Side Story Chapter 244

“...Christian the White Lion,” Issac whispered. She watched the paladin approach intently.

“He’s the White Lion...?”

Lilith Aphrodite, the Emperor of Avalon’s friend and the Ghost Sword, was with Christian. When she met Kireua’s eyes, Lilith greeted him with a nod and sent him a telepathic message.

-I would like to express my gratitude to the Prince of Avalon.

-There’s no need. Someone had to do it, and nothing will benefit the continent’s peace more than returning Hubalt to its original state.

In other words, it was a necessary act for Avalon.

-Leave the rest to us and go. People from the palace are rushing over here already.

Lilith smiled faintly. Joshua had done a great job raising his children.

-Would that be okay?

-Of course. Oh, yeah. You also have my sincerest gratitude for avenging my father.

During her escape from the dungeon, Lilith was shocked to hear that Kurz had been assassinated. Duke Jook had even sealed the council chamber to stop the news from leaking, but he couldn’t silence everyone in the palace; the Imperial Knights guarding the doors had kept on talking about it.

-Be careful. I believe you’ve already fought him, but Bel is no ordinary man— W-Wait, why is she here...?

Lilith stared past Kireua, eyes wide. Kireua turned to look in the same direction, his head cocked curiously. Behind the paladins, who were being arrested by the paladins that Lilith and Christian brought with them, stood Isaac.

‘Come to think of it, they might be acquainted,’

Kireua thought.

No, they were from the same country so of course they would know each other. Lilith’s dark expression—and the glare Isaac gave her in return—confirmed that. Kireua quickly sent Lilith another telepathic message as she was marching toward Isaac.

-Hold on!

-...What?

-I made a deal with Isaac, and she isn’t our enemy right now. I escaped the underground tunnel thanks to her.

Lilith came to a halt and gave Kireua a perplexed look.

-...Do you know who she is?

-I heard that she’s the only child of Zactor, the Martial Emperor.

-Then you should know that she thinks of Joshua—no, His Majesty, the Emperor of Avalon, as an enemy.

-I’m well aware of that. In fact, helping her meet His Majesty is part of the deal I made with her.

-You did what? Why in the world would you make such a promise...?!

-Whether or not she meets His Majesty changes nothing.

Lilith had to agree with him. It was difficult to imagine anyone defeating Joshua. Besides, Lilith knew as a longtime friend of Joshua’s that he had changed physically and psychologically after having wives and children. In the past, the sole purpose of his life had been revenge, but he now always talked about how revenge begets revenge and that it was best to try to forgive everything. Of course, Joshua still obliterated his enemies if he concluded that they were beyond redemption.

-...I get what you’re saying, but she’s still too dangerous.

Lilith bit her lip anxiously.

-It’s a little embarrassing to say, but I’m also strong. If you’re worried about her taking me hostage, you don’t have to worry about—

-I’m not talking about that. You don’t know Issac’s true power.

Lilith’s last message was interrupted by thunderous shouts from a close by.

“Over there!”

“The wall has fallen! The escaped prisoners were headed over there too! Get them!”

They were trackers sent by Jook. Kireua and the others were out of time.

“...I have no other choice,” Christian murmured.

Christian’s sword

hissed

out of its sheath, startling Lilith, who was standing right next to the paladin.

“S-Sir Christian?”

“After all the time I spent as a prisoner, I explored the furthest depths of despair. I eventually came to a realization,” Christian mused. Despite his grave condition, his eyes were as sharp as they were his prime.

“Kill them all,” Christian said, without any elaboration.

However, the first-generation paladins moved like greased lightning.

“Agh!”

“Urrgggh!”

“D-Don’t kill m—!”

The subdued second-generation paladins tied up and on their knees collapsed one after another with their throats slit. Kireua had killed Weirman to prevent possible problems but had only knocked out the second-generation paladins for Lilith to use. However, Christian and the first-generation paladins slaughtered them, rendering Kireua’s efforts moot.

“S-Sir Christian...” Lilith slowly approached Christian.

“This is the right move. We’ll never get anywhere with them as our prisoners.”

“...But...”

“They’re just traitors.” Christian shook his head. “Don’t forget what happened to your father.”

When her father was mentioned, Lilith bit her lip for a moment before turning back to Kireua. “Go. The paladins and I will take care of the rest.”

