Chapter 158 - Prophesied Being (4)

Several humans appeared one after another as they pierced through the explosions and the thundering noises.

Balseru, who usually had his eyes closed, had his eyes opened as he glared at Reygus.

Jares appeared next with a bashful smile on his face.

Then others that weren’t known to Azell appeared.

An average looking girl with freckles appeared. Her blonde hair was split into two ponytails. It was Omega. She fidgeted as if she was embarrassed.

An old Dragon Majin with a fierce looking face appeared as he cleared his throat.

Then a middle-aged woman walked forth. She had a kind smile on her face.

A very thin man wearing raggedy monk’s robe appeared next. The color of the robe had been faded away, and he was carrying a book.

Next to appear was a youth with sharp eyes that was reminiscent of a wild beast.

“It has been awhile, Azell-nim. Ah, it does feel awkward calling you that.”

The last one to show up was the youth called Leone. He used to have a perpetual smile that made his face look like a mask.

However, his laughter was different from before. He was laughying shyly. Leone’s face wasn’t like that of a mask. His expression made him look like a living person.

<Hmm. I understand what you all are feeling right now, but we are going through hell fighting right now. Could you keep it short?>

The Undead Theta was floating in midair as he fired his magic spells indiscriminately.

It wasn’t just him. The Undeads that had fought alongside the Keepers of Prophecy across the continent were fighting all over the battlefield.

Leone spoke.

“We will do so. However, give us a little… At the very least, please allow each of us time to confess to him.”

Theta elegantly bowed towards them as he flew towards the battlefield.

Azell dumbfoundedly looked at the Keepers of Prophecy surrounding him.

He was the prophesied person they had been waiting for.

Azell already knew this. However, he had had no idea about the specific meaning behind such a designation. He also had no idea why they had come here.

The Keepers of the Prophecy looked at each other. There was an awkward silence as they hesitated. Jares cleared his throat as he took a step forward.

“Koo-hmmm. First…..”

He was the one that had left the worst impression on Azell. However, unlike before he spoke in a respectful and dignified manner.

“I want to apologize for my previous rudeness, Azell Karzark. You are our great progenitor.”

“…what?”

For a moment, Azell thought he had heard wrong. However, there was endless affection and respect for Azell in Jares’ eyes.

“When the land of Liesah fell to the enemy, you fought four days and night by yourself to protect the town. There was a maiden, who risked her life to deliver a cup of water to you. Her name was Katrina Aisa.”

Azell’s eyes widened. That did happen. She was the second daughter of the Count of Liesah, who was in charge of the region. She had been a maiden that had been highly intelligent and brave.

Jares spoke.

“I’m her descendent. To be precise, a child was conceived on that one night you spent with her, and that child grew up to lead the family. He had offsprings…. The bloodline was continued until I was born.”

“This is…….”

Azell was struck dumb.

It had been that kind of an era. No one knew if they would be able to greet the next day. This was why everyone had been focused on the present, and they acted out on the passion of the moment. This was why Azell had shared a lot of one night stands with many women.

Officially, Azell didn’t have any children. He had adopted many children, but none of them had been of his blood.

However, Azell had descendants he hadn’t known about.

“It was the same for my grandmother, and the children she sired. I am proud to be your descendant. Since we were born of your blood, even as we took on the mission born of hate….. We were able to preserve the keys to our final hope. Now we can return them to you.”

Jares took Azell’s hand, and he put his lips to the back of his hand. In a flash, a light erupted from the two of them as something was absorbed into Azell’s body.

It was a Dragon weapon.

‘Chain of the Earth Dragon?’

It was one of the 12 Dragon weapons he had used during the Dragon Demon war.

In front of the surprised Azell, Jares gave a reverent bow as he express his respects towards Azell. Jares retreated towards the back before Azell could say anything. Iota switched places with Jares, and she opened her mouth.

“In the Delsern region, there was a young woman named Aelin. She was captured by Orc bandits, and she was kept as their plaything. She had wanted to die everyday as she was violated.”

