Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-208

Rumble, rumble…!

As Isaac began to run at a rapid pace, Calurien moved, causing a massive mountain to collapse. The mountain, literally split and shattered, took on a bizarre shape rarely seen anywhere in the world.

Calurien’s form, emerging from the rock mountain, was equally formidable. The rough scales and jagged, protruding horns made him look like a moving mountain range due to his enormous size.

At that moment, Calurien opened his mouth.

[Wait, let’s settle this with words!]

“Who do you think you’re fooling?”

Isaac retorted incredulously.

If it had been just ten minutes earlier, he might have been swayed by such words. However, with Calurien’s body continually recovering every moment, he had no intention of falling for such a delaying tactic. If a conversation were to begin, it would be after severing his limbs and pressing a blade to his neck.

Realizing that Isaac had no intention of talking, Calurien opened his mouth wide.

Crackling! Lightning gathered and surged within his mouth before bursting out fiercely. The streaks of lightning ricocheted madly around the rocky valley.

Isaac quickly hid himself in the crevices of the rock mountain and began to maneuver around.

‘It’s fortunate the terrain is so rugged.’

Though running was difficult, with Isaac’s level of physical ability, it posed no problem. The debris from the fallen mountain hindered Calurien’s large movements, while it provided Isaac with cover and defense.

“Calurien! Why have you forsaken your duty to protect Elil?”

In the meantime, Edelred shouted loudly from the front. Normally, Calurien wouldn’t have paid him any attention, but Edelred’s authority drew his focus.

“Did you really imprison Elil and plunge the kingdom into civil war? Did you incite countless Elil knights to shed meaningless blood?”

Edelred was not only a Swordmaster but also the king of Elil, wielding the Holy Sword Kaldbruch. It was no exaggeration to say he held a position equivalent to the pope of the Elil Kingdom.

Bound by the duties of an angel, Calurien could not ignore his cry.

[If you know nothing, shut up! I was trying to protect you all…]

Swoosh! As Calurien’s mouth opened, a bolt from Hesabel’s crossbow flew in. However, this was no ordinary bolt. Crafted by attaching red wing feathers and finger bones, this bolt contained powerful divinity in itself.

Calurien, recalling the agony of one of his incarnations during the ritual of division, instinctively twisted his neck to avoid the bolt. But the bolt gracefully curved and embedded itself in Calurien’s throat. The feathers were coated with the ‘poison of a corrupted angel’ that Isaac had previously distributed.

Intense pain and blisters erupted. However, it wasn’t enough to cause significant harm to Calurien. For a human, it was akin to a small thorn lodged in the throat, causing discomfort. It couldn’t be said to have dealt a serious blow to Calurien.

But the story changed the moment Isaac, climbing the mountain, leapt down onto Calurien’s head. Calurien felt a powerful aura emanating from the approaching Isaac.

Isaac, who seemed ordinary while running, now had eyes and hair engulfed in white flames, burning brightly.

Seeing this, Calurien was horrified.

[The Flame of Glory! For the Sword of May to go that far?]

Despite his confusion, Calurien reflexively spewed a lightning breath towards the descending Isaac. He realized that Isaac’s appearance had slightly changed from when he first saw him.

‘Was his armor always that color?’

The next moment, the lightning breath struck the blister inside Calurien’s mouth.

Boom! The lightning exploded right inside his mouth. The frenzied bolts spread wildly in all directions. Edelred, worried about Isaac who must have been at the center of the explosion, deflected the rampaging lightning.

Calurien was disoriented by the breath that had exploded inside his mouth. The lightning spread through the burst blisters, making it difficult for him to even move. Blood was now pouring out from inside his mouth.

Thus, Calurien didn’t notice Isaac perched atop his horns.

Isaac, who had taken the lightning head-on, appeared relatively unscathed. Hanging onto the horn, he immediately channeled as much sword energy as he could and slashed down at Calurien’s forehead.

Rip! The sound echoed through the valley as if the world itself were tearing apart.

***

[Aaaaargh!]

Calurien let out a bestial roar, unimaginable from an angel, thrashing around. Isaac clung desperately to the horn with his left-hand tentacle to avoid being flung off.

He looked at the spot on Calurien’s forehead where he had struck.

‘Not enough.’

The blow, delivered without proper stance, lacked sufficient power. Although it was a strike strong enough to shatter Calurien’s scales, such an achievement was not enough in a life-and-death battle. The fury rather than the pain seemed to be driving Calurien’s rampage.

[You filthy monkeys! Ungrateful worms! I’ll kill you all!]

To inflict proper damage on Calurien, Isaac had to target the already wounded areas rather than striking the new outer shell. He shifted his gaze to the chest area still scarred from the Sword of May. Calurien had kept his body low and hadn’t taken flight since the battle began.

‘He’s trying to keep his wounds hidden.’

