Side Story Chapter 192
“They’ve grown up a lot,” Joshua quietly mumbled with a faint smile on his lips. His hearing and other physical senses had transcended the level of ordinary people, so he could hear his childrens’ entire conversation.
“As their father, I should help them, not interfere, so I’ll need all of you to cooperate with me.”
-What... in the world are you talking about...?!
The bull-headed demon, Moloch[1] was the sixty-seventh strongest demon, making him the strongest demon among those gathered on the plains.
Weaker monsters were slowed down due to Joshua’s intangible yet overwhelming power; even the death knights moved half as fast, possibly even slower, asn usual.
‘This is completely different from what I’ve experienced from the power of Pride!’ Moloch thought.
Up until now, Moloch had believed that Lust was the most effective of the Seven Evil Sins in a battle against many opponents. It only made sense because the Aura of Lust allowed its user to captivate hundreds of targets at once and tear down the walls of their minds. However, the ability wasn’t perfect; its effectiveness decreased drastically against those of the same gender as the wielder.
‘Gender doesn’t matter with the power of Pride. This overwhelming power looks down on all of creation except for itself. The scary part is that Pride’s area of influence and the damage it can deal will match its owner’s.’
Moloch unwittingly shivered. The reason why he was so familiar with Pride was that he had been on the receiving end of it not too long ago. Altheon, the strongest demon, used the power of Pride to crush the arrogant demons and bend them to his will. He had kept the fact that he had the power of Pride in his possession secret from other demons who could challenge him since Altheon didn’t want to be attacked by them before he’d conquered the Human Realm. He’d only used Pride on Moloch and some other demons that weren’t strong enough to wield an Evil Sin. Altheon had revealed Pride to them and demanded that they accept his Overlord Symbol. The demons had no choice but to swear loyalty to him—the only other option was to die.
Yet, Pride hadn’t been this overpowering in Altheon’s hands.
‘Is that human woman... actually the Shining Darkness’s reincarnation?’ Moloch wondered. He had heard the rumor, as many demons had, that the Shining Darkness had returned as a human. If Moloch’s speculations were true, he had no chance of winning. If Pride had come back to its original owner, who would dare to stand in the Shining Darkness’s way? The Shining Darkness had been peerless among the countless warriors of the Demon Realm, and even the Demon Spirit had tiptoed around the Shining Darkness in that distant era.
And so, Moloch came to a decision.
-I-I submit...!
The first time was always the hardest. After that, swearing loyalty again was no big deal; the only difference was the person. Besides, it had been bothering Moloch that Altheon’s Overlord Symbol on him had vanished completely. It could only mean one thing.
‘Altheon has been killed,’ Moloch thought.
Moloch immediately went down on his knees... except he was stopped against his will.
-No, no. I told you that all of you need to cooperate with my plan.
‘Sh-Shining Darkness?’ Moloch hurriedly looked up and saw the silver-haired woman looking down at the demons with an enigmatic smile.
-Help me out a little so my children can get better.
‘S-So the Shining Darkness is asking me to die...?’ Moloch stammered.
-Ah, I won’t kill you if you cooperate. You get what I mean, yes?
It sounded like the Shining Darkness was reading Moloch’s thoughts. The demon was at a loss about what he should do. What in the world was he supposed to do?!
-You see the children running toward you, yes? Fight back as hard as you can. Ah, killing them is forbidden.
Moloch gritted his teeth. The Shining Darkness was asking the demons to become his children’s training dummies. These demons, all among the one hundred strongest, were infamous for their pride. They had never been treated like this. Yet, the demons had to obey.
-...Everyone, get ready.
Moloch’s reluctant words drew the gaze of every demon aside from the death knights.
-Get ready?
-Then what? Are you planning on getting killed without doing anything? We don’t have a home to go back to anyway.
-But, Moloch! You felt that the human woman over there is—
-The human woman’s identity doesn’t matter now! If we lose now, we’ll die. Even if we swear our loyalty to the Shining Darkness, can you live alongside those pathetic humans, choking down your desire to kill for the rest of your lives?
Not one could refute Moloch. Meanwhile, the two humans that the Shining Darkness had told the demons about were already closing in.
-Let’s fight. We don’t have anything to lose anymore, so let’s go!
Moloch raised his colossal ax and let out a vigorous roar.
