The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 151

Soft light illuminated the underground passage.

Dimia, having survived Azadin’s ambush, was now casting a spell.

It wasn’t Hwajopungwol magic [a unique magic style passed down through bloodlines], but surprisingly, a white magic—a healing spell that even the holy knights and priests of the King’s Church could no longer use, a magic typically reserved for kings.

Perhaps due to the massive amount of white mana she had absorbed from the throne, she had miraculously restored her broken limbs with a restoration magic that only kings could wield.

Not only her, but even Krasley’s wounds were healed.

“Oh!”

“This is the power of the king!”

Dimia, who was also using it for the first time, was amazed as she looked at her restored arm. Although she felt weak from losing a lot of blood, it was still an incredible miracle.

“Azadin!”

Krasley, having recovered from his injuries, rose up and angrily called out Azadin’s name.

“Yeah. What?”

Azadin picked up the black steel arrow that had fallen on the floor and looked at Krasley. He was preparing to retrieve the black steel arrow he had fired and shoot it again.

The black steel arrow consumed the curse and magic accumulated within it each time it was fired, making it weaker, but even so, it was a much more powerful weapon than a normal arrow. The black steel arrows fired by the Herald Clan had the power to make even the Yaegas gods [ancient deities] tremble.

That’s why there was a gentleman’s agreement not to use black steel arrows in fights between clansmen. But Azadin was ignoring that agreement.

“Hey! You! You have no manners!”

Krasley was flustered and reached for his quiver. He also had a black steel arrow.

Krasley’s and Azadin’s black steel arrows crossed paths in the air. An absurd scene unfolded where arrows were used to knock down other arrows.

Azadin was the victor in this ridiculous fight. The black steel arrow that Azadin fired easily deflected Krasley’s black steel arrow and flew towards Krasley as if to pierce him.

-Purification!

Dimia quickly cast a spell to neutralize the black steel arrow.

The black steel arrow that Azadin fired exploded in mid-air as its magic ran out.

But Azadin picked up another black steel arrow and placed it on his bow. It was the black steel arrow that Krasley had fired a moment ago, now on his bow.

The Nagas rushed at Azadin, but when Azadin fired the black steel arrow at them, two or three of them were pierced by a single arrow and fell.

“A feast of corpses. It’s a feast of corpses.”

Scott was diligently using necromancy to turn the Naga corpses into undead.

Now, there were more undead Nagas controlled by Scott than living Nagas.

There were about 30 Nagas and the Herald Clan members, but the tide of the battle had turned in an instant.

Scott, the necromancer, also played a big role in this. Thanks to the undead that Scott created, which protected Azadin from being surrounded, Azadin was able to fully demonstrate his skills.

However, Azadin’s expression was not relaxed.

‘The power of the Nether is surging. The Death God has descended. Is this state… like the last time with the Wendigo, only a partial descent?’

The Nether’s Death God was not directly exerting its power yet.

But even that alone would drive people crazy.

The Age of Jupiter is coming, and the Age of the Yaegas Gods is ending. With the prophecy of destruction so close, how many people would be able to stay sane?

‘I need to clean this up quickly… The surface is dangerous.’

At that moment, a white flash spread out.

-Spirit Banishment!

Black smoke escaped from the bodies of the Naga undead that Scott had painstakingly created, and flames rose on their skin.

Surprisingly, Dimia was using divine magic as if she were a high-ranking priest. The white mana that she had absorbed from the throne using the Divine King’s Scripture was raging within her.

Azadin could see it clearly. In fact, Dimia was now a true embodiment of power, a pure essence of magic. She seemed to possess an immense power of light that could rival even the Nether’s Death Gods.

However, the way she was using it was crude. To use such immense magic like a common spell?

‘The restoration and other divine magics are probably just imitations without a proper grimoire [a book of magical knowledge].’

Even that was amazing.

A grimoire was something that was either inherited through bloodlines like Hwajopungwol, or something that could only be obtained after years of cultivation. How could it be possible to artificially grant it to Dimia?

‘Well, I’ll have to ask the person involved directly, right?’

Azadin approached Dimia.

“You!”

Dimia tried to confront Azadin, but she was unable to properly use the Hwajopungwol grimoire in her current state. This was because there was too much foreign mana within her.

So Krasley stood in Azadin’s way, but…

-Thwack!

Krasley’s body crumpled from a single attack by Azadin. It wasn’t a direct hit, but just a graze, yet Krasley’s body was lifted into the air, and his knees buckled sideways, unable to absorb the impact.

‘Sorry, but I’m even scared of myself right now.’

In fact, Azadin was pretending to be calm, but he was struggling to control the power of Hwajopungwol and Kazas Hese [a powerful martial art].

He had used the white mana injected by the copy of the Divine King’s Scripture as a catalyst to further amplify and unleash the power of Kazas Hese.

His strength had become so great that he felt like he might destroy himself with his own power.

In fact, his strength was so overwhelming that his bones ached. His ligaments and muscles were constricting his bones, and if he let his guard down even a little, he would fracture himself with his own power. His whole body felt like a ship’s ropes creaking as they tightened around the hull in a storm.

But showing weakness now would be the end, so Azadin lightly dealt with Krasley and approached Dimia, maintaining as calm an expression as possible.

