The Centipede Mountains alone would have been difficult enough, but on top of that, a barrier had been placed around the entire city.
“The Centipede Mountains circle around the entire outskirts of the city while the sky is covered with a barrier made up of black magic and the dark power of Destruction,” Sienna muttered with a furrowed brow. “Regarding the barrier’s level of complexity, hmm, I’ll need to get a little bit closer to tell for sure, but… I’d say it’s just so-so.”
“But the technical level of the barrier itself isn’t the problem,” Anise spoke up.
“That’s right,” Sienna quickly agreed. “Even if the barrier was technically weak, with the immense amount of dark power that has been poured into it, it would still be difficult to break through. On top of that, they’ve even covered the barrier with a layer of the dark power of Destruction. Since they’ve been that thorough with its creation, it’s now virtually impossible to break through the barrier with just magic.”
“So even our Goddess of Magic still has things that are impossible for her?” Eugene asked with a grin.
It was only meant to be a joke, but Sienna just puffed out her chest, as if she wasn’t the slightest bit embarrassed, and responded, “That’s pending-Goddess of Magic to you.”
In the face of this proud response, Eugene lost the urge to keep teasing her.
So Eugene just played along, “Uh… alright then, Miss pending-Goddess of Magic.”
“If I had completed my transformation into the Goddess of Magic, then, well, it should have been possible. However, for now, I can’t say for sure whether or not it definitely is possible for the current me,” Sienna said with some uncertainty.
If it was just the black magic alone, it might have been possible for her to forcefully break through, but the sky above Hauria was currently covered with a layer of the dark power of Destruction.
The dark power of Destruction was antithetical to both magic and mana. Even if Sienna were to employ her Absolute Decree on top of her best efforts, it would be difficult to pierce through such a thick layer of the dark power of Destruction. Just like how Sienna had yet to completely transform into the Goddess of Magic, her Absolute Decree still wasn’t as absolute as it could be.
“I’ll just hammer it from above,” Eugene stated as he impatiently scraped his feet on the floor.
At this statement, Raimira stuck her head out from under his cloak, “Hey, Benefactor, you should believe in me! I can definitely tear open a hole in the sky with my majestic Breath!
Eugene paused for a moment before saying, “No…, you should just stay quietly inside of the cloak.”
“Without me, you won’t be able to fly into the sky, Benefactor,” Raimira insisted.
Eugene just snorted, “Why shouldn’t I be able to fly into the sky without you? I can fly just as well all by myself.”
“Let’s go there together,” Anise said as she stroked Raimira’s head — which looked a little strange, still sticking out of Eugene’s cloak like this — with a smile. “Although I’ve said this before, Hamel, being overprotective isn’t a good habit.”
Eugene muttered sulkily, “I’m not being overprotective… I just don’t think that shooting a dragon’s Breath, which is just a simple mass of mana, will have any effect on it.”
Anise sighed, “Don’t you know that a good child is one who wants to help her parents?”
Parents? For a moment, Eugene just blinked his eyes, unable to understand what Anise was getting at. Similarly, Sienna also didn’t understand what Anise was trying to say. However, Raimira just smiled and laughed awkwardly, as if she still wasn’t used to receiving this treatment.
“It’s just a saying,” Anise shrugged before continuing in a low voice. “Hamel, you, I, and the priests of the Graceful Radiance should all fly together with Mira. Even if we have to face a barrier of black magic and the dark power of Destruction, with the Holy Sword and holy magic on our side, we’ll definitely be able to break through.”
Her words did make sense. So, without making any further arguments, Eugene just nodded.
Sienna and the other wizards would all focus their firepower together to open up a breach in the Centipede Mountains. Meanwhile, the knights, mercenaries, and soldiers would be assigned to intercept the demonfolk and demonic beasts.
