The Rampage Of The Thralls (3)

“You arrived far sooner than expected, Azadine. Free that wizard’s hands. Or I’ll kill him. I’m not joking.”

Arael held back her tense subordinates and demanded that Azadine restrain Scott.

“Scott, undo the binding.”

“Oh, Boss.”

Scott reluctantly undid the hand binding. At that moment, Zebec spoke directly to Arael.

“Miss Arael. That’s you, correct?”

“Yes. And you are?”

“I am Zebec, a Holy Knight of the King’s Church. Did you incite those Blue Turban Party members into their rampage? If so…”

“No. It wasn’t me. Their rampage was caused by a flaw within themselves.”

“The Blue Turban priest said that nothing like this has ever happened before. He suspects your group.”

“…So, since you suspect us, you expect us to prove our innocence? How arrogant.”

Indim, standing beside Arael, couldn’t hold back and drew her dagger. But Zebec didn’t retreat.

—Shing!

The blade rang out as a chilling gleam lit the darkness. When Zebec unsheathed his sword, Indim’s hostility flared even more.

“You must think we’re fools. Just some petty Holy Knight trash!”

Zebec and Indim stood their ground, staring each other down. As their hostility peaked—

Azadine stepped forward, blocking the two and spoke.

“If you can move that thing, you could probably juggle grizzly bears too. Are you two stupid?”

Startled, Indim and Zebec turned to see where Azadine was looking. Seraph and Aleph, Arael’s subordinates, were clinging to the emperor’s coin press, struggling to make it move.

Azadine mocked them, and Arael couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Well, you’re not wrong. Azadine’s got a point.”

“Lady Arael.”

“First, those Blue Turban thugs are Servants of the Swamp’s Old Tree—Grimsrown. While Grimsrown’s potion cures them of disease, too many Servants concentrated in one place adversely affects the world. That’s their mistake—gathering so many latent Servants in one spot during the Age of Jupiter.”

“Is that so?”

“Then you must now understand that we had nothing to do with this Servant rampage. Frankly, what annoys me most is that you assumed I’d lie just because a few Hubris people died.”

“What?”

“You think I’d lie just to avoid your little tantrum? If I wanted to avoid your anger, I’d just kill all those Hubris folk waiting outside right now. How about that?”

“I understand. At least on this matter, you’re uninvolved.”

Zebec sheathed his sword.

Though Arael’s voice carried hatred and contempt for the people of Hubris, it was only fair to back down if she truly wasn’t responsible for the rampage.

As Zebec put his sword away, Indim reluctantly did the same.

“So then, Azadine. What do you think about cooperating with me?”

“For one, I’m not serving under you. But if it’s an equal partnership… I might consider it, depending on the terms.”

At that, the four members of Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon reacted.

Dimia and Aleph smirked, while Seraph and Indim were indignant at Azadine speaking of equality with Arael.

“This disgrace dares…”

“He couldn’t even stand shoulder to shoulder with us, and yet he speaks to Lady Arael like that?!”

“Calm down, everyone. Fine, Azadine. I’ll promise you equal treatment. Is that good enough?”

“Sure. Then, will you share your intel?”

“Expecting to get information for free? That’s hardly equal treatment.”

Arael complained about being expected to offer information one-sidedly, but Azadine ignored her and asked a question.

“This is the emperor’s treasure vault, right? It’s different from what I imagined. I expected a ton of gold, weapons, and treasures, but it’s empty—only traces of storage remain.”

“The emperor’s vault was looted once already when he passed. By the Aragasa.”

“The Aragasa? Our people?”

“Yes. The emperor’s magical relics and assets were taken by the Aragasa and brought to the sanctuary. We Aragasa looted this place.”

“Wait—hold on. Then doesn’t the Council of Elders already know about this place? Why haven’t they mentioned it until now?”

“Because they love the Curse of Servitude. You think they’d easily release a curse they can activate at will? They even triggered your curse just from the suspicion that you might join me. What about my father, Acre? Isn’t it convenient that someone who defies the clan’s control can be horrifically killed with a curse? The Council finds that tool quite useful, don’t you think?”

Azadine was shaken by Arael’s words. Did the Council of Elders really have a chance to break the Curse of Servitude and instead chose to use it?

‘But when I think about it, it makes sense. The Council is hiding the truth despite knowing about the vault—it fits.’

Azadine had already sensed there was darkness within the Council.

“So. Are your eyes finally opening, Azadine?”

Arael sneered and glanced toward the coin press.

“With no gold, it’s impossible to operate that machine for now.”

“Hold on a sec.”

Shati clicked her tongue and pointed ahead.

“There’s another door that’s still closed over there.”

She pointed to a location behind the waterfall. Hidden beyond it was another door.

“Ah, that’s… the Door of Lament.”

Arael responded to Shati’s question.

