Side Story Chapter 201
While Carmen and Meric were conspiring inside the cage, Bel had already left his army behind.
“...Commander.”
Hawke was the Martial Knights’ commander and was currently in charge of leading the army of Hubalt on Bel’s behalf. At the moment, Hawke was examining the cage with a dark expression.
“That is one neat hole.”
“I’m sorry. I should have paid more attention, but we were preoccupied with that bull-headed demon...”
Hawke let out a sigh, knowing that he couldn’t blame his knights for this. The prisoners had made their escape at possibly the most opportune moment possible. The demon’s ambush wasn’t the only problem—all the monsters still near the mountain had come running in response to the demon’s demonic power.
“Who was in charge of guarding the cage?” Hawke asked.
“It was the Great Temple’s paladins.”
“...Absolutely useless,” Hawke hissed.
That wasn’t just something he said in the moment. The Martial Knights had taken on the most dangerous role—spearheading their advance into foreign, inhospitable territory, to say nothing of the fact that the Martial God had hidden his body away there. The army knew nothing about these lands; the lack of intelligence multiplied the risk for the vanguard several times over.
In contrast to the Martial Knights, the metal cage was kept in the middle of the army, so guarding it was relatively a safe assignment. While the vanguard were fighting, the cage guards would be able to confirm their enemy’s identity and would have time to get ready. In addition, they were to prioritize the cage, so they didn’t need to be actively engaged in the fight until it came to them. That was why the paladins were in charge of the job. They may be weak, but their divine power gave them an advantage against enemies who used demonic power.
“I’m too ashamed to meet our master later.” Hawke glanced up at the sky.
The conversation he had earlier haunted him.
* * *
“You guys should head south and strike Arcadia,” Bel instructed.
“Then what about the mountain...?”
“I can go on my own.”
“L-Let me and the other Martial Knights go with you, at least. I trust your ability, but climbing up the mountain alone is—”
“I taught you guys myself. What’s going to happen if you guys aren’t there for the attack on Arcadia either? Am I supposed to trust those weaklings? All of the Four Paladins were already killed in Arcadia.”
“Mmm....”
“Don’t worry. The Martial God can’t kill me that easily, and the Sword Emperor and Martial Emperor would put up quite a fight but they couldn’t beat me either. I’ve fought them myself, so trust me.” Bel tapped Hawke’s shoulder reassuringly.
“...Well, they’re called the best swordsmen of this generation, so I guess that should be expected.”
“And Avalon’s princes will reach their level in fifteen—no, maybe ten years.”
* * *
Hawke still couldn’t forget Bel’s shocking assertion.
“I heard a lot about the First Prince of Avalon’s genius, but I didn’t expect the Second Prince to be equally talented...”
Bel never said empty words and he was the most objective person when it came to martial arts.
“That’s it. I’m too annoyed to let this slide.” A bony, sharp-looking Martial Knight came forward. The cold-looking knight was Hawke’s most reliable man.
“Skell.” Hawke turned his attention to him.
“I’ll teach them a lesson,” Skell announced. “They’re just a bunch of baggage—we would be better off without them.”
Hawke took a look around without answering Skell. Although they might not be saying it out loud, it looked like the other Martial Knights were on the same page as Skell. There were a total of two hundred knights, but fifty of them were true talents whom Bel had personally picked and trained over the decades. Skell was one of those prestigious fifty knights.
“Are you sure about this?” Hawke asked.
Skell bowed to Hawk and then slowly approached the metal cage.
The leader of the paladins then came forward wearing a deeply apologetic look. “I’m really sorry. Everything happened in a flash—”
“If you’re going to do a crappy job, just quit and go back home. Go home and change your brats’ diapers. You people are getting in our way,” Skell spat with a scowl.
The paladins’ faces turned purple in rage. The Martial Knight Order might be under the direct command of the Battle God, but Skell was only a rank and file member. In contrast, Ardian, the paladin that Skell had just insulted, held the highest rank within the Great Temple, which was equivalent to a duke in other countries. Ardian’s rank was far higher than an ordinary knight’s. His pride demanded he retaliate.
“...Aren’t you going too far?” Ardian shot back, eyes cold.
“Now you’re revealing your true colors. Yeah, this is for the better. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this. As soon as our master disappears, you get on a high horse and all you want to do is protect your pride.” Skell narrowed his eyes.
Ardian flinched because Skell wasn’t exactly wrong. Bel had left for the frozen mountain on his own, so Ardian had secretly thought that he was going to be in command of this army.
The Hubalt Empire had originally been ruled by both their pope and emperor, but the positions had now been merged. Kurz, a former Cardinal, was currently the emperor of Hubalt. Logically, he would support Ardian because the Kurz was originally part of the Great Temple and Ardian had sworn his loyalty to Kurz before he had come here.
