Side Story Chapter 164
Aden slowly collapsed to the ground, still in utter disbelief.
“You materialized a sword with your will... and also fooled my senses...?”
“It was a spear, not a sword. Besides, it had no form; that’s why it was able to fool your senses.”
“Impossible...” Aden murmured.
Aden went down on his knees. It was an odd thing to see a man without a single wound on him grabbing his chest tightly as if he were about to die. However, what was inside was actually far from unscathed.
Aden’s soul bore an unerasable wound; this really was the end of him now. Since his very soul had sustained a critical injury, he could no longer recover nor resurrect even if he used his Evil Sins. If that were possible, the Seven Evil Sins wouldn’t have had many Demon Kings as their owners. The long, torturous feud between father and son finally came to a true end.
“You’re the worst father that I’ve ever met,” Joshua said.
“...Heh. The loser can’t make excuses, right?”
“What kind of son was I?”
“What?” Aden couldn’t believe his ears.
“I’m suddenly curious.”
Aden slowly looked up. Although he was in Kireua’s body, Joshua could clearly see his father’s face.
“What kind of son were you?” Aden repeated.
“I’m the son who killed you in the end, so I don’t think I was a son you were proud of.”
“Are you capable of thinking like that?”
“Am I not?” Joshua tilted his head.
“We might have pursued different goals, but that doesn’t mean that the happiness you brought me meant nothing.” Aden chuckled. Joshua just looked at the man without saying anything. For some reason, Aden looked freed. “I haven’t forgotten anything. You became a Master when you were just a teenager. Many others coveted Reinhardt’s throne, but you were the winner of the Master's Battle and took the throne. And even on the day you killed Emperor Marcus on my behalf, I was proud of you. Heh. From what I heard, the continent calls you the Martial God, yes? You’ve already surpassed me.”
“Do you still feel the same even though your son put an end to you?”
“You’ve had children, so you must know how I feel. Wouldn’t it be so great if a child grew up like their parents wanted them to? But how many of them would really grow up like that?” Aden pushed himself to his feet. “Of course, some children do grow up like that, but regardless, most children don’t become the person their parents wished them to be. However... no parents would hate their child for that.”
“Maternal and paternal love are unconditional.” Aden slowly reached his hand out toward Joshua.
And Lilith slapped it away.
“This is my face, not your son’s. It’s awfully rude of you to touch it like that.”
“You’re...?”
“I was so disgusted that I couldn’t put up with your drivel any longer. Hey, are you suffering from amnesia? Did you forget what you did to the family you say you love because you’re about to die now?” Lilith glared at Aden, murderous energy on full blast, as he slowly lowered his arm. “No one calls that a parent’s love. You used your son and wife as nothing but tools for your revenge, and you call that what?”
“I believed that that was the way to repay my parent’s love—my duty as their son.”
“What?”
“I’m just like Joshua. In the end, it’s his powerless mother for whom he’s been trying so hard and eventually took revenge.”
“How can you possibly think it’s the same...! Unlike you, Joshua never took shortcuts to achieve his goals. Every one of his accomplishments is a product of sheer effort!”
“Why don’t you answer for yourself?” Aden asked Josuha. He was looking forward to hearing his response, knowing that he was approaching his eternal death. “Are we different? Do you think you’re clean while your father is a hideous and filthy monster?”
“No, I’m the same.” Joshua shook his head.
Aden was delighted.
‘What in the world are you talking about? What part of that revenge-obsessed murderer is the same as you?’
-...You’re as angry as if you were the one who got insulted. I’m always grateful to you for that.
‘If you’re that grateful, then straighten out the facts, quickly. I’ll never let your father die in peace!’ Lilith snapped.
Aden took it even further and spread his arms wide. “Yeah, I knew that you and I would share the same mind. Come here. Let me hug you one last time.”
‘You can’t possibly think that I’ll agree to this bullshit,’ Lilith spat before Joshua could say anything.
But Joshua slowly approached Aden regardless.
‘Joshua!’
“Why don’t you come out now?” Joshua abruptly asked.
Lilith jolted in surprise.
“What?” Even Aden stared blankly at him.
