Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-223

After finishing his business in Calurien’s secret laboratory, Isaac completely demolished the tower.

Previously disguised as ruins, it was now genuinely a heap of rubble. He did not entertain thoughts that this place could be a cultural heritage site in the future.

Instead, he pondered how to bring his new mount… no, companion, Nacaruriel, to the Empire.

“I should call you Nel since Nacaruriel is too long.”

Shortening the five syllables to one seemed extreme, but Nacaruriel, or rather, Nel, snorted and rubbed her head against Isaac’s shoulder.

Seeing her docile behavior, like a tamed puppy, it was clear that while she might not be very intelligent, she was definitely domesticated.

Still, he couldn’t just let her roam free with the assurance that “our dragon is friendly and won’t bite.” Isaac double-checked with Calurien.

“Are you sure she won’t eat people if instructed not to?”

[Just think of her like a dog. She’ll respect your words to some extent, but there’s no absolute guarantee. She might think, ‘If I bite that person, my master will be upset, but since they made me angry, I’ll just bite once.’ It’s best not to keep her too close to humans.]

Isaac decided to accept that explanation for now despite his unease.

Creating some excuse to keep her nearby was one option, but in a crowded place, some madman might try to prove their bravery. It seemed wiser to let her roam in the wild and call her when needed until it was safer.

Riding Nel across the sea was tempting, but Eiden was waiting on the coast.

However, Eidan wasn’t the only one awaiting Isaac at the shore.

“Son-in-law, it’s been a while.”

Dietrich Brant greeted him by the campfire with Eiden.

“My daughter asked me to check if there were any other women around you… but there’s no woman, and what is that? Could it be a dragon?”

Isaac felt more chills than when he fought Calurien.

***

Of course, checking for other women was Dietrich’s joke. He knew Isaac had returned from the Holy Land and came to greet him. Upon hearing Isaac went north instead of directly to the Empire, he had chased him down.

Thanks to this, Isaac boarded Dietrich’s ship instead of the Salt Council’s.

Dietrich’s ship, befitting a duke’s warship, was large enough to accommodate Nel, who was over 10 meters long from head to tail.

Dietrich, having heard much about Isaac from the Kingdom of Elil, asked a few questions but no more. He seemed more interested in the tangible, semi-transparent dragon than in the metaphysical principles of Urbansus and the secrets of the world.

“You came all this way to tame that dragon?”

“There’s no law in the Codex of Light against taming beasts, is there?”

Isaac brazenly lied, and Nel licked Isaac’s head in response. Due to her size, Dietrich thought the dragon might be devouring Isaac but was reassured by Isaac’s determinedly calm demeanor.

“Well, I suppose it’s not strange considering you’re said to have reformed the Princess of the Red Chalice. The Church might even appreciate the sight of a ferocious dragon bowing to a Holy Grail Knight.”

“Indeed.”

Isaac felt uneasy but relieved. At least, as long as Nel didn’t start eating people in the square.

“But what brings you here? I thought you’d be busy preparing for the Dawn Army.”

If it were just a greeting, a servant or Isolde could have been sent. It didn’t make sense for the busy duke to come personally.

“Hmm, I’ve left urgent matters to Isolde and my wife. My wife handles the estate management, and Isolde is active outside, so nothing is lacking. But more importantly, I thought it best to inform you of the Empire’s situation directly.”

“The Empire’s situation? Has something happened?”

Dietrich responded with a slightly displeased expression, gazing at the southern horizon.

“The Dawn Army has started.”

Isaac was surprised but could understand.

According to history, the Dawn Army was supposed to start in winter. However, the flow of history he had altered had accelerated its start.

Even with Kalsen he had devoured. Originally, there had been no major incident like the ‘failure of Kalsen’s ascension,’ but the mere ‘disappearance of Kalsen’ had sparked the Dawn Army.

‘Originally, the Codex of Light and the Immortal Order had allied to make Kalsen a god. But since that failed, the alliance must have ended.’

“His Majesty the Emperor hasn’t yet gathered enough forces, has he?”

To amass enough troops and knights and to boost morale, Isaac had proposed the reconstruction of the ‘White Empire.’ But Elil was only just starting to gather troops, and he had no idea what had happened to the Crucible of the World. He had heard other envoys were sent there, but no news had come.

“That’s right. I heard His Majesty is just now mobilizing knights and organizing supply lines. The Golden Idol Guild gouged prices, but they’re handling most of the supplies.”

The Golden Idol Guild did trade with the Immortal Order but wasn’t a major client since the Order had no need for ‘necessities.’

The Immortal Order usually sought luxury goods, art, or quality weapons, which weren’t hugely profitable despite their scale.

“Then what do you mean by the Dawn Army has started?”

“Some fanatics have formed their own armies and are marching independently. It’s making His Majesty impatient. He’s eager to meet you as soon as possible.”

***

No matter what Isaac did, the Dawn Army was inevitable.

That was not something Isaac could stop alone; it was the spirit of the times, the flow of the era, and the direction of history that everyone yearned for.

Therefore, it was not surprising that there were people swept up in the ‘inevitable flow of the times.’

The port city of Syracusa, where Isaac and Dietrich arrived, was one of those places with many such people.

“The millennium is near! Repent!”

Isaac stepped off the ship with a horrified expression as the cries reached him the moment the ship touched the dock.

A group of priests marched, shirtless, whipping their backs. Leading them was a priest holding a large symbol of the Codex of Light, chanting its verses incessantly.

