Side Story Chapter 272

Why hadn’t Kireua considered the possibility? A part of the Demon Spirit remained in this world, so the opposite could be true.

‘The Angel Spirit!’

There were no more gods in this world. They existed as remnants which humans had named authorities, even the Angel Spirit and Demon Spirit, the supreme gods.

Kireua could finally understand Coju’s strange behavior.

“Go back, Prince Kireua,” Arash bel Grace repeated.

Duke Voltaire flew into a rage. “Nonsense! What are you all waiting for! Get him!”

“Are you going to defy an imperial order?”

Arash’s voice was frigid.

Voltaire flinched in surprise but smiled crookedly. “I’m not sure what’s going on in your head, but don’t tell me you forgot about our deal, Fox Master.”

“The Human Realm is collapsing.”

“...What?” Voltaire gave her a blank look.

“The Martial God is the only one who can stop it. In fact, I should be questioning you, Duke Voltaire. Do you want to die with everyone before you can achieve your ambitions?”

“What is this nonsense?!”

“Let me show you.” Arash opened her hands.

A white sphere floated above her palms, displaying within an unfamiliar land.

“Huh...?”

“This is the southernmost region of the continent.”

It was a vast, dense forest. Not a single trace of humans could be seen in this forest because this place used to be the dragons’ territory—Dragonia—until not too long ago, but there was something wrong with it now.

“The trees...” Voltaire’s eyes widened. “...are vanishing.”

Not only the trees, the ground where those trees were rooted was disappearing, leaving behind only darkness. The Human Realm was turning into a world of pitch-black darkness.

“Eeeek! Witchcraft!” Voltaire shouted. He noticed that the knights were visibly shaken—however, Voltaire’s voice was quivering as well.

“Duke Voltaire, you know that I don’t lie,” Arash calmly said.

“Ugh...! I’ll believe nothing until I see it with my own eyes! Knights, what are you all waiting for?! Lock up Kireua Sanders! We’ll get to the bottom of what the Fox Master is talking about later!”

“...If you do that, we won’t be able to ask for the Martial God’s help. Kireua Sanders is his son.”

“Stop! You talk as if the Martial God can stop the collapse, but he’s still only human! You have nothing to support your claim!” Voltaire growled.

“...I see. If you can’t believe me, then I guess that means that this country doesn’t need me anymore.” Arash slowly picked up a sword from the floor and immediately lifted it to her neck.

“Fox Master!”

“I believe my job here is done.” Arash smiled wryly.

“A-Alright. Alright!”

Voltaire yielded in the end. Arash was still useful in many ways, especially in prolonging the current war. In fact, Voltaire believed that she was speaking the truth, although he didn’t show it. Just like she said, Arash wasn’t the kind of woman who would lie just to get out of a crisis.

“I’ll let Kireua Sanders go, so put down the sword right now!” Voltaire shouted desperately.

“No, I won’t.”

“I said I’ll let him go, didn’t I!?”

“You believe that you’ll be able to capture Kireua Sanders before he escapes Swallow. Aren’t I right?” Arash speculated. The way Voltaire flinched was telling. “Let us be realistic: we haven’t accomplished our goal yet, have we?”

Swallow’s initial goal was to lure out the remnants of Thran’s army using Ulabis as bait.

“I guarantee you that you’ll get nothing out of this plan if you continue being greedy,” Arash said, her tone brooking no uncertainty.

“Ugh... Knights, continue the mission! Join those outside and eradicate the rebels!” Voltaire grunted.

“Yes, Your Grace!”

The knights rushed outside, knowing they knew they would only suffer if they got involved in a political fight. However, hundreds of knights still remained in the lobby. Voltaire wasn’t willing to give up this opportunity.

“I’ll tell you one more time. The war between Avalon and Hubalt has already begun. We’ll have a much better opportunity if we wait. We don’t have to make Avalon an enemy by harming the Prince of Avalon.”

“You’re underestimating the Battle God. Without the Martial God, Avalon will crumble soon enough! You heard what happened to their fortress, Fox Master!” Voltaire yelled.

“Then we really don’t have a reason to capture their prince.”

Voltaire huffed and puffed but couldn’t refute Arash’s logic.

