Side Story Chapter 96
“Agh!”
A single strike catapulted Kireua away. At his current level, Kireua couldn’t trade blows once.
“What kind of a monster is he…?”
The balance was restored on some level when Cain and Selim attacked the enemy together. Selim’s attacks were especially outstanding; when he thrust his spear, the air screamed, and the ground shook if he swung his spear. His movements resembled those of Joshua’s which Kireua had witnessed some time ago.
“…He got stronger,” Kireua mused.
However, Bel was actually the most remarkable. Even his punches weren't ordinary punches. When he jabbed, a black dragon charged forward, baring its sharp fangs.
“Something is odd. Duke Uraxen has the authority of Igni, the Fire Dragon King, but he isn’t like that guy. Even if his authority comes from someone called the Black Dragon King, how can two dragons be this different in power?” Kireua mumbled, confused.
Three black dragons closed in on Cain, threatening to swallow him whole.
“Sir Cain!” Kireua shouted.
To dodge the dragons’ attacks, Cain threw himself into the air, higher and higher, swinging his sword at the dragons as they ascended. The longer the fight continued, the further Cain got away from the ground.
Cain wasn’t just striking out. Although it was unclear how in the world he could fly for such a long time, the black dragons disappeared by the time Cain was just a black dot in the sky.
Cain plummeted to the ground like a meteor, enveloped in his golden aura.
Kireua watched, wide-eyed, as Cain slammed into the ground. The resultant cloud of dust quickly disappeared, revealing Cain down on one knee, panting and injured. Even then, the battle didn’t pause.
Selim demonstrated the Magic Spear Art’s techniques, which Kireua was also familiar with. Lightning Flash was the fastest technique in the world, Thundering Strike resembled actual thunder from the heavens, and Thunderstorm could be used to shred enemies apart with wind alone. However, none of them worked on this man named Bel.
“What in the world is that black dragon!?” Kireua shouted in frustration.
“You’re getting it the wrong way around. I’m the one who’s strong, not my dragons,” Bel casually replied even as he blocked Selim’s barrage of attacks.
Kireua flinched.
“On a side note, I’m not using a Dragon King’s authority. These are just some of the numerous dragons that I swallowed.”
“Wh-What?”
“When I could no longer find my match among my fellow humans, I headed to the southernmost part of the continent to get to Dragonia, the land of dragons.”
Kireua’s jaw dropped to the ground. Dragonia didn’t allow any human to enter, but if this man had actually visited the place as he claimed and was standing in front of Kireua, that meant only one thing.
“You…earned dragons’ recognition as a human?” Kireua gasped.
“No, I brought them to their knees, to be accurate.”
“B-Brought them to their knees?”
Bel smiled crookedly. “Didn’t you think it was weird? Authorities are called the gods’ power, and demons run wild in this world. Yet dragons haven’t shown up anywhere despite being known as protectors of the Human Realm.”
“Are you saying…?”
“The reason is simple. I ate their hearts and the rest of their bodies, and gulped down their blood.”
“Unbelievable!” Kireua cried.
“If you can’t believe me—” Bel suddenly flinched, unable to finish what he was saying. For the first time, he sensed an incoming attack that he could not take lightly. Bel crossed his arms in front of his face to protect himself. “…This one is a bit dangerous.
Something crashed into Bel with tremendous force.
Selim panted. That was the ultimate and most destructive spear-throwing technique in the Magic Spear Arts: Scathach’s Fury.
“They are indeed the Martial God’s spear techniques,” Bel remarked. The flesh on his arms was tattered, but he remained composed. In fact, he was smiling as if he was genuinely having fun. “I definitely made the right choice to come to Avalon. I didn’t think the Martial God’s knight and family could satiate me like this when they aren’t the Martial God. ”
“Fuck.” Kireua couldn’t just observe the battle anymore. He knew that he would be a hindrance to Cain and Selim if he joined in on the fight; they had never fought together, and Kireua was clearly weaker than the two of them. Nevertheless, the outcome of this fight was obvious—but after all the grand claims he’d made to his father, Kireua couldn’t let that happen.
‘Coal,’ Kireua called.
-…
‘I know you’re listening. Answer me.’
-Coal is sleeping.
Kireua frowned. The moment he had learned that Coal was one of the Evil Sins’ authorities, he became leery of using Coal’s power and had so far refrained. However, if Coal was really an Evil Sins’ power, something was odd.
‘There are a number of paladins nearby, but you’re fine with it? I thought demons and angels were archenemies.’
-Coal doesn’t know that kind of stuff.
‘Are you going to keep doing this?’ Kireua asked, frustrated.
-Kireua is the one who tried to stay far away from Coal.