It was when Azell was still a common knight. Azell kept changing his main residence as he helped the towns that didn't have the power to protect themselves. He had killed the bandit groups that had preyed on these towns. In the process, he was able to free slaves that were being exploited. Amongst these slaves, there had been a young woman, who clung to him as she cried.

“Her only wish was to have your child, and she had her wish. The story of our proud ancestors were passed down our line, and I was born. I consider myself fortunate that I was able to take on this role, since I was born as your descendant. I will now return this to you.”

The Dragon weapon called Box of Hate was returned to Azell.

Azell looked at them as if he was mesmerized. They were still in a desperate situation, but now everything didn’t seemed surreal.

Half of Azell’s mind was lost as each Keepers of the Prophecy told their confession. They told him about their ancestors.

There was the heroine that took up the sword in revenge when she lost her husband.

There was the woman that had been fated to be changed into a monster through a black magic experiment. He had saved her.

Then there was the woman…..

“We are all your descendants.”

They were all descendants of the women that had fallen in love with Azell when he had shown them kindness.

Their existence hadn’t been known to the world, but they were all descendants of the children he had out of wedlock. They were of Azell’s bloodline. They were Azell’s descendants, and at the same time, they had lost everything to the Dragon Demon king worshippers. They held a grudge that couldn’t be washed away against the Dragon Demon king worshippers, so they were able to become Guardian Shadows. Moreover, they had the prerequisite to be able to carry out the most important mission.

Azell would wake up one day, so they had to act as the vessels that would safely store his Dragon weapons.

“…it seems you have the charm of a bad boy.”

Balseru laughed as he spoke. He was still suppressing Reygus, so he wasn’t able to turn to look at Azell.

“Our grandmothers carried your children, yet they didn’t notify you. Some were satisfied with just having the child, and some didn’t want to burden you with the news when you were carrying out such a big task for the world. If others found out their reasons for not doing so, they would have pointed their fingers at the idiocy of their reasonings.”

“…….”

When it was framed that way, Azell had sired children all over the place, yet he hadn’t taken responsibility for any of them. He was the bad guy.

‘No, it isn’t like that…..’

They were in a desperate situation right now, but Azell was swept up in an indescribable feeling. He wanted to give some kind of excuse, but if he did, he would be branded as the worst human trash.

“You probably have many more descendants out there besides us. However, we are the only ones gathered here.”

Balseru retreated a step backwards as he placed a hand on Azell’s shoulder. The Dragon weapon he had kept safe was transferred to Azell.

“I’m very sorry that we weren’t able to preserve all twelve. However, we did our best. I hope you are thankful for our efforts.”

At last, Leone stepped in front of Azell.

“Mmm. Balseru’s words are correct, but…. It isn’t as if there isn’t something that could be said in your defense.”

Azell wanted to ask what he meant. However, he was having a hard time saying anything. His mouth just opened and closed. Leone spoke in a playful manner towards Azell.

“Do you remember the maiden named Lizara you met in the Raroon region?”

Of course, he remembered her.

She was the daughter of a provincial lord. Her sister had been raped when the rear of the Dragon Demon king’s army pillaged her town. Her unni had taken her own life afterwards. Lizara had wanted revenge for her unni, so she had used all her remaining money to hire mercenaries. However, as soon as they travelled towards a region that was sparse in population, the mercenaries changed their attitudes towards her. They had been plotting to turn on her. They were going to sell her in the black markets as a slave.

Azell possessed supernatural senses, so he had heard them whisper their plot to each other. Azell stealthily chased after them, and he had saved her before the plot could come to fruition. However, when Carlos and Azell saw Lizara shed tears, they decided to help her get her revenge. At the time, Azell couldn’t forget what Carlos had said to him.

‘I worked like a dog alongside you, yet good things only happen to you…..’

After they finished their revenge, Lizara discretely spent some good times with Azell. It was, because Carlos had a bit up a messed up personality. Carlos was cold, and he spoke cruel words as if it was nothing. This was why Liza had been afraid of him. However, that didn’t matter anymore now.

Leone spoke.

“She was with child, but she didn’t have any methods of finding you thanks to the war.”

It was a wall that all women pregnant with Azell’s children faced.

