Paladin of the Dead God

Chapter 358: The Thirsty Feast (8)

The impossible sight left Sadraza utterly stunned.

The salt tentacles, cursed constructs imbued with a thousand years of resentment and thirst, turned everything they touched into salt. Yet Isaac’s left hand calmly crushed the salt tentacles as it climbed upward.

No, it was devouring them.

At that moment, Sadraza’s withered mind finally grasped the nature of those tentacles.

“Could it be... Chaos itself?”

Only a miracle could counter another miracle. The curse that turned everything into salt was being countered by Isaac’s greater vitality and the predation effect. Even when parts of his tendrils turned to salt, new ones sprouted rapidly, tangling around like creeping vines.

[■, ■■■■─!]

Sadraza let out an incomprehensible scream in the broken language, a mix of a howl and a cry, and severed his own tentacles. By now, Isaac’s left arm had fully transformed into a writhing mass of tentacles up to his shoulder. Each tendril pulsed with an unholy, indescribable energy.

Eyes emerged along the tentacles, grinning and glaring at Sadraza, while mouths lined with sharp teeth flicked their tongues as if savoring the feast to come.

From Isaac, Sadraza felt a hunger and thirst far greater than his own.

A vast, insatiable void.

The ravenous appetite from beyond the Outer Boundary had crossed into the realm of order and now sought to consume him.

“What are you hesitating for, Sadraza?” Isaac whispered seductively, his eyes gleaming.

“Come and devour me, just as you’ve always desired.”

Isaac’s left arm and the shadowy tendrils rising beneath him like waves flowed and rippled like a cloak, poised to attack at his command. They moved with the grace of hunting hounds, awaiting their master’s signal.

Sadraza focused on one key detail: only the tentacles were miraculous, while the rest of Isaac’s body remained human. If he could just pierce Isaac’s body with his salt tentacles, he could reduce him to a dried, crumbling husk. With a guttural roar, Sadraza lunged his tentacles at Isaac once more.

Isaac’s tendrils leaped to intercept, coiling around the salt tentacles in midair.

‘So, he belongs to Chaos? What of it? I’ve survived for a thousand years by devouring Outer Boundary creatures and offering them as sacrifices!’

Sadraza poured every ounce of his strength into this confrontation, achieving a power that rivaled that of angels—if only temporarily.

After all, Isaac was just a human. He couldn’t compare to Sadraza, who had consumed divine flesh for centuries.

Indeed, despite wrapping around most of Sadraza’s salt tentacles, Isaac’s tendrils began to falter under the pressure.

Given Sadraza’s exhaustion from battling countless Outer Boundary creatures, the power he displayed was extraordinary.

Sadraza’s crimson face pulsed and then opened wide. A salt-formed tongue shot out like a spear, aimed directly at Isaac. Yet as their eyes locked, Isaac’s expression told Sadraza this was precisely the moment he had been waiting for. ṘÂNÒbЕʂ

The Color Beyond surged from the ground, enveloping Sadraza entirely. His vision turned pitch black, and he staggered, disoriented. At the same time, a powerful blow struck his body.

‘What... what’s happening?’

Sadraza released Isaac and tried to regain his senses, but Isaac didn’t let go. He clung to Sadraza with relentless determination.

Another crushing impact. Sadraza stumbled and finally tumbled, rolling uncontrollably.

He rolled down a slope for what felt like an eternity before realizing that Isaac had dragged him somewhere deliberately. He had baited Sadraza into pouring all his strength into one attack, leaving him vulnerable.

[■■■■■■■■!!]

“I have no idea what you’re saying.”

Isaac’s voice echoed dreamily from within the Color Beyond.

The colors poured illusions, echoes, and phantom pains into Sadraza’s senses, overwhelming him. Suddenly, the pressure holding his salt tentacles disappeared. Sadraza seized the chance to escape, unleashing an explosive surge of energy.

The Color Beyond shattered into fragments, and Sadraza’s vision cleared.

Only then did he realize where he had fallen.

It was the desolate seabed of the Miarma coast, now a barren salt desert.

Half-buried ships, like gravestones in a mass graveyard, dotted the landscape. The path leading back to Miarma was visible in the distance, with Isaac standing at its entrance.

“This is your grave, Sadraza,” Isaac said coldly.

If only I hadn’t betrayed him...

Would he have been able to stand there, watching the sea rise?

No, that wasn’t it. Even before his betrayal, Sadraza had already been tainted.

As the sole survivor of a betrayed and fallen cult, it was fitting that he should meet a miserable end by betrayal himself. His demise would serve as a fitting lesson to the new generation.

The Salt Council, reborn by abandoning the sins of the past, would learn from his fate.

***

Isaac watched as Sadraza drowned.

The last survivor of the Sea Cult meeting his end in the sea felt deeply ironic. Yet, wasn’t it fitting in some way? Hadn’t the cult always yearned for death in the sea?

In that sense, it was an honorable death for Sadraza.

“...I suppose it’s a good thing Sadraza betrayed me.”

For the past thousand years, Sadraza had filled his sanctuary with unholy offerings—humans and other defiled sacrifices. If he had successfully completed the ritual with that power, there was no telling what catastrophic effects might have occurred.

But Sadraza’s betrayal ensured that he absorbed all the corruption into himself, and by personally gathering pure sacrifices afterward, he enabled the ritual to proceed cleanly. He even met a neat end.

There could be no better conclusion.

“Thank you, Sadraza. You were a fine villain...” Isaac muttered with a faint smile.

As he spoke, more of Chaos’s minions emerged behind him.

There were Zihilrat and Hectali.

Unlike the mindless beasts that made up most of Chaos’s followers, these two were loyal to Isaac alone.

“We have done as you wished, Master Isaac,” said Hectali, moving her lips—the only part of her face that still retained a human form.

While Sadraza was transforming, Isaac had prepared contingencies, summoning his loyal followers. He had known he wouldn’t match Sadraza’s strength in a direct confrontation.

And it was here that Hectali showcased her unique expertise.

“You managed to control Chaos’s minions?” Isaac asked.

“Because their intelligence is little more than that of beasts, it was possible,” she replied. “I gathered the weakened ones, disrupting their cohesion. Though, perhaps it helped that Sadraza gave off such an... enticing scent.”

The horde of Outer Boundary creatures that attacked Sadraza had been lured in and driven by Hectali.

Though her suggestion was cautious, Isaac was satisfied.

Even providing Chaos’s minions with just a sense of direction was an invaluable achievement.

If I implant the ‘Parasite from Beyond,’ Isaac thought, I might be able to refine their movements further.

Isaac had no intention of becoming the leader of these monsters. But if he could leash them and control them with a whip, he wouldn’t hesitate.

Just then, he noticed the enormous mass of creatures that had sunk alongside Sadraza rising again from the sea. Though battered and weakened, it was still alive.

Turning to Zihilrat and Hectali, Isaac spoke.

“Take the chance to devour whatever you can here. I want you to grow stronger as well.”

Sensing their master’s intent, the two followers bowed gratefully before leaving to fulfill his command.

“Now,” Isaac murmured to himself, “I suppose it’s time to clean up the rest of this mess.”

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