The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 173

However, Azadin’s words were not mere boasts. Since acquiring numerous copies of the Divine King’s Scripture, he had been continuously absorbing magical power, growing stronger at an alarming rate. Even Donair’s group, who had successfully annihilated the ogres, were no match for Azadin’s current strength.

“No, but these bastards…” Komosal stormed towards Azadin and Jiswa, his face contorted with rage.

“You lot! How could you leave such a massive, bizarre elephant right in front of the castle!” he bellowed.

“Elephant…?” Azadin tilted his head, realizing Komosal was referring to Scott’s creation, the Corpse Abomination. Its appearance was so grotesque that they had covered it with a tarpaulin, leading everyone to mistake it for an elephant.

“Lady Gimella is summoning you! Come at once!” Komosal demanded.

“Ah, by the way, Brother Komosal,” Azadin said casually, “did you come with only these five guards?”

“Brother, my foot! I don’t recall being related to the likes of you!” Komosal spat back.

Just as Komosal finished his sentence, Azadin moved with lightning speed, grabbing two of Komosal’s guards by their carotid arteries. “Ugh?!” “Ack?!” The guards immediately fainted as their necks were squeezed in Azadin’s powerful grip.

“What?!” Komosal exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock.

“This bastard is showing his true colors…” Jiswa muttered, using blood magic to knock out another guard. Shati also swiftly incapacitated another guard with her magic. In a matter of seconds, only Komosal remained standing.

“Huh?” Komosal stammered, looking around at his fallen guards.

“Now then, Brother Komosal,” Azadin began, his voice dangerously calm. “First, I have a question about the elixir. Did you tamper with the elixir sent to Korasar?”

“W-what are you talking about?” Komosal feigned ignorance.

“In the Korasar region, the Cheonggeon Clan [a religious group] members went berserk and turned into monsters, killing everyone, including the refugees… I’m asking if you know anything about that,” Azadin pressed, his gaze piercing.

“I-I don’t know! I…” Komosal stammered, avoiding Azadin’s eyes.

“If that’s the case, the current theory is that if many people who have taken the Cheonggeon Clan elixir gather in one place, their power will go berserk. In that case, we have no choice but to eliminate those who have taken the elixir in advance, right?” Azadin stated, his tone devoid of emotion.

“……?!” Komosal’s eyes widened in alarm.

“I’m saying I’m going to kill them,” Azadin clarified, his voice cold.

“Are you insane? You alone can’t possibly kill all the Cheonggeon Clan members…” Komosal scoffed, trying to regain his composure.

“What we brought isn’t an elephant,” Azadin said, his lips curving into a sinister smile.

“…….” Komosal was speechless, his mind racing.

“It’s a giant beast of calamity that brings about the end,” Azadin declared, describing the Corpse Abomination in the most metaphorical and ominous way possible. Since he didn’t explain it clearly, Komosal was left to his imagination, which conjured up images far more terrifying than any torture.

“It would be best to tell the truth, Brother Komosal,” Jiswa interjected, her voice sharp. “This person has plucked out rampaging Nether’s [a demonic realm] minions like weeds.”

“What the hell is he? A judge?” Komosal asked, his voice trembling.

“No. I am Azadin, the Second Envoy of the Emperor,” Azadin declared, his voice ringing with authority.

“Gasp?!” Komosal gasped, his face paling at the mention of the ‘Emperor’s Envoy.’

“Second Envoy… Isn’t that a high position? S-Slayer of the Divine King!” Komosal stammered, his fear growing exponentially. If it were before, when Azadin was the 108th Envoy, the lowest position, Komosal wouldn’t have been so frightened. But now, as the Second Envoy, Azadin’s title alone sent shivers down his spine.

“Right. It’ll make things faster, won’t it? Now, shall we talk while pulling out some fingernails?” Azadin asked, his tone deceptively casual.

“Ugh…” Komosal whimpered, his fear palpable.

“Because of your tricks, people who took the Cheonggeon Clan elixir had to kill their own families. Do you know how many people committed suicide after that? Even after being treated, people died from the guilt of killing their families. When I think of their deaths, I want to fry you little by little from the soles of your feet, inflict the terrible pain of burns, and then let you groan in pain from the heat and pain of sepsis as your flesh and blood rot away, and then slowly die,” Azadin threatened, his voice laced with a chilling intensity.

Komosal was terrified by Azadin’s strangely realistic and gruesome threat.

“T-there’s no proof!” Komosal protested weakly, his voice barely a whisper.

“The fact that you’re talking back like that is giving me confirmation,” Azadin said, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light. As Azadin reached out his hand, Scott appeared, holding a poker.

