The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 329

“I have no affection for my own kin, so please, by all means, burn them with the flames of Seramite. I will gladly enjoy watching them burn to death before my eyes.”

The vampires struck by the Seramite sword, Aurelia Dunn, wielded by Azadin, suffered terrible agony.

It was so horrific that Azadin had to mercifully end their suffering with euthanasia.

Whether all Seramite longswords were this vulnerable, or if Aurelia Dunn was exceptionally more powerful than other swords, Azadin, witnessing the gruesome scene, decided he would rather not use it if possible.

Yet, Niselda was urging him to burn her own mother, her blood relative, with that terrible flame.

Was it bravado, or did she truly hate her mother that much?

Either way, the number of enemies was high, and their momentum was dangerous. The vampires here were of a higher caliber than the vampire spawn who had recently turned.

With the storm of Elemental Wailing raging, they couldn’t afford to be careless.

“Alright.”

Azadin combined the Seramite longsword with Grimslaw’s club.

The wooden club grew and transformed, engulfing the Seramite longsword, turning it into a massive spear.

Azadin placed the spear on his bowstring. Even if the Messenger Clan’s Crescent Moon Bow was a powerful bow, the projectile was too heavy. However, as the wooden part of Grimslaw’s club glowed, its weight decreased.

Azadin shot the Seramite arrow, a combination of Aurelia Dunn and Grimslaw’s club, at the vampires blocking his path.

“Hahaha!”

“Fool! You call that a weapon….”

The dwarf vampires sneered at Azadin, who was trying to shoot a ridiculous spear with a bow.

The bow was small, but the arrow was as big as a javelin, making it utterly reckless. The dwarf vampires, believing Azadin’s attack wouldn’t even come close, ignored him and began casting spells. As sorcerers of the Banreung Academy, they cast fire destruction arrow spells to attack Azadin, but….

The arrow Azadin shot twisted in the air, changing its speed and angle sharply, like a fish cutting through water, and deflected the incoming magic.

No, it destroyed them.

-Hwajopungwol, Garuda! [Hwajopungwol is a technique that combines wind and fire magic, Garuda is a mythical bird]

Golden lightning danced.

A streak of light pierced through the vampires who were massacring soldiers on the walls of the Sandokar Gate.

“Huh?!”

The vampires were bewildered by the incredible speed and trajectory change. What was even more surprising was that this attack didn’t target their vital points but only parts of their bodies. It merely grazed their forearms, thighs, and waists.

What kind of foolish attack was this? Such shallow wounds were insignificant even when they were dwarves, let alone as vampires.

Was it poisoned? Most poisons didn’t work on vampires, and even if there was a poison that worked, it wouldn’t be effective to inflict wounds on so many vampires without replenishing the venom.

The vampires scoffed.

However….

Flames erupted from their wounds, the areas grazed by the Seramite arrow.

“Kkyaaaak?!”

“Huh?!”

“Kkeueooo!”

The vampires were horrified by the flames that began to consume their bodies.

They fell to the ground to extinguish the fire, but it was like lying flat on a hot griddle. It was even hotter and more agonizing.

The flames continued to burn their skin, and the ground was as hot and painful as lava.

“Aaaah! What, what is this!”

“You bastard!”

Some vampires began to transform.

This was the transformation ability that higher vampires could use, releasing their bloodthirsty true forms to become monsters called Bloodletters.

They grew much larger than ordinary humans, revealing sharp teeth and claws. Even in this form, they couldn’t shake off the flames.

“You son of a bitch!”

The vampires, driven mad by the pain of being burned, lunged at Azadin, but Azadin’s subordinates, Jibek and Niselda, blocked their path.

And from behind them, arrows flew again.

The Seramite arrows, moving freely as if they were living beings, pierced through the wings that had sprouted on the Bloodletters’ backs.

“Kkyaaaaaak!”

“Kkya!”

Flames engulfed the Bloodletters’ wings.

And a miserable fate awaited them.

“Why won’t this go out! Kkeueooo!”

“Ugh….”

The vampires writhed in agony from the continuous burning. Initially, the wounds were small, and they could somehow ignore them with the excitement or rage of battle, but as the fire penetrated deeper, burning into their bones, they could no longer ignore it.

Some vampires had already gouged out their flesh or severed their arms to escape the flames, but the Hwajopungwol, Garuda’s arrows flew towards them.

Even though it was called an arrow, it was a weapon more than a spear, using a longsword as an arrowhead. Such a weapon moving so quickly could kill instantly if it hit directly, but… Azadin skillfully moved the Seramite arrow to only inflict wounds.

This was more cruel.

“…You bastard!”

Unable to watch any longer, Prince Kalzmarthy activated Elemental Wailing.

A storm of evil power descended, targeting Azadin.

But at that moment, Azadin was finally able to understand the true nature of Elemental Wailing.

‘It was Nether magic.’

