The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 367

Everyone was so shocked that they fell silent for a moment.

They used wish magic for something as trivial as height?

“Really?”

“Yes. Do you know how much of a complex the dwarves have about their short stature?”

The dwarves, a race that diligently works with their strong bodies, digging mountain tunnels.

However, they were also a mass of complexes.

They felt pride in their ancestors and lineage, but at the same time, they felt humiliated that the Yegas gods, who easily merged with the elves, refused to merge with the dwarves.

Believing that all of this was due to their short height, they easily fell for Griselda’s trick and caused a major incident by casting wish magic.

“They were trying to become more elevated beings than the current dwarves through wish magic and seize control of the world devastated by Fimbulwinter [a great winter that precedes the end of the world in Norse mythology].”

“It doesn’t seem like a problem that can be solved by getting a little taller.”

“But the dwarven king, Manawidan, used wish magic to become a completely different being than before. He actually controls the throne, and the throne is emitting pale white magic.”

“It can’t be because he got taller. How is he controlling the throne?”

“He must have used the blood of the Yegas gods. The dwarves turned all the Yegas gods into terrible forms and embedded them in the crystal throne. Aren’t they very cruel by nature?”

“Ugh.”

Bernard and Nicelda were dumbfounded when Griselda said that the dwarves were cruel by nature. Even if the dwarves were cruel, they wouldn’t let Griselda say such things and get away with it.

However, Azadin continued his interrogation, paying no attention to the surrounding noise.

“Do you know the outline and phrases of the wish magic?”

“Hmph. Do you want to use it? That’s a foolish thing to do. Do you know how many elemental wailing patients were sacrificed to activate it once?”

“I’m not going to use it. I just need the outline. I’m trying to research a countermeasure.”

“…If you want to research a countermeasure just by knowing the outline, it’s impossible for an ordinary magician. Are you that great of a magician? Looking at your age and knowledge, it doesn’t seem like it?”

Azadin’s swordsmanship, martial arts, and his ability to strategize in information warfare were skills that were hard to acquire even with strict training for someone with innate talent.

It was hard to believe that someone could learn these skills and also be excellent at magic.

Azadin smiled wryly at Griselda’s words.

“I received the lives of two people. It’s an extraordinary birth.”

“You have a story to tell. Fine. I’ll teach you.”

Griselda told Azadin the general theory and outline of wish magic.

“It’s not the full text of the grimoire, but this much should be enough to understand its characteristics, right? If you really want to steal the wish magic, take it from the dwarven king. The grimoire is kept in a book. But the current wish magic is mediated by the Nether Blood God Ashajite, so you won’t be able to handle it. Even the dwarven king Manawidan has turned into a very strange person, completely different from his original personality.”

“Thank you for your concern. Is that all then?”

With this, Azadin had obtained most of the information he wanted from Griselda.

But just in case, Azadin asked another question.

“Do you know about the Sun of Seonwoo?”

“Of course. Hmm. But that seems to be a separate issue from the dwarves and you fighting each other? I may have fallen for your sweet talk, but I’m not going to be a complete pushover. Defeat the dwarves and torture them to get it from them. Or what? Are you going to spare me?”

“I can’t do that.”

Azadin made that clear. Considering Griselda’s wrongdoings, her thirst for power, pleasure, and her very nature, he couldn’t promise to spare her.

‘That’s a stubborn guy. What’s so hard about saying you’ll spare me, even if it’s a lie? But at least he won’t execute me in Aurelia Dungeon.’

Griselda was disappointed but also relieved at Azadin’s words that he wouldn’t spare her.

Having finished the interrogation, Azadin turned to Bernard and Nicelda.

“Now, then… shall we decide what to do with her?”

“Are you giving me the right to decide?”

“Us, you mean.”

Bernard trembled as he listened to Nicelda’s rebuke.

“I’m not Griselda’s victim. I decided to kill her because she invaded Archbishop Akenar and committed other evil deeds, but punishment beyond death is not my jurisdiction. But aren’t you the ones directly involved?”

Would they torture Griselda? Would they humiliate and insult her?

Azadin was asking if they would torment Griselda with a punishment worse than death.

This was a truly cold perspective.

It meant that death was not the end of all punishments, but that there existed pain, humiliation, and disgrace that made even the death penalty feel light.

Bernard clicked his tongue.

“I don’t know. There hasn’t been a moment when I haven’t resented her. I was her slave, and I even abandoned my daughter to escape that bondage.”

“It would be a lie to say I don’t resent her, but when I think about it, I can understand it. I must have just seemed like one of Griselda’s countless daughters…”

Surprisingly, Nicelda understood what Bernard must have been feeling at the time.

Regardless of what had happened to them in the past, it was clear that both Bernard and Nicelda were suffering terrible pain just by mentioning Griselda.

