Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 251



Only Krnovel

Episode 251. Sketch (4)

“… …Angel? An angel, right?”

Isaac asked Wolsten, even though he knew it was obvious. It was an unbelievable sight.

It would be shocking if not for the Archangels, but for people, or even animals, to die on this scale. However, the sight of the Archangels, who were once divine beings, being ‘killed’ in this way was blasphemous in itself.

Disposal.

Yes. Isaac could not imagine any other expression. This was a scene of one-sided slaughter.

“Wolsten said, pointing to the ceiling.

“I was exploring for useful minerals when I found some of the cherubs in several places. I felt something was off, so I looked into it and found this place. The cherubs you were allowed to mine were just the tip of the finger of this vast group.”

Wolsten continued, looking at Isaac’s expression.

“I was hoping, but it seems you didn’t know either.”

“… … I had no idea. This is… … .”

Isaac wondered if there had ever been a similar event in the game.

No. An event where a large number of fallen angels are unearthed? There’s no way something like that could exist.

Isaac approached the buried archangels and examined them closely. Since only archangels from the Code of Light were turned to stone, these were naturally archangels from the Code of Light. The archangels were not carved from stone, but were turned into stone while still alive. Thanks to this, they felt vivid and dynamic, as if they would come to life at any moment.

It was eerie to see everything, even the broken, tangled, and wounded, clearly visible.

Isaac looked at them and noticed that the composition was strange. Looking at other places, he could find common features in the appearance of the archangels.

“What’s strange?”

“Everything is turned upside down.”

“Flipped? An archangel?”

Isaac nodded. Wolsten looked unsure.

However, the appearance of angels is not something that ordinary people can easily understand, even though they are called cherubim. It is difficult to tell at a glance which is up and which is down. However, Isaac, who has seen angels several times, could tell that they are not all standing up, but are turned over and facing underground.

‘It’s not like it’s trying to fly, it’s like it’s trying to dig underground… … .’

Isaac examined the angels’ condition.

Although it was one-sided, judging from the state of the angels, they were fighting something fiercely. It was an enemy that they could not overcome with their own strength, and even the wounded and the dying were entangled and crushed under its weight.

The Archangels fought that very enemy and were buried deep underground, turning to stone.

‘why?’

Perhaps there were circumstances that made it necessary for the Code of Light to abandon them.

Isaac imagined some terrible plague. Angels who had been irretrievably tainted by the enemy they had fought. Instead of retrieving them, the Code of Light chose to cast them out and imprison them in eternal darkness with their enemy.

The slaughter that was carried out like that.

What is certain is that the enemies of these angels are beings from below.

Isaac felt a sense of foreboding as he looked at the angels still buried beneath the earth.

“… …Wolsten. Just in case, you didn’t dig down here, did you?”

“Hmm, actually, I was thinking about digging around here a bit more, but looking at this, I’ve lost all desire to do so. I didn’t even dare touch the original Archangel, so I left it alone. I was afraid that if I touched it by mistake, it might wake up.”

Angels are just as threatening whether there are one or a thousand. But this scale and number is an astronomical disaster in itself. It would be wise not to confront a being that can mobilize angels of this scale.

Isaac didn’t want to mess with these things and have the Sword of May come and cut him off, saying, ‘I hate kids like you who know too much.’

‘Is it true that the only way to survive is to try to be a good angel, whether it’s crawling on the floor or licking feet?’

***

“Brother Horhel… … With my limited education, I still do not understand the great plan of heaven.”

Inside the carriage returning to Lenheim Cathedral.

Bishop Lamarrie was left with mixed feelings after Isaac took away half a year’s worth of the cathedral’s budget.

The heavenly plan is of the utmost importance, especially now that the millennium is upon us. But until the millennium truly arrives, he has the responsibility to feed and sustain his monks, students, and priests.

Horgel looked at Lamarrie and smiled.

“What do you need to learn, Brother Lamarrie?”

“I understand that Isaac is an important man. However, he does not show any sincerity. His manners toward the church and his actions are not the same. Why would the lighthouse keeper name someone who dares to bargain with angels?”

Horgel did not criticize Lamarrie for her lack of faith and intelligence. He simply looked at her with pity.

If word spreads that Isaac is a prepared angel, not just Lamarrie, many priests will react similarly.

Horgel was very displeased with their narrow-minded attitude.

Isaac has shown such outstanding achievements, abilities, and potential that it would not be surprising if he were to be included in the ranks of the great angels. If there had been ten more like Isaac, the Code of Light would have already completed the coming of the Millennium Kingdom long ago.

However, there was no need to hurt Ramarie, who had just been ripped off with a lot of money, by saying, “Isn’t that because you’re incompetent and stupid?” Instead, Horgel calmly persuaded him.

“That’s because Isaac is the most suitable to be a false prophet.”

“… … I have heard of false prophets. They are said to be absolutely necessary for the coming of the millennium… … but I am not sure if someone like Isaac is suitable.”

“Brother, you don’t seem to know what the role of a false prophet is.”

Rather than trying to convince Lamarrie, Horgel opened his mouth to organize his own thoughts.

