Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 351



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Episode 351. Thirsty Dinner (1)

‘The fisherman, who was so fixated on the fish under the water that he could not see the light reflected on the scales of the water, arrogantly dared to deceive the lighthouse keeper and blind him, so a sign was set up over the fisherman’s house to ensure that he would never take his eyes off the light again.’

The Salt Council has no scriptures.

Only oral traditions and accounts of the experiences of survivors scattered around the world remain as some records. If we want to learn about the Salt Council before the Century of Light, we will ultimately have to look to records left behind by other faiths.

The above passage is the record of ‘The End of Mirmia’ recorded by Aidan in the Code of Light. It is clear that the phrase ‘fisherman’ is a disparaging remark on the Salt Council, and it goes without saying who the lighthouse keeper is.

However, opinions were divided as to what the ‘Fisherman’s House’ was, with the majority agreeing that it was Mirmia, while others suggested that it was a sea temple buried under the salt desert or some specific building.

But today, Aidan discovered the true identity of the ‘Fisherman’s House’.

“This was the fisherman’s house.”

Aidan muttered as he stroked the obelisk erected in front of the great pyramid temple. The obelisk had the words ‘Fisherman’s House’ written on it in an ancient language that few people could read today. The words written in the scriptures were exact and without metaphor.

“Why does it get colder and colder the further we come, Captain!”

Reina said, seeming puzzled.

Above my head, the cursed sun was burning with a crimson glow. However, the closer I got to the sun, the colder it became. It was still hot, but since I had been in such a hot place, it felt cool, just like Reina said.

“I don’t know the principle, but it seems like this place acts like a kind of lamp. There is some divine power that supports that huge sun so that it can rise, and because of that power, the lower part can prevent the heat from radiating.”

“Oh… … That’s amazing. Then, how can we knock over the lamp so that it falls in the direction of the enemies?!”

“… … I wish you would show a little more respect for the sacred and the relics, Lord Reyna Hild. And I don’t want to imagine what disaster would happen if that sun were to sink into the ground.”

Aidan does not want another disaster like the Salt Desert to strike another region. Aidan suppresses his excitement as an archaeologist and cautiously steps toward the temple that has been closed for a thousand years.

The pyramid temple had a large stone door, but it was tightly shut. This was a common practice in such prestigious buildings, and was only opened on special occasions. Usually, there was a small door next to this door, through which ordinary people could enter and exit.

Just before Aidan reached for the doorknob, Reina suddenly stopped his hand. She looked down at the doorknob with a menacing look in her eyes, then carefully pushed Aidan away with her arm and slowly pushed the door with the tip of her sword. But nothing happened.

Aidan was silent for a moment, then looked at her.

“This is a temple, not a dungeon. There shouldn’t be any traps set up. Especially not the entrance.”

“Yes? Oh, of course I know. It’s just that there is evidence of recent entry and exit through this door. His Majesty Aethelred has forbidden people from entering and exiting the temple without permission, so no one should have touched it.”

“Any traces of coming and going?”

“There’s no dust on the doorknob. Other houses don’t have that. If there were even footprints, I would think so, but there aren’t any. That means someone sneaked in and covered up the traces. In my experience, this is 100% an ambush.”

Aidan was surprised and puzzled.

Who else besides them would be staying in ruins that have been abandoned for a thousand years?

Reina quietly pushed open the door with her sword and slowly looked around. After a while, when she confirmed that there was nothing special around, she gestured to Aidan again.

“There’s no one here. But we should be careful. The Grail Knight advised us that there might be someone else in this city besides us.”

“Isn’t that a monster story?”

“A wise monster is more dangerous. Just as humans are more dangerous.”

***

The ‘Fisherman’s House’ was bright inside with sunlight and reflected light seeping in from somewhere, perhaps because of the way it cleverly drew in the sunlight from outside. However, the only thing that still functioned was the lighting, and the fountains, the tiered waterways, and the large torches that had probably once pumped up countless streams of water were no longer there, empty and nothing.

Reina seemed to be expecting a fight with monsters and traps in the ruined temple, but that didn’t happen. The temple seemed to be truly faithful to its role as a temple.

This means that there were only large spaces to accommodate a large number of people, fancy decorations, and long, high hallways to show off authority.

“Hmm, somehow I think it might be more fun to look for a spoon.”

“Can you say that while looking at such a magnificent view?”

Aidan asked back, dumbfounded. But Aidan was actually having similar concerns.

Usually, a temple like this would have tapestries or carvings of angels that symbolize the connection between gods and humans. But this temple was too plain and had nothing.

Aidan decided to make a case for his faith.

“Perhaps the ‘real temple’ is in the temple under the sea, and this was just a makeshift sanctuary. The temple under the sea is not a place that anyone can visit, so it was made for the common people… … .”

“Captain, look over there.”

At that moment, Reina, who had not been listening to Aidan at all, pointed somewhere. Underneath a large, empty space, another small pyramid was erected. Of course, it was smaller than the fisherman’s house, but it was as big as a huge mansion.

“I wonder how I missed such a large building, but that place is the only place that is blocked from sunlight. It blends in perfectly with the other darkness, making it hard to see.”

Even Reina was amazed at the relic’s ingenious methods.

Aidan felt his heart pounding when he saw it. He didn’t know why, but he had a strong feeling that there might be something there that he was looking forward to.

Reina also felt the same way and headed towards the Black Pyramid without hesitation. And the closer they got to it, the more unpleasant the smell became.

