Paladin of the Dead God

Chapter 30:

Isaac marveled at the tremendous strength of his tentacles. It was more powerful than he expected, partly because tentacles are a kind of ‘miracle’ that the nameless chaos can wield.

Moreover, the effects of all miracles are enhanced in a sanctuary. The sanctuary effect Isaac obtained from defeating Zihilrat extended even to this valley, making his tentacles significantly more potent.

Isaac, though not keen on consuming human forms, whether vampires or others, consoled himself that it was the tentacles feeding, not him. He approached the last trembling hunter.

Even as a Wallachia hunter, a knight of the Red Chalice Club, facing the unknown entity with writhing tentacles in the darkness was unsettling.

“Please, spare me,” begged the hunter, dropping his sword.

Isaac intended to keep him alive for interrogation but laughed at his plea for life.

“You’ll stay alive until I’m done questioning.”

“I’ll tell you anything…”

“How can I trust your words?”

Grabbing the hunter’s collar, Isaac activated his Chaos Eye.

[Kasha Finsk (B) / Fear]

[Profession: Wallachia Hunter (C+)]

[Abilities: Shedding Doctrine, Heart Anthem]

Isaac focused deeper, beyond the name or abilities, into the hunter’s inner thoughts.

[“What is this monster? Never heard of such a thing. Could it be the one who killed the plague god? Even Duke Gullmar would struggle against it…”]

“So, there’s a connection with Zihilrat. Need to know what you were planning… No, I’ll talk to your boss directly.”

Isaac tossed aside the hunter. As the hunter tried to comprehend the situation, he felt a cold chill; red mist was seeping into his limbs.

“Wait, Duke! This is—”

Before he could finish, he exploded with a crunching sound. Bones and flesh rained over Isaac, who charged through them undeterred.

“I knew you’d try the same trick!”

As he activated an eight-way strike, a bloodbath ensued. Duke Gullmar, trying to ambush Isaac from behind, barely dodged his attack but still suffered slashes that ripped his flesh.

***

Blood and flesh poured like rain.

Gullmar, dodging the attack, glared at Isaac. The eight slashes left clear marks on the valley’s rocks, but only two reached his chest.

“Should’ve recognized such bizarre swordsmanship.”

Gullmar muttered, realizing Isaac wielded a long-lost heretical miracle. He mused about the dead god whose name Isaac shouldn’t have known.

Isaac, unaware of how he’s wielding these powers, looked at his writhing tentacle palm.

“You seem to know what this is?”

“You don’t even know what you’re using. Typical ignorance…”

“Shh.”

Isaac silenced Gullmar, focusing only on his answer.

Gullmar scoffed, but Isaac didn’t wait for his response; he was already peering into his soul.

[Heinkel Gullmar (S) / Normal]

[Profession: Duke of Wallachia (S)]

[Abilities: Chalice Doctrine, Red Prayer, Lamentation Feast, Pleasure’s Secret]

Gullmar’s abilities were among the top tier of the Red Chalice Club. Isaac knew from previous experiences how powerful he could be.

“Thought it wouldn’t be easy.”

But Isaac didn’t feel outmatched. His tentacles’ full potential was yet unknown, and he didn’t believe Gullmar to be stronger than Kalsen.

Now, he needed to interrogate Gullmar. Focusing deeper, Isaac probed his inner thoughts.

[‘Power of Chaos? Insanity. Surely he’s not directly serving the god of chaos? Maybe tainted by a foreign monster, or… hopefully.’]

Gullmar spoke.

“You want to know about your power? It’s ancient. Most youngsters wouldn’t understand. You should stop using it if you don’t want to end up worse than dead.”

Isaac, unimpressed by Gullmar’s half-truths, pushed further.

“You think it’s dangerous? It seems healthier than those trying to suck my blood.”

Gullmar, slightly anxious, continued.

“Rather surrender. My goal is the Inquisitor, not you. If she finds out what you’re harboring, she’ll kill you too. We could save you. Or join Wallachia with me.”

Isaac, realizing Gullmar’s sincerity, laughed at the exotic offer.

“Wallachia?”

“Your beauty would surely please the Red Chalice. If you wish, I can even adopt you as my son.”

Gullmar’s offer to give Isaac a royal lineage seemed ludicrous at first, but Isaac, peering into his inner thoughts, realized he was serious. Gullmar wanted to adopt him, largely because of his appearance.

[‘The Red Chalice adores beauty. Though flawed, such a boy might be bestowed with more secret knowledge.’]

