Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 380



Only Krnovel

Episode 380. Painted Heaven (1)

After the battle with Pale, the Isacrea Knights began to collect casualties and deal with the aftermath.

Perhaps because of the sudden retreat of Pale, who had been tightly binding the Death Knights, the Death Knights were unable to move properly. However, since the spirit would settle into the flesh again after some time, they had to be dealt with quickly.

Flames continued to burn Death Knights and fallen soldiers everywhere.

Gebel watched his comrades leave with a complicated look on his face, but it was something he had been prepared for since he joined the war. And as he fought shoulder to shoulder with Isaac, his old grudges and regrets had been considerably diluted.

He couldn’t forget them. They were like family to him.

But people always live with an empty space somewhere in their hearts. And Gebel is now ready to fill that hole with new family members and disciples.

But before that, there was still something that needed to be made clear.

***

Smoke rose from burning corpses everywhere.

Isaac and the knights gathered in a circle on one side of the fire pit. Among them lay the body of the last remaining Death Knight, Linde.

Linde also couldn’t come to her senses because the Pale and Winter Demon that had been taking control of her body were destroyed at the same time.

If he waited, his spirit would settle into his flesh and he would come to his senses, but since there was not much time left until the promised deadline, Isaac decided to hurry a little.

“First of all, I apologize for performing a disrespectful ritual in front of you all.”

In front of Isaac, everything was neatly arranged, including the preparations for the ritual, Linde’s entire skeleton, armor, and even the broken Wintermaw. It seems that the spirit’s return was faster if he had the body and all of his belongings.

“Don’t worry, Isaac. If you do what you do, even if you were to rub shoulders with the Immortal Emperor, he’d think you were trying to twist his neck.”

Rottenhammer showed great confidence in Isaac. The knights around him did the same.

After the Pale Expedition, not only Rottenhammer, but almost all the Paladins showed Isaac a level of trust that was almost like sending a seraph to him.

In fact, he was treated as a living angel.

The Pale Expedition was an expedition, but it seemed that the image Ansel showed them left a deep impression on them.

Isaac is a chosen one who has received God’s love and blessings, but Ansel is an ordinary knight.

Even Ansel managed to break through the Angel’s barrier and land a single blow.

What greater honor could there be for a Paladin?

And it was clear that Ansel was able to do so because of his faith in Isaac.

“… … Let’s begin.”

Isaac prepared the ritual to call Linde with a bitter expression.

The ritual of calling the spirit into the dead flesh is a strict ritual of the Undead Church. Isaac did not have a powerful relic or priest ready to ignore the ritual procedures of the Undead Church. Therefore, Isaac had to resort to a trick.

Isaac took something out of a small handkerchief.

It was none other than a blue rose petal.

Rottenhammer, although he had already made up his mind, looked uncomfortable upon seeing it, because it also symbolized the corruption of the Knights of Isacrea.

The blue rose petals that Isaac brought were none other than the belongings of the fallen soldiers and knights of the Isacrea Order. It is not known whether they were burned before they were resurrected as undead or whether they had not yet been insured, but none of them were actually resurrected.

But the mere fact that they had this was enough to make Rottenhammer furious.

“I apologize again, Isaac.”

Rottenhammer apologized, but Isaac shook his head.

“I don’t think I have betrayed or surrendered my trust by taking out life insurance. It is natural to fear death. The enemy we fight is a fear that is equally difficult to overcome.”

Isaac was sincere. He didn’t expect that no one would pick up the blue rose petals that Beshek scattered anyway. It was a temptation that was difficult for even the most determined human to resist.

Gebel, who had been watching the scene, quietly took something out of his bosom.

It was a blue rose petal.

Rottenhammer looked at that and his eyes widened.

Gebel opened his mouth quietly.

“I won’t make excuses, Isaac. You can punish me, you can call me a traitor. Before I came here, I thought there might be a path for me to take with the Avalanche Knights.”

He was silent for a moment, then continued speaking with a sigh.

“But my family had long since passed away, and I realized too late that I already had a new family. I also realized that if I became undead, I would be sending away my loved ones and getting hurt all the time.”

Gebel sighed deeply and placed a blue rose petal on Isaac’s pocket. There were mixed looks between the soldiers and the knights. Finally, someone stepped forward and placed a blue rose petal like Gebel.

Ian. A new knight who had previously dueled Isaac.

Isaac smiled involuntarily as he remembered that he had mistaken himself for a girl.

Ian hurriedly stepped back after seeing Isaac’s face. Following him, other knights and soldiers stepped forward hesitantly and laid down blue rose petals. Rottenhammer covered his face but said nothing.

Isaac thought this was enough. Beshek had tried to sow division between them, but his faith and trust had only grown stronger.

When enough blue rose petals had piled up, Isaac began the ritual. He looked down at Linde and called her name.

“Amarinde, Amarinde, Amarinde.”

Blue rose petals began to flutter gently.

***

The ritual Isaac wanted to perform was simple.

