The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 141

#142. Taking a Different Path 1

“Hahahaha. You’re insane.”

Elder Sebali burst into laughter, looking at Azadin who dared to challenge him.

“How dare a mere lower herald challenge an elder!”

As Sebali’s sword was swung, a crimson trajectory flashed. In the storm, the dark blade melted into the darkness, becoming invisible.

Azadin avoided clashing his sword directly with it.

‘I’m confident in my strength, but that sword looks really strange. If I carelessly clash with it, my sword will be cut.’

Azadin, wary of the elder’s sword, first threw the arrows from his quiver like daggers. But Sebali brought his hand to his mouth and shouted.

“Gal!”

The arrows exploded in mid-air, and a terrifying roar poured down on Azadin.

“Ugh!”

As Azadin staggered from the pain in his ears, Sebali reached out.

“Foolish one! I only talked to you because I was impressed that you came all this way. Did you think I was afraid of you?”

Crimson darkness extended from Sebali’s hand, aiming for Azadin. Azadin dodged the dark magic bullet and blocked it with his sword, but at that moment, his fingertips tingled. The magical power had traveled up to Azadin’s hand just from contact.

“Die!”

Sebali, as if certain of victory, raised his sword and struck down at Azadin.

The magic he used was the ‘Dark Moon’ of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon style [a fighting style that uses nature-based magic], a powerful curse-type magic that could kill if it hit a vital point, and even a mere touch could temporarily blind the target.

However, Azadin’s body had a powerful resistance to magic, unlike others, and a special vision.

‘He thinks he blinded me. It’s the New Moon of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon style, huh.’

Seeing Sebali suddenly relax and swing his sword casually, Azadin waited on purpose, dodged by a hair’s breadth, swung his sword, and counterattacked with a leaping kick.

-Thwack!

He dodged the sword, but Azadin’s kick landed on Sebali’s face.

Although the attack came while he was retreating and didn’t hit properly, Azadin’s power was immense. He had the power to cut off a person’s nose with just a flick of his finger and break a person’s spine with a single kick, and that had landed on his face.

Elder Sebali’s head was slammed down, and he rolled pathetically on the floor.

“Hah!”

But Azadin didn’t let his guard down and immediately launched throwing knives. He grabbed his sword like a javelin and threw it, and it flew with terrifying force.

“Ugh!”

A normal person would have lost consciousness from the impact, but Sebali got up as soon as he fell to the ground and swung his sword, deflecting Azadin’s throwing knife. Azadin’s sword was cut into pieces in mid-air and fell.

“I see. It would have been dangerous if our swords had clashed.”

Azadin drew his dagger and curved sword. The curved sword was a weapon taken from the bodies of the Nagas during the Wendigo incident. The dagger was a Wendigo dagger.

“You dare!”

Sebali, hit by Azadin’s kick, rose with a trembling body. Blood was streaming from his nose, his vision was spinning, and lightning flashed inside his head.

Even though he was only slightly grazed while retreating, the power of Azadin’s kick was extraordinary.

‘If it had hit even a fraction deeper, I would have died instantly! That’s not human leg strength! And my magic doesn’t work on him? Why?’

Seeing Sebali’s rage, Azadin smirked.

“It seems you’ve been out of active duty for too long, and your sense of combat has dulled. Aren’t you being too careless?”

An elder of the Herald Clan, a high-ranking executive of the Etar Bloodline [a powerful family within the Ara Gasa], and the highest-ranking head of the Korasar Merchant Guild. He was of a status that could not be compared to Azadin, yet he had been hit by Azadin’s kick and rolled on the ground, which was humiliating enough.

But Azadin’s provocation made him feel like he was going crazy with anger.

-Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon, Kazas Haze, Twilight!

Azadin, after taunting the elder with a sly smile, immediately lowered his stance and charged towards Sebali.

‘Fool! He’s engaging me in close combat? Even if I’m injured!’

The Ara Gasa elder is the one who passes down the knowledge and skills of the Ara Gasa. A master of swordsmanship, magic, law, politics, stealth, and tactics, a transmitter of knowledge and skills in all fields.

That was the meaning of an Ara Gasa elder. Sebali’s swordsmanship, as one of those elders, was already at the level of a master.

However, Sebali chose a clash of strength rather than swordsmanship.

Having experienced Azadin’s kick, Sebali thought Azadin was relying on his strength and pushing in with his sword. But Sebali’s magic sword could currently break ordinary steel swords like reeds.

‘He seems to be relying on his strength, but that’s just a welcome mat!’

Sebali focused his power into his magic sword and swung it wide to slice Azadin in half.

Seeing Azadin bring his weapon to meet Sebali’s sword, Sebali was certain of victory.

However….

-Clang!

Azadin first met Sebali’s sword with the Wendigo dagger and supported the dagger with his curved sword, blocking Sebali’s attack.

The Wendigo dagger that Azadin possessed was a Nether being, a relic of the Wendigo [a powerful, monstrous entity], something that could not be destroyed by anything in this world.

Sebali’s magic-created sword easily cut through swords made of matter, but the Wendigo dagger stood firm against Sebali’s magic sword.

“Kuh?!”

Elder Sebali was shocked by what had happened to him.

His magic sword should have cut through Azadin’s sword and his body.

But the Wendigo dagger was a Nether relic that could not be broken by magic or force, and because he had put too much power into trying to slice Azadin in half, he had gotten too close to Azadin.

