Side Story Chapter 256

Side Story Chapter 256

“There was nothing special about him,” Bel grumbled as he shook the blood off of his fist.

Tremblin hadn’t moved an inch since he’d landed. It wasn’t really a surprise—he was over one hundred years old and the constant battle meant that he hadn’t slept in days.

Bel heard a faint sound that prompted him to immediately throw a kick upward. It slammed into a red spear, leaving his leg trembling.

“You’re Selim Sanders.”

Not many of Bel's opponents had left a lasting impression on him. That made the twenty-year-old boy in front of him very special. Even if Selim was the Martial God’s son, Bel would have forgotten about him long ago if it weren’t for his prowess.

“The older brother is better than the younger brother,” Bel noted.

It was well known that the Martial God had two sons; of course, Bel had already met both of them. However, he couldn’t even remember the other one because he had completely lost interest right after he discovered that the second son used a sword as his main weapon despite being the Martial God’s son.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Selim’s cold voice heralded several spatial distortions appearing around Bel. He knew what the distortions meant—they were a sign of Selim’s Mind Spears. Although he was already aware of Selim’s progress, Bel couldn’t help but feel impressed when he saw it with his own eyes.

“Indeed... it would have been an interesting fight if you had trained for just ten more years.”

Bel’s evaluation would have come as a surprise from anyone who knew him. When it came to martial arts, Bel was the pickiest person in the world. This was the second-highest evaluation he’d ever given. Obviously, it needn't be said who had received Bel’s highest approval.

“The more I learn about you and your father, the more interesting you two are.” Bel smiled crookedly.

“Keep wagging your tongue and I’ll tear it out,” Selim threatened.

As if punctuating his words, one of his invisible spears shot toward Bel like a lightning bolt.

Bel blocked the attack by simply holding up his finger.

“...Huh?” Bel tilted his head in confusion. He could feel a stinging sensation near his ankle. When he looked down, he discovered a miniature Mind Spear. It was so small that he wouldn’t have been able to sense it at all unless he had been looking for it.

“...Your aura control ability is this precise?” he exclaimed. Compared to guiding a massive object, it was much more difficult to control something that required precision. On top of that, Selim had attacked Bel using the miniature Mind Spear without it being detected by an Absolute like Bel.

“You’re a genius.” Bel grinned, baring his canines. “Alright then.”

Bel pulled the leg he had been using back in and then slammed his heel into the ground like it was an ax, destroying all the numerous Mind Spears around him.

“I’ll blow up your head,”Bel declared, and launched a flurry of jabs. Masses of aura flew toward Selim.

Selim eyes were sparkling. The fatigue had disappeared from his face.

‘I can nullify those attacks,’ he thought, readying his spear to match Bel’s fists.

But then, Selim was astonished to discover that he couldn’t move his spear at all. It was as if it had been glued in place. When he focused his mana into his eyes, he saw foreign energy clinging to his spear.

-I know a thing or two about precise aura control, too.

A split second later, Selim had already mustered his aura to break apart the bindings, but the momentary delay gave him less time to counterattack. In a battle between warriors as strong as Selim and Bel, a moment’s hesitation could cost them their lives. Selim was in trouble.

As Selim was preparing his counterattack, he heard flesh being cleaved apart. His head tilted in confusion. Although Bel was using aura, such a sound wasn’t normally heard when one was struck with a punch.

“...Please take command of our forces, Your Highness. I’ll deal with him.”

Still, he couldn’t abandon these people and run off on his own.

“Your Highness!” Tremblin shouted. “Wake up! Your life isn’t yours alone! The lives of everyone in Avalon depend on your every action!”

“D-Duke Tremblin...”

“Please, go!”

It didn’t take long for Tremblin’s voice to be muffled by his mighty aura.

“...Shit.” Selim reluctantly turned his back on the duke.

Tremblin’s knights had already thrown themselves back into battle against the Martial Knights with no regard for their lives.

“Stop him! Don’t let the Prince of Avalon run away!”

“No! You’ll have to go through us first!”

The bloody battlefield erupted with renewed violence. The Black Knights couldn’t take it anymore and were about to join in on the battle.

“Retreat!” Selim ordered. “Don’t let our people’s sacrifices be in vain. The Black Knights and I... will retreat to Arcadia.”

In contrast to the storm of aura raging over the battle, it was suffocatingly silent around Selim and the Black Knights. The Black Knights bit their lips in frustration, but their lord’s command was absolute in war. Even if they didn’t like it, they had to obey his orders.

“Yes... Your Highness.”

Selim glanced back at the battle. Maybe because Tremblin was using his true mana, the fight didn’t seem to be one-sided anymore.

‘I’m going to wait for you, so please come back, no matter what...’ Selim thought.

It didn’t matter if the fight cost Tremblin his mana hall. As long as Tremblin was alive, Selim would find a way to help him recover.

* * *

“Before we get to it, let me tell you an important fact.” Grand Duke Lucifer licked his lip with his bloody red tongue, his eyes gleaming wickedly.

“An important fact?” Kireua was ready to initiate his attack but Lucifer’s words made him pause.

“You know that each of the Seven Evil Sins possesses a different ability.”

Kireua was aware. In fact, he already had a lot of experience with using Greed’s abilities.

“So?”

“Do you know what the Wrath’s abilities are?”

“...I’ll have to find out.” Kireua gathered more mana, knowing that there was more harm than benefit in talking to a person like Lucifer.

“Well, let me explain. It’s—”

Lucifer fell silent and blankly stared at the sword protruding from his chest. Kireua had left an image of himself to fool Lucifer and used the Shadow Mobilization Technique Shadow to get behind the Grand Duke, allowing him to run his sword straight through Lucifer’s chest.

“You’re awfully talkative for a grand duke,” Kireua spat, annoyed.