Sword of Salvation-Chapter 123: - Agreement and Heir (2)

Mariel didn’t immediately return to the inn. He was worried that Julia was already waiting there. So, he wandered aimlessly, wondering if he would be lucky enough to accidentally stumble upon the criminals’ hideout. Mariel also needed to think about the actions he had to take.

He kept walking until the sky was completely enveloped in darkness. From one street to another, from one alley to the next, Mariel continued his steps. However, luck was not on his side. It seemed that he really had to go to another city to find what he was looking for.

Suddenly, Mariel’s instincts screamed. He reflexively ducked, narrowly avoiding a kick from behind. The attacker didn’t stop there—spinning in the air before lunging forward, aiming their sharp claws at Mariel. However, before the claws could reach him, he had already swapped places with a nearby bench. The bench shattered into pieces.

"Ah, Anzu."

Mariel maintained a neutral smile. He had forgotten to pick up Anzu because of the job from Stewart. That neutral smile was necessary so that Anzu wouldn’t suspect he had forgotten. Just looking at the demon’s expression, Mariel could already tell how furious she was. If Anzu realized Mariel had actually forgotten, she would explode in anger.

"So, what made you leave me stranded there all alone?"

As Anzu spoke, she was already standing and had split herself into five identical copies. Their sharp black claws were coated with prana. Mariel wondered if those claws could scratch Celinee’s skin. He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t rule out the possibility that Anzu might be able to do it.

"...This is part of the plan."

"What kind of plan requires me to wait without any notice?"

"I plan to take control of this country directly," Mariel replied with a serious expression. "I deliberately didn’t pick you up right away because there was suspicion that I was allied with demons. Sean seems to have realized that the one who took Julia was a demon."

Anzu didn’t say anything, but she didn’t look convinced by Mariel’s excuse. That much was clear from her actions as she commanded her four clones to attack. They simultaneously shot forward, surrounding Mariel from all four sides. In the next instant, all four lunged at him at once.

Mariel could have easily erased all four of Anzu’s clones, but he was worried that doing so would only make Anzu even angrier. So, he decided to engage them instead. He created two wind swords and blocked every claw strike the clones unleashed. Their coordination was flawless, leaving no openings for Mariel to counterattack.

Meanwhile, the real Anzu was conjuring fireballs in both hands, continuously compressing them until they became incredibly dense. From what Mariel could see, those fireballs would explode upon impact. It was an elegant way of controlling fire. Maybe he could do something similar with wind?

Without minding her clones, Anzu hurled the compressed fireballs toward Mariel. As if understanding their creator’s intent, the four clones immediately scattered. Two consecutive explosions engulfed Mariel. Of course, he remained completely unharmed—his spatial barrier had provided perfect protection.

As the smoke and dust from the explosion cleared, two individuals Mariel didn’t recognize suddenly leaped down from the rooftops, landing on either side of him.

Both were men, each wielding a double-edged sword. One appeared to be in his early thirties, while the other was around twelve or thirteen years old. Their short orange hair was similar in color, though the younger one’s was slightly darker.

"Are you okay?" they asked simultaneously.

Mariel didn’t know who they were, but he understood why they had positioned themselves beside him. They thought he and Anzu were seriously fighting. Worried that he wouldn’t be able to handle Anzu alone, they had decided to help. Humans helping other humans to eliminate demons—it was a natural thing.

"I thought the fact that I haven’t taken a single injury would be enough for an answer."

The two individuals instinctively examined Mariel from head to toe.

"You’re right. You don’t have a single scratch," the young one muttered.

"Does that mean our help isn’t needed?" the older one asked.

Upon hearing that question, Mariel’s eyes flickered toward the four Anzu clones before focusing on the real one. "You two can take care of the original demon," he said. "I’ll handle the clones myself."

The older man and the teenager nodded and immediately dashed toward the real Anzu. None of them paid attention to the panicked townspeople. Mariel didn’t care either. They had already fled to protect themselves, so there was nothing to worry about anymore. The one who should be worried was Anzu. How would she escape this situation?

Not wanting to dwell on that question, Mariel launched himself toward one of Anzu’s clones.

Two other clones immediately moved to intercept Mariel, while the remaining one rushed to help Anzu. At the same time, as Mariel’s wind sword slashed sharply, the targeted clone instantly self-destructed. The two clones behind him did the same. Mariel was suddenly surrounded by three explosions—each more powerful than the previous fireball blasts.

