Side Story Chapter 6

“Wh-What do you mean that it’s unclear if he’s alive?!” Kireua yelled, shocked.

“The last place I found traces of His Majesty was in the ruins of Amon. I think you two would know what that indicates better than me.”

The ruins of Amon was the place where Lugia, Joshua Sanders’s invincible divine spear, had been found, and where the great Demon Spirit’s soul was now sealed.

“Di-Did His Majesty’s power go berserk again?” Kireua asked with a trembling voice.

Right now, there was no god in this world because the Angel Realm and the Demon Realm had collapsed. Only their abilities were left in Igrant; they were known as authorities now.

In the past, only the people like a Class 6 mage or a Master could become a king or an emperor, but anymore. Only the “real ones,” those that had gone through awakening, could attain positions of power. Authorities were actually the main cause of the power creep, and the current biggest problem in the continent.

The most common example was the Nine Stars, which was the title given to the strongest people on the continent. After authorities started to manifest in people, the existing power balance was broken. New, strong fighters appeared day after day, so only two people had kept the title of Nine Stars for over ten years. They were Cain, the First Knight, and Ulabis, the Knight of Red Flame.

“Answer me, Sir Cain!”

“This is purely speculation, but...” Cain trailed off and then reluctantly continued, “As you already know, His Majesty sealed the soulof the Demon Spirit inside himself because the Demon Spirit tried to take Lady Sersiarin’s body after the Dark God’s death.”

“Of course I know that. That is why he continued to train himself in spite of the fact that he was unmatched. I’ve never seen him skipping his training ever since he became the Emperor,” Charles said.

Cain nodded. “Yes, it was to avoid the chance of getting overwhelmed by a god’s power. His Majesty isn’t really different from us. He\'s also a human with limbs and a body made of flesh and blood.”

A vein bulged on Kireua’s head. What in the world this man was talking about? If Cain wasn’t His Majesty’s knight, Kireua would have punched him already.

“...What are you trying to say right now? His Majesty has passed away... Is that what you want to say?”

“I’m just discussing the possibility,” Cain said calmly.

“So what is that fucking possibility?!” Kireua shouted, his voice unconsciously rising. Kireua himself couldn’t understand why he was reacting like this. Cain hadn’t done anything wrong, and the time Kireua had spent with His Majesty was a faint memory.

‘Have I been missing you this much?’?Kireua wondered.

“...Haha.” Cain quietly chuckled. “You’re indeed your father’s son.”

“...What?”

“Do you know what you look like right now?” Cain asked.

Kireua frowned. “What are you saying...?”

“I know I’m being rude, but you look like a child who lost his dear toy.”

Kireua’s face reddened in humiliation. “Urgh...!”

“Oops—don’t get me wrong.” Cain waved his hands apologetically. “Anyone would have reacted the same if their life-long goal disappeared suddenly.”

Was His Majesty Kireua’s goal? Kireua actually couldn’t say no right now, because His Majesty—no, his father—was the person Kireua wanted to take after. His idol. Kireua took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He needed to calm down; he shouldn’t continue to act pathetic. All else aside, his mother was in the room too.

“I’m sorry. I let my anger get the best of me,” Kireua apologized.

“It’s okay. I understand. Anyhow, I mentioned the race earlier, right?”



Kireua’s eyes widened. When Cain mentioned the ruin of Amon, a memory crossed Kireua’s mind.

“Yes.” Cain nodded. “It’s His Majesty’s spear, Lugia—no, Longin.”

“I knew it...!”

“Firstly, I owe you an apology, Your HIghness.” Cain bowed to Kireua.

“Pardon? What do you mean...?”

“On my way over here, I myself delivered Longin to His Highness the First Prince,” Cain calmly informed him.

Kireua flinched. He understood Cain’s reasons, but hearing it made him feel mixed emotions.

“He was dealing with the rebel army in the north all on his own, and I had to head to the southern region. So I wanted to help him at least that much,” Cain explained.

“I-It’s okay. I can’t use that spear anyway. He... is also the only member of the Imperial Family who can use a spear.”

“I can’t really make up for it, but I’ll give you this, Your Highness.”

Charles stuck her head out from the bed, intrigued.

“Huh?” she muttered. “That ring is...”

“I knew you would recognize it. It’s His Majesty’s Deon Ring.” Cain smiled.

A Deon Ring was an invaluable artifact which upon the infusion of the user’s mana transformed into magic armor that could defend one even from an aura attack. The Emperor’s Deon Ring was another trademark of the Hero King and the most powerful Deon Ring in the world right now.

“But...” Cain clenched his fist, hiding the Deon Ring. “...I’ll give you this only after you meet my expectations, Your Highness.”

“E-Expectations?”

“Keep in mind that His Highness the First Prince also went through this process, so please don’t be offended,” Cain said with a grin.

Even after ten years, Cain knew Kireua too well. While His Majesty was Kireua’s idol and life’s goal—the one thing he wanted to achieve, whatever it took—the First Prince was Kireua’s archenemy. Kireua despised the very idea of losing to him.

“Shall we go out first? Her Majesty is feeling unwell; I think we interrupted her rest for too long.”

