Night of the Soulless Heathens – 5



#5. Bold Challenger 1

“ah.”

Azadin brought the water bottle to his lips only to be disappointed. Only a few drops of water moistened his lips.

“This is a big problem.”

I sighed and put the water bottle back in my backpack.

“Why did you brag about getting there in two days? It’s my fault you stupid spirit.”

[How dare you say such rude things to the Emperor’s voice.]

A voice was heard around Azadin.

Originally known as the Emperor’s Voice this spirit was an entity that listened to petitioners’ petitions and connected those petitions with nearby messengers. It was an artificial spirit created by the Emperor and its power extended to the entire continent of Hybris.

The power of this spirit remained strong even hundreds of years after the death of the Emperor without any decline. It was a testament to how powerful a wizard the Emperor was if not to the point of being like a god.

But Azadin a member of the Herald Clan who actually followed the Emperor scoffed.

“To be frank the Emperor died without a plan so the whole world hates us the Emperor’s messengers! They call us the Kingslayers and the soulless blasphemers. You bluffed to the petitioner so I left everything behind and ran like crazy to satisfy your bluff. I’m dying of thirst because of you. All I have to eat is dry food but if I eat this now I won’t be able to digest it and I’ll die.”

[…I’m sorry about that. But don’t worry. Your servant will arrive soon.]

“Work? I don’t have a job.”

Not all members of the Herald Clan are heralds. Only 108 people can become heralds according to the 108 voices of the Emperor. The rest either become servants who assist the heralds or engage in occupations to preserve the Herald Clan itself.

However in Azadin’s case he was so unpopular among the messenger clan that no one volunteered to be his servant.

[Two people have recently applied for your job. They are young and talented.]

“Hmm. No one in their right mind would apply for my job. A talented person? You don’t believe me?”

Azadin grumbled and stopped as he walked along the dusty road. A ruined village with a well came into view. At the entrance to the village shadows of humans like stray dogs could be seen.

“Is it a ghost?”

Azadin placed his hand on the sword at his waist.

[Not an enemy. A petitioner.]

“…okay?”

As Azadin approached faces emerged from the shadows. They were clearly the ones hanging from the zelkova tree at the entrance to the village where he had arrived with his petition.

A young girl her lover and their family stood on the road looking like wanderers and when Azadin approached they cautiously bowed with their hands clasped together. Azadin also nodded in return for their greeting.

“This land has neither the light of the king nor the protection of the archangel so it will not be good for you to stay there for too long. I have avenged your grudge so go to the other side.”

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As Azadin said the ghosts pointed towards the well in the ruined village.

“Oh are you going to give me some water? Well I do need water but why do you need it so badly… Please get some rest soon.”

Although he said that Azadin took out the water bottle he had put in his backpack and approached the well with excitement. When he pulled the well bucket it felt heavy indeed.

How can a well that should already be completely dry have such heaviness?

“Hey it looks like a dry well but it must have been quite difficult for the ghosts to make water come out of it.”

Azadin was so excited that he quickly pulled up the bucket… Inside the bucket was a piece of paper that glowed on its own along with sand.

“….”

[Oh it’s a copy of the New King’s Book.]

“A copy of the New King’s Book?”

Azadin flinched when he heard the name.

“Why is this….”

Azadin’s lips trembled. Then a will-o’-the-wisps flashed before his eyes.

“No I’m grateful but….”

Looking back at the ghosts they greeted Azadin again and walked away beyond the sandstorm soon disappearing.

They found a copy of the New King’s Letter and gave it to Azadin who had already granted the petition but did not need to grant it anymore since the petitioner was dead and left for Pian.

It was a good story of repaying a favor even after becoming a ghost but Azadin was in pain as he licked his lips. As he moved his tongue through his dry mouth his lips split and bled.

“Thank you but this is… why me of all people?”

Azadin clicked his tongue as he picked up a page from the copy of the New King’s Book. The paper glowed on its own and something was written on it that was impossible for human intellect to read.

It’s the same with all grimoires. It’s impossible to fully understand a grimoire without any knowledge. That’s why most grimoires must be learned indirectly through interpretation books called ‘Haeseo’.

[You’re not very happy? Isn’t this what the messengers have been wishing for?]

The emperor’s voice spoke calmly.

“I’m not in a position to be completely happy.”

Azadin felt a strange touch of fate as he looked at the copy of the New King’s Book that had come to him.

*********

The Jeonryong clan was originally a people called ‘Aragasa’.

They are descendants of a fleet that was shipwrecked on the continent of Hybris after braving a typhoon on another continent. When they arrived they swore loyalty to the Emperor who warmly welcomed them and became his messengers.

The emperor gave them the grimoire ‘Flowers Birds Wind and Moon’ and also gave them a spirit called ‘The Emperor’s Voice’.

So the herald clan became the emperor’s sword agents and executors directly executing the lawless nobles who broke the emperor’s laws and enjoying prosperity.

But when the empire collapsed after the emperor’s death the prosperity that had been there turned into poison.

The people of Hybris believe in the afterlife. If you accumulate good deeds you can be born as a noble being in the afterlife so nobles and royalty are at the very top of the shackles of reincarnation. Harming them is a terrible act that despises and destroys the shackles of the soul itself.

