Side Story Chapter 313

Side Story Chapter 313

“Mmm...”

When Joshua finally broke out of the ice boulder, he clenched and unclenched his fists and stretched. He was in good condition—so good that it was hard to believe his body had been inside a block of ice for the past decades.

“...I have a chance of winning this fight.”

-Be careful. Bel is the last person you can take lightly.

Arash, the Angel Spirit’s Fragment now within Joshua, cautioned him.

“...I guess so. Even I never thought I would meet someone who’s as skilled as me.”

-What do you mean? There is and will never be anyone like you.

Joshua couldn’t understand what Arash was saying given that she’d just warned him about Bel.

-Can’t you tell what Bel’s true identity is by now?

Pondering for a moment, Joshua closed his eyes and focused on sensing the energy in the palace. After some time, Joshua’s eyes slowly widened.

“...Why can I detect my energy from Bel?”

-It’s because he’s your Fragment.

Bel’s overwhelming strength, his thirst for a higher level of martial arts, his slightly terrifying obsession with Joshua... Everything made sense to Joshua now.

-Are you shocked?

Not many people in the world would actually fight themselves, but it didn’t take long for Arash to realize that she was dead wrong.

“...Things always end like this. Maybe it’s for the better,” Joshua muttered.

-Pardon? What in the world do you mean...?

“I’ve already experienced something similar. Besides, I’m much more comfortable fighting an opponent that I know than one I know nothing about.” Joshua shrugged.

Joshua remembered that after losing Aden von Agnus and Marcus ben Britten, the Demon Spirit had chosen to use the body of Joshua’s doppelganger.

“I’m used to this kind of fight.”

On top of that, Joshua had been reflecting on his last fight against the Demon Spirit inside the ice boulder for decades.

“Hey, buddy.”

Joshua turned toward the voice and saw Theta, the Tower Master, looking back. Theta’s weariness was clear to see.

“Since there aren’t many people around, I can drop the formalities, right? I went through a lot of trouble to bring you here.”

Joshua smiled faintly. “Avalon and I will never forget what the Magic Tower did for us.”

“You can repay us by getting rid of Bel, that fucking shit. If you do that, the Magic Tower is more than willing to provide more deluxe service.” Theta grinned, pointing at the skies to the west, which were decorated by the spells cast by the Magic Tower’s mages.

“Joshua Sanders, Arash is still alive within you, isn’t she?” Anna came forward after quickly regaining her composure. “She’s a poor kid. Please take good care of her.”

“You’ve grown up a lot.”

“Huh?” Anna blankly blurted.

Joshua gave her a mischievous look “I can’t believe you’re the same girl who always ran for her life whenever she caught a glimpse of me.”

Kireua’s eyes widened. “W-Wait! What are you doing?!” he shouted.

“I want Joshua Sanders to fight me with his full power. I need an indisputable victory to achieve my goal. ”

A being now existed in two forms, a body and a soul. In order to make that being complete again, any unnecessary personalities had to be gone, so Bel had to bring Joshua down to his knees by breaking his current body and mind. That was the only way for him to be dominant when they merged.

“Don’t do it, you son of a bitch!” Kireua screamed.

Bel simply raised his foot as if he couldn’t hear Kireua. The moment he dropped his heel, Selim’s fragile human skull would be crushed like an egg.

But then things took a turn that no one expected.

“...Why didn’t you dodge it?”

“If it’s you, I can tolerate it,” Bel casually answered despite the dagger sticking out of him.

Isaac’s face darkened. “Are you... insulting me?”

“Did it sound that way? I meant what I said.”

Isaac’s head filled with despair. It felt like she would never be able to escape the fence that her late father put around her. Her grip on the dagger trembled.

“Die, you fucking bastard!”

Someone else jumped into the fight, swinging their sword. Unlike before, Bel lifted his finger to block the sword.

“Carmen von Agnus...?” Kireua couldn’t pull himself together.

Bel firmly gripped her sword, preventing her from moving.

“Oh, yeah,” he mumbled. “You’re still here.”

“I’ll— I’ll kill you no matter what it takes!”

“You think you can?” Bel grinned as he mobilized his spear that had been floating around in the air on its own. “I’ll put an end to both of your bitter, pathetic lives.”

The spear spun three times and pierced Carmen through the chest.

“...Ach!”

“Carmen von Agnus!” Kireua, dismayed, got up and ran toward her.

Even though Carmen von Agnus led the rebels during the last civil war, she was no stranger. Kireua could not let her die like this. It felt like his arms and legs weren’t attached to his body because he could barely move. Nevertheless, he desperately kept on running. He struggled onward, slowly but surely.

But then someone landed on the ground.

“...That’s enough now. Leave it to me.”

Kireua’s head went blank when he recognized the back of the man in front of him—the most reliable man in the world.

Kireua’s lip quivered.

“...Your Majesty?”

“You’ve raised quite a commotion.”

Joshua’s voice made everyone’s eyes fly open.

“You’re here.” Bel threw away the two women in his hands.

Joshua’s gaze grew frigid. “...Let’s start the final chapter of our fates, my accursed karma.”