“Kiehl has its Griffin Squad, the Knights of the Black Lion have their wyverns, Ruhr has their own ice wyverns, Shimuin and Yuras both have pegasi.” Leaning against a battlement on top of Salar’s palace walls, Melkith muttered to herself as she pointed here and there. “Aroth is the only one that doesn’t have anything.”
“Um… doesn’t Aroth use both summons and familiars for the same purpose?” Rynein, who had been dragged out here by Melkith, hesitantly pointed out.
Upon hearing these words, Melkith narrowed her eyes in a forceful stare and turned to look at Rynein, “Do you have any familiars?”
“Well, I do have some, but… none that can be used for flying,” Rynein admitted.
“Then what are you going to do tomorrow?” Melkith questioned.
“The Red Tower Master has offered to lend me a summon,” Rynein replied. “Lady Melkith—”
Melkith quickly interrupted, “I told you to call me big sis, didn’t I?”
“Big… sis… Melkith…,” Rynein barely managed to squeeze out each word. “Are you going to use a familiar for tomorrow’s flight?”
“Do I look like a summoner? I am a spirit summoner. I can fly together with my spirits. That’s the method that best suits me,” Melkith said as she began to swagger off, shaking her hips.
But why had Melkith suddenly started shaking her hips? Since she didn’t dare to actually voice that question, Rynein was forced to come to her own conclusions. Melkith was wearing a fluttery set of clothing that was usually only worn by Nahama’s belly dancers…. So, could it be that Melkith was attempting something similar to a dance by swaying her hips like this?
“By the way, as someone who calls herself an Archwizard, don’t you think that it’s a little strange for you to just borrow a summoned creature from the Red Tower Master?” Melkith suddenly asked.
Rynein tried to respond, “I don’t really car—”
“You shouldn’t be like that,” Melkith immediately argued. “After all, this is the moment when you, who have always lived in seclusion, will truly step out into the world as an Archwizard! Moreover, you aren’t just making your debut at some academic conference. You’re making your debut on the battlefield…!”
Rynein attempted to convince Melkith once more, “But I don’t really want to attract so much attention—”
Melkith continued to speak over her, “Don’t you intend to become the Green Tower Master? This is your chance to take action and draw everyone’s attention so that you can become the Green Tower Master.”
Rynein’s eyes couldn’t help but start to waver as she listened to Melkith’s wheedling.
Since Generic had abdicated from his position as the Green Tower Master, the position had remained vacant. Since they couldn’t afford to just leave the seat empty, Aroth needed to quickly elect a new Tower Master, but unfortunately, there were currently no other wizards in the Green Tower of Magic who had managed to reach the Eighth Circle.
But it was also impossible for Aroth to temporarily assign a wizard who hadn’t yet become an Archwizard to the position of Tower Master.
It was under these circumstances that Rynein had arrived in Aroth to take part in Sienna’s research team.
As an Archwizard who didn’t possess any ties to other nations, Aroth’s royal palace and the Council of Tower Masters didn’t want to let go of Rynein.
“I don’t really have any ambitions for the seat of the Tower Master. Also, there’s no way that the wizards of the Green Tower of Magic would accept me becoming their Tower Master because I didn’t graduate from there,” Rynein pointed out.
“Even if you don’t have any ambitions for it, you can at least try out the position,” Melkith cajoled. “As for the other wizards in the tower, who cares if they’re dissatisfied? As long as you prove yourself worthy of being called an Archwizard in the coming battle, they will just have to accept it.”
Rynein hesitated, “No… that’s not the problem, I’m telling you that I don’t want to—”
“Didn’t I say you could just try it out first,” Melkith huffed.
Melkith wasn’t being stubborn for Rynein’s benefit; it was mostly for her self-interest.
What a coup it would be if Melkith managed to convince this young and inexperienced junior to join Aroth as a Tower Master? Not only that, if Rynein, whose personality was much more docile compared to the other Magic Tower Masters, became the Green Tower Master, Melkith would be able to keep taking advantage of her for a long time from now.
