Volume 3 Chapter 123 The Light And Shadow Of Ozeas II
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”I am bound by three commands: to cooperate with Ozeas and his collaborators’ research, to keep the research secrets, and to swear eternal loyalty to Glen Silverwooloo and the Storm Herd. That’s why I can’t share details.”
Barghest said this, gasping in pain.
”Your brother and his collaborators? What kind of research?”
”What do you mean? Explain everything from the start, Barghest.”
When Lady Colinna said this, Barghest, still lying on the stone floor, began speaking slowly again.
”It started seventeen years ago. At the time, I was studying at the Academy in the Franz Kingdom, leaving behind Colinna, whom I had promised to marry. But while I was studying, I noticed that Colinna and Glen’s relationship was deepening. After completing my studies, I rushed back to the Storm Herd.”
”Barghest, did you notice something between me and Glen? I thought…”
Barghest grimaced, clenching his teeth, seeming to suffer more from emotional pain than physical.
”Colinna’s letters gradually mentioned Glen more. At first, she was angry about him touching her, but then she started praising him. I was worried sick.”
”My father was a great warrior. It’s no wonder my mother praised him, but…”
Kian ignored Serena’s comment, thinking it wasn’t the point. Serena, raised in a special environment, couldn’t understand the feelings of a man betrayed.
”I planned to confront Colinna and protest to Glen. But on my way back, I met Ozeas, standing with just a sword. He proposed a duel: the loser would obey the winner. If I won, he’d remove Glen as leader, take his place, and make me the top magician. If he won, I’d sign a scroll with three commands.”
Barghest narrowed his eyes, recalling the scene.
”Ozeas offered me a deal. Ozeas and I had a duel, The loser must listen to what the winner says. If I win, Ozeas will dethrone Glen from his position as leader, become leader himself, and put me as the top magician. He said he will banish Glen and mediate between me and Colinna. If he wins, he will have to sign a scroll with the three orders written on it.”
Barghest takes a breath and continues.
”The duel started 500 meters apart, with the first move mine. I was a top magician from the Royal Capital Academy, young and quick. Ozeas, at 38, was past his prime as a warrior. It seemed like a setup. But I noticed his sincere apology. I thought it was a coup disguised as a duel, his way of atoning for my father’s mistakes..”
”So? You accepted the duel?”
Sven asked. Barghest nodded.
”Looking back now, I was foolish. I was young and hot-headed back then. I had fallen for Ozeas’s cunning words. Ozeas knew I was already distancing myself from Glen. However, thinking it a waste to kill me, a graduate of the Royal Capital Academy, he decided to make me a slave to the ‘Storm Herd.’”
”So, you easily lost to Ozeas and were forced to sign the magic scroll? Hmph, what a fool.”
”What was your brother’s research about? And how does it relate to Tersea’s records?”
Serena grabbed Barghest’s arm and asked. Barghest, while saying he couldn’t reveal details, began to speak.
”As I mentioned earlier, Ozeas was anxious about his decline and impending death. He feared that if he grew old and died, the ‘Storm Herd’ would fall apart. There was no suitable successor within the isolated Wolfmen clan, and mutants like Ozeas rarely appeared. The ‘Storm Herd’ knew only how to fight. Having grown too strong, the organization had become bloated and isolated, left behind by the times. Only Ozeas could steer the ‘Storm Herd.’”
Barghest coughed up blood-tinged saliva.
”Ozeas was conducting research to prevent this. He had several collaborators, but I was the one leading the research—me and Ozeas. As the investigation progresses, documents will likely surface showing transactions between the collaborators and the ‘Storm Herd.’ Ozeas, exceeding his authority, acted as the interim leader and stamped those documents. The same goes for the transaction documents between me and the collaborators. The ‘Storm Herd’ had no involvement. The responsibility lies with the late Ozeas and me. Therefore… only I should be punished.”
”Who were the collaborators?”
Colinna’s voice trembled with anger.
”Who deceived Ozeas and you?!”
”No, I didn’t say we were deceived. From what I’m hearing, it sounds like Ozeas was leading everything.”