“Waah, waah! All of you incompetent vermin only know how to cry for your god—”
“I admit that we had a fault in this, but... I won’t tolerate any more of your insults,” Ardian coldly interjected.
The paladins standing nearby drew their swords, but none of the Martial Knights came forward to help Skell, almost as if they had been trained not to. Hawke nodded at Skell. Only he, as the one who’d started this confrontation, drew his sword.
“Great. I’ll use this opportunity to personally teach all of you a lesson.” Skell gestured at the paladins. “Attack me all at once so you’ll at least have a tiny chance.”
The paladins, who had already been trembling in anger, burst into rage.
“Sir Ardian, please leave this to me!”
“No, let me do it. He’s not the Battle God, just an ordinary knight. Who does he think he is...!?”
“He’s just basking in the Battle God’s glory. Leave him to me, sir. I’ll make sure to teach him a lesson.”
Ardian slowly shook his head and drew his sword. “No, I’ll do it.”
“C-Commander?”
“...We should show them that the paladins still got it, don’t we?” Ardian smiled crookedly. His pride had been hurt the most. He used to hold a higher rank and was more skilled than the now dead Four Paladins. The popular opinion was that he would have been the most influential paladin in the Great Temple if the Four Paladins hadn’t manifested the Great Angels’ authorities.
Ardian’s vigorous divine power churned the air around him.
“I’ll let you attack first. Come at me.”
“So you’re still clinging to your pride, huh?” Skell grumbled. He brandished his slender sword.
“Give him hell, Sir Ardian!”
“No matter what anyone says, the paladins are the ones who made Hubalt the strong country it is today. Make him regret this!”
“Do you think you’re Sir Bel? Keep your eyes open and watch what happens.”
The paladins continued to yell, but the Martial Knights were quiet like the calm before the storm.
“Alright, I won’t refuse.” Skell strode forward.
Whenever Skell took a step, Ardian released more divine power. It became so bright that the people watching couldn’t even open their eyes.
‘Just one more step,’ Ardian thought.
Five steps remained between them. One more step would put Skell within Ardian’s attack range. Ardian’s grip around his sword tightened. Skell may be an ordinary knight, but Ardian didn’t let his guard down—rather, he was only more vigilant against the imminent attack. Ardian was going to show the difference in class between them.
‘—Now!’ Ardian fiercely swung his sword the moment Skell’s foot touched the ground.
Ardian blinked, confused. He was sure that he had slashed the space in front of him, but his opponent was nowhere to be found.
“What in the world...?” Ardian mumbled.
“Where do you think you’re looking?”
Ardian was stunned. It felt like every hair on his body bristled from the voice coming from right behind him.
“Wh-when did you...?”
Skell held his cold sword against Ardian’s neck. “This is why you guys are useless.”
Ardian swallowed. Complete silence descended. Everyone saw that an ordinary Martial Knight could have cut off the head of the paladins' leader before Ardian could respond.
“If you were an enemy, I would have killed you right then.”
Skell sheathed his sword. Only after Skell had walked past Ardian and returned to his original position could Ardian breathe again. He clawed for breath. At that moment, shock and terror overwhelmed him.
‘Battle God... When in the world did you create such monsters?’ Ardian wondered.
* * *
A vicious blizzard raged on the mountain’s peak. A black-haired boy looked at the ice boulder—and at the unrealistically handsome man asleep inside.
-I’m handsome, aren’t I?
“...You’re more narcissistic than you look.” Creshua, the black dragon hatchling, tilted his head.
-It’s true.
“‘Handsome’ is a human feeling, so I can’t understand it even if you tell me you are. I’m a dragon.”
-You’re boring.
If anyone else saw Creshua right now, they would have pitied him. He looked like he was talking to himself like his mind had broken down. At such a young age... But actually, Joshua was in Creshua right now. Yes, they had succeeded in merging, just as Joshua had done with Lilith.
“What are we going to do now?” Creshua asked.
-We successfully returned, so let’s look at the ice boulder first. Who knows? We might find a way to eliminate the Demon Spirit quicker.
“The Demon Spirit... Is the Demon Spirit really in there?”
-You must not sense him right now because he’s weakened a lot, but you’ll be able to sense him if you get closer.
Creshua immediately took a step forward, ignoring Joshua saying, “Seriously, dragons are too impetuous.”
However, Creshua stopped after one step. He felt a faint rumbling; considering that they were at the peak of the mountain, that was rare.
“Was that an avalanche?”
-...No, it’s Bel.
Joshua’s voice was grim.
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