The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 311

Azadin managed to reach a smooth agreement with none other than Zekt, an Inquisitor.

Zekt would grasp the power and influence of the Northern Empire within the King’s Church, inform the Church of the Celestial’s secret, and thoroughly tighten internal discipline.

Azadin, on his part, would ensure that the Celestial Fire did not seize control within the Order of the Knights of Salvation, and would discipline himself.

It was a truly loose alliance, but the fact that Zekt, an Inquisitor, wasn’t immediately trying to kill Azadin, a Soulless Blasphemer, made it an alliance of great value.

“However, I cannot do anything about Sir Zibeck being wanted, or Sir Meiya losing her mind and becoming a Wereboar. I hope that is acceptable?”

“…Yes, it can’t be helped. That’s that.”

“Then, is there any more information to share? If not, I’ll take my leave. I’m going to be much busier from now on.”

“May fortune be with you, Sir Zekt.”

“Yes. May fortune be with you as well.”

Zekt smiled and looked at Zibeck.

“Sir Zibeck.”

“Yes.”

“Make sure to assist him well. Well, it’s not my place to say such things.”

“Understood.”

Zibeck nodded, bewildered by Zekt’s words. He couldn’t understand why the sly and self-centered Zekt had suddenly changed his attitude so drastically.

Considering how quickly Heine’s attitude had changed, it seemed like Azadin had done something…

“Then, I’ll be going… Sir Azadin. It would be best for you to leave this place quickly as well. The Wisdom Church won’t be fools.”

“Indeed.”

Azadin had not left any trace of his identity with the Wisdom Church. However, Azadin had only entered Saint Mallory yesterday. If an incident suddenly occurred in the depths of the Wisdom Church, suspicion would naturally fall on Azadin.

Even without evidence, they would suspect Azadin based on circumstantial evidence alone, and he was an easy target to harass without repercussions.

Azadin, who belonged to no church, had Archbishop Akenar as his backer. As a divorcee who had entered the church, she belonged to the pure priesthood, not to any of the three churches, and thus was not a good shield for Azadin.

“I wanted to tour Saint Mallory a bit more. I guess I have no choice but to return to Chadra?”

“Ah, Sir Azadin. Would you grant me the honor of standing by your side as well?”

Heine, as if overwhelmed by the mere act of speaking, couldn’t dare to meet his eyes directly. Azadin could guess the reason for her sudden change in attitude.

‘This is why I didn’t want this.’

The more Azadin performed miracles, the further his goal became.

Of course, he had used people’s perceptions, claiming to be of the Emperor’s bloodline when necessary, but he wanted people to be reborn as true Knights of Salvation who upheld and followed virtue themselves.

However, most people prioritized personal worship. Even Heine, who was by no means a fool, must know that this was counterproductive for Azadin, but her emotions were too overwhelming for her to control.

If even an Anshindo [Assassin] of the Mercy Church, trained as an assassin, was like this, how much more would others be?

“O-of course, I know that you have no reason to trust me, Sir Azadin. How can I prove my loyalty?”

“There’s no need for that, Sir Heine. I trust you. That’s why I want you to remain within the Mercy Church.”

From Azadin’s perspective, it was much better to have someone inside the Mercy Church who could cooperate with him.

“Ah, I understand. But it’s a shame. I wanted to be with you.”

Heine also knew intellectually that her being in the Mercy Church would be of greater help to Azadin. However, regardless of that, Heine wanted to be with Azadin right now.

“It’s alright. Even if I can’t see you, I won’t forget your dedication.”

“It’s not that I’m asking for praise, Sir Azadin. I just… Ah, I don’t know.”

Heine was flustered, not knowing what to call the feelings she had for Azadin.

Then, Azadin took Heine’s hand.

“Sir Heine. Please keep it a secret that I put the corrupt angels to rest. I know that you have a duty to report to your superiors as a member of the Holy Knights of Mercy, but it can’t be helped for the greater good.”

“Yes, I understand, Sir Azadin. Then, ah.”

At that moment, the bell began to ring.

It was the closing bell, signaling the closing of the city gates.

“Sir Azadin. I will do my best to hold off the Mercy Church, but the Wisdom Church will also be suspicious of you. All the sects already know that the wanted Sir Zibeck is with you. You should have left the city gates today, but…”

Heine was genuinely worried about Azadin and asked with great determination.

“If it’s alright, would you like me to tell you about a secret passage so you can leave the city gates at night?”

“Thank you, Sir Heine. But it’s alright. Letting me use the Mercy Church’s secret passage would cause problems for you later.”

Azadin knew what Heine meant. She was trying to provide Azadin with a secret passage for their agents, the Mercy Church.

However, that meant risking her own life. If it was revealed that Azadin’s group had used the Mercy Church’s secret passage, the church would realize that there was a traitor within their ranks and immediately interrogate her.

He didn’t want it to go that far.

‘This is troublesome. This is why I didn’t want this.’

