Chapter 463: The Saint Under the Ground (1)
It was almost dusk the next day when Linde returned.
[It seems like they noticed what happened to the Millennium Brotherhood in the Holy Land Lua. Security has become stricter.]
"I guess so."
Even if they didn't know that Isaac had returned yet, they would know that something had happened since they hadn't returned or even reported yet. They might dispatch troops to the south, but blocking the only land route connecting to the Gerthonia Holy Empire before that was a common-sense procedure.
[Still, I have a reliable acquaintance in a nearby fishing village, so I asked for cooperation. I plan to enter early tomorrow morning.]
"Won't the sea be watched as well?"
[The Losponia Strait has strong currents. Even if they're undead, if they get caught up in them, they'll be dragged all the way to the ocean. It's difficult to approach without a skilled sailor, but fortunately, there was a sailor from the Salt Council.]
It was a major advantage of the Immortal Order to gather various talented people in various fields. Whether it was their own will was questionable, though. The problem was whether they could be trusted or not, but he had no choice but to trust Linde. He could only hope that the fact that Isaac was being treated as a savior by the Salt Council would appeal to them.
And Isaac received unexpected treatment at the pier under the Ushak Bridge.
There was something strange about the signs even before he set foot near the pier.
Isaac's group was moving as quietly as possible and hiding their identities to avoid unnecessary intervention. But for some reason, the undead were openly watching Isaac's group pass by. The makeshift buildings built close together along the steep slope were closer to cemeteries than houses, and this place where the cemeteries were gathered had the atmosphere of a graveyard. He couldn't help but feel eerie as the undead, with only their white skeletons left, were peering out and watching Isaac's group.
"It feels like we've joined a procession of the dead. Commander Linde, didn't our news leak?"
[............I asked for strict secrecy. He's not a friend who would talk carelessly. I'm also embarrassed by this atmosphere. Everyone is talking so loudly that my head hurts, but I don't know the context.]
It was a place where only a terrifyingly heavy silence pervaded for Isaac, but it seemed like a noisy square to Linde and the undead.
He didn't blame her for where the information had leaked, but he was worried that he wouldn't be able to avoid a frontal breakthrough after all.
Finally, when Isaac arrived at the pier amidst countless gazes, an undead stood up on a small rowboat.
[Savior.]
Isaac was embarrassed by the sudden title he was called. And at the same time, he felt an explosive surge of mental waves.
[Savior...]
[He will awaken the Emperor...]
[He will bring us peace...]
Just the whispering voices being released was enough to make his head hurt. Isaac didn't know what this situation was.
Linde let out a sharp wave of warning to try to manage the situation.
The undead fell silent at the mental wave that seemed to dig into their brains. She hurriedly asked the sailor, who seemed to be in charge of this smuggling, what was going on.
[Ieris. I don't know what's going on right now. I just said that you had to let me cross the sea, but did you tell the story? I didn't know you were so light-mouthed.]
At those words, the undead named Ieris stared blankly at Linde.
Soon he said.
[We didn't find the Savior. The Savior found us.]
[What do you mean?]
[The Saint under the ground foretold the coming of the Savior. And he told me to greet you.]
Isaac, who had been listening quietly, realized something and took a step forward. Ieris immediately bowed his head as Isaac approached and took a subservient posture.
Isaac asked in an embarrassing mood.
"What is the name of the person you're calling a Saint?"
[The one who watches over the affairs of the land from underground, the one who looks after us who are wounded and persecuted from the perspective of the lowest, the one who predicted the incarnation of the Immortal Emperor who will come in the future has the name Zihilrat.]
"Ah... um."
Linde urged him as Isaac showed a confused look as if he had understood something.
[Do you know anything about this situation, Regent? Who is Zihilrat?]
"He's my subordinate... hmm, sorry for doubting you, Commander Linde."
The place where the information leaked was not Commander Linde or Ieris, but Isaac himself.
Isaac muttered in a feeling of emptiness.
Ieris was none other than a follower of the Issacrea Dawn Prayer Meeting. Not only that, but the undead around him were also the same. He thought they were rats led by Zihilrat because their faith was so weak and their power was so weak, but he was a double believer who was both a follower of the Immortal Order and believed in the return of the 'savior' Isaac. Ieris had responded to the 'Summon' last night and was aware of Isaac's presence, and was preparing for it under Zihilrat's instructions.
In fact, he had basically shouted at the Issacrea Dawn Prayer Meeting followers in this area, so it was inevitable that attention would be focused on him.
"Anyway, Ieris is a reliable sailor. You chose the person well, Commander Linde."
Linde seemed to have complicated feelings, but she seemed to have decided to move on since she said there was no problem.
It wasn't surprising that the smuggler that Linde had secretly contacted overlapped with Isaac's follower. What was surprising was that Zihilrat was wielding such a strong influence inside Ushak.
He seemed to have gained some knowledge as a priest without Isaac knowing.
'In the first place, he was an ancient god, so he might be used to being worshiped and worshiping.'
***
Isaac's group crossed the rough strait while being greeted by countless undead.
The Losponia Strait, which ran through Ushak, was so terribly rough as Linde had warned, that it was difficult to break through without a sailor who was familiar with the currents. No sane person would try to cross the sea with this small boat.
While Isaac was patting Isolde's back, who was bent over and vomiting after barely crossing the sea, Ieris asked.