Dietrich watched the scene with a bitter smile.

“It’s a mess here too. Let’s finish resupplying and leave immediately.”

“…It’s chaos. Isn’t this place quite far from the Holy Land?”

Syracusa was a port city on the southern tip of a large peninsula jutting out of the western Empire. While it was a roundabout route on the map, traveling up the river allowed them to reach the capital faster than by land. Although it seemed close to the Black Empire across the sea, the physical barrier of the sea was a significant hurdle for ordinary people.

Despite being far from the frontline, this place displayed extreme fanaticism.

“Maybe that’s why. I heard the border residents are rather reluctant about the Dawn Army. If you plan to go ashore, be careful not to get caught up in any trouble.”

Isaac considered not disembarking at all, even without Dietrich’s warning.

He knew this world was inherently like this, but he did not want to get swept up in religious madness and darkness.

However, seeing the smoke rising beyond the pier triggered a memory.

“Damn…”

Isaac reluctantly stepped off the ship. Ignoring what he knew felt wrong, especially if it was within his power to address it.

This was the first time he felt uncomfortable with the knowledge from the game.

Following the procession to the square, he encountered the expected sight. Several stakes were erected throughout the square. On each stake, a victim was either already bound or about to be.

“Burn the contractors with holy fire!”

In the center of the square, another victim was set alight. The woman tied to the stake screamed and struggled, but the executioner relentlessly shoved the torch into the pyre.

“Ahhh!”

The fire, soaked with oil, quickly consumed the wood and the woman’s flesh and bones. It was a gruesome witch hunt, but the scene behind her was different from reality. Her screams continued as her skin charred and shriveled.

“Oh, the flesh of the wicked contractor burns! It is purified into ashes! The Codex of Light embraces the wicked’s unvirtuousness with light and heat!”

“Ahhh! Please, please kill me, kill me!”

The unnatural flames consumed all the flesh, leaving only bones. Yet, the blackened skull continued to scream as flames burned in its eyes and mouth.

Isaac easily identified the woman’s status.

“She’s an insurance contractor.”

Dietrich, who had followed him, muttered, observing the scene.

Such ‘contractors’ were burning all over the square. Consequently, the executions neither ended quickly nor ceased their screams. The miraculous holy fire inflicted pain even on the undead souls, whose flesh had already been burned away and could no longer feel pain.

“…This should be the rear lines. How did they find so many insurance contractors?”

“They likely confessed during confession. Some might have requested to break their death contracts, only to be caught up in the madness and made an example of… Also, many cross the sea to the Black Empire’s territory, so there’s a fair number of people going back and forth.”

The Immortal Order, except for cases needing living slaves, did not require food. This meant most farmlands lay fallow. People crossed the border, drawn by the Black Empire’s abundant fishing grounds, mountains, and mineral veins.

The Immortal Order, instead of immediately turning such captives into zombies, enrolled them in death insurance, finding it more useful in the long term due to their perpetual population shortage.

“Syracusa is relatively tame. In the southern Empire, they dig burning pits and throw people in. It’s said to look like hell, with hundreds of death insurance contractors writhing as skeletal remains.”

Isaac felt nauseous. This might elevate piety and unity, but identifying death insurance contractors without their confession was challenging.

It was no different from a witch hunt. If you floated in water, you were a witch; if you sank and drowned, you were innocent.

Even if innocents were burned, would the priests take responsibility? They’d likely dismiss it with talk of ‘holy fire’ or some such nonsense.

One reason corrupt priests conducted such acts was to ‘purify’ the property of the wicked apostates.

Soldiers and knights were patrolling the square, not to stop these acts but to ensure they were carried out properly and to monitor for resistance.

At their forefront, a priest with a reddened face shouted fervently.

“Repent! The millennium is near! The walking corpses of the Immortal Order are invading your heaven! Join the Dawn Crusade under the guidance of Holy Father Horma Kmuel!”

It was the same ‘fanatical Dawn Army procession’ Isaac had heard about.

Dietrich mentioned these processions were occurring throughout the Empire. From the looks of it, the Church seemed to encourage rather than suppress them.

“As you can see, some ‘extremist priests’ of the Church are also fueling this frenzy. Among them, a priest named Ciero leads the largest group.”

Dietrich shuddered in disgust.

“I can’t fathom what those fanatic peasants without a proper knight or priest aim to achieve by rushing into the Black Empire. They think miracles will descend and drive out heretics with their sincere faith. Do they think the previous Dawn Army failed due to a lack of miracles?”

In short, religious fanaticism was sweeping the lower layers of society.

Social discontent, fear of the afterlife, and the desire to prove faith exploded, leading to scenes like this across the Empire.

Isaac frowned at the foolishness but stopped, feeling a twinge of guilt.

‘…I’ve become quite the noble.’

The people he had been associating with were mostly nobles, knights, and priests. He had momentarily forgotten the lives of the lower class.

In Sore, people starved to death, abandoning their faith because there was nothing to eat, and even the monastery priests survived on a few potatoes a day.

These were scenes he had forgotten as he rose to prominence as a Holy Grail Knight.

Of course, those now swept up in the madness were influenced by religious fanaticism, but society’s failure to support them was also to blame. For the suffering, there was only one way out of their tormenting world.

Dying gloriously to reach heaven.

At least the afterlife seemed better than this world.

And the Dawn Army was a direct ticket to heaven.

–TL Notes–