Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-120

Crack, crackle, crackle.

Terrible sounds burst one after another from inside the tentacles. The Drowning King groaned in pain he had never felt before, trying to spread his tentacles again, but they wouldn’t unfold. It was as if something powerful inside his legs was gripping the tentacles in reverse.

[What is this? What in the world…?]

The sounds flowing from within were not of Isaac being crushed in his armor, but of his own muscles and flesh being torn and shredded.

It was the sound of him being chewed alive.

Only then did the Drowning King realize the true nature of the instinct that had been driving him like a beast.

He knew he could never escape from Isaac, or rather, this unknown entity, by his own will, so he cut off his leg without hesitation. It was the leg that contained the most strength among his limbs, but there was no time for second thoughts.

As soon as he cut off the leg, pain overwhelmed him, but it was nothing compared to the agony of being chewed and swallowed alive.

It was an abnormal pain.

The Drowning King had endured countless battles and hardships. He had suffered worse wounds several times before. But this pain was something he had never experienced.

The leg he had cut off writhed and was gradually compressed inward. The Drowning King couldn’t even breathe as he watched the giant leg being sucked into a small hole. He couldn’t even think of attacking while it remained still.

When the leg finally disappeared without leaving a single piece of flesh, what was revealed inside was something the Drowning King had never imagined.

‘…A clam? No, a sea slug?’

At first glance, he thought of a sea slug covered in a shell.

Under Isaac’s armor, tentacles were blooming at every joint. Since he had been fighting Isaac’s armor until now, he could only guess that it had been ‘Isaac,’ but he had no knowledge in his long life of what it actually was.

The tentacles, like suction cups of a clam, were sticking the pieces of armor together, awkwardly pretending to be human. And in its hand, it still held the extinguished key of Luadin.

Its helmet creaked as it turned towards the Drowning King.

It staggered awkwardly a few times but soon began to move as if it had adapted to its form. However, its movements were as bizarre as a barnacle learning to walk with limbs for the first time.

Despite the ridiculous motion, the Drowning King couldn’t bring himself to confront it and began to retreat.

Suddenly, he found himself missing Isaac.

Then, the monster wearing Isaac’s shell began to run across the sea. But the Drowning King couldn’t tell if it was really running.

It seemed more like it was changing the order of its body.

The head led the way, stepping forward with what looked like arms or legs, followed by the torso, and then a second or third arm appeared, stepping on the water’s surface. Even the Drowning King, who had no joints, had never seen such bizarre movement.

However, the direction of the malice was clear, so the Drowning King couldn’t act rashly. Instead, he used the current to push Isaac away while moving his own body backward. Fortunately, the tentacle monster maintained a human form as if trapped inside Isaac’s armor.

It seemed to decide that it couldn’t catch the Drowning King as it was, so it swung the key of Luadin. There was no form or heat in that motion.

It seemed utterly random.

But the Drowning King felt a chilling murderous intent within it.

Isaac’s arm suddenly stretched out nearly tens of meters. The Drowning King was shocked by this absurd change, but he had no time to prepare.

Boom!

Eight places in total. Red scars were etched across his body in an instant.

‘Strong. No, not just that…’

The Drowning King couldn’t even follow the attack with his eyes. Each wound was a critical injury that couldn’t be ignored. If he hadn’t been an angel with infinite regenerative abilities and a massive body, he would have been torn to pieces along the cross-section by now.

Even the wounds weren’t cleanly cut but were roughly gouged as if torn by a pack of beasts, making regeneration difficult. Unknown toxins and germs swarmed at each cross-section, hindering the healing process.

[What are you… Isaac?]

The Drowning King muttered in confusion. Even when Isaac had stepped forward, he seemed noble. The Drowning King felt diminished even in the face of Isaac’s bravery, who didn’t flinch and showed his inner strength, even when left alone to confront him.

But what was this now?

Was such a monster hiding beneath that noble appearance?

[Is that the god you protect with your order, Isaac?]

The Drowning King spat out a self-mocking murmur.

***

Meanwhile, Isaac was watching the situation with a strange feeling.

‘Hmm… It feels like sleepwalking.’

He thought it was a mistake when he was entangled in the Drowning King’s tentacles. In fact, he had caught the Drowning King several times in the game, but he had lost more often. He was present but hadn’t prepared enough, so it wasn’t strange that he lost.

Nevertheless, Isaac didn’t think this was the end for him.

Because he had a tentacle monster that would emerge in times of crisis.

Of course, it was uncertain how omnipotent this tentacle monster was.

It was strong enough against humans, but it might not stand a chance against an angel like the Drowning King. However, seeing the Drowning King retreat even to the point of sacrificing his arm, it seemed like the power was effective.

‘Did Ulsten do a good job? I’m not sure yet.’

In the meantime, the armor was acting as a seal, preventing the tentacles from splitting or rampaging indiscriminately. The armor, forged by the blacksmith’s hands, was already excellent even in normal times, but in such ‘emergency’ situations, it could control the tentacles.

It was to prevent the unfortunate incident of Isaac accidentally devouring all the people around him due to a mistake.

‘There might be room for improvement, but… I guess I should be satisfied with this.’