“When the war ended, her child was still too young, so she couldn’t travel far.”

Liza had wanted to notify Azell of the birth of his child, and she wanted to entrust the child to him. However, Azell lived far away at the County of Karzark. She had no choice, but to wait for the child to grow up until the child could survive such a long journey.

“However, you went missing two years after the Dragon Demon war ended.”

“…….”

That had been the biggest problem.

During the war, the women didn’t dare to search for him. When they tried to go see him after the war ended, he had gone missing….

From Azell’s perspective, he would have taken responsibility if the women had shown up at his doorsteps with his children. However, he couldn’t do so thanks to Atein’s curse.

“However, you left the County of Karark under the stewardship of Archmage Carlos until your adopted children came of age. This was why he was able to recognize Liza, and he confirmed that the child was yours. This was how they became a part of your family.”

Liza was the daughter of a provincial lord, but she had lost everything during the Dragon Demon war. That was why she joined the County of Karzar with her son. She lived there until her life concluded.

This wasn’t known to many outside the County of Karzark, but according to memories of his ancestors he had inherited, there had been many cases like that.

“However, when Liza’s son came of age, he had a falling out with her. This was why he rejected the life of living within the County of Karzark, and he went out into the world.”

Moreover, such stories hadn’t been rare. Carlos had been relatively good about directing the traffic, but Azell was missing. Azell was supposed to be the pillar of this community, yet he was considered to be missing. He was as good as dead to them. Moreover, Azell had adopted too many children. There were a lot of conflicts and confusions amongst the people living there. For every one that found a home in the County of Karzark, another went out into the world to seek new possibilities.

This was why the Dragon Demon king worshippers were able to slaughter everyone inside the County of Karzark, yet Azell’s bloodline had been able to survive and appear in this place.

Balseru smiled as he added his own words.

“In truth, it was the same for my ancestors too.”

“Oooh…….”

For a moment, Azell wanted to smack him. He had made Azell look like human trash, then he revealed the truth later on. All the Keepers of Prophecy looked relieved once they unloaded their burdens.

“Anyways, we are thankful to you.”

Leone let out a playful laugh. His laugh was unlike the ones Azell had heard before. It was a laughter that went well with his youthful look.

“We had already lost everything. Our lives had ended. We often complained as to the reason why our memories were taken…. Now we know.”

They had recovered all their lost memories. No, they had also gained the memories of their ancestors, so they had arrived at an understanding now.

The creator of the Guardian Shadows had been worried about the Keepers of Prophecy falling into enemy hands.

If it was Atein’s descendants, they probably knew of a way to analyze the the Guardian Shadow’s system if they could get a hold of the memories within the Keepers of the Prophecy. This was why they were left with the knowledge of their mission. They were kept in ignorance. It was done to protect the truth.

Leone wondered if that was the correct decision or if the creator had been overly cautious.

Still, Leone didn’t resent the choice that had been made for them. Several Keepers of Prophecy had fallen to their enemies, yet no secrets had been revealed. Now the day when their purpose would be realized had arrived.

After finishing his story, Leone smiled radiantly.

“We’ll leave the rest to you. I hope you are able to bring about the prophecy.”

The Dragon weapon in Leone’s care was transferred to Azell.

‘Ah…….’

When he inherited nine Dragon weapons, the sight in front of Azell’s eyes blurred. Azell realized this wasn’t a natural phenomenon. Leone had used some method to put him to sleep.

“Moreover, you might consider it as us whining, but…. We have one little request.”

Leone spoke towards the faltering Azell.

“Please don’t forget about us.”

“Wait a moment…….”

Azell tried to grab Leone with his hand.

However, Leone sidestepped his hand as he turned away from Azell. Each Keepers of Prophecy paid respects to him before they receded into the distance.

‘Wait…….’

Azell wanted to hold onto them, yet he could no longer maintain his consciousness.

The ground shook from the explosion, and loud sounds washed over him. However, his consciousness kept falling into the darkness.

‘…please don’t forget about us.’

Leone’s last words rang in his ears as Azell slumped to the ground.