The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 208

‘That’s an incredible power!’ Even for the Herald clan, who were used to casting magic on arrows, it was a magic of tremendous power. “Oh, my…” A young Herald clan woman stood where the arrow had been fired. She was a tall woman with long black hair and purple eyes, like a goddess statue. “Ah, Araiel!?” “Y-yes, it is.” The Heralds realized that the arrow from just now was Araiel’s. Indeed, it was Araiel. With that level of ability, she could dare to rebel against the Council of Elders. And in this situation, to show herself so confidently. ‘Could it be that she showed herself just to save the people captured by the Nagas? How cool. She’s an enemy, but she’s confident and beautiful.’ ‘Impressive.’ Thus, the Heralds were impressed by Araiel’s beautiful and confident appearance, even though she was their enemy. ********* Of course, Araiel had no intention of saving them. However, Azadin was the first to fire arrows at the Nagas. Indim, who already considered Azadin a thorn in his side, was furious at his unilateral action without consulting his companions. But Araiel quickly gave an order. “Provide covering fire!” “Huh? Ah!” Araiel’s subordinates, including Indim, reluctantly provided covering fire for Azadin, and the Nagas fell like autumn leaves. The Naga sorcerers used the undead as a barrier to block the arrows, but Azadin charged in, rushing towards the Naga sorcerers. “Krrrk!” As the Nagas tried to block him with their Naga curved swords and bone spears, Azadin swung the ‘Azure Executioner,’ a poleaxe made of azure steel. Blue phosphorescence flashed, and the Nagas’ limbs flew into the air. “Kyak!” However, Azadin’s attack was too large and flashy. Because the poleaxe was swung so widely, like a windmill, a gap was exposed. ‘Oh no!’ This poleaxe was sharper than Azadin had expected. The Azure Executioner was enchanted, and with the magic power it absorbed from Azadin, it pushed away anything that touched the blade to the left and right of the blade’s center. It was a magical poleaxe that inflicted terrible wounds just by grazing, without blood and flesh sticking to the blade. Azadin, who was using it in actual combat for the first time, was also flustered by the unexpected feel. “Now’s the time!” Taking advantage of the gap, the Nagas thrust their spears at Azadin. But at that moment, Azadin let go of the hand holding the Azure Executioner. Azadin’s hand naturally moved to the leather strap at the end of the poleaxe. Azadin swung the Azure Executioner, holding the leather strap, by shaking his body greatly. A blue phosphorescent light drew an even larger arc than the first swing, and the heads of the Nagas who had jumped in were cut off. ‘I swung it holding the leather strap, not the handle, and it still cuts through bones! It consumes a bit of magic power, but it’s a really excellent weapon, isn’t it?’ Even with that, the poleaxe, which was still spinning in the air, was drawn into Azadin’s hand as if sucked in. The Nagas, as well as the Heralds who were watching, were horrified by the sight of Nagas and undead being swept away like fallen leaves with just two swings. Moreover, while Azadin was at the front, Araiel cast a powerful spell and eliminated the Nether’s minion, the flesh snake, that the Nagas had summoned. As a result, they were able to save the people with no significant damage, only using up some arrows. However, the four members of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon were furious at Azadin for proceeding with the rescue operation on his own. “That bastard! Doing whatever he wants!” Indim was about to jump at Azadin, but Araiel stopped him. “There are still clan members left.” Araiel asked the Heralds, who were watching the situation loosely from the rear without stepping forward like the Nagas. “So, what are you going to do?” “We are…” They were the ones who had even vomited at the sight of humans being massacred. And when the beautiful Araiel acted arrogantly and confidently, they couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by her dignity. Moreover, Araiel’s skills were outstanding even among the clan members. Even those who had not seen her directly knew that Araiel had terrifying abilities and was called a living goddess. “We will pretend we didn’t see anything, Araiel.” “Can I trust you just by your words? Give me your arrows.” At Araiel’s request, the Heralds threw their quivers to Araiel. Araiel’s group, who had already wasted arrows shooting at the Nagas, took the quivers. “The treatment is different, isn’t it?” Ismail chuckled, watching the scene. If Azadin had stepped forward and acted, they might have been hostile to him, even if he was trying to save people. However, because the beautiful and renowned Araiel had taken the lead by using the high-level magic of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon, everyone looked at Araiel with admiration. It was a reaction that was possible because she was beautiful and had a high reputation as a skilled person among the Heralds from the beginning. Azadin also understood why Ismail was saying this and gave a bitter smile. “It’s good if you can avoid a fight.” “But didn’t you start the fight first? It was a fight that could have been avoided.” Ismail said that, but he shut his mouth when he saw Azadin picking up the baby’s swaddling cloth that had fallen on the floor. Azadin returned the baby to the mother, who was trembling from the shock of being about to be executed. “Here, please get away quickly.” “Ugh, ugh…” The woman snatched the baby and then shuddered, moving away from Azadin in a flinch. The fear of death and the shock of the gruesome slaughter made her body tremble deep in her soul. “Ungrateful bastards who don’t even say thank you!” Aleph of the Wind approached Azadin, annoyed. “To them, the Nagas and the Heralds are allies who have