At that point, the memory proceeded to become a bit fragmented.
Having been swallowed by the Demon King of Destruction, Agaroth did not die immediately. Instead, he wandered through an abyss that seemed to have no end and continued to slice apart the overflowing torrent of dark power and colors.
In the face of such destruction that could render all efforts at resistance meaningless, gods and humans were rendered equal. That was just how things were. However, Agaroth managed to survive within Destruction for a very long time. Even with the dark power trying to drive him crazy, he managed to retain his sanity. He refused to forget who he was.
Many of the voices within him had already disappeared, but a few could still be heard coming from very far away. Those were the voices of the believers devoted to Agaroth.
Along with these voices, Agaroth also thought of the believers who had already perished for him. His long-time friend whom Agaroth hadn’t even been able to see in his final moments. The evil witch who had died after he broke her neck with these very hands. All of the comrades who had fought with him in one long war after another and always emerged victorious. And all of his other bonds, too.
Then there was himself.
As the fragmented memory continued to play, Agaroth was gradually dying. He wandered through the endless abyss, swinging his sword again and again and again.
His last memory was that of embedding his Divine Sword down in an empty place.
He had forced his body to walk all this way, but in the end, it finally gave in. He held himself up on the Divine Sword that he had been using as a cane—
‘He died,’ Eugene realized as his eyes opened up.
He stared down at the Divine Sword that he was holding out in front of him. The Divine Sword he was currently wielding looked very shabby compared to the sword he had just been looking at — Agaroth’s Divine Sword.
‘But more than that…,’ Eugene could not stop his face from twisting into a scowl.
His displeasure came from the fact that, while it was fortunate he had been able to recall Agaroth’s memory, the memory wasn’t complete. He hadn’t even been able to draw upon all of Agaroth’s memories, only remembering the memory from Agaroth’s literal last moments.
His war with the Nur, the descent of the Demon King of Destruction, and his death.
“...,” Eugene frowned silently.
Despite his success, it was only natural that Eugene was not happy recalling Agaroth’s memory. After all, within that memory, he had embodied Agaroth.
All of the emotions that Agaroth felt and the death of his believers, all of that had left an undeniable emotional residue on Eugene. Especially at the end, when Agaroth’s Saint had died, and the emotions that Agaroth had felt at that moment.
“I at least know this much,” Eugene muttered with a click of his tongue as he lowered his Divine Sword. “I’m different from Agaroth.”
Eugene’s closest past life was as Hamel. Influenced by the environment, education, experience, and such that he had gone through from when he was reborn as a baby to the present day, Eugene’s personality wasn’t necessarily the exact same as when he was Hamel. However, despite that, the current ‘Eugene Lionheart’ couldn’t also be said to be a completely different person from ‘Hamel Dynas.’
However, in Agaroth’s case, Eugene couldn’t help but feel various incongruities with the God of War’s memory.
What would Eugene have done in that situation? Eugene felt that he probably wouldn’t even have chosen to fight with the Demon King of Destruction. If possible, he would have tried to retreat and make plans for the future, or — well — if someone did have to be a sacrifice to stop it, then….
‘I feel like I would have chosen to stay there on my own,’ Eugene decided.
He didn’t think he would have ordered his believers, who were begging him to run away, into a merciless advance. In fact, there hadn’t really been a need for that.
In the battle against the Demon King of Destruction — although that couldn’t really have been called a battle — Agaroth’s believers had been of no help when confronting the Demon King of Destruction. To put it harshly, their deaths had been more like a ritual sacrifice meant to accompany Agaroth in death.
So why had Agaroth made such a decision? Even considering the era that they were in, Agaroth’s identity as a human, and the fact that he had ascended humanity to be a god… Eugene still couldn’t fully understand Agaroth’s choice.
Though in the first place, it would be ridiculous and arrogant of him to try and understand the mindset of a person from not just tens or hundreds of years but thousands of years ago.
‘I also don’t understand why he kept that Saint by his side until the very end,’ Eugene thought with a frown.
