The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 218

Ismail hurried away from the Butuma Royal Castle, Azadin slung over his back.

Arrows and magic flew from behind, but Midiam blocked them, allowing him to press on without looking back, desperately trying to gain distance. If he glanced back, he feared his legs would simply stop moving.

And it wasn’t the time to look back anyway.

-Kuurururung!

A building next to the road collapsed, threatening to engulf Ismail. With Azadin on his back, Ismail conserved his strength as much as possible, dodging the debris and looking around.

-Heeing!

The sound of a horse came from nearby.

“Ah… damn it!”

Ismail ran, hoping for the best, but was met with despair.

A horse with its belly torn open and its intestines spilling out was wailing.

Its lower body had been transformed into a grotesque monster by the Nether’s influence, and it was devouring the parts that had been its own just moments ago. The monster, still connected to the horse, was tearing at its own flesh, and the horse, which should have died long ago, was unable to die, writhing in agony and wailing.

At that gruesome sight, Ismail turned away and hurried on.

The light of the royal authority that Azadin and the Emperor had somehow managed to emit had sent the Nether’s messengers back to another world, but traces of their descent still remained here.

And… there were also Nagas [a race of serpent-like humanoids].

“Krrruurr!”

A tribe of sea serpent Nagas, armed with spears, wandered around and discovered Ismail.

“…Hmm.”

Ismail remained calm. The sea serpent Nagas were supposed to be allied with Aragasa; perhaps now was an opportunity to receive support in the form of green magic from them.

“Hey. I have an injured person here, can you heal him? We’re Aragasa!”

“Krrruurr…”

However, these Nagas didn’t seem to understand human language well, only scratching their heads.

Ismail looked around and saw someone who appeared to be a Naga sorcerer lying dead under the rubble of a collapsed building. It seemed that the Naga sorcerer, who was probably the leader of this group, had been swept away by the earthquake and killed.

“Damn it. Then, what about horses? Have you seen any intact horses nearby?”

As Ismail gestured and spoke to the Nagas, he noticed one of them subtly trying to move out of his sight. He stepped back to keep him in view.

“What are you doing?”

The one who seemed to be the highest-ranking among the remaining Nagas growled and shook the crest on his neck.

“The alliance with Aragasa… is over. You, you didn’t keep your promise. The great kings, they didn’t come. Failure.”

“That’s… not true. Even now, if you look at the royal castle…”

“We’re retreating. Aragasa is finished anyway. Not much time left. But before that…”

The Nagas’ eyes flashed. They were targeting Ismail.

Ismail put Azadin down and looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. However, all he could find was a window frame from a collapsed building, a piece of wood that had been part of it.

Just as the Nagas were about to charge at Ismail, laughing wickedly,

-Thwack!

An arrow pierced through the Nagas’ backs and emerged from their chests.

“Cough?!”

From behind the Nagas, a figure appeared and disappeared, moving between buildings. They were firing arrows with incredible power.

“Kuh! Aragasa!”

“Let’s run away!”

As the Nagas scattered, an Aragasa messenger descended. It was Indim of the Moon, a member of the Araelle faction and one of the Four of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon [elite warriors of Aragasa].

“Y-you are?”

“Azadin, you’re alive! That’s a relief.”

Indim didn’t even glance at Ismail, but was happy to see Azadin and checked his pulse. He clicked his tongue as he touched his neck.

“His pulse is too weak. Boy, what happened to the throne?”

“The throne has been purified. However… there’s still a lingering presence of the messenger, and it’s incredibly powerful. And Sion Etar killed Hatir.”

Although he was the one who killed Hatir, it was under Sion Etar’s orders, so Ismail claimed that Sion Etar had killed him.

However, Indim didn’t seem surprised by what Ismail said. Had he expected Sion Etar to kill the leader Hatir?

“Good. Even if he was called the Azadin of No-Manners, he’s still Kazas’s disciple, and Araelle’s brother. To accomplish such a difficult task.”

“…It’s amazing.”

Ismail felt a sense of antipathy towards Indim for belittling Azadin.

Although Ismail didn’t particularly like Azadin either, he didn’t like Indim for not knowing how great he was, how strong and dedicated he was, and how noble his spirit was, and for belittling him despite his clear achievements.

“I’ll take Azadin. What about you? Will you serve Araelle? Or will you leave?”

“If I serve Araelle… what will happen?”

“Aragasa is finished now. Ah, I mean, the Aragasa led by the elders is finished. Araelle will still… well, never mind. You should leave. When the world stabilizes, Araelle will rebuild Aragasa, so let’s meet then. It’s a bit difficult now.”

Indim said that and picked up Azadin. However, Ismail had no intention of leaving Azadin.

“Can you save him? At least I need to see if he lives or dies…”

He was the man Midiam had risked her life to save. But he was unconscious, so he didn’t know what Midiam had sacrificed for him.

If Azadin woke up and didn’t know that Midiam had risked her life to save him and had probably died…

Of course, he desperately wanted to go back right now and see what had happened to Midiam, but Ismail decided not to do that.

