Side Story Chapter 209

“Why don’t you stop right there? The boulder would have been destroyed already if it was easy to break it.”

Bel immediately came to a halt. Although he had detected the approaching presence long ago, he’d been ignoring it because he didn’t want to interrupt his long-awaited reunion.

“...A dragon?” Bel whispered.

It was a handsome boy with unusual black hair and eyes. The boy looked ten years old at most, but Bel quickly realized the boy’s true identity.

“You’re a dragon hatchling. Are you here to get revenge for your fellow dragons?” Bel chuckled and then turned away from the dragon hatchling. Bel had no grudge against dragons, but they were going to be problems for his plan and his wish to find meaning in his life. That was why he had eradicated them—despite that they were called the strongest creatures in the Human Realm—and lost interest in them long ago.

“Leave.” Bel waved his hand at the dragon hatchling. “You won’t be able to withstand a single flick right now, so come back when you’re older. Then I’ll—”

“Your eyes aren’t as sharp as I thought.”

Bel squinted at him.

“Do I still look like an ordinary dragon hatchling?”

Bel scanned the hatchling again and then his eyes widened. “You’re...”

Bel was astounded. Why didn’t he recognize the boy’s identity earlier? Was it because the black dragon hatchling used demonic power just like demons? No, that wasn’t it. Aside from

him

, there was no one else in the world who wielded power of such quantity and density.

“Haha... Hahahahaha!” Bel burst into manic laughter.

“I thought it was me you wanted to meet.”

“Martial God! It was you. You were in a human girl’s body the last time I met you, but it’s a dragon this time.”

“One thing led to another,” Joshua replied with a shrug.

“Honestly, I want to learn your ability. When I’m near death, all I have to do is move to a younger and healthier body. It’s true immortality, isn’t it?”

“Well, the requirements to use this ability are trickier than you think. I get kicked out immediately if the body’s owner refuses, and I can’t even try if our energies don’t match.”

“That sounds problematic.” Bel chuckled.

Bel’s boredom had instantly vanished as soon as he realized he was speaking to Joshua and had been replaced by infinite bliss. When was the last time he felt like this? Whenever he was with Joshua Sanders, Bel felt truly alive. The Martial God was the only one who could fill Bel’s void and empathize with him.

Bel grinned. “Let’s fight.”

He couldn’t hold it in much longer. The urge to fight and win boiled up inside him, driving him to madness. He had to let this heat out as quickly as possible before it consumed him.

“Although I want to say yes, this isn’t my body,” Joshua answered.

“I can wait for you if you need time to return to your body. For a fight against you, I’ll gladly—”

“It could take an entire year,” Joshua interjected.

Bel frowned.

“If you meant what you said,” Joshua continued, “I’ll fight you with all I’ve got.”

“That’s too long.”

“Nothing can be done about it. You must have heard that I’m in the process of annihilating the Demon Spirit.”

Bel glanced at the ice boulder where Joshua’s exquisitely sculpted body was still sound asleep. He could sense the evil within; it was very faint, yet possessed infinite depth.

“The demon was right,” Bel mused; he didn’t know Meric was no longer in his cage. He shrugged. “Don’t worry. No, maybe this is for the better since Hubalt will subjugate Avalon.”

“How so?”

“It seems to me that humans tend to prefer mutual destruction to dying alone.”

“That’s rather harsh on yourself.”

“Of course, I can just beat down the Demon Spirit even if he gets free.” Bel grinned and slowly stroked the ice boulder. “To be honest, I’m curious about how strong the Demon Spirit is.”

“If you want to die, why don’t you just die on your own? Don’t put innocent people in danger too.”

“Well, losers doesn’t really pique my interest either,” Bel said, dismissive even though he was talking about the Demon Spirit.

Joshua felt the Demon Spirit getting angry inside the boulder.

“...Hah.” Joshua chuckled. “You really mean it. You must not be afraid of a god’s wrath.”

“There are no Angel and Demon Realms anymore, so he’s no god. Joshua Sanders, you’re the only one who sparks my interest. You live in the same generation as me but don’t have a single record of defeat.”

Bel’s energy spread aggressively in every direction, twisting the world around him.

“Let’s fight.”

“If you insist.”

Joshua took a stance.

Bel was in bliss. “Yes! This is what I’ve been waiting for!”

“Keep in mind that your void will become more severe after this fight.”

“...What?”