It seemed Coal could not only read Kireua’s thoughts but also detect his emotions, because Coal knew exactly how Kireua was feeling about Coal.
‘You…’
-I don’t need yummy things, but if you say my true name, I’ll forgive you, Kireua.
‘...True name?’
-Yup!
Kireua didn’t recall Coal telling him its name, but he instinctively knew—a foreign word flashed through his mind.
-If you consider me your friend and are certain that you won’t distance yourself from me anymore, say my true name.
* * *
An ear splitting explosion wracked the Palace. People’s eyes widened, especially the Imperial Knights’—it came from the inside of the Palace this time, not from the back of the annex.
“I-Intruder! There’s an intruder in the Palace!”
An alarm spell went off.
Joshua’s gaze turned frigid. “…You had to do it, didn’t you?”
“Hehehehe, you brought upon this yourself, Martial God.” Uriel finally regained his composure now that things were proceeding as planned. He just hadn’t expected Bel to let the Martial God go that easily.
“Why? Are you going to try a kidnapping again?” Joshua asked.
“If you’re nervous, why don’t you head there and check it out yourself?”
“You people are knights from a god-serving country; aren’t you embarrassed by yourselves?”
“Regardless of whether or not you showed up, the war was going to start anyway,” Uriel said, chuckling.
“Hubalt was always planning to wage war against the entire continent?”
“Not the entire continent. This war will only be between Avalon and Hubaltt.”
“From what I recall, the other countries have already declared their support for Avalon. For goodness sake, you people are no better than thugs on the streets.” Joshua shook his head in disbelief.
“Even if it hadn’t been for the witch, there’s another reason why we have to start a war against Avalon.” Uriel pointed upward. “Look over there.”
Joshua turned his head to the ceiling of the Palace, where the explosion had come from.
Beside a fluttering flag of the Avalon Empire, someone with uncommon black hair stood.
“Th-That’s…
The Imperial Knights were the first to recognize this person. Their jaws dropped.
“Ca-Carmen von Agnus!”
The foreigners were taken aback. Carmen von Agnus’s name was already well known across the continent.
“Agnus is…”
“Isn’t she the Dark God’s…?”
“She’s the cause of the civil war in Avalon!”
“She personally requested Hubalt’s help to depose the illegitimate junta in Avalon,” Uriel claimed.
“…Oh?”
“We agreed to help her, and here we are. Anyone who interrupts this war will be considered an enemy of Hubalt’s enemy,” Uriel threatened.
Joshua chuckled. “If that’s your justification, then Avalon can do the same.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The current Hubalt Empire was made by thugs with swords dethroning the perfectly capable pope and taking over the country. Am I wrong?”
Uriel’s face creased in irritation. Joshua’s remark struck the Hubalt Empire’s greatest weakness.
“Y-Your Majesty,” Lunsworth stammered.
“It’s fine; get to the site.”
“But they’re—”
“I’m fine on my own.” Joshua nodded.
Lunsworth was surprised to see the Emperor of Avalon stand unwavering against hundreds of paladins, but he trusted his liege. At worst, the other guests would step in.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You won’t have to worry about what’s going on over there that much.”
“Pardon…?” Lunsworth blankly asked.
A smile danced on Joshua’s lips.
“I’m not sure if you heard about the Emperor of Avalon’s direct secret order.”
“Secret… order…?”
“You can hear about the details over there. From now on, Hubalt is Avalon’s enemy, so kill anyone who stands in your way.”
Lunsworth snapped to attention.
“All knights of the Avalon Empire, draw your swords,” he thunderously ordered. “We shall suppress the commotion inside the inner Palace as quickly as possible!”
The knights’ swords left their sheaths as fast as lightning bolts.
“How dare you!” Uriel jumped into the Imperial Knights’ path, the air reverberating with the power of his authority. While the paladins may have lost their divine power to Joshua, Uriel’s authority was derived directly from the Great Angel who oversaw the northern area of the Angel Realm.
The paladins broke into cheers as a gigantic set of wings sprouted from Uriel’s back. Uriel flew up high into the air, flaunting his presence by blocking the sunlight shining down on the arena.
“No one shall set a single foot outside of this place!”
Joshua’s countermeasure for Uriel was quite simple. He drew his arm back as much as possible… and hurled his spear at Uriel.
A long, white streak split the sky in half, sparks flying angrily from the tail. The spear was thrown so fast that even Uriel didn’t realize what had happened. The Paladin plummeted to the ground far faster than he had flown there and collapsed with a thunderous boom, his divine wings lying in a heap around him.
No one dared to speak a word in the ensuing silence.
“You aren’t strong enough to withstand a single attack, Uriel,” Joshua arrogantly said, now standing where Uriel had once floated.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com