The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 224

The Knight of Prophecy 4

The death knight, Plank, became transparent like a wraith during the day, making him invisible. Consequently, if one wished to learn from him, they had to meet at night.

Azadin rested in his tent during the day and met Plank at night.

Plank exuded an aura of death, freezing the surroundings with his cold. Azadin, who had returned from the brink of death, felt pain just by being near him.

However, in the current situation, only Sir Plank could save Azadin. Who else would impart magic to a soulless heretic like him?

During the day, Azadin meditated, attuned himself, and contemplated, then asked Plank the questions and insights he had gained. Plank, not ashamed of his moniker as the Knight of Wisdom, provided excellent answers.

“The important thing is to empty yourself, Azadin. You are broken because you are filled with what you cannot handle. Emptying yourself is paramount. But who on earth had the orc-like idea of stuffing a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture into your body?”

“An orc I know…”

“I knew it. Orcs and elves are always the problem. They think of magic as if it were just a tool.”

“No. But the orc also suggested emptying the magic.”

“Seems like he was an orc with some common sense. Still, don’t trust elves and orcs. They are madmen obsessed with power and knowledge.”

“Y-yes, I understand.”

“Of course, don’t do something foolish like just emptying yourself blindly. You must understand and experience what has entered you so that you can refill it at any time. It’s a shame that my body is filled with death energy, so I can’t touch you. Usually, in such cases, a master who is skilled in handling magic can teach faster through touch.”

“It doesn’t matter if it takes a little longer. Wouldn’t that mean I get to spend more time with you, Sir Plank?”

“Well, haha. Oh my.”

Plank chuckled at Azadin’s smooth flattery, but… it was no laughing matter.

Plank liked this young man.

Was it because he was an Aragasa [a member of a clan known for their unique spiritual abilities] ?

No.

He had been with the Rescue Knights for over 40 years, but he had never seen a Rescue Knight believer as pure as this young man.

Even he himself was ashamed compared to this young man.

A person who had lived a hellish life in the Messenger Clan, ridiculed and persecuted by others. And this person, who was persecuted even among the soulless heretics, held the will of a Rescue Knight.

It was truly admirable.

If he had a son like this, he could have lived every moment with joy. He even had such thoughts.

But Azadin was dying.

His body’s vitality was severely damaged, and he groaned in pain at the slightest cold breeze.

Yet, every night, he bravely endured the cold of death that Plank exuded and kept watch.

Thus, the seasons changed.

The grasslands of Arangi were warm, but snow still fell and accumulated occasionally.

In the snowy wilderness, where the howls of wolves could be heard in the distance, the master and disciple once again engaged in dialogue.

“You are dying.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know that?”

“I know. I don’t have much time left…”

“Yet, how can you be so bold?”

“There is already a dead person in front of me, so how can I, who am still alive, make a fuss?”

“Haha. You truly speak well. If I had a disciple like you, being a master would be worthwhile.”

“You are already my master.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Plank liked his new disciple, Azadin, and felt sorry that he was dying.

“Why are you so accepting of death?”

“To live, I need a miracle, or the sorcery of the Nether [a dark and forbidden form of magic]. I do not desire sorcery, and I cannot dare to hope for a miracle, so I must wait as everyone else does for their fate.”

“Then why are you training now? And why did you endure such harsh training and missions in the past?”

“I wanted to be the pride of Aldis. And to Araelle… I wanted revenge.”

“Revenge? Are you talking about your sister, Araelle?”

“Yes.”

“She came to me asking to save you. It seems you were quite close.”

“Haha. That’s a kind of repentance at the very end. We weren’t that close. We were much worse than typical siblings.”

“……”

“I have lost my star. The night is dark, and I don’t know where to go.”

“I see. Then why are you learning this from me?”

“Because I still have some missions left. If I regain even a little strength, as an Aragasa, I want to atone for what Chief Hatir has done. And I must help Midiam and Ishmael. They abandoned their own kin just for me, so I must somehow repay them…”

“When your will was high, they helped you against your will and spirit, so you must find your will. They don’t want slaves to help them, but rather they were against your spirit.”

“My spirit?”

“Yes. In your terms, you could call it a star.”

“…A star.”

Azadin smiled bitterly.

It was somewhat amusing that a dead man was telling a living man to have hope.

‘This child… is pitiful. He has never had anything, yet he carries only heavy responsibilities. I, who was a knight, lusted for power and was killed by my disciple, am ashamed.’

Plank suddenly realized why he was wandering the wilderness as a ghost. And what the prophecy given to him meant.

Plank drew his sword.

“Master?!”

Azadin was on guard.

Plank himself was unaware, but he would sometimes have fits as a death knight and attack those around him. Azadin had been attacked several times, but he had not told Sir Plank about it.

Today, Plank was in his right mind. But what he was about to say was so unconventional that it was something he could not have said while in his right mind.

“Azadin. Perhaps… would you like to become a Rescue Knight?”

“What? Me?”

“Yes.”

“Me, an Aragasa?”

A soulless heretic, an Aragasa.

If a member of the cursed clan, despised by all of Hybris Continent, had come to become a Rescue Knight, Plank would have vehemently opposed it.

Yet, Plank was asking Azadin to become a Rescue Knight.

“You need a mission. But the Emperor’s voice has disappeared, and the Emperor’s messengers no longer serve as a mission. So, how about becoming a Rescue Knight? I… will give you my oath.”

“…An oath?”