Dozens of the death knights charged toward the two humans as if they’d been waiting for this moment. The demons had stopped mulling over their future and were also about to make a move.
“No, you’re doing it wrong,” Joshua said.
While Selim and Kireua engaged the death knights, Joshua landed on the ground and took a look around at the demons.
“You demons should wait here for a while.”
-What... in the world do you want from us?
Once again, Moloch spoke for all of the demons. Considering the demons’ temper, any one of them could attack Joshua right now, but no one dared to make a move. They instinctively knew that they didn’t stand a chance against Joshua.
“I felt like it would be easier to talk about this with you demons since it’s possible to have an actual conversation with you,” Joshua said with a shrug.
-So what are you going to talk to us about...?
“All of you already know that the only possible result if you fight against me is your destruction. On a side note, all the demons stronger than you are dead, so the only surviving demons are the fifty of you here right now.”
-I knew it...!
Moloch wasn’t very surprised; he’d realized this a while ago. The other demons, on the other hand, especially the ones who didn’t have Altheon’s Overlord Symbol, buzzed with confusion.
-Stop! You all could feel that the human woman in front of us is the Shining Darkness.
Moloch put a firm stop to the demons’ clamor. The murmuring among the demons gradually died out. The demons would at least try to fight against most people, but they instantly lost their will to fight as soon as they heard the name “Shining Darkness”.
-Are you... expecting us to swear loyalty to you?
“Huh?” Joshua tilted his head.
-I’m sorry, but you’re a human now. We demons can’t follow you since it’s impossible for humans and demons to live in peace. You already knew this didn’t you?
Joshua chuckled. “I didn’t count on it in the first place.”
-Then...?
“Even if both the Angel and Demon Realms have fallen, you can’t lose to people who use divine power, yes? They try to carry on the Angel Realm’s spirit.”
The demons only became more confused as he spoke. Why was Joshua mentioning the Angel Realm and divine power all of a sudden?
“I’ve been betrayed by both the Angel and Demon Realms, but I’m more attached to the Demon Realm, if I had to choose one. I did spend a long time there and had many followers in the Demon Realm, unlike in the Angel Realm.”
-I understand.
Moloch nodded in understanding. The Heavenly Demon Family, which worshiped the Shining Darkness, had been founded for a reason. Demons genuinely worshiped the strong; they were completely different from the hypocritical angels who only acted benevolently in public and badmouthed others in secret.
“I’m sure that all of you already know that, similarly to the Seven Evil Sins, the Four Great Angels’ abilities have manifested in humans.”
-...Yes, we’re aware. As we understand, other angels’ abilities have been passed down to some humans too...
Why did any of that matter now? Angels and demons were in the same situation. They had no choice but to flee their home and were now in search of a new home to avoid extinction.
“You may not be able to do much about your extinction, but you can’t lose to angels, right?” Joshua asked.
The demons just stared at him.
“Why are you feigning ignorance? Once humans finish taking out demons, it’ll be recorded in the Human Realm’s history that demons were the ones who went extinct first, not the angels.”
Moloch furrowed his brows. The other demons seemed equally cross.
“In the end, humans will consider angels stronger than demons,” Joshua dramatically declared.
-We’re all in the same situation... Why does any of that matter after we die? Besides, it’s just the history of humans...
“Well, in that case I have nothing further to say.”
Joshua turned to leave.
He was truly gifted at provoking people, as seen by the rising fighting spirit in the demons.
“Ah, don’t even think about pouncing on me just because I turned around. Surprise attacks and cheap tricks from weaklings don’t work on me in the slightest,” Joshua scoffed.
-Ah, fuck!
One of the demons stomped hard on the ground, unable to hold back his anger.
-Hey, Moloch! Don’t tell me you’re seriously thinking about this. Now that it’s come to this, let’s wipe out the angels first. Without those hypocrites in the Human Realm, we’ll have a second chance!
-But—
“If that’s what you want to do, I’ll help you,” Joshua interrupted. “I have bad blood to resolve with the angels, so I’ll give everyone a chance to get your payback.”
Like a well-orchestrated play, a loud shout came down from the ramparts, carried far and wide by the power of mana.
-Your Majestyyyyy! The army of Hubalt has just been sighted near our border!
Joshua’s smile grew. “It seems that even the heavens are helping you.”
1. He’s actually an ancient god who is often associated with child sacrifice. ☜
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