The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 310

‘Unbelievable. He’s of the Messenger Clan… a Soulless Blasphemer! A foreigner who committed the great sin of regicide! But…’ The word ‘miracle’ lingered in her mouth. It was a word that would cause a great disturbance if spoken aloud. A paladin who performs miracles. The very person who performs miracles, guided by angels. The miracle guide who would unite the three orders of the Rescue Knights into one. There was a prophecy within the Rescue Knights that a great leader would one day emerge to unite the three orders. And now, people believed that Karna, the leader of the Celestial Fire, was that very miracle guide. It was a fact that the Mercy Order could not accept, but the tide was turning irreversibly in favor of Karna and the Wisdom Order. But now, a being had appeared who could overturn that situation. ‘No, that’s not the issue. This is…’ Heine felt her heart tremble. She had, in fact, lost her faith long ago. No, it wasn’t just her. All the other knights worshipped the blood of angels rather than virtue. They ignored the reality of the knights losing their divine power and became even more obsessed with the blood of angels. Even the prophecy of a great leader who would bring about unification was just nonsense to deceive the masses. The Wisdom Order had used sorcery to create Karna, and the Mercy Order was trying to overturn the situation and seize power through assassination and schemes. Heine, as a member of the Mercy Order, had lost her faith in virtue and was simply fulfilling her assigned duties as a loyal tool of the organization. But now, true faith was sprouting in her heart. ‘Ah, how fickle. Faith only arises after witnessing a miracle. But truly…’ Heine trembled with a rapture that welled up from deep within her heart. ********* Azadin joined Zekt and Scott in front of the Van Dyke Trading Company. “Huff… huff. Ugh. Boss. I, I need sugar!” Scott was suffering from a hypoglycemic shock, likely because he had run on his own two legs to escape. But Azadin scoffed. “Do you take me for a fool? It’s been a while since we arrived. If you’re still alive, there’s no need to replenish your sugar, is there? Unless you just want to eat something.” “Oh, come on, Boss. I really almost died.” The orcs, who seemed to be favored by the god of muscles, had to risk their lives when sprinting. They had so much muscle that their oxygen demand was high, and even if their lung capacity could keep up and supply enough oxygen, they would then suffer from hypoglycemic shock. Such life-threatening situations from sprinting came on suddenly… so the fact that Scott was alive meant he had recovered. “Here.” Azadin tossed a caramel to Scott. With Btumah in ruins and disruptions to the sugar trade, the prices of sugar-related products were skyrocketing. This caramel was something Azadin had obtained when he was active in Btumah. It was a very precious treasure, but considering Scott’s performance, it wasn’t a waste. Of course, he gave one to Jibek as well. “Did you achieve your goal? Sir Azadin. What happened to Sir Zekt?” Jibek asked Azadin as he received the caramel. Instead of answering, Azadin took out a scroll from his pocket. “What’s this?” “Well, it’s… Ah, a person has arrived.” Surprisingly, the person who appeared in front of the Van Dyke Trading Company was the paladin in golden armor, Sir Zekt. Zekt walked briskly alone, without any subordinates, and sat on the stone wall of the fountain in front of the Van Dyke Trading Company. “Is that caramel? Could I possibly have one?” “……” Azadin, with a clear look of reluctance, handed one to Zekt as well. Jibek gave a wry smile. “You keep your promises, don’t you, Sir Azadin? Are you going to share information with Sir Zekt as well?” “What happened in the underground waterway was not my intention. Lady Meya was beyond my control.” Zekt stated that the confrontation in the underground was not his will. Scott scoffed. “You tried to capture us alive, didn’t you? Do the Yaegas gods also have short-term memory loss because they’re half-human? Geez. What a pathetic race. How can they be so stupid?” Zekt was secretly angered by Scott’s rude words. “Meya is my disciple and subordinate. I was trying to isolate you to prevent casualties from clashing with you.” “You should at least wet your lips before lying, Sir Zekt. If you’re of noble blood, you should maintain your dignity.” Jibek also sneered at Zekt. “Then, would you tell us what happened inside?” “One more.” No sooner had Azadin spoken than Heine of the Mercy Order appeared. Her body, which was approaching in her usual attire with a black veil covering her face and a robe over her steamweave chainmail, seemed to be swaying. “Sir Azadin. You are safe. It is a great joy to see you in good health.” “Hmm?” Azadin was puzzled by Heine’s words, which greatly elevated his status. But he quickly dismissed it as her usual sarcasm. “I’m used to running away. Now, shall we talk?” Azadin explained the Wisdom Order’s method of creating angel eggs, the ritual, and unfurled the scroll. The scroll contained the incantations for reincarnating Count Detre’s soul into an angel egg. Count Detre’s true name was written on it, and it was sealed with a seal so that the true name could not be read before the seal was broken. However, the power flowing from the seal and the power engraved in the letters of the true name itself were undeniable truths. In other words, the signatures and recognitions used in such reincarnation spells could not be faked. It was clear evidence that Count Detre and the Northern Empire were involved. “Count Detre’s seal and the Northern Empire’s seal are stamped on it. A