Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-95

Sword energy was the most iconic miracle of the Elil Order.

True to their devotion to Elil, a deity who ascended to transcendence through force, the Elil Order was a congregation solely of warriors gone mad with honor and combat. Among them, sword energy was a miracle granted only to the chosen top warriors.

However, there was no time to ponder deeper. Isaac’s gleaming gaze was fixed on Al Duard. Feeling a chill as if a beast was licking its prey, Al Duard instinctively began reciting a prayer.

The cold gripping Isaac intensified, now taking a visual form and clinging to him. Blue handprints and frost formed on his skin, which began turning pale. It was a miracle of intensity that Al Duard had been restraining, fearing it might even seize the movements of the Dullahan.

Al Duard was exerting extreme concentration to perform three miracles simultaneously. He summoned the cold of the netherworld, used wraiths to bind, and prepared another instant death prayer to crush Isaac’s heart in a single blow.

‘Please let this be the end…!’

But at that moment, Isaac violently swung his left hand, scattering the wraiths. It seemed impossible for the wraiths to be dispelled by such action, yet the impossible unfolded before Al Duard’s eyes.

“What the…?!”

The wraiths clinging to Isaac’s arm didn’t just fall off; they were torn apart as if ripped by a sacred miracle, screaming and dispersing into the void.

Al Duard belatedly sensed a disquieting sanctity vibrating from Isaac’s left hand.

‘A miracle in his left hand? No, is that even a miracle?’

What writhed in the darkness was something long and undulating unpredictably. While a deep, dark power was felt, there was undeniably a presence of sanctity.

Previously, against spiritual beings like Golruwaru, the tentacles hadn’t been effective. But now, the tentacles, finally bearing a semblance of ‘miraculousness,’ housed sanctity to dispel wraiths.

Now the tentacles had begun to embody holy power.

On the other hand, Al Duard felt like his already rotten and festering heart was going to burst. The one known as the paladin of the Codex of Light was using Elil’s miracles, and on top of that, some kind of ominous miracle. But fortunately, Isaac was still frozen and unable to move properly.

Then, Isaac grasped the reins of his dead horse.

Simultaneously, his body shot forward as if propelled. Al Duard couldn’t help but be astonished once more.

“Phantom Steed? Where did that come from…?!”

Screech.

The Phantom Steed, acquired after defeating the Blood Knight, dashed with eerie hoof sounds. Controlled by the Blood Knight, it had openly displayed its grotesque, fleshly form, but under Isaac’s control, the Phantom Steed appeared entirely different, its incomplete and malformed neural tissue clumsily mimicking a horse.

Ordinary people would have been petrified by the mere sight of it, overwhelmed by fear. However, Al Duard calmly completed his final prayer.

“…and thus, You spilled their blood upon the ground!”

Instant death curses closing in from all sides, aiming to crush the heart.

This time, there was no escaping.

The essence of death took on a physical form, encircling Isaac as he charged. Grass and trees around him withered to blackness instantly, pressuring him.

But at that moment, Isaac’s body turned into red mist.

Transformed into red mist along with the Phantom Steed, Isaac effortlessly passed through the instant death curse. Al Duard recognized it as the Red Petition, a miracle of the Red Chalice Club, but it was too late to do anything.

Crack. The moment the red mist reformed into Isaac’s figure, the Luadin key struck his neck bones crisply.

Al Duard regaining consciousness didn’t take long.

Though he could not see his body and only his skull was held in someone’s hand, it wasn’t a big issue for him. He had resurrected from far worse conditions. Losing his body wasn’t much of a problem either since most of it wasn’t originally his.

Then, a voice came from behind him.

“Even without a body, you faint?”

“Soul momentarily detached from the body.”

Isaac’s voice was heard somewhere in the mix.

Al Duard supplemented his explanation.

“Yes, that’s why we, surprisingly, faint quite easily due to such reasons. It’s a side effect of the loose binding between body and spirit. Of course, as in your case, what could have been a fatal injury ends merely in fainting.”

The woman behind him bent down to look at Al Duard. The person holding Al Duard’s skull was someone he too recognized.

“…Miss from the Gulmar family, I presume. How have you been?”

“I don’t know you. All skulls look the same to me.”

“I somewhat agree. But you might find beauty in skeletons if you get used to them. Surprisingly, there are quite a few who do.”

Clomp. Al Duard didn’t have the luxury of time to continue his chatter. Someone walked up to him and plopped down.

It was Isaac.

Al Duard, who wanted to show some levity to Isaac, found himself unable to open his mouth. After all, undead didn’t vibrate vocal cords but rather projected their voice through psychic waves.

Isaac, too, was silent, staring intently at Al Duard for entirely different reasons.

Al Duard couldn’t understand why he was still alive. It was well-known that even with just a skull, one could recite prayers or, at the very least, bite.

But Al Duard didn’t dare attempt anything.

Whether any of his attempts would work on Isaac, or whether the Isaac before him was even human, was uncertain. Although Isaac had limbs and facial features like any human, everything about him felt so unnaturally eerie to Al Duard.

‘Is the Codex of Light breeding monsters? Or is this the body of an angel in human flesh?’

Meeting those emotionless eyes, Al Duard felt a chill.

He secretly performed the Immortal Order’s miracle, ‘Netherworld Gaze,’ which allows one to peer into the soul of the living. This miracle could reveal the soul’s quality, including lifespan, purity, emotional state, strength, and even the deity protecting the soul.

But looking at Isaac through Netherworld Gaze only intensified Al Duard’s eerie feeling.