“I’m seeing a lot of people who aren’t in good condition... Wouldn’t it be better for us to help out?” Kireua cautiously asked.

A wind elemental spirit mage of Anna’s caliber and someone as strong as Kireua would be a great help, but Lilith couldn’t accept them here.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

“This is the business of my country. I need to solve this. You don’t have to worry about me anymore,” Lilith answered.

On top of that, Lilith had no intention of fighting right now. Since Kurz was dead and Bel was away, this was the perfect chance to return Hubalt to its original state. Persuading the people of Hubalt was her priority. Everyone else had already done the heavy lifting for her, so if she couldn’t even do this much, she didn’t have a dream of reforming the country.

“There they are!”

The pursuers were closing in.

“Go, right now!” Lilith flicked her hand at Kireua.

Kireua and Anna immediately turned and headed for the city limits. Isaac made to follow them.

-If you’re planning on revenge, don’t involve any innocent people. Otherwise, you’ll have to deal with me.

-Do you really think you’re a threat to me?

Issac didn’t bother hiding her sneer from Lilith.

* * *

In the palace of the Swallow Empire, Bel put down a flickering crystal ball and smiled.

“Hey.”

Lucifer, who had been leisurely leaning against the throne, tilted his head. “What is it?”

“I received an interesting piece of information just now.”

“What is it?”

“Joshua Sanders showed up in my country.” Bel chuckled.

Lucifer’s lethargic look vanished as soon as he heard Joshua’s name.

“Is he alone?”

“He’s with Cain de Harry and fifty other knights...”

“Hehehe. I would expect nothing else from Joshua Sanders. No one would even think about trying something like that unless they have continent-sized balls.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s why his opponents are always blindsided. It’s impossible to predict his moves...” Lucifer leaned into the throne, amused.

Since it didn’t involve Swallow, Lucifer had no intention of getting involved in the affair. Besides, he knew from experience that offering his help first would only increase the chances of being betrayed, just like how Swallow and Hubalt had taken and lost Reinhardt to each other even while they were still nominally allies.

“Are you going to go back to your country, then?” Lucifer asked.

“If the real Joshua Sanders had shown up in my country, I would have gone back without a second thought.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said.”

“So... the one who invaded Hubalt’s capital with only around fifty people is a fake?”

Bel nodded. “Yes. I know where the real Joshua Sanders is and I’ve already met him myself.”

In the snowy mountain in north Avalon, Bel had met Joshua, who was locked up in the ice boulder. Because of Joshua’s trap, Bel had been sent away to the faraway North Sea. Although he had considered going back to where Joshua was, Bel didn’t think it would be particularly interesting since Joshua couldn’t lift a finger in the ice boulder.

‘Rage will motivate Joshua Sanders, so destroying Avalon, his home, and his family before he comes out of the ice boulder will make things a lot more interesting,’

Bel thought.

“Where are you going?” Lucifer asked.

“I can’t stay here forever. I have to go back.”

“Huh? You acted like you didn’t care, but you must be worried about your country after all,” Lucifer sneered.

Bel simply shrugged. “I think you got me wrong. I’m going to Avalon right now.”

“What?”

“Unlike you, I’m not interested in playing king.”

“Hmmm...” Resting his chin on his hand for a moment, Lucifer grinned. “Do you want my help?”

Bel tilted his head. “Help?”

“Even if you leave right now, you won’t be able to get to Avalon from Swallow overnight.”

Lucifer was right. With the entire continent at war right now, every country would have their mana jamming barriers up, meaning teleportation or warp gates couldn’t be used.

“I’ll take care of Cain de Harry and the fake. That arrogant Combat Emperor has some debt to pay on his master’s behalf.”

Bel gave it a thought for a moment and concluded that Lucifer’s offer wasn’t bad. If Lucifer had offered to take care of the real Joshua Sanders, Bel would have refused because he had no intention of letting anyone else fight Joshua Sanders. However, Bel wasn’t really interested in the rest.

“Can I trust you with this?” Bel asked.

“Of course—but I’m going to handle it my way. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Not really.”

“Then it’s settled.” Lucifer slapped the throne’s armrest and stood up, grinning. “Tell your people in Hubalt to bid welcome when they see Swallow’s flag.”