This 𝓬ontent is taken from 𝐟𝐫𝗲𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗯𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝗺

Side Story Chapter 103

It was a declaration of war—although objectively, the Hubalt Empire was the one who’d started the war bringing their army to Avalon. However, Joshua’s declaration carried vastly greater weight than the Hubalt Empire’s actions. This was the Emperor of Avalon himself who had formalized the war between the two countries.

“What did you say …? You’re going to go to war with us?” Raphael asked.

“Imperial Knights of Avalon, take up your swords.”

The irresistible pressure in Joshua’s voice made the breath catch in Raphael’s throat.

“Yes, your Majesty!”

Hundreds of the Imperial Knights began to gather their aura at once. Lunsworth, the first of the Knights to leave the arena, trembled in excitement; Selim leveled his spear, his face split by an uncharacteristic smile. Duke Tremblin held one hand behind his back as usual, but he held his head a little higher.

“Bring our enemies to their knees. You’re cleared to execute anyone who fights until the end.” Joshua commanded.

“It will be done!”

The Imperial Knights advanced, forcing the paladins out of the stupor the loss of their divine power had left them in. They raised their swords in kind, gritting their teeth.

“Gabriel!” Raphael roared.

Gabriel immediately held out his hands. “Already on it.”

Long, powerful bursts of energy streamed out from his palms.

“…The Second Authority of Hebrai: Holy Field,” Gabriel quietly intoned.

Gabriel’s light dyed the entire world white.

“Our divine power is back!” 𝑓𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝑚

“Everyone, draw up your power! Sir Gabriel and Sir Raphael are with us.”

“Eliminate the evil demon’s minions!”

Holy Field was the ability to convert all the mana within a certain area into divine power; it was the authority of the Great Angel which only Gabriel could wield.

“We’re similar in numbers! Don’t let the name of the Martial God faze—!”

An abrupt burning sensation in his left hand forced Raphael to stop speaking mid-sentence. He looked down to see his hand rolling on the ground and his thoughts ground to a halt.

“Wh-When…?”

An old man appeared in front of Raphael like a ghost—Duke Tremblin, the Absolute once known as the Sword Emperor.

“Next is your neck,” Tremblin informed him. “You let your mouth run wild without knowing your place… so it’s only right that I cut off your head since that’s where your mouth is glued to.”

Raphael gritted his teeth but didn’t forget to pick up his hand from the floor.

“The Fourth Authority of Labbiel: Resurrection!”

“Oh…? You can do that with a Great Angel’s authority?” Tremblin exclaimed.

Raphael’s hand was neatly reattached as if it had never been cut off at all. It seemed that even his nerves had been instantly reconnected, demonstrated by the way Raphael was able to extend and curl his fingers one by one.

“Hmm, I want a super healing ability too,” Tremblin calmly commented.

“You fucking relic!” Furious, Raphael snatched up every scrap of divine power he could get. “Gabriel! Assist me!”

“…You want me to use the authority of descent on you?” Gabriel asked.

“Look around you. Everyone is in danger at this rate!”

The clatter of metal on metal rattled the area as the paladins and the Imperial Knights crossed swords with each other. Although Gabriel’s Holy Field had restored the paladins’ divine power, they weren’t able to gain the upper hand. Despite hailing from the powerful nation on the continent, they were actually losing.

‘It’s because of the Martial God. His presence alone sends Avalon’s Knights’ morale sky high,’ Raphael instinctively realized. He grew anxious. The Martial God hadn’t participated in the battle yet; if he stepped in…

“We don’t have much time! Hurry!”

“Raphael, you know what descent will do to you, don’t you?” Gabriel said, attempting to dissuade Raphael. “You might lose control of your body, and then—”

“It’s better than getting slaughtered here, so come on!”

After hesitating for a bit, Gabriel came to a decision

“…The Seventh Authority of Hebrai…”

Gabriel’s words were simple, but all the divine power in the area amassed in Gabriel’s hands.

With a giant set of wings sprouting from his back, Gabriel slowly approached Raphael. Even during this moment, the paladins of Hubalt were quickly defeated one by one, thanks to Selim’s and Tremblin’s brilliant performance.

“Hmm…?” The odd sight drew Joshua’s attention for the first time.

“…Great Angel’s Descent.” Gabriel slowly held his hands over Raphael’s head.

Raphael shivered, only the whites of his eyes visible.

And then he stopped.

“Descen—?”

Before Joshua could finish asking his question, Raphael transformed. He became two times—no, three times bigger than before, and his sword and shield grew to match.

-…This is good.

It was hard to believe that the monotonous voice was coming out of a human’s mouth. At this point, all the knights and paladins had stopped fighting to look at Raphael.