The blue rose petals have the ability to bind the soul of the possessor to the body once they are in possession of it. If they have contracted life insurance, they will wake up with their original self, but if not, they will simply wander the earth in an endless state of forgetfulness.

The usefulness of blue rose petals is that they can be used to forcefully call back a soul even if it is somewhat far away. Isaac picked up a handful of blue rose petals and sprinkled them on Linde’s body, and even opened her mouth to put them inside.

All the procedures are unrelated to the rituals of the Immortal Order, and there are no proper priests, but in any case, such things are nothing more than formalities.

All rituals honoring the dead have common practices: recreating the deceased’s appearance in life, calling out their name, and inviting those close to them to participate in the ritual.

“Amarinde, Amarinde, Amarinde.”

Gebel also called Linde’s name, requesting her speedy return.

Then, at some point, the blue rose petals began to burn with a blue light. It resembled the eyes of the undead, and was also reminiscent of will-o’-the-wisps.

Within seconds, a bluish flash of light emerged from inside Linde’s skull.

“Chief Linde.”

Gebel said, holding his breath. Linde stared blankly into space for a moment. Isaac watched nervously for a moment, wondering if the wrong spirit had settled in.

Then Linde suddenly said.

[Gebel, you’re still alive. I guess I’m defeated?]

Linde’s voice was right. Gebel answered in a slightly sleepy voice.

“It seems like my lifeline is more tenacious.”

[Thank goodness.]

Linde tried to get up, but her limbs were tied up and she couldn’t move. Linde wasn’t disappointed or angry because it was a natural procedure. Instead, she turned her head and found the broken winter’s horn.

She was silent for a moment, then asked.

[My sword is broken.]

“It was an evil urethra.”

[I know. I couldn’t break it, and if I threw it away and it fell into the wrong hands, it would be a big problem, so I kept it. I actually controlled it well until I died.]

Isaac believed Linde’s words. In reality, it was not Wintermaw’s fault for her death, but the incomprehensible instructions and betrayals within the Code of Light.

Then Linde suddenly asked if he had realized the meaning of the broken winter horn.

[Did you defeat Pale?]

Isaac answered that question.

“maybe.”

It was not certain whether Pale had been destroyed. The angels of the Immortal Church live with the risk of extinction in exchange for maintaining their power, but they are still extremely difficult to kill. When Pale was destroyed, the flock of birds that had been blocking the sun scattered instead of falling, so it was unlikely that they had died.

But I was sure that he would have suffered at least serious injuries.

“I destroyed the part corresponding to Pale’s head. He won’t be able to come to his senses for a while.”

The pale flesh is divided into thousands, but the spirit remains in one place.

The three-headed dove that confronted Isaac was the dwelling place of the Pale Spirit. The countless flocks of birds also could not leave the vicinity of the Pale Spirit. Since the dwelling place of the spirit was destroyed and the flock of birds were scattered, it would be difficult for even the most brilliant angels to regain their strength in a short period of time.

Linde was silent for a moment, then muttered in admiration.

[Really. I don’t feel the influence of Pale. This is the first time I’ve had my mind this clear. Are you a great knight?]

Gebel coughed and muttered in response to Linde’s admiration.

“This isn’t the first time Isaac has defeated an angel. It’s not that difficult.”

[Really? We have a great new recruit.]

Isaac thought that Gebel was being sarcastic, but he said nothing out of consideration for his teacher’s reputation.

But honestly, Pale was a completely different opponent than before. The angels he had defeated before were either weakened, isolated for a long time, or had been defeated with the help of other angels.

But this time, he won by taking on the angel’s entire body head-on.

In a sense, it was the ‘first’ time he had truly defeated an Archangel. It also meant that Isaac’s power had reached the level of an Archangel.

‘Of course, Pale is not a strong angel in a head-on confrontation.’

If you were to fight a famous angel like the Sword of May or the Lion Knight, the results would be different. The results of a fight between angels could vary greatly depending on ability, protection, luck, and the situation.

Isaac was more surprised by the fact that Linde had called him a ‘newbie’. After all, she had accepted him as a member of the Immortal Church.

The bond between the Knights Templar may be so strong that it even transcends faith.

That made her apostasy all the more incomprehensible.

“Chief Linde. Why did you apostatize?”

Gebel asked in a subdued voice.

“If you had not apostatized, I could have liberated your spirit by burning your flesh. No matter where you were working in a mine or buried in a remote place, I would have taken you out and given you rest. But… … .”

[Once you become a Death Knight, you will forever belong to the Immortal Cult. If you lose your original body, you will forever become a wandering ghost in the underworld until you are given a new body.]

Either way, there is no eternal rest for those who become undead.

Gebel looked complicated at the fact that Linde had apostatized knowingly.

“Then why did you apostatize?”

Isaac also wondered about that. It was the betrayal of the Church of the Light that drove her to death. But that was no reason for her to abandon her faith.

So, is it because you are afraid of death? Because you want to avoid the pain that may come after death, perhaps forever?

Linde gave an answer that was more than expected.

[Because God wanted it so.]