Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-115

A ferocious heat burst from the Luadin Key as it collided with the tentacles of the Drowned King, thanks to Isaac’s infusion of the precious holy power he had cherished.

Shock and amazement filled the eyes of everyone watching nearby. All had been preparing to plunge into the sea at the mere sight of the Drowned King wielding his tentacles.

Isaac, too, was no exception.

This realization allowed Isaac to understand that it wasn’t so much his own strength that had increased, but rather that the Drowned King was holding back.

[Impressive.]

The heat emanating from the Luadin Key seared the tentacles white and boiled the moisture within, yet the Drowned King’s tone remained utterly serene.

He simply continued to press down on Isaac calmly.

Already, the deck under Isaac’s feet was on the verge of shattering.

“So you talk of sinking into the depths for a chat, yet you’re loath to sink the ship?”

[Ha ha, there’s no need to harm my followers, is there?]

The Drowned King seemed confident that the followers of his heretical sect, the Council of Salt, would agree with him.

Only then did Isaac realize that the surrounding crew members were not moving at all.

Even those who had come prepared to eliminate the Drowned King were in this state. Hyanis had even said that if they actually met the Drowned King, more than half of their own side would turn against them—a situation they should have been prepared for.

Even Yenkos, who was supposed to protect Eidan, had drawn his sword against Hyanis.

[You do realize this isn’t in your favor. Who exactly are you fighting for?]

Isaac gripped the Luadin Key tightly.

He could see the Drowned King’s massive tentacles writhing ceaselessly. Seeing such a massive being, Isaac had thought Hyanis mad for wanting to fight it, and now he found himself doing the same.

If the majority of the Salt Council agrees with the Drowned King, then for whom is Isaac fighting?

Isaac felt he had unnecessarily gotten involved.

‘Should I have just turned a blind eye?’

But upon reflection, it was Hyanis who had started this by revealing the truth. From the moment Hyanis revealed the truth, the situation had spiraled out of control.

Initially, Isaac had merely reacted to the Drowned King’s attack.

‘Me? Now that I think about it, why did he want to capture me?’

Instead of clashing, the Drowned King withdrew his tentacles and then swung them horizontally with force. If the Drowned King wasn’t intent on sinking the ship completely, there were many ways to avoid his attacks.

But it seemed the Drowned King was not particularly interested in bothering with catching a rat.

[Capture the Grail Knight.]

At the irrefutable command, several crew members in Isaac’s path hesitated and then moved. Isaac was ready to draw his sword at any moment, but in the end, he did not have to. Their lackluster movements could easily be overcome with simple hand-to-hand combat techniques.

Even amidst this, Isaac’s mind raced.

‘He wants to capture me. Because I interfered with the human sacrifice? No. He’s not even paying attention to Eidan, the actual sacrifice.’

Eidan, who was originally supposed to participate in the Moonwell Ritual, was already in Yenkos’s custody. If a human sacrifice was the goal, they could have just used him as is.

‘So the goal is… me?’

Isaac stumbled upon this unsettling possibility. The swaying ship and slippery deck contributed to his misstep.

At that moment, the Drowned King’s tentacles seized the opportunity to strike. Isaac braced himself for the impact.

Then, a cabin door on one side of the deck burst open.

The Drowned King’s tentacles retracted as if shocked.

“What in blazes is this mess?!”

The one emerging, fuming with anger, was none other than Bishop Juan.

***

“Why is the ship rocking so much?! Are we sinking?”

Bishop Juan, who seemed to have intended to sleep off his drunkenness during the ceremony, was unmistakably reeking of alcohol from afar. But in the face of a tempest and tentacles battering the ship, staying asleep was impossible.

His priestly garments bore the vivid marks of severe seasickness. Seeing the sacred bishop’s robe soiled with vomit, Isaac felt pity, but never had Juan been more welcome.

He rushed to Juan’s side and hid beside him.

“What, what’s this, Sir Isaac? What’s going on?”

“Exactly, Bishop! Your authority is needed now more than ever!”

“What, what are you talking about? Wait, what is this…”

Juan, seeing the disastrous state of the ship belatedly, was at a loss for words.

The ship was entangled in tentacles, the mast nowhere to be seen, and among the shattered debris, crew members stood with dazed expressions.

It was only then that he spotted the gigantic face looking down at them from a great height.

[It seems we have one more unexpected guest.]

The Drowned King appeared to be taken aback by the emergence of a significant figure, a bishop of the Codex of Light.

Of course, his consternation was more physiological than due to fear of Juan.

Having vivid memories of their god being buried beneath the salt deserts, the Drowned King harbored a stronger sense of caution and fear towards the Codex of Light than other followers of the Salt Council.

Sensing this fear, Isaac positioned Bishop Juan as a shield behind him.

Worried that Juan might foam at the mouth and faint, he was instead met with a sharp whisper from the bishop.

“What is this chaos? Were you conducting some heretical ritual that went awry?”

“The Drowned King demanded a human sacrifice.”

“Human sacrifice?!”

Juan’s voice was overly loud. He glared fiercely at the Drowned King, whether out of genuine piety or the lingering effects of alcohol was unclear.

The Drowned King halted his attack and watched them cautiously, wary of any miracles the bishop might perform.

‘Is it from the bishop rank that one can summon angels?’

While priests and inquisitors could summon celestial beasts belonging to heaven, it was from the bishop rank onwards that one had the authority to summon angels.

Of course, whether the angels would accept the summoning request was entirely up to them. Such miracles required a detailed backstory, special rituals, and timing, making them difficult to achieve.

However, if the whims of the angels aligned, they could appear spontaneously at the recitation of a single prayer. This was a scenario the Drowned King decidedly did not want.