An invisible dagger appeared in Joshua’s hand before and before anyone realized, he stabbed Aden’s soul dead center.
“Arrrrrgggggghhhhh!” Aden’s desperate howl rose into the air.
Naturally there was a considerable difference in the damage done between throwing an invisible spear from a distance and shoving an invisible dagger into a soul from close enough to hug.
“Y-You bastard! Your father is dying...! Was it really hard for you to hug me one last time?”
“You still think I’m your nice son, don’t you?”
“Wh...at?”
“I already told you that I no longer think of you as my family,” Joshua reminded Aden.
“You...!”
“What do you think of yourself as a husband, not a parent?” Joshua threw out.
Aden froze stiff.
“...I thought so.” Joshua shook his head. “This should have been my first question. If you really had a conscience, you wouldn’t be able to shamelessly talk about affection and stuff.”
“Shut... up!”
“I can still remember your despicable eyes when you were with Mother. That was guilt, not affection or love.”
“I told you to shut your damn mouth!” Aden screamed.
“Aden von Agnus, that is who you really are.”
Joshua could now actually see Aden’s soul rising out of Kireua’s body, shaking with its desperate attempts to prevent itself from disappearing. A large hole yawned in the center of his soul.
-How dare you... How dare you...!
“It’s so refreshing.” Joshua beamed and slowly pulled Longin out from the ground.
Then Joshua slew the translucent soul into the air, and with a flick of his spear and a final, painful scream, Aden’s soul completely disappeared from the world.
‘It’s done.’ Lilith couldn’t bring herself to tell Joshua “Good job.”
Although Joshua was absolutely justified, Lilith couldn’t compliment Joshua for killing his own father. Besides, Joshua’s eyes were closed as if he were praying for his father to find peace, despite what he had said.
“...Kireua,” Joshua murmured.
It turned out that Lilith was mistaken—Joshau was trying to communicate with Kireua, who had completely lost control of his body.
“Wake up,” Joshua commanded.
Kireua did not respond.
“...This is problematic,” Joshua bitterly muttered.
What was problematic? Since the evil spirit who tried to take over Kireua’s body was gone, wasn’t the problem solved?
-The two Evil Sins inside Kireua are rampaging.
‘Wh-What?’ Lilith gasped.
-Greed seems to be planning to immediately return to Kireua and recover his soul... but that won’t work. Lust and Gluttony aren’t letting their guard down in the slightest.
Three new, powerful presences appeared in the vicinity, adding to Joshua and Lilith’s pile of problems.
-It’s them.
-I’m sure of it.
-What? That isn’t one person who has three Evil Sins.
A muscular, one-eyed demon and a demon who resembled a witch from the fairy tales stood in front of Joshua, and a demon stood behind Joshua holding a long, ominous scythe. It was obvious from their energies alone that these demons were far stronger than the enemies Joshua had fought just now. Although Lilith trusted Joshua, Kireua could be endangered if Joshua chose to fight them. They found themselves in a conundrum.
‘Ah, shit...!’ Lilith cussed.
-I guess there’s no other choice then.
However, it seemed that Joshua had a solution once again.
-I’ll need to open up a path for him.
‘A... path?’ Lilith repeated.
-I’ll have to ask you for your understanding in advance.
Joshua opened her mana hall wide open.
‘What are you doing?’ Lilith asked, startled.
-The two Evil Sins will choose the tastier prey, and Lust already considers you the perfect vessel...
‘Wa-wait. Are you saying you’re going to trap three Evil Sins inside me?’
-Technically, I’m going to destroy them before I trap them, along with the demons around us.
Joshua slowly got into position. The one-eyed demon, the witch, and the reaper studied him.
-What? It looks like the human is going to fight us.
-Seriously. Humans are so arrogant. They don’t know their place...
-Once the human finds out we’re part of the top five demons, he’ll regret being that reckless.
“Right back at you.” Joshua smiled crookedly.
-Huh?
“Had you known who I am, you wouldn’t have been this reckless.”
The three demons' eyes all widened at once.
Joshua pointed his crimson spear at the three demons.
“This is perfect to test my new power.”
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr𝒆e(w)𝒆bnovel