Side Story Chapter 165
As Joshua expected, the powers of Gluttony and Lust were fighting endlessly over Kireua’s body.
-Hehehe. Why don’t you give up now?
-Hmph. What are you saying, you stupid pig? This is why I always said that Greed is better than you. Look at Greed. It already made the right decision to look for a new owner.
-You big-titted succubus.
-You pig who only knows how to eat.
-You witch.
-You no-good mouth.
-Slut.
-What?
They were inside Kireua’s subconscious realm, but the actual owner of the body was nowhere to be seen.
-Ah, seriously! We’re out of time. We need to bring the red-haired guy from the dimensional rift and persuade him—are we going to continue doing this?
-Hehehe, that’s precisely why you need to give up.
-Seriously?!
Lust’s voice was tinged with anxiety, and for good reason. Greed had suggested locking up Kireua’s soul in a dimensional rift because a fight between three Evil Sins could irreversibly damage Kireua’s body. If that happened, they were all doomed because the Seven Evil Sins were literally power and nothing more—in other words, they could not live on without hosts, so the Evil Sins had aGreed upon Greed’s suggestion. Of course, Greed had been the one to do the deed because it was the most reliable among the three. But then they had run into an unexpected variable.
-We went through all that trouble to get this body, but it’s going to be ruined if we miss this moment. You know that, don’t you?
A body without a soul was merely a shell, so the Evil Sins couldn't survive in this body if the original owner remained in the dimensional rift. They’d had no problem until now because a new human soul had entered and temporarily sustained the body without knowing Greed’s scheme. It had actually been quite fun to watch the human idiot acting pompous as if he were the body’s original owner, but then the human had been destroyed.
Gluttony still had not answered, prompting a fresh round of screaming from Lust.
-Hey! I told you that we don’t have much time left!
-Hehe, three more fine-looking vessels seem to have shown up just now, so you can leave if you’re in a hurry.
-You don’t even mean it, so knock it off! Do you really think you'll be satisfied with them?
Lust had already experienced having a human as her vessel, so she had no intention of choosing a mere demon as her host. She had personally witnessed this human’s tremendous potential to withstand three Evil Sins.
On top of that, Kireua wasn’t affected by divine power, whilst demons had to utilize their demonic power to merely not die from it. A person like Kireua was very, very special. Not many humans could withstand the powers of the Demon Kings; it took at least one of the humans’ heroes for Evil Sins to even try settling in.
Lust ended up sighing.
-Yeah, I don’t know. Let’s just die together.
-Hehe... You’re bluffing...
-Do I look like I’m bluffing?
Lust let her energy fade away and the space fell into silence. Only the sound of Gluttony’s teeth quietly clattering disturbed the quiet. Neither of them spoke for a long moment until Gluttony quietly broke the silence.
-...Seriously?
-You said it yourself.
-Then should we just get married?
-Are you crazy? Why would I marry a pig like you?
Gluttony was smacking its lips when an extraordinary level of demonic power suddenly lit up outside.
-This is...?
-A pathway of demonic power? Is that supposed to lure us?
The two Evil Sins conjured an image of the outside to see what was going on. What they saw made them tremble with excitement.
-Huh? Is that...?
-That’s that human girl Greed moved to, and was originally your body.
-She’s a little... different? Wait, this power is...
Lust’s eyes slowly widened.
-Th-This power—
-It’s the Shining Darkness!
Gluttony’s eyes gleamed. Despite living for eternity, there was only one time where it had felt demonic power of this level, and Gluttony would never be able to forget the shock and bliss that it had felt on that day.
-This is impossible. I wasn’t sure before, but he actually reincarnated as someone else?
-No wonder Greed wants it.
Although the Shining Darkness was possessing the human woman’s body right now, the Evil Sins could feel that his real body was somewhere else. If the Evil Sins could merge with the Shining Darkness’s soul, it wouldn’t be impossible to get into the Shining Darkness’s body.
-...You can have this body.
Gluttony flinched and immediately stopped her.
-Wait.
-What? You told me to go earlier.
-I changed my mind. I’ll leave.
-You gotta be kidding me. I can’t believe how fast you changed your mind.
The two Evil Sins were now fighting to leave.
-Wait, the pathway is getting smaller.
-So long, you pig. I’m out of here.
-Where do you think you’re going?!
The two Evil Sins threw themselves into the inviting pathway, leaving Kireua’s body empty.
* * *
The one-eyed demon, the witch, and the reaper—Credos, Perchilin, and Tshkery—froze. These demons were considered to be as strong as Demon Kings—they were the third, fifth, and fourth strongest demons, respectively. However, the surge of energy surprised even these powerful beings.
-What is... this?
-Someone possesses such demonic power in the Human Realm?
