Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Aldis 3
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It was Aldis who stood against those elders and fought back. He insisted that since they had been born, they must be given names first.
To the Aragas, naming was sacred. When one bestowed a name, the namer's fate became intertwined with that of the named. Even so, they shouldn't kill a nameless child without a name. Children who died before receiving names were all granted salvation.
If they truly hated these children—who might be Acre's reincarnation—they had to give them names, Aldis argued as he persuaded the elders. The problem was that no one wanted to give names to these children.
So Aldis declared that he himself would name them.
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"You're resorting to cheap tricks, Aldis. We cannot allow that under any circumstances. You are Jedaha. A noble descendant of the Founder and one who possesses the Eyes of Harconia. We cannot waste the clan's talent on such a task."
"But, Master."
"You want to name them yourself to protect them? So the elders can't kill them recklessly? But that's a foolish act that only burdens you. Why on earth do you care for those children?"
"I don't know myself. But protecting young lives in need feels right to me."
"Pointless mercy. Why show such compassion even to our enemies?"
"I... was friends with Acre. I somewhat understand his feelings for betraying the clan. Even now that Acre has betrayed us, I can't bring myself to hate him."
"Keep such talk for my ears only. The other elders would punish you if they heard. Fine, then. I'll give them names. The boy shall be Azadin. The girl, Arael."
"Pardon? But those names..."
Azadin was the name given to the Dragon of Ruin and the Eyeless Dragon, a legend passed down from long before they came to Hubris.
Arael was the angel who fought that dragon. They symbolized light and darkness, eternally battling until they ultimately perished together in myth.
"Aren't those names too grand? They're the names of the old gods from before we came to Hubris and served the Emperor."
"Names of gods are fine, but one is the name of a death god. And you're giving names of arch-nemeses' mutual annihilation to twin siblings?"
To the Herald Clan of Aragas, naming was a sacred rite. At the same time, it was steeped in superstition. No matter how grandiose the name, it didn't actually alter fate.
The Aragas believed the fates of the namer and named became linked, though whether that was true or not was unknown. Yet giving such mutually destructive names to twins...
Aldis felt repulsion at the naming that seemed laced with malice. But Grandmaster Hatir declared firmly.
"That's the only way the elders will be satisfied. Aldis, if you want to save those children, do as I say. The elders will accept it."
"So it's to save the children... I see. Ah, I just hope those names don't bring harm to them."
As Hatir predicted, the elders were satisfied with the names and no longer spoke of killing the children.
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Originally, the Herald Clan known as the Aragas were foreigners who crossed to the Hubris continent on five ships. The owners of those five ships and their descendants became the Founder Clans.
Even among them—who were called God-King Slayers and Soulless Blasphemers by the people of Hubris—there were ranks of nobility. The five Founder Houses were the most esteemed, followed by their retainers, with the lowly fishermen at the bottom.
With social hierarchies already firmly established within the Aragas, everyone dreamed of becoming Heralds.
Heralds were a status granted by the Emperor, transcending nobility.
Before the Emperor's granted status, the Aragas hierarchies meant nothing. Thus, those who honorably fulfilled their duties as Heralds could shed their birth status, marry into fine houses, and become part of them. Becoming a Herald was the only ladder for social ascent among the Aragas.
Parents poured every effort into making their children Heralds. From childhood, they fed them the best food, raised them with love, and spared no support. Azadin and Arael, born under a curse without parents, were thus at a disadvantage from the start.
Of course, that was the story for the common folk.
It posed no issue for Arael.
The problem lay with Azadin.
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"No mana?"
The council elders were meticulously examining Azadin and Arael.
It was because some believed these children might be the very copies of the Divine King's Scripture.
The library grimoires' sorcerers and Aldis himself had investigated the children directly, yielding a startling conclusion. Azadin could perceive objects without eyes and possessed remarkable dark mana resistance. But the cost was devastating.
"More precisely..."
Aldis shook his head.
"What resides within Azadin is not Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon."
Every member of the Herald Clan received a grimoire at birth. It was the power conveyed to them through the pact of service—the Emperor's gift.
That grimoire was the colorless one called Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon.
One who studied and comprehended the Harconia Saga could wield the mana of the grimoire within their body. But inside Azadin was something like the remnants of the Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon grimoire.
