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Side Story Chapter 128

“Huh?” The first things she noticed at the mountain’s base were a reek and familiar presence…

Lilith\'s eyes widened.

“…Monsters!”

The vast plains below the mountain were packed with all sorts of monsters. There were black ogres, trolls, and kobolds, of course, as they could be easily found nesting in the Black Forest near the mountain. However, even she had never seen those ghost-type monsters, and those bizarre undead looked like something straight out of fiction.

“They… need to be stopped.” Lilith bit her lower lip. The monsters were moving south—clearly, they were heading to Arcadia, the capital of the Avalon Empire. Equally obvious, countless civilians were going to get caught in the monsters’ march.

“But how am I supposed to stop them on my own…?”

Should she alert the Imperial Family of Avalon and ask for reinforcements? No, they would be too busy with their restoration efforts. Then should she go back to Hubalt and bring troops herself? No, again; she would waste too much time, and there was no guarantee that the people in Hubalt were going to follow her orders. It was more likely that they would arrest her for being a witch.

“What in the world should I do…”

-LIlith.

Lilith flinched and her lips trembled as she realized that the voice in her head was rather familiar.

“Jo-Joshua?” she stammered.

-Did I surprise you?

“What is going on…?”

-I was a little worried, so I made some preparations. I’m sorry for doing this without your permission.

“You were worried about me?” Lilith asked, surprised. She felt grateful, but it was almost immediately overwhelmed by embarrassment. Joshua must have made those preparations because he was worried about Lilith heading to Hubalt on her own.

However…

‘...Joshua… is inside me?’ Lilith swallowed.

The problem was that she didn’t know exactly what preparations Joshua made. If he could see her and read her thoughts…

“Noooo!” Lilith screamed.

-…I think I know what you’re thinking about, but don’t worry. I can’t do anything if you refuse me, Lilith.

“I-Is that what you meant by the preparations?”

-I’m only your guide right now. Supposing I overwork myself a little, I could give you a hand.

A “hand”. Of course, the Martial God was using his own standards, so a little help from him was nothing to sneer at.

-I know you’re busy, but can you do me a favor?

“Of course,” Lilith answered without a second thought. She intended to repay her debt no matter what it took, but she never thought she would have the opportunity this soon.

-Please buy time for half a day. With the residual power of Lust in you, those monsters will love you—the Evil Sins’ powers attract them like pheromones.

“Half a day… Do you think I can do it?”

-Of course. I promise you that you’ll be able to return to your home without a scratch.

“The great Martial God promised, so I’ll give it a shot. As you already know, I won’t be able to get married if I end up with a scar—but you’ll take care of it, won’t you?

-If that happens, I’ll take responsibility and set you up with a fine man.

“Forget it.” Lilith chuckled and drew her sword. “Now, what shall I do? Or are you going to take this matter into your own hands?”

-I told you before, but I can’t possess you or descend into your body. Even if it’s possible, I don’t want to do something that could negatively affect the body of my friend.

“…You know, you’ve always had a way with words.”

-Although the sword isn’t my specialty… I’ve dealt with them so many times that I’ve become quite an expert.

Lilith’s heart began to pound. Vitality rushed through her veins, and her mind was filled with the confidence that she wouldn’t lose to anyone.

-Let’s begin.

“…Okay!” Lilith answered.

She strode toward the roaring mass of monsters.

* * *

Genos stopped mid-stride and frowned, irately. “…Shit. How much longer am I supposed to keep running?”

“The north gates are the closest to the Palace, but I can detect multiple human presences in there.”

“I guess so, since a big battle took place several days ago. The restoration alone would take weeks at least.”

“So we’ll go to the east gates where our legions are assembled,” Forbison said.

“Legions?”

“The reason why demons of our rank could be influential in the Demon Realm wasn’t just because of their individual strength—it was because they had numerous subordinates,” Forbison explained.

Genos tilted his head in confusion. “But this place is the Human Realm.”

“It’s been decades since the borders between the realms crumbled, so countless monsters and other creatures have come into this realm from the Demonic Realm. Of course, many of them died in the process…”

“In other words, only the truly strong made it into the Human Realm.”

“Correct, sir.” Forbison nodded.

“I see. So there’s a good reason for your big talk.” Genos turned back to his course, smiling happily. All of the obstacles in his path were dead, so the road to the east gate was clear—in fact, entirely empty.

“Unlike you, that guy named Edin seems obsessed with murder,” Genos commented.

At the center of the massacre was Edin, another one of the highest-ranking demons; the Flash Demon, as he was known in the Demon Realm.

