“Idiot,” Anise said, clicking her tongue as she massaged Eugene’s arm.
The muscles in Eugene’s jaw twitched with each touch of her light-enveloped fingers on his sore muscles.
“Doesn’t the recoil somehow seem to have gotten even worse?” Anise observed.
“It’s because my body’s performance wasn’t able to keep up with my movements,” Eugene muttered through tightly clenched lips.
His body may have gone through a complete metamorphosis in the Darkroom, but once he used Ignition and Prominence at the same time, on top of operating the White Flame Formula, he would still face the problem of requiring more than what his body at its peak could provide.
Eugene tried to look on the bright side, “It’s still better than it was in my previous life.”
In his previous life, his Core had been damaged from his repeated uses of Ignition, but that was no longer a necessary concern for the current Eugene. It might be true that, at the moment, his body was in such pain that it was difficult for him to even lie straight, but that was just because his body was not able to handle the extent to which his power had been amplified.
‘As my divinity increases and my divine power becomes stronger, my physical body should start experiencing changes as well,’ Eugene guessed.
And the more strength he possessed, the more his power would be amplified by Ignition. At the moment, he was having these difficulties because everything was so greatly out of balance, but his body would eventually adapt to his newfound power at some point, along with the physical transformations due to his increase in divine power.
When that day finally came… Eugene’s brow furrowed as he became lost in thought.
He was thinking back to his battle against Raizakia.
Back then, Eugene had not only used Prominence and Ignition at the same time, but he had also managed to push Ignition one step further by overclocking it. Usually, he wouldn’t have even considered attempting such a drastic measure, but it had thankfully succeeded due to Agaroth’s Ring.
At that time, Eugene had refused to give in. It was a final act of desperation motivated by his desire to slay Raizakia and to save Sienna, even if it cost him his life.
Even now, after what happened, Eugene didn’t believe that there had been anything wrong with the decision he had made at that moment. By overclocking Ignition, he had swiftly and decisively succeeded in managing to overwhelm Raizakia, and if his Cores and body had been able to hold on even just a little bit longer, he might have been able to defeat Raizakia all on his own.
Once Eugene’s body was transformed by his growing divine power, wouldn’t that make overclocking Ignition a more viable option? While imagining such a possibility, Eugene swallowed back a gulp.
As his thoughts had grown ever deeper, the tension in his muscles had increasingly lessened.
Squeeze.
Suddenly, a palm pressed down into his thigh. The pain was so intense it felt like his leg was being torn into several pieces.
Eugene let out a scream of pain while bucking his hips, “Arrrgh!”
“Did that hurt a lot?” Kristina asked, her head rising in surprise; she had been caught off guard by the sudden scream. With a worried look on her face, she ran her fingertips along Eugene’s thigh and said, “If you’re really in such pain, it would have been better to recuperate for a few days before leaving.”
“No way,” Eugene insisted, even as he broke into a cold sweat. “I managed to get a clean victory over Molon but look at that. Molon is standing on his feet perfectly. If the person who lost is just standing there without any injuries and the person who won is lying down and groaning in pain, how am I, the one who won, supposed to retain any self-respect?”
“Sir Molon must have already noticed that you were just enduring the pain, Sir Eugene,” Mer pointed out with a pout of her lips as she sat next to Eugene.
Like Kristina, Mer was also massaging the palm of Eugene’s hand, but naturally, since she didn’t have any divine power or healing magic, there wasn’t any real meaning to Mer’s actions. Rather, each time she pressed down on his palm, it was just causing him more pain.
Even so, Eugene didn’t pull himself free from Mer’s hands.
“So what if he knows?” Eugene scoffed. “In any case, I was able to shake hands with Molon while standing all by myself, and when we left Molon’s dwelling, I was able to walk away on my own two feet.”
“Benefactor, you can’t just ignore my contributions. You didn’t walk away on your own, Benefactor; I carried you away with my wings,” Raimira’s voice came echoing back from ahead of where the group was sitting.
Currently, Eugene, Mer, and Kristina were riding on the back of Raimira, who had transformed back into her dragon form.