-Thwack!

Azadin’s low kick struck Sebali’s thigh. At that moment, Sebali’s body spun in the air.

Experiencing the world turning upside down, Sebali unconsciously covered his head. He fell to the ground, starting with his elbow, and rolled on the surface.

Then, intense pain came. It was more like being hit by a running carriage than being kicked by a person.

‘My, my thigh! My muscles are torn, and my bone is broken! What kind of kick is that! It’s like being hit by a warhammer!’

Sebali, not ashamed of the name of an Ara Gasa elder, maintained his balance even in that situation and unconsciously placed his hand on the ground and straightened his head.

His combat abilities, honed over many years, were like a biological instinct, activating even in a situation where his consciousness was about to fly away.

But Azadin was also an Ara Gasa. He knew well how an Ara Gasa elder would react in this kind of situation.

-Swoosh!

Azadin’s curved sword came chasing after him.

In a hurry, Sebali placed his hand on the ground and supported his body with the strength of his hand, barely dodging.

To perform such acrobatics and dodge Azadin’s sword with a severe injury of torn leg muscles was indeed a skill worthy of an elder of the Herald Clan.

However, the match was already decided. Not only were his leg muscles torn, but his thigh bone was also broken.

The impact was transmitted to his head again, causing Sebali’s vision to blur, and dizziness set in, while blood poured from his nose like rain, hindering his breathing.

‘Good heavens. I’m being defeated by this brat?!’

Elder Sebali felt extremely wronged. He had many swordsmanship, magic, and skills that he had not yet used, but his injuries had piled up too much.

From the start, he should not have engaged in close combat with this guy. He should have kept his distance and fought with magic and archery.

A mistake he would never have made if he had known that this guy possessed such monstrous strength!

He could not accept defeat here.

For an Ara Gasa elder to be defeated by a mere lower herald, especially one who had failed the selection process, was something his pride could not allow.

“You!”

Sebali tried to shout again, bringing his hand to his mouth, but Azadin’s curved sword was about to cut his hand.

Inevitably, Sebali had to pull his hand away to dodge, and because he moved suddenly with his leg in such a state, he lost his balance and rolled on the ground again.

“Elder Sebali. The match is over. Will you surrender? Or will you die here?”

Azadin’s cold killing intent and curved sword were aimed at Sebali’s neck.

At that moment, lightning flashed outside the window, casting long shadows of Azadin and Sebali.

And after the lightning disappeared, another shadow appeared on the lighthouse.

-Rumble.

The thunder followed the lightning belatedly, shaking the heavens and the earth.

*********

-Clap, clap, clap….

The newly appeared shadow clapped for Azadin.

“Impressive.”

A young woman was leaning against the window.

“For you, who was known as a dropout, to actually defeat an elder. Is that the power of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon Kazas Haze? Now I understand why Arael-nim insisted that we must bring you to our side.”

“Jenice?”

Azadin frowned.

“It’s been a while, Azadin. You’ve changed completely from when you were a child? When you were a child, I thought you were a hideous monster, but now you’re very attractive. Wow, now that your downy hair has fallen out, you do look like Arael-nim. Being eyeless is something I can overlook because you’re so attractive.”

Jenice was two years older than Azadin, but she had joined the training late and trained at the same time as Azadin.

Even back then, she was famous for her beautiful looks, but now Jenice had grown into a beautiful woman with long, wavy brown hair and a voluptuous figure. She exuded a seductive charm that was hard to believe for her age, and many had fallen captive to her.

“Hmm.”

And of course, she was someone who had stood by and sometimes even joined in on the abuse and contempt that Azadin had suffered.

Azadin picked up an arrow and threw it like a dagger, piercing the arm of Sebali, who had fallen to the ground.

“Kuh!”

“You should stop. Are you going to kill the elder?”

“I have to do this to stop him from using magic. Fortunately, I have someone on my side who can use healing magic, so he won’t die if he’s treated right away.”

“Is that so?”

Jenice snapped her fingers.

“O, o, Captain.”

Scott’s urgent voice came from the mouse that was in Azadin’s bag.

“We’re surrounded! And the enemy is….”

The next moment, the mouse shuddered and died. The necromancy had been broken.

“…….”

“Well. Looks like we have a hostage?”

“Elder Sebali’s life should be more important to you, shouldn’t it?”

“Oh, don’t bluff, Azadin. You’re not the type to abandon your comrades, are you? Or are you that hateful?”

“Hateful?”

“Are you going to fight us, even if it means killing the comrades who trusted and followed you for the sake of the Hybris people?”

“I’ve lost contact with my comrades, but it wouldn’t be easy to subdue them, would it? I can’t assume they’ve become your hostages based on this situation.”

“Ahaha. You think so? Your followers are from the Etar Bloodline, right? What do you think will happen if a higher-ranking member of the Etar Bloodline gives an order?”

“Sion Etar, you mean?”

“Oops. Did I say that?”

“I thought that was a possibility from the moment we lost contact. This is truly amazing. Arael. How did he manage to take control of so many people?”

Azadin smiled bitterly.

He understood that Arael’s ambition had moved the hearts of many Ara Gasa. But that was a path of conquest, trampling on other tribes and dominating everything. A path where it didn’t matter how many people were killed in the process.

That this was gaining so much support within the Ara Gasa tribe….

‘I might end up turning the entire Ara Gasa against me.’