The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 356

Surprisingly, this wraith called Azadin the one who would become the king of Banreung.

Azadin had just declared his intention to seize the throne yesterday, and now a wraith bound to the earth was saying this. The speed at which wraiths transmit information surpasses human imagination.

Azadin scoffed.

“You belong to the Witch Coven, don’t you?”

The Witch Coven, a secret society of wild magic passed down among women since ancient times. The Shade Hags were their executives.

Azadin was at odds with the Shade Hags, so his relationship with the Witch Coven was not good.

[We sought salvation and used the Witch Coven’s magic, which bound our souls. But even with the Witch Coven’s magic, we couldn’t withstand the Nether and the vampires, and our souls were offered in vain. But you, the one who will be king, have freed our lowly souls. The Shade Hags are targeting the noble one, so be careful. There is already a member of the Witch Coven around you… it is…]

“No need to say it. I already know Camilla is a member of the Witch Coven. Don’t waste the power of your souls with the Witch Coven’s magic, and cross over to the afterlife and rest in peace.”

Azadin finished the funeral before the wraith of the Witch Coven could give him any more useless information.

The wraith was surprised that Azadin already knew the identity of the Witch Coven member who had infiltrated his ranks, and once again knelt and paid respects.

[Then, may you, who are blessed by gods and angels, spread your will in this world…]

The wraith disappeared, and only the burial mounds remained beside the well.

“W-what is this…”

Edir trembled like an aspen tree as he watched the scene.

He knew that there were cults like the Witch Coven, but this was the first time he had witnessed it directly. No, it was the first time he had ever witnessed wraiths directly.

Having always lived in the civilized areas of humans, the only external enemies he occasionally encountered were Brina goblins. He had never seen such evil spirits before.

Of course, recently, with the arrival of the Age of Jupiter and Fimbulvert [a cataclysmic event], he had witnessed the terrible and terrifying minions of the Nether… but seeing the Witch Coven and their wraiths brought a different kind of fear.

What was even more frightening was that the wraiths called Azadin the one who would be king.

“I see why the Shade Hags are so scary. I said it yesterday, and it’s already spread all over the world. So, you understand? Killing Edir is useless. Rather, the Shade Hags will take over Edir’s soul and use him as a witness.”

Azadin used this situation to argue that Edir should not be killed.

“I see.”

“Indeed.”

Niselda and Bernard seemed convinced.

“But from the Witch Coven’s perspective, it’s like having the meat in their mouths stolen. Moreover, they’ve learned of Sir Azadin’s secret…”

Zibeck worried that the Witch Coven and the Shade Hags would not leave Azadin alone.

“Wait a minute, Sir Zibeck. Before that, we need to ask about that. The one who will be king, blessed by angels. What is that all about?”

“Sir Azadin, no, Count Azadin has already mastered the Divine King’s Scripture and has been chosen by the angels of the Rescue Knights.”

“…What?”

Edir seriously wondered if Zibeck had gone mad.

“Are you saying that the nonsense those wraiths were spouting is true?”

“He actually prevented the thrones of Corasar and Butuma from falling into the hands of evil. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“What is…”

At that moment, the horses suddenly started to neigh in alarm.

Large black shadows were writhing and approaching from around the village.

He thought they were cultist mutants, but they were not. A bizarre monster with a large raven’s head and a human body was growing larger and larger even at this moment.

[How dare you take the souls that were in our mouths. Count Azadin. You’ve gone too far!]

The Shade Hags, unable to contain themselves, were projecting their power.

However…

“You’ve worked hard. It must be tough, traveling all over the continent even at this late hour.”

Azadin taunted the Shade Hags and loaded Aurelia Dawn onto his bow. Grimslaw’s mace attached to Aurelia Dawn, transforming into stabilizing fins for aiming, and the fired Aurelia Dawn fell on the raven monster that had not yet completed its transformation.

-Boom!

Aurelia Dawn shattered on top of the raven monster, raining down as fiery shards.

The raven monsters were engulfed in flames before they could fully mature.

[No! That sword! It’s Lord Planck’s relic!]

[That sword is one of the holy swords of the Rescue Knights! It’s not something made with later sorcery, but a sword that the real angels made with their own blood! How dare you use it like that!]

The Shade Hags were dumbfounded and protested to Azadin.

“Oh, is that what it was? I didn’t know.”

Azadin was startled to hear that Aurelia Dawn was not made by the Wisdom Order but was a holy relic given by real angels.

“No wonder it’s exceptionally better than other ceramite longswords. But still, the cutting feel is terrible.”

How could there be no room for improvement when the cutting feel was worse than even a normal steel sword, let alone azuresteel?

Azadin burned the raven monsters and retrieved Aurelia Dawn. The shattered ceramite pieces reassembled into the form of Aurelia Dawn, and Grimslaw’s mace retrieved it, returning it to Azadin’s hand.

[You fiend! Just you wait!]

