Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 323



Only Krnovel

Episode 323. Your Price (8)

As soon as he heard the words ‘Crimson Tomb’, Hastel felt goosebumps all over his body.

It was a kind of prophecy.

It was a story about the beginning and the end of the Red Grail.

The Red Grail, or the blood that flowed from the heart of Elril, will one day be recovered, and whoever swallows the heart will eventually become a new god.

It was an irreverent and incomparable story, but the person who actually left this prophecy was a dancer.

The blood that flowed from the Red Grail is the blood that turned the Walaika nobles into immortal vampires. If that blood is recovered, it means that all the Walaika nobles will die. In a broad sense, even angels are no exception.

It is clear that countless corpses and blood will flow to achieve that.

That is why the ominous name attached to that prophecy is ‘The Crimson Tomb’.

It could be said to be a kind of apocalyptic prophecy of the Red Grail Club.

“Do you know what that means?”

Hesabel smiled.

“The old people are too fearful. I think the prophecy is too exaggerated. In reality, it might just be ‘the unification of the three dukes’.”

“… …Unification of the Duke’s family?”

“Roanoke, Ere, and Gulmar. These three dukes rule the Walaika kingdom and decide the throne. However, the strongest Roanoke bloodline almost always takes the throne, and Ere holds most of the rich lands.”

The Gulmar dukedom is relatively poor. Of course, they have strong blood, but they are nothing compared to the two dukes. Hesabel thought to herself that the inferiority complex caused Hastel to drive into the castle.

“so?”

“Think about it, Mother. Will the day ever come when we can defeat those two families?”

It is meaningless to say that winning or losing is not important among believers of the same faith.

Since the Crimson Tomb was prophesied by the dancer’s mouth, it was clear that someone would devour and unite all bloodlines. And none of the three families had any intention of being devoured, rather than being the one devouring.

From the moment the prophecy was made known, the dukes secretly checked each other, assassinated each other, and plotted against each other.

As a result, differences began to appear between the three families that had been equal in the beginning.

“Wasn’t your mother also trying to reverse this situation? Wasn’t that why she used the division ceremony to cooperate with the Immortal Sect?”

Hastel’s brother, Heinkel Gulmar, also went out to hold a ceremony of division in an attempt to somehow turn things around by cooperating with the Undead Church. However, that plan ended up with the terrible result of losing the ceremony of division due to the sudden appearance of Isaac.

“So what are you planning? You’re going to summon the Grail Knights to Walaika and kill all the other dukes?”

Hesabel smiled at Hastel’s words. She came close enough for Hastel to see her pupils. They were close enough to bite each other at any moment, but Hesabel showed no hesitation.

“How can you be so simple, Mother?”

Hastel saw purple waves swirling in Hesabel’s red eyes.

It had a deep, bloody scent that was hard to find even among vampires.

“I will tell you about the great assassination that the most insidious deceiver will carry out.”

***

Isaac was watching the old lighthouse.

In fact, it is none of Isaac’s business whether it is succession or not. In the first place, there is no rule that outsiders cannot interfere with the succession. Regardless of the means and methods, if Hastel Gulmar is killed and Hesabel consumes all of his blood, the succession will end.

But there are human hunters here. And they are of the level of the royal guard. The moment Isaac intervenes, they too will have no choice but to intervene in the succession ceremony. It is a completely different situation from the fight between Hesabel and Hastel.

If that happens, there is a possibility that Leonora, who was taken hostage, will be involved.

Of course, the fact that Hesabel showed no will to ask for help also played a part in Isaac’s decision not to intervene. Hesabel did not show confidence, but he was confident that he would not be unilaterally defeated.

‘If this incident can help Hesabel grow once more… … I should give him a chance too.’

Hesabel’s growth potential is limitless. If the being mentioned in the victory conditions of the Red Grail is really Hesabel.

“hmm?”

Just then, the inside of the lighthouse seemed to become quiet, and then the lighthouse door opened and a woman walked out.

It was Leonora. She walked out calmly, as if nothing had happened. Aside from the scratches on her neck from when she was kidnapped, there were no other signs of injury.

The silence of the lighthouse and the liberation of the hostages.

The human hunters were shaken by the sight of the match being decided. However, Isaac sensed that Hesabel was not letting down his guard, and realized that this was only a temporary truce.

The fight is not over yet.

And Isaac too.

“You came to save me, Holy Grail Knight?”

“… … It looks like he would have been released even if I hadn’t come to rescue him.”

“No one has as clear a desire as the Walaika. If the desire is clear, it is easy to know how to act. The Red Grail believers are not as sinister and unknowable as others think.”

‘Compared to you, they’re just simple country folk.’

Isaac realized anew that innocence is a relative value.

After going around and around, I finally came face to face with her again.

Isaac’s head became complicated.

Originally, Isaac had come here to protect Angela and exclude Leonora from the top of the Golden Idol. However, in the process, he found himself in a situation where he had to get help from Leonora, and to make matters worse, she ended up helping him.

Isaac had no idea what Leonora was thinking or what principles motivated her actions.

‘If your desire is clear, you can know how to move?’

So what was Leonora’s desire? Isaac wanted to find out.

There were many questions to ask, but the first question I asked was the part I didn’t understand the most.

“Why did you save me from the harvesters?”

First, the part where the reaper was separated from Isaac by the death moratorium. This was the most incomprehensible part. Leonora seemed to want to get rid of Isaac. So why did she come and help her now?

“I never thought that a Grail Knight would die because of something like that. It’s just… …”

Leonora muttered, smiling askance.

“… … Because you don’t like being disturbed?”

“You didn’t like being interrupted?”

“The Grail Knight came all this way to find me, so it would be bothersome if something like a curse got in the way. That’s all. However, I feel good that the Grail Knight thinks he owes me a favor.”

