Paladin of the Dead God

As the lights above flickered violently, Bashul and Isaac felt a slight dizziness. In the strobe-like effect, everything seemed to stop and move again.

Between existence and nonexistence. Motion and stillness, observation and concealment.

Flash.

It suddenly appeared.

Snap.

Between Bashul and Isaac appeared an old man in priestly robes, holding a staff. Bashul flinched in surprise and stepped back. However, the old man, seemingly indifferent to Bashul, crouched down and began to fumble with the box that Isaac had thrown.

‘Is he blind?’

Bashul was ready to draw his sword at any moment, but Isaac shook his head.

The blind old man opened the box to check its contents. However, the shattered dish inside was beyond repair.

He sighed deeply and then suddenly swung his staff at Isaac’s head.

“You rascal!”

Whack. Bashul, startled, half-drew his sword, but stopped when he saw that Isaac, who could have easily dodged, stood still and took the blow to his head.

Isaac only bowed his head after being struck a couple more times.

“How could you break an item with a green seal? Are you out of your mind or not!”

“I apologize, Master. I made a mistake.”

“You!”

The old man turned his head to look at Bashul.

As soon as Bashul felt the old man’s gaze, the staff struck his head with incredible speed. Bashul was shocked to find he couldn’t see or react to it.

It felt as if his getting hit was predetermined, with the intervening process skipped entirely.

It was completely different from what he had observed.

“You can’t even manage your subordinate, what kind of person are you!”

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

Only then did Bashul realize the situation.

Whatever this being called the Master was, human or not, Isaac had deliberately summoned him. With his tall stature and the aged appearance visible through his hood’s gap, the old man seemed to have mistaken Bashul and Isaac as superior and subordinate.

Isaac then spoke to the old man.

“Master, there’s actually something I’m looking for.”

“Something you’re looking for?”

“Yes.”

Isaac glanced at Bashul before asking the old man.

“I’m searching for information about the Nameless Chaos. Where can I find it?”

Bashul looked at Isaac in surprise. He hadn’t expected that the material Isaac sought would be related to the Nameless Chaos. Moreover, he couldn’t believe that this stubborn old man would simply tell them if they asked.

“Information on the Nameless Chaos?”

The old man mumbled to himself and touched the area around his eyes.

Contrary to Bashul’s worries, the old man answered straightforwardly.

“All materials on the Nameless Chaos are stored at a minimum of the purple level. Follow me.”

***

“What is that, exactly?”

Bashul asked, looking perplexed as he followed the old man.

Isaac replied nonchalantly.

“That’s the head librarian of the secret archives, Barteo Dolomus. He knows the location of every piece of information in the archives. You can’t find anything here without him.”

“You know him?”

“No, not really. But the name Blind Sentinel is more widely known.”

Bashul froze at the mention of the name of one of the Archangels of the Codex of Light, the one named immediately after Elil.

It was precisely the reaction Isaac had expected. After seeing that Bashul was sufficiently astonished, Isaac continued speaking.

“Did you think that a being who manages the entire secret archives alone while distorting time and space was a mere human? Don’t worry. ‘This’ is just a fragment of the Blind Sentinel’s appearance during his lifetime.”

It was a kind of self-operated machine with an inserted personality.

You could call it a mechanical angel, created and programmed directly by the Blind Sentinel. True to its nature, it was entirely dedicated to its predetermined function. The head librarian of the secret archives focused solely on finding, managing, and preventing damage to the materials.

This is why Isaac had spent considerable time searching for something ‘safe to damage.’

“Is it dangerous?”

“Well, of course, meeting the Blind Sentinel in person would be dangerous… but since it typically roams around managing the Urvansus, the chance of encountering it here is extremely low.”

To followers of the Codex of Light, the secret archives of Lichtheim are like a precious treasure trove. To people of other faiths, it resembles a dungeon brimming with treasures. The head librarian is like the boss of that dungeon. However, as long as you know what to look for and how to handle the librarian, there shouldn’t be any trouble.

Bashul looked at Isaac with a peculiar gaze.

“You really are… I have my secrets, but you have even more. How do you know all of this…?”

“Let’s just say I’ve prepared for a long time.”

Of course, even knowing the methods, Isaac couldn’t wander freely around the secret archives.

There was no way the Blind Sentinel would maintain such lax security. Even if you obtained knowledge, getting it out was a problem. If it were an object, permission to take it out wouldn’t be granted, and if it were something learned, the process of acquiring it would itself be problematic.

‘Let’s figure it out once we reach the area with the materials. If things go south, I’ll destroy the seals and escape. That should distract everyone enough for the Emperor’s guards to be less vigilant.’

However, as they moved deeper into the archives, Isaac began to lose confidence, sensing that the surrounding seals were becoming more menacing. The sealing paper on the boxes appeared deceptively thick, and some chains seemed robust enough to bind a ship. Some items were encased in glass containers, with unidentified masses of flesh writhing inside, wrapped in iron chains.

‘If I destroy the wrong thing, surviving this might be an issue…’

“Why does the Codex of Light keep such terrifying things? Can’t they just throw them into the Sacred Fire and destroy them?”

Bashul grumbled in dissatisfaction, seemingly forgetting his days as a Paladin of the Codex of Light.

“Don’t say such foolish things!”

Before Bashul’s words could even finish, the librarian shouted in anger.

“These are all part of the history that the Codex of Light has built with blood! Do you know how chaotic and filled with unknown terrors the world was before Luadin came forth with the Dawn Tablets and before the Age of Light began? The world was full of incomprehensible chaos, ignorance, and barbarism. To overcome those fears, our Censorship Bureau imprisoned and organized the things that threatened and darkened the world!”

Bashul wore an awkward expression, having never expected the librarian to overhear him.