“It’s not hot enough yet, boss,” Scott said, his voice devoid of emotion.

“Is that so? I need to heat it up more. Start a fire. Let’s pull out a fingernail first,” Azadin said, grabbing Komosal’s fingernail with his bare fingers.

“No, how can you pull out a fingernail with your bare hands…” Komosal scoffed, but the next moment, he screamed in agony as if he were being torn apart. Azadin’s strength was so immense that even though it seemed like he had just grabbed it lightly, he held it as tightly as a pair of metal tongs and actually pulled out the fingernail. The fingernail couldn’t withstand the pressure and tore vertically, causing blood to gush out.

“Kkeueok?!” Komosal was flustered by the intense pain. It was an unbelievable display of power.

“Hmm, it doesn’t pull out well and just splits. But this might be better. Shall I tear it some more?” Azadin asked, grabbing another fingernail. Komosal’s back was covered in goosebumps.

“W-wait a minute! Wait!” Komosal pleaded, his voice filled with terror.

“Why?” Azadin asked, his tone deceptively gentle.

“If, if I did do it, what would you do? If I tell the truth, will you forgive me?” Komosal asked, his voice trembling.

“If you tell the truth, of course, I’m willing to be lenient. You couldn’t have tampered with the elixir alone. Right?” Azadin said, his eyes boring into Komosal’s.

“T-that’s right. Actually, it’s the will of the Heavenly Lord,” Komosal confessed, his voice barely audible.

“The will of the Heavenly Lord? Why?” Azadin asked, his interest piqued.

“The Heavenly Lord once went to Korasar by boat in the past and was humiliated while proselytizing there. After that incident, he considered Korasar too uncivilized to preach the principles of Cheongcheon [a religious doctrine],” Komosal explained.

“Well, yeah,” Azadin muttered, understanding the situation. The malaria-like Butuma endemic played a major role in the expansion of the Cheonggeon Clan. There was no way that proselytizing in the Korasar region, which did not have such diseases, would be successful. With the King’s Church and the Angelic faith considering them heretics, who would listen to their proselytizing when their lives were at stake?

‘And honestly, your doctrines are obvious,’ Azadin thought. In the Cheonggeon Clan scriptures that Azadin had seen, the main doctrines were that families should be harmonious, that everyone who wore Cheonggeon was a child of Cheongcheon and a brother, and that they should share their wealth harmoniously. These were all good words. Therefore, in the case of such religions, the secondary doctrines are much more important. They tend to be more obsessed with minor sermons, such as not eating shrimp or that men can have concubines, than with the core doctrines of the scriptures. In that respect, the Cheonggeon Clan’s doctrines were, no matter how you looked at them, heretical. It was only thanks to the elixir that cured malaria that their influence grew; otherwise, they would never have expanded.

“So, you were planning to increase the Cheonggeon Clan in the Adirof area, where malaria is prevalent, and make them go berserk? If those who went berserk harmed people, Count Lantaric, the guardian of Adirof, or the King of Korasar would have to step in. It would be difficult to fight the Nether’s minions with ordinary troops, so you were trying to make them expend their forces freely,” Azadin deduced, his mind working quickly.

“T-that’s right,” Komosal admitted, his head hung low.

“That means… did the King of Butuma also participate? No, wait? Then, reinforcing this earthen fortress is also…” Azadin, who had heard about the ogre invasion on his way here, had naturally assumed that the reinforcement of the defenses here was a measure to stop the ogres. But now it seemed like it was preparation for war?

‘Are these guys crazy? Even if they all unite and combine their strength, it wouldn’t be enough, so why are they so eager to devour each other? Even the kings are from the same Yaegas divine race [a race of gods], aren’t they?’ Azadin was horrified to realize that the Butuma Kingdom was preparing to invade Korasar, and that the Cheonggeon Clan’s rampage was planned as a prelude to that invasion. From Azadin’s perspective, who was witnessing the Age of Jupiter, it was incomprehensible that they were so focused on fighting each other. It was like being in a burning house, about to burn to death, but blocking the exit and wielding a weapon at someone they didn’t like. It was unbelievable that the Yaegas divine race nobles, who were said to be well-educated and cultured, would do such a thing.

“Does Gimella know? Since she’s the Heavenly Lord’s daughter,” Azadin asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Lady Gimella was against contaminating the elixir. So I did it myself…” Komosal said, his voice barely a whisper.

“Really? You’re not protecting her just because she’s of the Heavenly Lord’s bloodline?” Azadin pressed, his gaze unwavering.

“Ugh, no. This is originally part of a grand plan that the Heavenly Lord planned! It’s not something I did on my own…” Komosal confessed, his voice filled with fear.