“I’m fine...” Charles mumbled.

“I’m not.” Cain firmly shook his head. “Besides, I need to talk to His Highness in private.”

* * *

The tall walls of Fortress Raymond spanned the gap between two steep cliffs, protecting the sturdy stone buildings inside the fortress from the front and back.

After some time, the two men came to a halt in a vacant lot behind the main building.

“This place will do.”

Kireua eyed Cain doubtfully.

Cain turned and looked at Kireua. “Your Highness, why don’t you and I have a spar?”

Kireua couldn’t believe his ears. Cain de Harry was the first knight of the Hero King, Joshua Sanders, and currently the strongest of the Nine Stars.

“A sp-spar?”

“Knights say hello with their swords, don’t they? Let’s bring back our old memories.” Cain smiled.

“But it’s still too sudden...”

“Well, there is another reason. As you already know, no one is wiser than Lady Sersiarin.”

“Of course! She’s Lady Sersiarin!” Kireua proudly exclaimed.

Kireua’s aunt had been born with a disability, so she had lived as a blind for almost twenty years. Perhaps it had given her a lot of time to contemplate, because her insight surpassed the level of an ordinary person.

“That very Lady Sersiarin sent me to the south in spite of the fact that the southern rebel army is considered the weakest,” Cain said.

There was no way Kireua wouldn’t understand what Cain meant. Despite everything, Sersiarin believed the southern region was in the most danger so she had sent Cain here.

“...It seems I wasn’t really reliable. Well, it’s understandable since I just returned to the Empire...”

“Only the citizens of the Avalon Empire manifested the authorities of the Four Guardians, but it only happened relatively recently. Do you know why?” Cain asked.

“Pardon...?”

“Right before the fall of the Angel and Demon Realms, the gods disappeared. They left their bodies in the realm and descended to the Human Realm as souls,” Cain explained.

Kireua was already quite familiar with the story. It happened a year before Kireua had been born, meaning it was twenty years ago.

“And although the divine creatures were just the god’s pets, the creatures filled in for the gods’ duties.”

“It’s my first time hearing about this,” Kireua said.

“In the end, the divine creatures ate up the gods’ bodies in the Angel and Demon Realms and got stronger. Some of them also acquired authorities that were as strong as the gods’”

“And the Four Guardians are among them?”

“Yes; among all of the divine creatures they devoured the most flesh of gods.”

However, the divine creatures couldn’t really do anything about the collapsing realms even after they had taken the gods’ roles, so only their authorities were left in the Human Realm. The power inflation on the continent was inevitable. There were two groups of people now: the people who cultivated themselves, and the people who could use god-like abilities. Awakening wasn’t the first step to becoming one of the Nine Stars, it was the bare-minimum requirement.

“Your Highness, it shouldn’t ever happen... but if something did actually happen to His Majesty, I have to think about the future,” Cain said, his face turning grim.

Kireua raised an eyebrow. When Cain kept saying such stuff, Kireua couldn’t help feeling furious.

“Stop saying that something could have happened to His Majesty!” Kireua shouted. “Sir Cain, you’ve said yourself that it’s just a possibility and the chance is very low!”

“I know that merely having such thoughts is lese-majeste, but the Avalon Empire has suffered from too many civil wars for too long. It’s really not an exaggeration to say that this country was built through a civil war,” Cain calmly replied.

Kireua looked straight into Cain’s eyes. “Then I’ll end this civil war, no matter what it takes! Even if His Majesty can’t return in time, I can fill in his shoes, so stop saying that something could have happened to His Majesty.”

“We’re out of time, but I love this country. Therefore, I can’t sit by any further and watch this civil war or the meaningless power struggles continue for such a sickeningly long time.”

Overwhelming murderous intent rolled off of Cain, making Kireua freeze.

“Sir Cain...?” Kireua mumbled.

“Imperial family members aren’t exceptions since most power struggles started from them,” Cain said.

“I-I’m different,” Kireua stuttered. “Just like my mother said, I have no intention—”

“So I’ll see that for myself,” Cain interrupted. His sword rang ominously, cutting off Kireua before he had the chance to answer. Cain’s sword was an ordinary sword, similar to Kireua’s, but Cain demonstrated that a weapon was just a tool.

“If you don’t feel up to it, tell me in advance. Well... His Highness the First Prince does take after His Majesty more in many ways. Above all, he uses a spear just like His Majesty.” Cain grinned.

“Eeekk...!” Kireua’s face reddened, and he drew his sword without hesitation.

“Yes, that’s good. This is what I would expect from Joshua Sanders’s son.”

“...It won’t be easy, Sir Cain.” Kireua frowned.

Cain’s smile deepened. “I’m really looking forward to seeing what you have learned from the Knight of Red Flame in the Thran Kingdom.”

The air around Cain shivered like a calm ocean wave colliding with a raging typhoon as he let loose his energy.

“I am Cain de Harry, former Knight-Commander of the Imperial Knights and Duke of the Avalon Empire. Though I may be overstepping my bounds, I shall now assess which one of you two princes is more suited to inherit the throne.”