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Side Story Chapter 22

-Bweh. It tastes bitter.

Kireua frowned slightly. ‘You don’t have a mouth.’

-Nope! I have one! Ah~!

Coal opened its small mouth wide. It really did have one hidden underneath the fur, Kireua could see. It even had teeth.

‘…The more I get to know this guy, the more I’m confused.’ Kireua smacked his lips quietly and looked at the spear in his hand. When he focused his mana in his eyes, he could see through the inside of the spear and observe its mana flow. The second thing that Kireua had found out about Coal’s ability was that it could swallow both energy and objects. On top of that, Coal was not only able to release anything that it swallowed but also sustain the power in the form of an object. In other words…

“…The ability to turn even an ordinary longsword into an exceptional one,” Kireua murmured.

It really was cheating. The authority Kireua received didn’t just turn stuff black; the authority could be used to enhance the attributes of mana, which turned it black in the process.

‘Seriously, who is Coal? I’ve never seen nor heard of anything like this,’ Kireua wondered.

“What is your plan?” Selim asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Selim and Kireua were on opposite sides of the ravine, so they were far from each other. However, Selim’s voice was clear as if he was whispering to Kireua from right beside him.

‘...He’s more of a monster than I thought!’ Kireua exclaimed.

-Kireua can do that too!

‘Huh?’

-Gimme more yummy food! Then you can do it!

‘…You and your gluttony… Wait.’

Something flashed across Kireua’s mind. The Angel Spirit and the Demon Spirit were dead, and their realms had been annihilated along with the demon kings and archangels. The sources of their powers had ended up in the Human Realm and turned into the abilities named authorities. It was the same for the power of sin, which was essential in becoming a demon king.

‘…It’s not you, right?’ Kireua asked.

-I dunno anything!

‘Mmm…’

“We came all the way out here and went through all that, so don’t tell me you don’t have any plan,” Selim said, demanding Kireua’s attention again.

“I have one, so stop rushing me.”

“By the way, that spear… I hope you’ll explain it later.” Selim looked at the spear in Kireua’s hand pointedly.

“It’s a trade secret, so don’t try to shamelessly steal that information for free. You’re my competitor, you know.”

“You don’t even want the throne,” Selim said.

Kireua frowned. “What makes you think that?”

“If you had the slightest interest in the throne, you would have returned to the Palace first,” Selim answered.

Although Kireua didn’t want to admit it, Selim was right. In order to become heir to the throne, a prince had to receive support from the imperial faction’s nobles no matter what. In fact, princes needed it more now since a civil war was ongoing.

“They already support me.”

“So what?” Kireua snorted.

“But the nobles can change their minds if you show something worthwhile through this war.”

Kireua flinched and frowned again. “…Is there a reason you’re telling me this now?”

“Well…” Selim smiled faintly under the moonlight. “...It’s no fun to take the throne without a fight.”

“Crazy bastard.” Kireua cursed through his gritted teeth.

-He’s full of himself.

‘What? Coal, I didn’t know you and I could agree on something,’ Kireua said dramatically in his mind. The momentary annoyance he felt at his half-brother’s antics gave way to a chuckle.

“Explain your plan,” Selim told him. “You have my full cooperation.”

“Not now. You need to be patient in order to cook a good steak.” Kireua grinned.

“What do you mean?”

“Their leader died, and then first in line to the throne and what appears to be the Emperor showed up. What do you think their reaction is going to be?” Kireua gestured at the enemies with his chin.

“Mmm…” Selim looked at the rebels. Their chaotic response made it clear that they were utterly baffled.

“More people are going to be shaken. If we consider what His Majesty symbolizes, it’s inevitable that their confusion will compound on itself,” Kireua explained.

Joshua Sanders, the Unrivaled Spear Knight, had gone up against a million soldiers on his own, earning him a legendary status across the entire continent.

“…But we can’t sit around forever. They aren’t fools, so they’ll notice that something is odd.”

Kireua nodded. “We’ll start the second act before they do.”

“Second act…?”

Kireua took a step forward. A pleasant breeze blew toward Kireua as he stood on the cliff, setting his hair fluttering. Everyone in the Empire knew that Kireua wasn’t talented with spears, but there was one thing that the people didn’t know. Although he had fallen into despair due to his lack of talent, Kireua hadn’t given up on spears when he had gone to the Thran Kingdom to study. Mastering the spear wasn’t a dream he could give up on so easily.

For an entire year, Kireua had been beaten up by his teacher, but he had also dedicated himself to spearmanship in the meantime. Once Kireua no longer had lingering feelings left for the spear, he had finally given up on using the weapon. After everything that had happened, Kireua could break away from it...

Kireua’s back muscles flexed in the manner they would when using a long weapon like a spear.

“Magic Spear Arts Level Two…”

Selim\'s eyes widened.