[This isn’t the end! Fear the night!]

The Shade Hags were furious as they watched their attack being annihilated by Azadin before it was even properly prepared.

Their grating, noisy voices, the terror of the black wild magic that could be seen, heard, and felt everywhere, were terrifying enough to chill the hearts of the living, but Azadin, indifferent to the Shade Hags’ ranting, got into the carriage.

“Aren’t you guys outdated now? The Age of Jupiter is upon us, and the emissaries of the Nether have appeared, but you guys are far below them, aren’t you? In a situation where mad dragons and rampaging giants are running wild, what’s the point of a tiny stray dog barking…”

[Caw! You!]

“We’re heading into the Banreung Kingdom where the emissaries of the Nether have descended, so either follow us or shut your mouths? Or are you going to fight Ashajit? Do you think the power of the Witch Coven is stronger than the emissaries of the Nether?”

When asked if they would fight the emissaries of the Nether, the Shade Hags of the Witch Coven backed down.

[J-just you wait.]

[Fear the night!]

[Sister… stop that. I told you earlier. It’s kind of cringey when you keep doing that?]

[You brat! It’s your crooked nose that’s cringey!]

[Your nose and my nose are the same… Anyway, those kinds of lines are cool when we’re doing well. It’s kind of pathetic when we’re getting our asses kicked.]

[You idiot. It’s even more stupid to say that in front of the enemy! Even if you think that, it’s not something you should say in front of Count Azadin!]

[But aren’t we not even in our real bodies? Can’t we just break the concentration?]

[Shut up! It’s been a while since we’ve been beaten like this, so I forgot about that!]

The Shade Hags argued among themselves, and their voices gradually faded away.

*********

“Wow.”

Edir couldn’t close his mouth at what had happened before his eyes.

Azadin had saved the wraiths. Then, the legendary leaders of the Witch Coven, the Shade Hags, appeared, attacked Azadin, and were defeated and retreated? And he’s the one who will be king?

Wasn’t this a story straight out of the middle of a hero’s myth?

Of course, the Shade Hags showed a disgraceful side as they retreated with their tails between their legs, so it wasn’t a scene that could be used in a hero’s myth as it was…

With a little bit of adaptation, it was a plausible scene.

“Hehe. I think you understand a little why we like the Count.”

Bernard puffed himself up as he watched Edir’s dumbfounded expression at what had happened before his eyes.

“Even if the minions of the Nether roam this land, even if Fimbulvert comes, if Count Azadin is there, he’ll be able to do something.”

“…Certainly.”

He had such expectations.

Even Edir, who had been suspicious of Azadin from the beginning, now wanted to believe in Azadin.

*********

After that, Azadin’s group headed north without any further threats.

Bernard, who had gained Ashajit’s eyes, used powerful blood magic to conceal the group’s tracks.

Vampires and Ashajit’s minions could not find Azadin’s carriage even up close, so they were able to pass through the area as if it were uninhabited, despite the countless monsters swarming around.

“Ugh… I’m going crazy.”

Edir, who was acting as the coachman, trembled as if he couldn’t adapt to the situation.

There were even times when cultist mutants covered in blood vessels and tentacles the size of elephants passed by the side of their road.

“It’s okay. Trust my magic.”

“Everyone says that.”

Edir put blinders on the horses to prevent them from being startled and carefully moved forward. Right next to them, within reach of a tentacle, the cultist mutants passed by without noticing Azadin’s group.

“Oh my. My heart is pounding. I won’t live to see my natural lifespan.”

“Then, from now on, I’ll use blood magic to remove only the cultist mutants. But if there are vampires nearby, our location will be revealed.”

Bernard said to Edir, who was complaining, and looked at Azadin.

Azadin, who had declared his intention to seize the emperor’s throne, was sitting in the cargo area of the carriage, meditating.

Seeing the powerful magic circulating around his body in succession, it was clear that he was handling amazing high-level magic.

He had heard that Azadin was a descendant of the emperor, a guide chosen by the angels, and the one who would be king, as the Shade Hags had said.

Zibeck had also said that Azadin had collected a huge number of copies of the Divine King’s Scripture and that the Divine King’s Scripture was dwelling within his body… Azadin’s meditation must surely be part of a grand plan to set this world right.

‘This is a big problem. A big problem.’

In reality, Azadin was struggling to organize the magic power raging within his body.

Azadin’s body was already not in perfect condition, having been brought back from the dead, and Ara’el was such a master of magic that he had mastered all sorts of magic, so there were many miscellaneous magic books.

He was enduring by discarding all the magic books that he couldn’t understand among those that came to mind, but the magic books he received from Ara’el kept growing like water plants in a pond, no matter how much he emptied them.

Usually, people would be eager to have even one magic book, but for someone like Azadin, who had been brought back from the dead, the more miscellaneous magic power he had, the more of a headache it was.

‘At this rate, my body will explode?’