“Okay, so the Heavenly Lord was also involved?” Azadin said, his expression hardening. Upon hearing those words, Azadin fiddled with the Cheonggeon Clan’s staff. He didn’t know how much of Komosal’s testimony to believe, but according to what he was saying, the Cheonggeon Clan’s leader, the Heavenly Lord, was directly responsible for the tragedy in Adirof.

“I need to meet the Heavenly Lord. Okay. Shall we meet the Heavenly Lord’s daughter first?” Azadin turned to Scott.

“Scott. Get dolled up,” Azadin instructed.

“What? I’m already more beautiful than a flower, Scott,” Scott replied, striking a pose.

“…….” Azadin sighed, shaking his head.

*********

Gimella’s residence was located within the castle of Count Kimalhaji. Surprisingly, everyone inside the castle was wearing Cheonggeon attire, indicating that the Cheonggeon Clan had a firm grip on Count Kimalhaji’s territory.

“This is said to be the holy land of the Cheonggeon Clan,” Azadin said, observing the surroundings.

“Yes,” Jiswa confirmed.

“Is there anything related to the Grimslough [a swamp], the swamp’s ancient tree, like relics?” Azadin asked, his mind working.

“I’m not sure about that,” Jiswa replied.

“They would have built a holy site in a place that was struck by lightning, right?” Azadin mused.

“Shall I guide you later?” Jiswa offered.

“Let’s see the negotiation first,” Azadin said, his eyes focused on the task at hand. Azadin walked into Count Kimalhaji’s castle.

“Huh?” Azadin was surprised when Jiswa guided the group to a place that was clearly a harem. It was a place where the count and his wives or lovers raised their children, a residence for women and children.

“Lady Gimella is the wife of Count Kimalhaji,” Jiswa explained, her voice matter-of-fact.

“…She’s not a lady. Wait a minute, then…” Azadin was flustered as he remembered her carefully scanning Scott.

“It’s a common thing,” Shati said with a smirk, clearly amused by Azadin’s reaction. After a while, Gimella appeared, holding a child who looked to be about three years old.

“You’ve come. Jiswa, and Adan?” Gimella greeted them, her voice calm.

“Yes,” Jiswa replied.

“Why does Komosal look so glum?” Gimella asked, her eyes narrowing at Komosal’s dejected appearance.

“Lady, that’s…” Komosal began, but Azadin interrupted him.

“We tortured him,” Azadin said bluntly, holding up Komosal’s hand. Azadin had treated the fingertips where he had torn the fingernails with ointment.

“Oh, dear. That’s why I told you not to do it. Contaminating the Cheonggeon Clan elixir was such a foolish thing to do,” Gimella said, her tone laced with a hint of disapproval.

“Because of that, many people died and fell into despair,” Azadin said, his voice cold.

“But I really was against it. Komosal acted on his own,” Gimella insisted, her eyes wide with innocence.

“According to Komosal, it was the will of the Heavenly Lord,” Azadin countered, his gaze unwavering.

“Hmm. To be hostile to the will of the Heavenly Lord, you’re not a Taoist, are you?” Gimella realized that Azadin was also hostile to the Heavenly Lord and smiled slyly. Instead of Azadin, Jiswa argued.

“No matter who the Heavenly Lord is, it’s absurd that he tricked me and gave me this elixir,” Jiswa said, her voice filled with indignation.

“I’m sorry, Jiswa,” Gimella said, her voice laced with false remorse.

“But before that, I’m curious, what did you do to contaminate it?” Azadin asked, his eyes fixed on Gimella.

“Huh?” Gimella feigned ignorance.

“How did you contaminate it so that people became minions and went berserk?” Azadin pressed, his voice sharp.

“It’s nothing special. Originally, the sap of the Grimslough cures all swamp diseases. But if you mix the blood of the Grimslough with it…” Gimella explained, her voice casual.

“They become minions and go berserk?” Azadin asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Yes. Or they become Taoists,” Gimella replied, her tone matter-of-fact. From the way she said that, it seemed that they were selecting those who had become minions of the swamp’s ancient tree, Grimslough, but had not lost their reason and could control themselves, as Taoists. The reason why Jiswa considered it absurd that she had passed the position of Taoist to Azadin was precisely because of that.

‘But that doesn’t mean that the qualification for a Taoist is to become a minion of the Nether, and you can’t announce it to the world, right? Jiswa is in a position where she can’t deny that she passed the position of Taoist to me. Wait, then is Jiswa using me?’ Azadin understood the Cheonggeon Clan’s system and smiled bitterly.