The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 41

‘Flower, Bird, Wind, Moon, Wall Thunder, Kajas Style!’

In that instant, the blades trembled….

-Thwack!

“Ugh!”

“Keuk!”

Kellibre and Adan cried out and were thrown backward.

“Kuh-ack.”

“W-what? No way. This is… Wall Thunder?!”

Kellibre and Adan got up, their hands trembling. They felt a shock as if they had been electrocuted all over, making them mistakenly believe that Azadin had used Wall Thunder [a powerful technique].

“Y-you said you couldn’t use magic? How?”

As they stared in shock, Azadin sighed.

“Tch. Hey, don’t die. Well, one of you will probably live, right?”

At that moment, Azadin’s body blurred.

“Twilight?”

“Damn it!”

Kellibre and Adan, their hands still tingling, immediately reacted with martial arts, kicking at Azadin’s projected path. However, Azadin moved as if melting into the ground and was already behind them.

‘Dusk?’

‘From Twilight to Dusk? The combination is incredible, and he’s so fast?’

Kellibre and Adan now realized. The Azadin they were facing was no longer the kid they used to beat up and make cry. He was, in fact, quite strong, even among the Messenger Clan.

‘We’re screwed.’

‘We shouldn’t have messed with him….’

But it was too late for regrets.

“Where are you looking?”

Azadin dashed between them like lightning and kicked them both simultaneously. Kellibre and Adan were unable to resist and were sent flying, crashing into nearby trees and rocks.

“Kuh-erk?!”

“D-damn it! No way!”

Their ribs were broken in a single blow. It wasn’t the side that was hit, but the ribs on their backs that broke from the impact of hitting the objects after being thrown. Moreover, Adan had foolishly tried to block Azadin’s attack and broke his arm, while Kellibre took the hit directly and was less injured.

“I was just trying to send you flying without breaking anything… but the terrain makes it hard to hold back.”

“……!”

“…….”

Azadin’s words about holding back were not empty. The power and angle of his kick now, he could have aimed for their heads if he wanted to, which would have killed them instantly.

‘That wasn’t a human kick.’

‘He didn’t even use magic, and he has this much power?’

The moment they were hit by Azadin, they realized the difference in their levels.

“Still, both of you survived. Even though you weren’t chosen as messengers, you didn’t slack off on your training? I was trying to knock you out, but you’re quite sturdy.”

“…….”

Kellibre and Adan, who had been hit, were speechless.

‘Why? Even if we didn’t become messengers… there’s no way we’re worse than Azadin, who couldn’t even complete basic training, right?’

Kellibre and Adan had completed basic training but were not qualified to become followers due to a lack of talent. They had continued to apply to become followers at the Harvest Festival every two years, but as peace continued, messengers rarely died. Also, as Araelle began to play a major role, the Messenger Clan only prospered without any sacrifices.

So, they had to live as merchants in the peddler’s guild, without ever becoming followers, their youth wasted.

From their perspective, when they heard the news that Azadin, the inferior student they used to beat up, had become a messenger on the recommendation of Elder Kajas, it was needless to say how disappointed and angry they were.

‘No way.’

‘T-this guy became a messenger through skill? I can’t accept it! If I accept that….’

Their reason for existence would disappear. They would become truly ugly, inferior, and incompetent beings. Until then, they had been criticizing the Messenger Clan’s frustrating traditions and Arahasa [the Messenger Clan’s governing body].

‘We are capable enough to become messengers. We are talented, but we didn’t get a chance because we don’t have a family background. Because we are not descendants of the founder.’

They had lived by comforting themselves like that. They believed that if they only got a chance, they could show their skills, be active, break the curse placed on the clan, and become messengers.

But the truth was, they were no match for Azadin of the 108th rank, even if they attacked him at the same time?

‘Does this mean we’re just idiots?’

‘Damn it. I can’t accept it!’

They tried to get up and fight again, but their legs were already giving out. Their arms and bodies wouldn’t listen, and when they opened their mouths, they felt a sour taste rising. They even felt a chill in their bodies.

“Now then, shall we hear the story? What happened? What is this about?”

Azadin looked back at them coldly. It was then.

A large crow flew from a nearby thicket and landed on a tree branch.

[108th Messenger Azadin… this is a big problem.]

“Ah, the Emperor’s Voice [a magical entity]. I thought you had disappeared. But why are you speaking through a medium?”

[The Chieftain has dismissed you.]

“I know that.”

[That’s not all. The Curse of Service has been activated.]

“!!?”

“Activated?!”

Everyone was shocked by those words.

*********

The contract of service between the Messenger Clan and the Emperor.

It was called the Curse of Service because not only were the Messenger Clan bound to be loyal to the Emperor forever, but the way that loyalty was enforced was cruel.

If the Messenger Clan’s collective decision-making system, the Chieftain and the Elders, agreed to activate the Curse of Service on someone, that person would surely die. And not just die. They would have to fill a vacancy in the Messenger Clan in their place before dying.

“The Curse of Service has been activated. How did that happen?”

[The Curse of Service will activate in a year. You will probably give birth to a member of the Messenger Clan to fulfill your duties in your place and then die. Just like Acre did.]

Yes, give birth.