Leonora smiled and poked Isaac with her finger.

“Well, I guess that’s repaying Isaac’s subordinate for saving me. After all, it was we who brought in the human hunters in the first place.”

“… … Right. Didn’t you try to get rid of me because of Angela in the first place? It would have been easier if you had left the Harvesters alone. One Harvester was more of a threat than the mercenaries and assassins you hired.”

“I had no intention of killing the Knight of the Holy Grail.”

Leonora said shyly.

“I just wanted the Grail Knight to need my help. I wanted him to reach out to me and ask for help when he was in trouble.”

Isaac was overcome with even more complicated emotions.

In other words, Leonora’s words were simply the tycoon version of ‘hiring a thug to put a woman in danger, then showing up coolly to save her’. Considering the number of nobles, knights, bandits, mercenaries, orcs, and assassins she hired, she would have died several times if it weren’t for Isaac.

But Isaac understood Leonora’s desire. She had a desire to make Isaac ‘rely’ on her. There is nothing to regret when one can walk alone.

That is, Leonora tried to create a desire in Isaac, hoping that she would be the one to solve that desire.

And her intentions were somewhat successful.

“So, what did you come here to tell me?”

“… … I have a favor to ask.”

Isaac felt a little disappointed, but he opened his mouth. It turned out that Leonora had planned it that way, but it was true that he needed Leonora’s help to pay the harvester’s tax.

And I also thought that this situation wasn’t so bad.

The reason Isaac doesn’t like Leonora is because he has no idea what this ‘monster born of capital’ is thinking or doing.

If you want the other person to rely on you, there is no reason why you shouldn’t use them.

Leonora’s expression brightened.

Isaac had never seen such a bright expression on Leonora’s face since he first saw her. She tilted her head, the corners of her lips twitching in delight as if Isaac had said that he would pay a thousand pieces of gold for it.

“Please~ What do you think the Holy Grail Knight came to ask of me~?”

What the other person wants is initiative.

She pretends to take the lead, but in reality she holds nothing. If Leonora is satisfied with that illusion, she can act as if she wants.

Because I have no intention of giving up anything practical.

No matter what anyone says, the one holding the sword always has the initiative.

Isaac played a frail Grail knight in distress.

“To lift the curse of the Immortal Cult, I need to know what tax is being imposed on me. Do you know what it is? I heard that Sherlock is a person.”

Leonora narrowed her eyes at Isaac’s words and stared at him. Since Sherlock had given a hint that he was human, Leonora could give a stronger hint.

Because she can judge a person’s worth.

Soon Leonora’s lips turned up as if she had expected this.

“That’s a tax I can afford to pay.”

“… … You can pay? What do you mean?”

“I can’t tell you that right now. I can only tell you that it is worthy of your honor, Isaac. Even though the Undying Church used a clever trick, the curse that Isaac is under, ‘taxes and death cannot be avoided,’ has clear limits.”

Leonora said with a single smile.

“For your information, the Holy Grail Knight cannot pay. Only I can pay.”

Isaac frowned.

Is she so eager to take the initiative? Is it her only desire to have you roll over her palm? What good does that do for her?

Isaac hesitated for a moment, but eventually looked at Leonora with his purple eyes.

The eyes of chaos began to dig into Leonora’s mind. But Leonora was not thinking about the answer Isaac wanted. Instead of thinking about the identity of the tax, she was only thinking about Isaac.

‘Isaac is the one who can hold the world.’

Leonora thought with an inner bitterness that did not show on her face.

‘It will eventually escape my grasp. But I need to leave a deeper mark on the heart of this Grail Knight so that I can stay longer.’

***

While Isaac was still negotiating with Leonora, Hesabel and Hastel’s negotiations were concluded.

When the fight began, neither of them expected it to end like this. However, Hesabel and Hastel reached an agreement that both could accept.

“Everyone, come back.”

The moment they heard Hesabel’s voice, the human hunters decided that the fight was over and entered the lighthouse. However, what they saw was the head of the household and the successor standing together.

Since the ‘succession’ began, the head of the family and the successor had never walked out together before, so the human hunters were shocked and frozen. However, the guards were never punished for the trouble caused by the succession.

“… … I decided to end Hesabel’s ‘admonition’ due to his long wanderings here.”

‘Admonition’? The human hunters realized that Hastel had decided to cover up the situation. But did Hesabel accept that?

Now that she’s shown her teeth, Hastel will try to get rid of her at any time later. In Walaika, reconciliation is nothing more than waiting for a better opportunity.

However, Hesabel looked down at him with a more healthy and beautiful appearance than ever, and Hastel lifted the dagger in his hand with a more haggard and tired face than before.

It was a division ceremony.

“… … The division ceremony has been revoked. With this, one of the three holy relics has returned to Walaika intact, so I will also return and ask the dancer for forgiveness.”

The two made a deal.

In exchange for returning the Splitting Ceremony to Hastel, Hesabel received a significant amount of Hastel’s ‘Blood of the Holy Grail’. As a result, Hastel was considerably weakened, but it was better than returning without even recovering the Splitting Ceremony.

Above all, she had to cooperate with Hesabel to achieve her wish.

“Hesabel, carry out your given mission safely.”

“All right.”

Hesabel looked at the weakened Hastel and thought for a moment that she might be able to defeat her now. However, now that Hastel had been captured, it would be more beneficial for Hesabel if she lived.

Because Hesabel cannot return to the Kingdom of Walaika right away.

Hastel will return with a division ceremony and prepare the groundwork for rebellion.

Until then, Hesabel was with Isaac.

“I’m back. I hope to see you again soon.”

Hastel jumped up without waiting for Hesabel’s greeting. She and the human hunters disappeared in an instant, melting away in the harbor night wind.