Apart from Melkith and Rynein, there were a lot of other people standing on top of the palace walls. As Eugene and Gilead walked along the top of the walls together, they kept an eye on what was going on outside the palace walls.
“It’s been a while since I last saw cannons,” Eugene commented.
The cannons Eugene was talking about weren’t the type of cannons that used an explosion of gunpowder to fire a metal shell, but instead cannons that were fired using magic. Since the cannons relied on magic, Eugene had assumed that Aroth’s would be the strongest, but Kiehl’s artillery battery also appeared quite formidable.
“Didn’t you have cannons like those in the old days?” Gilead asked.
Eugene paused to think about it, “Well, it wasn’t like we didn’t have any, but… there definitely weren’t as many as there are these days. Especially when we advanced deeper into the Devildom, there were barely any cannons left in use.”
Compared to the present day, the battlefields of the past had been lacking in support in every way.
While looking at the cannons currently being serviced by the Knights of the White Lion, Eugene tilted his head to the side and asked, “What’s with that one over there?”
“Our dwarven guests have modified the cannons that were originally in the possession of the Lionheart clan,” Gilead explained.
Eugene was looking at a cannon whose barrel seemed ridiculously large when compared to the cannons used by the other countries. Seeing how there were bits and pieces stuck all over it, it was clear that the dwarves had added their own artistic embellishments to it.
“It seems like it would be a hassle to push that thing along…,” Eugene observed.
Gilead revealed, “Sir Lovellian and the other wizards from the Red Tower of Magic have agreed to cooperate with us in managing our battery of cannons,”
Could it be that they planned on using summoning magic to move the cannons into place when the time came to fire them? As he imagined this scene occurring, Eugene nodded his head in approval.
If they had that much firepower, the ordinary soldiers would be able to remain effective even when facing those stupidly huge demonic beasts.
“Don’t you feel nervous?” Eugene asked curiously.
“I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel any trepidation,” Gilead admitted with a wry smile.
Gilead didn’t want to show any weakness in front of his adopted son, who he saw as no different from his own true children… but although those were Gilead’s true feelings, he knew that the man he was currently facing was the reincarnation of the great hero Hamel. So, it might leave him with a slightly complex feeling, but Gilead readily admitted his weakness in front of Eugene.
“A battle of this scale will actually be a first for the Lionhearts…,” Gilead paused as he realized something. “Haha, no, it will actually be a first for everyone here.”
“It’s really not all that special. Let me think, how old was I when I first stepped onto the battlefield…? I think I was only about ten years old, but the battle had already finished before I could even come to my senses,” Eugene shared as he leaned against the castle wall with a chuckle. “Although I don’t believe that this kind of advice will be of much use to someone with your personality, Patriarch, even so, well, please don’t try to overthink things. And instead of worrying about the lives of your vassals — or anyone else for that matter — make sure to take care of your own life first.”
Gilead laughed, “Haha. That’s certainly quite some difficult advice to accept. You’re really asking a Patriarch like me to only care about his own life instead of the lives of his vassals?”
“It’s because I know that you're a good person, Patriarch, so I just hope you don’t overly push yourself. If you do die after receiving some kind of injury, what am I supposed to say to Lady Ancilla, Patriarch?” Eugene argued.
“The same goes for me. I know that you’re stronger than me, Eugene… and that you have more experience than I do. Yet, even so, I am your foster father. And I am also the Patriarch of the Lionheart clan,” Gilead said, patting Eugene on the shoulder. “All of the Lionhearts are my family. My children, the White Lions, and the Black Lions, and you as well. I don’t want any of my family to get hurt or to die.”
“I also feel the same way,” Eugene said with a grin.
Down below, he had spotted the figures of Cyan and Ciel. Ciel was riding on Yongyong’s back for the first time in a long while. She smiled widely and started waving back when her eyes met with Eugene’s.
