The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 54

It was because an arrow had flown past his head.

“Why are you using arrows in such a narrow space!”

“Oh, it’s okay! Don’t you trust my skills?”

“It’s not about trust… Ack!”

Tarky screamed. A were rat had raked its claws across his breastplate. He had dodged the were rat’s hand axe, but not its claws.

He wasn’t hurt, but the horrible sound of the claws scraping against his armor and the were rat’s ferocity that he felt through the armor made Tarky scream.

“Kekeke! Humans are weak! We, blessed by Mezeri [a rat god], are the masters of this era!”

The were rat boasted and launched a fierce attack on Tarky.

“Waaah!”

Tarky let out a sound that was somewhere between a scream and a battle cry, and kept stepping back.

The were rat’s reflexes were faster than a human’s. Moreover, the way it was drooling like a rabid dog and attacking with both hands was terrifying.

The continuous attacks kept pushing Tarky back. Tarky parried the were rat’s attacks with his longsword, but because the opponent was so fast, he had to keep retreating. Every time the claws and the mace in its hand touched the longsword, blood splattered.

So, the were rat was hitting him like a mad dog, not afraid of cutting or hurting its own fingers.

“H-help me!”

Tarky screamed, but the passage was too narrow for anyone else to help him.

-Thwack!

Tarky wasn’t a knight for nothing, so he managed to parry the were rat’s attack and counter by stabbing it in the neck.

“Gurgle!”

The were rat, driven mad, couldn’t withstand the throat wound and collapsed, clutching its neck. Minor scratches and wounds would heal quickly due to their fast regeneration, but a fatal wound like the one he just inflicted would make that fast regeneration a source of pain.

The were rat gasped, drowning alive in the blood flowing from its neck into its lungs.

“Yes! I won!”

Tarky rejoiced. But the were rat didn’t die even in this situation. The one who had been hit by Midiam’s arrow managed to pull out the arrow that had pierced its brain and stood up.

“Impressive! I need to finish it off quickly, don’t I?”

Tarky stabbed the back of the were rat’s head with his longsword to end the life of the were rat that was gurgling from his attack. He severed the cervical vertebrae and the blade pierced through, but at that moment, the were rat grabbed the blade tightly.

“Ugh?!”

It was heavy.

Just as Tarky was panicking because the blade was suddenly grabbed by the enemy, the were rat, having pulled out the arrow and recovered, lunged at him. He was about to be helpless.

That’s when it happened.

“Get out of the way.”

Azadin grabbed Tarky’s body, threw him back, and stepped forward, swinging his hand axe.

-Thwack!

The were rat’s head exploded from the bottom up as it lunged, and its brain matter splattered backward. No matter how strong the were rat’s vitality was, it couldn’t withstand such an attack and died instantly.

“No…”

The were rat, still holding the blade that was pierced through its body, doubted what it was seeing. It had been hit once by a small hand axe, but its power was no joke. And when Azadin grabbed the hilt of the longsword instead of Tarky…

The were rat’s knees buckled as it held onto the longsword. It couldn’t withstand Azadin’s strength and collapsed.

‘Ugh… This, this is incredible strength? What’s going on?’

The were rat was sweating cold.

“Now, then… let’s talk. What did you do with the people you kidnapped? Where did you take the noble lady you kidnapped?”

Azadin interrogated the were rat that was holding Tarky’s sword.

“We ate them all. Hehehe. If you want to find someone, you’ll have to dig through the pile of crap we left behind.”

“You’re giving useless answers.”

Azadin, as if there was nothing more to say, grabbed the hilt of Tarky’s sword, swung it, and lifted it. The neck of the were rat that was holding the blade was torn, and its fingers were cut off.

“Krrrk.”

A strange sound came from the were rat’s throat… and its neck was half severed. No matter how strong its regeneration was, the fatal wound was too much, and it died instantly without being able to revive.

“A-are you killing them? We need to ask about my mother’s whereabouts…”

“There’s nothing these guys can tell us anyway. They’re just underlings.”

Azadin returned the sword to Tarky and went forward. After walking a bit, he saw an exit blocked by an iron gate.

“Ah.”

He leaned against the iron gate and looked outside, seeing a dry riverbank. A small stream of water was trickling down to join the river, and around it, a refugee camp had been set up.

The familiar voice he had heard earlier was heard again.

“The end of days is approaching! When Jupiter approaches, its gravity will cause the Netherstrom [a mythical river] to boil, and the ancient demon gods sleeping within will awaken! On that day, when demon gods older than the Kurt gods awaken, the boundary between the living and the dead will blur, and everyone will be judged! Repent! Share what you have with the poor and prepare for judgment!”

The doomsday prophet that Azadin’s group had seen while climbing the hill was still preaching passionately.

