Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-244

‘Now, this is the Baelbaden I remember.’

Isaac thought with satisfaction, recalling Baelbaden as it appeared in the game.

Of course, there were no entities like the Whitewood in Prayer in the game. However, for some reason, this pillar collapsed, the cavity was exposed on the surface, and the ruins of the Nameless Chaos were discovered. That was the background of this place.

At that time, it had already turned into a dungeon-like place with Nameless Chaos monsters wandering around, so it was clear that they had caused some incident.

Isaac merely lit the fuse on the powder keg that was bound to explode sooner or later.

“Ah, uh, aaah…”

The devotees, who had yet to flee, seemed paralyzed at the sight of the Whitewood in Prayer writhing towards the moon. They mimicked its movements, as if their minds were overtaken, flailing about as if they had no joints or bones. It was grotesque to witness.

To Isaac, it conveyed nothing beyond a sense of disgust. However, it was clear that this newly summoned Whitewood in Prayer was of a much higher rank than the minions of Nameless Chaos he had encountered before.

It was unclear if Camille had become a higher-ranked minion of Nameless Chaos, or if a higher-ranked unholy being had stolen Camille’s face.

But as for rank, Isaac did not fall behind.

[The Nameless Chaos is watching you.]

[The Nameless Chaos demands retribution against that abominable entity.]

[The Chaos reward awaits you.]

The Nameless Chaos expressed displeasure at the entity that dared to raise its tentacles before its agent.

Its anger became Isaac’s anger.

“Kiiiieeeek!”

A devotee, possessed by a tentacle flea, charged at Isaac. The devotee’s body moved, entangled in tentacles sprouting from the flea, exhibiting grotesque movements contrary to normal joints and muscles.

Isaac effortlessly evaded the charging devotee. The devotee’s outstretched hand slammed into a rock with a loud crash, the tentacles rooting into the rock and crushing it from within. When Isaac slashed the flea, it spurted blood and the tentacles quickly withered.

Even a flea possessed the strength to crush a human skull instantly. A normal sword would not have cut it so easily, but the Kaldwin sword, imbued with sword energy, sliced through the fleas like a broom sweeping away dust.

“Sigh…”

Isaac looked up at the endlessly rising Whitewood in Prayer. From the moment it saw the moon, it ignored Isaac and extended upward towards the surface. It already seemed to have reached part of the surface.

The problem was that it didn’t seem to be ending anytime soon.

‘Dozens? Hundreds of meters? No… it’s meaningless to measure.’

Beyond the wall from which the Whitewood in Prayer emerged, its ‘door’ was still open. Even though all the devotees conducting the summoning ritual were either dead or had fled, the entity continued to writhe and emerge. Alongside it, tentacle fleas and multi-eyed spiders also wriggled out.

It was clear that the Whitewood in Prayer was connected to Urbanthus.

Anyway, he had intended to destroy these ruins. He had planned to pin it on the entity, but since he had summoned it, he had to handle the situation before it worsened.

‘Should I leave the situation on the surface to Captain Rottenhammer? He’s had a good rest, so he should earn his keep.’

Isaac thought that Ian had probably escaped safely and reported the situation. He would understand and prepare accordingly.

Isaac fixed his gaze on the Whitewood in Prayer.

To deal with this giant newcomer, ordinary means would not suffice.

***

“What is that!”

“Call the captain!”

As Isaac expected, the surface was in chaos.

The paladins were astonished as the ground collapsed with a loud crash, and blackish-red tentacles began to crawl out from the fissures. Along with them, minions of Nameless Chaos started emerging, forcing the paladins, who had been enjoying a leisurely break, to fight unprepared.

“Get a grip, you fools!”

At that moment, Rottenhammer, clad in full armor, appeared before them.

“Did I not always tell you that our mission here is to guard, not relax! Grab your weapons and form ranks now!”

His reprimand, imbued with a blessing that cleared their minds and bolstered their courage, snapped the paladins out of their confusion. They quickly rallied and responded to the situation. They cast looks of respect and admiration at Rottenhammer, who had been resting in his armor in such a leisurely place.

‘…If not for Isaac, I would have been humiliated.’

After Isaac left, and even sending Ian on a reconnaissance, Rottenhammer had considered that something might happen. He hadn’t anticipated such a crisis but had fortunately donned his armor just in case.

A tentacle flea leapt onto a paladin’s helmet, trying to crush it, but the paladin incinerated the flea with flames conjured from his grasp. The tentacle fleas were weak in durability but moved swiftly and unpredictably, making them difficult to combat.

While the armored paladins on guard bought time, those who had rushed out in armor joined the battle, turning the chaotic melee into a one-sided slaughter. However, they could not shake the feeling that they were not winning.

