Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-194

“All of this is for revenge! To reclaim honor! It’s all because of the royal family of Aldeon! So, one must think about drying up the seed of the Aldeon royal family to wash away this dishonor, right?”

Villon and the undead knights fell into silence. The undead knights, not even breathing, just observed Villon, seemingly hoping he would say something.

After a brief silence, Villon bared his teeth and smiled, saying, “What’s so bad about that, Holy Grail Knight?”

Villon and the undead knights were rendered speechless by Isaac’s blunt retort.

“What’s so bad about it?”

“Fear of death is natural, you young fool. It seems you fight as if you have several lives to spare, probably because you are still young. Or perhaps, being a noble Paladin, you think this mortal life isn’t significant.”

Although Villon spoke mockingly, Isaac inwardly flinched.

He still lived in this world with the sensation of playing a game to some extent.

Without such objectivity, it would be a world too tough to endure.

“But if death isn’t feared, then why would the Immortal Order exist?”

Villon passionately argued.

The Immortal Order was born about 300 years ago, thanks to the Immortal Emperor Beshek, who became a god by exploiting the faith of people desperate to escape their fear of death. Beshek had brought down their afterworld to earth through rituals that broke the boundaries between this life and the next.

Thanks to him, the territory of the Immortal Order was both the living world and the hereafter. They had no heaven or hell to go to after death; only this life mattered to them.

It was a faith for those obsessed with the present over the afterlife.

“Don’t be arrogant, Holy Grail Knight. Death is naturally terrifying. I am afraid of death. Afraid I won’t be able to avenge my brother, unable to pick up the honor that has fallen to the ground, worried that everything I’ve done will end up meaningless!”

Villon rose to his feet, leaning on Lumiarde.

“People ignorantly say that because life is finite, one should pursue their goals more desperately, more passionately. But if I can be obsessed with my goals without worrying about not achieving them, why should I reject immortality!”

“So you’ve thrown countless followers of Elil into the mud, led your kin to death, and even killed your niece to snatch Lumiarde? Is that the goal you wanted to achieve by becoming undead?”

Edelred’s eyes wavered at the mention of Lianne’s death. He must have suspected something the moment he saw Lumiarde.

But there was no time to console Edelred now. Villon too closed his eyes tightly when Lianne was mentioned. He slowly opened his eyes and murmured as if sighing.

“They could have just been made undead.”

Isaac was flabbergasted.

But he could also see how, 300 years ago, the Immortal Order came to split the world into such a massive power.

There must have been countless Villon Georgs in that era.

“And Lianne is not dead. She is being protected by an angel.”

“An angel?”

The mention of an angel piqued Isaac’s curiosity further. However, Villon had no intention of following Isaac’s line of questioning.

“If we originally hated becoming undead, we should have been made to not fear death!”

Villon bellowed angrily.

“Making us not fear dying without achieving, attaining, or acquiring anything! It’s irresponsible to say don’t try to live forever when you create an irrational fate and a limited lifespan!”

‘Honestly, I agree.’

Considering that gods and angels are almost immortal beings themselves, the culture that disapproves of undead seems absurd. In the same vein, the undead of the Immortal Order were almost atheists of this world.

A collective of individuals who had forsaken their own gods and gathered.

But Isaac couldn’t be swayed by Villon’s argument.

“Argue all you want, Villon, but this place was created by the intent of angels and gods, not by your will. You speak as though you became undead by your own choice, but you were merely dragged along by Elil’s doctrine and manipulated by the Immortal Order’s conspiracy.”

“Really think that, Holy Grail Knight? That I’m just a puppet of the gods?”

Villon roared back.

“No, becoming undead has only sharpened my perspective. I no longer beg for Elil’s answers, nor do I fear the afterlife! The Immortal Order? Immortality is merely a tool for me! They are all merely means to an end! Holy Grail Knight, you are the one who is merely a puppet of the gods!”

Villon growled as he lifted Lumiarde. A vicious anger and hatred surged through his entire being.

Isaac twitched his eyebrows in disbelief at Villon’s intensity. The force rising along Lumiarde was undoubtedly that of sword energy.

Villon, now aged and an undead of the Immortal Order, was emitting sword energy, an impossible occurrence that, while shocking Isaac, also led him to realize Villon’s true nature.

