The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 252

“You bastards!” Dilia spat, annoyed at Camilla, who had subdued her and was now laughing. It was Azadin’s fault she was in this position; these guys, who were originally just prey, were now mocking her. But their attention was focused elsewhere. “Oh, is Lady Izmilla here? I like that woman.” Kuntachi said, pleased to hear that Lady Izmilla was present. Azadin, meanwhile, fiddled with the leather strap of his ceramide longsword, Aurelia Dawn. “They say that angel’s blood is used in the making of ceramide longswords. The Knights of Wisdom independently research alchemy and magic, and I’ve heard their level is very high. Isn’t Lady Izmilla one of the results of such research? And is that why you attacked her?” “Ugh…” “Well, Dilia, if those doppelgangers were all defeated by Izmilla and their corpses are left at the scene, you’d better clean up the mess quickly before you get caught.” “You. What are you thinking?” “I’m thinking of exchanging information. What’s the state of the clan right now? What about the Council of Elders? How’s it going since the death of Chieftain Hatir? The curse of servitude is lifted, but you’ve also lost the Emperor’s voice, haven’t you?” “If you hadn’t betrayed us, we would have at least seized two kingdoms and deciphered the secrets of the Divine King’s Scripture, becoming the rulers of this land! And yet…” “It seems the Council of Elders hasn’t given up yet. Did you give up on finding the Divine King’s Scripture because I returned most of the copies to the Btooma throne? Is that why the next target you chose was the Rescue Knights? Hmm. Who is leading the clan now? What’s the situation with the Etar bloodline?” Azadin fired off questions non-stop, then paused to take a breath. “And… what about Midiam Etar and her attendant, Ismail? Are they safe?” When Azadin was lost and wandering, Midiam Etar had returned his voice to him. To have his own words, his own beliefs, returned to him by someone else was a first for Azadin, who had lived persecuted by the clan as the Nameless One. A positive exchange with another person, not pity or affection like Aldis, but pure goodwill and trust. He was worried about Midiam Etar. But there was no way the Etar bloodline would have left her, the heir of the Etar bloodline, to die. And right now, Azadin had a big plan that he couldn’t abandon halfway. So, rather than going to find Midiam, he was going to focus on this plan first, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask for a moment. “I said I wouldn’t tell you! You traitor to the clan!” Dilia didn’t answer. Seeing that, it seemed like they were at least safe. They could have held him captive or tortured him to make Azadin anxious, but since they weren’t doing any of that, either Dilia didn’t know, or nothing was really wrong. “You talk as if you ever trusted me. And I am only being faithful as the Emperor’s messenger. It’s not me, but you who betrayed the mission.” Just as Azadin said that, the doppelgangers brought tea. Azadin had told them to bring tea, and they actually brought it. They didn’t look happy about it either. Azadin took the teacup and handed it to Bernard. “It’s poisoned. Red mushroom poison. It won’t tarnish a silver needle, but if you drink it, you’ll suffer from high fever and diarrhea before you die.” As Bernard explained clearly, the doppelgangers made excuses. “No, that’s… it’s just that if we just brought tea, it would be too… you know. If we surrender too easily, it looks cowardly.” “Our nature made us do this. Please understand that it’s not out of malice, but rather our nature.” “Hmm, I see. I understand that. Then, please understand my nature to punish you for threatening my life. Now, right!” Azadin said that and slapped his right cheek with his right hand. Before the doppelganger could even block it, the slap landed first. “Left.” He said left to the next one, and the doppelganger quickly raised his arm to block. But Azadin swung his hand wide, piercing through the gap in the defending arm and striking the doppelganger’s ear. If it were a human, their eardrum would have burst. “……..” ‘I clearly defended, but if you’re going to hit through the blocking hand, there’s no point in calling it out, is there?’ ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake. We’re getting beaten by a human.’ ‘But is that guy even human?’ The doppelgangers didn’t understand why they were being hit. There was a kind of oppressive feeling that made them unable to move, like a frog in front of a venomous snake, and they were being unilaterally beaten. “So. You didn’t join hands with the Northern Empire? The Northern Aragasa, I mean.” What was even more maddening was that after hitting them like that, Azadin asked as if nothing had happened, as if it were his natural right. Azadin was drawing a line and acting as if he was only in a relationship with the Emperor’s messenger and the support organization that supported him. If he were clearly an enemy, they would at least try to resist with their lives, but Azadin was treating them as members of a friendly organization. Even now, being treated as members of a friendly organization was scary, and they didn’t know what would happen if they crossed that line. Even the doppelgangers, who had an evil nature, were suffering in their imaginations. Azadin’s actions of tormenting them were tormenting, but imagining Azadin becoming even more ferocious if they crossed this line made their legs tremble. Imagination is more frightening than direct pain. Azadin was dominating this place by using the fear of that imagination. “Ugh… I can’t say!” Dilia still refused Azadin’s question. ‘Oh, come on, just say it.’ ‘She’s not the one getting hit…’ The doppelgangers looked at Dilia, who was needlessly putting on airs, as if they were resentful. “But is it okay? When the doppelgangers attacked, Izmilla wiped them all out, and then the Northern Aragasa just snatched Izmilla away, whom you guys had seasoned?” “What?” “If you’re in cahoots, then the staggered attack was a success, and if you’re not, then you were unilaterally used…” “Damn it! You were just watching that? Ah, no. No.” Dilia jumped up at the news that the Northern Aragasa had kidnapped Izmilla and that Azadin had been watching, but then she came to her senses. Seeing that reaction, it seemed that the Council of Elders had not yet joined hands with the Northern Empire or the Northern Aragasa. “Then, shall we take a look at the alchemy equipment contract? How much did you contract for?” Azadin received the documents from Bernard and looked at the amount. “Isn’t this a bit of a rip-off? You’re probably placing an order with the dwarves of Banreung. Even with delivery to Tarasar, it would be cheaper than this price.” “This is the Chadra Plateau. You should be grateful that we’re doing business here.” “Originally, you shouldn’t be receiving money from the Emperor’s messenger, but rather you should be giving me operating funds, right? But well, I’m also serving as a trainee knight of the Rescue Knights right now. Okay, I’ll pay for this. But you have to deliver it to Vermillion Fortress. Don’t break a single flask.” “……” “Then, I’ll go. Your doppelgangers died in the middle of the city streets, so be careful. Dilia. Oh, I almost forgot.” Azadin approached Dilia and suddenly reached out to her. Startled, Dilia was unconsciously pulled into Azadin’s embrace. “Y-you! What are you doing with Ara’el-nim’s face…” “It’s an azuresteel arrow, right? I’ll take some.” Azadin took the azuresteel arrows, the blue steel arrows, from the quiver on Dilia’s back, and left the Van Dyke Trading Company with his subordinates. “Ah, and if you have any people who are farming or working as laborers, please recommend them to Vermillion Fortress. I want to increase the population rapidly. The carrying capacity is sufficient, so don’t worry. Okay, I’m really going now.” “Ugh! You, you traitor to the clan!” Dilia’s face was red, and she was frustrated. Seeing Dilia like that, Azadin chuckled and left with his subordinates. “That’s the traitor Azadin.” “…Hmm.” The doppelgangers, an evil shapeshifting race, breathed a sigh of relief as Azadin left. They felt like they had been toyed with in many ways, but right now, they were just grateful that Azadin had disappeared from their sight. ********* “Should we let those guys live? Doppelgangers are inherently evil. They’re monsters obsessed with killing others and consuming their forms.” Camilla asked Azadin seriously. “They’re guys with a base called a trading company. If we hit them now, my position as a trainee knight will be difficult. More importantly, we need to rescue Lady Izmilla.” Azadin said as he headed towards the Fireglyph North Gate. “And we’ll have a use for them later.” ********* Ara’el’s voice flew like a bird in the sky, chasing the Northern Aragasa who had kidnapped Izmilla. The Northern Aragasa joined their companions at a water mill outside the Fireglyph gate, and among those companions was a mage. This mage was wearing a robe with strange magical characters all over his body, and this robe alone was suspicious enough to get him arrested if he passed through any proper castle or gate. Then he extended a finger out of his robe. Sharp nails and bent fingers, clearly not human. He pointed that finger at the sky. “Oh my god. There’s surveillance magic in the sky!” “What?” “Is it a Seer?” “Something similar, but more powerful and evil.” “Damn it! Then it’s Azadin.” Squad Leader Zan realized why Azadin wasn’t chasing them. Azadin had put a tracker on them to follow their movements and wait to see where they were going. Fortunately, the mage had noticed, but the mage was annoyed. “You fools, I had expectations because you were the same as that messenger clan, but you put a tail on us like this!” “What? Are you mocking us now?” “Watch your mouth, mage. Unless you want to experience the power of our Aragasa…” The Northern Aragasa threatened the mage, but the mage didn’t seem to take their threats seriously at all. Whether he was confident in his power or had other intentions from the beginning, he was definitely not an easy person. The mage spoke, unconcerned by the Aragasa’s threats and bluster. “Who’s talking about power? I’m talking about the grayish-white tofu you carry around in your heads.” “You…” The Aragasa emitted a terrifying killing intent, but this mage was also not an easy person, as he laughed while brushing off their killing intent. A sharp, inhuman voice and the sound of teeth grinding could be heard. In the midst of a tense, hair-trigger situation where they seemed ready to kill each other, Izmilla, whom they had captured, woke up.