The group left the other side of Lehainjar with everything in it completely erased. During the fight, Eugene had been worried that the whole dimension might just collapse… but fortunately enough, that didn’t happen.
The other side of Leheinjar had only ever been used as a trash can for the corpses of the Nur for the past three hundred years, as that was the purpose that Vermouth had created it for in the first place. There was no way that that thorough bastard would have made such shoddy work of it that the dimension would collapse from something like a fight.
Although they had now crossed back from the other side, Molon still hadn’t put down his beloved axe. While holding the axe in both hands, Molon was staring blankly at the cleanly sliced-off end of the axe blade.
Seeing Molon standing there, looking so lost in thought, Eugene felt apologetic for some reason and said, “That’s… should I have at least left it partially attached? Maybe that way, you would have been able to reattach it somehow.”
Molon had said that that axe was no different from himself. Now that the tip of the axe had been sliced off, Eugene felt that Molon might be in shock. On top of that, the moment the sliced-off piece was separated from the blade, it had been swept up by the force of the Empty Sword and completely destroyed without leaving behind even a single grain of dust.
“No… it’s fine,” Molon slowly responded. “Even if you had left the piece attached, I don’t think I would have stuck it back on.” Even with his eyes seemingly lost in thought, Molon was able to respond calmly.
And he wasn’t forcing himself to say this either. Although it was true that this was the axe that he had cherished like a second self for the past three hundred years, the fact that it was broken in battle, and in a battle against Hamel at that, gave Molon no reason to feel sorrowful.
Just like how a warrior’s dream was to die on the battlefield without any regrets, the same went for their weapons. Moreover, it wasn’t like it had been completely shattered. Only the tip had been sliced off, hadn’t it? With the axe blade being so immensely large, if only that much portion was lost, continuing to wield it was absolutely no problem.
“Really? Are you sure? Then what’s with your expression?” Eugene asked as he stared suspiciously at Molon with narrowed eyes before sidling over and poking Molon in the side. “Hey, you bastard. First of all, just to be clear, I never asked you to make that bet, okay? Also, I wasn’t the one who set those conditions either. You’re the one who came up with those things. Furthermore, I never asked you to shout that you lost to me, and I had never even thought about making you do so!”
Could Molon really be holding a grudge about the fact that he had to shout five times in a row that he had lost to Eugene? The moment that such a thought popped into Eugene’s head, he immediately decided to set things straight with Molon.
Pap pap pap pap.
As Eugene’s pokes gradually turned into slaps of his palm on Molon’s forearm when Molon remained unresponsive, Molon suddenly turned his head to face Eugene and said, “Hamel.”
Alarmed by Molon’s ferocious visage swinging over to him without any warning, Eugene couldn’t handle the sudden pressure and jumped backward.
Unaware of Eugene’s surprise, Molon continued speaking, “That thing you did at the end.”
“Ah…,” Eugene paused to regain his composure, “Ahem, what about it?”
“I wasn’t able to see your final sword stroke,” Molon admitted. “Before that, your sword was already pretty fast and sharp, but not to the point where I couldn’t see it. However, at the end there, the sword strike that you used to slice through my fifth axe blow definitely surpassed the limits of my eyes.”
Eugene also recalled that peculiar moment. If, at that moment, Eugene had really wanted to, he felt like he could have actually sliced off Molon’s head.
“Just how on earth did you do that?” Molon asked in confusion.
Cases where people suddenly found enlightenment during a battle were rare, but they did exist. People could suddenly transform because of an inspiration brought about by the ensuing fight, and their martial arts level would rise abruptly.
Eugene had also experienced such a thing several times in his previous life. During life-threatening battles, while on the border between life and death, he would suddenly obtain some kind of inspiration.
However, this time… while it was somewhat similar to that kind of realization, it was also completely different.
At that moment, Eugene had seen right through Molon’s attack, but no matter where or how he tried to attack, he had known that he would be blocked. In all his battles until now, Eugene was used to making that kind of calculations and predictions, but the thought that had entered his mind during the final stroke of his sword wasn’t a calculation nor a prediction; he had known what would happen with absolute certainty.
Eugene glanced down at his right hand. His fingertips, which were still covered in blood, were shaking. It had already been a few minutes since then, but just thinking about it made his hand want to reach for a certain sword.
“I don’t know,” Eugene replied while retracting his gaze.
The intuition that had arisen right at that moment had been accompanied by a surge of divinity inside his head and a feeling that his eyes were filled with divine energy. His memories of that moment were as clear as could be, but Eugene didn’t believe he would be able to recreate what had happened at that last moment.
“You don’t know?” Molon repeated in confusion.
“That’s right. It was all a coincidence… or a feeling… something like that,” Eugene replied vaguely while clenching and unclenching his trembling fingers.