“The more you’re looking forward to something, the more you’ll be disappointed by it.”

Bel’s fighting spirit was dampened a little bit. He frowned. “It isn’t like you to keep killing the mood like this.”

“That’s because it’s true. If you wait one year—no, a few months, I’ll be in my ideal condition and then we can determine who’s stronger...”

“Patience isn’t my strong suit.”

“The entire continent will think the same things: the Battle God is just trash who can only defeat the Martial God by ambushing him while he’s risking his life to annihilate evil.”

Bel’s fighting spirit was completely snuffed out, but not by Joshua’s unsubtle provocation.

“You must be getting anxious.”

Joshua was confused by Bel’s reaction.

Bel smiled from ear to ear. “You’re afraid that I’ll shatter this ice boulder and head south, destroying your home, country, and family. I’m right, aren’t I? Hehehehe, yeah. There’s no way the man I’d been raised to fight is an idiot who’d whine because he’s at a disadvantage.”

Bel seemed to decide something and his grin widened.

“I have a good idea. Hear me out.”

Creshua the black dragon felt a rising sense of unease.

“The deeper your grudge is against someone, the harder you’ll fight... If I destroy your everything, you’ll fight twice as hard as your full power, yes?” Bel asked.

“You...”

“Fine, I’ll wait a year, but...” Bel slammed his foot into the ground, blowing the snow away and revealing the frozen ground to the sun for the first time in ages. “...I can’t go back to my subordinates empty-handed.”

Bel stomped on the ground even harder.

“...Stop.”

“I heard that this mountain used to be an active volcano.”

“I told you to stop!” Joshua shouted, unleashing his demonic power.

However, Bel had no intention of complying.

“I’ll make it erupt. A volcanic eruption... Hehehe, it’ll be quite a sight.”

Bel intentionally struck the mountain down to its roots to stir the volcano to life again. Joshua felt the crisis closing in. A volcanic eruption was going to devastate northern Avalon, then the ash would spread to Arcadia and the entirety of Avalon. The common people were going to suffer unimaginably.

Bel’s foot struck the ground for the third time...

The mountain gave in before Bel’s torment and magma erupted from the mountain’s peak.

Joshua and Bel’s fists slammed into each other. It quickly became evident which of them had the upper hand. In contrast to Joshua, who stumbled several steps backward, Bel remained standing where he had been with a relaxed smile.

“It’s too weak. You stand no chance of winning in that condition.”

“Bel...!”

“Entertain me a little better. You’re just convincing me that I made the right call.”

“Your people are still in the north, so they’ll also be affected by the eruption,” Joshua reminded Bel.

Bel raised his leg again. “If they’re too weak to even run away from it, then they should burn in the lava.”

Before Bel struck the ground again, Joshua kicked Bel’s leg away.

As sparks flew, their expressions changed in very different ways.

“Weak! It’s weak! I’ve been waiting for the Martial God, not some pathetic piece of crap. Harder! Fight harder! Entertain me!”

Joshua wasn’t able to withstand the impact and was pushed back far away, blood dripping from his mouth.

Bel glanced at Joshua where he lay on the floor. “Give up. You won’t be able to take another attack right now.”

His leg rose again.

Joshua instinctively knew that the eruption would be irreversible if Bel struck the ground one more time.

“I look forward to meeting Joshua Sanders, the killer mad for revenge, next time.”

“...I knew you would come here,” Joshua blurted.

Bel paused right before he struck the ground.

“Do you really think I waited for you without making any preparations?”

“Stop. Don’t disappoint me any further. It’s... really ugly for the Martial God to bluff.” Bel shook his head.

“Well...” Joshua smiled.

At that moment, Bel realized that something was up.

“...We’ll see if I’m bluffing.”

A white light encircled the entire peak.

Bel’s eyes widened. “Is this... a magic circle?”

“It was nice meeting you, Bel.”

Some would think that Bel would be bewildered, but it was actually quite the opposite.

“...Ha! Hahahahahahaha!” Bel clapped his hand over his forehead and burst into laughter. “Yes, this is the Martial God. The hero of the century who takes down his enemy. Always has an ace up his sleeve, even in the face of disaster, not excuses! ”

“...See you next time.”

“I’ll look forward to the day we next meet! I’ll imprint every last detail of this fight in my mind!”

Bel vanished in a pool of light.

“Phew...” When he was left alone, Joshua let out a quiet sigh. “I need to speed up the defrosting.”