Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-116

The feeling of being overwhelmed by the Drowned King’s massive form vanished in an instant.

The Drowned King felt a sense of puzzlement as Isaac, whom he expected to be terrified by his roar, stared back at him with a different kind of gaze.

The deep sea is not kind to humans.

To the Drowned King, who had forgotten his past as a mere fisherman, the eyes of most humans were filled with the pain of drowning, the cloudy gaze of a decaying floater, or the awestruck and begging eyes of someone adrift in the vast sea, asking for mercy.

However, Isaac’s eyes were none of those.

Faced with Isaac’s unfamiliar gaze, the Drowned King felt confused, unable to read his emotions, which in turn, angered him.

Sea monsters, fueled by vengeance under the Drowned King’s command, rapidly approached.

Unlike when he was slaughtering them effortlessly above water, Isaac was now trapped underwater.

In the water, Isaac could not outpace them, no matter what.

Dozens of white hands surged towards Isaac, intending to tear him apart.

Isaac immediately drew the Luadin Key.

Seeing this, the Sea monsters reflexively pulled back. There were more than a few among them who had been burned by its searing heat.

[Continue. He cannot ignite the heat.]

Igniting the Luadin Key’s heat would boil the surrounding water, cooking Isaac in the process. He might stop the steam-level heat, but being in boiling water was a different matter.

Hearing this, the sea monsters charged at Isaac once more.

Isaac did draw the Luadin Key, but he didn’t ignite its heat.

Instead, he smirked and propelled his body forward.

Isaac’s movement was so swift that he appeared right in front of the sea monsters in an instant, causing bubbles to form around him. This unexpected velocity, a result of the predation effect, caught the Sea monsters off guard.

Crack. The blade shattered bones and sliced through flesh.

The speared sea monsters let out a silent scream, flailing helplessly as spears from its comrades pierced its body, silencing it. The other sea monsters didn’t care if their own were hit; they continued their assault, but Isaac cleverly used the first Sea monsters he stabbed as a shield to dodge the attacks.

‘This is strange.’

The Drowned King frowned, watching Isaac’s movements. Initially, he thought it was mere flailing, but it clearly wasn’t the movement of someone drowning.

Even the most trained individuals panic when submerged. Especially a trained knight like Isaac, who couldn’t use swordsmanship underwater.

Swordsmanship required not just swinging arms but also movement of the feet and a solid ground to stand on. Although Isaac couldn’t use swordsmanship, he was surviving remarkably well.

Even with great composure and self-control, one would show at least some sign of distress in such violent motion and situation.

But Isaac didn’t.

How could he move so freely, as if he wasn’t struggling to breathe at all?

‘It’s nothing but waiting to drown!’

Thud. Then, the Drowned King noticed a spear that barely managed to stab correctly slid off Isaac’s armor.

‘Is that armor the problem?’

The armor Isaac wore emitted a significant miraculous energy.

It was a strange and twisted force, but too potent to overlook.

Isaac couldn’t dodge all the spears coming from every direction. However, he skillfully avoided letting the spear tips penetrate any gaps, deflecting them away.

‘This won’t do.’

Without making any noise, the Drowned King extended his tentacles.

Though they didn’t seem fast, due to his massive size, it was an illusion. Isaac, being close, felt the destructive power of the tentacles, sweeping everything in their vicinity.

Tentacles engulfed Isaac from all directions in an instant. Even if he could predict them, the sheer size made them impossible to evade, tearing apart several Sea monsters caught in the onslaught.

There was no escape.

At that moment, Isaac’s form blurred into a vague, blood-colored shape.

‘What?’

The Drowned King’s tentacles cut through the water futilely.

The blood-red shape rapidly swirled and dispersed in the whirlpool, only to reappear not far away as Isaac’s form once more. The Drowned King realized that Isaac had performed a miracle for the first time.

‘A miracle? No, does the Codex of Light have such miracles?’

The Codex of Light is an older faith than the Salt Council. The Drowned King knew well that such miracles were not part of the Codex of Light.

The Drowned King’s massive tentacles futilely sliced through the seawater several more times. However, each time, Isaac would transform into a blood-red shape, evading the tentacles. Yet, the Drowned King also understood that despite Isaac’s evasive maneuvers, he couldn’t escape from the water.

Even though he could change his form, he would be swept back into the deep sea by the whirlpool.

‘The smell of blood? This is definitely not a miracle of the Codex of Light.’

The Drowned King’s sense of smell was as keen as a shark’s. He noticed the scent of blood intensifying each time Isaac transformed.

The Drowned King then speculated that Isaac might not be a paladin of the Codex of Light. Thinking about it, Isaac hadn’t used miracles from the Codex of Light when facing the Sea monsters either.