“And you want to burn them? The loss of knowledge means forgetting our experiences of overcoming fear! It is our role to isolate the threats to the world strictly, yet preserve them so we can overcome similar disasters if they arise again. We are preventers and warning signs!”

“Uh, um, but…”

“It is thanks to the efforts of our Codex of Light’s Censorship Bureau and the Inquisition that humans can enjoy a stable life now. Without us, wouldn’t humans still be suffering from Kaltarsis, the Um Plague, or the Lunatics of the Purple Moon?”

“W-What are those?”

“The fact that you don’t know about them means we’ve been doing a very good job so far! No need to thank us! Just don’t get in the way!”

Bashul grumbled after being scolded by the librarian but had no choice but to let it go. Isaac only looked at him with sympathetic eyes. Yet, the librarian’s words strangely resonated with Isaac.

‘Preventers and warnings.’

To prevent a disease, one must first experience it, and to warn others, one must first walk that path. A thousand years ago, when the ancient gods still roamed, the Codex of Light must have been the savior of that era. However, now it was becoming a new oppressor.

‘If you hold a hammer, everything looks like a nail.’

Perhaps the Lighthouse Keeper wanted to hammer all protruding nails back in and create a perfectly circular world.

The librarian suddenly stopped walking. The surroundings hadn’t changed much, but there was one notable difference. A sweet scent was wafting through the air from somewhere. Isaac had smelled this before.

It was the scent emanating from the place where Urbanus of the Nameless Chaos resided.

“This is the Purple Zone. It stores documents of level 7 ‘Knowledge That Must Not Be Known.’ All materials related to the Nameless Chaos are treated as confidential. What are you looking for here?”

Isaac opened his mouth somewhat nervously.

“The name of the Nameless Chaos.”

“The name of the Nameless Chaos.”

The librarian muttered repeatedly, as if inputting the data. He tilted his head slightly and then began walking again, but this time he stopped in front of a sarcophagus without walking far. He pointed at the sarcophagus and said,

“The one inside this coffin knows. This coffin is called the ‘Undying Coffin,’ but in reality, it was created by a mad ancient god who wished to preserve his mortal lover. However, it turned out to be a holy relic that stops time, and the ancient god’s lover inside the coffin also came to a halt. Coincidentally, that lover is a priest of the Nameless Chaos. Naturally, they would know the name.”

Bashul nodded, thinking, ‘So this is how knowledge is preserved here.’

Isaac cautiously asked,

“Won’t we die from the White Sand Disease as soon as we open the coffin?”

“It should be fine for a while. The progression of the White Sand Disease varies for each individual… But yes, the disease will progress. In other words, the moment we open the coffin, the document is considered destroyed.”

The librarian said while tilting his head.

“For the reasons stated above, the viewing level for this knowledge requires Cardinal level or higher. Additionally, a knowledge filter of level 5 or higher is required. Regrettably, you don’t seem to be at the Cardinal level.”

It seemed the librarian’s kindness extended only to finding the documents. Just like in a library, finding a book is free, but borrowing it requires qualifications.

But if he were to give up here, he wouldn’t have come this far in the first place.

“In fact, I’m here on an errand for Cardinal Juan.”

“Cardinal Juan?”

“Yes. He said he’s too old and fat to retrieve it himself, so he asked me to check and let him know. By the way, I’m a Holy Grail Knight and have been given the title of the Saint of Resurrection…”

As Isaac’s unexpected boasting and chatter poured out, Bashul looked at him with a face that said, ‘Who would believe such a pathetic lie?’ Of course, Isaac didn’t expect him to believe it either.

What he was doing now was more like turning the key in a lock rather than deceiving.

In his past life, Isaac had conversed with the librarian in the game.

The librarian was equipped with a high-level A.I. By entering keywords and persuading him, one could find the desired documents. Of course, the developers set up filters to prevent absurdly overpowered skills or abilities from being found, but naturally, there were ways to bypass them.

It was a trick known as ‘Grandmother’s Inherited Skillbook.’

If you said, ‘I want to know the location of the overpowered skill book called <Split in Half and Die>,’ the filter would catch it, and the librarian would naturally refuse.

However, if you said, ‘A long time ago, when I couldn’t sleep at night, my grandmother would read me a storybook by my bedside. Although she has passed away now, I still sometimes think of the fairy tale she used to read to me. But I don’t know where that storybook is. That fairy tale is in the skill book called <Split in Half and Die>…,’ the librarian’s reaction would change.

In other words, ’emotional appeal’ could bypass the world’s best security.

Naturally, this trick was blocked not long after. But being a seasoned player, Isaac knew of a complex trick that wasn’t blocked at least until he cleared the game.

He wasn’t sure if it would work, but it was worth trying rather than killing the librarian.

“…That’s why I’ve come all this way to find the name of the Nameless Chaos.”

Clap, clap, clap. Bashul inadvertently clapped his hands while listening intently to the story, but he stopped immediately upon receiving a sharp look. The librarian remained silent. His wrinkled face made it difficult to discern any expression.

Soon, his mouth opened.

“Utter nonsense.”

“…”

“Did you really tell such a long story just to explain that? Young people these days are such chatterboxes. Hurry up and finish your business and return to Cardinal Juan.”

It worked. Isaac smiled with delight as he watched the librarian open the sarcophagus lid.

However, his face soon contorted.

Rustle… As soon as the sarcophagus opened, white sand poured out from inside. The librarian, Isaac, and Bashul all froze, staring at the sand pouring down.

It was immediately clear what the symptom was.

The White Sand Disease.

The meaning was obvious. Someone had come before Isaac and opened the coffin.

Without the librarian knowing.

The librarian let out a roar of anger.

“Who dared to sneak in and damage this precious document!!”

_____________

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