Side Story Chapter 168
-You’ll give me an Evil Sin?
-Do you really mean it?
Perchilin and Tshchary were outright polite.
“Why not?” Joshua summoned two clusters of black demonic power, each of which took on a specific form. One was a pink sphere, and the other was an animal’s mouth with jagged fangs. “As you can see, they’re Lust and Gluttony.”
Perchilin swallowed in nervous anticipation; she’d only wanted Lust in the first place.
‘Are you really going to give the powers to those demons?’ Lilith immediately asked, concerned.
-Like I said, why not?
‘I’m fine with your plan to use the powers to make the demons serve forever, rather than taking the power for yourself, but don’t you feel like it’s a waste?’
-There’s no reason to feel that way since possessing several Evil Sins at once is practically impossible.
‘Impossible? Is that true?’
-This incident proved that beyond a doubt. Look at Kireua. Can’t you tell?
Joshua pointed his eyes at Kireua. Lilith fell silent. Just like Joshua said, the Second Prince of Avalon was still unconscious after possessing three Evil Sins at once. Of course, the Dark God was the main reason for that, but there was no guarantee that a similar incident wouldn’t happen again. Multiple Evil Sins would continue to fight against each other inside of Kireua, so there was no telling when a powerful soul would go after Kireua’s body again.
-Besides, those demons keep swarming to Avalon after they caught the scent of these Evil Sins, so it’s better to find owners for these powers and get rid of those demons.
‘Then why does that story exist?’ Lilith asked.
-What story?
‘I heard that at some point in the Demon Realm’s history, there was someone who had three Evil Sins at once,’ Lilith explained.
Joshua fell silent.
‘Isn’t that you?’ Lilith guessed.
-It is...
‘Are you doing this because you’re worried about me?’
Joshua didn’t say yes or no, but his reaction had Lilith convinced. Given that Lilith had failed to control one power—Lust—it was obvious what was going to happen after Joshua left Lilith’s body.
‘I’m sorry that I’m not even competent enough to hold onto those powers...’ Lilith trailed off bitterly.
-You’re being too hard on yourself, and I’m already strong without Evil Sins.
‘There is a good reason why they say, “The more, the better.” Just hold on. I have a plan, so hear me out.’
-What kind of plan?
‘A plan to use those two demons as your warehouse so you can retrieve the Evil Sins any time you want.’
Joshua flinched. Because he had already been silent for a long time, Perchilin’s anxiety got the better of her.
-Why aren’t you answering me...!
“...Don’t make me repeat myself,” Joshua sighed. “I’ll hand over the power if you accept my Overlord Symbol.”
-You mean it? I’m in! I’m in!
Perchilin approached Joshua, waving her long tail.
“How about you?” Joshua asked Tshchary, who had yet to say anything.
Tshchary simply looked at Joshua with his abyss-like eyes.
-Before I answer, I want to ask what you’re planning to do with us after giving us Overlord Symbols.
Joshua tilted his head. “Do you think you can afford to be picky? I can kill you anytime I want.”
-That's sometimes a better option than living.
Joshua shrugged. “Well, I don’t have anything in particular yet. Since you two will make useful subordinates, I’ll give it some thoughts later.”
-If you enslave us until we outlive our use and order us to commit suicide...
Even before Tshchary finished speaking, Perchilin and Lilith tensed.
“...Then let’s set one term each,” Joshua suggested.
-Term?
“I’ll give you two the right to refuse any orders that command you to die.”
Perchilin brightened immediately.
-It’s a promise! Let’s add that clause to the Overlord Symbol—
-What will you ask from us? After receiving the Overlord Symbols, we’ll be your slaves, bound to follow your commands absolutely, so there is no reason for you to ask something of us.
“You ought to think of it as a safety measure against the right I gave you.”
-...Why don’t you just tell us first?
Joshua smiled. “It’s simple. Follow any order except for those.”
Tshchary pondered for a moment. Since he got to continue living, he was still benefitting even if he was Joshua’s subordinate. In addition, the Demon Realm was the world where the strong took everything, and Tshchary was talking to the Shining Darkness, who had once been at the realm’s zenith. Tshchary’s one concern was the Shining Darkness retrieving the Evil Sins he gave to Tshchary and Perchilin...
‘I don’t think the Shining Darkness would play dirty like that. Besides, it’s not easy to retrieve an Evil Sin after it chooses an owner,’ Tshchary thought.
