The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 165

“You came much faster than I expected, Azadin. Release that mage. Or I’ll kill him. I’m not kidding.”

Arael, restraining her tense subordinates, demanded that Azadin release Scott.

“Scott, release the seal.”

“Okay, Captain.”

Scott reluctantly released the seal. Then, Jibeck spoke directly to Arael.

“Arael, is that right?”

“Yes. And you are?”

“I am Jibeck, a paladin of the King’s Church. Did you cause the Blue Banner Gang to go berserk? If so….”

“No. It wasn’t me. Their rampage is due to their own flaws.”

“The Taoist of the Blue Banner Gang said that this has never happened before, and they suspect you.”

“…So, because you suspect us, you want us to prove our innocence? How arrogant.”

Indim, who was next to Arael, couldn’t hold back and drew his dagger. But Jibeck didn’t back down.

-Shhh!

The blade sang, and a sharp, blue light illuminated the darkness. As Jibeck drew his sword, Indim’s hostility flared even more.

“You seem to underestimate me. A mere paladin!”

Jibeck and Indim stood their ground, neither willing to yield. As their animosity reached a peak, there was movement.

Azadin stepped forward, blocking the space between Jibeck and Indim, and spoke.

“If you can move that, you could juggle a bear with it. Are you guys stupid?”

Startled, Indim and Jibeck looked where Azadin was pointing. Seraph and Aleph, Arael’s subordinates, were struggling to move the Emperor’s minting machine.

Azadin’s mockery made Arael burst into laughter.

“That’s true. Azadin is right.”

“Arael-nim.”

“First of all, those Blue Banner Gang guys are minions of Grimslaw, the swamp’s ancient tree. Grimslaw’s elixir heals them from disease, but if the number of minions exceeds a certain amount, it negatively affects the mortal realm. Gathering so many potential minions in one place during the Jupiter Era was their mistake.”

“Is that so?”

“Then you can understand that we are innocent, at least in this minion rampage incident, right? Frankly, what angers me is that you think I would make excuses just because some Hybrids died.”

“Pardon?”

“Do you think I would lie just to avoid your anger? If you think so, I’ll kill all the Hybrids outside when we leave. How about that?”

“Understood. At least in this case, you are not involved, is that what you’re saying?”

Jibeck sheathed his sword.

Arael’s voice was filled with hatred and contempt for the Hybrids, but if she really didn’t cause the rampage, it was fair to sheathe his sword here.

As Jibeck sheathed his sword, Indim reluctantly did the same.

“So, Azadin, what do you think about cooperating with me?”

“First of all, I won’t be under you. But if it’s an equal partnership… I’ll consider it depending on the conditions.”

Azadin’s words caused the four members of Hwajopungwol to react.

Dimia and Aleph chuckled, while Seraph and Indim were furious that Azadin dared to discuss an equal relationship with Arael.

“This loser dares to…”

“A guy who can’t even stand shoulder to shoulder with us, to Arael-nim?!”

“Everyone, calm down. Okay, Azadin. I promise you equal treatment. Are you satisfied now?”

“Yes. Then will you share information?”

“You want information for free? That’s not equal treatment at all.”

Arael expressed her dissatisfaction with the idea of giving information unilaterally, but Azadin ignored it and asked a question.

“This is the Emperor’s treasury, right? It’s a bit different from what I expected. I thought an emperor would have a lot of money, weapons, and treasures, but it’s empty? Only traces of a warehouse remain.”

“The Emperor’s treasury was already looted once by the Aragas when the Emperor passed away.”

“Aragas? Us?”

“Yes. The Emperor’s magical artifacts and assets were taken to the sanctuary by the Aragas. We Aragas are the ones who looted this place.”

“Wait, hold on? Then the Council already knows about this place, right? Why haven’t they announced it all this time?”

“Because the Council actually likes the servitude curse. They wouldn’t easily release a curse they can activate at will. They activated your servitude curse just because they were worried you might join hands with me, right? What about our father, Acre? Being able to kill someone who has escaped the clan’s control with a curse is a very convenient tool for the Council, don’t you think?”

Azadin was taken aback by Arael’s words. The Council had the opportunity to lift the servitude curse but instead used it?

‘But thinking about it, it makes sense. It’s plausible that the Council knew about the Emperor’s treasury but hid the truth.’

Azadin had also noticed the darkness within the Council.

“So, are you opening your eyes a little now, Azadin?”

Arael mocked Azadin and looked at the minting machine.

“If there’s no gold, it’s impossible to run that machine right now.”

“But wait a minute.”

Shati clicked her tongue and pointed ahead.

“There’s another closed door inside?”

Shati was pointing to the inside of the waterfall. There was another hidden door beyond the waterfall.

“Ah, that’s… the Door of Lamentation.”

Arael answered Shati’s question.

