The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 371

“Good heavens.”

Aramis, at the forefront, dropped to his knees.

He wasn’t the only one.

The Celestial Knights who followed him also knelt, utterly aghast.

“Ah… Good heavens!”

“Oh, great archangels of the Trinity!”

Some even fainted, calling out to angels. This was because an unimaginable sacrilege was unfolding before their eyes.

Before them was an empty throne.

If that were all, they wouldn’t have been so shocked and despairing.

However…

“No way!”

“The throne, the throne is shattered!?”

The throne was smashed. The most terrible sacrilege imaginable to the people of Hybris had occurred.

*********

When Azadin sat on the throne, a sacred and powerful force erupted, incinerating the Mana Weavers to bones and obliterating the other vampires and Nether’s followers.

It was the true Light of Kingship that the King’s Church had been talking about all along.

“Ah!”

“Ooh.”

Everyone was moved by the majestic sight.

Niselda and Bernard, who had sworn allegiance to Azadin, felt indescribable joy, reaffirming that their choice was right.

Zibeck trembled, witnessing the birth of a great superhuman who would end his torment.

Azadin was the true king, and by serving him, they would find salvation.

But then…

“This won’t do.”

Azadin, annoyed at this moment of majestic miracle, rose from the throne.

Then, the throne began to crack.

“Huh?”

Before everyone’s eyes, the throne of the Yaegas gods began to crumble.

“Gasp?!”

Even Niselda, who had sworn allegiance to Azadin, was dumbfounded.

“S-Sacrilege! It’s sacrilege! It’s because the Herald Clan sat on the throne!”

Edir was raving like a madman.

Zibeck twisted Edir’s arm and pinned him to the floor.

However, he was just as perplexed by the situation.

“What on earth is happening? Count Azadin!?”

“I don’t know either. It’s my first time sitting on it.”

“Pardon?”

Zibeck was taken aback, not because Azadin was making an absurd excuse.

Until now, Azadin had always been confident, even when telling ridiculous lies. He was a man capable of deceiving anyone when necessary.

It was as if the Herald Clan had trained him to be a perfect liar, a well-honed blade, a master spy.

But now, when Azadin was telling this lie, he was surprisingly averting his gaze.

It was obvious to anyone that he was just spouting nonsense.

What on earth had happened?

Something must have surprised Azadin as well.

‘Good heavens. A man who didn’t even blink when a Nether emissary descended is now averting his gaze? What kind of trouble did he get into?’

Zibeck sensed the gravity of the situation and glared at Azadin.

Azadin, realizing his lie had failed, replied in an unsure tone.

“The throne kept calling me, so I sat on it, and it broke.”

“What do you mean… wait? The throne called you?”

“It might sound strange, but yes.”

If that were true, Azadin was clearly the ‘rightful king’ that the King’s Church spoke of.

But why did the throne break?

“Let’s escape for now. I’m worried that the Light of Kingship might have harmed Bishop Akenar.”

“……..”

Azadin had asked Bishop Akenar, who had become a vampire, not to commit suicide but to follow him and help with the administration.

For him to be worried that she might have been harmed by the Light of Kingship… it meant that the Light of Kingship that Azadin emitted didn’t just flash in the throne room.

In fact, the Light of Kingship that Azadin emitted when he sat on the throne spread not only through the heart of the mountain but also across almost the entire Banlung Kingdom, but Zibeck had no way of knowing how far the light had reached.

“It wouldn’t be good to show the scene of the throne breaking to others, right? Bernard, please guide us. I want to pass by avoiding the Celestial Fire.”

“Ah, I understand.”

Bernard, also flustered, guided Azadin.

*********

The Celestial Fire Knights had considerable forces, so to avoid encountering them, Azadin’s group had to detour through the King’s secret passage.

And there were traces of the Herald Clan’s passage.

Traces of the Herald Clan using this route to approach the king.

“Hmm… supplies. We should take them.”

Azadin recovered the supplies left by the Herald Clan for emergencies.

The arrows, simple food, and bandages made by the Herald Clan were also necessary supplies for Azadin now.

“Ugh…”

Edir, with bandages around his mouth, was still writhing, as if he had much to say. Zibeck, restraining Edir, stared at Azadin.

“What exactly happened?”

“I sat on the throne, and it broke.”

Azadin answered as if it were nothing.

“I mean the truth. Don’t treat others like fools, Count Azadin. The Celestial Fire must know that you sat on the throne. Isn’t that right? It’s going to be revealed eventually, so shouldn’t we at least know the details beforehand?”

Zibeck calmed his excitement and calmly persuaded Azadin.

“The truth is… yes. The throne of Yaegas chose me.”