Calling his victory the result of a coincidence or a feeling and describing what had happened in such uncertain terms might, in some ways, have felt like an insult. However, Molon didn’t take it that way. Instead, when he heard Eugene say this, he immediately adopted a serious expression and laid a hand on Eugene’s shoulder.
“In that case, you need to completely familiarize yourself with that feeling,” Molon said encouragingly.
For those at Eugene’s level, receiving any new enlightenment was extremely rare.
Whether it was just a coincidence or a feeling, even if Eugene could only start from there, as long as he dug deeper into it and obtained complete control over the phenomenon, he would be able to reach an even higher level. As a fellow warrior, Molon was sure that the coincidence or feeling that Eugene had sensed was something like a stroke of luck for him.
A voice interrupted them, “Before doing anything else, you two need to be treated.”
Bam!
Anise, who had approached them at some point during their conversation, smacked Eugene and Molon simultaneously on their backs. With a menacing glint in her eyes, Anise examined both Eugene and Molon’s wounds.
Molon’s only wound was a small cut, and a wound of that size truthfully wasn’t something that needed to be treated with divine magic.
On the other hand, Eugene’s wounds did require treatment. The blood dripping from his hands might be slowing, but because he had taken Molon’s barbaric attacks over and over again, his bones, muscles, and organs had all been damaged.
Anise clicked her tongue, “It’s just fortunate that you didn’t use Ignition.”
“I did say that I wouldn’t use it,” Eugene sulked.
Anise sniffed, “Hmph…. If you had, Hamel, I would have beaten you up worse than Molon already has.”
Bam!
Anise slapped Eugene on the back once more.
Extremely offended by her words, Eugene protested, “Worse than Molon? What the hell does that mean? I have never once been beaten up by Molon.”
“Weren’t you beaten up just last time?” Anise reminded him.
“The past is the past, and today is today,” Eugene said evasively. “And today, well, didn’t I beat Molon? I may not have physically beaten him up, but I almost sliced him in two….”
Sienna, who had been watching from above with Anise, shook her head and said, “That’s… it certainly did look just a bit scary. You know, I was worried that you might actually cut Molon in two.”
Just how many times had the two thought about intervening in the fight because it was getting too dangerous?
“It seems that it’s not just the mana from your White Flame Formula that has increased, but your fighting skills as a whole? How did you manage that? Have you been practicing without us knowing?” Sienna asked suspiciously.
Eugene scoffed, “Ever since we subjugated Iris, you’ve made sure to stick close to me every single day, so how could I train in secret?”
Although he was just telling the truth… Sienna couldn’t help but blush for some reason when she heard him say that she was glued to his side every day.
She wanted to deny it out of embarrassment, but the fact that it was true also left her in a good mood… that said, to just admit to the truth under all these gazes was also embarrassing….
The fortunate thing was that everyone currently around her was her dear comrade who shared a history with her.
‘...Does Molon know about us?’ Sienna suddenly thought in surprise as she turned to stare at Molon.
But she didn’t think that there was any way a tactless fool like Molon could have noticed something like that. Anise and Vermouth had clearly been able to guess Sienna’s true feelings, but Sienna had never suspected that might be because of her own clumsiness in hiding them. She just thought that it was because the two had excellent perceptions. On the other hand, since Molon was a fool, there should be no way for him to know that Sienna had secretly harbored feelings for Hamel….
Molon turned to her and asked, “Are you going to hold the ceremony once everything is over?”
Cough . Sienna choked in the face of Molon’s sudden inquiry. “C-ceremony? What ceremony?”
“I’m talking about your marriage,” Molon clarified. “If you want, I will gladly lend you the Royal Palace of Ruhr.”
“You can also hold it in the Vatican at Yuras,” Anise chimed in.
As she listened to Molon and Anise speaking from either side of her, Sienna’s eyes wavered in shock. Sienna turned her head, annoyed by the fact that Eugene had yet to show any reaction, but the man in question just insisted on keeping his lips tightly shut and remaining as still as a statue.
Sienna stammered, “A-A-Anise, just what are you talking about?”
“Why get so embarrassed at this point…,” Anise sighed. “Oh, Sienna, I’m just telling you this in advance, but you don’t have to worry about my feelings. Although you will have to have a separate conversation with Kristina.”
Just then, Kristina spoke to Anise, [I’m also alright with whatever happens, Sister. If Sir Eugene and Lady Sienna really do wish to make their relationship official, I would be happy to attend the event and can even give a speech at the wedding.]
For there to be a second, there had to be a first to start off with. If Sienna ended up throwing a bouquet, Kristina was prepared to catch it no matter what.
Knowing that he would only end up getting humiliated if this topic were to go on any further, Eugene spoke up, desperately trying to change the subject, “Ahem… by the way, I did manage to successfully recall Agaroth’s last moments.”
