Side Story Chapter 199

After enjoying his reunion with his family and handing out instructions to them, Joshua lastly went to say goodbye to Lilith.

-It’s time to say goodbye.

‘I enjoyed the experience,’

Lilith answered.

-Can I take that as permission to use your body if necessary?

Lilith smiled.

‘Anytime.’

-...It’s a little embarrassing if you say yes that easily. I was half joking...

“Hahahahaha!”

Yes, she was certainly willing to do this again. There wouldn’t be another chance for her to be alone with Joshua like this without compromising her moral integrity, but she had to let him go for the sake of herself, her friends who had helped her in difficult times, and Joshua.

‘You asked about the Demon King’s authority that I obtained, didn’t you?’

Lilith asked.

-I did.

‘It actually never happened.’

[1]

-...It was Hubalt’s doing, wasn’t it.

Joshua could picture what had happened.

-But it wouldn’t be possible to turn a saint into a witch without solid evidence...

‘I’m a close friend of yours.’

-That isn’t enough to—

‘Have you ever taken a good look at my sword techniques?’

Lilith interrupted, a wide smile on her lips.

-...No, I haven’t.

‘Could you do that for me now please?’

Lilith took a cautious look around before drawing her sword.

‘Anyone could stumble onto us right now, so I’m only going to do it for a very short moment. Keep your eyes open.’

-I will.

Lilith tightened his grip on her sword. Once her limits had restrained her for over ten years, but a miraculous, once-in-a-lifetime experience, had opened her way. She had seen Joshua, the genius of the century do battle, an opportunity that one couldn’t buy with a million gold. His battles had made her heart pound even though he was using a spear, not a sword, and allowed her to gain new insights. Yes, Joshua’s techniques were beyond the level of a martial arts style; they were truly a work of art.

Lilith began to dance with the sword in her hand. Left to right, top to bottom, a slash... she moved slowly at first but got faster over time. Her initial moves resembled a dancer’s, but they began to demonstrate overwhelming power. Each move seemed to be able to destroy everything in her path by sheer force.

-...The Magic Spear Arts?

Joshua realized the foundation of Lilith’s techniques. It wasn’t Joshua’s first time seeing it attempted—Kireua, Joshua’s son, had also reinterpreted Joshua’s Magic Spear Art techniques to create a new, personalized style of martial arts called the Magic Sword Arts. However, Lilith’s techniques were obviously more advanced.

-...How fascinating. Even my own son, Kireua, isn’t as good as you.

Deriving knowledge merely by watching another person use their martial arts could only be done by true geniuses, but even those geniuses needed to spend a long time researching and observing.

-You’re a genius, too.

‘It’s a little silly to hear that from you. You’re the Martial God, who can replicate every martial arts technique just by seeing it once.’

Lilith giggled.

-I’m just mimicking what I saw. Anyone above a certain level can do it—but your sword techniques are very advanced and contain the essence of the Magic Spear Arts. You must have studied them for a long time. I feel naked.

Joshua shook his head.

‘It’s you I was watching, not your Magic Spear Arts,’

Lilith abruptly revealed.

-...Huh?

‘Nothing. Anyhow, I can do stuff like this now.’

She spun in the air and stretched her arm back. Instead of demonstrating her specialty, which was slashing, she was going to thrust her sword using a move that was very familiar to Joshua. It was a basic move in the Magic Spear Art, but every martial art started from the basics.

She made no unnecessary movements, and each movement was the essence of speed. Lilith’s sword stabbed two points in the air and then cut through them blindingly fast.

-Lightning Flash...!

Lilith’s sword ripped through the air like a bolt of lightning.

A tree ten meters away from her was cut clean through. As the huge tree collapsed, Lilith sheathed her sword and let out a sigh of relief.

‘Not bad, huh?’

-...Certainly.

‘I’m pretty strong now too, so don’t worry about your children. Of course, they take after their father—they’re geniuses and people already call them monsters—but I'll take care of them like their mother if necessary.’

Lilith grinned and patted her chest.

-That’s reassuring.

‘Now go, before Bel hurts your body.’

-Thanks to you, I can leave in peace. I’m genuinely grateful to you for that.

Lilith wanted to retort that that was actually what she wanted to say, but she held herself back. Having this kind of moment was good enough for now because she’d decided to put an end to her wicked crush for good.

