ushernet Chapter 363: The Caller Calls (5)
Chapter 363: The Caller Calls (5)
The massive sea serpent, with its bronze-hued scales, struck Isaac as oddly familiar.
"This must be the serpent I saw watching me when I consumed the Caller’s flesh."
Feeling a suspicion stirring within him, Isaac opened his mouth to speak.
“Amundalas, is that you?”
The bronze sea serpent flicked its tongue briefly before answering Isaac through a mental ripple.
[Yes, it is I. We seem to meet quite often lately.]
It had only been earlier that evening when Isaac last encountered Amundalas in Urbansus. Yet, here he was, back again—or so it seemed. Twice in one day was more than enough for someone who rarely ventured into Urvansus.
Even accounting for Miarma being the sacred ground of the Salt Council, this felt excessive.
Amundalas’s mental tone carried a mix of emotions as she spoke again.
[I came quickly upon sensing that you were caught in the Summon. Though I cannot discern the cause, I want to assure you it was not intentional.]
Isaac noted how unusually formal Amundalas sounded. While she was always polite, there was a nervousness in her manner that hinted at deeper concern. Rather than attributing this change to his elevated status, Isaac recalled the vision he had witnessed.
Perhaps what almost happened to him triggered a past trauma for Amundalas. @@@@
“Don’t worry about it. All’s well as long as I’m safe, isn’t it?”
Isaac’s calm response seemed to bring her relief. She had likely remembered the Salt Council’s betrayal of Luadin and its consequences. While Isaac wasn’t yet comparable to the Lighthouse Keeper, he had achieved feats that rivaled those of the living Luadin.
[To prevent you from being drawn further into the Summon, I forcibly pushed you back onto the shore. However, when you didn’t wake, I considered summoning Chorong Anglerfish before your vassal appeared.]
Isaac turned briefly to Hesabel, who was watching the exchange with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. Since she couldn’t hear Amundalas’s voice, she was piecing together context from Isaac’s reactions. She seemed to decide that if Isaac was accepting Amundalas’s explanation, she had every right to hold her head high even before an angel.
"So, the Summon wasn’t intentional after all."
Nodding, Isaac asked, “The Caller is still asleep, correct?”
[That is correct.]
It seemed Amundalas wasn’t aware that Isaac had met Rael. Isaac hesitated, contemplating how to share what he had seen, and then began speaking.
“In truth, while I was submerged in the water...”
Isaac described the vision or experience he had witnessed—the flourishing city of Miarma, Amundalas standing on the pier, the boy priest Rael, and the destruction of Miarma after orders were given.
If what he had seen were truly Urvansus, Amundalas would have known. As an Archangel, she often traversed Urbansus freely. This implied that what Isaac had witnessed was something else entirely.
Hearing that Isaac had seen “erased history,” Amundalas seemed deeply shocked. However, Isaac deliberately omitted the part where Rael had murmured, “I don’t know who the Dreamer is, but they’re better than the Lighthouse Keeper or the White Owl.”
The Caller had predicted Isaac’s existence and even foreseen the shattering of the Salt Desert. If the god of the Salt Council had anticipated their own order’s destruction, who knew how Amundalas might react? ʀΆꞐOBÈş
Indeed, what Isaac had seen wasn’t Urvansus.
[What you saw did happen in Miarma, but it was not entirely accurate.]
“Not accurate?”
[Rael—or rather, the Caller—is not capable of speaking so coherently. The Caller would stubbornly wait a hundred or a thousand years until their desires were fulfilled. Sometimes they have profound intentions, but even I, as an Archangel, cannot comprehend their transcendent judgment.]
Isaac couldn’t tell whether her words carried sarcasm or resignation. Regardless, it implied that Rael, in reality, was merely a child throwing tantrums, incapable of rational persuasion.
A god’s personality isn’t necessarily mature or wise. After all, even a mere natural phenomenon can become a god if it garners enough worship and faith.
Amundalas, reflecting on Isaac’s account, spoke again.
[Perhaps what you saw was the Caller’s dream.]
“A dream?”
[The Caller might have wanted to express such thoughts to me, but they couldn’t. So, in their dream, they grumbled about it instead. To witness a god’s dream—it must have been a rare experience.]
Peering into a god’s dream was certainly remarkable. It seemed the Caller had recalled the day Miarma fell as a tribute to its restoration.
“...We don’t have the money to pay for all this, though...”
“Don’t worry. I’ll charge it to the Holy Grail Knight’s account.”
Leonora said this casually as she surveyed the area.
“Where’s the Issacrea Dawn Army? I don’t see their banners.”
Yenkos, having been preoccupied inspecting Miarma, realized she had overlooked something important. Eidan scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish.
“Sir Isaac has already departed for the Holy Land Lua. He believed the Immortal Order would have noticed the desert’s collapse, so he moved quickly.”
“Is that so? Then he must have gone east.”
Seeing Leonora’s expression, Eidan grew uneasy. She looked ready to follow Isaac immediately.
“Lady Leonora, surely you’re not planning to follow him?”
“I have something to tell the Holy Grail Knight,” Leonora said with a nod.
“The Dawn Army’s main force is moving at an alarming pace. They’ve already burned Belslav and are marching south. Even with Khan’s army joining the fight, the Red Chalice forces were defeated. The main force is advancing much faster than anticipated, even without an angel’s intervention.”
“You mean...”
Eidan sensed the grave implication behind her words and tensed.
“Exactly. The Immortal Order is conserving its strength, likely to strike the Issacrea Dawn Army. If that happens... the Holy Grail Knight will be in serious trouble.”
***
Belslav: The Flower on the Hill
Belslav’s name translates to "Flower on the Hill."
Despite its beautiful name, the "flower" refers to an impregnable fortress resembling rose petals layered atop a hill. According to legend, the Red Chalice deity—the Dancer—had named it after admiring the site’s beauty. Now, no trace of that flower garden remains.
Located at a crucial military and economic crossroads, the city was fought over for centuries by the Olkan Code, the Red Chalice, and the Codex of Light. Each new ruler expanded the fortress, adding layer upon layer of defenses.
Ultimately, after countless changes of hands, the city fell to the Immortal Order.
As the easternmost stronghold, Belslav served as the northernmost city of the Urdantu Empire under the Immortal Order’s rule.
At least, until yesterday.
[Retreat to the inner fortress!]
CRASH! The sound of scorching heat and blinding light scraping against the fortress walls echoed violently. A Death Knight crushed beneath the molten stone froze solid, petrified by its own chilling aura. Yet the radiance pouring from the “Lighthouse” melted even that stone statue.
Witnessing the destruction, the Death Knight commander trembled in fury and shouted:
[Those wretches have no intention of capturing Belslav! Retreat!]
Most armies would retreat through the rear gates, but for the undead, the options were broader. They chose the fortress well, a waterway leading to a nearby river, as their escape route.
The undead, capable of surviving a century underwater, could afford such a choice.
The Death Knight commander couldn’t comprehend the Codex of Light’s methods.
To deny other factions the use of this strategic stronghold, one should seize and fortify it. For centuries, factions had fought over this city, always using it as a foothold. But the Dawn Army outside the walls seemed indifferent, intent instead on melting the entire city of Belslav into oblivion.
"As if they have no intention of ever using it again..."
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