A giant hand of a grim reaper descended from the sky, targeting Azadin. In Azadin’s vision, which could see through all magic and objects, a vision he gained from the boundless Azadin, the hand was too clear.

To others, it appeared as a storm with subtle signs of power, but Azadin clearly saw the grim reaper’s hand and evaded it.

“How?!”

Prince Kalzmarthy, who was attacking, was bewildered to see Azadin dodging his attack.

His subordinates tried to protect him with their bodies, but what flew towards them was a giant spear with a Seramite longsword as its tip. As Azadin gestured in the air, the Seramite longsword burst into flames, emitting lava-like fire.

“Ugh?!”

The spear of fire passed through the vampires.

-Swish!

The spear, which had risen straight up, tearing through the air like golden lightning, split into several branches and plunged down again.

“N-No!”

Prince Kalzmarthy and his subordinates, the high-ranking vampires, tried to escape, but the speed of Hwajopungwol’s extreme Garuda was beyond imagination.

A large wound appeared on Prince Kalzmarthy’s head, and flames ignited.

“Kkeok?!”

The excruciating pain was so terrible that he felt like he would faint. Even more terrifying was that his hair and beard were burning away.

“Ugh… I, Iaaaaaak!”

Prince Kalzmarthy thrashed on the ground like a beast.

He was not the only one. Other vampires also writhed in agony.

Azadin reached out his hand to the golden lightning dancing in the sky.

The golden lightning, created by combining Aurelia Dunn and Grimslaw’s club, returned to its original form as a longsword and club, returning to Azadin’s hands.

Azadin sheathed Aurelia Dunn and approached the vampires writhing in pain.

“N-No way. We are vampires. Predators of the night, and you are just prey… What is this….”

“Seramite had this kind of power?”

Only a few vampires could still speak; most were mad with pain and flailing. Unfortunately for them, the higher vampires were even more resilient, making it difficult for them to commit suicide.

Another problem was that there was no weapon like a blunderbuss that could inflict massive damage at once.

Prince Kalzmarthy was scratching his head with his claws, splitting his scalp and even his skull, but his body would heal again.

And then burn again.

“…Niselda. Is your mother here?”

“She’s not here.”

“Then….”

Azadin transformed Grimslaw’s club, creating a wooden stake, and pierced the vampires’ hearts with it, relieving their suffering.

*********

The dawn began to break.

The rain clouds summoned by the magic of Elemental Wailing disappeared, and the sun rose normally.

Underneath it, a noble in steel armor walked up and stood before Azadin.

“Are you Sir Azadin, the Holy Knight of the Messenger Clan?”

“Yes, I am. And you are?”

“I am Count Ibechek of Sandokar. Sir Azadin, I wish to leave the Banreung Kingdom and join your command. Will you accept my sword?”

“………”

A noble of the Banreung Kingdom was offering his sword to Azadin, the God-Slayer, the Soulless Blasphemer. It was an absurd act.

Considering what would happen afterward, it was a terrible breach of protocol. Traditional nobles would curse every brick of Count Sandokar’s house for such a blasphemous act.

Of course, beyond the gossip and envious gazes of such people, Sandokar was an important region.

It was the border between the Rescue Knights and the Banreung and Arangi Kingdoms, making its value immeasurable. From Azadin’s perspective, it was like a pumpkin rolling in whole. So, Azadin was curious if the Count was speaking sincerely.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but how do you plan to handle the aftermath?”

“I saw the prince of the kingdom I served become a vampire and slaughter the people. Am I supposed to continue serving the Banreung Kingdom because I’m afraid of being gossiped about by others? That’s absurd.”

“But there are others besides me. What about the Arangi Kingdom? They would gladly accept your loyalty.”

“Is this some kind of damn test? Don’t make me say it again, Sir Azadin. My eyes aren’t peepholes. Banreung is like white ants that sprout anywhere and eat away at everything, and if the Arangi are wolves, then you are… a dragon. If I’m going to entrust my sword, it should be under a dragon. Either accept my sword or watch those damn dwarf vampires massacre our people and my family.”

“………”

He was threatening him with his own life and the lives of his people. He was an odd character.

“Since the prince died in our territory anyway, if you don’t accept me, I’ll soon become vampire food.”

“I understand. I will accept it. No, let’s say I’m forcing you. If you don’t want to die, Count Ibechek of Sandokar, join my ranks.”

“Kahahahaha! This is something. A great knight indeed. To think that such a figure would emerge from the Messenger Clan in a world where chivalry has become a laughingstock!”

Count Ibechek of Sandokar was impressed by Azadin, who was creating a scenario where he was forced to submit to threats and coercion to avoid putting pressure on him, and knelt before him.

“Ibechek of Sandokar pledges his allegiance to the god of war.”

Azadin sighed, took the sword Ibechek handed over, spun it twice above his head, and then returned the hilt to him.

A bizarre scene was completed, where a mere trainee knight of the Rescue Knights had a count under his command.