Side Story Chapter 149
Kieua was swimming in the white sea of his subconscious realm.
“This place feels like home now.”
-You keep coming here because you’re weak, Kireua.
“Don’t get cheeky.”
Coal giggled, much to Kireua’s annoyance. Despite all his bold claims and enthusiasm he threw himself at Evergrant con Aswald with, his results were abysmal. Living up to his title of the first human Ninth Circle mage, Evergrant had revealed a remarkable ability, a spell that Kireua had never even heard of. It had instantly knocked Kireua unconscious and sent him into his subconscious realm.
“Evergrant con Aswald is certainly capable of standing in His Majesty’s way until the end.” Kireua nodded to himself. Everyone could make mistakes or be defeated, so the important part was to not repeat those mistakes. The Emperor of Avalon always said to use those defeats as a foundation to get better instead of getting lost in despair. Kireua sat with his legs crossed and continued to contemplate his mistakes, eager to ensure he didn’t repeat them.
With all that said, Kireua had been counting on something else, too.
“Why can’t I use the three Evil Sins' powers the way I want to?”
These powers were said to belong to the Demon Kings, so Kireua had believed that he would have the upper hand against the undead. The being most likely to have the answers he wanted was right in front of him, but he couldn’t expect to get anything out of it.
-Kireua is weak! Kireua is stupid! Hee hee hee hee.
“You little...” As a man, Kireua had pride, so he had no intention of begging Coal for anything.
But suddenly, something rrrriiiiiiipped through the fabric of his subconscious realm and kept going.
“A spear...?” Kireua’s eyes widened after realizing what it was.
The pain came rushing in a little later.
“Ah, argggghhhhhh!”
Kireua didn’t know when or where the spear came from, but he knew it had stabbed him.
“What... is this...!”
The spear had pierced right through the right side of Kireua’s waist. His blood dripped out of the wound.
-Can you hear me, Kireua?
Kireua’s eyes widened, quickly forgetting the overwhelming pain.
“Yo-Your Majesty?”
- I see that the shock therapy worked.
“Wh... ugh. What do you mean...?” Kireua managed to say.
-Listen to me carefully.
Kireua kept his ears open as he began spreading mana to his entire body.
-You have no more than.
“One... hour?” Kireua blankly repeated.
-This is your last chance to recover control of your body. After an hour, you’ll die from excessive bleeding or forever lose your body to a ghost who couldn’t let go of his worldly grudges.
Kireua’s jaw dropped to the ground, but his father pressed on.
-You can do it, can’t you? You’re my son.
“What... should I do?”
-It’s simple. Find the ghost who snuck into your subconscious realm and kill it, whoever it may be.
Kireua’s lip trembled. His father had said that Kireua only had one hour, but the realm was enormous. Nothing but a horizon could be seen. Nevertheless, Kireua had to find this one specific ghost and get rid of it. Would he be able to do it?
-I guarantee you that you’ll be able to get several times stronger than before if you succeed.
* * *
Meanwhile, a raging storm was about to engulf the entire Hubalt Empire. The clouds of war hung over the Palace of Hubalt, the heart of the Empire, for a simple reason: the Empire’s leaders had come to a decision.
“Are you ready to crush our enemies?” Kurz loudly asked. Below the platform he was standing on, thousands of heavily armed knights stood in neat ranks.
After getting rid of the papacy, Kurz was now the new and only ruler of the Hubalt Empire.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Forget about our old names—there are no more paladins or temples. Peace isn’t something you can get for free, because no one hears the cries of the weak!”
Some men were standing far away, wearing unique golden suits of plate armor. There were only two hundred of them, but they exuded energies that were stronger than any of the other knights there.They were the Martial Knights, the continent’s greatest weapons, personally trained by Bel, the Battle God, himself.
“How does it feel?” Kurz turned to the side, smiling contentedly.
A man and woman tied up with ropes stared at the ground. No doubt they were among the most noble people in the land that Kurz’s country was about to invade, but they were just war prisoners to Kurz.
Kurz noticed that Carmen von Agnus was slack-jawed and drooling. “Tsk. That bitch has completely lost it.”
The man beside Carmen was in a better state.
