Side Story Chapter 115
Boom!
Gabriel coughed up blood, his body unable to endure the immense impact that struck him from behind.
After losing a wing, he couldn’t even think about standing back up.
Selim landed right in front of Gabriel, retrieved his spear from the ground, and leveled it at Gabriel again.
“You’re weak.”
“You bastard...!” Gabriel’s face reddened with humiliation.
In spite of Gabriel’s frustration, Selim continued to muse as if he was genuinely curious.
“You’re too weak, so why in the world did people call you the Four Paladins?”
“...Kill me.”
“Or did Hubalt intentionally spread the rumor for a certain purpose?” Selim muttered.
Gabriel trembled. Raphael had been a simple-minded person, so he had always gone on and on about how the Four Paladins were the pillars of the Hubalt Empire. However, he had also always doubted it on some level. The day that Lilith Aphrodite, the daughter of a cardinal, had manifested a Demon King’s authority and was branded a witch, the priests’ prestige went into the gutter. The paladins and priests had been the core of the pope’s faction; now that faction had split entirely into two. Yet, while that was happening, Hubalt’s knights and nobles, the imperial faction, had been quiet. In fact, they had fully complied with the Paladins’ orders after the Paladins had come into power.
‘...No, no.’ Gabriel shook his head. ‘Why would he bother with that? Had he been interested in political power, Bel could have taken over whenever he wished.’
Although no one said it out aloud, everyone knew that the imperial faction centered around Bel, and there was no denying it.. Numerous nobles and knights moved with Bel as their center. Even if the Four Paladins attacked Bel together, he was undefeatable. Since Bel had been raised with the sole purpose of defeating the Martial God, Bel was battle incarnate.
“You people... can never defeat Bel,” Gabriel said.
“Are those your last words?”
“Paladins of Hubalt, listen! Fight until the end! Fire your arrows even if your fingers will fall off! We might die in this battle, but we won’t surr—!”
Gabriel couldn’t finish speaking. When he lowered his head with trembling lips, he could see the sharp metal head of Selim’s spear piercing his heart.
“I can’t... die like this...”
“Listen, paladins of Hubalt!” Selim yelled, his mana amplifying his voice. The mages in the sky, the Imperial Knights surrounding the north gate, and the paladins of Hubalt who had been firing their arrows... In that moment, everyone stopped to look at Selim.
“Avalon has won!” Selim continued. He pulled his spear out of Gabriel’s corpse and flicked it to remove the blood staining the head. “The war is over!”
* * *
“Close your eyes and sit up straight.”
Kireua obediently followed Cain’s instruction. He sat himself on his bed and closed his eyes, blinding himself to the world.
-I’ll speak using telepathy from now on.The original source of this content is n0ve1bin★
Kireua nodded, so Cain continued.
-Before I start my lesson on swords, you need to reflect on yourself, Your Highness.
“By reflecting on myself, you mean...?”
-You don’t need to talk. Please just listen for now.
Kireua nodded again.
“...What?” Babel blankly asked back.
Bel grinned. “The weak have no right to ask questions. They just get beaten up. A flea dared to invade my land, so it’s time for you to pay the price.”
Bel cranked his arm backward with his fist clenched. The form of a golden dragon gradually faded into being around Bel’s arm. This was Dragon Punch, a destructive technique that could bring any enemies to their knees.
“Hehe, I’ll crush you like a flea you are.”
“...Perhaps I won’t be able to repay my debt.” Babel raised his trembling hands with difficulty.
He instinctively realized that it was impossible to stop Bel’s punch.
The wind pressure catapulted him away before Bel’s fist even landed, leaving pools of his blood in his wake.
* * *
On the other hand, Joshua quietly opened his eyes on the snowy mountain in northern Avalon. When his new body disintegrated, his consciousness returned right back to his original body.
-You damned bastard, you move from body to body just like me.
“If you envy me, just say it straight,” Joshua answered.
-You nutjob...
Despite the Demon Spirit’s venom, his voice was very weak. After over a decade, the Demon Spirit was finally on the verge of oblivion.
“I boldly claimed I’d be able to take care of it within ten months, but... it might happen faster considering your state.”
-...I don’t think you can afford to be that relaxed right now.
“Why? Are you going to curse me or something?”
-Look around you.
Joshua tilted his head in confusion. When he looked down the snowy white mountain, he saw lines of black dots.
“What is...?”
-They’re monsters.
“Monsters?”
-The demons that settled here have begun to take action. Since their goal is me, they have no reason to move elsewhere.
Joshua remained silent.
-You look like you have a lot of questions in mind, but the answer is obvious. The Evil Sins’ powers have a tendency to be attracted to beings with great demonic power. Since I’m here, the people here are going to manifest the Evil Sins’ powers one way or another, so why would they need to go elsewhere?
Joshua’s eyes widened. “...So that’s why there are so many people who’ve manifested the Evil Sins’ powers in this land.”
-Heh. You must have seen them. I’m looking forward to seeing the day your country becomes a den of demons and monsters.
“...Don’t bother. The day you’re looking forward to will never come.”
-What...?
Joshua smiled, ever so slightly. “Just like you said, I’ve seen how strong my children are. They’ll never lose to demons or monsters.”
-They don’t even have you. You’re just bluffing, you cocky bastard...
“We’ll see if I’m bluffing or not.”