-It’s the Evil Sins.
Credos and Perchilin looked at Tshkery, who leaned his giant scythe against his shoulder and continued.
-Can’t you feel it too? The human woman is trying to take the two remaining Evil Sins still inside that red-haired human.
-I-Is such a thing possible? I thought two Evil Sins was the limit even for a Demon King.
-Have you forgotten already? There was one person—and only one person—who possessed more Evil Sins throughout the entire history of the Demon Realm.
The three demons stared at the silver-haired human woman, shocked.
-...Wait a minute. Isn’t that girl holding the Demon Spirit’s spear?
-You’re right.
-A bloody-red spear, three Evil Sins... It’s just like...
-Stop, Perchlin. What are you trying to say right now?
His name was taboo in the Demon Realm.
-This is not the time to fight amongst ourselves.
Tshkery, the reaper, was the most rational of the three demons.
-It’s time to join forces. We can leave the Evil Sins to choose their owners themselves.
-You too, Tshkery? You want the three of us against one human girl?
-Credos, open up your one and only eye. What part of that human makes you think she is “just” a human girl?
-What?
The reapers of the Demon Realm could see people’s natures, and Tshkery was their king; hence, he could see that Lilith had two souls inside of her. On top of that, one of them was...
Credos’s eye widened and he trembled like an aspen leaf in a storm.
-Is this... real? Answer me, Tshkery! Is that really the Shining Darkness?
Perchilin gasped in shock.
-I-it’s true, right? It’s really the Shining Darkness! Oh! I can’t believe he’s in the Human Realm...!
-All of us demons are now in the Human Realm, so there is nothing odd about him being here
-It’s absurd! How long has he been alive?
It was the Shining Darkness wielding his cherished weapon. The three demons silently agreed that they couldn’t fight against him alone. However, Credos was practically rumbling.
-...I refuse to accept it.
-Credos?
-Shit. After all this time, the Shining Darkness shows up out of nowhere? What kind of shit is this?!
Credos slammed his bat against the ground with all his power and glared at the other two demons.
-Let’s make it clear here: we’re going to keep this a secret from Urus and Altheon and we’ll share the three Evil Sins among ourselves.
-O-Of course.
-Greed is mine. I’m not going to let either one of you take it.
Perchilin was the fifth strongest demon, meaning she was the weakest among them, so she simply shrugged in the face of Credos’s threat.
-I’m fine with that. It was the power of Lust that I was interested in from the start because that suits my abilities the best.
-Why aren’t you answering, Tshkery?
Tshkery was the third strongest demon, while Credos was the fourth strongest, so the argument came down to them. Although Perchlin acquiesced easily, it was different for the other two demons. All sorts of monsters and other beings had roamed the Demon Realm, but the most belligerent race of them all was the cyclops. The reapers, on the other hand, were impossible to read.
-...Have you forgotten already, Credos? No matter what we decide among ourselves, it’s meaningless if Greed doesn’t choose you.
-I’m confident, so I at least want to have the chance.
The intense staredown between Tshkery and Credos lasted for a long time. All of the demons there were dreadful predators who had battled their way to the peak of their kind, so any of them could be chosen as the new owner of Greed. That was why Credos couldn’t stand down.
-...Okay. Go ahead.
Perchilin’s eyes shone. Credos flinched, surprised by Tshkery’s answer, but guffawed.
-Hahahaha. Good! I don’t usually like reapers because I can never tell what’s going on in your heads, but you’ll be my first exception, Tshkery. Don’t forget your words.
When Credos finished speaking, he stamped his feet against the ground, eager to rush into battle.
-I’ll crush the human in no time.
-Wait, we should be cautious and work attack togeth—
-No, no. I have a conscience. You guys gave me a great opportunity, so I can’t do that. I’ll work harder for it.
Tshkery looked at Perchilin, who nodded.
Credos leaped as high as legs would carry him, bat held high over his head to deliver his Moon Crush technique. This technique was known for its destructiveness, even in the vicious Demon Realm. The moment Credos’s bat struck the ground, the entire area heaved and bucked as an enormous shockwave tore through the earth.
-Get crushed.
Joshua slowly lifted his head to the sky.
“Cyclops always rely on their natural power too much. They never think things through.”
-...What?
“This is why you’ll never get stronger than that,” Joshua said quietly. He tightened his grip on the spear, which already had two clusters of power on its points. He gave it a light swing, launching an attack of demonic power that crackled with black flickers of lightning. The attack was far, far more destructive than his simple movements suggested, and its other effects were even more incongruous.
-Th-The sky...!
Perchlin peered beyond Credos, horrified. The clouds hanging over them had literally been split in half.
Credos plummeted to the ground, shedding a veritable waterfall of blood.
“Next,” Joshua said.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