Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-175-2

The Green Knight could not comprehend what happened next. Isaac had extended his left arm like a shield toward the descending Kaldbruch. A sword meant to bifurcate his torso and head should not have been stopped by mere flesh.

Isaac’s arm split.

No, it opened its maw.

Crack. Isaac’s left arm split open, and the tentacles that burst out engulfed Kaldbruch. The Green Knight was shocked by the horrifying sight.

Isaac didn’t miss that brief moment of vulnerability. He thrust the Luadin Key, held in his right hand, into the gap between the Green Knight’s neck and chestplate.

Fsssshh… The sound of slicing through dry leaves filled the air. The Green Knight essentially lacked a physical body. But the Luadin Key had another function.

“Better watch out for fire.”

Whoosh! Flames burst from the Luadin Key, igniting the dried leaves inside the Green Knight’s armor.

Ordinary fire couldn’t harm the Green Knight.

But the flames from the Luadin Key were different.

It was the flame that projected the heat of Urbansus. Even amidst the beasts of Chaos filling all around, it was a powerful heat that could block and fend off attacks. A mere fraction of it was enough to set the Green Knight ablaze.

“……”

The Green Knight, unable to feel pain, did not scream. However, he could sense his defeat. The flames of the Luadin Key, and the tentacles wrapped around the Holy Sword Kaldbruch, were delivering relentless spiritual blows to him.

Most lethal of all was the Holy Sword Kaldbruch. Its function was to protect Kaldbruch, and even now, it was continuously expending energy to prevent Kaldbruch from breaking or getting damaged, including the power that allowed it to have a physical presence in reality.

*Thunk, thud, thud.*

The armor of the Green Knight began to fall and crumble to the ground. Inside the burning helmet, he whispered to Isaac amidst flickering flames.

“As a warrior.”

***

As soon as the Green Knight vanished, Isaac barely managed to sigh and slump down. Targeting the sword rather than the angelic being himself had worked, but it had taken a heavy toll.

A wave of intense hunger and pain surged through him. He wanted to hurry and send back “The Color Beyond” and check on Edelred’s condition, but he was unable at the moment.

*Crunch, crackle…* Isaac painfully watched as his left hand reverted back to its original form. Blocking the Green Knight’s strike with his left hand had been a gamble, a mad act. Even with the strength of the tentacles, it was uncertain whether they could withstand an angel’s attack.

“But I won.”

He had used the tentacles, but still, it was a 1:1 victory against a combat angel. This was a fair fight under normal conditions, unlike encounters with prophets of red flesh or kings of the drowned.

Isaac now realized just how strong he had become.

The cost, however, was great.

His left arm was torn to tatters. If the tentacles disappeared now, he would immediately lose consciousness from the bleeding.

Isaac first wrapped his arm with a bandage from the Holy Land. He didn’t immediately send back the tentacles. It seemed better to maintain this state until he recovered.

“To go through all this and gain nothing.”

Isaac lamented as he looked at the Holy Sword Kaldbruch scattered on the floor. Kaldbruch was a symbol of the royal family, so he couldn’t take it himself.

Then Isaac noticed crystal fragments scattered on the ground.

These were traces of Urbansus that angels of the Elil faith and divine beasts often left behind. His eyes sparkled as he quickly gathered them. This amount had a value comparable to that of other angels.

“This could be useful.”

The crystal ring had barely been used a few times and was already fading. At most, he might use it only once or twice more. But with these broken crystal tombstone fragments, he could replenish its uses or even create more useful items.

“Speaking of which, Edelred…”

Isaac gathered the crystal fragments and scattered the colors. Although he had been careful to keep Edelred out of the fight, the battle was so fierce that he hardly had the capacity to pay more attention. He could only hope that Edelred was not unlucky.

“Damn.”

Isaac looked around at the landscape and felt despondent.

The ancient treasure vault swept up in the battle between the angel and the Holy Grail Knight was already in ruins.

***

Rosalind was the first to regain consciousness.

Amidst agonizing pain and amidst pungent dust, she opened her eyes and found Edelred underneath her. It wasn’t her intention to protect him; it just happened when she sought something to rely on in that bizarre darkness.

As a result, Rosalind ended up shielding Edelred amidst the collapsing underground debris.

She stared blankly at Edelred.

A defenseless and frail being in her arms.

Even though he was a king of Elil, a single knife strike could end the cursed seed of the Aldeon family. Edelred had no children yet.

Like entranced, Rosalind drew a dagger from within her embrace.

Just one knife strike.

The blade of the dagger was as sharp as Kaldbruch.

The dagger seemed to speak.

If you wish to claim justice, appeal not to God but seize it with your own hands… or else give up forever here and now.

*Theobald.*

Rosalind whispered silently inside.

*What should I do?*

She knew what her deceased husband would say. She slowly set the dagger back down.

Rosalind could have killed Edelred then. But she chose to forgive.

In that moment, she felt something knotted deep inside her melt away.

It felt better than she had anticipated.

Rosalind tried to wake Edelred, but he did not stir. She had no choice but to pick him up. He was almost a grown child, and carrying a faint, dust-covered young man with her weakened body was nearly torture.

Struggling, Rosalind managed to sling one of Edelred’s arms over her shoulder.

“Madam, are you alright?”

Only then did Rosalind lift her head to the voice above.

Isaac was looking down at them with a bewildered expression, like sunlight finally encountered after wandering in caves for a long time.

Rosalind felt like crying.

“Don’t just watch, come down and help.”

–TL Notes–