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Side Story Chapter 271

It was strange. Judging from her voice, Arash was Kireua’s age, but even Kireua didn’t get to spend much time with his father as a child because the Emperor of Avalon had trapped himself in an ice boulder for over a decade.

‘How could she know him? Or… is this a ploy too?’ Kireua’s grip tightened around his sword.

Whatever the truth was, he couldn’t afford to waste any more time because it was clear that the situation outside was becoming more urgent even at this moment.

“…At least one thing is clear,” Kireua murmured. “I now know which one of you has the most power here.”

Kireua vanished.

“It’s just one person!” Duke Voltaire roared. “Knights, draw up your mana!”

The chamber hummed down to its foundations as hundreds of knights spurred their mana halls into action.

It wasn’t about the difference between Voltaire and Kireua’s physical abilities. Voltaire could instinctively tell that he was physically three levels higher than Kireua; however, Kireua’s mysterious powers and stealth technique made this fight unpredictable.

‘He’s an assassin, not a knight.’

Voltaire could feel cold sweat dripping down his back. If a man with such a potent stealth technique were to come after Voltaire’s life at night…

“Get him no matter what it takes! He’s on the ceiling! Focus on the ceiling to locate him!” Voltaire shouted, bringing back the knights to themselves.

Before long, one of the knights shouted, “Over there!”

Kireua let go of the chandelier he had been dangling from upside down like a bat, which would land him behind Arash and the nobles.

“Idiot!” Voltaire grinned. Since it was obvious where Kireua was going to land, it was a piece of cake for Voltaire to attack him. Voltaire unleashed Aura Fire, which only a few Masters could use. “Your head is mine!”

To Voltaire’s surprise, Kireua remained calm. His current goal was to take a hostage, not win the battle.

“Protect the Fox Master!” Voltaire shouted.

The nobles who knew how to wield a sword quickly gathered around Arash—but she wasn’t Kireua’s target.

“What?” Voltaire opened his eyes in shock when Kireua changed directions. Voltaire had been completely focused on the moment Kireua would land, but Kireua was instead coming from the last direction Voltaire expected.

He dropped directly on top of Voltaire.

‘You crazy little shit…!’ Voltaire was not only flustered but also infuriated. How little did Kireua think of Voltaire to choose such an approach?

Their swords clashed, sending sparks of aura flying in all directions. Although the impact was much heavier than Voltaire expected, he could still hold out.

“You’re too arrogant…!” he spat, his mouth curling into a sneer.

However, Voltaire’s celebratory mood was cut short because his Aura Fire suddenly grew weaker.

“What?”

It was the mysterious power that Voltaire had noticed the first time he had met Kireua. Voltaire couldn’t actually see it, but he was able to feel that the power was devouring his Aura Fire like a fine meal.

‘Is that an Evil Sin like the Grand Duke mentioned?’

The reason why Lucifer was able to return to Swallow was because he had acquired one of the Seven Evil Sins. Lucifer had told Voltaire that Kireua had the same kind of power as Lucifer.

‘I don’t have any other choice. I really didn’t want to use this power though…’

Voltaire and Kireua’s swords were still locked together, but Voltaire’s Aura Fire continued to grow weaker. At this rate, Kireua would kill Voltaire without a doubt.

‘…I’ll use my authority…’ Voltaire decided.

However, Kireua took the initiative once again. Despite the advantage he had in their stalemate, Kireua pushed away Voltaire’s sword, which had lost most of the Aura Fire around it, and kicked Voltaire in the stomach, putting some distance between them. By the time Voltaire had recovered, the other nobles were charging at Kireua.

“No! Hold your positions! His target is the Fox Master!” Voltaire screamed.

The knights gasped in surprise as they raced up the stairs, but Kireua was acting against his will. His original plan was to subdue Voltaire and take him hostage. Voltaire was the man in power, so Kireua had no reason to go after the tragic princess. The only reason why Kireua had changed his target was because of Coju’s whispering.

-Over there! I’m going to eat that!

‘…What?’

-It’s going to be yummy! It’s going to be the yummiest in the world! Gimme! I’m gonna eat it! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! I want it! I want it! I want it!

No, it was no longer a whispering. Coju was screaming its gluttonous desires so loudly that Kireua felt like his brain was going to explode. He couldn’t even think straight.

‘…Ugh. Alright, alright, just stop…!’ Kireua groaned.

-Mine! Gimme! Mine! Gimme!

It turned out that Kireua had made the right judgment. The moment Kireua turned toward Arash, his migraine vanished. This was the first time Kireua had reason to be wary of Coju.

“...I knew it,” Arash murmured as she watched it happen.

The knights arrived and stood between Arash and Kireua.

“Get out of my way!”

Kireua swung his sword.

“Agh…!”

“Ahhhh!”

The combination of both Kireua’s mana and the power of Greed was too much for even the experienced knights to withstand. However, Kireua’s expression darkened.

‘This is what His Majesty was worried about.’

It was better not to have power at all if he couldn’t control it. But that was a long-term problem; the priority right now was…

Kireua’s eyes widened as he extended his arm forward.

No one stood between Kireua and Arash any longer. Arash opened her arms as if she had given up all resistance.

“If this is my fate…” she whispered, enigmatic.

Kireua narrowed his eyes. ‘…I’ll find out who you really are even if I have to torture you.’

However, Kireua couldn’t reach Arash. The gates of the Palace were obliterated by a thunderous explosion.

“Kireua!”

“…Anna?” Kireua gave her a blank look because she should have been outside causing chaos.

“I got Ulabis, but something’s wrong with him!”

“Wrong…?”

“The King of Thran ingested a lethal poison,” Arash explained. “He’s going to die soon.”

Kireua turned to her with eyes that could kill.

Arash pulled out a small bottle and shook it in front of him. “This is the antidote.”

Kireua scowled. “…Are you trying to make a deal with me or something?”

“No, I’m not.” Arash dropped the bottle.

Kireua could only stare in horror, too startled by her action to intervene.

The bottle crashed into the floor, scattering both the fragments and its contents across the ground.

“Don’t bother. It’s already too late.”

Kireua’s eyes turned bloodshot.

“I’ll let you go for now.”

“What? What the fuck are you talking about, Fox Master?” Voltaire demanded.

However, Arash wasn’t fazed.

“Go back and ask your father,” she said.

“…What?”

“How long is he going to watch humans play war? Does he truly think that he made the right choice?”

Arash delivered the next part of the message in secret using her artifact.

-Because of his petty desire for revenge against the Demon Spirit, the Human Realm is collapsing.

“…What?”

That was the last thing Kireua had expected to hear from Arash.

-Why doesn’t he know that there’s only one way to stop the collapse?

“What… in the world…?”

-Your father has to restore everything to the way they were by freeing the Demon Spirit if he truly wishes to save his family and home.

“No! Absolutely not!” Kireua screamed. “The balance is already ruined, so freeing him won’t fix anything! Even if the coexistence of light and darkness is what it takes to sustain the Human Realm, the other side is already…!”

Kireua’s voice slowly died out. Arash was still calm, as if she knew everything, and Coju was suddenly acting in a way Kireua couldn’t understand.

The continent now had people with authorities… All the pieces were falling into place, one by one.

“Wait a minute…” Kireua whispered.