Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 361



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Episode 361. The one who calls calls (3)

The reason Isaac says this is because he knows that the Salt Council has declared victory.

This result is not a declaration of victory for the Salt Council. If things go as planned, the salt desert will be completely destroyed, the Caller will be resurrected, and the entire world’s oceans will fall into the hands of the Salt Council. And the underwater creatures that the ancient Sea Cult served will walk the world.

Of course, Isaac doesn’t know whether that world is worth living in, since his role is limited to declaring victory. But Isaac worries that the Salt Council will return to the ancient days of a thousand years ago when barbaric customs still lingered.

Although Isaac helped to revive the Caller for his own benefit, the Sea Cult itself, which is its mother cult, is not a very civilized cult. This faith is so old that ominous customs from the days of the Old Gods still remain.

Many faiths, including the Code of Light, the Elil, the Hearth of the World, and even those belonging to the Black Empire, have had the opportunity to correct and amend such customs over time.

But the Sea Cult wasted a thousand years of time without giving them that chance.

No, they have already changed wonderfully. In the form of the Salt Parliament.

“Urbansus is the sum total of the past. And now your past is nothing but old and worn-out ruins. Now it is up to you to change your afterlife. I hope you do not necessarily conclude by returning to the old and ancient forms.”

It may not be as cool or as powerful as the Codex of Light, or the Elil, or the Brazier of the World.

But so what?

Isaac liked the loyalty of these men of the sea who could not lie, their thirst for knowledge of ancient civilizations, and their awkward but rudimentary parliamentary system.

Isaac thought that in some ways at least it was better than other faiths.

“Isaac, that’s what you said… I’ll think about it. As you said, if we suddenly go back to the old rules, other people will be confused.”

Aidan answered cautiously. I don’t know about anyone else, but this is advice from a dreamer.

He decided to listen to Isaac’s words, which might change the future of the Salt Council forever.

“But I don’t know if people will listen to me. If I were to say, ‘There is no need to follow the old customs,’ would they listen when the caller and the angels have returned?”

“Well, I think he’ll listen to you better than you think.”

“yes?”

Isaac just shrugged his shoulders with a subtle smile. Aidan blushed and turned his head away at that smile. He opened his mouth as if he was quickly changing the subject.

“Oh, by the way, I received a lot of help from Isaac at the sanctuary. Was it Isaac’s consideration?”

“what?”

“That, flesh and tentacles. I was a little surprised when I first saw it, but as I looked at it more and more, I began to think that it was somehow cute. If they hadn’t helped, I would have failed the ritual.”

“… … That’s the Salt Council’s sanctuary. Maybe your god helped.”

“Huh? No. The tentacles were of a different shape.”

“The Drowned King also had tentacles, right?”

“Hey, how could I not tell the difference between the tentacles of a sea creature and those of a land creature? Besides, they were similar to the tentacles that Isaac sometimes takes out. The surface and shape are clearly different. The tentacles of a sea creature are not that rough.”

Isaac tried to make another excuse, but gave up. He might not have been able to do it to other people, but he showed his true colors too often in front of the Salt Council, just because he had a plausible excuse.

Aidan said as if he knew why Isaac was trying to make excuses.

“Don’t worry, Isaac. I haven’t told anyone. I don’t think it would be a problem if I told you, but I think it would be better if you told me yourself.”

“I think I’ll be even more scared now that I’ve seen the monsters of the outer world running wild.”

“Well, Isaac, I’m sure you’ll be more willing to listen than you think.”

“?”

“?”

Isaac sighed, feeling somehow like he had been told something back.

“The reason I said everyone would listen to you is because… … I heard a story.”

“Did you hear that?”

Isaac looked at the young captain, caught up in his own reckless adventure.

Aidan Verbeek, who smuggled the Brazier into the world’s furnaces, helped slay the Drowned King, entered Urbansus with him in the Moonwell ritual, competed with the legendary pirate Horace in seamanship, crossed the Nightmare Straits, and finally shattered the Salt Desert.

“You have been notified by the angel of the Lord, Aidan.”

Aidan’s shock came much later.

“Huh?!”

***

Unlike the current Church of Light that is issuing empty promises through naming notices to lure people into the Dawn Army, Aidan’s notification as a celestial angel was real.

Because it was a message Isaac heard directly from the angel.

Isaac continued his explanation as he walked along the beach with Aidan.

“Amundalas specifically mentioned you. Tell him I said hello.”

“Is that all?!”

“No, I was waiting for you, even giving you a name as an angel. I think that name refers to you. There can’t be anyone else but you.”

“But compared to other angels, I am weaker and have less ability… … .”

“What does it mean that the Angel of Heaven is watching you in the first place? It means that he will raise you in the future.”

Representative examples include Lyanna, Dera Heman, and Atlan. They are all heroes of their respective faiths, and they all receive the power and protection of angels.

Isaac sighed.

“Strength isn’t important in the first place, Aidan. So all the angels were warriors or paladins? Of course, most of the angels were strong, but that’s because it’s easier for strong people to achieve great things.”

In fact, the blind watchmen and the burning maidens of the Code of Light were not very powerful individuals. They were capable priests and inquisitors, but they did not display miraculous powers. In the first place, miracles are powers given by God, so it does not matter how powerful the miracles are.