“We still don’t know how to open it. It shut when the emperor died… Even the dwarves say they don’t know how to open it.”

“Really?”

“Legend has it that the emperor placed something inside to protect humanity in a time of great peril… but no one knows what it is.”

“Should we give it a try?”

“Go ahead.”

Arael allowed Azadine to approach the Door of Lament.

“Well then…”

Azadine called over Shati and Scott and headed toward the door.

The massive metal gate behind the waterfall showed no visible mechanism to open it—no latch, not even a keyhole.

“Scott, Shati. What do you see?”

“Nothing at all, boss. Necromancers can detect life, but… there’s nothing beyond that door.”

“Really? And you, Shati?”

“Same here. Not even a single blade of grass inside.”

Shati tried sensing plant life with her green magic, but even that yielded no response.

“What a strange door.”

Azadine inspected the traces near the door.

They were the marks of wagon wheels. Something massive, carrying heavy loads, had passed through this door so often that the traces remained carved into the stone even after centuries.

That piqued Azadine’s curiosity.

“Should I try breaking it?”

He pushed and pulled at the door. But it didn’t budge, as if he were trying to move a mountain itself.

“Do you think you can break it?”

Arael sneered.

Fueled by defiance, Azadine drew the dagger of the Wendigo. A sacred relic of a Nether entity, once a god of death. He struck the door with it, and a clear metallic ring echoed.

“What the…?”

Not a scratch appeared on the door. Instead, Azadine’s hand tingled from the impact.

“How about Parangi?”

Azadine pulled out the Azure Steel longsword he’d named Bluey, and cautiously pressed it to the door. Concentrating his strength, he tried pressing it in like a chisel against a massive tree or boulder.

But the finely-forged Azure Steel blade simply slipped off the surface, protecting its own edge. Not even a scratch this time either.

“Hmph. Then it’s down to this.”

Finally, Azadine took out the Shadowsteel Blade.

With his last remaining strike of the Shadowsteel, he scratched the door—leaving a mark at last.

But even that faint mark could be wiped away by hand. Just the tiniest surface scrape—nothing more.

His stubbornness gave way to resignation.

“No way. If even the Shadowsteel can only do that…”

“If you could open it, the Council of Elders would’ve done it long ago, Azadine.”

“Fair enough. So, Arael, since minting gold coins with the coin press is off the table—what now? What’s the plan?”

“And why should I trust you enough to tell you that?”

“You at least know I won’t take the Council’s side.”

“But you won’t be able to kill the Council either, will you? What if Aldis cries and begs you—will you just fall for it?”

“……”

“Kidding. No need to provoke you with nonsense. We’re heading to Vthuma, to bring down Elder Hathir. The throne of Vthuma will soon be under attack from the Naga forces.”

“You’re going to do the same thing in Vthuma that you did in Coral Sahar?”

“That’s right. And Vthuma is where the Naga Empire is based. It’s likely the battle that will determine the fate of our Aragasa people.”

“Oh.”

Shati’s expression wavered.

Someday, the Naga Empire would conquer and bring down Vthuma. It had always been a long-standing dream—but to hear it from Arael’s own lips…

‘Has it really progressed this far while I was separated from the Naga Empire?’

Though Shati had been effectively captured by Azadine and forced into cooperating, the attack on Vthuma was the Naga’s cherished wish.

If she were to sabotage that mission, she would never be forgiven by her people.

The time had come for her to make a serious decision about where she stood.

Meanwhile, Zebec coldly cut through the situation.

“You make it sound like the Nagas are attacking Vthuma of their own will. But this is all your doing, isn’t it? Just like with Coral Sahar—didn’t you call the Nagas in again?”

“Correct. We had a deal with the Nagas from the beginning. Even now, with the Council having replaced us, I’m sure the plan continues. But this is our opportunity. Aldis can’t move while guarding Coral Sahar. So the only one coming to claim the throne this time… will be Leader Hathir.”

“Leader Hathir…”

“We’ll kill him. That’s our true goal.”

“Wait. Isn’t that…”

“No matter how close a sibling he is, you shouldn’t speak so carelessly, should you?”

The four members of Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon were baffled by how easily Arael revealed such a critical secret.

Among Arael’s followers, many believed Azadine should be killed before Arael grew too fond of him.

The Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon members sympathized with that sentiment.

They felt Arael was far too protective of Azadine just because he was her kin.

Of course, for Azadine himself, this was a deeply insulting thought.

“You, the Council—it’s all madness. Have you even thought about how many people will die?”

Bringing in the Nagas to claim Vthuma’s throne would lead to mass casualties and the loss of entire homelands, just like Coral Sahar.

Whether it was the Council or Arael’s faction, treating all of this like a game of chess was no different.

Azadine was disgusted that all their plans were built upon the assumption of human sacrifice.