Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 362



Only Krnovel

Episode 362. The one who calls calls (4)

A cool wave passed over Isaac’s ankles.

As an irresistible urge shook Isaac, a repetitive message came to him.

[Come to me.]

Buzz… The moment Isaac dipped his head into the water, a dark blue space unfolded before his eyes.

A deep sea where your feet cannot reach.

Isaac thought for a moment that the sea off Mirmia, where the sea level was bound to be shallow, could not possibly have become this deep. However, the call directed at him did not allow for even the slightest doubt.

Deep beneath the ocean, a vast salt desert stretched out to the horizon.

In that place where nothing could be born yet, a huge number of fish were rushing in.

From small schools of anchovies to whales that they traded, crabs crawling on the bottom, and strange creatures of unknown origin, they were all heading towards a huge crevice in the salt flats. A soft blue light seeped out from the crevice, where bubbles bubbled up.

[Come to me.]

Countless sea creatures responded to the call and willingly offered their bodies. The one who called them filled his hungry stomach for a thousand years. Fresh flesh, blood, and bones restored the one who called them.

And Isaac was one of those who were called.

[To me… … .]

Isaac responded to the call with a babbling feeling, feeling the urge to swim in it.

But no matter how much Isaac struggled, he could not reach the abyss. He just went around in circles, unable to reach the source from which everyone was born.

Because in the first place, he does not belong to this world.

Change comes from outside.

[Nameless chaos watches you.]

At that moment, the call to Isaac was suddenly broken.

***

Bubble. The moment Isaac came to his senses, the vast depths of the sea and countless schools of fish disappeared before his eyes, leaving only the dark night sea.

Isaac suddenly realized belatedly that he was in water beyond his feet.

I almost panicked for a moment, but I quickly kicked the water and swam out.

“Phuha!”

Isaac popped his face out of the water and exhaled.

‘What happened? Did you respond to the call of the one I was calling?’

The call was clearly meant for the clan only. Isaac was certain that, even though he had tentacles, he was by no means an octopus disciple or a squid incarnation.

As Aidan said, the tentacles of chaos are too foreign in shape to belong to a sea creature.

‘If we look at the fact that the call was activated the moment I used the skill… … Did some kind of resonance occur?’

It could be that the flesh of the caller was eaten, or it could be that the caller really called him with intention. Either way, it was not certain, but considering that the caller was unconscious, it was decided that it was not malicious.

‘I guess I should go back first.’

Isaac decided to swim back to the shore. After all, swimming in the night sea is an act that naturally brings about fear. Fortunately, he could see a light that seemed to have been lit in the distance in Mirmia.

But the closer Isaac got to Mirmia, the more he realized something was strange.

‘The fisherman’s house… was that the color?’

The fisherman’s house, which had been destroyed by Sadraza’s rampage and the monsters’ invasion, was not only intact, but also had a pure white marble surface. It was not the color that had been yellowed by the thick layer of dust and sunburn when Isaac arrived in Mirmia.

Inside, as if a giant flame had been lit, the cracks deliberately created here and there on the surface glowed with beautiful hieroglyphs and inscriptions praising the sea. It was a beautiful and sacred sight.

Not only that, but the entire city of Mirmia was as bright as day. It wasn’t a scorched-earth ruin, but there were countless merchants and residents coming and going. In the sea that Isaac swam out to, there were over a thousand ships lined up and anchored, waiting for tomorrow’s voyage.

‘Is it Urbansus?’

Isaac thought he had fallen for Urbansus again.

“No, that’s wrong.”

Then Isaac heard a voice above his head so loud it made his heart flutter.

Looking up at the dock, he saw a small child in a priest’s robe, a gray-haired female captain, and Amundalas. Isaac waved at Amundalas, but she did not seem to see him.

“But the lighthouse keeper is a good ally.”

Amundalas was speaking politely to the boy.

“I have said this many times, but I hate the kingdom the lighthouse keeper envisions. His methods will rob the world of all its mysteries.”

The voice was heard once again.

It was clearly the voice of a young child, but it was a loud voice that seemed to speak to the entire ocean. However, the only people who paid attention to the voice were Isaac and Amundalas, and no one looked toward the dock where they were.

“What fun would the world be if mystery disappeared? Sailors would stop wondering what lies beyond the sea, and travelers would know what awaits them beyond the mountains. I don’t like that.”

“Stubbornness won’t get you anywhere, Rael.”

Isaac realized that he had heard something very secretive.

And instinctively, I knew that the name Rael was the name of the boy priest, and also one of the many names of the caller.

The Caller spoke to Amundalas through the body of a boy he had chosen as his agent.

“I said no. If I said no, you would know what I meant.”

“… … You mean to tell me to carry out your will somehow?”

Listening to Amundalas’s resigned words, Isaac could tell that the caller was an incredibly stubborn boy. Whether the caller’s personality had been absorbed into the boy, or the boy had become the caller, he could not tell.

Amundalas turned his head and looked at the fisherman’s house.

“Yes. Perhaps Rael is right. The Code of Light is flourishing greatly. It is to the extent that the center of the Apocrypha has shifted to it. As they grow brighter, we will inevitably decline.”

“I don’t want to tell you such a boring story, Amundalas.”

