Paladin of the Dead God

"Is this the residue left after digesting the Caller’s flesh?"

Isaac could roughly grasp the situation. Amundalas had mentioned "adjusting the pressure" on him, which meant that the salt was likely an impurity and undigested remnants filtered out during the process. It seemed the impurities within Isaac’s body had also been filtered out, leaving him feeling significantly lighter than before.

When Isaac stood up and stretched his arms, everyone around him stared in stunned silence.

"Is there something on my face?"

"N-No, Sir Holy Grail Knight… I already thought you were quite impressive before, but now you’re somehow…"

"What?"

"Uh, a radiance? It’s like your face is glowing… that kind of feeling."

Eidan stammered, unable to complete his thought.

It was a phenomenon resulting from the elevation of his status, giving off a halo effect. But Eidan had no way of knowing that. The others, evidently feeling the same as Eidan, kept stealing glances at Isaac but couldn’t look away.

"Enough. Stop right there."

Isaac cut him off before the awkward compliments became even more embarrassing.

It seemed that the power of the Caller had been filtered out, leaving only the pure energy that Isaac could absorb. This was a fitting reward for his achievement in rescuing the Caller.

Tuhalin approached Isaac and spoke.

"I still can’t understand what exactly happened here."

"And how did all of you manage to return?"

Tuhalin frowned briefly before explaining.

"You had warned us that Sadraza might betray us, so we followed your orders and left Miarma. But then, the cursed sun was extinguished, the Outer Boundary rapidly advanced northward, and it started spewing out hordes of monsters."

Lianne shivered as she muttered, "That… was the first time I’ve seen monsters emerging from the Outer Boundary. It was as though darkness sculpted them out of thin air, like clay being molded. Can you imagine waves crashing and forming the shape of horses, or spiders appearing as if spun from shadow?"

"Um, no."

"Think about clay thrown onto the ground and by chance forming the shapes of dogs or cows. That’s the kind of thing happening in the Outer Boundary—only much more horrific and grotesque, incomplete creatures."

Isaac hadn’t witnessed it himself, but he could imagine how horrifying the scene must have been.

The monsters of the Outer Boundary were already terrifying individually. To think they sprang into existence like leaves blown about in the wind.

Tuhalin continued.

"You warned us something like this might happen and told us to stay prepared to mobilize at any moment. So, we stayed on high alert, ready to move. But then, some monstrosity emerged from Miarma and trampled the Outer Boundary creatures to dust." ŕΑℕòᛒÈṦ@@novelbin@@

"That would be Sadraza."

Isaac answered calmly. Tuhalin’s face twisted into a scowl, though he didn’t seem surprised.

"Of course. I suspected as much. That tentacle-headed bastard. At any rate, with the situation unfolding like that, we figured instead of getting caught between the chaos, we’d wait for things to settle and then recover the Supreme Commander’s remains."

Tuhalin spoke in a mocking tone, but Isaac knew he hadn’t truly believed Isaac would die. Tuhalin was merely upset with Isaac’s approach.

"And then suddenly, we heard the loud tolling of a bell, and cracks began forming across the Salt Desert. That’s when I realized—you’d done it, you crazy commander."

"It was Eidan who did it," Isaac said with a smile directed at Eidan. Though flustered, Eidan maintained his composure and responded sincerely.

"It was Sir Isaac who accomplished everything. I was merely his hands and feet."

Eidan’s words were heartfelt. Without the sanctuary Isaac had created, he wouldn’t have been able to complete the ritual. And it was Isaac who had fended off Sadraza. Eidan felt as though he’d merely piggybacked on Isaac’s achievements.

"All right, all right. Both of you did well. Anyway, when the cracks spread across the Salt Desert, they pierced the sea and extended in another direction as well."

"Another direction?"

"Yes. A massive fissure formed to the south as well. A tremendous earthquake swallowed up the monsters, creating a yawning chasm. And then, just as suddenly, the Outer Boundary began retreating rapidly to the south. All that was left were the monsters it had already unleashed."