At that moment, Isaac unearthed Villon’s hidden motives from their conversation.

The real purpose behind Villon’s transformation into an undead of the Immortal Order.

“So, were you trying to resurrect Elil as an undead?”

Silence followed.

No one could respond to Isaac’s unexpected remark.

A corrupted nameless knight.

A Death Knight from Elil who appeared when the Kingdom of Elil was on the path to destruction, having abandoned his name, lineage, and faith.

The being who led the Kingdom of Elil to become territory of the Immortal Order, using undead Elil as a weapon to shatter the world.

In the quiet, Villon let out a cynical laugh. He neither denied nor ignored the accusation. Revealing even deeper madness, he murmured,

“Yes. Nothing else could prove my will as much as that. Elil is dead. What remains is merely a corpse.”

“What did you say about Elil?”

From behind Isaac, Edelred muttered in disbelief.

“Do you really think that the angels commanded you to reject the Dawn Army, steal Elil’s corpse, turn it into an undead, and start a bloody civil war among your own followers? Absolutely not! That was all my desire! Whether it was the gods, the angels, or the Immortal Order, they just lent me power!”

Elil’s unholy resurrection plan.

This was the destruction route of the Kingdom of Elil in the game.

***

The process for the destruction route of the Kingdom of Elil is as follows:

In the game, once the Immortal Order has sufficiently grown, it seizes control of the Georg family. The ‘corrupted nameless knight’ who has occupied the holy land, Elion, performs the unholy resurrection ritual on Elil’s corpse.

The undead Elil becomes a formidable force for the Immortal Order, which first destroys the Kingdom of Elil.

Whether it’s possible or not is not even a matter for discussion. Even within the Immortal Order itself, there might be skepticism, but Isaac already knows it’s possible.

He has seen it happen several times.

If asked whether this event was planned by the Immortal Order, it’s ambiguous. From the Immortal Order’s point of view, when playing, it was treated as an entirely unexpected ‘event.’

That this isn’t an event that players can lead in the Immortal Order route means that the initiative lies more with the Elil route.

Finally, Edelred realized what Villon had been scheming and bellowed in anger.

“What did you say! Villon Georg, what did you do to Elil!”

Edelred was so astonished he could hardly continue. Even Edelred, who despised knights to an extreme, found the plan too insane to believe. Even the undead knights, apparently not expecting such words, showed severe agitation beyond their raised weapons.

But Villon, judging it too late to conceal his intentions, shouted again.

“I refused to bleed in other nations’ wars, stole Elil’s corpse for power, and incited a civil war for revenge! To say that we were mere puppets of the angels is an insult and an underestimation!”

“Stop spouting madness!”

The angry voice came not from Edelred or Isaac but from one of the undead knights.

With a half-sobbing tone, he roared,

“I didn’t follow you to do such things! I—”

The undead knight screamed and swung his sword at Villon. However, Villon coldly swung Lumiarde and instantly split the knight’s armor and torso in two. Lumiarde’s chill and Villon’s sword energy instantly froze the undead knight’s body, shattering it into pieces without leaving even a fragment behind.

Villon realized only then that he had been emanating sword energy, and flinched at the revelation. Even in this moment, he couldn’t grasp what it meant that he had awakened this power.

As Villon turned his head, even the undead knights recoiled in surprise. However, among the undead, there were those who agreed with his views.

Villon growled out loud.

“Fine. Better this way. Curse me and criticize me now instead of stabbing me in the back later. Call me an immoral bastard! That’s better than being just a puppet!”

This was directed not only at Isaac but also at the undead knights. They had a choice: be manipulated by angels and gods, or seize powerful forces to achieve their desires.

Immediately, infighting broke out among the undead knights. There were voices condemning Villon as mad, and others praising his rebellion.

Being undead didn’t necessarily corrupt their spirits. They simply embraced a new philosophy and perspective as immortals.

Ignoring the division behind him, Villon turned his attention back to Isaac.

Isaac finally realized that the real battle was just beginning. Villon, awakened with sword energy and wielding Lumiarde as the ‘corrupted nameless knight’, would now be a threat on par with Lianne.

