Side Story Chapter 75

Side Story Chapter 75

“Although I’m a pathetic father, I’m still your father—so isn’t calling me ‘Joshua Sanders' a bit too much? Or have you given up on pretending to be my son? You were really bad at it, by the way.”

Despite Joshua’s sarcastic remark, he received no answer; the temperature rose instead.

“Your Majesty, why in the world did you follow me to such a dangerous place?” Cain asked in a hushed voice.

“My son is in danger, so what parent wouldn’t come?”

“Pardon? Does that mean—?”

“Kiruea is being tested by two different Evil Sins’ powers, just like Emperor Marcus and my father were by the Demon Spirit in the past,” Joshua said.

Cain’s eyes widened. The Demon Spirit, Evil Sins’ powers, tests... not a single word could be taken lightly.

“A-Are you serious?” Cain stammered.

“I don’t lie.”

“But why are you so composed? You know how the people who lost their bodies to the Demon Spirit ended up—!”

Joshua shrugged. “That isn’t the Demon Spirit.”

“But the Evil Sins’ powers are the Demon Kings, and they’re the strongest demons after the Demon Spirit!”

“It’s okay. Unlike before, I’m here from the start,” Joshua said.

Cain closed his mouth. It definitely was different than before since Joshua couldn’t withstand one all-out attack from Cain in his current state.

“...Alright, but stand back. Don’t even think about getting caught up on your pride.”

“Sure.” Joshua stepped away so readily that Cain gaped at him for a moment.

‘He’s so unpredictable,’ Cain thought as he fixed his grip on his sword.

Cain’s golden aura undulated around him. He was known as the Combat Emperor Star by the people of Igrant, so his enemy wasn’t the only one who was the second strongest after a god.

“I’ll do my best to exterminate this evil, but if His Highness gets injured in the process, I’ll leave that matter in your hands.”

“Don’t worry.” Joshua gestured at Cain. “Just do your best like you said.”

“...I will.”

Cain didn’t hesitate any longer. The greatsword he held upright turned black. Although many people had forgotten it, Cain had once been taught by the greatest swordsman of the Avalon Empire: the Dark God. Despite the turmoil the Dark God had caused in the past, he had been an undeniably great martial artist. His name was Aden von Agnus, Joshua’s biological father.

-How dare you...

“That voice... you’re definitely not His Highness.”

-Die in my demonic flames.

Cain's eyes widened.

The demon stirred up fire quite literally straight out of the Demon Realm itself. Pillars of black flame shot out of the ground in an arc around Cain and charged toward him.

On his part, Cain ignored the five pillars of fire flying toward him and sprang toward Kireua as fast as lighting.

Cain inhaled sharply and launched a black aura attack in the same moment, forcing Kireua to brandish his burning black blade to counter it.

-No...!

“Give us back His Highness!”

A look of panic appeared on Kireua’s face for the first time as his medium for his ebon flame was gone. With that barrier eliminated, Cain swung his sword like a tsunami as if he was trying to slay the space itself, not merely Kireua.

-...I have no other choice.

Cain flinched just as he was about to put an end to the fight.

-I’m not used to this body yet, so although it’s a shame, I have no other choice but to discard it.

‘D-Discard?’

-Are you sure about this? Once I pull myself out of this body, it’ll become as fragile as fine china. Considering this body is in the center of such a strong aura attack, it would be smashed into pieces.

Cain became visibly anxious. He wasn’t sure who was inside Kireua right now, but the body definitely belonged to Kireua. Cain couldn’t just kill Kireua right now...

‘Wh-What should I do?’

His moment of hesitation was a mistake. Although it was a blink of an eye for ordinary people, it was like half a day for someone like Kireua.

-You weakling, hehehehe.

“...Oh, no.”

When Cain lost his composure, he wasn’t able to maintain his Embodied Sword form anymore, and his energy became turbulent, which Kireua used to his advantage.

“...Urgh!”

Although Cain turned his torso at the last moment, his shoulder was left undefended, allowing Kireua to pierce the area beside Cain’s collarbones. The injury was clearly critical—worse, disgusting demonic power rushed into the wound.

“I can’t believe I made this kind of mistake...!” Cain quietly groaned.

-Hehe... This is your end, human.

Cain could feel his face reddening in embarrassment. Despite his big talk, a momentary lapse of judgment caused him to make a critical mistake.

‘I still have a long way to go.’ Cain quietly closed his eyes. His hands were already full just stopping the demonic power from entering his body.

The situation took an unexpected turn.

“Good job, Cain.”

“Y-Your Majesty?”

When Cain opened his eyes, he could see Joshua grinning at him.

“Hold onto him so he won’t be able to run away,” Joshua said. “If we miss this attack, it’ll be the end of you and me.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”

Despite the wave of pain rushing through his body, Cain faithfully carried out Joshua’s order. He squeezed his muscles, making sure that Kireua couldn’t pull his hand out of Cain’s shoulder.

-What are you trying to do? How did you enter the cage?

Joshua had approached Kireua’s back from outside the cage of fire.

“Do you want to know how?” Joshua asked, hefting his white spear with a grin. “Then give me back my son first, you jerk.”