Side Story Chapter 198

“Your Majesty!”

As soon as the battle was more or less sorted out, Cain, Iceline, and Icarus ran to Joshua.

“Oh, yeah!” Icarus clapped.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

Icarus looked around warily. “We should lower our voice since His Majesty is using Saint Lilith’s body.”

Cain and Iceline nodded in agreement.

“I don’t think that many people would seriously believe that the beautiful woman over there is His Majesty, though...” Cain trailed off.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Iceline replied. “There’s no need to invite trouble. It’s better for Lilith anyway.”

She was being considerate of Lilith’s situation as well as Joshua’s. A man’s soul in the body of a woman who he wasn’t in a relationship with wasn't the kind of news that would put them in a favorable light. Besides, Joshua would want the other people to think that Lilith was the one who accomplished the feats of that day.

“His Majesty is thinking about the future after the war, too. He must believe that Lilith is the only one who can piece together Hubalt after the Battle God’s fall.”

With that in mind, the three of them slowly distanced themselves from Joshua because, although they wanted to enjoy their reunion, too many people were watching them. They had no choice but to delay it.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

-Everyone, listen.

All three of them received a telepathic message from Joshua and turned to face him.

-Hubalt’s army seems to have changed their destination. I haven’t figured out the details yet... but I believe that my body or the Demon Spirit’s soul is probably their goal.

Cain gasped out loud. No matter what the army’s exact plan was, either one was a serious problem.

“How did they know about the mountain...!”

-They don’t know what exactly happened in the north because the original routes to the mountain were blocked by a large avalanche. It’s not the kind of place you can get to with an army.

Cain heaved a sigh of relief after hearing one silver lining.

However, Icarus shook her head. “It isn’t time to relax yet.”

“...Huh?”

“Since the avalanche made it hard to navigate with an army, Hubalt will form a team of elites—and, of course, the Battle God is going to be among them.”

Cain turned pale once again.

Joshua’s original body was locked inside an ice boulder. Many strong individuals, both human and demon, had climbed the snowy mountain to break the ice boulder but all had failed. However, what would happen if the Battle God attempted it?

“I-I’ll go to the north!” Cain volunteered.

-It’s too late. They’re already at the foot of the mountain.

“N-No, that can’t be. With Her Majesty Iceline’s help—!”

-No, we can’t send away such a valuable asset right now even if it weren’t for my problem.

Cain didn’t understand—they’d already stopped the demons for good, hadn’t they?

“...Hubalt will send the bulk of their army to Arcadia. That must be what His Majesty is worried about,” Icarus explained to Cain.

Right—there was no way that Hubalt would do something as idiotic as putting their grand army on standby in the cold reaches of northern Avalon. The army had already crossed the border, so they would continue their conquest while the elite team climbed up the frozen mountain to eliminate Joshua, who was Hubalt’s biggest obstacle in conquering the continent.

-I’ll handle Bel. I want the three of you to help Kireua and Selim prepare for the war. I told Lilith this, but make sure to tell the other countries too. I assume that the border to Avalon isn’t the only border that Hubalt’s crossed.

“But, Your Majesty, to fight against that monster on your own in your current condition is...” Cain trailed, his voice tense with concern.

-I’m not alone.

“...What?” Cain blankly asked.

-I’m headed to the north with a reliable helper who’ll be a good match against the Dragon Slayer.

Cain tilted his head in confusion. He tried focusing his mana into his eyes and his gaze was quickly drawn to a handsome child standing near Joshua who had pearly white skin and pitch black eyes.

“W-Wait...”

Iceline and Icarus gave Cain a confused look.

“I-Is that His Majesty's secret child...?”

* * *

Moloch was the one responsible for the explosions that those inside the metal cage had heard. Using his ability to teleport to the vicinity of his brother, Moloch had arrived at the destination quicker than any other demon.

-Hahahahahaa! I’ll kill you all!

“Arrrghhhh!”

“Monster! It’s a monster!”

“Demonic power— It’s a demon, not a monster! Paladins, to the front line! Draw up your divine power! Quick!”

A mayhem unfolded before Moloch. Yes, these were humans. They were pathetic beings who couldn’t kill a single monster and only knew how to scream in fear unless they were in a pack.

-Excellent. Louder! Scream louder! Haha! Hahahahha!

