Side Story Chapter 31
“So humans can’t do it either.” Barbatos, the Dimension Demon, shook his head. “Mmm…”
Barbatos was the eighth-strongest demon in all of the vast Demon Realm, but he couldn’t approach the human holding the fragment of the Demon Spirit trapped inside the ice boulder. He encountered intense sparks whenever he tried to trespass within a five-meter radius of the ice boulder, as if a power diametrically opposed to Barbatos’s was being used to stop him.
However, it was different for the woman that had arrived just now. Surprisingly, she had the power of sin in spite of the fact that she was a human, but she could approach the vicinity of the ice boulder—but no more.
The woman unleashed a barrage of attacks with her greatsword against the ice boulder. Once, twice, thrice… Her attacks were so strong that the space around her was distorted. The woman with the power of sin seemed to surpass the supreme level which humans called Master. Nevertheless…
“Huff, huff, huff…”
The woman panted.
Numerous knights were with her right now. After so long in the blizzard, some of the knights ended up trembling due to the extreme coldness despite their highly trained bodies. The northern region of Avalon was known as the coldest on the continent, and they were currently on top of a frozen mountain deep inside the region.
“Co-Commander-in-Chief…” Armand mumbled as his face turned blue.
However, Carmen didn’t stop. She was the only one who was sweating buckets and not affected by the extreme coldness.
-Haven’t you done enough?
“Joshua… Sanders…!” Armand muttered.
-I know you.
“What… are you doing in a place like that? Of all the places you could hide, you hide in a remote area where no one comes?”
-I have my reasons. But, of course, I’m going to break out of here.
Carmen went stiff.
Joshua was actually speaking the truth. The Demon Spirit inside him was about to die after all these years, so Joshua was sure that he would be able to get out of the ice boulder in two years at the longest.
-Why? Are you scared now that I’m about to get out?
“You bastard!” Carmen shouted.
-I saw you several times in the main residence of the Agnus estate. From what I recall, you’re like my aunt.
Carmen held her black greatsword in reverse grip and rammed it into the ground. “Why did you kill Duke Aden von Agnus? Did you want power that desperately?”
-I must have killed him because I had a good reason.
“You fucking bastard, are you kidding me right now—!”
-Do you think it’s my fault that the Agnus family fell?
Carmen’s eyes flared. “Do you really need an answer to that when it’s so obvious?! Without you, the Agnus family could have been the greatest family in the Avalon Empire. The Imperial Family’s surname would have been Agnus, not Sanders. You killed your father to satisfy your own greed. You’re the worst trash in the whole world.”
-No, your dream wouldn’t have come true in the first place if the Agnus family fell just because it didn’t have a leader. The Imperial Family of Agnus? Outrageous.
“Bullshit!” Carmen yelled at the top of her lungs.
-Then look at the current Avalon.
That shut her mouth.
-From what I understand, it has been over a decade since I disappeared. I don’t really know because I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, but I become more certain as I watch you. People call a family that survives without their leader a “prestigious family”. The Ducal Family of Agnus was never prestigious in the first place.
Joshua was thoroughly thrashing Carmen’s pride from top to bottom, and then he brought up the one topic that should never be mentioned in front of Carmen.
-Carmen von Agnus, you call me trash obsessed with power, but aren’t you actually the same? Babel von Agnus was my brother and the son of the late Duke Aden von Agnus. He was going to inherit the Duchy, but you dragged him down and took his place instead. So how can you possibly—
“Shut the hell uuuuup!” Carmen roared. A wave of aura that was incomparably stronger than before ravaged the nearby area, followed by a black wave of demonic power. She was activating her authority of sin, the strongest of the evil authorities.
-…Is this the power of Leviathan?
An enormous aura attack struck the ice boulder, highly concentrated with Carmen’s aura and several times bigger than the ones she had fired before. Carmen swung her greatsword again and again until she was too tired to continue, sending a rain of those attacks against the ice boulder as if dozens of people were simultaneously attacking at once.
One of the knights watching swallowed nervously. He had never seen anyone move like that.
Her neat ponytail had come undone long ago, allowing her black hair to fly wildly around her head. She looked like a demon. As her murderous intent spread everywhere, everyone cowered.
Barbatos, however, the only demon in this place right now, quietly exclaimed.
“Oh?”
Up until now, no one had been able to leave a single scratch on the ice, but Barbatos could see a minuscule mark on the surface of the boulder. Of course, the mark was smaller than a fingernail and Carmen had fainted from exhaustion, so she wouldn’t be able to do more.