He couldn’t peer into Isaac at all.

Certainly, if someone was under the protection of a powerful deity or angel, it could be enough to prevent such scrutiny. But Isaac went beyond that, seemingly ‘devouring’ everything around him.

Be it power, skills, or even information.

Yet, what truly unnerved Al Duard was Isaac’s emotional state.

‘After such a fierce battle, he shows no exhilaration, excitement, or anger.’

High-level warriors could manage that, but when facing foes of different faiths or imminent combat, some level of contempt, disgust, or slight annoyance would exist. Isaac showed none of that.

It was natural for Al Duard to feel eerie under Isaac’s gaze.

Isaac didn’t regard him as a bishop of the Immortal Order or an enemy he had fought with his life on the line but merely as a cold calculation of experience points.

‘It’s of no use.’

[This target has no value as a prey.]

Isaac had already consumed Al Duard’s flesh. The tentacles chewed on the bone-only body as if bored, only to report back that it was nutritionally void.

‘Liches have no value as prey? Because bones lack nutritional value, or is there a special rule for undead?’

It wasn’t without gains.

Defeating Al Duard would bring rewards from the Nameless Chaos, and acquiring Al Duard’s halo was a significant achievement. The halo was quite a valuable relic.

As Isaac remained silent, a bored Hasabel spoke up.

“Shall we torture him for information?”

“These beings don’t feel pain. Torture is useless.”

Isaac looked at Hasabel incredulously.

“Aren’t you supposed to know about the Immortal Order? Wallachia Kingdom is within the Black Empire’s territory.”

“It’s just a political alliance. We’re not exactly close.”

Isaac was aware of that too.

The Red Chalice Club and the Immortal Order, both organizations defy death, but their philosophies diverge starkly. While the Red Chalice Club consists of hedonists unwilling to forsake bodily pleasures, the Immortal Order aims to escape the physical suffering and constraints, reaching a utopia of absolute equality.

Their ideologies could never align.

They were merely allies of convenience against a greater enemy, the disdainful White Empire.

Isaac crouched in front of Al Duard. Even though consuming him wouldn’t be a problem, learning that there was no nutritional value made it seem wasteful just to eat him.

Finally, Al Duard spoke.

“Having subdued the heir of the Gulmar family, dodging death curses, and deceiving the Codex of Light, who are you? Whose voice do you represent, coming to this land not as a heretic?”

“I’m not a heretic.”

Resigned, Al Duard asked.

“Were you going to ask why we wanted to take the blacksmith?”

“You were trying to use him to create a god, but things got complicated, and you ended up needing to take him away. I’m not interested.”

Al Duard’s jaw dropped.

Even without facial expressions, it was evident he was shocked. Isaac didn’t need to ask; knowing the entire storyline of the Nameless Chaos, he understood why Al Duard was lurking here.

“You were the one sending priests to resurrect ancient gods everywhere. You tried to make Kalsen Miller a god, but his sudden disappearance made things difficult for you.”

Al Duard was so stunned he forgot to make excuses. While some might have suspected the resurrection of ancient gods, the plan to birth a new deity was top secret within the Immortal Order.

“Why try to birth a god? I can’t understand that.”

Isaac had cleared the Nameless Chaos several times, but the origin and failure of the ‘Kalsen God-making Project’ were unknown to him.

Isaac might not have cared originally, but now, inadvertently stepping into this narrative and being forced to follow its path, it seemed necessary to understand.

“It seems too grand and dangerous just to terrorize the White Empire. If you wanted to form an alliance, you could do that within your own territory. So, why try to create a god within White Empire territory?”

Hasabel, hearing this story for the first time, gaped at Isaac.

Al Duard was bewildered by how much Isaac knew. But simultaneously, he was convinced Isaac wasn’t a paladin of the Codex of Light.

If he were an angel sent by the Codex of Light or an angel himself, he would know these things, or at least, high-ranking members of the order would.

And above all, Isaac was utilizing bizarre miracles of unknown origins, prompting Al Duard to realize a surprising possibility.

“The world must always have nine faiths.”

He voiced that possibility.

“The nine faiths? That’s…”

“The barbaric ancient faiths were vanquished, and under the Codex of Light’s leadership, a new era began. With the inclusion of the Immortal Order, nine orders were established to stabilize the world.”

The Codex of Light, Elil, the World’s Forge, Golden Idol, Salt Council, Olkan Code, Red Chalice, Immortal Order.

And the Nameless Chaos.

These nine religions are referred to as the nine faiths.

But the Nameless Chaos lacks a cult name because its followers were annihilated, and with them, its name forgotten. Isaac felt a contradiction in Al Duard’s words.

“Not eight faiths?”

“Eight remain, but the ninth seat must be filled.”

“Filled?”

“Yes. Otherwise, a deceased god might return to claim its place.”

Al Duard looked directly at Isaac as he spoke.

“Honorable Holy Grail Knight. Do you realize your sacred duty is now endangering the great gods? The dead chaos might flood back to invade this world at any time.”

Hearing this, Isaac realized the Immortal Order’s conspiracy wasn’t merely to spite the White Empire by creating a god within its territory. They were rushing to fill the vacant ninth throne to prevent the original owner from returning.

Specifically, the Nameless Chaos.

“Why did we attempt to birth a god within White Empire territory? Shouldn’t you first ask why it had to be Kalsen?”

Isaac could now answer that question himself.

Because there were collaborators within the Codex of Light.

By lending the territory filled with divine grace and the human closest to godhood in that era.