Moloch was enjoying his rampage. After all the ridiculously strong people he’d had to fight recently, this felt like he’d finally been liberated. Whenever he swung his ax, a shockwave swept away everything nearby. This was the Black Shockwave he’d used before, at Arcadia, but contrary to that time, the humans here were helpless against Moloch’s attacks.

“Gah!”

“D-Divine power doesn’t work on him!”

The humans’ terrified voices made Moloch smile.

-Those angels are a bunch of nobodies. There’s no way you’d be able to take a single hit from me even if you use their power. Anyway—Meric! Where are you?

Moloch looked around his surroundings. Unlike him, his only brother was quite small, like the humans.

-I sense him over there...

Moloch’s gaze landed on a metal cage in a six-horse carriage. That was where he could sense Meric’s energy the strongest.

-What in the world is he doing over there...?

Moloch tilted his head in confusion when a human suddenly stood in his way.

“S-Sir Bel!”

The paladins unsuccessfully attempting to block Moloch’s attacks let out a cheer.

“We’ll handle it, sir.”

The knights accompanying Bel stepped forward; they were part of the Martial Knight Order, the knights loyal only to Bel and currently the strongest knights in the Hubalt Empire. Even their uniforms, which proudly displayed a dragon’s head on their chest, were different from the other knights’.

“He’s one of those demons that’re strong enough to be a Demon King, huh?” Bel shook his head. “It’s fine. I’ll deal with him since I’ve been bored.”

“...Understood, sir.” The commander of the Martial Order backed away without protest. Despite what the commander just heard Moloch, he didn’t seem to be worried in the slightest.

Bel eyed the paladins scattered across the ground and clicked his tongue. “Tsk, those weaklings are even worse than I expected. How am I supposed to fight a war with them?” He shook his head and then raised his fists. “Hey, bullhead.”

-Bull... head? Are you talking about me?

“What, you have to ask?” Bel scoffed. “There’s no one else here other than you.”

-...Ha! I was wondering why a bug got in my way, but I see it’s just crazy.

Moloch snorted and smiled from ear to ear.

“I don’t know how you appeared out of thin air... But since you’re here, let me ask you a question: do you know about the ice boulder on the snowy mountain’s peak too?”

-Ice boulder...?

Moloch gave him a blank look before turning to look at what the arrogant human was pointing at—a snowy mountain, high enough to touch the sky. Moloch had an idea about this ice boulder Bel was talking about.

-What are you going to do with it?

“What do you mean, ‘what’? I’m going to destroy it,” Bel bluntly answered.

-Destroy it? You? Hah! Hahaha! You’re going to destroy the ice boulder where the Shining Darkness is sleeping? Wow, you’re really something. Hahahaha!

Moloch’s sides shook with laughter.

“Shining Darkness...” Bel repeated, smiling back. “...So that’s what it is.”

-Enough talk. A lot of the demons are quite fast, so they’ll catch up soon. You’re the leader of these vermin, aren’t you?

“What if I am?”

-Heh. I’m glad you came to me on your own; it’ll save me some time. For that, I’ll be merciful and end you with a single strike. It’ll be a quick, painless death.

Moloch pointed his ferocious ax at Bel. He planned to use this attack to instill fear in the other vermin so that they would scatter on their own.

-Die.

An immense amount of demonic power was amassed around Moloch and the

ns compressed into a sphere capable of crushing everything that it touched. Upon contact, Moloch’s target would be compressed so much that all of the moisture in their body would be squeezed out.

-Aside from the Shining Darkness, humans are... pfft. I’ll show you why I’m called the Unleashing Demon—

Moloch paused for a moment, his head tilted in confusion. The vermin would perish before he could even realize what was happening, but his shoulders moved slightly. At first, Moloch thought he was mistaken, or that it was a reflexive response due to fear.

“...Tsk. ‘Demon King’ my ass—there’s nothing special about this demon. What a disappointment,” Bel grumbled. “Look at you. You didn’t even notice what’s happened to you.”

Bel raised his eyebrow and Moloch abruptly lost consciousness.

After a moment, Moloch’s head vanished with a small

bzzt

.

The gigantic, headless corpse toppled over. Bel casually stretched his arms out as he slowly turned around. The knights were watching Bel as if they were in the presence of a god.

“It seems that there’s only one person in this world who can satisfy me,” Bel mumbled.