Side Story Chapter 160

The stream of black aura strikes was very familiar to Joshua because the technique was the trademark of Aden von Agnus, his father, the Dark God, and once the best swordsman in Igrant.

“How long have you been pretending to be Kireua?” Joshua asked.

“What do you think?”

“I don’t think you were immediately successful.”

“You’re definitely sharp.” Aden in Kireua’s body rested his sword on his shoulder. “I needed time.”

“Time? For what?”

“This guy named Gluttony made me an offer to partner up with it and take over this body.”

Joshua’s eyes narrowed. Fortunately, that wasn’t the worst possible scenario. Things would have been much more serious if all the three Evil Sins' powers were on the same page.

‘Yeah, Greed wouldn’t allow such a thing. It wouldn’t even look at someone who isn’t perfect...’

Joshua thought.

Joshua examined the condition of Lilith’s body. A big lump of demonic power that hadn’t been dissolved was in her stomach. Joshua had to use this power up as soon as possible anyway because he was in Lilith’s body, not his; it was impossible for an ordinary person to embrace the highly concentrated demonic power left by Evergrant. Since she had recently been freed from the power of Lust, Joshua had to be extra careful not to give anyone a reason to call her a witch again.

‘I’m fine,’

Lilith said, noticing what Joshua was thinking.

‘Compared to what you’ve done for me, enduring that is nothing.’

-No, I’m going to ask you to sort out the aftermath.

Joshua took a look around him. The power had been left behind by none other than a Ninth Circle lich king—Joshua wasn’t going to be satisfied with just bringing down one person. He intended to take down at least half of the demons there; as a father and a husband, that was the best thing he could do for his family.

“What are you thinking about?” Aden slowly drew up his power, prompting Joshua to get into position.

-You... damn... humans!

Aeremang, chest deeply wounded by Aden’s sword, flew into a berserk rage, his demonic power whipping the air around him into a miniature hurricane. His whips shredded the ground, delivering attacks that were more destructive than Ulabis’s snake swords.

-When I’m done tearing your limbs off and turning them into mincemeat, I’ll pull out your hearts and then take the Evil Sins' powers with my own hands!

-Evil Sins?

-Did he say Evil Sins?

Aeremang’s voice was so loud that the other two demons who’d come to fight the humans could hear him over the sound of battle.

-Paetri! Maetri! This guy over here has three Evil Sins' powers, so why don’t you twins and I each take one?

The identical red-haired demon and blue-haired demon were standing next to Aeremang in no time. One of them even shoved past Selim on his way there—that was how important the Evil Sins' powers were.

-A human possesses three Evil Sins' powers at once? Are you serious?

-Focus. You’ll be able to detect them very quickly.

-Hold on.

The red-haired demon closed his eyes for a moment and gasped.

-Oh... This is no joke.

-I shared a valuable piece of information with you two, so can you let me choose first?

-Hmm...

While the twin demons were thinking, Aeremang added a term that was impossible to resist.

-In return, I’ll hand over the Demon Spirit’s spear to you.

-Lugia?

-Really?

Aeremang readily nodded.

-The spear is just going to end up in my collection, but it’s different for you two, isn’t it? Paetri, your weapon of choice is the spear, so the Demon Spirit’s spear would be more useful to you.

-Alright, deal. But will our other colleagues be okay with it?

-Think, idiots. I’m the ninth strongest demon, and you two are the tenth and eleventh strongest. But no one stronger than us has an Evil Sin’s power. Do you really not understand what that means?

-In other words... we’ll instantly be in the top five once we have the Demon Kings’ powers?

Maetri, the relatively smarter blue-haired demon, summarized. Aeremang nodded.

-We can be more than that, not just the top five demons. When we finish absorbing the powers, who would dare challenge us?

-So time is of the essence now.

The twin demons unleashed their murderous energy. Aeremang let a pleased smile creep onto his lips.

-I’ll deal with this damn red-haired guy, so you two should fend off that silver-haired bitch and the other small fries.

-Wait. In that case, we’ll need a deposit.

-What?

Maetri raised an eyebrow back at Aere.

-Who knows? You might take all three Evil Sins' powers for yourself while we’re busy.