As before, Mariel was completely unscathed. He wasn’t even surprised when the three clones self-destructed. The reason was clear—Anzu wanted to focus on attacking the two men fighting him, so he eliminated the three clones that had been toying with Mariel.

When the smoke and dust from the explosions cleared, Mariel saw that Anzu was now fighting with the help of a total of six clones. Mariel couldn’t tell which one was the real Anzu. From what he sensed, all of them had the same amount of prana. Or... had the real Anzu already disappeared from among them?

Mariel leaped onto the rooftop of a building, observing the battle from above. It was unfortunate that the buildings had been reduced to ruins due to the explosions and their fight. But Mariel didn’t have to worry about that—Stewart would allocate funds to repair everything that had been destroyed.

The black-eyed man was stronger than the brown-eyed teenager. However, the boy, who had a face resembling a girl’s, wasn’t too bad either. Unfortunately, they weren’t on the same level as Anzu. No matter how well they coordinated, the gap in strength was undeniable—especially now that Anzu had multiplied herself into seven copies.

"It looks like Anzu will actually kill them if I don’t do something."

Letting out a long sigh, Mariel jumped from the rooftop and shot straight into the battle. This time, he didn’t bother with unnecessary effort. He immediately used his spirit power, and in an instant, all seven Anzus vanished completely. There was not a single trace left of their existence. Mariel wasn’t surprised to find that his assumption had been correct.

"Are you two okay?" Mariel asked, mimicking the boy’s earlier question. "The demon clones didn’t hurt you, did they?"

"What just happened?" the boy asked, looking confused. "Where did the demon go?"

"...Did you erase them?" the man asked.

"None of the demons we fought were the real one. More importantly, who are you two? You’re not members of Sterminatore. You’re also not ordinary royal soldiers. Are you working for Stewart or Julia?"

"Do you have a close relationship with Prince Stewart?" the boy asked in return.

"You can say that."

"I am Nexsus Alexandria. I am the crown prince of the Kingdom of Esparossa. Can you help us meet with Prince Stewart? We need to see him in secret."

"Your Highness, is it alright to be so open about this?" asked the man, whom Mariel assumed to be Nexsus’ personal bodyguard.

"It’s fine, Gerard. We need help. This man wasn’t lying when he answered my question." Nexsus’ gaze returned to Mariel. "So, can you help us? I wouldn’t mind paying a few dozen gold coins."

"Let me guess. You want Stewart’s help to take back Esparossa from Celtekhna’s hands?"

Mariel’s question shocked both of them.

"How do you know?" Nexsus asked in disbelief. "That information has been suppressed so thoroughly that it shouldn’t have leaked. Even if it did, it wouldn’t be for another month or two. How could you possi—oh! That necklace... Are you a member of Ultores? Did you get that information from them?"

"That doesn’t matter. What’s important is that asking Stewart for help is not the right option. You may have heard, but they just finished a war with Moskvallha Empire. On top of that, Glazzier supports the rule of the Great Kingdom of Celtekhna. No matter what you offer, Stewart won’t help. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t."

Hearing Mariel’s words, Nexsus clenched his teeth and tightened his fists. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, he knew Mariel was right. Coming here had been a waste. At best, Stewart would suggest they hide in a remote village. Or he might offer them refuge near Moskvallha’s border.

"I know someone who can help you."

Mariel’s statement made both men refocus on him.

"You mean Camelot?" Gerard asked. "They were defeated by Celtekhna. How could they possibly help?"

"On this continent, only Camelot, Neiracia, and Maxesonia have the power to aid you. But out of those three, only Camelot can. Maxesonia would rather see you destroyed than saved. Neiracia is too far from Celtekhna—and they’re also under threat of invasion from Urakhna and Perakhsa. Camelot is your only option. You have no other choice."

"Even so, Esparossa has no diplomatic relations with Camelot. I also fear they might take over Esparossa themselves after Celtekhna is defeated—if that’s even possible. As the last heir to the throne, I can’t allow that to happen."

"My name is Mariel Allvar. I have a good relationship with Empress Lasyana, King Maggio, and the new ruler of Moskvallha Empire. If Camelot tries to vassalize Esparossa, I will convince them to help you instead. I’ll even bring Shin into this if necessary. However, my guarantee only stands if you’re willing to tell me everything in detail about what happened."