“It looks like it hasn’t been long since she received that power… but she’s already at that level?” Barbatos murmured. Carmen intrigued him. Besides, she had been chosen by a Demon King, so if she became more proficient and also acquired the other powers of sin…
“…Maybe it’ll be possible.” Barbatos licked his lip with his scarlet tongue.
If Carmen could destroy the ice boulder and take the Demon Spirit’s power before he was killed completely…
‘A new Demon Spirit will be born in this realm.’
* * *
“Scatter!”
Over two hundred still-defiant knights dispersed to hide in the reed forest before them. Those who had obligingly dismounted inhaled sharply as the horses charged towards them and unconsciously retreated in the confusion of the moment.
“Hup!” Cain quickly noticed the traitors’ plan and dropped them from their horses using the blunt of his sword. Still, there were too many of them. On the other hand, Anna wore a delighted grin.
“Your Highness, do you need my help?” she asked.
Kireua shook his head. “Not right now, since I’ve finished finding out who my allies are.”
The remaining knights looked at each other, bewildered.
“Two hundred sixty… No, is that two hundred and seventy knights?” Kireua murmured.
Cain nodded. “Over half of them were traitors.”
“This is a problem,” Kireua grumbled.
“Are you upset?” Cain asked.
“I thought there would be a hundred of them at most,” Kireua said.
Cain smiled gently. “This is actually great work, you know. These knights were born and raised in the southern region and served one master for decades at least. On the other hand, itt hasn’t been long since you returned to Avalon.”
“That’s because their master didn’t do his job as their master. He was stupid and despicable to hold his people’s families hostage.”
“He didn’t do that to every one of his knights. Most of them are loyal to the bone to Marquess Suspen.” Cain shrugged.
Sparc Murtan stepped into the conversation. “Your Highness, I’m not sure if I have the right to say this kind of thing right now, but… you were different.”
“Different?”
“Yes, I was sick of this country because a civil war broke out whenever our leader was about to change. Look, the country has become this mess after the Martial God’s disappearance.”
Sparc’s remark could be treated as lese-majeste, but he calmly continued, “You promised us that you’d never vanish without saying anything.”
“I did.”
“The knights here right now swore their loyalty because they trust your promise and your ability.” Sparc bowed. “Give me your order. I’ll return with the rebels’ heads.”
Kireua’s face darkened. There was no way that this would be easy for these knights since those traitors had once been their comrades. Just a few hours ago, they had been eating a meal together as they had chatted and laughed. In fact, some of the knights were visibly uncomfortable about the situation.
‘But everyone has to do what they have to do.’
Kireua broke away from his thoughts and turned to Cain.
“Their goal is obvious, right?” he asked.
“Yes. We aren’t far away from the western rebel army’s camp. If they try their best to stay hidden in the reed forest, they’ll be able to buy all the time they need.”
The forest was thick with reeds that were tall as Kireua’s chest, so if he went in there without a plan, he would immediately be skewered by numerous swords.
“Oh, no. I don’t think I’ll be much of a help because it’ll be difficult to blow away those reeds with my wind,” Anna said.
Despite her concerned tone, she didn’t look worried at all because she was genuinely having fun. In fact, she was looking forward to seeing how Kireua would overcome this trial, tribulation, betrayal, and pain.
‘Will he use the knights as human shields? No, judging from his personality, that’s highly unlikely. Then will he break through the forest head-on? In that case, he’ll look like an idiot who doesn’t care about casualties, losing his knights’ trust,’ Anna thought.
However, Kireua was way beyond Anna’s expectations once again.
“Let’s set it on fire.”
Anna's eyes widened. It wasn’t just her—Cain and the other knights were slack-jawed.
“Fi-Fire…?”
“But, Your Highness, there are villages beyond the forest. If we can’t extinguish the fire after subduing the knights, the casualties will be catastrophic.”
“This seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as they say.”
Despite the knights’ concerns, Kireua quietly shook his head. “We’ll split into two groups. One group will get water from nearby and prepare to extinguish the fire. You’d better hurry.”
“Yo-Your Highness! Are you saying you’re going to deal with those knights hidden in the reed forest only with just over a hundred knights?”
“I’m definitely taking too many knights with me, aren’t I?” Kireua said.
Sparc’s jaw hit the ground.
“Twenty of you will go with me, and the rest will follow Sir Sparc.”
Silence instantly fell upon the area. The knights were dumbstruck while Cain was smiling enigmatically.
“Hahaha! Hahahahaha!” Anna’s laughter echoed clearly throughout the area.
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