Tremblin tilted his head. “I know youngsters are quite liberal about their clothes, but isn’t that too revealing?”

-Sword Emperor, you aren’t a match for me anymore.

Instead of answering, Tremblin launched a strike quicker than the speed of sound.

“Whoa…” Tremlin exclaimed.

The results were the total opposite of his last attack. His saber was blocked by Raphael’s shield and not a single scratch was left on it. Tremblin smiled and changed his posture; things were becoming more interesting.

“Then how about this?” He pulled out the hand he had been holding behind his back and raised his sword higher to demonstrate the Tremblin family’s Secret Technique Number 5.

The tip of the sword deceived the eyes, and the sword’s cry deafened the ears. The sword’s movements were very simple, and yet as heavy as a mountain. No one under the sky would be able to stop this strike.

“Be careful.” Tremblin moved his sword slowly, smiling. “It's based on an epiphany I recently had, so even I can’t fathom the magnitude of its power.”

Despite what Raphael had said earlier, the Paladin was quick to raise his shield.

-You arrogant old man…

‘When will he attack?’

Tremblin’s sword reached a certain point and then stopped for a long, tense moment. It wasn’t an illusion—Raphael verified that the Sword Emperor hadn’t moved an inch, but the moment he realized that, the tip of Tremblin’s sword moved almost imperceptibly.

‘…It’s coming!’

With every one of Raphael’s senses transcending the level of a human, he could tell that the imminent sword strike was the real one.

“What are you doing?” Tremblin asked. “Look down.”

Frowning, Raphael ignored Tremblin. He knew as well as anyone what would happen if he got distracted in a fight against such an incredibly powerful individual.

“…This is a little saddening. I may have lived my life as I pleased, but I never resorted to cowardly tricks,” Trembling muttered.

-What the hell are you talking about—?

A loud crack! instantly shut Raphael’s mouth.

-A-Aegis cracked…? (f)reewebnovel.com

Thin cracks were spreading across Aegis, the divine relic known as the shield of a god.

-This doesn’t make sense!

It was hailed as the best shield of the Angel Realm for a reason. Even the demons, a race known for their exceptional martial prowess, had never been able to leave a single scratch on it.

“It’s very sturdy. I was trying to cut off your hand again, but the best I could do was leave thin cracks…” Tremblin shook his head.

Raphael’s teeth were clenched in fury. As time passed, Raphael’s ego was merging with the Great Angel’s.

-How dare you ridicule a Great Angel!

“Urgh…!”

“What k-kind of voice is that…?”

“M-My ears! Arghhh!”

The less-skilled knights covered their ears, but that wasn’t because they were Raphael’s enemies—even the paladins of Hubalt were clutching their heads in pain.

Tremblin frowned slightly. “Is he disrupting people’s mana using his voice?”

The former duke prepared to attack once again. He was actually at quite a loss. It had been over one hundred years since he had begun practicing swordsmanship, and the attack he’d just delivered contained the essence of everything he’d learned so far. Nevertheless, he wasn’t even able to pierce the shield. It was, frankly, humiliating.

“…I’m going all-out now.”

As Tremblin hefted his saber, someone stepped in front of him.

“…Your Majesty?”

“Let me do it,” Joshua said. He held out his hand to Selim, who gave them a blank look. “Selim, let me borrow that spear.”

“Ah…! H-Here it is.”

As Longin had originally belonged to Joshua, holding it in his hand brought a smile to his face.

“It’s been a while.”

-No one will be able to pierce through Aegis!

Raphael roared like a lion. The shield in his hand was completely restored, erasing the thin cracks on its surface.

“There’s this old story about a spear that can pierce through anything and a shield that can block everything. It’s said that Aegis is the best shield in the Angel Realm; will it be able to block my spear? Hmm…” Joshua smiled. “…Let’s test that out, shall we?”

-Do you think you’re the Demon Spirit just because you had his soul inside you?!

“To be exact, I’m the god killer that annihilated that Demon Spirit,” Joshua corrected Raphael.

-Ridiculous! Truly ridiculous! Come, then—I’ll personally show how powerless you are before me!

Joshua’s back muscles bulged as he raised Longin straight. “…I enjoyed watching the pure essence of your sword techniques, Duke Tremblin.”

Tremblin's eyes widened for a moment, but his surprise was quickly replaced by a small smile. “I knew you would see it.”

“I’m about to try something similar, so could I have your evaluation on this?”

“What do you mean? That’s prepos—”

Before Tremblin could finish speaking, the tip of Joshua’s spear moved ever so slightly.

-You lowly—!

Raphael didn’t get to finish speaking either. His lips trembled. Aegis made a sound he’d never heard… and then the entire shield fell to the ground in pieces, along with his severed hand.