“And...” Arash used her artifact to deliver Voltaire the remainder of her message in secret.

Voltaire’s eyes slowly widened.

“...Let him go,” Voltaire commanded, to everyone’s surprise.

No one except Voltaire and Arash understood what was going on, but Anna wasn’t about to miss this kind of opportunity.

She grabbed Kireua’s hand right away. “Let’s go.”

Voltaire watched Anna and Kireua with trembling lips. On the other hand, Kireua glanced at Arash before walking away. The knights stood on both sides, but they didn’t attack him and Anna. They had their orders.

However...

-You said you’ll let me eat it! You said it! You said it!

The inside of Kireua’s head was not nearly as cooperative.

“...It looks like you need my help with this one,” Arash murmured, extending her hand toward Kireua.

A stream of warm white light flew toward Kireua, enveloping him, and Coju’s voice died out.

“...I knew it. You’re...” Kireua bit his lip.

“Let’s talk about us at another time.”

“...I’m going to get you back for what you’ve done.”

“I’m sure you mean you’ll pay me back.” Arash smiled behind the mask, the first expression she’d made, and bowed. “I look forward to meeting you again, Prince Kireua.”

* * *

“...Fox Master, finish what you told me earlier. Is it true?” Voltaire asked, his voice urgent.

“You’re making me repeat myself. I told you I don’t lie.”

“Then the woman who was with Kireua Sanders is actually...”

“Yes, she’s Anna bel Grace. She’s a princess of the Swallow Empire like me.

Voltaire looked at the gates, his lip trembling. “Huh... I heard that she fled to Avalon decades ago, but...”

“I’m sure you know this already, but her blood is more noble than mine even if we’re both princesses.”

“Do you have to degrade yourself like that? Perhaps you forgot because it’s been a long time and she’s your half-sister, but Anna bel Grace is an adopted daughter.”

“But her mother’s family is still the most influential in Swallow,” Arash answered with a shrug.

“Neither Anna bel Grace nor her mother’s family think of each other as family—they both think they abandoned each other.”

“Things are different now. Besides, she’s a much more legitimate princess than I; I’m just an illegitimate child.”

Voltaire was rendered speechless.

“On top of that, I can’t face the public without my mask because of my father. He betrayed Swallow by allying with Avalon to overthrow the empire even though he himself was the prince of this empire. That is why you made me hide my exact identity using a mask, right?”

Arash had been an excellent puppet for Voltaire and the other nobles.

“Let your clever puppet give you one more piece of advice: take Anna bel Grace as your next emperor.”

“What?!” Voltaire turned his head to look at Arash with dismay.

“We can’t leave the throne empty forever—unless you’re going to take it yourself, Duke Voltaire.”

Of course Voltaire wanted to take it. In fact, he would have already if it weren’t for one certain family that remained silent.

“She’s the only one with the bel Grace name except for me. Once you crown her, the Imperial Family will have more legitimacy, and her family will end their seclusion and offer their help.”

Voltaire wanted to protest that her suggestion was like bringing in a tiger to kill a fox.

“Look at the bigger picture, Duke Voltaire. Even if we join the Continental War in earnest, neither us nor anyone else can handle the Martial god or the Battle God, regardless of which one of them survives.”

“...But if the Killian Family begins to take action...” Voltaire trailed off.

“Do you think you cannot handle them?”

Voltaire flinched. Arash wasn’t surprised. She was perfectly aware that if he wasn’t scared, he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of using her as a puppet in the first place. Otherwise, he would have just overthrown the empire and crowned himself emperor. Voltaire, of course, wouldn’t admit it.

“...Hmph, I’m saying that because we can’t afford to be divided before our great mission,” Voltaire scoffed.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

“I’m relieved to hear that.”

“Shit!” Voltaire cussed as he spun around. “I’ll get Anna bel Grace first. You could have told me sooner. We can’t let someone like her go like this...!”

“The casualties would have been greater if it came to blows. Our priority right now is taking care of Thran.”

Above all else, Voltaire couldn’t afford to lose Arash, especially if he had to deal with the Killian Family in the future. In fact, Arash was never needed more than when chaos took over.

“Tell me the details. I’ll take care of the rest,” Voltaire quietly said.