Though it sounded far-fetched, it wasn’t entirely baseless. The deity of the Red Chalice, ‘The Dancer’, was known for valuing life, beauty, and the power of concealment, and was herself of extraordinary beauty.

Thus, Isaac’s charm alone could secure him a place in the Red Chalice Club.

It was an appealing offer. Assuming the lineage of a duke would mean a high starting position in the club.

Being a Nephilim, Isaac’s identity, wouldn’t necessarily be a drawback in the club.

However, Isaac had no intention of accepting it.

“Do I really need to beg you for blood?”

Isaac didn’t see the need to bow down to Gullmar.

Gullmar’s expression hardened. He drew the same spear he used to stab Gebel.

“Fine. If words fail, I’ll use force. You like a fair fight, don’t you? I’ll play along. Show me what you’ve got.”

He added a condition to the duel.

“Let’s exclude miracles. Using them would leave nothing of you…”

Isaac noted Gullmar’s fear of his tentacles, though his words weren’t entirely false. Gullmar’s miracles were indeed formidable. A miscalculation could end both of them.

‘But Gullmar is a master of the spear.’

Apart from miracles, his skills were comparable to high-level swordsmanship. And at this distance, a spear had an advantage over a sword. Despite the pretended courtesy, Gullmar got ready for combat, gripping his spear long.

Isaac seemingly accepted the duel, grasping his sword with both hands, making it difficult for tentacles to emerge from his left hand. Gullmar’s lips curled up in anticipation.

‘Fool.’

The battle began without a signal. Gullmar never intended to fight fairly. To him, a fair fight was a fool’s game.

He threw his spear even before Isaac made his first move. Isaac dodged, but the spear turned to dust upon leaving Gullmar’s hand, and a new red spear formed, following Isaac’s movements.

Crack!

A chilling sound echoed through the valley.

Isaac couldn’t even get close to Gullmar.

Gullmar smiled, his fangs glinting. Then, blood trickled down along those fangs.

He couldn’t believe it and tried to turn, but his neck and spine, impaled by fangs, didn’t allow it. He realized a monstrous beast, exuding a foul odor and wriggling flesh, had impaled him from behind.

The odor was mixed with a familiar scent – the blood of the Wallachia hunters he had sent earlier.

The spear, misfired in astonishment, didn’t even graze Isaac.

The situation was unfathomable. Who was this unknown beast, and why had it attacked him? Why did Isaac approach as if the beast was on his side?

Bleeding profusely, Gullmar struggled to speak.

“You… you dog… In a fair… duel…”

“What are you talking about? Fair duels are for fools.”

***

“This beast… is it the one you worship…?”

Gullmar first guessed the beast was the embodiment of the foreign monster consuming Isaac. But Isaac only looked puzzled.

“What, you don’t know? Oh, you can’t see.”

Isaac twisted Gullmar’s face around. There was a crunching sound, but Isaac knew Gullmar wouldn’t die from this.

“Long time no see, right? You should recognize it.”

The beast was the creature Isaac created by parasitically nurturing Zihilrat corpse as an ‘offspring of chaos’, rather than consuming it entirely. It was also the unidentified beast that lured Isolde into the valley.

Zihilrat’s original form was gone. The beast, made of red flesh and undulating tentacles, only emitted a constant stench, obediently following Isaac’s commands.

It seemed to understand more complex commands, perhaps due to being born from a god’s corpse.

Like guarding Isolde and Gebel while eliminating any approaching Wallachia hunters.

‘Stronger than expected near the sanctuary, perhaps because it’s born from a god’s corpse.’

Now Isaac’s pet, the weakened but still divine Zihilrat was treated like a sacred beast, akin to angels or the Abyssal Beast. Unlike them, Zihilrat, born here, could stay as long as certain conditions were met.

Like consuming a large amount of flesh.

Crunch.

Although Zihilrat had already devoured nearly ten Wallachia hunters, it seemed still hungry, embedding its teeth deeper into Heinkel’s flesh. The taste of blood appeared to be stimulating its appetite.

Isaac restrained Zihilrat. There were still many things he needed to ask Heinkel.

With his violet eyes, Isaac gazed at Heinkel. His left eye, having overused the Eye of Chaos, started to sprout wriggling tentacles.

“You all have trespassed into my sanctuary and nearly ruined my plans. Thus, you must face judgment.”

Upon hearing these words, Heinkel spoke.

“Are you… an incarnation of the Red Chalice? Have you sent the prophet of the red flesh to judge my undue authority?”