Side Story Chapter 34
Kireua’s black aura attacks clawed the ground, immediately followed by a black fire—like the hellfire that could only be found in the Demon Realm—soaring into the sky. The men in the front of the group were vaporized without a trace by to the powerful fire. Worse, even the sturdy ground was split open, revealing roiling lava.
Adol, a member of the third reconnaissance team of the western rebel army, swallowed nervously. Baron Yobson, his superior, didn’t even get to leave his corpse behind—he was literally erased from the world. Adol would have met the same fate if he hadn’t fallen off his horse in his haste.
“What is that black flame…?” Adol murmured.
Only about ten of them had survived the attack, meaning that ninety percent of them had been killed in mere moments. The western rebel army’s reconnaissance team completely lost the will to fight.
“Si-Sir Adol, please give yo-your order.”
Adol came to his senses. The chain of command of the western rebel army was clear: once a leader was killed during battle, the next highest ranking person had command. That was established by Marquess Turtler, the commander-in-chief of the western rebel army and a former member of the national army.
“Don’t become flustered just because your leader was killed. You’re all proud knights of western Avalon,” Turtler sternly said.
Adol recited Turtler’s words inside his head as he peered ahead. Beyond the ebon flame that was spreading all over the plain, a twenty-year-old man was looking in Adol’s direction.
The man’s name was Kireua Sanders, the son of Joshua Sanders, the Martial God. Kireua was also the second in line to the throne, but people believed that he would always be second. According to the rumors, the Second Prince was a pathetic man that had left the Palace due to a lack of talent. On top of that, the First Prince was monstrously strong, a true son of the Martial God—but the reality that Adol was facing did not match the rumors.
“…Retreat,” Adol finally ordered.
The rebel knights flinched in surprise.
“Bu-But Sir Adol—”
“Hurry. You saw his attack just now. If the Second Prince is able to break through the fire, we’re as good as dead.”
“I-Is it really okay for us to retreat?” one of the knights asked, still worried. The traditions of the west held that they were never allowed to question their superiors’ orders. However, there was no telling what kind of punishments were waiting for them if they retreated right now because they would just be treated as cowards for running away from the battlefield after losing their leader and most of their comrades. On top of that, their opponent was a twenty-year-old boy and the prince of the Avalon Empire—a man the rebels had to capture no matter what it took.
“I’ll take full responsibility,” Adol firmly answered.
“Sir Adol…”
“You all have seen it with your own eyes. Those black fires can’t be created with mana or aura, meaning that the Prince is using an authority.”
The knights murmured among themselves for a moment, then looked at each other and nodded.
“I had a feeling… but I’ve never seen such an authority in my entire life. Seriously, what authority is that?” a knight mumbled.
Adol paused as he was turning his horse around. That knight was right. Ebon flames had never appeared in the realm even once, but the same didn’t hold true in ancient records or legends.
“…It’s said that ebon flames could only be used by one person in the entirety of the Demon Realm,” Adol murmured.
“By one person, you mean…?”
Adol glanced behind them. Kireua Sanders only stood and looked at them; it seemed he had no intention of pursuing them. He was indeed the Martial God’s son.
Although it was very hard to believe, the evidence was irrefutable.
“The Demon Spirit,” he finally said.
The rebels flinched.
“According to the legends, ebon flames symbolized the Demon Spirit.”
* * *
Meanwhile, in the northern region of Avalon, Armand cautiously said, “…Commander-in-chief.”
Nevertheless, the black-haired woman in the front stayed silent. They had spent three days at the peak of the snow mountain. The rations they had brought ran out quickly, and the rebel army quickly lost their stamina.
On the other hand, Carmen von Agnus had slashed and slashed the ice boulder the Emperor of Avalon was trapped in, but, of course, the results were abysmal. She had gone through hell, and yet she had only managed to leave some scratches on the surface.
“Are you frustrated?” the demon who had led the rebels asked.
Armand held his breath because he now knew the demon’s true identity: Barbatos the Dimension Demon and also the eighth-strongest demon. Barbato’s other title was the “Silent Assassin”.
“Human,” Barbatos continued.
“Don’t talk to me. I don’t feel like answering.”
“You must be very frustrated by your own weakness.”
Carmen raised her head along with one of her eyebrows. She looked very haggard, but her murderous intent was still vivid and stinging, and it was entirely focused on Barbatos.
“Do you want to die?” Carmen asked, frowning.
“You, kill me? Judging from my observations of you for the past several days, that’s impossible, unfortunately.”
“…Then let’s test that right now.” Carmen brought her hand toward her greatsword where it hung on her horse’s belt, her murderous intent deepening.
“Let me give you an interesting piece of information: there is a way to crack open the ice boulder on the top of the snow mountain.”
Carmen’s murderous intent disappeared without a trace. Her icy cold expression changed drastically.
“There is a way to open it?”
“Of course, human.”
“…Come to think of it, I forgot something very important.” Carmen gripped her black greatsword and pointed it at Barbatos’s head.
“What is the meaning of this?” Barbatos asked.
“You haven’t told me your goal, demon.”
“My goal?” Barbatos tilted his head.
“I know very well that you demons aren’t altruistic creatures. You don’t have a reason to volunteer to guide us nor do you have the temperament to tell me the solution out of kindness.”
