Side Story Chapter 162
Maetri got decapitated. He couldn’t withstand a single strike.
‘See? A mere demon,’ Lilith said, as if it were only natural.
Joshua was the one who had done the deed, but even he had never imagined he would be able to use his true power this well. Evergrant kon Aswald was definitely a giving tree even after his death.
“That’ll do.” Joshua spun his spear several times and then stroked it with a contented smile.
Longin buzzed as if pleased to be in the hands of its true owner again, so Joshua continued to stroke the spear for a little longer.
Meanwhile, the battle between Aeremang, the ninth strongest demon, and Aden was still ongoing, but Aeremang was losing. The ninth strongest demon was not as impressive as his title suggested.
-Arrrgggh!
Aeremang hysterically threw his whips to the ground. They had been cut to ribbons by Aden.
-How dare you, human...
Aden glanced in Joshua’s direction. “They seem to be done, so let’s wrap things up now.”
A vein bulged out of Aeremang’s forehead.
-Don’t underestimate me!
Black sparks of electricity flew off of Aeremang’s empty hands, making the air around them rumble like thunder.
Aeremang’s demonic power was astonishingly thick. Anything that the sparks touched were not scorched, they literally vanished from the world.
-Black Lightning Bolt Strike!
“Good.” Aden launched himself at the demon without a care for what technique Aeremang was using.
-Crazy human!
Aeremang smiled from ear to ear as he watched Aden voluntarily entering Aeremang’s attack range. The countermeasure for his Black Lightning Bolt Strike was actually quite simple—all one had to do was maintain a distance such that one never entered Aeremang’s attack range. Of course, Aeremang’s opponents would never be able to kill him if they did that.
-I’ll rip you to pieces, down to the last strand of your hair!
Two bolts of black lightning flew at Aden. They traveled so quickly that they were hard to see with the naked eye; it seemed almost assured that they were going to strike Aden dead-center. However, Aden elegantly turned and kept on sprinting while also avoiding the attack. He leaned closer to the ground and swung his sword as he ran, launching an aura strike at Aeremang.
Aeremang knew from experience that even a demon as powerful as he was couldn’t underestimate Aden’s sword skills. The demon launched his Black Lightning Bolt Strikes.
Gulp.
-...Huh?
Aeremang blinked and realized that the two black lightning bolts he’d just thrown had vanished.
His confusion was put to rest when the demonic power from Aden’s sword began to take on a certain form.
-Gluttony...!
Aeremang gritted his teeth. Aden’s demonic power resembled a voracious mouth, making it obvious that Aden was using the power of Gluttony, one of the Seven Evil Sins. Aeremang was well aware of what abilities Gluttony had because Gluttony’s previous owner came from the lower part of the Demon Realm.
-You’re a mere human... A mere human, so how...!
Aeremang smiled hollowly. Gluttony was trying to devour his demonic power too.
It would be pathetic to claim that Aeremang couldn’t use his full power because he was in the Human Realm, since his opponent wasn’t even a demon like he was. It was a human, one of those who Aeremang used to treat like vermin. Yet he couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
-I wouldn’t be humiliated like this if I were in the Demon Realm.
“Demons seem to be incapable of learning,” Aden casually commented.
-...What?
“The Demon Spirit is supposed to be your god, but he was defeated by a human in the Human Realm and he’s about to be erased from existence.”
Aeremang’s widened in ourage.
“But you minions are weaker than him. You call yourselves the tenth strongest, ninth strongest... What does it matter, even if you’re the strongest demon? You’re all weaker than your god.”
-You son of a bitch!
“Let’s end this.” Aden smiled and leaped high into the sky.
-You absolute fool!
Aeremang was certain of his victory this time. There was nowhere to run or even stand in the sky.
-Your arrogance will be your downfall!
Arcs of lightning snapped between Aeremang’s horns.
-Akritsa!
The lightning instantly merged into a ray of light that could be seen from miles away. Aden’s response was simple; he raised his sword upright.
-Disappear into dust, you vermin!
Aeremang heard a tiny thump, barely audible unless one was paying attention, but he didn’t give it much heed. The cause of the sound, however, he could not afford to ignore.
-What?
Aeremang gasped as his death ray turned right around and headed straight back for him. Aden’s sword was enveloped in a layer of pink energy.
-Is that Lust...?
“Being killed by your own attack isn’t such a bad end for a demon,” Aden mused.
-Arrrrrrrghhhh!