‘I hope Juan doesn’t reveal that he can’t perform any miracles.’

Fortunately, Juan was not so clueless. Briefly enraged by the mention of human sacrifice, he quickly realized the reality of being surrounded by heretics in the middle of the ocean, alongside a single knight.

“Drowned King! Your long wait was supposed to be an example of noble piety even to the followers of the Codex of Light, yet why tread this path of corruption!”

Instead of pleading, he rebuked the celestial figure in a scolding tone, with not a hint of hesitation in his impromptu act. Isaac marveled inwardly.

How can he be so shameless without performing a single miracle? Truly, the experience of a bishop is not to be underestimated…

“Luadin himself would have admired your piety, melting the salt deserts and returning the lost temples! Have you forgotten the vow never to utter falsehoods again?”

Juan deliberately mentioned Luadin, one of the oldest archangels and a figure of ancient reverence in the Codex of Light, as a veiled threat to behave unless the Drowned King wished to be buried under the salt deserts again. Of course, Luadin likely neither knew nor cared about Juan’s whereabouts or actions.

Isaac, however, held no illusions about the Drowned King capitulating to Juan’s threats.

The Drowned King had come too far and waited too long for that.

The ship began to rock more violently as the waves grew higher. It was now difficult to stand without holding onto the railing. Contrary to the Drowned King’s silent demeanor, his emotions were intensifying.

“We must protect ourselves, Bishop. First, we need to…”

Before Isaac could finish, the ship lurched violently with a loud noise.

It seemed the Drowned King, unable to contain his anger, had struck the sea with his tentacles. The ship tilted nearly 90 degrees, teetering on the brink of capsizing but narrowly avoiding it. Instead, several crew members screamed as they fell into the sea.

‘It seems the bishop’s presence has backfired.’

Fortunately, thanks to Isaac, Juan was spared from falling overboard.

“Sorry, sorry. It seems I’m of no help after all…”

Juan, pale and gasping for breath, clung to the railing. Isaac wore a bitter expression. Despite all this, Juan had not managed to perform a single miracle to protect him. It was inevitable that the Drowned King would notice.

[Old man, stay out of this. I have no desire to create unnecessary victims!]

The Drowned King violently shook the ship once more, as if there was no turning back, squeezing the ship with his tentacles as if he was willing to sacrifice it.

It looked like they were moments away from being shattered to pieces and falling into the sea.

At that moment, Isaac locked eyes with Hyanis, who was clinging to the railing but still glaring fiercely at the Drowned King with bright eyes.

Isaac remembered that Hyanis had come to capture the Drowned King.

His eyes did not show defeat.

Biting down, Isaac then leaped into the sea.

***

Whirlpools wrapped around him as Isaac saw white hands approaching him in the dark depths below.

They were merfolk.

Thousands of merfolk were waiting under the sea, following the Drowned King’s orders. As soon as they saw Isaac, they tried to pull him down swiftly. However, when Isaac drew the Luadin Key and swung it, they screamed amidst bubbles and fled.

Isaac was propelled out of the water.

Back on the surface, Isaac locked eyes with Hyanis on the deck. Hyanis had blessed him with the Doctrine of Waves, allowing him to protect the ship by jumping overboard. Recognizing Isaac’s actions, Hyanis looked at him with eyes full of apology and gratitude.

However, separate from that gratitude, Isaac now found himself facing the Drowned King without any defenses.

With the ship as his only means of defense gone, the Drowned King lashed out with his tentacles. Using the Doctrine of Waves, Isaac surfed through the rough waves, sliding through them.

But this effort was as futile as the merfolk trying to escape the currents created by the Drowned King. Isaac soon realized the wave he was riding was, in fact, one of the Drowned King’s massive tentacles.

Without any viable strategy, Isaac plunged below the surface.

As a whirlpool formed, the miracle of walking on water was useless; Isaac was dragged helplessly to the ocean’s depths. Fortunately, he had the ability to breathe underwater, having devoured the deep-sea general.

But Isaac couldn’t help feeling dizzy.

It was only deep under the sea that he could fully see the Drowned King’s entire form.

Even though he felt massive from above, the Drowned King’s full size viewed from the dark waters was overwhelmingly oppressive.

[There is a flaw in your story.]

The Drowned King, wrapping his tentacles around Isaac as if cherishing him, whispered.

[I indeed planned to conduct the Moonwell Ritual if the Salt Council brought a suitable person. Human sacrifice was always my last resort. But that changed the moment I met you.]

The Drowned King murmured with a low laugh.

[The children of the Salt Council wouldn’t survive in Urbansus. Their flesh would be crushed purely by the pressure of that world. It’s a realm that does not tolerate the uninvited.]

Only those who have been trained accordingly, received a divine invitation and had their bodies remodeled, or were born suitable for that realm, like nephilim – the hybrid offspring of angels and humans, could return alive from the realm of the dead.

[But everything changed the moment I saw you.]

Plans?

[The Immortal Order’s skeletons promised to break the salt desert if Kalsen became the ninth faith. But that promise was broken. He is no more! But, but!]

The Drowned King, unable to hide his excitement, whispered to Isaac, looking into him with his enormous eyes.

[You could be the sacrifice sufficient for me to ascend to divinity. I will attain divinity right here and challenge the vacant ninth throne! Thus, ending my millennia of waiting!]

There was even joy in his tone.

[The sacrifice I want is you, Isaac!]

“…….”

Isaac felt a chilling flame ignite beneath his heart.

[The Nameless Chaos watches over you.]

[The Nameless Chaos desires you to vanquish the ‘Drowned King’.]

[The reward of Chaos awaits you.]