“...Second Form: Raging Gale Swing.” Kireua tightened the grip on his spear and swung it around as if he was a windmill.

A rough and powerful wind whipped the ground into a cloud of dust. The Second Form was about sweeping away everything in one’s way with a single swing from left to right.

When Kireua swung his spear, the wind pressure built into a gale that rocketed toward the enemy camp with an almost murderous glee of its own. Since Coal used its ability on the gale, it manifested as a pitch-black wave.

“R-Runnnnn!”

“Arggghhhh!”

Screams echoed through the sky.

Shaking his head, Kireua sighed. “It’s definitely not easy to do this after so long.”

“...Haven’t you given up on spears?” Selim asked.

“Yes, I have.”

“Then how did you…?”

“I can still use Magic Spear Art up to level three. Just like you, I’m the son of Joshua Sanders.” Kireua shrugged.

Selim gaped blankly at him. Was that even possible? The Magic Spear Arts’ Level 3 techniques were strong enough to defeat all the knights in every kingdom. Kireua had reached that level, but he had still given up on using the spear. Selim felt like he could never have done that if he had been in Kireua’s shoes.

There were two possible reasons Kireua had done this: he had been unable to overcome the wall of the fourth level of the Magic Spear Arts, or…

“…He’s much more talented in swordcraft,” Selim murmured.

“Let’s stop chit chatting. Their camp is absolute mayhem, just like you wished.” Kireua pointed at the enemies.

“Huh…?”

“Do you want to do it? Or shall I do it? I recommend the former. I’m good at pretending to be His Majesty, but they might discover the truth if they hear my voice,” Kireua said.

Selim instantly understood what Kireua meant.

“Kneel! You will be spared if you surrender!” Selim shouted, his mana projecting it to the entire camp.

“I, Selim Sanders, swear on my mana! Anyone who lays down their weapon and surrenders will live!”

Kireua gasped. Radiant blue light spread from Selim, meaning he had actually made an oath on his mana.

“Hey! Are you crazy?! Why would you suddenly pledge on your mana?!” Kireua shouted.

“I have to do at least this much to make it believable. Besides, it’ll shake their resolve even more.”

“If you break your oath, you’ll lose your mana forever. They’re traitors, so they should be punished!”

“We’ll punish them, but not execute them,” Selim shortly replied, resting his spear against his shoulder. “There is no country without its citizens.”

“You’re a romantic. They tried to overthrow this country, but you still call them citizens?”

“Most of them had no choice; they only met the wrong leaders. Holding them accountable isn’t right,” Selim insisted.

“Then what about the leaders you were talking about? Are you also going to let the rebel commanders live?”

Selim smiled coldly. “I said I’ll spare them, not give them immunity.”

“What?” Kireua frowned.

“I’m going to make sure they spend the rest of their lives wishing that they died.”

Just as Kireua had expected, the rebels began to stir, especially the common soldiers.”

“Don’t be fooled! There is no way they would spare us!”

“Pick up your swords, you idiots! Do you want me to cut you down right now?!”

One of the rebels leaders actually cut off a soldier’s head for considering surrender.

“If you don’t want to end up like him, fight till the end! Fight to death!” he ordered.

“Knights! Slay all the cowards that wish to surrender!”

“Yes, sir!”

The rebels responded quicker than Kireua had anticipated.

“I knew it,” he muttered, adjusting his grip on the spear. “They just don’t listen.”

Kireua swung his black spear once again, firing another ebon wind of highly concentrated aura.

“Eeeeeek!”

Even from afar, the rebels could hear Kireua starting his next attack. One of the soldiers in the front couldn’t help but take a step back. Then he lost hold of his sword, and that was the beginning of the end. Fear quickly spread throughout their ranks, sparing no one. While Joshua Sanders was an idol and legend to knights, he was also a god to the foot soldiers.

“Dargo rane Suspen is dead, and your leaders force you to waste your lives! Whoever wishes to surrender, abandon your weapon and flee to the rear; I, Selim Sanders, will take that as accepting my proposal.”

“Arggggghhhhh!”

As if they had been waiting for Selim to say that, the soldiers in the front turned and started to run away.

“You bastards! Come here right now!”

“Kill all those vermin!”

It was mayhem. The rebel soldiers tried to run, but the few rebel knights were running them down.

The murderous intent in Selim’s eyes deepened and then he disappeared.

“Hey! I told you to not move without my signal!” Kireua yelled.

Selim darted toward the rebel camp like a loosed arrow, leaving a long black streak through the moonlit sky.

“I won’t let you have them.” Kireua shook his head, his leg muscles tensing.

The battle was over. Even at this moment, the rebel soldiers were busy running away, and more of them were going to join in on the exodus over time.

Kireua jumped down the cliff. The war in the south was going to end today.