Azadin was chosen by the angels the moment he defeated the Wendigo in Korasar. However, he had hidden the fact that he was chosen by the angels from that time until now because he was afraid that something like this would happen…

The very thing Azadin had been most worried about had materialized in a strange way.

“There is no need to worry about my safety, Sir Azadin. Please…”

“No, you don’t have to worry too much. I have a plan. I appreciate the thought.”

“I-is that so?”

“Yes. So, speak casually. You’ve been using honorifics since earlier. I don’t like that.”

“I am honored, but how can I dare?”

“The more you do that, the harder it becomes to keep you close. Look. When someone who doesn’t usually do it suddenly uses honorifics, everyone looks at you strangely, right?”

Azadin pointed to Zibeck and Scott’s suspicious gazes.

“T-that’s true. They don’t know about your great mission.”

“You shouldn’t say that. So, Sir Heine, please keep this a secret.”

“Of course. I will protect this secret with my life.”

“Don’t risk your life. Then, go. The Mercy Church must be eagerly waiting for your report.”

“Yes, then.”

Heine bowed before Azadin and left, feeling regretful.

“What on earth did you do? Captain? Did you cast some kind of charm?” Scott asked, dumbfounded.

“She just agrees with my cause.”

“Rather than agreeing with your cause, it seemed more like personal worship and passion.”

Zibeck couldn’t help but nag.

“There was an incident that made her understand my cause. Well, I’ll tell you later, so let’s keep it a secret for now.”

“Understood. By the way, my existence is causing trouble for you, Sir Azadin.”

“No, don’t worry too much about it. If you think about it, it’s because I’m an Aragasa [Apostate]. What. Originally, the Knights of Salvation never went out of their way to capture those who defected from the King’s Church.”

Has the Order of the Knights of Salvation ever enthusiastically captured apostate monks or knights of the King’s Church?

Absolutely not.

The King’s Church and the Knights of Salvation recognize each other as the true law, but that’s just the official stance. In their hearts, they both want the other to fall, so there’s no reason to go out of their way to capture a traitor from the King’s Church.

Nevertheless, the reason they are targeting Zibeck is to exploit Azadin’s weakness, not because of Zibeck’s fault.

“So, about that…”

Azadin took out gold coins and handed them to Zibeck and Scott.

“Buy as many necessary items as you can before we go. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Not now, but tomorrow?”

“The sun has already set, and the city gates are closed. We have to leave tomorrow. I hope nothing happens until then. If something does happen, I’d like to meet them. I’d like to establish a relationship with the Wisdom Church. If possible, I’d like to see the Courage Church as well.”

Azadin was half anxious and half expectant about how the Wisdom Church would react.

*********

The Wisdom Church, whose most important Celestial Rebirth Ritual site had been invaded by an unknown assailant, immediately gathered high-ranking clergy and holy knights for a countermeasures meeting.

Grinding down the angel statue to extract angel blood, reincarnating the dying Eight Kings Gods and Yaegas Gods into angel eggs—any one of these was enough to cause great criticism.

Moreover, it wasn’t just that the ritual was invaded; clear physical evidence was also stolen.

The scroll of the rebirth ritual.

The scroll, personally written by the master of magic, Cohen Lionheart of the Northern Empire, had been stolen.

The leaders of the Wisdom Knights gathered at their headquarters, the Saint Mallory Academy, to begin the meeting.

“I told you so. No matter how great the corrupt angels are, we shouldn’t secure our safety with something we can’t control! I’ve been saying it over and over again.”

A high-ranking cleric, a scholar at the academy, criticized the security design of the research team that had tried to protect their secrets by using corrupt angels and the monsters of the Giant’s Underground Passage as a shield.

“Shut up. What face do you have to say that when you were the one who cut the budget for the base knights? We used the flames of the dead to use the corrupt angels because you cut the budget! You should be praising us for saving on security costs with our magic, but you cut the budget and now you’re mocking us!”

“Base knights? The budget that goes to those who have never held a sword in their lives and only spend their living expenses on women is a waste even if gold is rotting.”

“Now, now. Both of you calm down. Why are you fighting with your mouths when you have good duels between knights? Let’s have you two fight each other in a duel later and solve the immediate problem first.”

A young holy knight said with a smile on his face. Surprisingly, he had similar features to Karna, the leader of the Celestial Fire, but his skin was darker and his hair was a darker reddish-brown.

A descendant of the Northern Empire who had been reborn as a Celestial [A being of immense power].

He was a Celestial and a member of the same Northern Empire bloodline as Karna.

“You said that the one who stole the scroll escaped into the underground passage? What is the state of the underground passage? Are the monsters quiet?”

This Celestial knight asked the Wisdom Knights who had explored the underground passage.

“Yes, surprisingly, even the corrupt angels have become quiet.”

The underground passage, teeming with corrupt angels, various oozes, and monsters, had been an impregnable labyrinth that no one had ever been able to penetrate.

However, the enemy had surprisingly infiltrated the underground passage and escaped through it.

This meant that they had the ability to handle the corrupt angels. And there were very few people like that.

“Who is the culprit?”

When the academy scholar asked, the holy knights replied.