Isaac recalled Amundalas’s words: a new boundary had been established with the Outer Boundary.

The massive gorge in the southern desert was likely the new border. While this had delayed the Caller’s full awakening, it was a worthy trade-off.

"That’s when I finally gave the order to advance. We couldn’t very well stand by and let the Supreme Commander fight alone while we just watched."

At Tuhalin’s words, Edelred added with a puzzled expression, "Wasn’t it you, Deputy Commander Tuhalin, who said the Holy Grail Knight was unlikely to be alive after defeating Sadraza and flooding the Salt Desert? You said we’d have to clear out the Outer Boundary monsters just to recover his body."

"Enough!"

Tuhalin grumbled and cut off his own words. Isaac smiled and bowed his head.

"Thank you all once again."

At some point, Isaac had begun to notice that the pressure from the monsters of the Outer Boundary had lessened. Initially, he thought it might have been because Sadraza had crushed them all. However, it turned out that the efforts of the Issacrea Dawn Army had played a significant role.

This also worked to the advantage of Hectali and Zihilrat, who had conserved their energy by devouring the remaining Armyes.

Isaac suddenly thought of the Collective Entity and glanced around. The massive creature that had stood before him until just before he lost consciousness was now nowhere to be seen. Still, Isaac sensed its presence lurking not far beneath the sea. It was hiding.

It seemed to have just enough intelligence to understand it needed to avoid the gaze of others.

"Thank you all for your care… truly. I had hoped things would go smoothly this time, but that was far from the case. I must apologize for dragging you all into an unplanned adventure on my account."

"We all came here for war. Don’t try to fight alone—learn to trust us and share the burden."

Isaac forced a smile at Tuhalin’s words.

Of course, Isaac thought it would be ideal if he could do just that. But the agreement he had made with the Salt Council was a personal one, and involving the others was not appropriate. Furthermore, the plan had been to let Sadraza and the Outer Boundary monsters annihilate each other rather than involve the Issacrea Dawn Army in the fighting, which justified their retreat from Miarma.

More importantly, Isaac was still hesitant to reveal his true nature to them all.

The moment might come someday, but not yet—not now.

Still, for some reason, he felt that moment might not be far off.

***

Absorbing the flesh of the Caller left Isaac feeling as light as a feather, almost as if he could float away. Using the excuse of fatigue, he slipped away from the group to have some time to himself.

He strolled along the beach near the fisherman’s house. The once-dry shores of Miarma were now lapped by high tides as the waters had risen significantly. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Miarma itself would be submerged.

"Could this be the Caller’s doing?"

The waters rose quickly but not to the point of engulfing the city.

It seemed likely. Stretching, Isaac reflected on how the Caller had carefully distributed its strength to create the boundary with the Outer Boundary.

"The Outer Boundary, huh."

Isaac pictured the massive canyon that had formed in the south. It wasn’t just a natural phenomenon—it was also a massive seawall blocking the Outer Boundary’s intrusion. The power of the Caller had even cleared away the gray wasteland and the oppressive storm clouds Isaac had seen near the southern border of the Outer Boundary.

"Has the Caller taken over the role once played by the Cursed Sun?"

Until now, Isaac had thought the Cursed Sun served to repel the Outer Boundary. But seeing this new scene made him reconsider. The Sun had indeed kept the Outer Boundary at bay, but its true purpose was to fill the void left by the Salt Council.

The Lighthouse Keeper had wanted to punish the Salt Council but couldn’t stand to see the Outer Boundary invade either. Thus, the Cursed Sun had been permanently set aloft.

Whether the 7th Dawn Army dried up and perished beneath that sun meant nothing to the Keeper. Even if they had managed to march on the Holy Land Lua, they likely wouldn’t have reclaimed it. The Keeper’s "Grand Plan," whatever it was, wouldn’t have been affected.

