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378. Duke Astroth’s Side Story

The humans who had been fighting against the Evil God were now battling amongst themselves.

Nobody knew the fundamental reason why they were fighting.

For the Royal Guards, it was because they were attacked by some knights, and their superior ordered them to attack the knights.

Of course, it wasn’t rational to attack all knights just because a few attacked the Royal Guards.

However, an order is an order. The Royal Guards formed teams and engaged the knights as trained. The superior who issued the command smiled grimly, but soon wore a bewildered expression. He hurriedly attempted to retract the order, but by that time…

“The Royal Guards have gone mad! I will not forgive this. Fight back!”

The noble shouted, giving the knights a reason to draw their swords against the Royal Guards, who were desperately trying to avoid their attacks.

This too was not a logical command. Thus, an unwanted fight spread like wildfire.

Some nobles from the Swordmaster faction provoked nobles loyal to the king, while the Royal Guards and the Royal Knight Order recklessly attacked the noble factions, and the Holy Knights of the Cross Church were occupied subduing injured soldiers swinging swords at priests.

A near-scream from one of the Holy Knights perfectly summed up the situation.

“Oh Lord! Remember the wicked! Please!”

The Holy Knights would exclaim a sacred call, marking those who had committed evil deeds, allowing them to discern friend from foe. Yet, no marks appeared above the heads of the crazed killers wielding swords at priests.

Moreover, the situation worsened after they killed a priest.

“I… I didn’t do it! Ah, oh no! Priest! Prieest…!”

Even if they were subdued, they would soon nonchalantly stab another priest.

About fifty Holy Knights were engulfed in despair as they witnessed the tide of injured soldiers rushing in from all sides. The priests, unable to even approach the dying people, clutched their heads in anguish.

The hall thickly covered with the black moss, commonly known as the “Death Row Inmate’s blanket,” was gradually transforming into an execution site for innocent humans.

What should I do? Someone please stop this!

Though they couldn’t voice it, everyone secretly thought the same. Prince Lean de Yeriel rushed out in haste.

“Lean! Where are you going? It’s dangerous!”

“This is something I must do! You protect my sister. Minseo, you too. Protecting Lady Leah and my sister is the highest priority.”

“Then take this at least.”

The prince received what Reb threw at him. He said, “Thank you,” and pushed through the chaos of clashing swords. Duke Astroth couldn’t let this opportunity pass since he was now separated from the Swordmaster.

A knight blocked his path and said,

“Leonel. I do not wish to kill you. Come here. Come and fulfill your promise.”

“What if I can’t?”

Irène smirked.

“That option does not exist.”

Duke Astroth, wearing Irène’s face, swung his spear. Lean barely managed to block with his sword but was overpowered and fell.

There was no way he could match that. ─ Thought Lean, as he kicked off the ground and ran.

“Stop!”

An unexpected chase ensued. Lean suddenly recalled his past. Hadn’t he been chased by that woman before…? Ugh!

The situation was worse than then. Lady Irène was pursuing Lean at a tremendous speed, wielding a spear—an excellent weapon for incapacitating fleeing foes.

It seemed she didn’t intend to kill him as she aimed for Lean’s legs. Jumping around to avoid it was reaching its limits, and Lean had no choice but to allow the attack.

[ Necklace – It’s a pretty necklace. ]

However, with a crash! the blue hemispherical shield burst forth. The necklace that Reb had given him blocked the attack. Unfortunately, it was one-time use, so Lean fled hurriedly.

“You have something peculiar.”

Even though the necklace bought him time, Lean was soon caught up again. With battles erupting everywhere, he had no viable escape route.

Ugh. Should I have taken a moment to find Ray and ask for protection?

Lean instinctively sensed he was about to get a hole in his calf. If I’m going to get caught anyway, I might as well turn around and fight! ─ He thought as he tried to slow his steps.

“Keep going!”

As Lean turned around, he suddenly thought of Kasia. Someone was rushing at Lady Irène. Of course, she shouldn’t be here…

“Santian?”

“Right now, it’s Banun.”

Santian Rauno enveloped in silver clear light stood in the way of Lady Irène. He was armed with his bare fists, using a martial art from the unarmed combat style.

“Banun? Hahaha! It’s been a long time. Really long! Yes, Reysia is back, and it wouldn’t be fun if you weren’t here.”

“…”

“But what to do now? It seems Reysia will end up with Leonel again. If you feel wronged, should I fetch some elixir? My wife has made quite a bit. Hahaha!”

