Side Story Chapter 159
Aeremang, the Fury Demon, was the ninth-strongest demon. Aside from the Demon Kings, who had once possessed the Seven Evil Sins' powers, Aeremang was practically apex predator. With his almost infinite mana, he was peerless in battle, but none of that prepared him for this.
Aeremang fired two rays of black light which were so destructive that they bent space along their path. The monsters who so much as brushed against the rays were immediately engulfed in black fire. Even in all of the Demon Realm, there were not many people who could utilize ebon flames, but Aeremang was one of those few.
A deafening rumble wracked the plains when those two rays of black light collided with Kireua’s sword.
-He stopped that instead of avoiding it?
Under normal circumstances, Aeremang would have called Kireua a lunatic because every single attack from the demonic light cannon had the power to crush adamantium, the sturdiest metal in all the realms. It was only right that most things in the Human Realm would disappear without a trace—however, the young prince had stopped not one but two such attacks with an ordinary sword.
There were only two possible explanations: the sword was a treasure made from a mineral that was sturdier than adamantium, or the human man’s mana was unbelievably similar to Aeremang’s.
Right after dispersing the demonic light cannon’s attack, Kireua’s sword trembled and unleashed black flames. Aeremang's eyes widened upon realizing that the answer was the latter.
-Ebon flames...?
The black fire was known to exist only in the Demon Realm, but a human was using it, not a demon.
-Who are you?
Aeremang’s eyes were glued to Kireua now. He no longer had any thoughts for the other humans.
“Selim,” Kireua said.
His brother looked at him, confused.
“Take Duke Tremblin and Her Majesty to join the other battle.”
Selim was not enthusiastic about leaving Kireua behind.
“That’s—”
“The soldiers are getting unsettled.”
Selim glanced at the gates. Even from a distance, he could see that the soldiers on the ramparts were in a panic to the swarming monsters and undead. Even Iceline couldn’t look away from the rampart. She was obviously wondering if she had done the right thing.
“...Will you be okay on your own?” Selim asked.
“I’ll be okay because I’m on my own,” Kireua scoffed, to Selim’s consternation. Kireua his fingers at Aeremang. “Hey, demon.”
-Answer my question, human. How can a human have an Evil Sin’s power—no, three Evil Sins' powers?!
“Do you want to know how?”
-...What?
“From what I heard, your world is very simple.” Kireua tilted his head.
-What are you—
“The weak get eaten, and the strong survive. The strongest takes all, so the weak should shut up and cower in a corner.” Kireua smiled crookedly.
With furrowed brows, Aeremang glanced behind him and saw that his other colleagues hadn’t noticed Kireua’s Evil Sins' powers. If they had, they would have dropped everything and come running immediately. Aeremang grinned.
-...You know your stuff, human. On that note, I’ll finish you instantly.
“Come.” Kireua straightened his posture.
Selim immediately turned to Tremblin. “Duke Tremblin, can you take Her Majesty to the gates?”
“What about you, Your Highness?”
“The demons are finally making their move. Since we’re in the middle of the battlefield, two more of the demons are already here, so Kireua will struggle on his own.”
“...Yes, Your Highness.” Once again, Tremblin didn’t question his orders. “Why don’t we go on ahead, Your Majesty?”
“...Ah, yes.” Iceline came to her senses and looked at Selim. “Selim...”
“I’m okay, Your Majesty,” Selim answered.
Iceline nodded. Her lips were still trembling slightly, but her eyes were filled with unwavering faith for Selim and Kireua. “I trust you two.”
“I know.” Selim nodded in return with a faint smile on his lips.
However, Kireua didn’t even glance in Iceline’s direction. She watched him bitterly for a moment before she turned away.
“Let’s go, Duke Tremblin.”
“Please, lead the way.”
The pair vanished as Iceline activated the mass teleportation spell that she kept at the ready.
“You should go too.” Kireua waved his hand at Selim. “You’ll only get in my way.”
Before Selim could answer, Kireua shot forth like a lightning bolt.
-Yes, let’s have fun without anyone disturbing us.
It wasn’t clear what Aeremang had been thinking, his grin stretched from ear to ear.