“Have you given some thought to my offer in the past few days, Babel von Agnus? I have the power to make you the new Emperor of Avalon. You’ll not only be able to get revenge but also become the second most powerful person on the continent, after me. You shouldn’t have anything to think about.”
Babel slowly looked up. “Where is your confidence coming from?”
“What?”
“Hubalt already failed. All of the Four Paladins you were so proud of got killed. Isn’t that enough to tell you how ridiculously strong Joshua Sanders and his people are?” Babel asked skeptically.
Kurz shrugged. “Let me ask you the same question, Babel von Agnus: haven’t you seen how terrifying the Battle God is?”
“Well...”
“You’ve fought against him, so you already know that the Battle God won’t lose even if he’s going up against Joshua Sanders.”
After a moment of silence, Babel met Kurz’s eyes and said, “...Untie me.”
“Are you accepting my offer?” Kurz asked, obviously delighted.
“If the Battle God doesn’t lose to the Emperor of Avalon, I’ll cooperate with you.”
“Ha. Gosh, you’re one shameless prisoner. You aren’t going to take a single risk?”
“My family is still in Avalon, so if you can’t compromise even this much, just kill me.”
Babel’s will was resolute.
Kurz eyed Babel for a long few seconds and then grinned. “Alright. Bel won’t lose anyway. Untie him.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The ropes around Babel were gradually untied.
“Stay down.”
The knights standing on both sides of Babel pressed down on his shoulders when he was about to stand up.
“Haven’t we finished talking?” Babel asked, his eyebrows raised.
“Humans are the most sly creatures in the world, so I don’t trust them—especially their empty promises.”
“What do you want me to do then?”
“Make me a mana pledge right now, Babel von Agnus.”
Babel stiffened at the mention of a mana pledge.
“...Do you really have to go that far?” he quietly asked.
“It’s only right.”
“When it comes to trust, I think we share the same dilemma. How can I be certain that the Hubalt Empire won’t discard me after I outlive my usefulness?”
“I think that you’re gravely misunderstanding something here. From my perspective, sparing your life is a gesture of good faith.” Kurz smiled crookedly.
Babel could not retort because Kurz had a point. A mana pledge was a bare minimum safe measure. Babel would be spared right now, but his life would be taken away if he broke his promise and had second thoughts.
“If you make a pledge, I’ll untie your poor family member too,” Kurz offered.
Babel glanced at Carmen, whose long, disheveled hair hung over her face. Considering her past reputation, she was in a very pathetic state. Who could have imagined that the leader of the biggest rebel army in Avalon would end up in this mess?
“...I’ll do what you want.” Babel nodded.
“Do you mean it?”
“But you should untie her first. Her mind is already damaged after the unspeakable humiliation she was subjected to. I don’t think this is too much to ask for.”
“Hmm...” Kurz was a very careful person, so he had to mull it over for a while before he nodded. “Untie her.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Give me a sword.” Babel raised his hand, so a knight handed him one. It was practically a metal lump without any edges.
“Since it’s only necessary for the ritual, I’m sure that that will suffice,” Kurz noted.
“...It’s enough.” Babel slowly held the sword in front of his abdomen. “I, Babel von Agnus, vow upon my mana.”
Low yet loud hums began to build, signaling that a mana pledge was being made. Meanwhile, Carmen’s ropes were undone.
“From now on, I swear to fully cooperate with the Hubalt Empire...” Babel began.
“Wait, that’s too vague. Let’s change that to ‘I will fully cooperate with the Hubalt Empire to conquer Avalon, as the Hubalt Empire wishes, and prioritize Emperor Kurz’s orders above all.’”
“...I will fully cooperate with the Hubalt Empire to conquer Avalon, as the Hubalt Empire wishes...” Babel repeated.
Kurz’s grin stretched wider and wider as the humming grew.
“...And I vow that Cardinal Kurz of the Hubalt Empire...”
“Wait, it’s ‘Emperor’ Kurz, not Cardinal Kurz. Fix it.”
“...shall be beaten to death before anyone else.”
“Yeah, just like that— What?” Kurz’s eyes widened.
Babel infused his aura into the sword in his hand, but someone was quicker.
Carmen stood up and threw herself at Kurz like a lightning bolt.
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