Side Story Chapter 170

Side Story Chapter 170

‘This is not good,’ Cain thought. His objective assessment of his state was not optimistic. The recent incident had left him with an irrecoverable injury, and then he had overworked himself even before he’d had a chance to recover at all. Even a high-class priest from the Hubalt Empire wouldn’t be able to cure his injury.

‘I haven’t thought about my death yet though.’ Cain smiled bitterly.

Although his death might be unexpected, he wished to be remembered as a subordinate who was helpful to his master, the Emperor of Avalon, until the end. However, Cain could never do that in his current state, so he was left with only one choice.

‘I have to use my true mana.’

Cain decided to use his true mana—his vital force—to deliver his ultimate attack. The difference from ordinary mana was that true mana once used couldn’t be recovered, and once someone had exhausted their true mana, that was the end of them. Despite all that, Cain didn’t give himself time for second thoughts. The Queen Consort, lady of the Imperial Family, was in danger.

A wave of powerful golden aura thrummed into being around Cain with a vigor that belied his mortal condition. His appearance also changed: the capillaries in his eyes burst, turning his eyes bloodshot; from the weakest part of the human body, the changes continued to spread. The veins heated up to extreme temperatures that burned Cain from the inside out. Some of them actually burst just like those in his eyes, resulting in a torrent of blood from every orifice that rapidly drenched his body.

‘I wish I could have met him one last time before I died,’ Cain thought.

The knight’s life flashed before his eyes. Cain’s last wish at that moment wasn’t about dating, marriage, or becoming a better knight; in fact, he didn’t regret any of the choices he had made in his life because he knew he had always given his best. However, Cain felt like he would regret leaving this world before he could pay his respects to his master, even after he was dead.

“I’ll pay my respect in the otherworld,” Cain murmured.

“...No!”

The muffled scream made Cain raise his head. Icarus stood beside the throne watching Cain, her hands clapped over her mouth. Cain had had no idea how his life would change when they’d first met; the woman with whom he had always bickered was now the Emperor of Avalon’s wife.

“...You still achieved your dream, Your Majesty. That makes your life way better than mine.” Cain turned away from the throne and straightened his back.

The Flame Emperor was an outsider, so Cain couldn’t let him do all the heavy lifting. Although Cain could feel people watching him with concern, he ignored them. He was the best knight in the Avalon Empire, the Martial God’s first knight, and the famed Combat Emperor of Igrant.

“I am Cain de Harry.”

His eyes turned golden and Cain took a big step forward, ready to die today.

* * *

-Tshchary. Perchilin. I would like an explanation about what in the world is going on.

Altheon, the silver-haired demon, glared coldly at the two demons who had entered the council chamber alongside a human woman.

Tshchary, the death reaper demon, came forward.

-It’s exactly how you see it. We swore our loyalty to this man.

-Man? Is there something wrong with my eyes?

-Altheon, I’m sure you must have noticed already. See the human’s true nature. He’s the Shining Darkness.

Altheon flinched in surprise.

-What nonsense is that? That human woman is the Shining Darkness?

Urus nearly fell over while he was standing up.

Just then, an surge of aura of unprecedented power drew all of the demons’ attention to the center of the chamber.

-Oh?

-Hey, hey. Did you suddenly go through a metamorphosis or something? What are you, a butterfly?

Urus mocked the human man who now stood under the gaze of the four strongest demons alive. The human’s golden aura filled the entire chamber from floor to ceiling and eventually took the form of fire that burned up the last drops of his vital force. Ulabis, a fellow knight, was the first one to realize what Cain was doing.

“Cain, you... What are you doing...!? Don’t be foolish. That’s your true mana!”

“There are ways to protect her without giving up on your life.”

“No, my life as a knight has already come to an end.” Cain shook his head.

“I see what is going on now.” Joshua nodded in understanding. “Cain, you’re afraid that you’ll have to live as an ordinary person from now on. Is that way you’re willing to throw away your life like this?”

Cain’s expression immediately changed. “...You’re mistaken, Your Majesty.”

“Cain de Harry, I already told you that I haven’t permitted you to die yet.”

“Then what in the world am I supposed to do?” Cain roared.

Joshua was right. Cain was afraid that he would be helpless until he died of old age, unable to be of any help to his master or anyone else.

“Since I own your life, you cannot die without my permission,” Joshua repeated.

“...You’re truly selfish.”

“You know that already, so why bother saying it?”

Cain slowly lowered his sword. “...Please don’t even think about making me into a death knight. I have no intention of becoming a horrible undead like him.”

The light in Arie’s eyes flickered when he suddenly became the center of attention.

-...Hehehe. Do you want me to stab you through the heart, smart-mouth?

Cain nodded thoughtfully. “That would be good. The Manipulator of the Battlefield is qualified enough to take my life.”

-You need your master’s permission first.

It was impossible to tell what was going on inside Joshua’s head at this point.

-...Ah, shit. What fuckery is this? You tie me up using a bizarre power, and then enact some kind of a cliche drama in front of me?! And say what now? The Shining Darkness? What kind of bullshit is that? Just be honest and say that you wanted the Demon Spirit’s power. I know it’s here somewhere.

Urus’s veins bulged as he tried to snap his invisible chains.

-The Demon Spirit...?

Perchilin and Tshchary were surprised.

-Urus.

Altheon tried to stop Urus, to no avail.

-The Shining Darkness is just a human now!

An immense amount of demonic power gathered between Urus’s meter-long horns. The horns were the source of power for devils and got longer and thicker over time. Considering that it took at least a thousand years for a devil’s horns to grow ten centimeters, Urus’s horns spoke volumes about his strength.

However, his horns were snapped in half. It wasn’t done by the human standing right in front of Urus. The invisible chain turned into a razor sharp weapon and chopped them off.

-Impossible...!

The invisible weapons cut off Urus’s arm.

-Wh-When...?

A silver-haired woman appeared in front of Urus like a ghost and examined him with frigid eyes. However, Urus could see the storm of hatred that blazed in her eyes like the sun in the cold of winter.

“You won’t be able to die in peace,” Joshua warned Urus.

Before Urus could respond, Joshua skewered his heart with Longin and forced an extraordinary amount of demonic power into the demon’s heart.

-Arrggghhhhhhhhhh!