Even if his body turned into a tentacle monster, the fact that it maintained a human form was already worthy of applause for Ulsten. Indeed, he was the blacksmith who also made armor for Lycansrof.

‘But I didn’t expect it to be able to use advanced swordsmanship.’

The technique with which the tentacle monster attacked the Drowning King, wielding the key of Luadin, was clearly Isaac’s own advanced swordsmanship, ‘Eight Branches.’

It was surprising that a tentacle monster could use swordsmanship, but then again, Isaac had originally created his swordsmanship with the movement of tentacles in mind.

That meant, perhaps, Isaac’s swordsmanship was optimized for when he turned into a tentacle monster.

‘But when will this end?’

Originally, such a ‘rampage state’ ended only after completely devouring all threatening entities nearby. That meant it would end only after completely devouring the Drowning King, but it was hard to estimate when that would be. He didn’t want to leave it entirely to the tentacles to finish.

And the Drowning King felt the same way.

***

“Bishop! Please do something!”

The scene unfolding beyond the sea was also visible to the followers of the Salt Council. However, they could only see that Isaac was captured by the Drowning King’s tentacles, and the key of Luadin had lost its light. Because what it meant was so clear, they lost their composure. They were even clinging to Juan, who couldn’t do anything.

But Juan felt just as suffocated.

He was also tearful, finding the current situation frustrating and hopeless.

‘Is this trial not a divine arrangement for the Grail Knight to overcome?’

At first, that’s certainly what I thought. Isaac would once again slay the heretical angel and elevate his noble purpose. But now, he was being captured and losing strength. Despite this, there was nothing I could do.

“Bishop, please do something! Has the Codex of Light abandoned the Grail Knight?”

‘You angels figure it out yourselves!’

Those words rose to his throat. But he couldn’t say them.

It was the Codex of Light that buried the god of the Salt Council under the salt desert.

For Juan, a priest of the Codex of Light, to say such a thing would be cruel and irresponsible.

‘If Isaac didn’t come here to overcome this trial, then why am I here?’

Suddenly, Juan was struck by that question.

What role was he playing in this trial? To receive meaningless blame? To feel despair because he could do nothing? Surely it wasn’t to chastise himself by sacrificing a great hero, the Grail Knight, before his very eyes.

At that moment, a piercing realization came to him.

‘This trial was meant for me.’

Juan hurriedly rose from his seat. Though the ship was still in the midst of a storm, he found the spot where the light would shine best, clutching the rosary he didn’t remember taking out.

Across the sea, the Drowning King was thrashing the ocean with his massive tentacles. It was impossible to gauge what terrible fate Isaac was suffering beneath them. Overwhelmed by the mythic scene, Juan closed his eyes tight in fear and began to pray.

“O Light, please lift the darkness that blinds my eyes.”

A long-forgotten sense of the Light’s nobility and the beauty of order came to mind.

The days when he was a green priest, not asking for miracles for the sake of miracles, but for salvation. The beauty of the candles he lit in those still pure times.

“A world without Your truth is filled with darkness and fear. Please illuminate the path for Your lost child to return to Your fold. Help Your tender candle not to be extinguished by the sea breeze…”

As the soft prayer was recited, a dawn light twinkled from beyond the sea.

***

Suddenly, Isaac felt a surge of faith flowing towards him.

A faith several times more concentrated and devout than that of other believers. A prayer filled with earnest desire was being bestowed upon him. And that faith began to manifest as a miracle, taking on a clear physical form.

Isaac knew the identity of this miracle.

‘Wings of Radiance?’

Wings made of light began to sprout one by one behind Isaac. A miracle that ordinary priests could never invoke. A powerful miracle that could grant even a mere human the strength and authority comparable to a weak angel was flowing into his body.

One, two, three… a total of four wings sprouted from Isaac’s back.

‘Could it be?’

Only someone of bishop rank or higher could perform such a miracle.

Isaac realized that the faith was flowing in from the ship of the Salt Council, far away.

A smile formed on his lips.

“See, it can be done. Old man.”

As the overwhelming power of the miracle took hold, the tentacles quickly receded. Isaac regained his body and reason as soon as he recovered. And in response, the grasping hand of the abyss that had been writhing above the clouds also hid its presence.

Isaac, about to step onto the sea, realized that his body was already slightly above the water’s surface. Without any effort to move, the Wings of Radiance naturally supported him. The heat of the rekindled key of Luadin evaporated the falling raindrops before they could even touch him.

And the Drowning King was watching this scene.

As soon as Isaac thought to move forward, the Wings of Radiance propelled his body.

The tip of the key of Luadin flew like an arrow towards the Drowning King.

The tip pierced the Drowning King’s brow all too easily.

As if it had been waiting for this moment.

‘What?’

Isaac, who had thought this would finally be a fair fight, was taken aback. He wondered if this was another trick to draw him in, but the wound he inflicted this time was definitely fatal. Especially since the Wings of Radiance had enhanced the key of Luadin, doubling its heat and flames.

Isaac suddenly remembered how the Drowning King had strangely fixated on the sword.

‘Was there some significance to this sword?’

Within the heat that even turned his blue eyes white, the Drowning King embraced the moment he had been desperately waiting for.

As if worshiping Isaac, he lifted his tentacles and murmured.

[“Take me as the door… and perform the Moonwell ritual.”]