Eugene tried to persuade Gilead one more time, “But don’t you want to see your children get married before anything else happens?”
Eugene had said this without giving it much thought, but for a moment, Gilead wondered how he should take those words. After seeing his daughter smile so brightly and waving her hand happily at them, Eugene had started talking about marriage as he kept looking at Ciel….
“...,” Gilead pondered this matter silently.
He wanted to ask about Eugene’s intentions so strongly that he felt like the words were stuck in his throat. But Gilead also thought that he shouldn’t ask Eugene about something like this so directly. So he just cleared his throat and turned his head away to think. Just then, he spotted a familiar face approaching them from that direction.
“Greetings to you, Sir Patriarch, and my master,” the man said.
It was Laman Schulhov, who had been taken into service by Eugene in Nahama and now served as Gerhard’s bodyguard. Eugene had thought that Laman might have abandoned any longings for his home country during his time serving the Lionhearts, but it seemed like the man couldn’t help but have some lingering fondness for the country he had been born and raised in. Laman had acted on his own initiative and confessed his desire to follow Eugene back to Nahama.
“The supplies sent by the Emirs have arrived,” Laman reported.
“Did they send anything else?” Eugene checked.
Laman nodded, “Yes, they did. The Emir of Salar also sent an Assassin Squad that he suggested we could use to perform reconnaissance, but… what should we do with them?”
“I can’t say I’m all that fond of the Assassins. Don’t you feel the same way?” Eugene asked mischievously.
Laman gave a wry smile and nodded, “In that case, I will just send them back. Also, the Emir of Salar has expressed his intention to hold a banquet for us before we set off.”
“There’s no need for that,” Eugene snorted. “We’re leaving tomorrow, so what’s the point of having a banquet now? Tell him to prepare a banquet for once everything is over.”
“Yes, my lord,” Laman said with a bow.
Being from Nahama, Laman was familiar with the local culture and language. So even if Eugene just gave him a rough order, Laman could couch his master’s words in the most appropriate terms.
‘Just wait until tomorrow,’ Eugene thought to himself.
Now that things had come this far, he no longer planned to drag out the time. After all, if he continued to procrastinate for no reason, he was just giving the other side more time to prepare.
As such, they’d be leaving tomorrow. The Hauria Liberation Army would set out from Salar as soon as the sun rose the next morning.
“But is it really okay to entrust me with that duty?” Eugene asked as he glanced over at Gilead.
“Are you talking about being the flagbearer?” Gilead clarified.
“That’s right,” Eugene said with a slightly awkward smile.
It felt somewhat strange and embarrassing to be entrusted with such an important role.
However, Gilead just smiled and patted Eugene on the shoulder once more, “If not you, then who else is worthy to carry the Lionheart standard into battle?”
“Aren’t there a lot of people other than me who could do it?” Eugene argued. “After all, there’s still you, Patriarch. There’s also Cyan, the next Patriarch in line. Finally, there’s Lady Carmen, and if you don’t think she’s suitable, there’s Gargith, who has the largest body in all of the Black Lions. He would be sure to stand out while holding the standard aloft.”
To answer his question, Gilead’s finger pointed to the outside of the palace walls as he said, “All of these people…”
Below the walls, there were countless people running around, preparing for the next day’s expedition. There were also various different flags waving in the desert wind.
The flag of Kiehl, the flag of Yuras, the flag of Ruhr, the flag of Shimuin, and the flag of Aroth. Apart from these countries, each of the various mercenary corps and knightly orders also had their own flags.
“...they’ve all gathered here because of you,” Gilead finished.
“Even without me having called them together, I’m sure they would have volunteered to come together for a problem like this,” Eugene feebly insisted.
“Haha, would that really be the case? Eugene, do you really believe that?” Gilead asked with a smile.