“Is this… … a fishy smell?”

Reina asked with a displeasure. It is not strange for the port to smell like fish. However, it is strange considering that this is a port that dried up a thousand years ago. Reina seemed to sense something was wrong this time and approached the black pyramid with a sharp aura.

The black pyramid had a black door whose outline was barely recognizable. Only a small golden doorknob indicated that it was a door.

“There is no dust on this door either.”

Reina whispered. As she pushed the door with the tip of her sword, it slowly began to open. At the same time, the unpleasant smell became even more overwhelming.

At that moment, a strong resistance was felt on the tip of the sword. Reina immediately pushed Aidan back and kicked the door open.

Boom. There was a sound of something crashing and rolling. Reina was about to jump inside, but stopped when she realized that the inside was pitch black, with no light.

“Who’s inside!”

“… … .”

Soon, a shallow groan and something similar to a human voice could be heard from inside. When Reina tried to scream again, Aidan grabbed her waist and stopped her.

“Wait a minute! Calm down and listen to me. Lord Reina! Can we talk to each other?”

Reina frowned for a moment, but then reminded herself that her mission was not to kill anyone, but to protect Aidan while he was conducting archaeological research. She couldn’t just kill someone because they looked suspicious.

This time Aidan asked politely.

“Who are you?”

Only then could I hear a voice that was barely audible.

“… … Adric … … Sadraza.”

When Aidan looked surprised, Reina asked impatiently.

“What does that mean?”

“The one with the splendid… … That is, the high priest of the Salt Council, Sadraza.”

Reina couldn’t help but be surprised by those words.

High Priest of the Salt Council? After the Salt Council became known as the ‘Council’, the concept of ‘priest’ disappeared for them. Their priests are captains, and the council is an equal place where the captains gather to coordinate their opinions. It was the way they, cut off from God, chose the best path.

That is, this Sadraza was a being who held a position in the Salt Council a thousand years ago.

***

Aidan didn’t do anything foolish out of curiosity. He immediately returned to Isaac with Reyna and told him about the ‘Sadraza’ that he had found in the fisherman’s house.

As soon as Isaac heard this, he arrived in front of the Black Pyramid.

Lyanna and Cidrik were also there, just in case.

Aidan looked a little shaken at the sight.

“I think it’s a bit excessive… … .”

“Don’t be fooled by the sweet words of the High Priest of the Salt Council, Aidan.”

“That’s not it. I just wondered if that being really would be that much of a threat, Holy Grail Knight. To be honest, based on what I’ve seen, even if I faced Reina, I think I could win… … .”

Around the entrance to the Black Pyramid, there were countermeasures that Aidan had prepared on his own. The few remaining defensive prohibitions in the Salt Council, and sealing rituals, were drawn in salt.

The white salt that seemed to have been dug up from the salt desert had a power that Isaac could clearly sense. It was clear that no evil being could penetrate it. It meant that Aidan did not completely believe in the existence of Sadraza.

“I heard you can communicate, but what do you say?”

“That… … Just like the Drowned King’s time, it was a very archaic dialect, so I couldn’t understand it well. However, if I roughly translate it, he said that he was the high priest ‘Sadraja’ and that he had been hiding here ever since the disaster occurred. He seemed very surprised when I told him that a thousand years had passed.”

“How did you survive?”

“That is… … He said he doesn’t know for sure. He said that while he was hiding in this pyramid to escape the curse that had been placed on the city, his body gradually changed over time.”

If it really existed a thousand years ago, the Salt Council’s obsession with ‘not being able to lie’ would likely not have been applicable. That’s something like trauma that has been built up over centuries by later generations and traditions.

Isaac was lost in thought.

No matter how much he searched his memories, there was no such thing as ‘Sadraza’ in the Salt Council. This meant that either his real name was hidden, or he was hiding in the game.

Either way, it didn’t seem like he was the type of person who would have any influence on the trend.

Isaac nodded and spoke towards the inside of the black pyramid.

“I am Isaac Isacre. Are you Sadrazza? Why have you been hiding in this temple?”

A skilled gore, only permitted to Isaac, flowed out. A voice flowed out from inside the black pyramid, while Aidan, who had already experienced it with the Drowned King, was not surprised.

“Isaac.”

It was as if the voice was savoring and reminiscing about the name.

“Nice to meet you. I just… … .”

“for a moment.”

Isaac stopped him from answering.

“I don’t talk to those who don’t show their faces. Show your faces.”

“… … .”

Sadraja was silent for a moment, then spoke cautiously.

“Can you step back and let the others go, except for Aidan? Those next to me look violent, and I’m afraid they’ll swing their swords at me the moment they see me.”

Isaac nodded, though he didn’t think it was possible for an elite swordmaster and knight of Elril, let alone a conscript, to do that.

In reality, the momentum felt from Sadrazar was extremely weak. It was no exaggeration to say that Aidan could handle it alone.

As the knights of Elril stepped back, the door slowly opened.

Aidan gasped as he saw a figure emerge from the door.

It was a tentacle. The tentacles, glowing crimson, slowly began to emerge from the sunlight. As each shape emerged, Isaac could no longer hide his hardened expression.

The moment Isaac saw Sadraza emerging from inside the Black Pyramid, the first thing that came to his mind was that it looked like a three-meter-tall octopus clumsily imitating a human.

But at the same time, Isaac began to feel the same confusion that the Salt Council believers felt.

It was unclear whether the tentacle was under the influence of the Nameless Chaos or the Salt Council.