Chapter 208
Chapter 208
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 208
Chapter Title: Even If I Lose the Light 3
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Seraph and Aleph answered Azadin's question as if they had been waiting for it. Their quick responses suggested they had been desperately hoping he would ask.
“The Elder Council and Second Leader Hatir are trying to destroy this world. It's the typical act of demons who have lived too long and despaired of the world.”
“On the other hand, Lord Ara엘 wishes to rule the world without destroying it. If you're going to dominate the world anyway, wouldn't it grant greater power to do so intact and safely, with more slaves under your command?”
“Ah, enough. Stop there.”
Azadin felt a pang of regret for having asked in the first place.
‘I should have just let them blurt it out without prompting. What a waste asking. And it's not even a good answer.’
Once he heard it, his curiosity vanished completely, along with any interest.
“So, Second Leader Hatir and the Elder Council's stance is that it's fine to smash the world to pieces because there are so few Aragasa to feed anyway, while Ara엘 wants to devour it whole? How do your minds even work at that level? Seriously.”
“There seems to be a misunderstanding.”
Ara엘 stepped forward to correct Azadin's words.
“Neither Hatir nor I disagree on making the Aragasa a state that no one can oppress. However, Second Leader Hatir feared that our small population would eventually be absorbed by the Hybris folk. He believed that without suppressing and reducing their numbers, the Aragasa couldn't be preserved—hence this madness. I, on the other hand, would accept even if the Aragasa race eventually fades away. What's important is that we live in peace right now. If we merge and vanish peacefully, I won't resist it. That's why I have no intention of killing Hybris folk needlessly.”
“If you plan to use them as slaves, there's no reason to kill them pointlessly.”
“Slavery isn't that efficient. It's better for motivation and human resource management to squeeze them just enough to barely survive on their wages if they work hard.”
“......”
“Azadin. I know you don't trust me, but at least I have no intention of destroying the world like Hatir. I'm declining the era of Jupiter. You know that well enough, don't you? You're suspicious of me because of the past when I tormented you, but put your hand on your heart and think: there's no better alternative than what I'm offering. In fact, before I even proposed anything, you were planning to collect copies of the New King Array Book and just shove them into the Royal Throne, weren't you?”
“Yeah.”
Azadin raised both hands. Well, one was gone, so maybe both arms?
“I'll do it. I'm in. Let's go.”
And so, the alliance between Azadin and Ara엘 was forged.
*********
Though the Ara엘 tribe had fallen, Ara엘 herself remained powerful, and her subordinates' loyalty was unwavering.
Above all, with a sizable number of people now, supplies were plentiful.
“Alright, let's attach this arm. Boss.”
Scott brought over a hand preserved in formalin, covered in gauze. He wouldn't say where he got it, but it was in remarkably good condition.
They fitted it into the gauntlet, secured it up to Azadin's elbow, and applied the spell. The hand now moved at Azadin's will.
“Impressive. Not just the movement, but the phantom pain is reduced too. Is this necromancy?”
“No. This is a magic tool powered by colorless mana.”
“Hm?”
“In your case, Boss, we infused your body with the white mana from the New King Array Book, right? I worried black mana from necromancy might clash with it.”
“Impressive.”
Azadin was struck by Scott's thoughtfulness.
As a necromancer, he must have wanted to use necromancy, but he considered Azadin's specific circumstances and made this purely for him.
“You're skilled in general magic too, I see?”
“Well, yeah, and colorless mana helps alleviate phantom pain too. Though you might feel itching or heat... that's...”
“I'll handle it.”
Shati cast a spell on Azadin. Minor wounds regenerated, and the phantom pain subsided.
Azadin accepted their help with admiration.
“Thanks.”
“By the way, Boss. Could I... bow out here?”
“......”
“I feel like if I go any deeper, I'll die. I like you and all, Boss, but I'm a mercenary at heart.”
“Me too. Please.”
Shati made the request as well.
“Got it. You've done enough. Thanks for everything.”
Azadin permitted Scott and Shati to leave, then rummaged through his saddlebag and pulled out gold coins.
Their dedication had been immense, so he gave them every gold coin he had without holding back.
“This is payment for your devotion. Sorry I can't give more.”
“This is already incredibly generous. As expected from the boss.”
“Fare well, then. Azadin.”
Shati sighed as she took the gold from Azadin.
“It would be nice to meet again alive.”
She never imagined she'd say such a thing to Azadin.
Shati sincerely wished for Azadin's victory and safety. To that end, she decided to use the most powerful spell she knew.
“Azadin. Forehead.”
“......”
Azadin silently pressed his forehead to hers, and Shati cast the spell.
“What incantation is that?”
It was an unfamiliar green mana spell, so Azadin asked.