Everyone’s interest was aroused by those words.
“Did you see the Demon King of Destruction?” Sienna immediately asked.
When Sienna said that name, Molon and Anise’s expressions also stiffened.
Eugene nodded and pointed toward Molon’s cave, “Let’s continue our talk inside.”
Once inside, Eugene began to tell them about the parts of Agaroth’s memories he had managed to recall.
He brought up the connection between the Nur and the Demon King of Destruction. As the story progressed, Molon’s face grew even stiffer and more serious.
Until now, there had been no real definite facts about the Nur’s identity. They had thought that the monsters had something to do with the Demon King of Destruction — but that had just been a guess on their part. However, through Agaroth’s memories, it had become clear that the Nur were included among the subjects ruled by the Demon King of Destruction.
“So they’re the vanguard of Destruction…,” Molon said thoughtfully. “No, would it be better to call them a spearhead? After all, only a few dozen of the Nur ever appear on this mountain in a single day.”
In Agaroth’s memory, countless Nur had appeared on the battlefield daily. It was completely different from what was currently happening on this mountain.
“It might be that the Nur can’t appear in great numbers because Vermouth has sealed away the Demon King of Destruction,” Eugene guessed.
When Vermouth’s name was mentioned, Molon’s eyebrows and lips drooped as his serious expression transformed into a depressed one.
“...If I truly had gone completely crazy and failed in my duty to kill the Nur… wouldn’t that have resulted in their destruction spreading from Leheinjar across the snowfields…,” Molon muttered in a low voice as he clenched his fist.
This snowfield was Molon’s hometown and was now part of the nation that Molon himself had founded. Molon had always trusted Vermouth. He had believed that if it was Vermouth who was making the request, then there had to be some purpose behind his mission.
However… whenever his thoughts grew clouded, Molon couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by that inescapable and hellish loneliness his life had become. The fact that all of his comrades had disappeared, leaving him alone with this unending duty of killing these mysterious monsters, had left him depressed.
However, from now on, Molon would no longer lose sight of his mission. Regardless of the fact that he had already shaken off the madness, now that Nur’s true identity had been confirmed, Molon would never falter in his duty. Whether it was for the sake of the Ruhr Kingdom or Vermouth’s trust in him. No matter how much more time passed as he stayed here all alone, Molon vowed that he would not lose his mind.
Sienna changed the subject, “So, anyway, about the Demon King of Destruction… he doesn’t really look like a Demon King, does he?”
Eugene had seen a hole surrounded by all sorts of colors. Sienna tried to recall what they had managed to see of the Demon King of Destruction in the past.
Even back then, all they had seen of the Demon King of Destruction was a similar cloud of colors, and they hadn’t been able to see its form fully. Because just looking at it from such a long distance away had made them feel like they were going crazy.
“According to the memories that Hamel has recalled, the Demon King of Destruction doesn’t even look like a living being, let alone a Demon King. Didn’t you say that it felt like a hole that was pierced into the world?” Sienna asked.
“Yep,” Eugene confirmed.
Sienna considered thoughtfully, “Are the Nur emerging from that hole, or could it be that the main body is hidden somewhere inside that hole…?”
Eugene could only add, “Agaroth died after going into it, but I don’t fully remember what it was like inside of that hole.”
The remaining memory was blurred.
It wasn’t like he couldn’t remember it, it was like there was nothing to remember. The only reason Agaroth had managed to survive and continue fighting inside that place for so long was that Agaroth’s lingering emotions of rage, hatred, and spite had kept his body moving, even when his ego had shattered a long time ago.
“The Age of Myths…,” Sienna muttered as she crossed her arms and fell into deep thought.
She was thinking about the Twilight Witch and the Sage, who had appeared in the memory that Eugene had retrieved.
“In that era, you could actually attain godhood through mastery of magic…. In other words, humans were able to become something more than human. Is that right?” Sienna checked with Eugene.
Eugene nodded, “Uh-huh.”
“However, something like that is impossible now. No matter how exceptional a human being might be, he or she is still only human. Ah, of course, there are exceptions like us,” Sienna said as she tilted her head and looked at Molon. “If you can enter the stage of using mana, you can live far beyond the lifespan of an ordinary human. However, no matter how long a human might live, they still can’t become a god. And I’m not trying to brag, but if humans could still become a god solely through being worshiped, then I would probably already be a god, no?”
This was by no means an exaggeration. All wizards currently living in this world respected and revered Sienna, and even non-wizards praised her as the ‘Wise Sienna.’ So, like Sienna had said, if worship and faith could still turn humans into gods, she would have already become a god long ago.
