Return of the Unrivaled Spear Knight

Side Story Chapter 129

‘Kiruea.’ Joshua’s soul smiled faintly.

His son now possessed three Evil Sins’ powers. When Joshua had become aware of that fact, he had been worried, because even a Demon King had trouble controlling more than one. However, his son had proved himself the Martial God’s son and successfully managed to control all three.

‘Thanks to the Demon Spirit’s soul inside me, I can send telepathic messages to whoever ever possesses an Evil Sin power. What luck.’

“What are you thinking about?”

Joshua opened his eyes at Lilith’s voice. There she stood, surrounded by a thick blanket of snow along with an equally thick horde of monsters.

Grrrrrr.

-So many of them came rushing over.

“Do you think I can do it?” Lilith asked.

-Luckily, I can’t see any demons, so since monsters don’t have intelligence, it’s not impossible.

“You know, the monsters I can see number in at least the thousands, so I feel like I have to warn you that I’m not you.”

-Don’t worry, just start by drawing up your mana.

Lilith puffed up her cheeks sulkily, but she did as Joshua asked.

Grrrrrr!

When the monsters detected the sudden surge of mana, they began to run rampant. One of the first to respond was a black ogre who raised its arm with its fist powerfully clenched.

-Now!

“I know!”

Lilith leaped into the air, just in time to dodge the black ogre’s fist. The punch was so powerful that the ground cracked, scattering clods of snow everywhere.

Lilith flew higher and higher into the air, the crowd of slavering monsters turning to watch her as she did.

-The are relatively fewer monsters to your west, so let’s use that to our advantage.

“How?”

-Isn’t aura the best way to slay monsters with thick skin?

“…Killing all those monsters with my aura? My mana isn’t infinite. Besides…”

White wraiths, ghostly undead, surrounded Lilith.

“…I don’t think these guys will leave me be.”

-I’ll take care of them.

“Huh? How—”

Mysterious white currents of lightning currents burst out of Lilith, engulfing the wraiths. They were instantly vaporized, leaving behind only an unearthly scream.

“…You have a way of leaving people speechless.

-With those obstacles gone, you can go as wild as you want. I don’t know about the rest, but I can’t help you distribute your mana mana.

Lilith cast away any remaining traces of doubt in her heart.

“I’ll give it a shot.”

A layer of silver energy formed on top of Lilith’s sword as she prepared to initiate her first attack. She whirled around, flinging razor-sharp aura toward the monsters.

The damage of the attack was completely different than before—dozens of monsters were struck by Lilith’s aura attack and tossed away like ragdolls.

That wasn’t even the full extent of it. The effects of Lilith’s attack caught her by surprise, despite being the one who had done it.

The area she’d struck was frozen over, along with the monsters that her aura had so much as brushed.

Her aura had an attribute. On top of that, despite the amount of mana she’d put into that attack, her mana hall was fine.

“Oh…” Lilith exclaimed in wonder.

Two, three, four… She began to attack again and again with mounting confidence. All of the monsters caught in her assault froze solid and shattered into loose piles of ice. After she’d launched over twenty attacks, the area to her west was almost empty; they were either turned into hundreds of ice fragments or had fled.

When Lilith finally landed on the ground, she wasn’t even out of her breath.

“...You know, if this goes well, they might start calling me a Martial God, too,” she mumbled.

-No, we’re just getting started.

“…Pardon?”

A horrible, earth-shaking roar came over the horizon.

Lilith looked up in surprise, her eyes turning round like a shocked rabbit’s.

“O-Oh, no. That’s an undead dragon.”

-The protagonist usually makes an appearance at that very last moment.

“Wait, you speak too easily just because this isn’t your problem.”

-You’re mistaken. We have an escape route, so let’s make a run for it. We already accomplished our goal, didn’t we?

All the monsters in the area were looking at Lilith now, growling. However, for some reason, a smile spread across her face.

“…Alright. I’ve decided.”

-Decided what?

“If we continue to go west, we’ll find the border.”

-Wait, are you suggesting…?

Lilith smiled. Obviously, she was having a lot of fun.

“Don’t you want to see the look on the Great Temple people’s faces when I arrive at Hubalt with all these monsters?”

* * *

“Hold on. I’m sorry, but can I sit out on this one?” Kireua asked.

Theta flinched in the middle of casting a teleportation spell. The rest were equally confused.