“……”

If someone claimed to be the rightful king and the owner of the Yaegas throne, the King’s Church would gladly capture that madman, tear him to pieces, and finally burn him to death.

However, Azadin had actually manifested the Light of Kingship, so his words were not empty.

“Then why did you reject the throne?!”

“Because the throne of Banlung alone cannot save this world.”

“Pardon? What do you mean… so you broke it?”

“I didn’t break it.”

“Then if you sat on it and the throne broke, who broke it? Did I break it?”

“You’re getting worked up, Zibeck.”

“How can I not be worked up? When you sat on the throne and the Light of Kingship erupted, I felt like all my past hardships and confusions were being rewarded. Ah, I thought, I’ve lived this miserable life, cowardly clinging to it, just to see this scene! I was amazed and moved! But suddenly the throne breaks! Do you understand how I feel? Really?!”

“Well… first, lower your voice. It’s echoing.”

Azadin was at a loss as to how to persuade Zibeck, who was uncharacteristically agitated.

“You’re deliberately taking the hard path when there’s an easy one. What didn’t you like that made you give up your position as king? If you were truly called by the throne, you should have naturally taken the throne of Banlung! Then the people would have, of course, there would be those who reject you because of your birth, but for those who acknowledge you as king, it would have been the perfect justification! Under the king’s banner, everyone would have united and overcome this calamity! What angers me is not just that the throne broke and my expectations were thrown into the gutter, but your attitude of not taking it seriously! Count Azadin! What you threw away was a true miracle that any believer of the King’s Church would yearn for!”

“Zibeck, I think you’re misunderstanding. It’s not like I rejected the throne of Banlung that I had just obtained because of my personal ideals or philosophy. Calm down for now. Ah, right. I should show you the Divine King’s Scripture.”

“Pardon?”

As Azadin focused his mind, a halo of sacred light appeared behind his head.

“…Huh?”

Zibeck, who had been enraged, finally calmed down.

The light and power emanating from Azadin were exactly the same as the Light of Kingship.

It was as if Azadin himself had become the throne.

“The moment I sat on the throne, the Divine King’s Scripture was completely transferred to me. I am now the rightful king of the Banlung Kingdom.”

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”

Edir writhed, expressing his opposition.

However, the light that Azadin emitted was the Light of Kingship, which showed that the kings of this land were divine beings before they became corrupted.

Zibeck, who had been enraged, now calmed down and looked at Azadin.

“I understand. I understand that you didn’t break the throne with a careless heart. Then what exactly happened?”

“The moment I sat on the throne, I met the gods of Yaegas.”

“Ugh, kwek, kwooo!”

Edir thrashed violently. Niselda looked at Azadin and made a gesture of slitting her throat.

“Don’t.”

“It’s a shame. He doesn’t seem like someone worth keeping alive.”

“Of course, I think so too. But if we dirty our hands for the sake of feeling good, we’ll gradually lose control. The gate of justice is so narrow that no one can actually pass through it. If we lower the threshold for killing, we can eventually justify even killing all of humanity. Because no one will be able to pass through the high gate of justice.”

“Let’s continue the story.”

Zibeck was more interested in hearing about Azadin’s encounter with the gods of Yaegas than Edir’s fate.

“Right. The god was a vast and great spirit, one and yet many.”

“Well, I believe you, but you’re making statements that make me want to burn you at the stake right now.”

“Why are you saying that when you asked because you wanted to hear it? Anyway, the gods of Yaegas praised me for coming this far. As a reward for my past hardships and dedication, they bestowed upon me the Divine King’s Scripture and told me to become the king of Banlung and fight against Fimbulwinter [a great winter].”

“Good. And then?”

“I asked if I only had to protect Banlung.”

“……”

“The gods of Yaegas said that my body was already quite damaged by the curse of my birth, and that my lifespan would end by being the medium for emitting the Light of Kingship from the throne of Banlung. But it would be a glorious death, so if I dedicated myself to the world and proved that the promise of Yaegas was alive in this land, I would be able to enjoy blessings in the afterlife by standing by their side. I was promised that I would ascend by the gods of Yaegas.”

“Ugh…!”

Edir, who was tied up, writhed.

If what Azadin was saying was true, it was truly an unbelievable glory.

Wasn’t it the sound of the gods promising Azadin that he would become a pillar of justice and ascend to their side later?

It was an amazing glory that even kings had not experienced.

“Indeed, it is a kingly thing to do. It is a glorious thing. Even if you die, to protect the world with the life of a mortal and ascend. It is a glory that any believer of the King’s Church would have dreamed of.”

“But I refused.”

For the first time, Zibeck could understand a little of his master, Sir Jekt’s, heart.