Side Story Chapter 169
Altheon Deos was known as the strongest demon in all of the Demon Realm thanks to his overwhelming power. He was also known as the ferocious demonic general who excelled in both strategy and martial arts.
Blood spurted out from Cain’s right shoulder literally in the blink of an eye.
“Ugh!” Cain groaned in pain.
The humans inside the council chamber were taken aback.
“Wh-When...?”
-He’s this fast?
Ulabis, the Flame Emperor, and Arie the death knight nearly bit their tongues in surprise after witnessing how impossibly fast Altheon moved. In fact, they hadn’t even seen Altheon draw his weapon. The demon who had done the deed simply adjusted his glasses.
-It’s too early to be surprised.
At the same time, three more holes were created in Cain, one in his left shoulder and each thigh. It was obvious what Altheon was aiming for.
Cain’s legs gave out from under him and he went down on his knee.
“Cain, you...” Ulabis’s brows furrowed.
Cain was a man who would choose to die rather than bend the knee, yet that prideful knight was groaning in pain. From a glance, Ulabis could tell that the Combat Emperor wasn’t in his normal state and was severely unwell.
“Be honest with me. How long can you hold out?” Ulabis whispered without turning to look at Cain. The moment Ulabis took his eyes off Altheon, the demon would no doubt also stab Ulabis using his unbelievable speed.
“I’m sorry.”
“Just answer.”
“...One minute at the most if I use my aura to the fullest extent,” Cain replied.
Ulabis’s face fell, although Cain’s answer was entirely expected.
In other words, Ulabis had to deal with those terrifyingly strong demons on his own. Of course, there was a death knight, but he was an ally that Ulabis couldn’t understand in the slightest. He had already learned the identity of the death knight: Marquess Arie bron Sten. The death knight was a maniac who had been the manipulator of the battlefield and was still obsessed with the Martial God.
“That’s problematic. Are all demons of their rank so ridiculously strong?”
-Let me introduce myself again. My name is Altheon Deos, the Killer Star Demon.
The word “star” in his title in all likelihood didn’t differ in meaning in the Demon Realm compared to the Human Realm. In other words, Altheon was one of the most powerful demons in his Realm; a being known as a Star by other demons.
-Red-haired human, are you not going to come at me? If not, I will come to you.
Right after Altheon finished speaking, Ulabis's tightly focused eyes widened. He saw the tiniest flash and immediately swung his sword.
-Oh?
Altheon’s eyes lit up with interest for the first time, but Ulabis seemed more surprised. The identity of the weapon that pierced Cain was revealed:
“Fingers...?”
Altheon’s ten fingers. Ulabis now understood how the demon had stabbed several places on Cain’s body at once.
-It happened within less than a second, but you still managed to block it... I see that you’re no ordinary human.
Ulabis nodded in return. “I would actually believe it if your title was the Second Demon.”
-Don’t compare me to such a vermin. He might be faster than me in terms of movement, but I’m peerless in the Demon Realm when it comes to killing.
“When it comes to killing, huh?” Ulabis fixed his grip on his sword, cold sweat dripping down his back. Altheon was the worst kind of opponent that Ulabis could meet. In terms of strength, Ulabis was sure that he could fight neck-to-neck with anyone, but it was a different story if his opponent specialized in speed. No matter how powerful an attack Ulabis’s sword could deliver, it was meaningless if he was bled to death first.
-Yawn. How long are you going to play around, Altheon?
Urus grumbled in boredom. At this point, he was lying on the floor, head propped up on one hand and the other picking his nose. He didn’t give a damn about the enemies around them.
-...Hehehehe. I don’t like your attitude.
Arie chuckled creepily as he flicked the end of his rapier.
-So what if you do, you baby death knight? What are you going to do about it?
-What do you mean what am I going to do? I’m going to kill you.
-You, kill me?
Urus sneered.
Arie made his move. When it came to speed, Arie was an expert, so he gave into his desire to win and thrust his sharp-edged rapier forward like a lightning bolt.
Urus lightly flicked his finger but Arie felt an immense impact against his hands that threw his arms helplessly into the air and his red eyes wobbling in their sockets. Now that Arie was laid open, Urus had a golden opportunity to attack, but he simply went back to picking his nose again and didn’t make another move.
-...A booger?