Honestly speaking, neither of them believed that Kiehl would have really taken part if not for Eugene. Even if Alchester had wanted to go on the expedition, the Emperor would not have given him permission to do so. The same went for Shimuin and the Zoran Tribe. If Sienna had been absent, Aroth probably wouldn’t have come either.
‘Even so, Yuras would surely have come. Since it dares to call itself the Holy Empire, it couldn’t afford to stay out of something like this,’ Eugene thought consideringly.
Ruhr, which had always followed the example set by Molon, would have also taken part. But as for the knights errant and the mercenary corps?
In the end, Eugene couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.
Just like Gilead had said, the reason that the Hauria Liberation Army had been able to be organized on such a large scale was all due to Eugene’s presence here. They were all gathered here because of all the relationships that Eugene had accumulated over his twenty-three years of life.
Finally, Eugene was left with no choice but to nod with another sigh.
“It feels like you’re putting too much weight on my shoulders,” Eugene complained.
“Isn’t that just what being a hero means?” Gilead pointed out with a mischievous smile. “I might not know much about what the life of a hero is like, but you should be very familiar with it, no?”
“Ahem…,” Eugene awkwardly coughed.
Eugene felt so embarrassed that he couldn’t even put up his usual show of arrogance.
While clearing his throat, Eugene distractedly scrubbed the floor with the end of his shoe. Seeing Eugene lower his gaze, unable to say anything in response, Gilead lowered his hand from Eugene’s shoulder with a chuckle.
He changed the subject, “Well then, I need to head down now to help with the preparations for the expedition.”
Eugene was about to volunteer, “I’ll also go with—”
“It’s fine. You don’t need to help out. As the Patriarch of the family, I’m the one who should take care of troublesome tasks like this,” Gilead reassured him.
In this coming battle, there was no way that Gilead would be playing the main role. Gilead was all too aware of this fact. So, the best thing he could do for now was organize the armaments of Lionheart’s knightly orders and coordinate plans with the other forces. He needed to assist Eugene so that he could keep looking forward without having to look back.
‘I’m just afraid that I won’t be able to open up the way forward for you, Eugene,’ Gilead admitted to himself.
But in that case, he should, at the very least, be fully prepared to run down the path that Eugene would be opening up for them.
Eugene kept his eyes on Gilead’s back as the Patriarch leaped down from the palace walls. The words ‘you don’t need to help out’ were lingering in his ears. Feeling slightly embarrassed by Gilead’s consideration for him, Eugene eventually turned around.
The sun had slowly begun to set.
Eugene didn’t want to attract needless attention, so he looked for somewhere deserted. Since he needed to turn in early to rest in preparation for the expedition tomorrow, Eugene decided that it would be better to double-check all of his equipment just one more time.
Although it was a long way from Salar to Hauria, with the assistance of all of the high-ranking wizards and the spirit summoners led by Melkith, let alone a few days of travel, they would be able to reach Hauria in less than a day.
‘Then the battle should break out immediately,’ Eugene suspected.
There was no way that the forces led by the specter would just quietly shut themselves in the city and focus on defending. There should already be enemies waiting in ambush outside of the Centipede Mountains.
So right now would be the last chance that Eugene would get to prepare for battle with peace of mind.
After he climbed down from the palace walls, many people noticed Eugene. Whenever they did, they would all try to greet him or ask where he was going. Since they weren’t someone he could just ignore, Eugene returned each of their greetings and gave a casual answer to their questions.
The emotions contained in the looks that they gave him were, for the most part, similar. There was respect, envy, admiration, and other such feelings.
‘In the past, such gazes felt heavy,’ Eugene recalled thoughtfully.
As far as Eugene could remember, the first time he had drawn such looks was in the Samar Rainforest.
These were the types of looks that only a ‘Hero’ could draw. At that time, their eyes had felt heavy, resting on him. It felt burdensome. Three hundred years ago, Eugene might have already been a hero, but he wasn’t the Hero. Back then, most of those gazes had been directed at Vermouth, with only a few being turned towards Hamel.