”There’s no way Ozeas would do such a thing!”
Colinna confronted Sven. Sven replied skeptically, “Well, it’s hard to imagine…”
”But he’s not lying. All Wolfmen can tell. Ms. Colinna, you too.”
”……!”
”The collaborator… cough! …was someone close to Ozeas. They called themselves… ugh, Azrael… cough…”
Blood began to flow from Barghest’s ears, and the area around his light blue eyes was bloodshot.
”From their accent, I could tell where they were from. After a few years, they were replaced by someone with a beautiful pronunciation, who also called themselves Azrael. Their gender and age were unknown.”
Barghest, realizing he had said too much, stopped talking to catch his breath. No one spoke. Colinna and Serena held their breath, waiting for Barghest’s next words, while Sarah and Ninini looked worried, fearing Barghest might die before finishing his story.
Rean and Kian, meanwhile, remained expressionless. They had no particular attachment to Barghest beyond wanting to use a secret technique to kill him.
Kian spoke up.
”Barghest, Mrs. Colinna said to tell everything from the start, but so far, there’s no useful information. Can you tell us anything about the Black Onyx spirit?”
”Kian’s right.”
Rean looked down at the bloodied Beastman with disinterest.
”If you’re going to die, at least be useful to Silverwooloo. Specifically, tell us where to find notes on summoning the Black Onyx spirit. You swore loyalty to ‘Storm Herd’ and Glen Silverwooloo, didn’t you?”
”The ‘Storm Herd’ can rot for all I care… cough.”
Barghest muttered, then shook his head. Rean shrugged.
”Good thing the scroll’s commands were vague. If they were more binding, you’d be dead already.”
”Tersea’s records… are all in my head. The collaborators instructed me to memorize everything, then burn the records. They no longer exist in this world.”
”Because Glen Silverwooloo and Mrs. Colinna knew about the records.”
”Yes. To prevent Glen from finding them later, I burned all the records.”
”Didn’t you make any personal notes while memorizing them?”
Sarah interjected.
”What about your years of research records?”
”……”
”──His heartbeat just spiked.”
Sven smirked.
”There’s still something, isn’t there? In your research tent with the ‘Storm Herd’?”
”……”
”If you’ve been researching for seventeen years, where are the old records and results stored? You can’t carry everything with you every time you move, can you?”
”Probably in a safe.”
A warrior behind Sven spoke up.
”We use a bank safe in the Royal Capital. He probably has a private account, or one under Ozeas’s name, where he stores everything.”
”――――”
”It seems that’s the case.”
”Do you know who currently holds the magic scroll binding you?”
When Kian asked, Barghest shook his head.
”I don’t know. Before Ozeas died, he probably kept it. After that, I don’t know. Three months ago, I searched his tent and secret accounts, but it wasn’t there.”
”Damn, that leaves us at a dead end.”
Rean spat out in frustration.
”We need to save Vest! What do we do, Kian? If we don’t act, the Beastmen Alliance will break through the gate! What will happen to Vest then?!”
”Since Ms. Vestacia is also connected, even if temporarily, Glen Silverwooloo and she will likely be killed to close the gate due to insufficient magic power.”
”――！… Unavoidable. We’ll have to bring stone-cutting tools and free Vest by force.”
Sarah’s eyes widened at Rean’s suggestion.
”If we forcibly remove her from the ritual, we don’t know what will happen to Ms. Vestacia’s soul! We might permanently lose the method to restore her.”
”Still, it’s better than her being slaughtered by the Beastmen Alliance!”
”Rean, even if this is reported to the Hairkin Races’ tribal council via Yelmar, they won’t immediately send warriors here.”
Kian spoke calmly.
”It would be insulting to them, but just because outcasts claim ‘the main clan is behind the Bloodsucking Kind incident,’ they won’t believe it right away. They’ll verify it through Natasha’s crystal, select appropriate representatives, gather a force capable of breaking through the infested marsh, and send an investigation team with decision-making authority. So, there’s still time—a few days at least—before the Beastmen Alliance sends assassins.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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