“That’s the doomsday prophet, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

Azadin turned around and examined the corpses of the were rats he had killed earlier. In their possession were a few coins, a symbol of the Kurt god, ‘Mezeri, the Rat King,’ drawn on dirty leather, and a key.

“This leather… is it human skin?”

Azadin clicked his tongue at the were rats’ bad taste of engraving symbols on human skin and took the key to open the iron gate.

“You said your mother went missing last night, right?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s find her quickly. She might still be alive, but it will be dangerous tonight. If we had more time, we wouldn’t go out through this iron gate and would take a detour…”

If they went out through the iron gate, they would be exposed to the eyes of the enemies hiding among the refugees outside. The enemy could hide in the crowd, but they would be exposed, so the proper way to investigate would be to go back the way they came and approach from there.

However, if they took that much time, the Baroness could become food for the were rats. To save time, Azadin jumped out through the iron gate.

*********

It was a riverbank under a bridge. It was originally a flood-prone area where no buildings should be built, but because it hadn’t rained a drop all spring, the river had receded significantly, and the riverbank was bone dry.

There, refugees were living by lying down with blankets thrown over them, eating rats, moles, and various other animals. The smell of animal blood filled the air as people skinned and prepared the rats they had caught.

“There are too many people, it’s hard to find her.”

When Tarky, the knight, came out, the people looked at Azadin’s group with fear and hostility.

‘This is bad.’

The refugees were all showing hostility and fear, so it was impossible to know which of them were members of the organization that had kidnapped the people. Then Midiam asked.

“The Relief Knights are providing relief activities to the refugees here, right?”

“I guess so. I can see blankets with the Relief Knights’ emblem on them.”

“They said they were taking volunteers from among the children, right?”

“I guess so. Just like our clan needs servants, merchants, and maids.”

To maintain the Holy Knights, they needed a lot of people under them.

“Then, the Relief Knights must be the ones with a system for transporting people from here, right?”

Midiam said, pointing to a building. The Relief Knights’ church was visible near the riverbank. It seemed to have been originally built to provide relief to the lower classes living in the flood-prone area, but it was the only decent wooden building with a roof and walls among the refugees who were lying around with just a few blankets.

“……”

If they were going to kidnap and imprison or transport the Baroness, that building would be the perfect place. No, it was the only place that could be considered suitable.

If not all the refugees were were rats or Kurt cultists, that was the only place that could block people’s attention.

“No, so you’re saying that the Relief Knights’ branch is actually a group of Kurt cultists? Hmm… that can’t be…”

“……?”

“Huh?”

Midiam and Ismael were surprised by Azadin’s reaction.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Ah, no, I know that what you’re saying is right when I look at the facts, but it’s kind of hard to believe.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a messenger. Not a Relief Knight.”

“I know. I know this is a ridiculous thing to say.”

Azadin sighed and approached the doomsday prophet who was walking around with a sign among the refugees.

“Excuse me.”

“Oh! Repent, young man. The age of Jupiter is approaching.”

“Have you had a meal yet?”

When Azadin asked that and took out a biscuit from his backpack, the doomsday prophet was startled.

“Th, that is?”

“Even though the people of the world have strayed from virtue and the three archangels are sacrificing themselves, the difficult and arduous tribulations continue. In times like these, there is a voice of conscience that awakens people’s awareness, so I hope you will give me the opportunity to accumulate a small virtue with this small offering.”

Azadin skillfully imitated a believer of the angel faith. No, it wasn’t an imitation, Azadin was a believer of the angel faith.

Azadin’s attitude was so convincing that the doomsday prophet was rather ashamed.

“Ah, you’re a very excellent young man. So faithful! You make me feel ashamed!”

Azadin handed a biscuit to the doomsday prophet. Food was expensive these days due to the drought and tribulations. But to give food and act as if he was grateful for the opportunity to accumulate merit, the doomsday prophet was repeatedly moved.

“May the three archangels bless you. You will go to a good place in the afterlife.”

The Messenger clan was despised by the Hybris people for committing the grave sin of killing the God-King, and they believed that they had no souls and would not reach the afterlife, but would simply die and disappear. But this doomsday prophet, not even dreaming that Azadin was a Messenger, was blessing and praising him, even mentioning the afterlife.

“By the way, is that relief center over there… is it operating?”

“Ah, that relief center is said to be closed because the building is old. So, volunteers from the parish in the warehouse district are coming to help with the relief.”

“I see. Have you ever been inside?”

“I went in a long time ago, but I haven’t been in recently. That relief center looks like a small hut on the outside, but it was made by remodeling a place that used to be a wine storage, so there’s a tunnel that goes underground. But they stopped using it because of the toxic fumes that come up from there.”

“Okay, I understand. Thank you.”

Azadin listened to the doomsday prophet and came back with a sigh.