magic scroll to reincarnate Count Detre using the Northern Empire’s magic…” Jibek groaned. He knew that the Northern Empire was involved in this, but he didn’t know they were so deeply involved. “Yes. And perhaps Karna is the child of the Northern Empire…” “A reincarnated Celestial, I presume.” “Probably.” Everyone shuddered at the gravity of the situation. The reputation of the Celestial Fire Knights was spreading around the world at this very moment, gathering the worship of the masses. But the fact that their leader was not just a child of the Northern Empire but a reincarnated Celestial? The fact that they were a knight order with angel wings and divine power was already enough to dominate the masses, but the fact that they could also reincarnate humans into Celestials was an enormous advantage. “Hmm. In this case, if we reveal this fact, wouldn’t people be even more likely to join the Northern Empire? Even if they are the core of the King’s Church, the nobles of the Yaegas royal family, they will eventually grow old, sick, and die. I can’t say for sure that none of them would want to be reincarnated as Celestials.” Zekt reached out to Azadin. “Sir Azadin. Hand over that scroll. The King’s Church cannot tolerate this. If what is written on that scroll is true, it could even start a holy war.” The promise to reincarnate as an angel would undermine the unity of the Yaegas gods and was a clear betrayal of the King’s Church. For the King’s Church, it was a temptation of an evil heresy that had to be dealt with with all their might. Zekt declared that if he handed over the scroll, he would inform the King’s Church of this fact and declare a holy war. “……” Heine, who would argue that such a thing should never happen and that the dirty secrets of the knights should be hidden, was silently looking at Azadin. “Hmm? Lady Heine? Don’t you have anything to say at this timing?” “Ah, yes? Sir Azadin?” “Is there anything you want to say?” “Ah, no, there isn’t.” “There’s no way you wouldn’t have something to say?” Lady Heine was not the type of person to stay silent if Zekt asked for the scroll. In the underground waterway, she had even seemed ready to attack Azadin to take the scroll from him. But now she was… She touched Azadin’s hand. Like worshippers touching the statue of a saint, believing that it would heal their illnesses, she was touching Azadin’s hand. “You saw it…” Azadin was not a fool, and he realized why Lady Heine was acting this way towards him. “Ah, I’m, I’m sorry. Sir Azadin. I was lost in thought…” “What do you think, Lady Heine?” “I will follow Sir Azadin’s will, as God wills it.” “No, I mean, give me your opinion. I want to hear what you think as a member of the Mercy Order.” “Of course, you shouldn’t hand over the scroll. There’s no reason to give the King’s Church the upper hand, is there? Sir Azadin, please take the upper hand and punish the blasphemers. And lead the corrupt and foolish to salvation.” “That’s not the Mercy Order’s position, is it?” Jibek and Scott, who didn’t know the situation well, blinked. It was hard to see because of the black veil covering her face, but they could tell that Heine’s attitude towards Azadin had changed drastically. ‘What the heck happened?’ ‘Hmm, did the boss use some kind of charm? A paladin shouldn’t be easily charmed. Did she fall for the boss because he’s handsome?’ Jibek and Scott were bewildered by Heine’s sudden change. Azadin rolled up the scroll again. “Well, then, I’ll take this scroll. I’m sorry, Sir Zekt, but it seems pointless for the two orders to start a holy war right now.” “If you leave the Celestial Fire unchecked, they will only grow stronger and gather the worship of the masses. Sir Azadin. Will you be able to correct virtue even then?” “I’m not the one who’s going to correct virtue. If I do that, I’ll be no different from the King’s Church. It’s not the angels who save people, but people who help the angels with the power of virtue, save the angels, and save themselves.” “Haa. That’s an even more disgusting doctrine. Sir Azadin. To tell those foolish people to save themselves and even the angels. I understand your desire to believe that, but you have no sense of reality.” Zekt, who was born as a member of the Yaegas gods, did not trust ordinary humans. Therefore, Azadin’s doctrine of the Rescue Knights’ virtue was nothing more than a reckless ideal. In the first place, wasn’t Azadin himself a being mixed with the blood of the emperor? On top of that, he was now a great leader chosen by the angels. His words and reality were completely separate from the start. “But we can’t start an internal conflict before that. What I want from you is to maintain order within your order. As you can see, there may be those who have been swayed by the Northern Empire among the Yaegas gods, the kings and ministers of the Eight Kingdoms. Investigate them and deal with them as you see fit.” “……” Zekt gave a wry smile at Azadin’s words. Azadin, a Soulless Blasphemer, a member of the Messenger Clan, whom the King’s Church, no, all the people of Hybris, despised, was asking Zekt, a member of the Yaegas gods, to cooperate as an ally within the King’s Church. Zekt had no reason to listen to that. He had his own ambitions and plans. If he had that scroll, it would certainly be a great help to his ambitions and plans, but… ‘…It’s also foolish to fight against someone chosen by the angels. Even if I were to fight, it would be better to have someone else fight him.’ Now that he knew Azadin’s identity, Zekt gave up on opposing Azadin. “I understand. Sir Azadin. Your path will be more difficult than mine. May that scroll be your weapon…” Zekt no longer asked Azadin for the scroll.