After Eugene’s final match with Molon was over, they had wasted no time in leaving Lehainjar. Their haste was because of Eugene’s pride, as he refused to allow himself to whimper in pain while still in front of Molon. It was also partly because they had already lived together for half a year now, and though they were sad to separate like this, they did not think that it was necessary, by this point, to exchange any prolonged farewells.
‘And it’s not like we’re parting for all eternity,’ Eugene thought to himself.
Although his body hurt so badly that it felt like he was dying, Eugene wasn’t in any actual danger of losing his life. Kristina and Anise’s divine powers were gradually easing his pain, and Eugene’s own natural recovery was also hard at work.
With great difficulty, Eugene managed to pull himself up from his prone position and sit up straight.
“This might be stating the obvious, but Hamel, before your injuries recover, you absolutely can't do anything so reckless,” Anise ordered him.
Eugene complained, “I’ve heard you say that so many times it feels like my ears have gotten numb to your voice. And I don’t have any intention of arriving at Giabella City before my body has fully recovered.”
‘Giabella City,’ Mer gulped at those two words.
When they were last in Helmuth, she had seen more than a few advertisements for Giabella City. The city was said to house Giabella Park, the most colorful and fun place in all of Helmuth, no, in all of the continent.
In fact, the location was more known for its specialty in casinos and other kinds of illicit entertainment rather than its amusement parks, but Mer and Raimira were naturally more interested in things like amusement parks than the entertainment meant solely for adults.
“Sir Eugene, are you really not going there to pick a fight?” Mer asked cautiously.
“I’m not going there to fight,” Eugene promised.
It was true that Eugene had become stronger through his matches with Molon, but that did not mean he had reached a level where he would be able to take on Noir Giabella. In Eugene’s eyes, Noir Giabella might not have claimed the title of a Demon King, but her power was already far beyond that of the Demon Kings they had managed to defeat three hundred years ago.
“It would be crazy for us to challenge Noir Giabella to a fight when we don’t even have Sienna with us,” Eugene assured Mer.
Mer asked skeptically, “However, don’t you do such crazy things all the time, Sir Eugene?”
“Wow, just take a look at what this girl is saying. Since when have I always gone and done crazy stuff? It seems like you don’t actually know me all that well since I never do anything without at least some reason for doing it,” Eugene scolded Mer with a serious expression.
In other people’s opinions, Eugene’s actions might sometimes seem reckless and absurd, but Eugene usually had a reasonable justification for most of the actions that he took.
“Are you trying to say that you had a reason for committing suicide?” Anise snapped.
“I knew you were going to say that,” Eugene muttered to himself while avoiding her gaze.
Anise sighed, “Hamel, I do believe that you do have a good reason for making such a decision, but… I still really don’t want to go to Giabella City.”
There was currently some speculation suggesting that Eugene might be at the Lionheart Estate or at the Black Lion Castle, but Eugene’s exact whereabouts were still unknown. If Eugene continued to keep himself hidden, Amelia Merwin and the demonfolk she was cooperating with would have no choice but to continue confining themselves to Ravesta, always on guard for when Eugene might suddenly appear.
In that case, Eugene just needed to make his movements more noticeable. Although revealing himself like this at this point might cause his opponents to think that he was obviously pulling some sort of trick, Amelia Merwin was the one currently being backed furthest into a corner. Eugene felt able to be so blatant with his intentions because he was certain that Amelia Merwin wouldn’t be able to remain silent for much longer.
“If you just wanted to reveal your presence, couldn’t you do that anywhere other than Giabella City? How about going to Yuras instead?” Anise proposed.
“There’s no reason for us to go there instead of Giabella City,” Eugene argued back.
“If you just pick a few cathedrals to tour, your name will soon be spread all throughout Yuras,” Anise complained with a sullen expression.
Although she did not say anything to him, Kristina also agreed with Anise’s words. The Vatican itself may have declared Eugene to be the Hero and elevated him to Sainthood, but the church’s followers would most likely prefer seeing Eugene in person and hearing his voice instead of just offering their prayers up to him as a Saint.
And she couldn't help but imagine what a beautiful and divine sight it would be if Eugene were to stand at the pulpit of the cathedral with her, as the Saint, standing next to him. During their time in the cave in Lehainjar, Eugene had been solely focused on his training, so they hadn't been able to make any special memories together. While that wasn’t something Kristina felt particularly regretful for, still, just thinking about the missed opportunity felt like it was enough to bring back the pangs of greed and guilt that she had felt back then.