“That’s right.”

“That is…”

Azadin smiled bitterly. He recalled the memory of being moved by the books of the Rescue Knights that Aldis had given him in his childhood.

Amidst the pain of persecution, the stories of the Rescue Knights, and the warmth of Aldis who had shared them, had protected him.

But Aldis was dead, and Azadin had lost everything….

Yet, was the dream of his childhood still dazzling? Was the star still shining in the night sky?

“Azadin of the Aragasa, in the name of the archangels of courage, wisdom, and mercy, I call upon you to answer the call and be seated.”

“…Master.”

Azadin was embarrassed, seeing Plank’s sincerity.

He was already dead, Sir Plank. He was a wanted man as a death knight. Even if he gave his oath, no one else would see Azadin as a knight.

But Azadin knew why Plank was trying to give him his knighthood.

Plank was heartbroken. It seemed that he was losing his mission and waiting for death….

Of course, Azadin had no intention of dying. There were still many things he had to do.

Help Midiam and Ishmael, and atone for what Hatir had done.

It was a simple statement, but it was a grave mission that could not be completed even in a lifetime. Azadin already had more than enough missions, yet Plank insisted.

Was it because he understood that heart?

Azadin bowed his head and sat before Plank.

“May you be courageous before fire, humble before ignorance, and merciful to the weak. Will you faithfully uphold these three virtues, and until justice breathes life into this land, will you hone your martial arts and learning, and do good?”

“Yes.”

“Then you are a Hospitaller [a knight dedicated to healing and service].”

Plank prayed to the angels and raised his sword to the sky. Then, he touched Azadin’s shoulders and head with the sword.

“I, Plank of Banreung, in the name of wisdom, courage, and mercy, appoint you as a knight. Now. The boy sits, and the knight rises. Arise, Sir Azadin!”

“……”

Azadin rose from his seat. It was then.

“Master!”

“Ah.”

Plank’s sword fell to the ground. The tips of his fingers were crumbling. The curse of the death knight was being lifted, and rest was coming to him.

“Hahaha.”

Plank realized that his thoughts were correct.

“That’s it! Azadin. You were the knight of my prophecy!”

“What? Master?!”

“Thank you. Sir Azadin. Thanks to you, I have found rest…”

With those words, Plank gestured with his chin towards his sword.

“Take my sword. If they recognize it, the Rescue Knights won’t completely ignore you! Because it’s a ceramite sword with angel’s blood in it.”

“Master…”

“Then, may blessings be upon you, Sir Azadin!”

Plank said those words and crumbled into dust, scattering into the blizzard.

The death knight, Sir Plank, had found rest and vanished.

Azadin sat in the snowy wilderness, dumbfounded.

Now that he had organized all the magical books within him, as Plank had taught, Azadin’s inner self was at peace.

And yet.

-Thump.

His heart was pulsating.

“Hmm.”

Azadin had suddenly become a Hospitaller.

Of course, it was an appointment he had received from the death knight, Sir Plank, in the wilderness. No one would recognize Azadin as a Rescue Knight, and if he told this to others, he would be treated as a madman. It was a meaningless act.

But was it really?

-Thump.

Azadin felt a warm power flowing through his body.

Clearly, something like an angel’s touch was raising his body temperature. The power of a Rescue Knight had settled within Azadin.

“Master, you have given me a heavy burden.”

Azadin brushed off the snow and stood up. So, where should he go now?

Should he go back towards Butuma to find Ishmael and Midiam? But what if they had moved?

Should he return to the Kerim Mountains and go back to the sanctuary of the Messenger Clan?

As Azadin was pondering these things, it happened.

-Thump….

“Huh?”

A vision appeared in the depths of Azadin’s mind. It was… someone praying with the Emperor’s gold coin.

The Emperor’s voice had disappeared, so how?

“Huh?”

Azadin was bewildered by the sight of the person calling with the gold coin.

They were Rescue Knights. The Rescue Knights were calling for a messenger with the Emperor’s gold coin. What on earth was going on?

‘The distance is… about 20 li [approximately 10 kilometers]… far.’

Could he reach them by then? He didn’t even have a horse right now?

As he was wondering, it happened.

-Rumble!

A beast appeared, piercing through the winter blizzard and swirling mist. It was a Kerim mountain goat with a terrible Nether magic mark on its chest.

Its body was translucent, so you could see through it, and mist swirled around it. When Azadin reached out, he could feel the goat’s body, which felt like a vapor, neither cold nor hot, firmly in his hand.

And that Nether magic mark was….

“Araelle’s voice? Was she alive?”

It was an artificial spirit created by Araelle, Araelle’s voice.

He had thought that it had disappeared when Araelle died, but when he thought about it, Araelle’s voice was originally modeled after the Emperor’s voice.

Just as the Emperor’s voice helped and controlled the Messenger Clan even after the Emperor’s death, Araelle’s voice also remained after Araelle’s death.

“……”

He had thought he had lost his star.

The Emperor’s messengers were finished, the Rescue Knights had fallen, and his beloved Aldis was dead.

But Azadin had become a Rescue Knight, and whether it was the Emperor’s voice or Araelle’s voice, the prayers of those who yearned for a messenger were still calling to Azadin.

Could a soulless heretic become a Rescue Knight?

Azadin did not know the answer.

However, he picked up the ceramite longsword his master had left him and climbed onto the mist goat his sister had left behind.

A star was burning brightly above his head.