-...How little do you trust me?

-You’re no different, aren’t you? Wouldn’t it be stranger for demons to trust someone?

Aeremang frowned at Maetri, but eventually shrugged.

-Alright, I’ll give it to you.

Aeremang opened up his subspace and produced a red spear that everyone there could recognize.

-The deal has been made.

Paetri, the red-haired demon, snatched Longin. He had been waiting for this moment.

-So this is the Demon Spirit’s spear...

The moment he touched the spear, Paetri instinctively felt that he would be several times stronger with this relic, an instrument of the Demon Spirit’s end.

-Hahahahahahahahaha!

Paetri burst into manic laughter. When he nimbly swung the spear, he was able to fire white ice—an odd contrast with his hair color.

The monsters struck by the ice were instantly frozen upon contact with the extreme cold. The north of the Demon Realm was the coldest region of the realm, but Paetri’s demonic power was colder than everlasting snow in that region.

-Oh! Paetri! You look like you’ve gotten way stronger even though all you did was change your weapon!

-I don’t just look like it. This spear is the real deal.

-Congratulations. Then can I choose my Evil Sin’s power after Aeremang?

-Yeah, certainly, if it’s for you, Maetri.

-Hahahahahahaha! This is why having a brother is great.

Paetri and Maetri stood before Joshua and Selim respectively. Meanwhile, Aeremang was already attacking at blinding speed and overpowering Kireua like a tidal wave using his two whips. From Maetri’s perspective, Kireua was busy fending off Aeremang’s attacks and could not afford to do anything more.

-I was expecting to see more from a human who has three Evil Sins' powers... it looks like the fight will end soon enough.

-Let’s get this done fast.

Paetri stepped forward, gently stroking Lugia, and pointed at Joshua.

-Woman, I think you must’ve already heard, but we’re out of time. I’ll finish you quickly. It won’t be bad for you since you probably won't feel any pain.

Paetri’s black demonic power raged, turning the area colder than the continent’s northernmost region.

-Remember my name. I am Paetri, the Demon of Cold, the tenth strongest demon.

Lugia hummed powerfully, as if recognizing its true owner, bringing a smile to Paetri’s face.

-Hehehe, are you happy to be with me, Lugia?

“I was just going to watch, but I feel like I need to straighten out a few things,” Joshua sighed.

-...What did you say, human woman?

Paetri tilted his head at Joshua. The human should have had trouble breathing by now. The intense cold would torture human lungs with every breath, but Joshua took another step forward, unbothered by the extreme environment.

“Do you think the spear is cheering because that met you?”

-It? Are you talking about Lugia?

“It’s Longin, not Lugia. Longin is the spear’s true name.”

Paetri’s lips twisted into a sneer.

-...Human woman, why are you spouting nonsense? Who do you think you are?

“Because I’m that spear’s owner.”

-You’re this spear’s owner? You’re a crazy bitch—one hell of a crazy bitch.

Paetri let his demonic power out at full blast, turning the area so cold that even Selim had to gather every scrap of his mana to protect himself.

However, Joshua was still nonchalant.

“You told me to remember your name, yes?”

-Don’t you want to know the name of the person who’s going to take your life?

“It’s Joshua.”

-Huh...?

“That’s the person who’s going to take your life. You said you wanted to know.”

Paetri stood there for a second while Joshua’s audacious statement sank in.

-...Just die, vermin.

He swung the red spear—and yet even during that moment, the crazy human woman continued to speak.

“Remember my name. I am Joshua Sanders, the one called the Shining Darkness in my previous life.”

What happened next was unbelievable.

Paetri’s eyes widened. His palm suddenly went numb except for sharp pin pricks of pain, and the spear that he had been using to release his viciously cold demonic power flew toward the insane woman.

-What...?

“Your entire combat technique is wrong from its very roots. If you’re going to rely on your innate mana even when you have the spear in your hand, what do you need a weapon for?”

-Y-You bitch—!

“Longin shouldn’t be used like this...” Joshua raised his spear high into the air. “...this is how you use it.”

Joshua simply swung the spear downward, but the earth rumbled like it was being torn in half.

Paetri could only stare vacantly, even as he was split in two.