The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 106

Scott McGreene was munching on the fish Ismail had caught from the river, bones and all, while scooping up a large helping of cooked oatmeal with his other hand.

“If you’re worried about gaining muscle, you could eat a little less,” Ismail grumbled.

Thanks to finding the Lantaric Count’s army supplies at the bridgehead garrison, they had plenty of food for people and beans for the horses and goats. Still, when traveling, food always took up a lot of space and weight…

‘Seeing this guy’s appetite, I’m worried about the future. Do I really have to take this guy with me? It seems like food supplies are going to be very difficult from now on,’ Azadin thought.

The reason they camped right after crossing the Kora River was to secure as much food as possible from the riverbank, where the Messenger Clan could easily resupply, to avoid any problems with future supplies.

And it was a wise choice. Seeing how much this Orc was eating, they would have been in big trouble if they hadn’t camped here.

“Wherever I go, people always complain about my eating. But that’s what it means to hire an Orc. With this food, you can borrow my great knowledge and magic.”

“Necromancy is legally forbidden, so I don’t want to borrow it.”

Azadin, as an imperial messenger, took pride in his position and knew that necromancy was forbidden by the Emperor’s law and the imperial decrees.

“My talents extend beyond necromancy.”

“So, you said you’d interpret the Divine King’s Scripture and teach it to me and Sir Zibeck?”

“To be precise, I’m teaching it to that paladin, Zibeck, and merely showing you the way.”

“Hmm?”

“What you use is a bit different from other messengers. You’re using wild, incomplete magic. It’s the way of the barbaric elves.”

Scott had recognized that Azadin was using the Kazas Interpretation [a specific method of magic interpretation].

“It’s because of the circumstances.”

“How many pages of the Divine King’s Scripture do you have?”

“Four.”

Azadin said. Just yesterday, he had obtained another page while fighting Scott McGreene’s Night Crawler, making it five, but he didn’t feel obligated to tell him that.

“Four? That’s a lot! Can I take a look at them?”

“Wait a minute. Are you going to let that Orc necromancer analyze the Divine King’s Scripture?”

Zibeck was flustered and stopped Azadin.

“If a member of the Kurtish race interprets the Divine King’s Scripture, the supreme treasure of the King’s Church, the secret of its white magic, it will surely bring disaster to the Eight Kingdoms.”

“The interpretation of the Divine King’s Scripture copies isn’t that easy.”

When the Messenger Clan obtained copies of the Divine King’s Scripture, all the clan’s mages worked together for over a year, mobilizing all their capabilities, but they couldn’t create a proper interpretation.

‘But this Orc is going to create an interpretation on his own? If that’s possible, he’s more than just a genius of the era, as he claims,’ Azadin thought.

“And maybe, just maybe, I don’t need to interpret the Divine King’s Scripture for myself. Right?”

“That’s amazing. You know what I’m trying to do?”

“It came to me when we were fighting the shadow spirit earlier.”

Azadin took out the copy of the Divine King’s Scripture.

“Even though the Divine King’s Scripture copy is just transcribed on paper, it’s full of white magic. Is that because the Divine King’s Scripture is the light of the King’s Authority?”

“Yes. It’s the pinnacle of pure white magic, and even if you use some of it and it depletes, it will recharge over time by absorbing the light of the King’s Authority around it. That alone makes it a great magical tool.”

“Huk!?”

Zibeck, who was listening, felt like he was about to faint.

“You’re going to make a magical tool out of the Divine King’s Scripture copy? Are you out of your mind? The Divine King’s Scripture, the secrets within, is the treasure of the King’s Church and the power that protects all humans living in Hybris. To make it into a magical tool and privatize that power is an intolerable sacrilege.”

As Zibeck said that, Azadin felt a pang of guilt.

‘I used it to shoot at the undead with arrows. It would be a disaster if that came out.’

Fortunately, Zibeck was busy commanding the soldiers at the time and didn’t see how much Azadin had mishandled the Divine King’s Scripture copy.

“Well, since we’re on the topic, let’s try it out.”

Azadin decided to use the Divine King’s Scripture, no matter what Zibeck said.

*********

Azadin tried to absorb the white magic directly from the pages of the Divine King’s Scripture copy into his body.

“Normally, you wouldn’t be able to absorb magic from a magical tool with a magic source. The repulsion is too strong. You must have tremendous magic resistance.”

“You know me well.”

“But the Divine King’s Scripture is an exception. Because this world is full of the light of the King’s Authority, and you’re already used to it. And surprisingly…”

Scott said, looking at the pages of the Divine King’s Scripture.

“These copies are recognizing you.”

“Recognizing me?”

“Of course. If it was just about killing someone to manifest it, everyone would be doing it. The Divine King’s Scripture and the light of the King’s Authority have their own will to some extent, and they try to avoid going to the Kurtish race and their followers as much as possible. That’s why the Nagas hired me.”

“Why were you hired by the Nagas?”

“The current leader of the Kurtish race alliance is the Nagas. The Naga Empire is being revived.”

“You bastard!”

Shati, who was listening, was furious. An Orc hired for money and food had blurted out the most powerful secret of the Naga Empire. She was intentionally keeping quiet about the information, and he just blurted it out so easily.

