Side Story Chapter 190
‘Things are starting to calm down. It’s your time to shine,’ Lilith told Joshua.
He nodded.
-Thank you.
Joshua saw a spear stuck in the ground nearby. He stretched his hand toward it and the long weapon trembled and then flew to his hand.
‘Wait! Are you sure about this? I’m sure you already know I’m a swordswoman, given that they call me the Ghost Sword, so think about what’ll happen if I suddenly use a spear,’ Lilith yelled.
-...I certainly didn’t think this through. That would put you on the spot.
‘I mean, it’d be more problematic for you, not me. I don’t have any honor left to be tainted after being branded a witch, but you’re a different story.’
The fact that Joshua and Lilith had been close friends for a long time was already well known, but she was certain people would say there was something going on between her and Joshua. People always said that it was impossible for a man and a woman to be in a platonic relationship. In fact, Avalon had recently tried to help Lilith at the risk of going to war against Hubalt, so it was obvious what was going to happen if Lilith used the Magic Spear Arts.
-It’s not true, so what does it matter?
‘Of course it matters! It may not matter to you, but your wives and children might be very concerned. I don’t want the people I like to call me a bitch,’ Lilith pouted.
-But I already used the techniques of the Magic Spear Arts several times with your body.
‘Only some people witnessed it, so it wasn’t a problem. People know that rumors are always exaggerated, so I can just tell them it’s not true when they ask me, just like you said. But it’s different now. The entire army of Avalon and the foreign delegates will see you right now.’
Joshua stabbed the spear back into the ground and let out a long sigh. “Politics are cumbersome.”
“...Silver-Eyed Ghost Sword?” One of the delegates from the Allied Powers of Palentine gave Joshua a confused look.
A brilliant idea crossed Joshua’s mind.
-Here’s what we’re going to do.
‘What?’
-The only reason they’re still hesitating is that they aren’t sure who’s stronger. It’s Hubalt versus Avalon, the Battle God versus the Martial God.
‘...Well, I guess so,’ Lilith muttered.
The delegations had witnessed Hubalt’s invasion with their own eyes. Although Avalon held justification to start a war, history was ultimately written by the victor. Had Hubalt been merely strong, then yes, the other countries may have joined forces to fight Hubalt, but their chances as they saw them were very low. Hubalt was currently an enemy that the other countries couldn’t guarantee victory against even if all of them worked together.
-The only way to convince them is by showing them that Avalon is stronger than Hubalt. If the Silver-Eyed Ghost Sword fights against Hubalt, Hubalt would benefit in the long run.
‘What in the world are you talking about?’
-Many people in Hubalt must have no choice but to follow the Battle God because of his power. The Bel that I saw didn’t exactly seem to have compassion for his people.
It was true. Bel had spent his entire life locked up in a secret room fighting people because he had been raised as the human weapon to challenge the Martial God. There was no way his subordinates would be truly loyal to such a man.
-In other words, Hubalt’s solidarity is a fragile thing. The only reason they’re united is because they have faith in their leader’s power and the madness that a war instills in people.
‘...You have a point. If the leader they believed in loses and a new leader who has the charisma, legitimacy, and ability shows up...’ Lilith murmured.
-The war will end quicker than we expected.
Joshua spoke with conviction. There was no way that a man like Bel thought about what he should do after he was defeated—he never would have even considered the possibility.
-I guess that I’ve been given my last mission before retiring as the Emperor of Avalon.
Joshua extended his hand and an ordinary longsword landed on his palm.
‘What are you going to do?’ Lilith asked.
-You’re the only one who can tell the story. From now on, repeat after me.
Before Lilith could say anything, she lost control over her body and her head was turned toward the foreign delegates giving her confused looks.
“I used to be—no, I am the woman Igrant calls the witch,” Lilith said.
Some of the delegates flinched in surprise. Although the misunderstanding had been resolved, they had been fooled by Hubalt and were guilty of badmouthing Lilith as well. Some of them had even tried to buy Hubalt’s favor by sending trackers after Lilith.
“Ghost Sword, about that...”
“I understand why people would point fingers at me, someone who was once called a saint, when I manifested a Demon King’s Authority.” Lilith’s soothing tone made the delegates quiet. “Just as it was to me, power is given to people against their will in this age. It doesn’t matter if it’s the demonic power of a Demon King or the divine power of a Great Angel. What is important is that power is just a tool and that it’s the will of the power’s wielder that matters.”