The Twilight Witch who became the Saint of the God of War. She might not have been a black wizard, but she wasn’t much different from one. She had used a kingdom as a testing ground for her magic, and in the end, she attempted to become the God of Evil by exterminating all of the kingdom’s citizens. In other words, the Saint had done something similar to what Edmond had attempted when he tried to become a greater Demon King through his ritual.
If it were Eugene, he would never have allowed such an insane person to live. No matter how capable they might be, he would have definitely killed them. He wouldn’t have kept them by his side even if they swore eternal loyalty to him.
But what about Agaroth? He had accepted that witch as his servant and had kept her right by his side. It wasn’t like he didn’t keep an eye on her, but he still left that witch with a relatively free rein, even hoping that she might one day pull her tricks on him.
“...,” Eugene tried to think why Agaroth had done so.
And in her final moments, that woman had died, not as a witch, but as a Saint. Even though she had had several opportunities to betray Agaroth along the way, she still ended up serving Agaroth faithfully.
Eugene just couldn’t understand all of that. This was partly because Agaroth’s memories weren’t complete and partly because their personalities as a whole were different.
Even after seeing Agaroth’s memory, questions still remained.
In the Darkroom under the Lionheart manor, Eugene had seen a vision of a man walking through a wilderness filled with corpses, his shoulders slumped in despair.
That figure should have been Agaroth, but there was no point at which the vision and Agaroth’s memories overlapped. In his last moments, Agaroth hadn’t despaired but had instead felt enraged and hateful. He stood face to face with the Demon King of Destruction, and instead of running away, he stepped forward to meet it. Then, in the end, he was swallowed by the Demon King of Destruction and killed.
‘...Even though he was a god,’ Eugene mused.
Instead of answering his questions, there were parts of Agaroth’s memory that had raised even more doubts. Although it wasn’t very prevalent in Agaroth’s era, it was still possible for humans to become gods. Even though, in that era, believers could still obtain divine power through their faith and were able to perform miracles, there were also professions such as priests and paladins.
At the same time, the distance between the gods and the humans was very close. Agaroth, for example, had enjoyed drinking with his believers and celebrating alongside them with raucous banquets. In other words, this meant that humans were able to hear the voices of their gods whenever they wished.
However, what about in the current era? Even in the case of the God of Light, who possessed the greatest number of believers, he barely ever communicated with his believers on earth, and the same went for the other gods. Looking at the existence of divine power and miracles, the existence of the gods was undeniable, but in the current era, apart from cases like Kristina's, it was impossible for humans to hear the voices of their gods.
‘And it’s not like they had to receive worship to become a god. Like in the case of the Twilight Witch, it was also possible to become an Evil God by becoming an object of fear through causing enough massacres,’ Eugene recalled.
In a certain sense, this meant that the distance between humans and gods, while still clearly defined, hadn’t been all that far apart. However, in the current era, such a thing was absurd to even think about.
For a human to become a god? If that was really possible, then Vermouth would have already become one. There were also those who had achieved famous, historical feats before him. Like the Magic King who had founded Aroth…. Even Molon, who had established Ruhr, could have become a god in that case. As for guys like Edmond, who wished to change their species, they could have aimed to become an Evil God instead of a Demon King.
‘The world itself changed…,’ Eugene suddenly realized.
Agaroth’s era was destroyed by the Demon King of Destruction. Then, a new era began.
And the current era was by no means similar to Agaroth’s era… with differences starting from the very laws that made up the world.
But why?
“...,” Eugene silently pondered the question.
But no matter how much he thought about it, there was no way to know. Since Agaroth had died before the destruction of the era, there was no way to know what had happened after that.
‘Could I remember more if I wanted to?’ Eugene asked himself.
Using the Divine Sword as a medium, Eugene had performed a miracle and recalled a memory that was engraved into his soul. Since he had already succeeded once, it seemed possible that he should be able to recall other memories. Perhaps he could even remember Agaroth’s life from its very beginning….