“The believers are foolish sheep, and the Watchmen are shepherd dogs. We try to control the sheep by following the shepherd’s words, but it is difficult to control such a large flock. How can we drive such sheep into the fence?”

“… …like beating a sheep or barking fiercely?”

“That method has its limitations. And the sheep might get scared and run away instead. There is a much simpler way.”

“If there was a simple way… … .”

Horgel clenched his left hand into a fist and moved one finger of his right hand, making it appear as if his fist was following the outstretched finger.

“Sheep have a natural instinct to follow the lead when the one in the lead moves. We’re using that.”

Horhel continued, waving his outstretched finger.

“This sheep is called a false prophet. When a false prophet takes the lead and jumps into the pen, the other sheep follow him. They don’t know whether they will be stripped of their wool, slaughtered, or have a safe haven waiting for them. We just have to control the false prophet.”

As he said this, Horgel clasped both hands together. Ramari nodded as if he understood.

The wandering monk added his explanation.

“False prophets are originally beings who are worshipped and loved by all. That is natural. However, that worship and love is a crown and a gift from our shepherd. Should the watchdog brothers be surprised and jealous because of that?”

“… … I’m sorry, brother. Thank you for explaining it to me in detail.”

Lamarrie thanked Horgel for her kind explanation in a situation where he could have been severely reprimanded. He imagined a sheep that had entered the fence, and then he suddenly thought about the fate of the false prophet.

“Then the lighthouse keeper doesn’t really intend to appoint Isaac as a celestial being?”

Horgel chuckled at Lamarrie’s question.

“How dare we read the angels’ precepts? But even if we slaughter other sheep, there is no reason to harm false prophets. It is very difficult to make a good false prophet. And if such a false prophet listens well… … Sometimes he receives the affection of the shepherd and is given a special name.”

Named sheep.

Even Ramiri could understand what it was metaphorically referring to.

Lamarrie felt a chill down his spine at the thought that perhaps there were such false prophets among the angels who had already been named or had been named. But he dared not utter such a blasphemous thought.

Carlsen had the potential to be such a great false prophet, but no one yet knows where things went wrong and why he suddenly disappeared.

But in any case, the fate of all false prophets is the same.

As Horgel says, no matter how splendidly they dress up, humans are nothing more than sheep raised by God. The moment they deny that they are nothing more than sheep or refuse to act as false prophets, they are reduced to ordinary sheep.

It is simply a slaughterhouse.

Just like the snowy owl did.

***

Isaac looked at the graves of the angels and imagined himself living a life as a gentle lamb.

It wasn’t bad. It was his goal from the beginning, and his goal as a Knight of the Code of Light. To complete the Holy War, reclaim the Holy Land, and finally praise the glory of God in the Millennium Kingdom that had arrived. By then, even the Code of Light would no longer doubt him.

But it is not a victory of nameless chaos.

‘Then why did the nameless chaos choose me?’

Of course, Isaac has no intention of following the doctrines or goals of Nameless Chaos. No, I don’t know if there is such a thing in the first place. Despite Isaac’s worries, Nameless Chaos remains calm, as if it will leave it entirely to his judgment.

Isaac looked at the angels and suddenly a certain event occurred to him.

There are events where ‘mass angels’ appear, although they are not ‘mass angels’.

It was an event that occurred at the end when the ‘victory declaration’ took place, not during the game itself.

When the law of light finally triumphs and the ‘Millennium’ arrives, thousands of angels descend from heaven and declare that this earth belongs to God.

There is something similar in the declaration of victory of ‘Rebirth’, the ending of the world’s furnace. The light code of law, burning with the angels thrown into the furnace as firewood, finally breaks the earth’s crust and walks out. In the ‘Great War’ that Elril so desperately desires, the legions of angels wage war encompassing heaven, earth, and hell.

All require a great number of angels and are related to the Code of Light.

Not to mention the Millennium Kingdom, the world’s furnace originally believed that the being that would enter the furnace and be reborn was the Law of Light. Ellil’s goal is to have the Law of Light acknowledge that he, not the church, is ‘justice’. This is the war for that.

‘Then was it because of these angels that Carlsen tried to perform the ascension ceremony here?’

Perhaps it was a weapon that was stored away so that Carlsen wouldn’t be pushed back when he was reborn as a young god. Or perhaps it was hidden so that he could be controlled. Or perhaps it was a lid that was sealed because something ridiculous happened on this land.

Whatever it is, it’s in Isaac’s hands.

This can turn even a chess piece into a chess player.

No, Isaac was never meant to be a chess piece from the start.

‘Rather, I am a monster that has invaded the chessboard.’

Isaac was originally supposed to die to Carlsen. Even in the Nameless Chaos universe, that is a fact of the past that has not changed. However, Isaac survived and came up on this large board.

What this means is that Isaac is not a chess piece, but an intruder.

And the chess players were bewildered by this unexpected presence, some trying to move away, and some reaching out to take advantage. This means that Isaac may soon become a player on the chessboard, not a being who follows the rules.

Isaac vaguely imagined a certain picture.

Declaring your own victory.