Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 352



Only Krnovel

Episode 352. Thirsty Supper (2)

Isaac asked about the first thing he suspected.

“Were you watching us from the salt desert?”

The gaze felt while the Isacrea Dawn Army was crossing the salt desert. The silhouette seen from afar was clearly similar to the Sadraza before my eyes.

Sadraja rolled his eyes and twitched his tentacles incessantly, as if he couldn’t keep them still.

“… … Yes. This place is sparsely populated. A group like you visited here a long time ago, but they soon fled as if they were being driven away by the sun. I watched you all this time because I didn’t know how you would act.”

“why?”

“You’re followers of the lighthouse keeper, right? I knew it when I saw the flag. I thought you’d try to kill me the moment you saw me. I needed to know exactly when and where I was going. That’s why I hid here.”

Then Aidan came over and whispered.

“That seems right. When we tried to open this door, they resisted by pushing it. If they had intended to attack us, they would have opened the door and attacked us instead.”

Isaac agreed.

It was because Sadraja’s appearance was too weak compared to Aidan’s logic.

It seemed as if he was solely focused on surviving under the cursed sun, unable to perform even the most ordinary miracles.

It was a disappointing conclusion that this was the identity of the monster I had been so wary of.

But Isaac did not let his suspicions go. In this disastrous environment and Mirmia, where monsters of awe come crashing down, the weak cannot survive.

‘You’re hiding something.’

“Okay, Sadraja. What were you doing here?”

“I… … at first, my goal was simply to survive. But as time passed and I became convinced that I could survive, I began to search for a way to retrieve the god trapped under the sea.”

Aidan, who was having a hard time interpreting Sadrazza’s words, looked at him with a surprised expression at the words ‘a way to bring out God.’

Isaac also asked nervously.

“Did you find a way?”

Sadraja waved his tentacles hesitantly. He looked around at the gold and control spells Aidan had laid out, then cautiously opened his mouth.

“… … I can’t tell you.”

As Isaac’s expression hardened, he quickly made an excuse.

“Aren’t you one who follows the will of the lighthouse keeper? The one who has brought our church, our empire, and our city into this state is the lighthouse keeper. How can we tell someone like that how to bring out the ‘caller’?”

‘The Caller’ is one of the names given to the god of the Salt Council.

He remembered it because he had heard it in the underworld of the Salt Council. Isaac frowned and sighed, not ignoring Sadrazza’s wariness.

“… … The friend next to me, as you know, is the Salt Council… … so he is your successor. The name and tradition have changed, but he is working to bring the Caller out from the bottom of the sea. And I promised to help him with his plan.”

Sadraza blinked and looked at Isaac. Isaac made sure he was far enough away from the other Ellir knights and whispered.

“And you keep telling me that I follow the will of the lighthouse keeper, but the order I respect and pursue is the law of light, not the lighthouse keeper. I am not loyal to him.”

Although he spoke indirectly, it was virtually heretical, given that the Code of Light revealed its meaning almost entirely through the lighthouse keeper. Isaac hoped that Sadrazah would catch this subtle nuance.

He stared at Isaac for a moment and then asked.

“The Code of Light?”

It was as if they were hearing it for the first time in their lives.

“Is that the name the lighthouse keeper finally gave you? That’s a very fitting name. It seems they still believe they can be governed by rules.”

Isaac got the eerie feeling from Sadraza’s speech that he knew the lighthouse keeper.

Well, anyone who was here a thousand years ago when Mirmia was destroyed would know enough. Especially if they were a high priest, they would have probably had a conversation with him.

Even a thousand years ago, encountering a burning saint would not have been a common occurrence.

‘It feels like I’m talking to an angel.’

If Sadrazza were an angel, he would probably be the weakest angel in the world.

Isaac took out his last resort to convince him.

[Hometown of the Drifter (Rare)]

[When you put seawater in a bottle, the bow of the ship model always points to the place where the seawater was put.]

When Isaac took out the relic he had received from Urbansus, Sadraza’s pupils dilated. He had discovered the divinity contained in the relic.

“If you are a priest, Amundalas would know. This holy relic was brought from Urbansus. I do not know the principle, but the water inside is said to have been brought from the sea off Mirmia three years in the future. Amundalas gave it to me as a token of his trust.”

Whatever the process, it means that water is coming into Mirmia.

Even Isaac doesn’t know how the process will turn out, but he is sure to be involved in the incident. Sadrazza’s tentacles trembled as he tried to touch the drifter’s hometown, but Isaac grabbed them and they swept through the air.

“I think I’ve shown enough trust… … but now it’s your turn to show me trust.”

Sadraja groaned softly. Finally, he seemed to realize that he had no other choice but to trust Isaac, and whispered quietly.

The secret that the last priest left in the world has kept hidden for a thousand years.

“The divinity of the Caller remains underground within this pyramid.”

***

Pyramids are the most common form of temple in this desert region, ranging from small shrines to huge royal tombs.

It is said that the largest pyramid was built in the Holy Land of Lua. And the ‘Fisherman’s House’ where they were located was also a ‘temple on land’ built for those who call.

“To be exact, it is a place connected to the sea temple built under the sea. Below this, there are stairs leading deep underground, and those stairs are connected to the sea through an underwater cave. It is a cave connected to the sea temple.”

Sadraza continued his explanation of the ancient, quietly forgotten sect.

“That ‘Salt Road’ was only accessible to the ‘Bure’, high priests who were permitted to breathe underwater. Through it, we could easily contact the angels and divinities of the Sea Temple and receive oracles.”

Then disaster struck. No, they brought disaster upon themselves.