But he didn’t really feel like doing so. Just recalling the moment of Agaorth’s death had left Eugene feeling strange and uncomfortable, and he felt like his sense of self might be shaken if he tried to recall Agaroth’s entire life.
In the end, Hamel, Eugene, and Agaroth were all separate existences. If he really thought about it, there were many similarities between them, but there were just as many differences as well.
‘Just being aware of my past life was already enough of a pain in the ass, but to think that I have to consider the past life of my past life,’ Eugene grumbled to himself.
Was it possible that any of his entanglements from that era had been reincarnated into the present day? Eugene… didn’t want to think too deeply about that possibility.
“...That bastard,” Eugene cursed as he idly swung the Divine Sword still in his hands.
The dark red light of the sword’s divine power was undoubtedly distinct, but Eugene couldn’t be satisfied with just that.
“He was strong,” Eugene reluctantly admitted.
Even when he was a human, Agaroth had managed to slay Demon Kings, and he had also killed many more Demon Kings after becoming a god.
Eugene tried to piece together some faint memories. Although it would be difficult to create a ranking of the different Demon Kings from the two eras, the Demon Kings of Agaroth’s era were at least more numerous than the Demon Kings of this era.
But even without using any fancy or esoteric techniques, Agaroth had been strong enough to defeat them. Eugene had been able to clearly feel that much, at the very least.
At the moment when he had clashed with the Demon King of Destruction, Agaroth may have been placed into a weakened state by the prolonged war, but even so, his instincts and skills in battle had been as sharp as ever.
Eugene might also have a lot of experience when it came to things like combat and the battlefield, but it was nothing compared to Agaroth’s. After recalling those memories, it felt like a change had occurred in Eugene’s senses.
And it wasn’t a negative change.
At this moment… Eugene couldn’t be sure if he was actually stronger than he had been before, but he was sure that he would be able to fight better than he could before.
‘I won’t gain anything more from going any further out than this,’ Eugene decided.
Instead, he might just get caught up in an unexpected situation. Eugene didn’t really want to risk such a venture, so he quietly put away the Divine Sword.
Then, for a few moments… he stood on top of the frozen sea and stared straight ahead. Although he had a wide-open view, his vision wasn’t very clear. There was a haze out there… that made it hard to see.
Eugene quietly turned around and left.
* * *
Although Eugene had told them to head back in, Sienna and Anise were still standing outside the cave when he returned. After talking with them, Eugene learned that only three hours had passed since he had flown out towards Raguyaran.
Molon was absent. Nur had shown up once again, and Molon had left to kill it, so he would be back in a little while.
“I’m going to have a fight with Molon,” Eugene said with a relaxed expression as if he was talking about going for a walk.
However, Sienna and Anise couldn’t listen to those words with the same sense of calm. Kristina and Anise, who had watched as Eugene was beaten up by Molon last time, were especially horrified as they tried to stop Eugene.
“Hamel, what reason do you even have to fight with Molon?” Sienna demanded. “Molon’s mental state isn’t in a strange state any longer.”
Kristina nodded, “Sir Eugene, I also feel the same way. Does it really matter whether you won or lost last time?”
Similar to Kristina, Sienna also had a worried expression.
She had yet to see Molon’s current power firsthand. However, if the Molon had truly been active for the past three hundred years and, far from being lazy, had spent his days hunting the monster known as Nur… from what she knew of Molon, it was almost scary to imagine what sort of level he must have reached by now.
Of course, Molon’s time here was marked by his madness, so he hadn’t been able to devote himself to his usual ascetic training, but the power Sienna sensed from him was incomparable to that of Molon from three hundred years ago.
“Will you really be fine with losing like that?” Sienna asked worriedly.
“I have no intention of losing,” Eugene stubbornly insisted.
Sienna frowned, “Well, if you use the Moonlight Sword, the Holy Sword, and the Divine Sword, I guess you might be able to win. But Eugene, wouldn’t that bother you? If you’re fighting Molon with those weapons, it would mean that you’re fighting him with the intent to kill, but there’s no way that Molon will fight you in the same manner.”