He borrowed the Doctrine of Waves and wielded only the Luadin Key.

[You, what kind of creature are you!]

Of course, there was no answer from Isaac.

But the Drowned King realized that Isaac was not someone who would simply become a sacrifice.

***

‘As expected, he doesn’t recognize it.’

Isaac, noticing the Drowned King’s confusion, felt it was as expected.

Hesabel knew almost nothing about the Salt Council.

Being from the inland Duchy of Wallachia, there was little intersection between the two faiths.

It was no different for the Drowned King, who was insensitive to changes in the outside world.

After all, the Red Chalice faith had emerged after the Drowned King had fallen into slumber, so it was natural for him not to be familiar with it.

It’s hard to properly respond to what one does not know well.

Conversely, Isaac knew a lot about the Drowned King.

‘A sacrifice? You, make me one?’

Isaac chuckled.

The moment the Drowned King spoke of making him a sacrifice, the emotions Isaac felt were neither anger nor fear.

The best word to describe his feeling was ‘insignificance.’

Isaac had felt pure awe when he first saw the Drowned King. The difference between seeing him in a game and in reality was immense.

He even found it amusing when Hyanis said he would face such a being.

He never thought he would actually have to fight the Drowned King.

In other words, Isaac hadn’t planned a strategy to fight the Drowned King.

More accurately, there was never a need to make one.

The moment he decided to fight, dozens of methods to take down the Drowned King, considering his abilities, equipment, and support, surfaced in his mind.

None of the methods could be said to be easier than when he fought the prophet of the red flesh. However, Isaac never considered the possibility of defeat.

He had already conquered the Drowned King dozens of times in the game.

With Isaac’s current capabilities, losing was not an option.

The Drowned King realized that catching Isaac was like trying to grasp water with bare hands and changed his strategy. Whatever miracle Isaac was using to transform his body into a liquid or gaseous state, controlling the flow of water would suffice.

A circular current formed in the water, trapping Isaac, now a petition of red, within it. The Drowned King opened his massive mouth to swallow everything whole.

The Sea monsters, realizing his intent, struggled to avoid being caught in the current.

The circular current soon began to be sucked into the Drowned King’s gaping mouth. Thousands of sharp teeth awaited Isaac. Instead of struggling against the flow, Isaac propelled himself towards the Drowned King with a kick.

From the Drowned King’s perspective, it was as absurd as a fly rushing into a mouth.

What could he possibly do by charging? Wield a sword? Even if he could raise the heat of the Luadin Key inside him, it would be futile against the Drowned King.

A mere relic’s miracle could not compare to the miracles embodied by angels themselves.

[…Foolish creature!]

The Drowned King closed his mouth as soon as Isaac entered, preventing him from escaping.

Swallowed in a sea of black bile, Isaac’s strange silhouette writhed. It was much larger than him.

Only then did the Drowned King realize that the insides of his mouth felt as if they had been torn apart.

The eerie silhouette was derived from the Drowned King’s own flesh.

***

[You have partially devoured ‘The Drowned King’.]

[Your consumption efficiency is enhanced by the ‘Intestine of Dead God’ perk.]

‘To think I’d get a devouring perk just from this much.’

Isaac smiled at the pleasing notification. Typically, partial devouring didn’t grant perks. Only consuming the heart, a core part, or a significant amount of flesh did, but apparently, even a part was enough in the case of an angel.

[Tentacle length significantly increases.]

[Tentacle regeneration significantly increases.]

[Blessing remains until digested.]

‘I can guess what perks would come from devouring him completely.’

Though temporary now, consuming more would surely permanently and significantly enhance his tentacle abilities. Isaac sensed the Sea monsters approaching again within the cloud of blood.

Isaac no longer hid his true form.

He swung the tentacles that extended from his left hand without hesitation.

The long tentacles bit and tore apart the Sea monsters within a 10-meter radius in an instant. The Sea monsters retreated in horror at the one-sided massacre, incomparable to before.

Isaac devoured the torn apart Sea monsters with his tentacles, satiating himself.

The disadvantage of being unable to wield his sword underwater vanished the moment his tentacles appeared, turning the situation into a unilateral slaughterhouse.

[You are…….]

The Drowned King was appalled by the sight. Isaac mocked him with a sneer, rushing forward again.

The Drowned King felt disgust at the sight of the beast rushing in after tasting blood. However, as Isaac approached, his tentacles splitting into two, then three strands, the Drowned King’s disgust was replaced by a chilling terror.

A primal fear seized him as Isaac’s eight tentacles, splitting like ferocious snakes, rushed to tear into his flesh.