Aeremang had once been a small demon from the humble lower part of the Demon Realm. Just like his fellow small demons, he had to constantly sneak through the shadows to avoid running into strong demons. The weakest of monsters, like pretas[1], demonic bees, and ghouls, had been Aeremang’s friends.
It was a miracle that he had encountered the legacy of Lucifer in the lowest part of the Demon Realm where most demons didn’t even think about. Although Lucifer was taboo in the Demon Realm, he was the owner of the red spear the demons had been fussing over earlier, and even the Demon Spirit feared him. Aeremang’s encounter with Lucifer’s legacy was what had made Aeremang obsessed with Lugia.
“...Don’t die,” Selim said.
Kireua didn’t even look at Selim, as if he weren’t worthy of a response. Selim heaved a sigh and then left.
-Now! Shall we have some fun?
Aeremang’s body began to violently twist and crack. He instantly grew to two meters tall and was covered in black armor from head to toe. He slid a horned helmet onto his head and then gave his tails a snap—no, they were black whips that seemed to drink in the light, flickering with ebon flames.
-Consider this an honor because not many people have seen me in this form.
Kireua nodded. “Considering how pathetic you looked, this seems a lot better.”
Aeremang frowned behind the helmet. Was that human unable to feel Aeremang’s incredible level of demonic power?
The Balrog had been the most feared monster in the Demon Realm and had eaten hundreds of demons, even some of the upper ranks, before its death. Never before had the demons with intelligence been afraid of a monster.
Many mighty demons had gone into the Balrog’s lair, but none could defeat the monster and all of them ended up being eaten, one after the other. Eventually, even going near the fearsome monster’s dwelling had become one of the Demon Realm’s five taboos. The beast even became known in the Angel Realm.
However, Balrog was no better than a firefly compared to the sun when it came to one particular being. Lucifer’s spear had pierced the monster’s heart, and the legendary beast’s remains had eventually fallen into the hands of Aeremang.
‘Whatever else happens, I’m going to take the power of Greed no matter what it takes. It’s the first Evil Sin’s power that Lucifer acquired,’ Aeremang thought.
He let his demonic power loose. He had already used up a lot of time reminiscing, so he was eager to finish the fight. The more time he wasted, the higher the chances of the other demons noticing the presence of the other Evil Sins' powers.
-Die.
Aeremang viciously cracked his whips, clawing the sky and then ripping deep furrows in the ground. He sprang forward, his form deceptively flickering back and forth like a snake’s tongue, before suddenly vanishing into thin air.
The demon’s whips lashed out at Kireua hundreds of times in a fraction of a second. However, Kireua didn’t block or dodge this time—no, that would be more accurate to say he couldn’t. Aeremang’s burning whips, infused with his mana, were as fast as the Lightning Speed Demon.
It didn’t take long for Aeremang’s confident smile to disappear. Even before the clouds of dust had subsided, Kireua quietly murmured, “It’s slow.”
-You’re alive?
“I thought you said that you’re the ninth-strongest demon—are you sure about that? You’re worse than that demon named Terbion from earlier.”
-Y-You...
While Aeremang was tripping over his words, Kireua strode forward, his sword coated in undulating ebon flames, and lightly swung his sword a couple of times.
Of course, the results couldn’t be taken lightly.
-What?
Before Aeremang could do anything, streaks of black aura shot past his whips and kicked up a nonstop shower of sparks as they battered the Balrog’s sturdy armor and the flesh beneath. Fortunately for Aeremang, his armor was intact, although his whips were in tatters and his armor continued to rattle due to the shock.
-You arrogant human... How dare you surprise me?
Aeremang scowled at the prince.
“I’m not done yet,” Kireua said.
He launched another aura strike, somehow even quicker than before. While Aeremang could make his whips dance as fast as the Lightning Speed Demon, Kireua’s aura strikes were way beyond that.
Aeremang could feel his flesh burn.
-Arrrrgghhhhh!
An ear splitting scream of pain rose into the sky.
Aeremang thought that Kireua was going to finish him off, but the human didn’t even look in his direction anymore. Kireua could feel new people joining their battle.
“Indeed. It was you.” Lilith, or rather, Joshua said with Lilith’s mouth.
Kireua slowly turned around, his eyes completely black. He stared silently at them for a long time, before smiling from ear to ear.
“Have I been made already?”
1. Hungry ghosts who can often be found in legends. ?
Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m