“Ah. The followers of the Kurtish race are merging, with the Nagas as the core? Well, I guess that makes sense.”

“Yeah. The Nagas are the only ones with any organizational skills. The followers of the King of Teeth, the ogres, can’t possibly show any proper organization, can they? And those who are hungry for blood and flesh like the Mezere disciples… well, there are many Orcs who have joined the Mezere disciples.”

Orcs were also suffering from a powerful hunger, just like the Mezere disciples. If they received Mezere’s blessing, they could eat rotten meat deliciously, so some Orcs who had gone mad with hunger devoted themselves to Mezere [a dark god of hunger and decay].

Still, in terms of organizational skills, they couldn’t compare to the Nagas, who had built a great empire that once dominated all of Hybris. If the followers of the Kurtish race wanted to reclaim this world, they would naturally have to unite with the Nagas as the core.

“So, what do you think? Do you need help?”

“Um… a little… help me.”

“Alright.”

Scott carefully adjusted his breathing next to Azadin, who was holding the Divine King’s Scripture copy and concentrating.

“To truly understand a grimoire is to walk the path to madness. But to understand madness and not fall into it is the talent, the genius of a mage. You, the half-baked messenger. There’s a grimoire broken inside your body, and because of that, the pure magic of uninterpreted madness is running wild. Try to harmonize the white magic of the Divine King’s Scripture with it without clashing. Have an image of storing it inside your body.”

“…I said help me. Don’t just talk.”

“Focus your mind on the very center of your soles. Feel like you’re returning the white magic you absorbed from your hands to the earth!”

Scott said that and touched Azadin, then quickly pulled his hand away with a groan.

“I’m a necromancer, you know. White magic is my antithesis.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried you might take this for yourself.”

“Well, it would be nice if you gave it to me. Even if it’s the antithesis of my black magic, there are many uses for it. But…”

Scott clicked his tongue as he watched the Divine King’s Scripture copy glow in Azadin’s hand.

“You succeeded? Well, for a low-intelligence race, you have decent skills and talent.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“It’s a compliment. Write in your diary that you received a compliment from me. Today is the day you were reborn. You can celebrate it as your second birthday.”

“……”

Azadin glared at the arrogant Scott and looked at the Divine King’s Scripture copy in his hand. The Divine King’s Scripture copy had lost its light and returned to being ordinary paper.

“Is it okay? This thing?”

“It’ll recover in about a week. And you didn’t damage the light of the King’s Authority. You returned it to the earth, so you actually added to the light of the King’s Authority. If you keep doing this, your power will become even stronger.”

“Really?”

Azadin put the Divine King’s Scripture copy back into his bracelet and moved his body.

“I don’t feel any big changes?”

“You can’t expect to be full on the first bite. This is just the beginning. How is it? Do you see my usefulness now?”

“I don’t know since I’m not full on the first bite? Besides, I’ve already extracted everything I can from you.”

“No, not yet!”

Scott said that and frowned.

“Aren’t you curious about what the Nagas are planning to do? And where the next manifestation of the Divine King’s Scripture will be? I can provide all that information.”

“You dirty traitor, you’re not even ashamed! How can you betray the Kurtish race alliance and the Naga Empire so easily!?”

Shati was furious at Scott for trying to interfere with the Naga Empire’s plans.

“Oh, come on. What are you talking about? I’m just a mercenary, always doing my best for my employer. Right now, this guy is my employer, so wouldn’t betraying my employer be considered betrayal! Now, being loyal to the Naga Empire would be a betrayal of my current employer.”

“…That’s kind of you.”

Azadin thanked Scott, who said he would do his best for him, with a lukewarm expression.

Meanwhile, Zibeck, who had been watching all of this, was bewildered. The replica of the Divine King’s Scripture, the treasure of the King’s Church, is also the light of the King’s Authority… As a paladin, he should take it to the church immediately. But the messenger and the Orc necromancer are using it for their own purposes?

The problem is that Zibeck himself chose this messenger. He chose Azadin over Jekt, and he still doesn’t regret that choice.

‘I know, but this is an awkward situation,’ Zibeck thought.

“Hoo. Okay. Then, shall we do the other pages too?”

It was when Azadin said that. Suddenly, a group of armed men appeared, pushing through the bushes.

*********

Guillaume Valte, the son of Count Lantaric Garnahaer, was an ugly man with a long, horse-like face.

While Count Lantaric’s other children were all exceptionally handsome, he was the only one born ugly, so he was often the subject of gossip, but he was proud to be Count Lantaric’s legitimate eldest son and loved his father.

He was currently patrolling the banks of the Kora River with adventurers from the Sellsword Guild.

“Damn it! Those damn vassals!”

Guillaume Valte was furious, cutting down the weeds that blocked his path with his sword.

“Now, now, calm down, Sir Guillaume Valte,” the adventurers, mercenaries from the Sellsword Guild, said, soothing Guillaume Valte with laughter.

“How can I calm down? I ignored the beacon from the bridgehead, and now we’ve lost the bridgehead fortress?”

The Lantaric Count’s army had secured a bridgehead to easily move supplies and troops across the Kora River while invading the Margrave of Salasma’s territory. They had requisitioned a fishing village in Salasma to make it a bridgehead base.

But yesterday, a beacon had been lit at that bridgehead base.