Whether the cursed person was a man or a woman, they would give birth to a member of the Messenger Clan and die. That was the great penalty of the Messenger Clan’s Curse of Service.

“This is bull….”

Azadin, who rarely swore, couldn’t help but curse.

*********

In the past, Acre was branded an enemy of the clan for stealing a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture [a sacred text] and the Curse of Service was activated. Almost the entire Messenger Clan mobilized to capture him.

But surprisingly, Acre, who was not even a messenger, had evaded pursuit and defeated pursuers for a year.

People believed that the reason he had become so strong, even though he was not a messenger but a scholar who interpreted magic books under the elders, was because he had absorbed the knowledge and power of the Divine King’s Scripture copy. However, even Acre could not escape the Curse of Service.

In the end, he gave birth to Azadin and Araelle, the twins, as a man and died.

“Ugh… I don’t want to get pregnant as a man. Are they crazy? And why did the Emperor make the service contract like that in the first place?”

[This penalty was set by Harkonia, not me.]

Harkonia, the first Chieftain of the Messenger Clan.

She was famous as a beautiful and powerful mage and warrior, but if you looked closely at the historical records, you could see that she had a very eccentric personality.

[And… ah, I shouldn’t tell you this.]

“What is it? Just tell me.”

[Well, this magic called the Emperor’s Voice, it’s a way to make an artificial spirit exist in this world forever on the condition that it doesn’t directly transmit certain information. I can tell you things related to your personal affairs, but anything else… well, now that you’ve been dismissed from the messengers, even speaking to you through a medium is actually eating away at my existence. You’re not even a petitioner of gold coins, so me speaking to you is actually dangerous.]

“…….”

The other members of the Messenger Clan, the Aragasa, who were listening to this, were horrified. The Emperor’s Voice was speaking to Azadin, breaking the rules out of consideration for him.

It was a great honor for the Messenger Clan, an honor they could not even imagine. This could only be interpreted as the Emperor’s Voice seeing Azadin as a very important figure for the future of the Messenger Clan. But Azadin clicked his tongue with a nonchalant attitude.

“Even so, you’re the one who made the curse that will make me give birth as a man and die in a year. You put a curse on me to kill me, but you’re saying you acknowledge me? Are you kidding me?”

“H-how dare you, Azadin!”

“The Emperor’s Voice is the Emperor’s will! To….”

Kellibre and Adan scolded Azadin. Of course, Azadin was going crazy.

“How dare I? I’m not even a messenger anymore! Because you guys suddenly dismissed me and even put the Curse of Service on me! And now you’re talking about your own solemnity and nobility!?!”

“N-no, but still.”

“There’s a certain decorum.”

“If there’s decorum, is it okay to dismiss me out of the blue? Then you tell me. Why are you trying to catch me? Why did you suddenly dismiss me?”

“That’s….”

The two looked at each other before speaking.

“Araelle has rebelled!”

“What?”

“Araelle murdered Elder Kenahan and stole the copies of the Divine King’s Scripture that had been collected.”

“…….”

Azadin tilted his head at those words.

“But why are you dismissing me?”

“Well….”

“Because you think I’m in league with Araelle?”

At that moment, Azadin exploded.

“Are you kidding me! Who left a scar on my face? It was Araelle, who you all adore! What? Me in league with Araelle? Even if Araelle and I were the only two people left in the world, we would fight each other!”

“But how would other people know about the relationship between you two?”

“To us, it looked like Araelle was very protective of you. How much she cared for you.”

“That’s ridiculous! Araelle protected and cared for me? Then what about the scar on my eye?”

“Didn’t you not have an eye originally?”

“How can I trust your judgment! You said it yourselves! The paragon of the Messenger Clan! The reincarnation of Harkonia! You didn’t know that Araelle, who you were licking and sucking up to, would rebel? Why are you holding me responsible with that kind of judgment? When Araelle was doing well, did I get even a single penny of benefit? No! When I was a snot-nosed kid, you threatened me by saying you’d marry me off to the idiot Azadin if I cried? What did I do wrong to be dismissed and have the Curse of Service activated on me!?!”

“T-that’s….”

“We don’t know.”

“You’re talking nonsense! Do you want this damn messenger position that much? You can all have it!”

A murderous aura emanated from Azadin’s mask.

“Now that it’s come to this, should I just kill every member of the clan I see? Should I really rebel?”

“……?!”

“N-no, wait a minute! C-calm down.”

Adan and Kellibre tried to stop him. If Azadin went on a rampage like that, they would be the first to be killed.

“You can go to the Chieftain and the Elders and ask them to revoke the dismissal!”

“Y-yes. After our clan became the Emperor’s messengers, there’s only been one person in the clan’s history who actually died from the Curse of Service.”

“That’s my father who gave birth to me, you bastards! Are you trying to make fun of me?”

Azadin was going wild. He looked like he was about to breathe fire.

“…….”

“B-but, you know.”

Adan opened his mouth, watching Azadin’s expression.

“If you’re going to ask the Chieftain to revoke the dismissal anyway, you have to go there. So, can’t we just say we caught you….”

“Do you want to die right now?”

As Azadin drew his sword, a chilling murderous intent pierced their skin. It was definitely not a joke. The current Azadin was capable of killing people. Everyone sensed it.