The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 405

To offer my sword, deeply moved by Azadin’s grand ambition, only to be told to hand over my military power… It wasn’t an atmosphere where I could refuse, so I agreed, but this feels like a perfect setup for a purge.

There’s no turning back now. I came with good intentions, only to find myself in a complete checkmate.

Of course, Azadin didn’t just take Karna’s military power. He also selected officers and horses from various regions and assigned them to Karna, requesting him to train them in mounted combat to become knights.

It wasn’t that he was trying to purge Karna, but rather giving him the role of a cavalry instructor. However, taking away his existing knights and giving him complete novices was enough to make him feel uneasy.

As Karna, trembling, was heading towards the king’s audience chamber, he saw Sir Zekt being carried out by people.

Karna knew that Sir Zekt had gone through a near-death experience in Bissen and returned. He probably collapsed from exhaustion.

But the atmosphere was strange.

“Is it true that Sir Zekt challenged the king?”

“That’s what they say. And when King Azadin sternly rebuked him, Sir Zekt collapsed.”

“Really? Sir Zekt is an Inquisitor, isn’t he?”

“But they say Sir Zekt committed a great sin. King Azadin questioned him about his sin and ordered him to atone as a Penitent Knight, and that’s when Sir Zekt collapsed.”

“… ?”

Listening to them, the soldiers’ exaggerations were growing endlessly.

Karna entered the king’s audience chamber after hearing their words.

Azadin was standing in the center of the audience chamber, not on the throne, waiting for him.

The atmosphere was ominous, as if he might draw his sword at any moment.

Sir Jibek was lost in thought, looking in the direction where Sir Zekt had been carried out, and Bernard was using vitality magic to invigorate the collapsed Bishop Bissen.

“I heard you summoned me, Your Majesty.”

“Ah, Sir Karna.”

“What is going on? I just saw Sir Zekt being carried out.”

“He must be tired. He not only escaped from Bissen and marched all the way back, but he also kidnapped a bishop.”

“Is that so? But listening to the soldiers…”

“Why? Did they say I rebuked him so much that he collapsed, spitting blood?”

“…Yes.”

“You know that’s nonsense, right? More importantly, Sir Karna, Sir Zekt said he saw a Celestial with crimson wings in Bissen.”

“Crimson wings?”

“And she was even a Holy Knight of the King’s Church who was once under Sir Zekt’s command. Do you have any idea who it might be?”

“Hmm. This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

Karna spoke cautiously.

“It’s probably not the doing of the Northern Empire.”

“Why do you think so?”

“It would take at least three months to walk from Asander, where the Northern Empire is, to Bissen. It’s impossible to deploy forces to Bissen that quickly. Even if they are hailed as the King of Kings, it’s a huge waste of effort and resources to establish and operate an organization far from the kingdom. They’ve invested a lot in the Rescue Knights, but Bissen isn’t within the Rescue Knights’ sphere of influence, is it?”

What Karna learned after joining Azadin’s military faction was that the Northern Empire was not as substantial as its grand appearance suggested.

Of course, it was true that he was the king of the Eight Kingdoms and had been given the title of King of Kings by the King’s Church, and he had already stockpiled a vast amount of grain in preparation for Fimbulwinter [a great winter in Norse mythology].

He was definitely not someone to be taken lightly, but like Azadin’s military faction, he had many gaps here and there due to the rapid expansion of his organization.

“Even so, to create a Celestial with crimson wings, there must be at least a Rescue Knights’ order, right? So, at first, I suspected the Wisdom Order, but if a Holy Knight of the King’s Church became a Celestial, the one who performed this ritual must be in a position to demand that the Holy Knight of the King’s Church give their life.”

It’s impossible to create a Celestial without the blood of an angel.

And to make a Holy Knight of the King’s Church obey, they must hold a high position in the order.

The King’s Church considers the Rescue Knights a folk religion that worships lower gods.

They acknowledge them because they have many followers, are quite useful, and are somewhat submissive. But they would never agree to the Rescue Knights’ demand to hand over a Holy Knight.

Who else could do this other than Cohen of the Northern Empire, who has strong influence over both orders?

“In that case, I will try to wake Bishop Bissen by force. It would be better to hear directly from the person involved. Well, his health might suffer, but thinking about it, this guy is a traitor.”

Bernard said, increasing the intensity of his blood magic.

Soon after, Bishop Bissen vomited a mouthful of vomit and opened his eyes.

“Ugh… Wh-where am I?”

“This is the capital of the Banlung Kingdom, the Heart of the Mountain. Welcome. Bishop Bissen. I was worried you might die from severe motion sickness.”

“Oh… You, a member of the Envoy Clan?!”

Bishop Bissen was flustered as he looked at Azadin.

“Did you kidnap me? But I was clearly…”

“Sir Zekt brought you. So, I have something to ask you.”

“Do you think I would answer you? You soulless blasphemer!”

Bishop Bissen said, but his body couldn’t handle his anger, and he started vomiting again.

He also started coughing severely, as if vomit had entered his windpipe.

“Someone, bring water.”

“…Your Majesty?”

Jibek was taken aback.