“A punishment worse than killing her… Of course, I want that. But on the other hand, I’m a shameless coward who abandoned his daughter, so I’m not in a position to ask for such a thing. So, I’ll leave the decision to Nicelda.”

“That’s very cowardly of you, Father. To push such a decision onto me.”

Nicelda clicked her tongue at Bernard’s choice.

“I want revenge. Even if I burn that greedy monster to death in Aurelia Dungeon right now, it wouldn’t even burn away a ten-thousandth of the sins she committed. We need to put more effort into inflicting pain, humiliation, and shame on her to achieve some semblance of fairness, but…”

Nicelda shook her head.

Currently, Azadin’s group had escaped through the dwarves’ secret passage to interrogate Griselda.

Even at this moment, the attack of the Celestial Fire Knights and the dwarves’ defense to stop them were ongoing, making the situation chaotic.

There was no time to focus on torturing Griselda here.

“I don’t want to see myself rejoicing at her suffering. I ask that you kill her cleanly and end her life.”

“Ah. Damn it.”

Griselda clicked her tongue as she listened to Bernard and Nicelda’s words.

“Am I really going to die like this? Here?”

Griselda was secretly hoping to buy some time, hoping that Manawidan and his dwarves might discover Azadin’s group. As a result, she might find a chance to escape.

Since the captain of the guard, Iak, was dead, the dwarves would naturally investigate the surroundings, and if they were focused on torture because of their desire for revenge, the traces and sounds would naturally be revealed.

However, surprisingly, they suppressed their desire for revenge and chose a quick and clean annihilation.

“Then.”

Azadin took out the Executioner of Azure and struck Griselda’s temple horizontally.

It was his own form of mercy, to destroy her brain and cause immediate death without her feeling any pain, to give her a death with as little pain as possible.

However, the Executioner of Azure, which activated repulsive force to the left and right when cutting flesh, caused Griselda’s head to explode, and it became quite a gruesome sight.

“……..”

Bernard and Nicelda sighed deeply as they watched Griselda’s head explode and her body fall.

“Are you okay? No regrets?”

“I don’t know.”

“Somehow, it feels a bit different from what I imagined.”

“I’m sorry. It’s because I was trying to get information out of her, so I had to be nice to her. If I had provoked her, she would have screamed, and then we could have killed her more enjoyably. Like burning her in Aurelia Dungeon.”

Griselda was a terribly evil vampire, so even burning her in Aurelia Dungeon wouldn’t have repaid all her sins.

However, Azadin had made a deal with her to get the information he wanted, and he couldn’t insult and abuse Griselda, who had faithfully responded to the deal, to that extent.

If he had intended to torture Griselda, he shouldn’t have asked for a deal in the first place.

“It would have been satisfying to torture her, play with her, and then kill her.”

Azadin spoke in a tone that was hard to tell if it was sincere or sarcastic. Bernard and Nicelda were deeply moved by Azadin’s words, thinking that he had guided them in reverse.

“No, Count. I don’t think I would have felt any better if I had tortured her. It’s just that the moment was too fleeting after such a long wait, so I’m just feeling dazed.”

“I thank you again, Count, for fulfilling our long-cherished wish.”

Nicelda even drew her sword and handed the hilt to Azadin.

“Count Azadin. I pledge my eternal loyalty to you.”

Azadin shook his head at her words.

“Eternal loyalty is too much. Be careful with your words. If you’re unlucky, you could be bound even after death.”

“If it’s the path you walk, Count, I would gladly follow you even after death.”

“I don’t want that. And it’s not like I did it just for you. So, if you really want to show your gratitude to me, don’t pledge loyalty to me personally, but devote yourself to virtue.”

“Hehe. I understand. But please accept my sword. It’s quite embarrassing for me to do this.”

Indeed, Jibek was staring at Nicelda and Azadin, and their eyes met.

He seemed to be envious.

Receiving that gaze, Nicelda urged Azadin.

“I said it was embarrassing, didn’t I? What will you do, Count?”

“Ah, I have no choice.”

Azadin accepted her sword.

“Nicelda of the Chadra Monastery. May you, with courage and wisdom, practice mercy and be faithful to virtue in this land. May you wield this sword with me and cultivate virtue together.”

“Yes. My sword will be with you on the path you illuminate.”

Azadin performed the vassalage contract with Nicelda and returned her sword.

As the vassalage contract ended, Nicelda rejoiced and stood up.

“I didn’t feel any joy when I killed Griselda, but now I finally feel joy. Ah. It’s been a long time. It’s like I can finally breathe now that the hand that was choking me has been removed. All of this is thanks to you, Count.”

“You flatter me. And I hope you keep in mind that there’s still a long way to go. Huh?”

Azadin was stopping Nicelda from praising him when he suddenly flinched.

-Swish!

An arrow flew with the sound of tearing wind.

Azadin deflected the first arrow and caught the second arrow.

The skill of the Messenger Clan, where two arrows arrive almost simultaneously.

It was Dual Shot.