“What in the world are you talking about?”
“Today, I wish to make it known that there is no more god in this world,” Lilith declared.
The gathered audience staggered. She was the daughter of the cardinal who had been all but confirmed to be the next pope of the Holy Empire—and yet from her own they heard her declare that no god existed in this world. It was a rejection of the very identity of her own country.
Using the faith of their god, Hubalt had brought together believers and built a temple, eventually a country. Everything they had done was merely an act of forming a group and having power without their god, their whole country becoming a contradiction.
“Ghost Sword, do you understand the magnitude of what you’re saying?”
“Had a god existed, would they have overlooked this living hell?” Lilith asked.
“That’s what I’m asking.”
“See? A god may have existed before, but I’m sure that they are far gone. I have heard tell that even the Angel and Demon Realms are gone. Besides...” Lilith trailed off with a bitter smile. Joshua had stopped giving her cues a while ago, so Lilith was speaking her own beliefs. “Even if gods did exist, would they really reign supreme over man?”
“What?”
“We’ve already witnessed a human seal and annihilate a god with our own eyes,” Lilith reminded everyone.
All of them immediately understood who Lilith was talking about—Joshua Sanders, the Martial God, and the Demon Spirit who had descended in the center of the Palace.
“Gods are merely imaginary beings humans made up because they wanted someone to depend on. If a god is needed, then I choose to believe in the Martial God instead.”
“Wait, Ghost Sword. Are you speaking for yourself or the entirety of Hubalt?”
The question was of utmost importance because if the answer were the former, Lilith might—no, would become even more of a pariah than she had been when she was accused of being a witch.
“Well... If I lose in this war, this will all be nothing but a crazy woman’s mad ramblings, but if I win... I’m not sure if I have the right, but I’ll make it clear now that I will spare no effort to reclaim the throne of Hubalt. Once I succeed, there will be no more of the pope or the Great Temple in Hubalt.”
An edifice and its leader that existed to serve their god served no use without their god. By the time Lilith carried out her words, Hubalt would become a completely different country, a Holy Empire no longer. Good and evil. Light and darkness. Angels and Demons. The front and back of the coin... The people’s views of the world were black and white; Lilith knew that she had to push forward, accepting the possibility of a new war, because she now knew how much damage this kind of thinking caused.
“Not all black mages eat children and virgins’ hearts. Even the Angel and Demon Realms have fallen, so humans don’t need to put a label of good or evil on a certain power and fight over it. All these abilities are simply power, and this world belongs to humans, not gods.”
When Lilith finished speaking, silence fell upon the area. Not a single person dared to speak a word in the face of Lilith’s shocking declaration.
‘Are we good now? It’s on you I get kicked out of my home,’ Lilith grumbled.
-...I didn’t say anything after the first part, you know.
‘But this is what you wanted,’ Lilith refuted. She knew exactly what Joshua was concerned about.
Joshua had to think about what would happen afterward even if Avalon successfully defeated Hubalt. World right now classified anything demonic as evil. If worse came to worst, the entire continent might brand Avalon as the Demonic Empire and turn on it, but Lilith, who had legitimacy in the Holy Empire, dropped a bombshell.
-I guess that it’s only right to return the favor.
‘And how are you going to do that?’
-As you already know, justice is the words of the powerful.
‘But do you know how to use the sword?‘ Lilith asked.
Joshua walked up into the sky as if there were an invisible set of stairs beneath his feet, but Lilith wasn’t even surprised after how many times she’d witnessed such things. However, the delegates were not so jaded.
“The Gh-Ghost Sword is walking on air!”
“She must be at least a Master! W-Was she that skilled?”
That was just the beginning of surprises. Lilith produced black demonic power in one hand and white divine power, a majestic sight.
“...She’s using divine and demonic powers at the same time?”
“Only the Martial God can do such a thing!”
The release of two powers was so incredible that even the undead and demons who still frantically fought looked up at Joshua, who arrogantly gazed down at them.
While the Pride’s first ability was to overwhelm all creation, its second ability forced lower beings into eternal submission. The unintelligent monsters instantly bowed when faced with that powerful ability.
Its name was “Dominance”.
The mix of two polarizing powers spread far on the battlefield.
“The war is over. Anyone who is weaker than me shall swear their loyalty to me,” Joshua announced.
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