The followers of the Sea Cult were originally competing with a neighboring country that worshipped a powerful ancient god. Then, when a man named ‘Ruaddin’, who had caused great trouble in the neighboring country, visited Mirmia with his followers, they decided to cooperate fully.

“It was clearly meant to be that way. But for some reason, the captain who was supposed to lead the fleet at the time sabotaged the work… … and Luaddin, in his rage, cursed our city and dried up the sea.”

Isaac could understand the confusion and anger that Sadraja felt.

He was a victim of the sudden Urbanus transformation.

Sadrazza would certainly not know why the captain who had agreed to cooperate with Ruaddin suddenly acted negligently.

In fact, I couldn’t know how he would react if the will of the angel and the one calling had intervened in this incident. However, it didn’t seem like there would be any benefit to touching it.

“… … The lighthouse keeper dried up the sea, but he did not pay attention to the underground of this temple. Thanks to this, the salt road was still open. Although the water level decreased day by day, I was able to contact the divinity through the gap.”

Aidan straightened his back. He shouted in his broken ancient language.

“Are you saying that you can communicate with the one who calls?!”

This is what the Salt Council captains are risking their lives for.

To have one foot in the afterlife and hear at least a voice through a near-drowning experience.

However, Sadrazza was saying that one could easily communicate with God through this temple.

“… … He used to be like that. But most of the time, he just cried out in pain and anger. The same goes for the angels who were imprisoned with him. Even they have been silent lately.”

Aidan sat down in disappointment. But Isaac pointed out something that Sadrajah had not yet revealed.

“So, did you find a way to get the god out?”

“that is…….”

Isaac intended to give Sadraja a beating if he hesitated or changed his subject again and then resume the conversation. Often, priests who do not know the subject have to be taught that sometimes physical force is closer than miracles.

“… …I thought about human sacrifice.”

“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to hit him.”

Isaac spoke calmly to himself. These guys are a religion that has been around since ancient times, so they think of human sacrifice too easily. Is it difficult to change the fundamentals?

Then Sadrazza continued speaking hastily.

“I just thought about it. Look at this place. It’s a place where you can’t find anyone who wants to sacrifice a human body. But it was actually a good thing. Instead of defiling the sacredness of God, I was able to find another way.”

“Another way?”

“Things that have divinity often come to this area. The divinities left behind by the caller are good bait for attracting the ancient gods or monsters that have been destroyed. I… … made offerings to them.”

Isaac realized what Sadraza was referring to.

“You’re offering up monsters from the outside world as sacrifices?!”

“There are many banished ancient gods and monsters living in the Apocrypha. This is especially true after the rise of the Lighthouse Keepers.”

“You don’t seem to have the strength to face the monsters of the past?”

“You don’t have to hunt them. When the one who calls calls the monsters, the cursed sun kills them. I just have to take them to the fisherman’s house, follow the procedures, and make an offering. That’s all.”

Isaac knew that the method Sadraza had chosen was not much different from human sacrifice, but it was a method that was somewhat precariously guarded against the boundary.

It is not uncommon to kill evil monsters or ancient gods and pray in the name of the gods.

Isn’t that actually the main job of a paladin?

“I have been collecting the blood of those ‘intruders’ for a long time, waiting for the time when God will rise again.”

“… … .”

“And just when I thought that time was approaching, you showed up. I thought you might be followers of the lighthouse keeper who came to prevent the resurrection of God. So I tried to hide.”

“Well. You weren’t expecting me to collapse from exhaustion, were you?”

“I won’t lie. Do you think you could figure out a way out of my current situation?”

If the Isacrea Dawn Army had collapsed and fallen from exhaustion, Sadraja would have taken them in and ‘offered’ them as well. Sadraja did not sacrifice human bodies because it was impossible, but because he did not feel guilty.

But Isaac sneered coldly.

“A man-eater is not a god. He is a monster disguised as a god.”

Isaac suddenly asked, his mind wandering somewhere.

“There have been Dawning Forces belonging to the Light Code before. They didn’t even make it to Mirmia, but did they ‘use’ it?”

What Isaac was talking about was the 7th Dawn Army that had reached the Salt Desert and retreated. Sadrazza shook his head.

“Is this the group I was talking about earlier? They burned everything they could, as if they had some kind of compulsion not to leave any corpses behind. If they couldn’t burn them, they dragged them back to the sea. I couldn’t even lay a hand on them.”

After completing his final checks, Isaac turned to Aidan and said.

“Can I go talk to my friends for a moment?”

Sadraja nodded.

“As you wish.”

***

Isaac also gave Lyanna and Sydrik a brief summary of his conversation with Sadraza. They were surprised to learn that Sadraza was a priest from a thousand years ago, but even more surprised to hear that he was nearly ready to awaken the god.

Isaac talked about that ‘preparation’.

“I now know why there is such a foul odor coming from inside that black pyramid.”

“What is it?”

“It is the result of Sadrazha collecting the corpses of monsters and the remains of ancient gods over a thousand years, and pouring their blood into the underground caverns.”

Lyanna clicked her tongue as if offended by Isaac’s words.

“The other side would be blocked by salt, so I don’t think the water that has been stagnant for so long while consuming corpses and blood would be okay. It would probably be terribly rotten and decaying.”

But in any case, they did not feed it human blood.

Isaac considered it safe at that point. Aidan remained silent for a while before cautiously opening his mouth.

“Is there any chance that the idea that Sadrazza is preparing will succeed?”

Isaac sighed at Aidan’s words. Not because he thought he would disappoint him, but because he anticipated dire difficulties.

“it’s possible.”

It’s not just possible, it’s possible. Isaac was sure of that.

Because the ritual that Sadrazza had been performing was a variation of the ‘Thirsty Feast’ ritual that Isaac needed to witness the Salt Council’s victory.

(continue)