Even if he went back, he couldn’t save Midiam. No, it would actually lower Midiam’s chances of survival.

‘If there are no servants or other Aragasa left at the scene, Sion Etar might pretend he didn’t see the incident, given his personality.’

To cover up the fact that Midiam had openly rebelled, he would have to kill all the servants and Aragasa who were at the scene, and any witnesses that Sion Etar couldn’t completely control.

It was Ismail’s hopeful expectation, but Sion Etar was the kind of person who would do such a thing. There was no reason to go back there and increase the number of witnesses.

“…I understand. Follow me.”

Indim picked up Azadin and said.

“If you can keep up!”

At that moment, Indim leaped away. Unlike Ismail, he moved lightly even with Azadin on his back, quickly gaining distance.

“Ugh!”

Seeing that, Ismail was furious at his own foolishness.

The reason Indim didn’t want to take Ismail to their place was obvious. It was because Araelle was injured.

Probably, if he just took Azadin like this, he would forget about a young boy like Ismail.

So what should he do? Should he go back to Midiam right now and see if he could save her, and watch over her fate?

Or should he follow Azadin and watch over his fate?

“Damn it. He’s looking down on me!”

Ismail ran down the road after Indim. How long had he run? Ismail, who had suddenly looked back, muttered.

“This place is…”

Ismail remembered this place. It was the entrance to the royal castle, designed to emphasize the grandeur of the road leading into the castle, with identical buildings arranged on both sides.

On top of the buildings that had collapsed and the ground that had cracked due to the earthquake, new traces of destruction had been added.

‘Is this where Araelle and the elders fought?’

Ismail casually climbed up the outer wall of a building that had tilted due to the earthquake and looked around.

And he gasped.

“Hah…”

The horrific traces of destruction were visible at a glance.

“Aragasa is finished.”

When he left the royal castle, he didn’t realize it, but right here, where Araelle had unleashed her power, when he turned his gaze towards the royal castle, he could see it immediately.

The corpses of Aragasa were scattered everywhere. He could guess how strong the power Araelle had unleashed was.

Ironically, the Butuma Kingdom’s army had not inflicted much damage on Aragasa.

What had harmed Aragasa was internal strife. The fight between the Araelle faction and the elders had brought about the destruction of Aragasa.

“…But why does Araelle want Azadin?”

That question suddenly arose.

Of course, he knew that Azadin’s abilities were great.

However, it was questionable whether Azadin could even survive in his current state. Even if he did survive, it was clear that he would become a cripple unless he was given a massive amount of healing magic, unless the owner of the Eight Thrones [a title of great power] shed their own blood to save him.

‘The owner of the Eight Thrones, huh? Well, no way.’

Ismail shook his head.

“Let’s keep chasing him.”

Ismail cautiously began to move in the direction where Indim’s presence had disappeared.

*********

“Cough…”

Azadin opened his eyes. It was because someone had slapped his cheek amidst the pain that felt like his whole body was breaking.

“You’re awake.”

“Cough… I, Indim?”

Azadin gasped for breath.

It was too cold. He had lost too much blood, and his body was trembling.

Dizziness and a body ache that felt like it would shatter his whole body washed over him.

And something like a flame was flickering in front of his eyes, scattering light from the sky.

Was it a lamp? If so, was it because he was on a ship that it was shaking?

But he couldn’t be sure. The dizziness was so severe that he couldn’t tell if he was really on a ship, or if he was just feeling like he was shaking even though he was on flat ground.

Surprisingly, even in this situation, green magic was activating again within Azadin’s body, and the power of regeneration that Shati had given him was trying to heal his wounds.

However, his vitality itself was lacking now. Even the life force that he could draw upon with his regenerative power was depleted.

Having suffered such severe injuries, he wouldn’t live long.

Wounds, even if they seem to heal and recover immediately, will inevitably develop cracks and break down over time. Just as the part of a pot that a tinker has patched wears out first, so too does the human body.

“Did you guys save me?”

When Azadin asked that, Indim scoffed.

“No, it was your disciple, the boy.”

“Ismail? Ugh…”

Feeling a severe headache, Azadin laid his head back down. He couldn’t even control his head as he wished.

But if he didn’t understand the current situation…

“What about Hatir? Aldis? How much time has passed?”

“It’s too much to answer, so ask one question at a time.”

“……”

“First, a week has passed.”

“A week?”

“You’ve been unconscious all that time. I mixed sugar and medicine and fed it to you, and cleaned up your waste, so you should be grateful.”

“……”

Azadin examined his body.

Both of his arms were in a state where the muscles and ligaments were torn. But ironically, his left arm, which had been cut off below the wrist, was now in better condition.

His right arm, which had been hit by Sion Etar’s arrow, was split vertically and was barely hanging on.

In addition to that, his whole body was a mess. It seemed impossible to recover unless a miracle happened.

Azadin turned his head. He couldn’t bear to look at his own appearance, which was so gruesome.