Eugene rejected her idea, “Someone like a Hero isn’t meant to go to cathedrals to pray and sing hymns.”
Anise frowned, “So then, is someone like a Hero meant to go to casinos and play around?”
“Do you really think I’m going there to play around?” Eugene argued back.
“Of course, I know you aren’t,” Anise admitted. “Hamel, the reason why you’re going to Giabella City… it’s for Noir Giabella, isn’t it? You want to check the foundation of that slut’s power, don’t you?”
There was probably no other demonfolk who had used the past three hundred years as efficiently as Noir Giabella.
Eugene had already done a lot of research on her, but… honestly speaking, even considering the fact that she was his enemy, Noir had worked so hard that he couldn’t help but admire her.
She had actively made use of the Night Demons under her command to plunder the strength of the heroes from the last war and caused their downfall. She had dispatched other Night Demons to various parts of the continent to secure a supply of life-force while also not neglecting to cultivate her own influence in Helmuth’s internal workings. Following the capital of Helmuth, Pandemonium, her first city, Dreamia, had the second-largest number of humans living within it, and her second city, Giabella City, was the city that attracted the most tourists in all of Helmuth.
It wasn’t like she had just solely focused on managing her territory, either. Over the past three hundred years, Noir Giabella had turned her hand to dozens of businesses, each dabbling in a different industry — from construction to celebrity management, casinos, hotels, beauty products, fashion, etc.
In other words, Noir Giabella was the most famous demonfolk in all of Helmuth, no, in all of the continent. Noir had then used such widespread exposure and popularity to grow her power further. Right now, in the whole of the continent, how many people were there who would resolutely refuse if they were offered a free stay in Giabella City?
“At this point, even if I were to erase that city, it wouldn’t reduce any of Noir’s strength,” Eugene said as his brow furrowed in a scowl. “After all, she’s already extracted all the life-force that she needs.”
Anise tried to look on the bright side, “Still, if we were to destroy the city at this time, at the very least, that slut won’t get any stronger.”
“Attempting to do so really isn’t viable right now,” Eugene reluctantly admitted. “That city is a place where even I, as the Hero, won’t be able to act as I please. If both Noir and I were drowning in such waters, the visitors in that city would definitely abandon me and attempt to save Noir first.”
Raimira appealed to Eugene, “Benefactor, there’s no need to worry. If you were drowning, we would be sure to save you, Benefactor.”
“You idiot, stop saying such stupid things and just fly faster,” Mer scolded as she pounded on the scales of Raimira’s back with her fist.
Eugene coughed, “Ahem… well… thanks, I guess. In any case… it seems like it will be impossible to destroy that city for now.”
“Then, is there even any point in going there for reconnaissance?” Anise asked.
Eugene shrugged, “If I want to defeat Noir, then I’ll have to invade her cities at some point. What if something pops out and surprises me when I eventually try to barge my way in?”
“Sir Eugene, Sir Eugene,” Mer excitedly raised a hand. “Please listen to this. I’ve collected several books about Giabella City that were written in Helmuth. They should be able to help you, Sir Eugene.”
Mer had no intention of getting pushed aside in Eugene’s affections for Raimira, who, in her opinion, was no different from a mindless boulder. Although it was definitely impossible for her to adopt the adoring way that idiot spoke to Eugene, Mer felt like she had a wittiness that Raimira simply could not imitate.
Mer casually sat down on Eugene’s lap and pulled out several books that had been written about Giabella City. She was not only carrying the tourist guide they had been given at Helmuth’s warpgate, but she also had several other books that had been purchased from a bookstore.
“Ah… fine then… thanks…,” Eugene said, pausing for a moment before giving in.
The books that Mer had taken out all contained introductions to Giabella City. Organized within them were things like guides to the landmarks, the major facilities, the must-see restaurants in the city, travel routes recommended for parents with young children, etc.
Of course… there was none of the information that Eugene actually wanted to investigate during their reconnaissance. What Eugene really wanted to know was information about the troops stationed in Giabella City. Eugene’s interest in this matter was because Noir, as one of the Dukes of Helmuth, should have an appropriately sized private army for her rank, but almost nothing was known about such a force.