To the Keeper, the 7th Dawn Army had been no more significant than a colony of ants.

"Then why send them out in the first place? Damn him."

Was it really so hard to send a simple message or a single envoy? Unless, of course, the plan had always been to drown the 7th Dawn Army in the sea…

As Isaac pondered this, a chilling realization struck him.

Isaac’s passage through the Nightmare Strait had been made possible by the ghost ship of the 7th Dawn Army—a "key," in a sense. Their sacrifice had ultimately been his gain.

"Could this also have been part of that Grand Plan?"

He shook his head. Dealing with an angel meddling in Urbansus left him full of doubts. Whether it was true or not, speculating about events that happened over a century ago was pointless. The scale of it all was overwhelming, and his mind grew weary just trying to grasp it.

"In any case, the Caller has awakened now."

Upon awakening, the Caller had first shattered the Salt Desert and then constructed a barrier against the Outer Boundary.

Thinking about this, Isaac once again contemplated the shape of the world.

"To the northwest is Elil, to the north lies the World’s Forge, to the northeast is the Olkan Code, the east has the Red Chalice, the southeast is home to the Immortal Order, the south holds Miarma… and at the center, the Codex of Light."

In a clockwise arrangement, the faiths encircled the world, with Lichtheim positioned precisely in the middle. While the western region was empty and consisted of nothing but sea, it was uninhabited and thus without faith.

All faiths bordered the Outer Boundary and faced occasional invasions. Yet the Codex of Light alone seemed to live in safety from the Outer Boundary. While the Codex’s established order weakened the monsters, the arrangement itself seemed suspicious.

"It’s as if the Codex of Light made the other faiths act as a seawall."

And as if the eight faiths, excluding the Nameless Chaos, had agreed to this one-sided arrangement.

This left Isaac with one question:

"What was the Codex of Light trying to block by erecting a wall of such global scale?"

"And why did the other faiths, despite their hatred and animosity toward one another, agree to be part of this wall?"

***

"Sir Isaac, there you are."

From the far side of the pier, Eidan’s voice called out. Having already sensed his approach, Isaac wasn’t surprised as he looked up. Unlike Isaac, Eidan genuinely looked exhausted, though his eyes shone with brilliance and rapture.

"You look tired, Eidan."

"Ah, I tried to sleep, but I just couldn’t. It’s like the first night we arrived here… no, it’s even more overwhelming now! To think such a day would come in my lifetime, and that I’d have a hand in it!"

Isaac understood Eidan’s excitement. To fulfill the Salt Council’s long-held aspirations with his own hands was indeed a momentous feat.

Eidan spoke in an animated voice.

"The Caller has awakened. Not completely, but His voice and the will of the angels are already reaching us! The Salt Council’s glory begins now!"

"Eidan," Isaac said gently, not wanting to dampen his joy.

"What does the Caller say?"

"Pardon? Oh, just a moment. He repeats the same words, but…"

Eidan stepped down to the stairs that led into the sea, knelt, and submerged his head in the water. His upper body was soaked, but he didn’t hesitate in the slightest.

After a moment, he lifted his head and shouted in exultation.

"I have returned! He says He has returned!"

"Good… then, Eidan, do you think the Salt Council will return to its former glory?"

"Pardon? With the Lord revived, I imagine so…"

"That was over a thousand years ago, back when the Sea Cult still thrived. All traditions are gone now, leaving only this ruin. Anyone who might remember them is long dead or branded a heretic. Perhaps the angels know, but… I wonder. Eidan," Isaac said, his gaze steady.

"I believe what lies ahead for the Salt Council is far more important."

"Sir Isaac?" Eidan asked, his expression bewildered.

"The Salt Council has developed traditions and disciplines that allowed you to unite and survive even without a god. I think abandoning that just because the Caller has returned would be a mistake."

[End of Chapter]

Paladin of the Dead God