“It's a blessing. A little spell to ensure we meet again alive.”
Shati left those words behind and withdrew.
“So, Shati. Where to?”
Scott asked her.
“No idea. Back to the nagas, maybe.”
“Didn't that naga rajah you were close with say he'd grant you amnesty?”
“He probably thought I was doomed to die with you and showed mercy out of pity. The nagas knew this would happen. Not sure if they'll forgive me even if I return alive.”
“Hm. Are all those naga rajahs the type who don't mind speaking out of both sides of their mouths? In that case, join me and become a sellsword. It's a bit risky, but we could take a ship to the Southern Isles or hug the coast up to Tarasar. I hear they're recruiting mercenaries in droves there now.”
“Yeah.”
Shati and Scott departed, planning their next moves.
*********
“You sure it's okay to let them go? One's a naga, the other's an orc necromancer.”
Ara엘 asked Azadin.
“They're not the betraying type.”
“Hm. You trust them a lot, then.”
“Of course. I saw endless emptiness and resignation in Second Leader Hatir's eyes. Dealing with someone like that is foolish. Scott's sarcastic, but he's no fool.”
“Well, if you say so. How's the hand?”
*Whizz.*
In that instant, an arrow sliced through Ara엘's hair.
Azadin had loosed it swiftly. Shooting an arrow at someone's head was the height of rudeness, but Ara엘 didn't blink, merely turning her head to track the arrow with her eyes.
“Hmph...”
The arrow struck a bird flying far behind her.
Not an ordinary bird, but one enchanted for reconnaissance—upon impact, it spewed black smoke and plummeted.
It was precise marksmanship, but Azadin's expression soured.
“Not perfect after all. I aimed for the eye, but hit the wing.”
To ordinary folk, this would merit praise, but Azadin wasn't satisfied.
“Head or neck would be one thing, but the wing? That's serious.”
Ara엘 agreed with Azadin.
It was a hand Scott had made, but naturally inferior to the original.
“With your hand gone, you should be grateful you can shoot at all. No sign of Grimsrowne's club, though?”
“Heard the Blue Turban Gang took it. Straight from Ahmun-Zadek.”
“I see. That weapon's specialized for subduing without killing...”
Azadin regretted the club's absence. Even in this situation, he preferred not to kill his own kind if possible.
“Shall we move? They seem to have our position pinned.”
Was it because Azadin downed the bird with his arrow?
Birds began swarming the sky.
Necromantic scout corpses and Foresight Bird spells focused on the area where the bird vanished.
They were safe for now, but it wouldn't last long.
*********
Bthuma was already filled with traces of the Nether's emissary, the King of Waves, whom the nagas worshipped.
Seaweed sprouted on the ground, waves and seawater surged in, soaking buildings.
Bthuma's buildings, once gleaming gold with ochre hues, had their facades peeled away, overgrown with hideous moss and seaweed, reduced to ruins.
Screams of Bthuma residents who hadn't escaped in time echoed throughout the city.
“P-please, spare me!”
“My child!”
Nagas were capturing living humans and herding them somewhere.
Behind them lay corpses on slabs like fish at a market—heads severed, guts ripped out. Grotesque monsters made from human blood, flesh, and organs writhed amid the carnage.
The nagas turned human bones and sinew into mummies, mashed entrails into Nether spawn.
“...I didn't expect the nagas to uphold their pact with such zeal.”
The Herald clan grimaced at the sight.
No matter their hatred for Hybris folk, the Heralds were human too. Watching nagas butcher humans into monsters was revolting.
A younger Herald couldn't hold back and vomited.
“Hold it together, you idiot. Puking over some corpses? And you call yourself a Herald?”
“B-but...”
“Second Leader said it: we need the naga empire until we claim all eight Royal Thrones. They've embraced Nether heresy, so let them do what's needed.”
The veteran Herald comforted the young one, but his own face was grim. Smiling in this would be the real anomaly.
Just then, a woman clutching an infant was dragged by nagas and flung onto a massive wooden slab.
Nagas extended tails to bind her limbs, raising a huge glaive skyward.
The baby's cries echoed everywhere.
“......”
The young Herald turned away, unable to watch.
But then...
*Thwack!*
An arrow whistled through the air, piercing the neck of the naga gripping the glaive.
It severed the naga's vertebrae; the massive body staggered, glaive clattering to the ground.
“...?!”
At the same instant, a barrage of arrows rained down like a storm, ambushing the nagas.
Startled nagas raised half-finished mummies as shields, only for blue arrows to follow.
*Firebird Windmoon, Azure Gale Luminous Moon Crane!*
The arrows spun circles at mummy head height, forming azure halos. Heads trapped in the halos exploded.