For a king to give water to a prisoner was a sign that he wouldn’t kill them. He had something to hear from Bishop Bissen, so wasn’t giving him water too hasty?

He should show that he could kill him at any time to get him to tell the truth.

But since the king had ordered it, a servant brought water in a basin.

The bishop rinsed his mouth with trembling hands. The bishop’s hands trembled, and he threw the washbasin down.

The brass washbasin rolled on the floor, making a loud metallic noise.

“How dare you!”

Jibek was furious at the bishop’s action, which mocked the king’s mercy, but Azadin stopped Jibek.

“Why are you so angry, Bishop?”

Bishop Bissen was strangely furious.

The Bissen province was a land that had to trade mainly by land and inland waterways without a proper port.

Although he harbored resentment towards the Banlung Kingdom for being demoted to a province, there was no future in opposing the Banlung Kingdom now that Butuma had fallen.

In this land, it was a reckless act to set a trap for Azadin, the king of Banlung, or even his subordinate, Zekt, and cause a rebellion. It was like a suicidal act that would be difficult to do without a big backer or a strong motive that disregarded even one’s own life.

And Azadin saw that strong motive in Bishop Bissen.

“Kill me if you want! You blasphemer! There’s no way the spirit of Yaegas would have chosen someone like you.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Your evil scheme might deceive the Northern Empire and others, but it won’t deceive me. Ugh…”

And then the bishop started vomiting again.

A terrible liquid mixed with blood, stomach acid, and bile poured out like a waterfall.

It was clearly more than a human’s volume.

“Your Majesty?!”

“…”

Azadin silently stepped back, watching Bishop Bissen vomit everything inside him.

Bishop Bissen collapsed on his own vomit.

“Ah, ah, ah. Is that so! Oh, God! I understand! Ah ha ha ha!”

Bishop Bissen suddenly burst into laughter, filled with emotion.

And his back tore open, and blood splattered.

Wings stained with crimson light were extending from Bishop Bissen.

“As expected, waking the bishop has resolved the question.”

Azadin said to Bernard as if joking.

Even Bernard, who was usually calm, was flustered by this unexpected change.

“I-I did use blood magic on the bishop, but it was just magic to invigorate him. This is…”

Bishop Bissen, who had become a Celestial with crimson wings, sang a hymn of joy.

A distorted twilight-like halo formed around him, and he radiated a powerful force in all directions, pushing Azadin and the others back.

“The true God has chosen me, and a revelation has been given! You soulless blasphemer! There’s no way someone like you could be chosen by the gods! This is the power of the true messenger of God!”

“Yes, yes. I’m sure you are.”

At Azadin’s gesture, guards appeared from the back of the king’s audience chamber.

Dwarf blunderbuss soldiers began firing at Bishop Bissen all at once.

Some of them were closer to cannons than blunderbusses, and they tore Bishop Bissen to shreds in an instant.

“Kuaaak!”

“I was originally going to use them against Sir Zekt, but I’m glad it wasn’t a waste of effort.”

Azadin rushed towards Bishop Bissen, who was riddled with bullets.

Streams of crimson blood shot out from Bishop Bissen’s body, aiming for Azadin.

Even in this situation, Bishop Bissen chose to counterattack Azadin.

But Azadin immediately deployed his twilight to evade the blood streams and, with his ceramite longsword, slashed through Bishop Bissen’s torso, turning to the right diagonally.

“You false prophet!”

Enraged, Bishop Bissen turned his gaze to chase Azadin, but at that moment, Azadin did a somersault and jumped over Bishop Bissen.

Bishop Bissen turned his body to chase the one who had struck him and gone behind him, but he was still in a situation where his back was exposed…

-Thud!

The ceramite longsword pierced through Bishop Bissen’s ribcage.

Azadin twisted the sword horizontally, widening the wound by cutting through the diaphragm and the base of the lungs, before pulling it out.

“Cough…”

Blood poured out with the bishop’s scream.

“Well. I was trying not to kill clergymen if possible.”

But this situation was not a normal one.

*********

“For the river in the southern region to freeze in winter. It’s an amazing thing.”

A woman with elegant blonde hair and blue eyes, who looked to be in her late teens, grabbed the railing of the ship and looked outside.

Thin ice had formed in the shallow parts of the river and waterways prepared for inland navigation.

It didn’t pose any problem for the ship’s navigation, but it was a terrible disaster that felt like freezing to death for the residents of the southern inland region, who had never experienced cold before.

“Don’t even mention it, miss. It’s only better here because of King Azadin’s protection.”

“You mean the king from the Envoy Clan? What kind of person is he?”

“Oh my, how could I dare to speak about the king?”

“From the way you say that, it seems you acknowledge him as king?”

“Well, the Light of Kingship actually reached us, so how could we not acknowledge him?”

The sailor said, looking around and lowering his voice.

“When the dwarf kings were on the throne, there was no Light of Kingship. Instead, vampires and wraiths roamed every night, taking people away. I hope the other kingdoms and clergymen can have a good talk with the current king. Honestly, the older folks don’t like that the Envoy Clan has taken the throne, but from our perspective, it seems better to be ruled by him.”

“Is that so?”

The woman smiled at the sailor’s words.

At that moment, a masked figure with a hunched posture appeared beside her.