“I’m not going to use the Moonlight Sword or the Divine Sword,” Eugene said as he pulled the Holy Sword out of his cloak. “The only weapon I will use is the Holy Sword. I won’t use Ignition or Prominence either.”
“...Aren’t you being too arrogant?” Anise muttered. “Hamel, I know just how strong you are. However, compared to when you fought with Molon last time… I don’t think that you will be able to have the upper hand under those conditions.”
Anise’s words were accurate.
Throughout the battles following the Knight March — against the Death Knight, Edmond, Raizakia, and Iris — Eugene had undoubtedly grown stronger with each battle.
However, Eugene’s increased strength came from the changes in his White Flame Formula, along with the combination of Ignition and Prominence. That was also supported by the Moonlight Sword and Divine Sword.
“That would usually be the case,” Eugene conceded.
Eugene was also aware of all of that. In his last match with Molon, Eugene had been completely overwhelmed. Rather than being able to exchange equal blows with Molon, Eugene had been thrown around by Molon’s strength, and he couldn’t even get a complete read on Molon’s moves.
“That’s why I want to test it out,” Eugene said, turning his head to the side as he propped the Holy Sword onto his shoulder. “It feels like… something in me has changed, but I’m not exactly sure about it myself. I can’t really confirm it yet either.”
Having returned as Eugene was speaking, Molon was looking right back at Eugene.
Eugene continued, “I want to confirm what it is by fighting it out with someone, but it’s rare for me to find someone I can really test myself against. It’s even rarer to find people who I can clearly tell are stronger than me.”
“Is that so,” Molon murmured as he wiped away the Nur’s blood from his cheek with the back of his hand.
He stroked his bushy beard for a few moments as he was lost in thought.
“I understand what you mean, Hamel. If you truly want to test yourself… then in this world, apart from me, who else would be able to really put you to the test,” Molon said with a grin and a nod of his head. “Hamel, if that’s what you want, I’m willing to spar with you at any time. After all, that is what I have always wanted, even back then, three hundred years ago. However, for this match… I also have to make a personal request.”
“A request? What is it?” Eugene raised a brow.
To think that Molon would actually ask for something in exchange for a spar. Since no one could ever have imagined Molon saying such words, they were all staring at Molon in surprise. Even while being on the receiving end of such stares, Molon kept up a serious expression that showed no signs of wavering.
“If I win, Hamel, you have to shout ‘I’ve lost’ five times,” Molon demanded.
Eugene was struck dumb, “....”
Molon continued, “You also have to write down, ‘I, Hamel Dynas, lost this match with Molon Ruhr.’”
“...,” Eugene stayed silent.
“And finally, you have to swear that you won’t make up any other excuses for your defeat,” Molon finished with a nod.
Eugene’s lips twitched in anger as he listened to Molon speak. Anise and Sienna, who had been listening in rapt attention as Molon laid out his terms, burst into laughter and started slapping at each other’s arms in amusement.
Eugene growled, “You… you son of a bitch. You really have been holding such a petty grudge, haven’t you?”
Molon blinked innocently, “Hamel, I don’t understand what you mean by that. I have never once been accused of being petty.”
“You… you’ve been keeping a grudge buried within your chest because I said that I would have won if we’d been holding weapons!” Eugene accused.
“Of course not, Hamel,” Molon muttered in denial while attempting to avoid eye contact. “Also, in my opinion, the one being petty is you, not me, Hamel. It was a fair fight, man to man, but who was it that had to go and make up some kind of excuse afterward?”
Molon’s voice was quieter and faster-paced than usual. Such words seemed uncharacteristic of Molon. However, Eugene couldn’t come up with any way to refute his words.
“You….”
Even so, Eugene couldn’t just sit still and continue listening to this, so, with trembling lips, he shouted, “You… you’re stupid! You big idiot!”
Sometimes, when people really couldn’t find an appropriate response to make, they would start making some extremely ugly personal attacks instead.