So even though the king and nobles exploited and abused the people they did not dare to resist them. This was because the king and nobles were powerful magicians and the Hybris people considered it sacrilegious to get their hands dirty with the blood of a god.

But the emperor needed someone who could act so irreverently without hesitation. In order to rule the entire vast eight kingdoms by the emperor’s laws he needed someone who could punish the royals and nobles who committed corruption and ruled without hesitation.

That is why the emperor welcomed the foreign messengers warmly gave them books of magic and gave them authority.

Without even knowing that fact… or even if they did know they were intoxicated by the emperor’s favor.

People began to despise and reject the messenger clan who had the blood of a god on their hands without hesitation calling them the killers of the god king.

The people began to hate and despise the Heralds who had dared to commit blasphemies that were unacceptable in the faith of the Hybris as having no soul…

It became believed that crimes committed against the soulless Heralds were not considered sins.

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After the emperor died and lost his power all that contempt and hatred was turned on the Jeonryong clan in the form of persecution.

Also problematic was the oath they had made to the emperor. Even though the emperor had died and his empire had collapsed the contract of service they had made to the emperor still lived on binding their clan for generations.

Even after the emperor died the herald clan had to continue their mission as the emperor’s heralds. If they wanted to break this contract they had to pay 100000 gold coins of the emperor to break the contract. However since the emperor died and the empire disappeared the emperor’s gold coins were no longer made.

When it became impossible to collect gold coins and cancel the contract the Heralds began to have second thoughts.

What is the source of the Emperor’s power?

The book of magic the Book of the Kings of the Yaegas is handed down on the throne of the kings of the Yaegas.

The Emperor must have exercised his power through the Divine King’s Book. That is if they could obtain the Divine King’s Book and understand its principles they would also be able to overcome the oath made by the Emperor’s magic.

So the messenger tribe set their goal as obtaining the New King’s Book.

Let us obtain the New King’s Book while carrying out the contract of service. In this way we will be free from the curse of service.

This was the goal of the messenger clan.

*********

In other words the copy of the New King’s Book was something so important that the entire Jeonryung clan risked their lives to obtain it. However even after obtaining it Azadin still looked uneasy.

“I appreciate what the ghosts have done for me. I’m glad they gave me a gift before the dead rest in peace. But I’m worried that this has started to unravel in the world. Because the trigger for this to unravel in the world is….”

Azadin looked at the copy of the New King’s Book for a moment then rolled up the pages and put them in his backpack.

“I can’t leave behind what I found thanks to them so I have to take it with me.”

Azadin left the village and went back on the road.

The path that took two days to run back took even longer to return. I ran quickly on the way back without thinking about water consumption but on the way back I had no water left so I had to distribute my energy and water as much as possible to return.

“But now if we just get over that mountain… there’s water on the other side of the mountain.”

Azadin looked at the mountain path in front of him. The sight of the high mountain path stretching out endlessly made him feel dizzy.

How much longer is left?

Will I be able to return safely without rehydration by then?

It was when I was having such doubts.

-Shhh!

Suddenly an arrow flew towards Azadin.

*********

Two mountain goats the size of ponies were coming down the mountain path. Saddles were placed on their backs and two boys and girls who looked to be in their early teens were riding them. Despite the rugged mountain path their bodies were moving down the slope with minimal shaking as if it were flat ground.

“Wow it’s desolate here.”

The land that spread out below the mountain path was a huge wasteland.

“They say it hasn’t rained for a month. I guess it’s true.”

The girl stuck out her tongue as she watched the rising dust. At the bottom of the mountain the villages and farms that had been abandoned by their inhabitants were blowing dust in the wind.

“Medium!”

The boy followed the girl and shouted.

“Let’s go back! It’s not too late!”

The boy followed behind the girl trying to somehow change her mind.

“You don’t like it? What are you talking about when you’ve already come this far?”

“There’s no need for you a blood relative of the founder to become a servant of the lowest level messenger!? Just cancel and go back.”

“So you want me to just suck my thumb in that boring sanctuary? Don’t make me laugh. I want to see the world.”

The girl insisted as much but then looked back at the scene unfolding before her eyes and clicked her tongue.

“But the scenery here is not that great. I can’t say it’s better than the sanctuary can I?”

The eastern inland region where vegetation had withered due to a long period of lack of rain had become a desolate wasteland with loose dirt and dust flying around.

Of course when dusk fell over these wastelands the sight stimulated the imagination of supernatural things but the young boys and girls were more interested in the achievements of men than in such natural landscapes.

“If we go any further there will be no water and it will be dangerous. The mountain goats we are riding drink ten times more water than the average person.”

“But that stupid messenger got in right?”

“He must have released the goat nearby and walked in.”

The Kerim antelope has great endurance but is vulnerable to heat and dryness. It is impossible to ride a Kerim antelope which needs to drink several times more water than a human into such a desolate and dry place.

“Then please go back. Once you meet the messenger and tell him that you will become a servant there is no turning back. Besides isn’t the person you are dealing with none other than ‘Azadin the Accursed’?”

The boy shuddered when he said Azadin’s name.