No matter how strong Calurien was, he couldn’t endure repeated attacks on already injured areas. Recognizing this, Hesabel aimed her arrows at the wounded area. However, Calurien, having learned from experience, used his magic to block the incoming arrows.

Thud, thud! The arrows, repelled by a small, bell-like barrier, lost their trajectory and fell. In the meantime, Isaac slid down Calurien’s body. Despite happening behind his back, Calurien had no reason to watch calmly.

Crackle! Lightning surged from Calurien’s horns, racing along the wings and scales. Though his mouth was damaged and he could no longer use the lightning breath, his ability to generate lightning remained. Isaac, clad in armor, couldn’t withstand the lightning.

As expected, Isaac staggered and fell to the ground after being exposed to the lightning. However, he landed skillfully and immediately burrowed under Calurien’s abdomen.

[What!]

‘It worked.’

Isaac, panting heavily, gazed at the color beyond covering his armor.

[Primordial Magic (S): The power imbued by the Observers who ordered the world before it was fixed. It can grant life to inanimate objects or alter the properties of elements.]

This ability, acquired by absorbing Calurien’s essence, had animated a part of the ‘color beyond.’ Originally meant to be a desperate measure just before attacking Calurien, Isaac hadn’t thought of how to use it. He had planned to use the color beyond to ‘dye’ his armor, hoping it could respond organically to any anomalous attack. That’s why his armor had changed color.

While attacking Calurien, he discovered an unexpected effect of this.

‘…The color beyond is an insulator.’

It was something he had never considered, so he hadn’t expected it, but thanks to this, he had been able to survive Calurien’s attack.

Isaac looked up at the blood flowing down like a waterfall from above his head, and at the wound on Calurien’s chest. The injury from the Sword of May had noticeably healed since the battle began. However, the exposed bones and organs were still clearly visible.

But what captured Isaac’s attention the most was a gem pulsating with a vivid blue light amid the crimson blood.

‘Dragon Heart.’

Isaac’s body twisted at a strange angle.

It was due to aiming upwards, unlike usual. The color beyond burst out like mist, and his tentacle tightened its grip on the Luadin Key, pulsing rhythmically. As the muscle fibers swelled, a fierce flame of glory erupted from above Isaac’s head.

‘If I can just cut this…!’

At that moment, Isaac’s body froze. Gravity, time, and the earth itself seemed to seize him.

Calurien, exhausted, used all the magic and power he could muster to grasp Isaac’s body.

He squeezed out even his healing power to bind Isaac. The magic alone was enough to crush Isaac’s body. He felt as if his lungs were being forced out of his chest and his eyes would pop out from the pain.

But Calurien did not stop there; he raised his hand.

[Do not underestimate an angel!!]

Calurien, with a blood-choked roar, brought his clawed hand down on Isaac.

Crack. The chilling sound erupted from beneath his hand, and blood redder than Calurien’s own gushed out.

[The Nameless Chaos watches over you.]

Calurien glared at the being that had targeted his only weakness with a fierce groan. It was the first time since becoming a celestial angel that a mortal had driven him this far.

But a chilling sensation overtook his entire body.

‘No way? Is this not over?’

Before Calurien’s shock subsided, Isaac moved beneath his hand.

[Immortal Will: Even when fatally wounded close to death, it binds the soul to the body for a short time.]

Isaac had used the immortality ability he temporarily gained from absorbing Billon’s soul right here and now. His bones were broken, his flesh was torn, his limbs were severed, and blood pooled like a pond, but his life and soul were still attached to his body, moving according to his will.

And the tentacles were reconnecting each part of his body.

Now, it was only his willpower that moved Isaac’s body.

As if he had never been trampled, Isaac’s body rotated fiercely as planned, unleashing sword energy.

A storm of sword energy burst out in the form of tentacles. The storm, mixed with the color beyond, severed Calurien’s claws and surged up. The unleashed sword energy spread like branching lightning, ravaging his wounded body.

An angel’s scream echoed throughout the heavens.

It was the scream of a slaughtered beast.

***

“Hah…”

It was a long while before Isaac finally exhaled a breath. He had been unconscious for a brief moment. He still wasn’t sure if he was truly alive. The immortal will merely kept him temporarily alive; if his wounds weren’t treated, he would eventually die.

‘It seems I’m not dead yet.’

Isaac struggled to turn his head. The area was drenched with Calurien’s blood, but only the area around Isaac remained clean. He realized that the tentacles had devoured a large amount of Calurien’s blood while he was unconscious, replenishing his strength.

[You have consumed ‘Calurien’s Body (EX)’.]

[The ‘Intestines of the Dead God’ perk increases the absorption efficiency.]

[Your physical abilities have greatly increased.]

[Your divine abilities have greatly increased.]

[Your regeneration abilities have greatly increased.]

–TL Notes–