joined hands. They probably don’t understand the current situation.” “So, did you act on your own because of these ungrateful bastards?” “Don’t worry too much. We didn’t suffer much damage, did we? If we can save lives with a little effort, it’s not bad.” “They are the people of Hybris. If we were in danger, they would have thrown stones at us.” “Did you perhaps suffer from delusions as a child that your mother was actually trying to kill you or something?” “What?” “It seems like you have a habit of interpreting things negatively and self-deprecatingly, even things that haven’t happened.” “You bastard… I’m higher in rank than you, how dare you say such nonsense!?” The four members of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon were higher in rank than Azadin and were actually older. The Herald clan, the Aragas, had a tradition of caring about such hierarchical order, which made Azadin’s provocation even more effective. Azadin still didn’t like Araiel’s group, but they were one of the few people he could rely on right now, so it wouldn’t be good to upset them. “Okay. I’m sorry that I did things without saying anything. It wasn’t right procedurally. I apologize.” “It’s easy for you to apologize with words, you bastard.” The four members of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon didn’t like Azadin anyway, and it seemed like they were going to take this opportunity to keep him in check. But this was not the time for that. The Nagas in the distant spire had discovered the anomaly here and blew a conch shell horn. -Poo-oo-oo-oo! The sound was loud. “Damn it! We’ve been caught!?” “We wouldn’t have been caught if you hadn’t done something unnecessary!” “No, we would have been caught anyway once we got here. There are many scouts and magic is cast.” “You’re talking nonsense! It’s your fault!” The four members of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon were furious at Azadin’s easygoing attitude, but they had no choice but to move quickly before the enemies swarmed in. ********* Azadin and Araiel’s group moved onto the buildings of Butuma. The Heralds, who had excellent mobility, could run on the roofs of buildings as if they were flat ground, so even if Nagas or undead attacked, there were few numbers blocking their path. The problem was the Heralds. It seemed that they had finished analyzing the terrain of Butuma, and Heralds were stationed at every strategic point that was good for infiltration. However, there were no Heralds blocking Azadin’s path. They would shoot arrows half-heartedly and then retreat appropriately when Azadin’s group approached, avoiding a clash. They were blatantly slacking off. “It’s good that they’re not blocking us, but why are they doing that?” When Azadin wondered, Seraph shrugged. “It’s because of Lady Araiel’s high reputation. Even though she has joined the Council of Elders, they don’t want to block Lady Araiel’s path.” Azadin felt doubtful looking at Seraph. ‘This guy was telling me that I’m young and low in rank, but he’s using honorifics for Araiel.’ It was generally impossible to have a conversation with the four members of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon, who had absolute loyalty to Araiel. No matter what was said, it always ended with them expressing their loyalty and affection for Araiel. Araiel, who was listening, spoke. “Everyone agreed to take the throne and usurp the kingdom. But they didn’t know that it would lead to massacres of the people in league with the Nagas and summoning the envoys of the Nether. Aside from the hatred and conflict with the people of Hybris, there are no people who want to burn and destroy the world.” “Then it would be good to purge the leader.” “That’s difficult.” “Why? I’ve lived in the sanctuary and have hardly ever seen the leader.” Azadin had lived with Kazas for over ten years as Kazas’s disciple, but he had only seen the leader a handful of times during that time. Leader Hatir was reclusive and did not participate much in the events of Aragas, so how did he have such a strong influence? “Because he is the one who supplies the blood of the gods to the Aragas.” “What are you talking about?” “Most of the elders have lived for over a hundred years while maintaining their youthful appearance. Do you know why? It’s because they all inherited the blood of Leader Hatir, the blood of Emperor Yaeslat.” “What is that… Are you sure?” “Yes. The reason I rebelled is not different. Because my birth is extraordinary, they told me to bear Leader Hatir’s child. As if they were doing me a favor.” Araiel shuddered as if the nightmare of that day was coming back just by talking about it. “What?” Azadin was shocked to hear that. If Araiel’s birth was extraordinary, then Azadin could also be said to be extraordinary. But for Azadin, this was a completely new story. “When was that story?” “It was when we were young, before I hurt you.” “So…” Azadin looked back at his past memories and was shocked. Was that kind of story openly given to Araiel since Araiel and Azadin were still young? “I don’t want to be livestock. And probably many of the clan’s children who will be born in the future will not want to be treated like livestock. So, I have been preparing for rebellion since then.” Araiel said that and suddenly looked at her subordinates. “Oh, my. I’ve been talking too much. Let’s keep going. We need to get to the throne as quickly as possible while the clan members are slacking off. If it’s now, Hatir probably hasn’t recovered the power he used to seize the throne yet.” Araiel said that and turned to look at Azadin. She looked like she was about to say something, but she gave up on her own and moved forward. ‘What is it? Is she asking me to understand because she had such a complicated thing when she was young? But…’ Azadin became confused after hearing that Araiel was also suffering in a place he didn’t know about.