“There is a place that I must go,” Kireua clarified.

“What in the world are you talking about?” Selim asked, frowning.

Although Selim knew better than anyone else that Kireua wasn’t the type of person who would run from a dangerous situation for the sake of his own safety, there were other eyes on them now. It would be problematic if Kireua acquired that kind of reputation; the princes’ words and actions could reflect on the Imperial Family’s reputation.

“Even without you, this party is, objectively speaking, comparable to an entire troop… but can I ask your reasons, Your Highness?” Duke Tremblin asked.

“I received an order from His Majesty,” Kireua bluntly answered.

The group’s eyes widened immediately.

“H-His Majesty?”

Kireua nodded. “Yes, he just sent me a telepathic message that the preparations he made lay underneath the Palace.”

Although it was unclear what exactly these preparations were, given that they were made by the Martial God himself, it was obvious that they would be vital to solving the current crisis.

“Where is His Majesty right now?” Selim asked.

“I don’t know, because I didn’t meet him in person.”

“What in the world are you talking about…?”

“I literally heard his voice in my head.” Kireua shrugged.

Selim was speechless. Was such a thing possible?

“The teleportation spell is ready, so why don’t the people are going to leave, leave, and the rest of you come inside the circle? I heard it’s urgent.”

“Let’s go.”

Aside from Kireua, there were six people—Selim, Theta, Marcus, Valmont, Ulabis, and Tremblin. Every one of them was one of the strongest people in their country or organization.

“…Kireua,” Selim quietly said.

“Don’t worry. I don’t think I’m His Majesty’s favorite just because I was asked to do this.”

“I’m not talking about that.”

“Huh?” Kireua tilted his head in confusion.

“Find what His Majesty told you and protect the Queen Consorts.”

“…I was going to even if you didn’t tell me,” Kireua casually replied. He then bowed to the group. “Come back safely, everyone. I’ll head to the Palace’s basement now.”

“Please take care of yourself, Your Highness.”

“You too, Duke Tremblin,” Kireua said, and turned to leave.

Shortly after, the group inside the magic circle disappeared.

“…Now, shall I get going, too?”

* * *

Finding the way wasn’t difficult because Kireua just had to follow his instincts, like a bumblebee tracking down honey.

Kireua went straight into the Palace. The Imperial Knights sorting out the aftermath hurriedly bowed to him; on a usual day, he would have at least said hello, but today he only walked faster.

-Wowwwwwww….

‘What is it?’ Kireua asked Coal.

-I can feel an incredible amount of demonic power. Can I eat all of it, Kireua?

‘No, that must be part of His Majesty’s preparations.’

-That’s unfair.

‘You already ate two of your kind, so why are you so greedy?’ Kireua said, but he immediately paused. Come to think of it, how was Coal right now?

‘Coal.’

-Yup?

‘Where are the powers of Lust and Gluttony that you swallowed?’

-…I dunno!

‘Something’s strange. I did hear that the Seven Evil Sins’ powers were originally one, but they lost too easily, considering the level of power they showed before.’

The lack of answers left Kireua even more confused, but he had more important things to worry about.

“…It’s down here,” he murmured.

He;d arrived at the dampest, innermost part of the Palace’s dungeon. Although the center of the dungeon was used to lock up felons, no one had been incarcerated here for the last decade. The last criminals who had ever been held here were the followers of the Britten family and the Dark God.

Kireua enveloped his hands with his black demonic power, allowing him to easily rip away the tiles on the dungeon’s floor.

The first thing he saw was a symbol of a moon pierced with a spear.

“This is…”

-Lucifer! It’s Lucifer’s symbol! Wowwwwwww!

“Lucifer…?” Kireua instinctively realized that today might be the day he found out the Emperor of Avalon’s secret. The thought made him shiver.

‘Only I…’

-Kireua! Quick! Do it quick! I can feel incredible power underneath here! Quick!

‘…Don’t rush me. I was getting to it anyway.’

He instinctively knew what he needed to do. It required two ingredients: thick demonic power and a drop of blood. Kireua bit his finger and let a drop of blood roll off his finger and drop to the ground.

An enormous amount of demonic power poured from below the surface, creating a powerful gale that made his hair flutter. The gale was so ferocious that it felt like his clothes were going to be torn away. A hole slowly opened up on the floor, revealing something that left him agape.

“This is… no joke.”