“Die, Dimia.”

Azadin drew the Wendigo’s dagger and aimed for Dimia’s neck.

Then, something unexpected happened.

“Wait! Just a moment!”

Dimia raised both hands.

“Azadin. Okay! You’ve won here!”

“…What do you want to say?”

“A peace negotiation.”

“A peace negotiation? Not surrender?”

“Actually, our mission was already over when we extracted the white mana from the throne to allow the Nether’s Death God to descend. Now that the Nether’s Death God has been summoned, our role is done. It’s not bad to die fighting you after fulfilling our role, but it would be foolish to die fighting you, who is the younger brother of Araiel, right?”

“Isn’t it up to me whether you live or die right now?”

“That’s right.”

Dimia smiled.

“There’s no need to kill a charming woman like me, right?”

“Are you planning to use your charms? Don’t try anything foolish.”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. It’s not like that. If you kill me, you’ll incur the hatred of your clan. It’s not for me to say, but there are quite a few who follow me and my younger sister, you know? There must be at least three digits of guys in the clan who have a crush on our sisters.”

“Are you saying that yourself?”

Azadin burst out laughing at Dimia, who was bargaining with her life.

It was a good sign for Dimia.

“When is Araiel planning to seize the throne?”

Azadin asked about the next plan of the Araiel faction.

“Ah, talking about that is a bit different in nature.”

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll kill you now, Dimia. You’ve taken in white mana that you can’t even use properly, and Hwajopungwol isn’t working, right? If I let you live now, I might be in danger next time, so killing you here is also beneficial for me.”

“No, what did you hear me say, Azadin?”

“I’m used to being hated by the clan, Dimia.”

Azadin said that and kicked Dimia’s quiver, snatching it away, and then placed an arrow on his iron bow and shot it backward.

-Thud!

The arrow pierced the heads of the Nagas who were still alive. With this, all the Nagas fell.

To shoot an arrow backward while standing in front of Dimia was not something that could be done with ordinary confidence. Dimia swallowed hard.

‘How did he get so strong? Is this the Azadin?’

Dimia had seen Azadin as an assistant instructor during training.

The Azadin she knew was just a snot-nosed child who was bullied by others, but the instructors and assistant instructors deliberately left the situation as it was.

Because by bullying one weak person, the stress of others was relieved, and they could endure the harsh training.

In other words, Azadin was a scapegoat that the entire clan had agreed upon.

But… how did that scapegoat become like this?

“I don’t want to give you information that would hinder Araiel’s plans. But I can’t fight you either, so kill me if you want. But Azadin, if you don’t kill me and let me live, it will help you in your future endeavors. There’s no need to kill me and incur the hatred of the clan, right?”

“You don’t want to betray Araiel, but you want to live. Is that how I should understand it?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm. How shameless. If you were superior to me, you would have killed me without hesitation.”

“Understand me. That’s my position. Anyway, Azadin. Won’t you let me live?”

“How many copies of the Divine King’s Scripture are here?”

“64.”

“……”

For a moment, Azadin almost jumped for joy. 64 copies. That was an enormous amount.

It wasn’t all that the Araiel faction had, but if he recovered this many copies of the Divine King’s Scripture, he would achieve an enormous feat that no one in the Herald Clan would dare to match.

But Azadin maintained a cold attitude and cleared his throat.

“Huh. Hmm. I’ll take them. You don’t have any objections, right?”

“Okay. Is the deal done?”

“No. Dimia, I’ll have to take you with me too.”

“Huh?”

“With your arms and legs tied with ropes.”

“Oh, come on. Do you really have to do that? It’s not necessary, right?”

“No, it is necessary.”

Azadin was paying attention to the white mana charged in Dimia’s body. He couldn’t just let Dimia go.

“Hmm.”

Dimia looked at Azadin with a troubled expression.

Azadin’s attitude was so firm that it seemed impossible to change his mind no matter what she did. In fact, in the current situation, there was nothing that Dimia could offer to Azadin.

Since she had nothing to offer as a bargaining chip, the deal could not be made.

“Shati!”

“Yeah?”

“Pick up the copies of the Divine King’s Scripture. The ones around here.”

“Ah, okay.”

While Azadin was wary of Dimia, Shati collected the copies of the Divine King’s Scripture that had fallen on the floor.

“Ah, no!”

Krasley, who had suffered a fracture and fallen to the floor, tried to stop Shati, but it was useless.

“What about this man? Should I finish him off?”

“Don’t hurt him. He’s one of my few clansmen. The match is over, and I don’t want to hurt him.”

When Azadin said that, Krasley and Dimia felt ashamed.

The right to life and death belonged to the strong.

It was embarrassing and bewildering that Azadin, whom all the Herald Clan had made a scapegoat, was showing them mercy and tolerance.

“Dimia.”

“Huh?”

“Heal him just enough so that he doesn’t have any lasting disabilities. Understand? Just enough so that he doesn’t have any lasting disabilities. If you heal him more than that, you’ll both die.”

“……”

For Dimia, one of the four of Hwajopungwol, it was a truly unbearable request.

The lowest herald of the Herald Clan, the one who was ignored as a dropout, had become so terrifying that he was now ordering her around.

To threaten to kill her if she didn’t listen to him. What an arrogant command.