A bizarre silence hung in the air for a long moment. The nearby knights that had been watching the conversation were more tense than the two people conversing. Carmen could draw her greatsword any moment, so it wouldn't be odd if a fight broke out right now.
“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but the human inside the ice boulder is holding the fragment of my god,” Barbatos explained.
“Are you saying you want to revive the Demon Spirit in this realm?”
Barbatos shook his head. “No way. The main principle of the Demon Realm is the survival of the fittest. It’s only right for the weak to get eaten.”
“Which means?”
“I just want to get stronger by eating his soul.” Barbatos shrugged.
.
In her surprise, Carmen let someone respond before her.
“No, you can’t!”
“…Armand?” Carmen murmured.
“Commander-in-chief, no matter how much we crave our ambitions, we’re still humans. A demon with the power of the Demon Spirit? If such a being appeared in this realm, the entire continent would be in dan—!”
Armand stopped, confused, as he struggled to understand what had cut him off.
“Huh…?” Armand mumbled as his head slid from his body. A fountain of blood belatedly squirted out from his neck.
“I warned you to not question my decision,” Carmen coldly said.
“That’s a very straightforward solution,” Barbatos commented.
“After the fall of the Agnus family, my family members died or were sold off as slaves because we shared the same blood as the rebel. By that time, my world had already crumbled around me, so why should I care about the continent?” Carmen bitterly reminisced. She remembered that no one had tried to help nor even hear an explanation from her and her family. They were the family members of the rebel that had murdered the Emperor, so the people of the Empire didn’t so much as try to understand them for a second.
“I like you, human.” Barbatos nodded in satisfaction.
“It’s ‘Carmen von Agnus’.”
“Huh?” Barbatos tilted his head.
“My name isn’t ‘human’. It’s Carmen von Agnus.”
“…Then I’ll call you Carmen,” Barbatos suggested.
“Do as you wish. So what’s your solution?” Carmen asked.
Barbatos smiled subtly. “Your power of envy is the hint.”
Carmen’s eyes slowly widened. The powers of the seven deadly sins were the most wicked authorities known.
“Find three more powers of sins, and it’ll be more than enough to break the ice boulder.”
* * *
When Kireua returned to the reed forest, a magnificent sight unfolded before him.
“Your Highness!” Cain approached Kireua quickly.
Kireua took a look around the surroundings. Eighty percent of the reed forest that had once come up to Kireua’s neck had been burned away in the fire. On top of the ashes, over two hundred traitors knelt, tied up.
“Wow, Sir Cain. Did you subdue everyone on your own?” Kireua asked.
“The North Witch was a big help. You took away the fire, so she had her hands free.”
“I see.” Kireua nodded.
“May I ask you to explain?”
Kireua turned to look at Cain and saw his unwavering gaze. Cain intended to get an answer one way or another.
“Does that have anything to do with your black fire from before?”
“What makes you think that?” Kireua asked.
“I could clearly see the ebon flame soaring sky-high from afar.”
Kireua closed his mouth. His initial plan was to come up with an excuse, but that didn’t seem like that was going to work.
“Your Highness, every power in the world requires a price,” Cain told Kireua in a concerned tone. “Think about the previous emperor and the Dark God.”
Kireua shrugged. “Sir Cain, let’s talk about that later.”
“Your Highness!”
“I don’t know if you saw, but I ran into a reconnaissance party who seemed to be part of the western rebel army,” Kireua said, silencing Cain. “If what I’m thinking is right, things are going to be interesting from now on.”
“…What do you mean?”
Kireua had intentionally spared some of those people in the reconnaissance party so that they would spread rumors until the story grew out of control.
“I also know that ebon flame was the symbol of the Demon Spirit for a very long time.”
“…You knew about that?” Cain narrowed his eyes.
“Yes, but you didn’t really try to stop me. So I was sure that this power isn’t dangerous.”
Kireua was right. If anything had felt off about Kireua, then Cain would have stopped him right away.
“There are survivors among the reconnaissance party,” Kireua mentioned.
“What…?! Then does that mean they saw your ebon flame?”
“Yes, that is right.” Kireua nodded.
“I’ll track them down. If rumors about you having anything to do with the Demon Spirit spreads, things will become quite troublesome.”
“That is my plan.” Kireua smiled crookedly.
“What…?” Cain really couldn’t understand what was going on. Did Kireua not know the magnitude of the situation? Why would he want a false rumor to spread?
“Spread false rumors, come up with other plans… No matter what they choose to do, the western rebel army will have to scatter their force to check the facts. Their commander wouldn’t have considered the Demon Spirit in his calculations,” Kireua said.
“Wait, your goal is…”
“The rebels placed eighty percent of their forces at the border where they’re facing the national army; they won’t be able to use their men near the border because Sir Ranger can’t be taken lightly. In the end, they will have to create an investigation team using the men in their headquarters, where the remaining twenty percent of their force is…” Kireua trailed off for a moment, then he grinned. “Things in their headquarters are going to be chaotic, aren’t they?”
“Your Highness…!”
“So I’ll sneak into the enemy headquarters and assassinate Marquess Turtler,” Kireua declared.
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