~
—I hate being the Hero.
~
Eugene could remember Vermouth saying that. They had all called him the Hero, and they all had expectations for him. During that time, back three hundred years ago, Vermouth would always attract attention wherever he went and was treated like the protagonist at every moment.
They would all beg him to defeat the Demon Kings, ask him to save the world, and plead with him to avenge their fallen kin.
Those were the types of words that Vermouth was always forced to listen to. All while receiving their admiration, envy, awe, and other such emotions.
It was just like what Eugene was experiencing now.
‘But does it still feel as heavy as it first did?’ Eugene asked himself.
That was no longer the case. Rather than feeling heavy, all of their attention just felt slightly embarrassing. To be honest, now, it had even become familiar and natural for him to receive such treatment.
Can I really do it? Eugene no longer had such doubts. Rather than questioning himself on whether he could live up to their expectations, he had decided that it was better to just believe that he would do what he had to.
~
Eugene had spent quite some time walking. It was only then that he finally arrived at a place where there were no other people around. After scanning his surroundings, Eugene pushed his hands inside his cloak.
His hands came out, each holding the Moonlight Sword and the Holy Sword. Those were the only two swords that he pulled out.
The Holy Sword was just the same as ever. Nothing had changed about it. The God of Light who had placed a connection to himself within this sword was someone whose intentions and identity seemed inscrutable to Eugene. However, Eugene was confident that in this coming battle, the Holy Sword would provide its Light whenever he needed it.
People who belonged to other religions often said that the God of Light was self-righteous.
Even in Eugene’s opinion, that did indeed seem to be the case. When even the believers who served the God of Light were already so self-righteous and fanatics at that, then the God of Light should be even more self-righteous than his millions of believers. He was so self-righteous that he had even lent his strength to Eugene as Eugene was killing the faithful believers who had devoted themselves to the god[1].
Then there was the Moonlight Sword.
‘Can I really use you?’ Eugene silently asked.
After killing Iris, the Moonlight Sword had received new sources of strength. Eugene’s mana and divine power had been infused within it, but so had the same ominousness that was ever-present in Lehainjar. This would be Eugene’s first time using the Moonlight Sword in actual combat after the blade of the sword had been fully restored.
So, would the Moonlight Sword really be able to cut down the fake who had become the Incarnation of Destruction? Eugene couldn’t help but feel some concern about the likelihood of that.
The Moonlight Sword was a sword of Destruction. The ominous moonlight that sprayed out each time the sword was swung was essentially no different from the dark power of Destruction.
‘Even with my divine power and mana added on to it…,’ Eugene clicked his tongue as he glared down at the blade of the Moonlight Sword.
He would just have to test it out himself to find out whether the current Moonlight Sword would have any effect against the Incarnation of Destruction. In fact, there was something more important than that.
‘Will my Divine Sword be able to cut him down?’ Eugene silently speculated.
If he couldn’t even cut someone like the specter with his Divine Sword, then Eugene would never be able to take down the Demon King of Destruction himself.
So what if his Divine Sword hadn’t been completely formed yet? So what if he was lacking in divine power? If Eugene kept thinking up these questions one by one and preparing all sorts of excuses, then even decades wouldn’t be enough to prepare him to face the final Demon King. Eugene rubbed the part of his chest over where the Divine Sword was drawn from.
He suddenly turned his head.
The sun was still setting.
The golden desert had been dyed a dark red. From the other side of the desert, dusk was slowly creeping up. Before too much time had passed, the sun would completely set and disappear, and this dark red desert would be covered in pitch-black darkness.
Someone's figure could be seen floating above the dark waves of dusk that seemed to have foreshadowed his arrival.
It was a man wearing a white mask.
Eugene’s hand dug into his chest.
1. This refers to when Eugene was killing the paladins and priests at the Fount of Light to save Kristina, just in case anyone has forgotten. ☜