"Probably, the one born under this service curse wasn't meant to be twins. Originally, Arael and Azadin were one. But they split into two before Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon could be granted."
"...Is that so?"
"Instead, the grimoire and mana within Arael are... astounding. To be honest, aren't they the greatest in history?"
"You're saying that as 'Harconia's Legacy'?"
The elders asked.
"Stronger than me. This child will become the strongest Herald in history. Likely, the title 'Harconia's Legacy' will belong to her, not me."
Aldis wore a bitter expression as he spoke.
"Are you resentful of having a rival?"
"No, it's not that... I pity Azadin. What should have been his went to Arael. Compared to her, Azadin falls short of even his peers' basics, aside from his eyes and mana resistance."
"Mana resistance?"
"Yes. The incomplete grimoire within him spews mana chaotically, creating a turbulent vortex of various manas in his body. It grants resistance to mana... but he'll never wield any magic."
"It seems Arael took everything that was Azadin's. Ironic. Eyes, grimoire, all of it?"
Arael had opened her eyes at birth and perceived the world. When she took her first steps, those around her realized she would become a peerless beauty.
Her immense mana was unmatched, her strategies brilliant, her archery exceptional, and her physical prowess overwhelming—no peer could stand against her. In contrast, Azadin was akin to an ordinary child of Hubris's common folk.
"A harsh fate awaits him."
The elders said as much, but none pitied Azadin.
The son of the traitor Acre—a life worth less than nothing, dead or alive. They showed deep interest only in Arael's talents.
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When basic training began, the children—orphans without houses like Arael and Azadin—were despised. But Arael, with skills surpassing all her peers and heavenly beauty, quickly dominated her surroundings...
It took less than a month to turn all her training cohort into followers. Those who refused were crushed by her prowess, seniors or not. Even instructors either died in "accidents" or became her followers.
Azadin's situation, however, was dire.
Aragas children were toilet-trained by age four. By eight, they could draw a whitewood bow; by twelve, they could perform the Twin String Stance, hold their breath for two dakyeong underwater, and leap their own height.
Yet at eight, Azadin wet the bed in his sleep and couldn't so much as throw a stone properly, let alone draw a whitewood bow. He was at the level of a common Hubris child, not an Aragas. The Herald Clan's children could not tolerate such an Azadin.
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The Aragas were clearly superior to Hubris's people. Though intermarriages since arriving on Hubris had diluted their blood, they remained master archers with exceptional physiques—and bolstered by the service pact.
The grimoire Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon instilled the purpose of serving as the Emperor's Heralds, and external persecution fostered a martial spirit in the entire clan. But this martial ethos often twisted into persecution of the weak.
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"Hey, retard!"
"Ugh, piss-pants cripple. Still wetting the bed?"
"Try drawing the bow, you freak!"
"Kekeke, see that? He runs a bit up the mountain path and comes back sniveling on the verge of death?"
Basic training was grueling even for the Aragas. About one in five dropped out, mostly lowborn children. Yet even those lowborn children scorned and tormented Azadin.
The son of the clan traitor Acre—the most inferior being.
Among Hubris folk, he might have been just an average kid. But among the Aragas, Azadin was nothing but a severely underdeveloped weakling.
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"Ugh... Uwaaaah..."
Beneath the waterfall of the sanctuary where the Herald Clan hid. Azadin wept in agony. Sightless, he shed no tears, merely vomiting out the death throes of his heart again and again.
Heaven-forsaken orphan, persecuted by all. In this "basic training" that forced him to confront his utter inadequacy and powerlessness, his spirit was dying.
He wanted to flee right now, but there was nowhere to go. Before training began, Arael had protected him. When peers tried to bully him, she would dash out like lightning and thrash them soundly.
Even older children in advanced training couldn't match her. But once basic training started, Arael no longer shielded Azadin.
As Arael distanced herself, the other children tentatively tested her reaction by tormenting him. She ignored it. Even when some openly beat him, she merely smirked and focused on her own affairs.
'Arael has finally abandoned Azadin.'
Everyone was convinced. Basic training burdened even sturdy Aragas children mentally and physically, so they needed an outlet for stress.
Azadin was the perfect punching bag.