The ray of light engulfed Aeremang like the judgment of the gods. He writhed and screamed, his twisted voice curdling the ears of everyone on the battlefield.
Aden nimbly dropped onto Aeremang and cut Aeremang precisely from head to toe as if he were mimicking what Joshua had done to Paetri.
“How was it? Good?” Aden slowly turned around, knowing that Aeremang’s end was decided. “These Evil Sin things are really convenient. ”
“...Since when did you become a has-been who relies on other abilities?” Joshua asked.
“A ‘has-been’? Hahaha! Let’s just say I’m realistic. Being able to evaluate your relative level of skill is essential; what else could be more stupid than starting a fight you’re guaranteed to lose every time?”
The two halves of Aeremang’s body belatedly fell to the ground.
“I really don’t feel like I’m going to lose with these outstanding powers. I can finally understand why demons so desperately covet them.” Aden clenched and unclenched his fists experimentally.
“You’ve passed the point of no return.”
“I don’t care what you say. Once I possess all seven of the Evil Sins, I feel like I’ll become a god. Hahahaha!”
Joshua watched Aden coldly. Well, if Aden was someone Joshua could talk things out with, Aden wouldn’t have let the Demon Spirit have his body on that day. Despite his fame, Aden von Agnus was hideous on the inside, just like Emperor Marcus had been; their titles did not befit their nature.
“From past to present, all those who let a power which wasn’t theirs have met the same end,” Joshua warned Aden.
“I already told you that I don’t care what you say. I’m a father who’s lost to his son twice now, so I don’t have any pride left to lose.”
“Yeah, you’re a grandfather who’s going after his grandson’s body. I can feel the last traces of affection for my father evaporating.”
“Shall I tell you a secret?” Aden took a step forward, a tremendous amount of energy saturing the air around him. “The remaining demons over there—they were called the Seven Demons, the most likely to acquire the Evil Sins and become Demon Kings, I believe”
“How is that supposed to be a secret?”
“They’re hiding it, but at least two of them possess an Evil Sin.”
Joshua flinched in surprise. “There are demons here... who have Evil Sins?”
“Yeah, the Evil Sins inside me told me that. When I take those Evil Sins too, I’ll have five Evil Sins... Hehehe. Will you be able to stop me then?”
Joshua’s sharp eyes peered at the demons, but a question still remained: if Aden’s Evil Sins were able to notice the Evil Sins on the demons’ side, there was a high chance that the demons had noticed the presence of Aden’s Evil Sins too—so why hadn’t the demons tried to act on that information?
‘Maybe they’re trying to test your father, similar to how we try to estimate our opponent’s skill before we begin spar,’ Lilith said.
She had a point, but Joshua shook his head. Demons were the most prideful beings in all creation, so probing their opponents was a preposterous idea for them.
“It looks like the two of them are trying to enter Arcadia. Can you leave them alone?” Aden asked with a crooked smile.
Joshua’s eyes widened.
‘No way...!’
Lilith felt Joshua’s distress through their shared emotions.
‘What’s wrong?’
Unfortunately for her, they didn’t have time for conversation.
“...Since it seems I don’t have much time, I’ll finish this quickly.”
“Finish this quickly? Are you talking about your own son? Hah!” Aden scoffed. Joshua’s statement was ridiculous. “Joshua, you must be forgetting something here. This is your son’s body, and I have three Evil Sins. How are you going to end this quickly?”
“That also means that the key is the Evil Sins.”
“So you finally got it now?”
“Then every problem will be solved once I take the Evil Sins you’re so proud of.” Joshua nodded thoughtfully.
“...What?” Aden stared blankly at Joshua as his son’s words echoed in his head.
“Thanks to you, it might take less time to melt the ice boulder.”
“What are you talking about...?”
“Since you’ve given me a valuable piece of information, I’ll do the same.” With a grin, Joshua pointed his spear at Aden. “Among the Seven Evil Sins, only Greed has a perfect ego of its own; in other words, it has the power to choose its owner.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Greed hasn’t changed.”
Aden gave Joshua a confused look.
“Greed never forgets the owner it chose. Since it’s very greedy, it’s very particular about the master it chooses—meaning small fry can’t be its host.”
Aden could feel piercing pain inside his body.
“What...?” Aden looked at his body disbelievingly.
Joshua’s mouth curled into a wide smile.
“You can’t use the power of Greed even if you want to, can you? That is what I’m talking about.”
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