As they dealt with the fleas, the tentacles that had crawled out from below had grown as tall as trees, reaching towards the sky. The sight of dozens of tentacles writhing towards the moon was grotesque and nauseating. If not for the miracle protecting their minds, it would have been unbearable.

“Captain!”

“Ian! What in the world is happening here?”

Ian, having returned from underground, rushed over urgently. He, too, was covered in blood, likely from dealing with numerous tentacle fleas on his way, but he didn’t seem to have any severe injuries.

“There was a cultists’ temple and cultists underground! They summoned this abomination!”

Rottenhammer’s eyes widened and he ground his teeth.

What on earth had the cultists been doing underground? Curses against the lackeys of the cult roiled up to his throat. The only one who had warned and alerted them about this situation was Isaac, a lone wandering Holy Grail Knight.

“Details?”

“I’m not sure. I fled just as that thing began to be summoned… I saw the tentacles rampaging inside, and it didn’t seem to distinguish between friend and foe. Most of the cultists down there were likely crushed to death or had their blood drained by the fleas.”

Rottenhammer looked up at the Whitewood in Prayer.

So, the summoning ritual had been interrupted, yet the entity was still growing.

***

Creak, creak, creak.

As it neared the moon, the tumor-like lumps growing from the Whitewood in Prayer began to enlarge. It was as if they were performing photosynthesis under the moonlight. New tentacles sprouted from the tumors, transforming it into a massive, grotesque tree.

However, unlike a tree, each branch was not solid but a writhing, squirming tentacle. At some point, instead of tentacles, fruits began to grow from the tumors. These fruits quickly matured and burst open.

Pop, pop.

The creatures resembled a cross between bats and inverted sea anemones. They poured down, swarming over the paladins.

With his limited knowledge of Nameless Chaos, Rottenhammer recognized them.

“Night Stalkers! Be careful not to get caught!”

However, the paladins were unaccustomed to dealing with aerial attacks. One paladin, preoccupied with the tentacle fleas on the ground, was suddenly seized by a Night Stalker diving from above. The creature flapped its wings, lifting the paladin into the air, and stuffed him into its body.

Seeing this, Rottenhammer slammed his hammer into the ground with a roar.

“Your wrath shall descend like a thief!”

With a thunderous crash, a bolt of lightning from the clear sky struck the Night Stalker holding the paladin. The creature screeched and plummeted, hit by the divine lightning.

The other waiting paladins immediately speared and hacked the fallen creature to pieces.

“Is the brother alive?”

“He’s slightly injured but alive!”

For paladins, who could heal injuries with miracles, “slightly injured” meant they could return to battle soon. On the other hand, “severely injured” meant that they might not survive even with healing.

Rottenhammer had faith in the paladins’ resilience and was relieved that his lightning had not been in vain.

But there were already nearly ten Night Stalkers flying in the sky, and they still hadn’t figured out how to deal with the giant tentacled monster.

Rottenhammer could not single-handedly call down lightning to kill all of them.

“More of them are coming!”

The Night Stalkers swooped down unpredictably, targeting the paladins. Though the paladins fought back fiercely, the Night Stalkers had sharp teeth and claws on their tentacles, making it difficult to fend them off without risking being dragged into the air.

Rumble, crash!

Suddenly, a storm of lightning scorched the Night Stalkers. The paladins caught in the blast were thrown back, but not as severely as the Night Stalkers, which were charred to their skeletons and fell to the ground.

The paladins swiftly finished off the fallen creatures.

“Captain, you’re amazing!”

“That wasn’t me. Look over there.”

The paladins, who had assumed it was Rottenhammer’s miracle, looked up.

In the moonlit silhouette, something was hunting the Night Stalkers. With enormous wings, it grabbed, bit, and incinerated them with lightning, leaving only burnt remains.

Though barely visible in the darkness, the paladins trembled, thinking of a legendary creature.

“A dragon? Is a dragon helping us?”

“Yes. I don’t know why, but it seems so.”

The dragon’s intervention turned the tide. However, dealing with the Whitewood in Prayer would likely require a high-ranking priest. If the Night Stalkers reached the city, it would be catastrophic.

Ian looked at Rottenhammer and asked, “Should I go request reinforcements?”

“No. Reinforcements aren’t necessary.”

Given its size, it would have already been noticed by nearby villages or churches. Reinforcements would come without a request. And someone who should have appeared already hadn’t shown up yet.

Isaac Issacrea, the Holy Grail Knight who had warned them of this disaster.

Rottenhammer was sure Isaac was behind the dragon’s appearance. Having grown extremely disillusioned with the church, he trusted the lone Holy Grail Knight fighting somewhere more than ten bishops.

“The only one who can resolve this is already fighting. We need to contain this disaster and support him as much as possible.”