“We still don’t know how to open it. It closed when the Emperor passed away… Even the dwarves don’t know how to open it.”

“Really?”

“According to legend, the Emperor had prepared something inside for when humanity is in real danger… but I don’t know what it is.”

“Should we try?”

“Go ahead?”

Arael allowed Azadin to approach the Door of Lamentation.

“Then…”

Azadin called Shati and Scott and headed towards the Door of Lamentation. The massive metal door behind the waterfall had no devices to open it, not even a keyhole.

“Scott, Shati. What do you see?”

“There’s nothing, Captain. Necromancers can sense life… but nothing is detected beyond the door.”

“Really? What about you, Shati?”

“I can’t sense any plants either.”

Shati used her green magic to check for reactions from plants, but she couldn’t feel anything.

“A mysterious door.”

Azadin examined the traces left in front of the door.

They were traces of wagon wheels. Something very large and heavy had passed through this door, and even after hundreds of years, the traces were clearly etched into the stone.

It piqued Azadin’s curiosity.

“Should we try to break it?”

Azadin tried pushing and pulling the door. But the door didn’t budge, as if he were trying to move a mountain itself.

“Can you break it?”

Arael scoffed.

Azadin, feeling defiant, drew Wendigo’s dagger. He swung the wicked Nether presence, the relic of an old god, at the door, and a clear metallic sound rang out.

“How can this be?”

The door didn’t even get a scratch, and it made Azadin’s hand tingle instead.

“What about Azure?”

Azadin drew the Azure Steel longsword he had named Azure and carefully pressed it against the door. He focused his strength and pushed it into the door, as if splitting a giant tree or rock with a chisel or pick.

However, the Azure Steel blade, crafted by a master artisan, slipped on the door, protecting its own edge. Again, not a single scratch.

“Hmm. So, is this it after all?”

Finally, Azadin took out the Black Steel Arrow. He scratched the door with the last remaining Black Steel Arrow, and finally, a scratch appeared.

But it was a scratch that could be erased by rubbing it with a hand. It was a very slight scratch, but that was it.

His defiance was broken, and resignation set in.

“This is impossible. I scratched it with a Black Steel Arrow, and this is all?”

“If you could open it, the Council would have opened it long ago, Azadin.”

“That’s true. So, Arael, we can’t make gold coins with the minting machine, so what are we going to do now? Tell me your plan.”

“Can I trust you when I tell you that?”

“At least you know I won’t side with the Council.”

“But you won’t be able to kill the Council either. If Aldis pleads with tears, you’ll immediately give in, won’t you?”

“……”

“Just kidding. There’s no need to scratch your insides with useless words. We’re heading to Butuma to bring down Elder Hatir. The throne of Butuma will soon be under attack by the Naga forces and will be in crisis.”

“Are you going to do something like Coral Sahar in Butuma too?”

“Yes. Besides, Butuma is where the Naga Empire’s headquarters are. Perhaps a decisive move that will determine the fate of our Aragas will be made there.”

“Oh.”

Shati was taken aback by those words.

Someday, they would attack and capture Butuma. That was the Naga Empire’s long-cherished wish, but… she never thought she would hear it from Arael’s mouth.

‘Has it already progressed that far while I was away from the Naga Empire?’

Shati had become Azadin’s prisoner (?) and was being forced to cooperate, but the capture of Butuma was the Naga Empire’s long-cherished wish.

If she were to hinder that, the Nagas would never forgive Shati. Now, she could no longer be dragged around by the situation and had to make a sincere decision about her future.

Meanwhile, Jibeck coldly saw through the situation.

“You speak as if the Nagas are attacking Butuma on their own, but isn’t this also your doing? Just like when you attacked Coral Sahar, didn’t you bring the Nagas in?”

“That’s right. We had an agreement with the Nagas, but even now that the Council has taken our place, they will probably continue. But this is an opportunity. Aldis won’t be able to move because he’s busy protecting Coral Sahar, so the only one who will come out to take the throne this time is Chieftain Hatir.”

“Chieftain Hatir…”

“We will kill him. That’s our real goal.”

“Wait a minute. That…”

“Even if he’s your brother, isn’t it difficult to say that?”

The four members of Hwajopungwol were bewildered by Arael’s attitude of revealing secrets so easily.

Many of Arael’s followers wanted to kill Azadin before Arael found out, and the four members of Hwajopungwol sympathized with their feelings.

Arael was being too protective of Azadin, even though he was her kin.

Of course, Azadin himself would find such an insult unbearable.

“You and the Council are all insane. Have you even thought about how many people will die?”

If they bring in the Nagas to seize the throne of Butuma, how many people will die and lose their homes, just like in Coral Sahar?

Treating all of this as if it were just pieces on a board is the same for the Council and Arael’s faction.

Azadin felt disgusted that all of their plans were based on the sacrifice of people.