Paladin of the Dead God

Chapter 100:

Ulsten was aware that a handsome appearance could indeed inspire a mysterious faith and trust. In fact, he had asked about Isaac to various people in the monastery, including servants, bureaucrats, and even knights and priests.

And Ulsten only learned that they all seemed like fanatics about Isaac.

‘Not only is he incredibly handsome, but with just his devout voice, he awakened those enchanted by ancient gods, single-handedly defeated an angel, and when he casually swung his sword, the undead broke apart like straw? They all seem out of their minds.’

Of course, rumors tend to be exaggerated, but when everyone he met passionately preached about Isaac’s virtues, Ulsten could only feel skeptical. It went beyond the usual respect for a Grail Knight; it almost felt like the adulation for some cult leader.

‘I thought the inquisitor might be different, but it seems she’s not quite sane either.’

Isolde, taken aback by Ulsten’s chilly response, replied awkwardly.

“I’m sorry. He’s difficult to describe in simple terms. Just when you think you understand him, he shows something beyond expectation, and when you believe you’ve figured him out, he presents something completely unforeseen. All I can confidently say is what you can see of his appearance.”

“Hmm.”

Ulsten showed a curious look at Isolde’s answer.

An unpredictable person, that was a new description for him.

Everyone rushed to praise the Grail Knight, yet an inquisitor found him hard to predict. Although Ulsten was intrigued, he couldn’t pry further.

Isolde had shifted the direction of the conversation.

“Let’s turn the question around. What brings the blacksmith here?”

Ulsten snorted before answering.

“A craftsman comes to make things, what else? I had an item to craft.”

“Did the blacksmith cross the sea for a commission?”

The reason the blacksmiths disappeared from the Gerthonia Empire was not only due to troubles with the Church of the Codex of Light but also because of the blacksmiths’ notorious fear of water. The sturdy dwarves would sink like pebbles if they fell into water.

“It was a job worth my while.”

Ulsten said proudly.

Though the response was crude, Isolde realized Ulsten was not inclined to say more.

In the empire, nobles would line up and spare no expense for even a single dagger crafted by a blacksmith. If money could have lured them, blacksmiths would have been active all over the empire long ago.

Now, Isolde’s curiosity turned to Isaac.

How did Isaac know the blacksmith was coming? And what exactly did this Grail Knight, the only one in the Gerthonia Empire to host a blacksmith, intend to make?

***

Ulsten walked into the abandoned mine. Each step on the ancient stone echoed ominously throughout the mine. Eiden held a torch beside him, but the mine’s darkness seemed to swallow even that light.

“You’ve had a hard journey, blacksmith.”

Soon, a voice emerged from beyond the darkness. Ulsten and Eiden, who hadn’t sensed his presence at all, stopped abruptly.

Ulsten cleared his throat before managing to respond.

“…So, you’re the renowned Grail Knight.”

Despite Ulsten’s response, Isaac did not emerge from the shadows. Ulsten signaled Eiden to shine the torch further ahead, but even then, only the area around Isaac’s feet became visible.

“Seems we’re a bit far for a conversation, don’t you think? Can’t we talk a bit closer?”

“First, I have a few questions. Based on your answers, we’ll decide how to close our distance.”

At that, Eiden showed signs of impatience.

“Lord Isaac, the blacksmith trusted me and the Grail Knight to…”

“It was you who invited me, wasn’t it?”

Ulsten cut off Eiden’s words.

Under normal circumstances, he would have stormed off the moment he received such treatment. However, he felt as if turning his back now would invite something from the darkness to grab his ankle and drag him into an abyss.

Isolde’s words began to make a little sense to him.

‘An unpredictable person’, was it? This was not the feeling one would typically get from a Grail Knight.

“There are various reasons for an invitation. Let me ask you first.”

Isaac, staring at the blacksmith, began.

“Why did the blacksmith of the World’s Forge cross the sea? I understand there was almost no contact due to conflicts with the Church of the Codex of Light.”

Fortunately for Ulsten, he had already faced this question from Isolde. However, whether the answer he had given her would satisfy Isaac was another matter.

“A craftsman comes to make things, what else? I had an item to craft.”

Isaac watched Ulsten silently, his gaze unsettling.

It felt as if long antennae were probing into his brain, searching every corner. If he did not speak the truth, it seemed it would be forcibly extracted.

“What was the item you intended to make?”

Ulsten finally spoke up.

“…To create a god.”

“A god?”

Isaac frowned.

The notion wasn’t absurd to him. It wasn’t typical for a priest, but countless priests had been involved in the plan to make Kalsen Miller into a god.

There were many reasons behind it. For their god, to prevent some malignant faith, for rewards in exchange for service… But Ulsten’s reasoning seemed different.

“Creating a god was the goal itself?”