“What’s important is the ‘narrative.’”

“Is it a narrative?”

“To be precise, it is a history that other people like to uphold, worship, and talk about.”

Isaac doesn’t know exactly what the criteria are for becoming a Master Angel.

In fact, if we are to be exact, we could say that it is ‘according to God’s will’.

If God had no personality and was as powerful as a lighthouse keeper, then an angel could appoint him directly. Since the one calling now was not fully awake, Amundalas seemed to be acting as his proxy.

Anyway, angels have something in common while they are alive.

‘Have you achieved anything worthy of praise within that faith?’

In Greek mythology, when a human achieves something, he or she becomes a star, but in this world, he or she becomes an angel.

In that sense, there is no one in the Salt Council who can match Aidan’s achievements. In Isaac’s opinion, if the captain who broke the salt desert is not enshrined as an angel, the prestige of the summoner will be in question.

“Even if it’s called an achievement, honestly, all I did was follow Isaac around… … .”

“Well, that kind of luck is also an ability. It was possible because luck followed all the angels.”

Aidan was embarrassed, but he couldn’t deny it since Isaac said this. It would be revealed in time anyway.

Aidan decided to take it a little easier.

“Oh, so you’re saying you’ve already heard the name I was given? What is it?”

“candle…….”

Isaac, who was about to answer as the lantern-mouthed man, closed his mouth as he recalled the hideous image. It may have been named in honor of Aidan’s achievements in carrying a lantern into the dark sea and illuminating the abyss, as Amundalas or the one who calls it.

But I couldn’t tell if it was a name Aidan would like.

Aidan looked at Isaac puzzled as he stopped talking.

“candle?”

“I think he was called Captain of the Salt Council.”

“… … That’s a lie, right?”

“I forgot. Ask Amundalas after I die.”

***

Only after Aidan grumbled and left was Isaac left alone. Somehow, he thought it would be hard to fall asleep even if he went and lay down, so he thought about going for a run.

But Isaac suddenly remembered something and headed to the dock behind the fisherman’s house.

As Isaac stood there, something rose and rippled from under the black night sea.

It was a swarm of monsters from the outside world.

Isaac wondered how to deal with this guy who was hard to hide, but he thought that since a big war was coming up, he needed a ‘tank’ of sorts. And because of the nature of the guy being a group, he seemed suitable as a scavenger who would eat up the strange monsters and undead that would appear.

“Your name is now… … uh, ‘Ulgare.’”

It doesn’t have the kind of appearance that would make you want to give it a name and call it cute, but it needs a name to be summoned or commanded. The guy didn’t seem particularly happy or anything, even though the god gave him a name, and he remained silent. However, as if responding to the name, a status screen appeared.

[Ulgare (A+)]

[Position: Intermediate Shinsoo]

[Status: Simple Obedience]

[Assault, Hardening, Predation, Absorption, Parasite Infection]

There are many things you can do because it’s a mix of different things.

However, for the same reason, it was in a state of ‘simple obedience’ instead of ‘absolute obedience’ like Jihillet. But it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to hear any sweet flattery from this giant bear, and it was enough to just make it jump when I told it to jump at its enemies.

He may not be able to use it whenever he wants, but he will definitely be useful when he arrives at a large battlefield or the Holy Land of Lua. Until then, Isaac has decided to raise him little by little.

‘Come to think of it, I also got the privilege of being called. I couldn’t even check what it was because of the fever.’

Isaac opened the status window and checked the privileges.

[Call (EX)]

[All beings do not forget their origins. All traces of their past are engraved in their bones, flesh, and blood, and remain as footprints. To return whenever the call comes. You can ‘recover’ your followers, or ‘summon’ them by reading the traces engraved in their footsteps and paying the corresponding price. All followers will wait in your sea.]

Isaac read the perks over and over again. It wasn’t an intuitive explanation, so he didn’t think he’d get the feel of it until he tried it.

But seeing as it was a privilege and not an ability, it seemed like it could be used as a sort of ‘right’ for Isaac.

‘Should I try it?’

Isaac first tried to use the summoning on Ulgare. No one told him what to do or how to use it, but Isaac naturally stretched out his left hand and used the ability as if he knew how to move his fingers.

[“Come.”]

It was an ability that was used with the intention of lightly pulling Ulgare to the surface of the water. However, the aftereffects were not small. Ulgare’s body flinched for a moment, and then it quickly melted into a dark color and was sucked into Isaac’s left hand.

Isaac was terrified as he watched a huge body the size of a house disappear in an instant.

But he realized that the Ulgareh was not absorbed or devoured within his body. It was staying somewhere within him, more precisely, somewhere within the color he held within his body.

When Isaac let the colors flow, they were ready to be reborn within him at any time.

‘Is it some kind of summoning or counter-summoning spell?’

Isaac thought that absorbing the flesh of a god was a rather boring perk.

But then I felt something strangely rippling in my vision.

[Come.]

A heavy wave, similar to the voice Isaac had given off, but incomparable in depth and weight, shook his body.

The sound of the waves was loud. The sound of the sand grains rustling sounded like a spell. The moon in the sky was looking at him.

A voice was heard from under the dark blue sea as strange waves shook Isaac’s body, making it feel as if his whole body would melt.

[Come to me.]