“It’d be best to start my journey to becoming ruler of the realm in Avalon, right?” Genos asked.

“Yes; the country is ripe for the taking. It’s already taken significant damage, and many of their troops are away from the country. On top of that, Joshua Sanders, our biggest obstacle, has disappeared.”

“Didn’t you say that Avalon is our best choice for using the monsters in the north, even if that weren’t for that?”

Forbison nodded. “Exactly so.”

“Alright.” Genos grinned. “We’ll start with Arcadia and devour the entire continent. Culverin, the Demonic Empire, shall be our country’s name.”

* * *

Kireua stepped out of the Palace and his eyes immediately widened. Selim, just behind him, groaned quietly, and even Ulabis and Duke Tremblin frowned.

“…It’s gruesome.”

The corpses of Avalon’s knights were strewn across the street.

Kireua and the others had no idea that enemies had infiltrated the Palace. Had they let their guards down because they’d just won a battle, or because only a few foreign guests had been present? No matter what the reason was, there was no room for excuses.

“…I will pay for my failure as soon as we get back, Your Highness,” Tremblin said, his voice bitter.

“No, don’t. No one expected this, so you can’t be blamed for it.”

“The only job that His Majesty entrusted me with is protecting the Palace, so I bear full responsibility for all problems that take place within its walls.”

“…Let’s talk about this later. We need to sort out this situation first.”

Kireua took a big step forward. The mysterious enemies were presumably heading to the east gates, given the grisly fragments were scattered along their path.

“…Imperial Knights, stay inside the Palace with the Queen Consorts and brace for another possible attack,” Kireua commanded.

“Pardon? Bu-But, Your Highness!”

Hundreds of Imperial Knights stared at him, wide-eyed, unable to believe their ears. However, Kireua shook his head, unshaken.

“Although we’re only dealing with three people, they’re unfathomably strong. If they resort to guerilla tactics, our casualties will only increase.”

“Mmm….”

“The First Prince, me, Duke Tremblin, Sir Valmont, and…” Kireua looked behind him and trailed off.

The people whom Kireua had listed so far were citizens of Avalon, so giving them orders wasn’t an issue. However, he couldn’t do the same with a foreigner.

Before Kireua could say anything else, Ulabis stepped forward with a smile on his face.

“What are you hesitating for? Teachers exist to be relied on in times like this.”

“I should charge Iceline a lot for this.” Theta and Marcus, the Master of the Magic Tower and the Mage of Earth, also came forward.

“…Thank you,” Kireua quietly said.

“No need. I’m going to extort more money from Iceline than you can even imagine.”

“Please cut us some slack. The costs for the reconstruction are already astronomical…”

“Haha, you really don’t know much about the world, do you?” Theta asked, chuckling. “Your mom is realllllyyyy rich.”

Theta was referring to Iceline when he said “mom”. She had developed numerous artifacts during her decades in this world, so she had accumulated so much wealth that even Theta couldn’t fathom the exact amount.

“Iceline was born with incredible luck with money; you’d be surprised to know just how wealthy she is.” Theta chuckled.

“…I’m going to assume that means you’re going to help us. The people who I called, please get to the east gate immediately—”

“No need to hurry. You said the east gate, right?”

“…Pardon?” Kireua tilted his head.

“This is exactly what high-class mages are for, you know.”

Kireua’s eyes widened. Yes, as Theta was pointing out, they could just teleport there.

“Can you start right away?” Kireua asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I was getting to it anyway.” Theta slowly started up his mana circle.

Kireua’s expression brightened.

Then came something unexpected.

-Kireua.

Kireua tilted his head in confusion. This voice in his head was unfamiliar—in other words, it wasn’t Coal’s.

-Since we’re in a hurry, I’ll cut to the chase. The preparations I made are waiting in the Palace’s basement.

Kireua gasped, drawing concerned looks from the people around him.

But that didn’t matter now.

‘Yo-Your Majesty?’ Kireua asked, baffled.

-If you find it, you’ll be able to overcome the current crisis without a problem—but you’ll have to deal with the consequences on your own.

‘Consequence.s.?’

-Can you do it? I warn you, everyone in the world might condemn you like they did the Silver-Eyed Ghost Sword.

-The preparations I made can only be discovered by you, since you possess three Evil Sins’ powers. Even Selim can’t do this.

Kireua wasn’t sure what these preparations were, but he couldn’t stop from trembling with excitement. The Emperor of Avalon said that Kireua was the only one who could do it!

‘Thank you. I can do it, so leave it to me! I’ll live up to your expectations no matter what!’