Rael muttered, seeming a little annoyed.

“The lighthouse keeper is going to calculate all the futures of the world. He’s going to keep all the mysteries, all the wonders, all the coincidences within the madman’s range of predictions. Do you really think that kind of world would be fun?”

“Honestly, I don’t know, Rael. What’s wrong with that… … Don’t we have a place in that millennium? Wouldn’t it be better if the uncertain future disappeared?”

“Idiot.”

Rael hit Amundalas on the shoulder, but she didn’t move. Rael looked sad for some reason.

“You humans are all like that. You don’t know what’s important because of the greed in front of you. That’s why the lighthouse keeper was so successful… … Because tomorrow’s stability is more urgent.”

Isaac was a brat who didn’t even know reality… The words were about to spill out of his throat, but he kept his mouth shut. In any case, given the current situation, neither of them even knew of his existence. They wouldn’t even be able to hear him.

But Isaac felt something strange as he listened to their conversation.

‘The Code of Light is flourishing, and the center of the Apocrypha has shifted?’

That means that at least this scenery is not what it looked like a thousand years ago, before Ruaddin left Mirmia.

Isaac recalled what Amundalas had once said: ‘I cannot show you the history that has been erased.’

In other words, the scene before our eyes is a fragment of the ‘real history’ that took place before the Salt Council betrayed the lighthouse keeper.

“If the lighthouse keeper organizes, analyzes, and regulates everything in the world through the millennium, then we will have to play within that code of laws. We will not be gods and angels, but phenomena and rulers. Do you still not understand this?”

Amundalas tried to say something, but was stopped by Rael.

“No, that’s enough. Whether you understand or not, it doesn’t matter. I’ve said it several times, but I don’t like it. I’ll do whatever it takes to prevent the Millennium from coming.”

Amundalas placed her hands on her hips and let out a long sigh. But soon she stroked her chin and began to think deeply. It was not something she had thought of in a rush at Rael’s childish words, but a plan she had calculated the variables and risks for a very long time.

“The lighthouse keeper was our long-time ally and friend… …but he had grown too big.”

The reason Amundalas came up with the plan was simple. Originally, all vested powers were bound to clash when a new power was revived. The Code of Light, which had been insignificant when Luaddin escaped, was now trying to create a great empire that surpassed them. The Code of Light was already causing minor conflicts with the Sea Cult.

If this conflict was left unchecked, it was only a matter of time before it led to war.

“There may be a way, Rael.”

“okay.”

When Rael gave a short answer, Amundalas bowed politely and disappeared somewhere. However, Rael still remained on the dock, sitting with his bare feet dangling. Isaac suddenly met his sleepy, cloudy, yet mysteriously shining, blue-green eyes.

As Isaac tried to raise his hand, unsure whether or not he was looking at him, Rael opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

The next moment, Mirmia, which had been filled with countless crowds and brightly lit by lanterns until late at night, turned pure white. In the pure white heat and flashes that could not be avoided no matter where one went, Mirmia burned down and all the people there disappeared into nothingness.

Tens of millions of humans who were born and raised in Mirmia over hundreds of years were corrected to ‘non-existence’.

Isaac was astonished at this vast destruction and carnage that transcended time and space. Then he turned to the boy sitting there as if he knew it all.

“I don’t know who the dreamer is.”

Lael was looking at Isaac with dreamy, hazy eyes.

“At least it’s better than a lighthouse keeper or a snowy owl.”

***

Ouch. Isaac opened his eyes.

The night sky appeared again.

Isaac looked around, wondering if he had fallen into Urbansus again. Fortunately, he could see the ruined ruins of Mirmia that Isaac was familiar with. Then, there was Hesabel, looking at him with a worried expression, and an unexpected face.

“Angela?”

“No, Isaac? I went into the water and rescued you from a giant water snake, but you’re looking for the wrong girl?”

“No… … It’s such an unexpected face.”

Angela sat next to Hesabel and stared blankly at Isaac. Isaac thought of Lael, whom he had seen earlier, when he saw her, but it was only a simple association. Isaac suddenly felt his cheeks grow cold and turned his gaze to Hesabel.

“Did you hit me in the face?”

“no?”

“… … .”

It was clear from the circumstances, but I decided to move on since I didn’t think it was worth asking about.

Isaac decided to first check what was going on. How on earth did Hesabel and Angela end up here together?

“Oh, I was still recovering in my room… … when he suddenly came and woke me up. He said he had to find Isaac.”

“You said you had to find me?”

“yes.”

Isaac looked at Angela in surprise.

“Can you speak now?”

But instead of answering, Angela just stared blankly at Isaac. She couldn’t say anything because of the restrictions and curses placed on her by the Immortal Order. It’s not clear if an angel would come, but there are no angels in the Golden Idol Group where Angela belongs.

‘Is there an angel I don’t know about?’

It was hard to imagine what kind of angels there could be in a church without priests or paladins. Isaac initially dismissed the possibility, but it was clear that some sort of transcendent will had intervened in her.

“Isaac, let’s talk about such trivial matters later. I think you should first talk to the person who is waiting.”

“Who’s waiting?”

Hesabel pointed toward the sea.

A huge water serpent was staring at him from the dark blue sea.