the bedroom into the hallway.

“You guys had the same dream, right?”

“… … Yeah. He was calling us.”

“What should I do?”

As anxious whispers passed by, Claire looked eagerly behind her glasses. While the other students were terrified, she was consumed by academic aspirations.

“Of course we have to go back! This is our chance to find out why we failed and turn things around!”

“but…….”

“Chaos is a crack that blemishes the orderly world established by the Light Code. We must look into that crack, feel for it, and close it! That is our research and mission!”

Despite Claire’s impassioned appeal, the students shared a look of fear.

“The Knight of the Holy Grail is coming and going from the cathedral right now. If we arouse suspicion, he will cut our throats with his sword.”

“No. Rather, it may have been Isaac’s visit that triggered it. Isaac has already confirmed that we share the same views. Isaac would even say that we need to learn how to tame and control the nameless chaos.”

The students shook their heads at Claire’s absurd words.

“Even if you are Isaac, that is a bit… … .”

“That, that’s right. Let’s confess our sins to the Knight of the Holy Grail and ask for forgiveness. Then, he might show us a way to mend our ways.”

Claire frowned at her friend’s words.

“We are brothers who will one day stand shoulder to shoulder with Master Isaac, not a flock of sheep asking for help. He is our age, and he is already beating angels and beating up sword masters. Are you going to continue living like that?”

The students were speechless at Claire’s words. Claire adjusted her glasses and whispered secretly.

“Get ready. We’re going to visit the catacombs again. This time, let’s do it right.”

***

Isaac’s thoughts grew as he looked at Ultenheim shrouded in fog.

‘Could it be that those little priests are some kind of cult linked to some nameless chaos?’

Although they are similar to Isaac’s actual age, they are still quite young if you include their ages from their past lives.

I was happy to finally meet a young priest who understood what I was saying, but I felt complicated when I thought that he might be a group of cultists who would summon monsters.

And he felt a strange irony in his mood.

‘… … Will people like Gebel and Isolde, who trust me, think similarly when they find out my true identity?’

The original person itself doesn’t seem bad.

But even Isaac himself began to wear colored glasses when he thought of it as being related to the nameless chaos. This was inevitable.

Since everything related to the nameless chaos is nothing but crazy monsters and cultists who dream of destruction, the people who end up getting involved are bound to be similar people.

Isaac lay in bed, thinking about Claire and her gang. It seemed like a good idea to release the parasites into the graveyard tomorrow to keep a watchful eye on them, and then confront Claire directly.

Since he seemed to respect me, I thought he would understand if I just spoke nicely.

‘If they don’t listen, I have to beat them to make them listen.’

Then suddenly Isaac felt a sense of dizziness. It was like falling asleep, or like he was getting motion sickness.

Isaac opened his eyes in a dark place, feeling dizzy and half-asleep.

“Seo, did you succeed?”

A familiar voice hummed. Sight, touch, hearing, smell, everything was vague. All senses seemed extremely degraded. Isaac spotted a group of priests in dark gray robes in his hazy vision.

“Oh, God of Forgotten Names, we have summoned you! Obey our command!”