Arie’s eyes burned with anger when he saw what had collided with his rapier. The booger that Urus had flicked was stuck on the end of Arie’s blade.
Urus scoffed.
-Little death knight, you aren’t even close to being able to fight me, so just be quiet and watch their fight.
-This hurts my pride a little—no, a lot.
-Pride? Hahahaha, if your pride matters to you so much, why did you become a monster?
Arie released a fresh surge of murderous energy, incensed by Urus’s provocation, to say nothing of the taboo he’d touched. Why had Arie chosen to be a death knight? It was because of his desire to fight one man. Even after his death, Arie wanted to test himself against Joshua, so he bowed and swore his loyalty to Joshua, with one condition: Arie would challenge Joshua once every month and Joshua could never turn the request down. That was how serious Arie was about martial arts.
But what did Urus call him just now? A monster?
-You damned devil...!
Before the enraged death knight could make a move, three projectiles came flying at him. They were boogers too.
Arie responded very shrewdly. Instead of making the mistake of fighting Urus head-on, Arie calmly twisted his body to avoid the boogers and then immediately darted toward Urus, growling.
-Die.
-Huh?
Urus lay on his side, resting his head on one hand, as he watched Arie. In other words, Urus made no movements nor released any energy, so even after seeing what he had seen, Arie had a feeling that he would be able to end Urus.
Right after Arie had that feeling, the two huge horns on Urus’s forehead shone brilliantly for a moment, and black lightning appeared in between the horns. It made Arie flinch even as he was sprinting toward the demon. The same moment that Arie thought that he should avoid the attack, the lightning struck him. Urus burst into laughter, pounding the ground in excitement.
-Hahahahahaha! I told you that you can’t even make me stand up! You were already busy blocking my attacks when all I did was lie down and flick my fingers.
Urus heard a dull thump.
-Hey, hey. What? Did you faint? That’s weird. Death knights don't have consciousness.
Urus was confused. Black smoke was coming out of Arie, but he was still standing up—so what was up with that sound? It sounded like something fell on the ground.
-Aha.
Urus quickly landed on the answer to his question: he realized that Altheon’s battle had also come to an end. The human, thoroughly perforated by Altheon’s fingers, collapsed to his side, coughing up blood.
“Sir Ulabis!” Icarus screamed from atop the throne.
Urus tilted his head in confusion.
-Hey, Altheon. Didn’t we say that we’re going to spare one human?
-I had no other choice because one human was already dying before I even did anything.
Altheon gestured.
-Ah, is that so?
Urus looked where Altheon indicated and saw a man covered with blood. Cain de Harry, mighty first knight of Avalon and the legendary Combat Emperor Star, was reaching the end of his life.
“No...” Icarus covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming.
Ulabis rose unsteadily to his feet without a word, despite the grievous wounds littering his body. Altheon looked down at him, eyes gleaming once again.
-I told you that I’d spare one of you.
“Thank you for the gesture, but I’ll have to turn it down,” Ulabis curtly replied.
-Why are you fighting so hard? From what I hear, you’re not even a citizen of this country.
“I’m doing it for a friend of mine,” Ulabis answered. Altheon chuckled.
-I really can’t understand humans.
-They form packs because they’re weak. Had they been strong like us, they would live on their own. If you’ve picked which one you’re going to spare, finish this up quick. We’re out of time.
Despite Urus’s mockery, Ulabis was burning with fighting spirit.
-I was planning on that anyway, so you should finish your break and get ready too, Urus.
-I was planning on that even if you don’t tell me.
Urus let out a long, exaggerated yawn before he slowly stood up.
Just then, the dying death knight who had been weeping smoke suddenly exploded with an extraordinary amount of demonic power, even making Urus stiffen.
-What is this?
Arie was resurrecting. From what Urus knew, there was only one instance where an undead like a death knight could recover like this: its master was close by.
-No way...
In mockery of Urus’s disbelieving mumbles, three sets of footsteps echoed down the hallway and through the council chamber’s doors.
-Hey, Altheon. Am I hallucinating?
-No, I see it too.
The footsteps belonged to two familiar demons and one human woman. The problem was, they were acting like they were partners. As if to prove to Urus and Altheon that they weren’t mistaken, the two demons politely stood behind the woman.
-You two...
Icarus sprang to her feet and joyfully shouted, “Your Majesty!”
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