“Shut up, beast. If I had known a creature like you was attached to my lord, history would not be this way.”

Lady Irène’s laughter abruptly stopped. She spoke in a growl.

“How dare you speak of history in front of me, you insect. A pathetic loser, even for a spirit.”

Though Lean wasn’t uninterested in the conversation of ancient beings, he ran past them. Stopping the people from killing each other was more urgent. Soon, he shouted as he approached Prince Klian de Tatalia.

“Klian! Forgive me for not being courteous. We must stop the fighting!”

Prince Klian was surrounded by royalist nobles. With the king gone, he was to be king soon. The prince stared at Lean intently.

“First, I need an explanation, Prince Lean de Yeriel. What was that thing that appeared a moment ago? And what did you discuss with it?”

“I’ll say just what is necessary since time is of the essence. The king is the Evil God. And that thing is dividing us.”

“…What’s your evidence?”

If he were a more impatient person, he might have shouted, “Look at the state of things: what evidence do you need?”

But Lean de Yeriel stayed calm. He calmly grasped Princess Chloe’s wrist.

“Princess Chloe de Tatalia is the evidence. Your Highness, I apologize for the behavior on our first meeting, but I have one request. Do you not sometimes act against your wishes?”

Princess Chloe blushed.

“That’s true. But how do you know…?”

“And you likely possess not a single consecrated item. Otherwise, show me the consecrated item.”

“Umm… that’s right too.”

Lean turned to Prince Klian and the nobles.

“The Evil God is instilling itself into those without sacred items, stirring people to commit violence. Especially, anyone wielding that ominous spear is guaranteed to be possessed by the Evil God. Trust me.”

[ Achievement: Meeting Klian de Tatalia – Gained slight favor with all nobles serving the House of Tatalia. Gained slight favor with Klian de Tatalia. ]

Prince Klian blinked his clear eyes as he pondered. He was well aware of how his sister, Chloe Tatalia, had been behaving strangely due to her mental condition.

He just didn’t know the cause. Klian shouted to the nobles.

“From now on, under any circumstance, do not attack anyone! I, Klian de Tatalia, will—”

Lean interrupted.

“And I, Lean de Yeriel, will!”

Ahem. Lean gestured for Prince Klian to finish speaking. He had merely added his declaration onto Klian’s.

Prince Klian continued to shout.

“Those who cause trouble will not be forgiven, and especially those who wield the red spear will face punishment. If someone grabs the spear, bind them immediately. And the Royal Knights and Royal Guards, lay down your weapons at once. Execute!”

“Execute!”

The commands bearing the princes’ names chewed through the trivial orders from the nobles, knights, and Royal Guard superiors.

As more than half of those in the hall were Royal Guards laying down their weapons, silence fell over the hall.

Even those who had been continuing the fight upon not hearing the prince’s words sensed the change in atmosphere and retracted their weapons. Lady Irène looked around with an expression of dismay.

“Oh no. I got distracted by that Banun fellow. This is troublesome.”

At the very least, she was unable to kill enough priests.

She should have caught Reysia and Leonel in the confusion, but Reysia was attached to the Swordmaster, and Leonel had slipped away.

Ugh.

Duke Astroth returned to assess the amount of divine power he possessed. Lady Irène appeared bewildered, while Banun, who was fighting her, let out a sigh.

It wasn’t a sigh of relief. Though it seemed the situation had turned upside down with the fight’s cessation, Banun knew perfectly well that this was not the case.

He was incredibly strong and horrifically cunning.

Banun limped toward the spot where Reysia was.

Seeing her lying there pale-faced stung his heart, but he first offered some advice.

“Lady Reina. It’s my first time meeting you.”

“Huh? You mean me?”

Leah was taken aback and replied.

How could she not be surprised when a boy approached her, calling her the first saint, Lady Reina?

Banun continued nonchalantly.

“Yes. I have something to tell you. Lady Reina, you must activate the Cup of Equanimity at once. Otherwise, Astroth will escape.”

“I… I’m sorry, but I’m not Reina. You’ve got the wrong person. Where’s my mom?”

“Leah. Do as he says. This is likely Banun Rauno.”

“Uh, uh? Really?”

“It’s been a long time, Lady Azura. Thank you for your help. Do you not know how to use the Cup of Equanimity? Is Lady Azura unaware too?”

Reb shrugged. Leah, flustered, asked.