It was said that time all wounds, so she had thought her crush would fade out over time—however, it didn’t. Although she had tried to distance herself from him so she could forget about him, that didn’t work either. She had believed that seeing him marry three beautiful women was what she needed to finally end her crush, but, once again, that didn’t work. As a matter of fact, she kept thinking that four wives wouldn’t be much different from three wives.

Indeed, that was love. Time, distance, family... All of those excuses did nothing to stop her from loving Joshua. It was impossible to stop loving someone just because they got married. The primordial god didn’t make humans such simple creatures.

The tree that Lilith had cut off just now was like to her heart. Her selfish, one-sided love made it difficult for her to consider the people around her and him, so she destroyed it once and for all as they were about to part ways again.

-...Is something wrong? You don’t seem to be feeling too good.

A surge of emotions rose in her heart, but Lilith quickly changed the topic.

‘N-Nothing. In a-any case, how are you going to return to the north?’

-Oh, I thought I told you before. I have a trustworthy helper right there.

Lilith looked up in the sky and saw Creshua, the black dragon hatchling, pompously looking down at them. Ever since they had gotten out of the underground vault, Creshua had been that way. He didn’t intervene in the Human Realm’s affairs in the slightest.

‘Do you think Creshua will fight?’

Lilith asked.

-He will this time. Bel is the enemy of his parents and his species.

‘You said that there’s nothing more meaningless than revenge.’

-Creshua’s life will be threatened for as long as Bel is allowed to live. For whatever reason, Bel exterminated all of the dragons that he could find, and I’m sure that Creshua isn’t going to make him have a change of heart.

‘So it’s a matter of survival... I see. I understand.’

Lilith nodded.

Joshua slowly circulated his mana, levitating him.

‘Wait! I have one more question. Even if Creshua cooperates, are you going to be okay? Even if you go back to your body right now, you’re still stuck inside the ice boulder. Do you think one hatchling is enough to deal with him?’

Lilith treated Creshua as if he weren’t much help because Bel was a monster beyond anyone’s imagination.

“Creshua,” Joshua called.

“...What is it?”

“I have a favor to ask of you.” Joshua flew up to Creshua, who looked back at him with his abyss-like black eyes. “Dragons are called the race of magic, so I assume you can easily teleport even if you’re a hatchling, yes?”

“I’m different from ordinary dragons, so not only can I teleport, I can also use Ninth Circle spells as I please,” Creshua answered with a nonchalant shrug.

Lilith was surprised because from what she remembered, dragon hatchlings were limited to using Eighth Circle spells.

‘He’s definitely unique, but that isn’t enough...’

Lilith trailed off.

“Which is why I would like to ask you a favor,” Joshua continued.

“A favor?”

“Although I don’t know if you’ve been listening from up here, my enemy is trying to get to my original body.”

“...So?”

“I want your help to stop him. Keep in mind that he’s also the enemy of Crevasse, your father.”

Creshua didn’t answer him for a long moment.

“What do I get in return? Don’t try to tell me it’s revenge. Dragons don’t feel love and other emotions the way humans do.”

Joshua raised one finger. “One wish.”

Creshua gave him a confused look.

“I’m not sure if there’s anything you want from me, but if you help me, I’ll do everything in my power to make your wish come true,” Joshua offered.

The hatchling fell into a thoughtful silence.

‘Aren’t you overpaying here?’

Lilith grumbled.

However, Joshua ignored her—he was in desperate need of Creshua’s help. And, after a moment, Creshua gave Joshua the answer that he wanted to hear.

“...I’ll take the deal.”

Joshua’s face brightened.

“I’ll tell you what I want later... but how am I supposed to help you?”

Since Joshua was stuck inside the ice boulder, he had been thinking about a way to fight Bel. But no matter how hard he thought, there was only one good answer.

“First of all, I would like to go inside you.”

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Joshua beamed, while both Lilith and Creshua were stupefied by his proposal. A human’s soul inside a dragon! They never heard of, much less seen anything like it.

“Black dragons are the only dragons who can use demonic power, so it’s worth a try. In fact, it’ll be a lot safer since dragons are physically stronger than humans,” Joshua explained.

“You...” Creshua trailed off, unable to say anything,

Regardless, Joshua had no intention of changing his mind. It was definitely worth a try.

1. You’ve probably noticed this contradicts earlier chapters, but, well... ☜