“Ah, quick on the uptake.”

This was also because Isaac had already seen the ending of the World’s Forge.

The Church of the World’s Forge, like the Church of Elil, was classified under the White Empire. However, instead of symbolizing their god with the sun in the sky, they chose the bubbling lava beneath the earth.

According to their doctrine, the god entered ‘the World’s Forge’ below the earth’s crust to rebirth itself into its true form, and when that forging is complete, it will emerge once more.

Interestingly, they believed that god to be the same deity worshipped by the Church of the Codex of Light.

While other believers say the Codex of Light’s god watches from the heavens, the World’s Forge Church claims that is not the true form of god and that it will reveal itself when the rebirth is complete.

Effectively, while worshipping the same deity, they followed a different doctrine, existing as separate denominations.

And the ultimate goal of the World’s Forge Church, which holds such a doctrine, is one.

“The day the World’s Forge breaks, you shall shed the earth’s crust and reveal your radiant form. What the Codex of Light deems god and worships now is but a faded sun. They are deceived while the true god undergoes rebirth.”

Such words would shock any priest of the Codex of Light.

Speaking of creating gods and slicing through ancient gods, angels, and bishops in front of a Grail Knight, Eiden listening by the side felt a chill.

Under normal circumstances, Ulsten wouldn’t discuss such topics in front of believers of different faiths.

But Isaac wanted an answer. He had to present his philosophy as a craftsman.

“So, as a craftsman serving the World’s Forge, what is there to do? Just wait for the god beneath the earth’s crust to awaken on its own? No. We are craftsmen. The reason god gifted us the miracles of creation and transformation is for us to craft its flesh.”

“…That’s not the official stance of the World’s Forge Church, is it?”

“Huh? Quite perceptive. Yes. Not many craftsmen think like me. Some say it’s blasphemy.”

Not just a minority, but within the World’s Forge Church, they were considered extremists or radicals.

By some interpretations, even heretics.

Isaac shook his head, understanding Ulsten’s true nature.

‘It seems I keep attracting these types around me… Is it because of the nameless chaos?’

Gebel was an excommunicated paladin, Hesabel, although coerced by Isaac, was an apostate, Isolde was a twisted inquisitor proclaiming the church’s corruption, and Ulsten was a priest claiming to create a god. It seemed that only a thorough minority gathered around Isaac.

Starting with Isaac, who harbored the nameless chaos within, perhaps like attracts like.

‘Maybe, it’s for the best. If our goals align, the bottom-dwellers should band together.’

Given Ulsten’s bold claim of creating a god, his skills must be unquestionable. Creating the nameless scripture was not something just anyone could do.

“But in the end, seeing Kalsen fail, it seems he failed to create a god.”

As Isaac’s silence grew longer, Ulsten spoke up.

“Well, then it seems it’s your turn to answer. What business do I have here, having been invited? I came because I needed protection, but I think I should hear your purpose as well.”

Instead of answering, Isaac turned around.

“Let’s talk while we move.”

***

Isaac, Ulsten, and Eidan headed deeper into the abandoned mine.

They stopped in front of a seraph embedded in the wall. The seraph, composed of eight wings stretching dozens of meters, seemed about to soar off the wall at any moment. Most of its body was trapped within the rock, so it was impossible to imagine what it would look like if fully extracted.

Ulsten stared intently at the seraph.

“This is… the seraph then. A stone angel.”

“Have you never seen one? I understand it’s from the seraph that the nameless scripture was made.”

“It was made with pieces brought by Lisfen Hendrock. At that time, I didn’t even know where it was.”

Ulsten, as if the heart of a craftsman was beating within him, couldn’t take his eyes off as he touched the seraph’s contours with his rough hands.

His touch was incredibly delicate.

The seraph was a precious material. Each god has a different way of punishing angels, but not many leave as clear traces as the seraphs of the Codex of Light.

Ulsten seemed eager to extract the seraph from the rock and make something immediately, but he couldn’t do it under Isaac’s gaze.

“So, what do you want me to do? After all, I am a craftsman with nothing but the skill to make things. By bringing me all the way here to show this, it seems you want to ask me something?”

“Exactly.”

Isaac answered with a faint smile.

“What is it?”

“It’s hard to explain in words… I’ll show you the rough blueprints later. It’s something like armor, but probably a form you’ve never made before.”

Ulsten snorted at the notion it would be something he had never made before. He was an experienced blacksmith. There were beings similar to paladins in the world’s forge orders.

“You seem unaware of the Lycanthrope warriors. Making armor for them compared to regular armor is nothing.”

“It won’t be as easy as you think.”

Isaac said, imagining Ulsten’s astonishment upon seeing the blueprint.

“You’ll have to make a form of armor you’ve never even imagined before.”