‘As they’re her vassals, she could simply fill up the ranks with her Night Demons, but… doesn’t she have anything like her own knightly order?’ Eugene questioned.
Since she had casinos, she was sure to have plenty of security guards, but… there was no way to tell what the composition of her army was from just that. Even when they had visited Dreamia, there hadn’t seemed to be anything like a knightly order present in that city. Though Noir Giabella herself could be described as a one-man army, it might be that she simply didn’t see the need for her own private army.
Still, you never know. It would be a pain if he just charged in while only planning on facing Noir, and a large army suddenly popped out to meet him.
“What if that slut changes her mind and decides to attack us?” Anise asked worriedly.
Eugene just dismissed her worries, “That doesn’t sound like her.”
“Do you really trust her enough to speak for her like that?” Anise accused.
“If she wanted to kill us, she’s already had plenty of opportunities to do so,” Eugene pointed out.
For example, before they attacked the Dragon-Demon Castle, Noir had suddenly shown up at their hotel looking for them. Back then, Noir had come to them in person with her main body. If Noir had decided to kill Eugene and Kristina at that time… he wouldn’t even have been able to put up a proper resistance.
Eugene admitted, “I would definitely kill that bitch if I had the chance. However, her head works differently from the way mine does. She’s had plenty of opportunities, but she’s never once tried to kill me.”
Could something like that really be called trust?
“It should be the same this time as well. I’m certain of that. Since I'm not going there to kill her, Noir… she won’t attack me while we’re in Giabella City,” Eugene said decisively.
The more Eugene became aware of Noir’s favor and attention towards him, the more disgusting and aggravating it felt. It was difficult for Eugene to feel any emotions other than a murderous rage towards the love that that Night Demon, whom he wished he could just tear into pieces, expressed for him.
However….
It was impossible to swear that there wasn’t even a single trace of trust in the complex bond between the two. After all, wasn’t that the case even now? Eugene had decided on his course of action while trusting that Noir definitely wouldn’t try to kill him at this time.
‘This is such a mess,’ Eugene sighed internally.
Eugene wanted to kill Noir. But what about Noir? Her murderous intent was extremely passive. From her perspective, she didn’t just want to kill Eugene. What she wanted was to kill Eugene, who was trying to kill her.
Under such circumstances, if Eugene were to give up on his intent to kill her… then Noir would just take it upon herself to rekindle Eugene’s motivation to seek her death.
In the end, Eugene and Noir would definitely fight each other to the death someday.
‘But not today,’ Eugene told himself.
Having calmly reassured Anise, Eugene flipped open the guidebook that Mer had given him.
He immediately saw a picture of one of the landmarks of Giabella City, the Giabella-Face that usually floated in the skies above the city.
Within the photo, on top of the giant head, beneath an unfurled parasol… Noir Giabella was posing, dressed seductively only in a bikini while lying on a sunbed.
Eugene’s expression twisted into a frown as he snapped the book shut.
* * *
[Lalala~ Lalala~]
[Happy happy happy Giabella~]
[Every day~ is Giabella Day~]
[Welcome to the Giabella Park ~]
[Where dreams come true~]
[Welcome to~ Gia, Gia, Gia~ Giaaaaa~ Giabella Park~!]
The colorfully decorated castle walls and gate looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. The road that led from the warpgate outside of the city to the castle gate sparkled in the sun without even a single stain marring its surface. The pillars that lined either side of the wide road were connected to each other by holographic screens, and various videos were playing on those screens, showing things like the group performance of the newest idols to have debuted under the Giabella Entertainment Celebrity Agency.
Past the throngs of people, an incredibly bizarre sculpture could be seen floating in the skies above the tall castle walls.
“...” Eugene found himself left speechless at the sight.
It was the same Giabella-Face that he had seen in the photo.
Now that he was actually seeing the Giabella-Face in person, just what could he say? At the very least, the feeling of intimidation that it gave off was different from his first impression.
But there was another shocking factor.
“...Wasn’t there only supposed to be one of them?” Eugene muttered unconsciously as he noticed yet another Giabella-Face floating high in the sky.
Currently, there were at least three Giabella-Faces floating above the city.