“So what was possible in that era is impossible now… but what does that mean exactly?” Sienna asked herself. “In that memory you saw just now, the Twilight Witch was almost on the verge of becoming an Evil God. But well, according to that memory, the method for becoming an Evil God and the method for becoming a Demon King seems to be quite similar. Though I have no intention or interest in becoming such a being. However, the fact that the Sage was both a wizard and a god… that’s quite intriguing.”
Eugene raised a brow, “Why, do you want to become a god as well?”
“There’s no need to go as far as becoming something like the Demon King of Destruction, but if I want to be able to face the Demon King of Incarceration, there’s no other way than going beyond the level of a mere human,” Sienna said with a snort as she rested her chin in one hand. “Of course… as the Wise Lady Sienna, I have already far surpassed the level of being an ordinary human. However, if I find the chance to go beyond that and become a god instead of just a human… then I feel like I might be able to get a clearer image of our victory.”
Anise, who had been quietly lost in thought, opened her eyes.
She turned to stare at Eugene and said, “Hamel, in Agaroth’s era, did the God of Light truly exist?”
Eugene shrugged, “Probably.”
“What do you mean probably?” Anise asked sharply.
Eugene explained, “I didn’t manage to remember all of Agaroth’s memories. What I saw was a fragmented memory from before he died, so I wasn’t able to access all of Agaroth’s knowledge….”
Anise sighed, “It’s fine, Hamel. At least you’ve confirmed that, in that era of mythology, the gods from the ancient legends existed. And you also said that, like Agaroth, there were several gods who were born due to the strife, right?”
“Uh-huh,” Eugene nodded.
“Then here’s what I think might have happened,” Anise took a deep breath.
Tap, tap.
Anise continued speaking with her fingers tapping on the table, “In that mythical era, the Light was present in the world that came before our own world. After that world was destroyed by the Demon King of Destruction, the current era began. But in that case… is the Light that exists in the current era the same Light that has managed to survive since the Era of Myths? Or could it be that a new Light was born in this era?”
“...,” the others were silent.
“If it’s the former… then it can’t just be the Demon King of Incarceration. Other high-ranking Gods must have also managed to survive the Destruction and reach the current era. If that is the case, then we can think of the Scriptures of Light as a legend that was inherited from the Mythical Era. However, if it’s the latter… then after the destruction, how was a god born into this world that had been rendered completely barren?” Anise pursed her lips as she said this.
Although she was the Saint of Light as well as an angel, that didn’t mean she was capable of directly communicating with her God. This wasn’t just true of Anise but also for all angels summoned using divine magic.
A priest with truly strong faith could become an angel after they died. However, most angels didn’t really function as messengers of Light like their name suggested[1]. In fact, they were usually treated as the exclusive summons for practitioners of holy magic or solely called upon to act as an amplifier for divine magic.
As such, all of these angels had never actually come face-to-face with the god whom they served, and when they weren’t being summoned, these angels just floated around in a bright sea of light without being fully conscious of the time passing.
But, despite all that, angels were still proof that God existed. He might not be able to hold a conversation, but the Light was unquestionably still alive.
Then, there was the almost unique case of Anise, who had managed to receive a divine revelation from the Light. Although she had never received another revelation since then — Anise had no doubts that her God did exist.
However… the vacuum that had existed between the destruction of the old world and the start of this new era, as well as the birth of the faith of the ‘Light’ in this new world, was suspicious.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter all that much,” Anise said with a snort and a shrug of her shoulders after thinking it over for a few moments. “As someone who calls himself the Supreme God, the Light has always been suspicious, and those religious fanatics who seriously worship the Light are all fools. There might be a few more suspicious things going around, but why should that matter? After all, the main thing is that the Light's divine power has always been of help in our fight against the Demon King.”
Eugene hesitated, “Ah… well… I can’t quite recall it clearly, but it feels like the God of Light was a good god—”
“That’s not important,” Anise interrupted him. “Even if he wasn’t all that great of a god in that era, isn’t he helping the world in the current era? Not all his believers are idiots; we know that the Light has never sinned against this world. Though if indifference and neglect were counted as sins, he would certainly be guilty of them.”
Was it really okay for a Saint to chew out her own god like that? Well, it should be fine. The God of Light was a merciful god who had even granted his power to Eugene, who didn’t have a speck of faith in him.
Anise changed the subject, “In that case, are you all done with your business in this country? What are you going to do now?”
“What else,” Eugene said as he turned to Molon. “Hey, Molon.”
“What is it?” Molon replied.
“Is it alright if I live here for a while?” Eugene asked.
“Of course, it’s fine!” Molon said cheerfully.
Although it was a sudden request, Molon nodded without even the slightest hesitation.
1.. This refers to the fact the word angel comes from Ancient Greek and literally means messenger. ☜