“The name of this cup is the Cup of Equanimity? I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to use it. I tried infusing divine power into it, but it just devoured the divine power without doing anything.”

“You didn’t just try now, did you? It was probably because there was no target. Try again. But not just dribble in the divine power; you must pour in everything you’ve got. And then turn it upside down.”

“Everything?”

“Yes. That’s what the Cup of Equanimity is for.”

The boy seemed to think he was done with his part as he slumped down on the ground beside Reriana, staring at her like a statue.

He had waited for ten thousand years to meet her again.

Yet, just gazing at Reysia like this was enough for him. Leah had many questions but couldn’t bear to interrupt and turned her body away.

‘I was told to pour in all the divine power.’

Leah slowly lifted the brass cup, pouring in her divine power.

She couldn’t help but worry about what would happen if she wasted her divine power without anything happening.

But Leah believed.

This opportunity, obtained at the cost of Reb and his comrades risking their lives, was more important than this measly divine power. The brass cup began glowing and igniting.

– Huh?

How much divine power do I have left? How can I save even a little more? Astroth calculated like a miser, only to be shocked.

The divine power he had painstakingly saved over sixty years since being freed from the ruins of Badobona was rapidly halved, then halved again. Astroth panicked and tried to escape.

“The king! The king has reappeared!”

He materialized in the body of King Caroman de Tatalia, investigating the source of the problem. And then he spat out invectives.

“Γειασου! Αυτός είναι ένας σκύλοξ!!!”

Cursed brass cup!

It was the cup that had imprisoned him in the ruins of Badobona for over two thousand five hundred years.

Astroth cursed as he attempted to escape, but Leah was faster in flipping the cup.

[ Lena consumed {Holy} power. The attribute granted to her is permanently removed. ]

“Akh!!”

The king clutched his head in agony.

The Cup of Equanimity—turning it upside down, an extraordinarily unfair event transpired (from Astroth’s perspective).

A dome settled over the palace.

Much like a cup, it was made of the divine power Leah had poured and the same proportion that had been taken from Astroth.

Neither could exit until one of them was dead.

Killing that replica would not restore the divine power. It would merely have been taken equally.

“Ugh… is there no one…?”

Meanwhile, words Astroth never intended to say escaped from King Caroman de Tatalia’s lips.

As his divine power dwindled, King Caroman began regaining consciousness.

Astroth could no longer trap his mind.

How did it end up like this? ─ Regretting, Astroth stabbed a spear into the king’s belly.

To the outside observer, it appeared as a suicide.

However, the people’s gazes were drawn to the back of the king…

“What, what is that beast?”

Astroth, having just barely consumed the king’s life, revealed his true form.

A 3-meter tall animal with a goat’s head. Its legs were those of a goat, but instead of fluffy fur, it had fish scales, a mane like a horse down its back, and a lizard’s tail.

These were the parts taken from passing animals during the thousands of years he was stuck to a rock.

Yet, the face was human. He had last seen Leonel, a human, thus it appeared that way.

Astroth grated his teeth in fury.

His gray complexion, briefly resembling Lean, shifted between reds… no, the shadows showed that he was feeling shame.

I wanted to be human. Just like Leonel. How lovable was he, coming to give me nuts while being afraid of me? He was different from the other animals that scampered away. At that moment, I thought I had to become ‘like’ him. Thus, I became one with him, and Leonel promised me he would give me everything.

Astroth raised his head.

Humans were pointing fingers at him, whispering among themselves. Many brandished knives, revealing hostility. And behind them stood Lean de Yeriel.

Ah, Leonel.

You’ve got a broad smile. You must think you’ve overcome me now.

But I too was not idling away for the ten thousand years you were gone. I’ve created something different from you as well.

Whoosh. The spear twirled in his hand. It felt as familiar as part of his body.

Having lived as an emperor, I often thought of you. You were a born swordsman. So, I figured if I learned spear techniques, it might be an amusing reunion when we meet again. Half of it was just to kill time.

But now I understand. It was because I found my own self that was different from you, and I liked it.

So, I declare to you, smiling broadly, that with this ragged body and this one spear, without any magic or divine power,

I will capture you once more.

Clop.

Astroth took a step forward with his goat hoof.

Despite being blocked by around a thousand Royal Guards, fifty Holy Knights, two hundred knights, ninety priests, and two Swordmasters, his steps remained unwavering.

I love you, Leonel.