“I’ll kill you and make you undead, Holy Grail Knight!”

‘Better than just dying, I suppose.’

Isaac thought to himself, but the Nameless Chaos would never allow it.

Villon charged at him, screaming.

However, a massive shadow began to loom over them from above.

Emerging from the mist, a pale, creaking shadow loomed over them. Isaac and Mors, who were preparing for the final confrontation, were left speechless by the appearance of this unexpected entity.

It was neither angel, human, nor monster but a gigantic structure.

***

Hours earlier, at Elion Fortress.

“The zombies keep coming!”

The Aldeon Knight Order was still struggling at Elion Fortress. The walls outside were already surrounded by a tremendous number of undead, making escape impossible. The Aldeon army might open a path if they could catch up, but the infantry alone seemed unlikely to reach them quickly.

Mors split a zombie’s head irritably with his axe and shouted.

“Where the hell are all these damn things coming from? Is there a secret pit underground at Elion Fortress where zombies spring forth?”

At that, Lavard shouted.

“The back gate! No, the main gate leading to the holy land is still open! It seems like zombies are coming through the lake!”

“If that’s true, why wasn’t it mentioned sooner…”

Mors was about to lose his temper but realized it wasn’t the time for that. Instead, he pointed out a few of the Aldeon knights and rushed forward.

“Delfric! Reyne ! Take the skilled ones and hold the front! I’m going to the back gate!”

“Are you going to block the back gate?”

“No! Let’s escape via the bridge! Even if they’re zombies, it’ll be easier to fight them if they’re one-legged!”

Mors chose to escape through the back gate, rather than blocking it.

Inside the fortress, there were already too many zombies. Even those zombies that seemed to be former knights relentlessly pursued them with undying strength and fierce hostility, despite having lost their intellect. Ultimately, Elion Fortress was no longer a safe zone.

With fierce roars, Delfric and Reyne began to cleave through the zombies. Their swordsmanship, forceful enough to split their enemies in half, remained effective even against clustered groups. The horde of zombies started to be cleaved apart swiftly, and the knights of the Elion Knight Order filled the gaps.

The knights quickly moved towards the back gate.

Resistance intensified, but the miracle of Elil continually invigorated them. At some point, the Aldeon Knight Order and the Elion Knight Order were singing the same military hymn, or rather, a battle hymn. Though from different affiliations, they were all followers of Elil. Their trust and faith in each other were firmly established.

“It’s the back gate!”

Reyne, who had run ahead first, smashed a water-soaked zombie’s head, shouting as she did. However, at that moment, a menacing spear whizzed by her ear. If Delfric hadn’t grabbed her by the neck at the last moment, her head would have been split open.

“We can’t go any further.”

It wasn’t just zombies at the back gate. A few knights from the Georg cavalry, who seemed to be stragglers, stood among the zombies.

They were fully armored, but there was a stench suggesting they had been dead for quite some time. One of them disdainfully taunted Lavad.

“To think you Aldeon dogs would join hands, isn’t the name of Georg ashamed? It would have been better to die and become zombies to gnaw at these scoundrels…”

“How dare you discuss shame with that rotten mouth!”

Lavad was furious and attempted to rush at them. The undead knights prepared to attack, mocking Lavad. Mors sensed that breaking through them wouldn’t be easy. The terrain was in their favor, and the overwhelming number of zombies continuously wore down their forces.

“Come.”

Instead of despairing, Mors was enraged.

Anger is also a virtue of Elil.

“The already dead and defeated dare to act so arrogantly!”

The knights charged together. Mors was at the forefront.

It was then.

Boom! Mors felt something huge whiz past right in front of him. It swept away dozens of zombies and the undead knights in front of him. Mors felt a chill down his spine as he saw what had just passed.

It was a massive harpoon for whaling.

The thick harpoon, connected to a heavy chain, was quickly retracted, dragging another undead knight standing on the bridge with it. The undead knight was severed at the waist as the harpoon collided with the railing of a ship, dropping him into the lake below.

Mors looked to where the harpoon had been retracted and almost cried when he saw the massive silhouette and the fluttering flag.

“Saltain! Saltain’s ships have arrived!”

Rosalind Saltain had led the ships of the Salt Council to their aid.

–TL Notes–