[Holy Grail Knight, if you're okay with it, would you allow us to have an audience with our Saint?]
Isaac glanced back at Linde. Linde shrugged as if to say do as you please.
The original plan was to go straight to Gehenna Fortress. But if Zihilrat was controlling the inside of Ushak to this extent, it seemed good to stop by for a moment to confirm.
Above all, he was curious about how Zihilrat had changed.
"Alright. Will you guide me?"
[Yes. Thank you.]
And almost at the same time, Zihilrat's will was conveyed.
'Please forgive me for not being able to greet you and making you visit me directly. Master, there are things I want to show you, and things I want to tell you.'
'Don't worry about it.'
Anyway, Isaac needed to take a look at Zihilrat's base in person.
He wanted to see if he was building a rat-infested temple like he did at the Ariet Monastery, or if he was a respected priest, and depending on the form, it would completely change what kind of orders he would give Zihilrat in the future.
Ieris guided Isaac to the underground tunnel that connected directly below Ushak. The area south of the Ushak Bridge was mainly occupied by fishing villages and shantytowns, while the north seemed to have been constructed relatively recently, so the sewer system was constructed quite neatly.
Since the undead wouldn't exactly discharge sewage, it didn't smell bad because it was mostly used to drain rainwater.
At that time, Isolde, who had barely calmed down, barely opened her mouth.
"Is Zihilrat one of your subordinates like Hesabel?"
Hesabel was the only one of Isaac's subordinates that Isolde had met. The rest were honestly in a state where it was difficult to show their faces. She had met Zihilrat, but he was wearing another human's skin at the time, so she wouldn't even know if it was Zihilrat.
Isaac nodded, thinking that it would be the same this time.
"Yes, that's right."
"I see..."
She said that and fell into thought as if recalling something.
"There were a few times, although rarely, when I was helped by something unknown when I was in crisis. There's a story in the Issacrea estate that some monster knight pops out of the fog and protects them, and there were quite a few people besides me who had that experience."
"...Is that so?"
Isaac hadn't given any particular instructions to his subordinates.
He didn't have time to give those instructions. He was worried that the subordinates who hadn't received any orders would become ancient gods or monsters of the Outer Boundary as they were, but it seemed like it was an unfounded worry.
Then, he wondered how their nature was determined in some way, how.
Were they just protecting followers of the same faith? Or...
His reunion with Zihilrat would be an opportunity to confirm this.
***
How long had he been following Ieris, at some point, his vision cleared and footsteps and people's voices began to be heard mixed with mental waves. Linde, who was at the head, put on her hood, and Isaac and Isolde followed suit and covered their faces with their hoods.
The place he entered was a market. Judging from the thick ceiling, it looked like an underground market that had been remodeled from some kind of drainage facility.
Humans and undead were mixed together in the market, trading. The scene of an undead holding a basket of freshly caught fish and bargaining with a human holding a bundle of cheap cloth was a scene that would have been difficult to see before the Millennium Kingdom. It was a scene brought about by the result of a one-sided war, but it didn't look too bad.
Isaac didn't attract attention here like he did at the pier. Rather, Linde, a tall Death Knight, was much more eye-catching. But no one seemed to be wary of the undead or hate the humans with flesh.
'What a strange atmosphere.'
At that time, there was a commotion in one side of the market.
"You scammer!"
[Where are you putting your dirty hands...!]
A human man was fighting with an undead.
Isaac watched the sight of an ordinary person punching an undead with his bare hands with unfamiliar eyes. The human, who weighed a little more, seemed to have the advantage in terms of physique, but the undead had sharp nails, so streaks of blood quickly rose to the man's skin.
Then, a swarm of rats rushed in from somewhere and climbed onto the two people. As the two panicked amidst terrified screams, people around them rushed in and separated them.
[What's the commotion! If you have any complaints, ask Saint under the ground to mediate!]
The two glared at each other with a hiss, then separated. There were threats mixed in, such as asking the Saint for his opinion and throwing his head under the bridge if it was confirmed that he had committed fraud.
Isaac asked Ieris, who was going ahead.
"The Saint that they're talking about is Zihilrat, right?"
[Yes. I'm guiding you there right now.]
Had Zihilrat become a judge without him knowing? Ieris guided Isaac's group to a dark tunnel in one corner of the market. In front of it, countless undead and humans were already mixed together in a cluster.
Some were lining up, some were sitting leisurely and talking, and some were sitting reverently and praying. Isaac felt a faint, but filling faith the moment he entered.
These were followers of the Issacrea Dawn Prayer Meeting. Not all of them, but many of them were.
Ieris went forward, cutting through the line. Naturally, Isaac's group attracted attention. In the meantime, he began to hear whispering sounds like he did at the pier. This time, there were not only undead, but also humans, so Isaac could hear them as well.
"No way..."
"But it's definitely..."
The whispering sounds grew louder and louder, to the point where the crowd parted on its own without Ieris having to struggle to cross. Isaac could find a half-rotten human sitting at the end of the alley among the parting people.
The man stood up from his seat as soon as he found Isaac. Then, the rats squirmed out from under his skin, and the quivering tentacles under his tattered skin were clear.
It was Zihilrat.
When Zihilrat suddenly stood up, people who saw the space between the two of them naturally empty looked at Isaac with half surprise and half curiosity.
Zihilrat immediately prostrated himself in front of Isaac and crawled on his knees.
[I am finally able to meet my soul's master again.]