There was almost only one method of taking an Evil Sin from another person, and that was killing them. However, Joshua couldn’t make Tshchary and Perchilin kill themselves because of the term he had set. Even if Joshua tried to take things into his own hands, that would also affect him greatly once the Overlord Symbols had linked their souls. In other words, it was a deal that Tshchary could not refuse.
-...Good. I’ll take the offer.
Joshua offered his hand to Tschary with a wide smile.
“I look forward to working with you.”
* * *
Urus’s face twisted in anger.
-I shouldn’t let you keep talking.
Urus strode across the council chamber.
“The first reason you can’t kill me is the Shining Darkness, the person that you fear so much,” Icarus interrupted.
Urus immediately came to a halt.
-What?
“I’m not bragging, but I’m his wife and the Queen Consort of this country. Doesn’t that make me a priceless hostage?
-Hmph, it might have been different if we weren’t already in the middle of a battle, but that’s long past. So even if—
Altheon unexpectedly raised his hand
-Wait, Urus.
-What is it, Altheon?
-We can’t deny the fact that this is an easy solution compared to the difficult fight we would have to go through otherwise. Just as said, she’s a valuable hostage.
Urus grumbled for a minute, irritated that he’d been denied, before he grinned from ear to ear.
-Does that mean I can kill everyone other than the woman?
-Good idea.
Altheon nodded in agreement, so Urus began advancing again.
“Secondly! I guarantee you that you’ll never be able to find what you’re looking for without my people’s help. Never!” Icarus confidently shouted.
-Haven’t you heard that we can detect our target?
“What if you’re still unable to get it even after you’ve find it?”
Urus scowled.
-What nonsense is that?
“This is a palace built by humans, so all sorts of devices and magic traps are installed all over the place. You’re gravely mistaken if you think that all you have to do is follow your senses.”
-Those human-made rat traps are nothing. I’ll just smash them—
“One of those magic traps is designed to knock down the entire place when an unauthorized intruder approaches.”
Urus stopped walking again, and Icarus delivered her final blow.
“Aren’t you on the clock here? You even deceived your colleagues to come here, so don’t tell me you’re going to mess everything up.”
-We deceived our colleagues?
“Don’t even think about denying it. Had they known that something related to the Demon Spirit was in the Palace, all ten of those ten demons would have been hot on your heels.”
After a long silence, Urus’s voice took on a menacing growl.
-I shouldn’t let you live.
“You have to let me live. If you kill me, my people won’t cooperate with you, and you’ll end up wasting more time. Meanwhile, the other demons might notice what’s going on here. Wouldn’t that be quite a problem?”
Urus's face darkened and he finally stepped back. His answer was decided from the start, but he had been acting stubborn because he didn’t like being manipulated.
At this point, Altheon wanted to hear Icarus out to the end.
-What is the third reason?
“Haven’t you heard enough?”
-I would still like to hear it.
Icarus beamed. “My third reason is that you listened to the other two reasons.”
-You gotta be kidding me...!
-...Hah. Hehehehehe.
Urus gave Icarus a death glare, while Altheon threw his head back and burst into laughter.
-You’re truly wicked, human woman. I have to respect your tongue.
“Thank you for the compliment.” Icarus giggled.
-Did that sound like a compliment?
“The people humans call ‘strategists’ consider their enemies’ curses the greatest compliment.”
-Is that so? Then I guess that really is a compliment since we’d never be able to find a bigger bitch than you.
Cain and Ulabis frowned at Altheon’s disrespectful treatment of the Queen Consort. Cain even let his murderous energy loose in an unrestrained display of anger.
-Oh? They’re begging to be killed.
Urus cracked his knuckles when he felt Cain’s aggression, but Altheon stopped him before he could do anything again.
-...Altheon?
-Let me do it.
Altheon stepped in front of Cain and Ulabis and released a thick wave of demonic power.
“Stop! Don’t let your impulses get the best of you and do something you’ll regret. You know that accepting my proposal is for the best, don’t you?”
-You’re right. I considered it from various angles, and it’s genuinely beneficial to us.
“Then—”
-But that doesn’t necessarily mean I should spare everyone here. One human and one guide are all we need.
Icarus’s eyes widened.
The demonic power flooding out of Altheon filled the council chamber in no time and his voice took on an ominous tinge of murderous energy.
-Aside from the Queen Consort and one guide, I’ll eradicate every living being inside the Palace.
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