Side Story Chapter 45

Side Story Chapter 45

Meanwhile, Anna was headed to the dungeon alone. She also didn’t trust Lacoon from the very beginning, but she still went anyway for a single, simple reason.

“I really can’t contain my curiosity,” Anna muttered.

She had become the foster daughter of a member of the Imperial Family of the Swallow Empire, but she had returned to Avalon for a similar reason. She had been born and raised in the Avalon Empire, so she wanted to know the wellbeing of the people she used to know there and if anything had changed in the Empire.

Above all, if there were traps in the underground floor, Anna would be able to prove a good point to Kireua—that she was the only one who was trustworthy.

“Hahaha, you’ve been blessed, Your Highness. Try scouring the world and see if there’s a woman who can assist you better than I can.” Anna hummed as she descended the stairs.

She arrived at a long hallway with a single entrance at the end. Since Anna could use her wind to detect presences, she could be sure that no one was there. After several attempts, she was certain that there was no one alive anywhere in the underground—

“...Huh?” Anna’s eyes widened. Beyond the door, she suddenly discovered a single presence that was both faint and vivid at the same time. The contradictory sensation stopped her dead in her tracks.

“He’s really here?” she blankly murmured.

Lacoon den Adsarak had said that the castle’s original lord was alive and locked up in the dungeon. Judging from what happened upstairs, Anna could understand why there wasn’t a single guard around here. The noble lord was dying, so there was a slim chance of him escaping, and he had no value as a hostage.

“Should I save him or not...?”

Despite what she said, Anna strode forward and opened up the door without hesitation. The hinges squealed unpleasantly as it swung.

The first thing Anna noticed was the moldy smell of the dark dungeon, but Anna’s eyes were glued to the person locked up behind the thick iron bars.

“This is not exactly the best neighborhood to move around with luggage,” Anna said, tilting her head thoughtfully.

Anna currently had one goal: make Kireua the emperor. Although the Second Prince had promised that her life would be spared, there was no telling how the situation would change once the Emperor of the Avalon returned.

In that regard, anyone could become the next emperor right now. The two princes had worked together to reclaim the southern region, so both of the princes could take half of the credit. Therefore, it came down to who reached the north first after reclaiming their assigned region, the east or the west, respectively.

However, winning a war wasn’t the only requirement for becoming the emperor. The next emperor needed to be compassionate enough to not turn his back on his nobles in times of trouble.

“Gosh, this is why I’m the only one for him. Joshua Sanders, I’m sorry, but you won’t have a seat in the Palace even if you return because I’m planning to have your son wrapped around my finger.”

Anna was grinning as she arrived in front of the cell and created a flurry of wind blades. The iron bars were destroyed as if they were made of tofu. Nevertheless, the person inside didn’t budge.

“Hey, mister. Are you alive?” Anna asked.

The person didn’t answer.

Anna tilted her head. “I went through a lot of trouble to get here, so I hope you’re not going to waste my efforts...”

The withered prisoner slowly raised his head.

“Grrrrrrr.”

Anna 's eyes widened. It sounded like an animal’s growl. The man’s eyes shone in red light, and when he opened his mouth, Anna wsa struck by the reek of a rotten corpse. Her questions were answered.

“...The old saying is right. I should have listened to my hubby.[1] ”

* * *

Committing a massacre didn’t stop Kireua for a moment. People with power usually liked high places, so the rebel leaders must be upstairs too...

“It seems there is an invader inside the castle.”

Kireua swallowed nervously. It was clear that Kireua himself would have had difficulties winning the fights without Coal. How many hidden troops were there?

However, he had another question. For ordinary people to be possessed by that much demonic power, then their demon host should be nearby...

“...Wait.”

The atmosphere inside the room suddenly tensed.

Kireua's eyes widened when he heard the new voice. The number of the radiant mana flows he could see beyond the door was still seven. Nothing had changed.

‘Are there eight of them...?’ Kireua was bewildered—but he didn’t have long to worry about it.

“We have a rat,” the voice mumbled.

The exploded outward, its fragments scattering everywhere. Kireua held his breath, but the person the eight voice belonged to was looking right in his direction.

“How...?” Kireua mumbled in disbelief.

“Surprising. I didn’t expect a human’s stealth technique to be this good. I thought Belial’s a good assassin, but you’re as good as him.”

Kireua dropped down from the ceiling. “Who are you?”

“Marbas.”

“It’s my first time hearing your name.”

“In my realm, I was also called Demon King of Gluttony.”

Kireua's eyes widened. “Yo-You’re the Demon King of Gluttony?”

“Yes.”

It didn’t seem that Marbas was lying, but his next remark erased every single trace of doubt in Kireua’s mind.

“I’ll be the one asking the questions this time: what is that thing on top of your shoulder? It looks like the demonic power I detected belongs to it.”

Coal had returned to its original size and was stroking its belly on top of Kireua’s shoulder. If Marbas could see Coal, then he must be a demon.

“His appearance... Is he really the Second Prince?”

“He’s nuts. I didn’t really expect him to come here on his own.”

Kireua didn’t pay attention to the other people. His entire focus was on Marbas, the man covered in black clothes who had introduced himself as the Demon King of Gluttony.

Kireua actually felt relieved. After finding out that he had zero talent in the spear, he had put his blood, sweat, and tears into training his stealth techniques and swordcraft. If the presence Marbas had detected was Coal’s, not Kireua’s...

‘...I have a chance in this fight.’

Kireua’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent. He had one target, so there was one secret technique that his teacher, Aisha Sestropi, the Darkness Emperor, had taught him that would be perfect. With this most advanced technique, reality temporarily became an illusion while illusion became reality. By traveling from shadow to shadow, his enemies wouldn’t be able to see him, use their other senses to track him down, or detect his presence.

Darkness Emperor Secret Technique Number Three—Shadow Exchange.

Kireuay vanished like smoke and reappeared right behind the top seat of the room. No one responded, not even the Demon King. For now, Kireua would take care of the head of the enemies first.

Kireua swung his sword like lightning toward Turtler’s neck.

1. There is a term called 夫唱婦隨, which means it’s the right move for the married couple for a husband to make a decision and a wife follows the decision. The term originated from the Chinese poem named Thousand Character Classic. Since the literal term is a bit patriarchal, the term is now used to refer to a happily married couple who are good partners to each other. ☜