The light threatened to overcome him. The specter knew that Eugene had not used Ignition. However, that didn’t mean the sword was any less lethal than powered by Eugene Lionheart’s full power.
In the first place, Ignition was a technique that caused the Core to surge and break through the limit of mana output. The Divine Sword utilized a different form of power, and as such, using Ignition did not amplify the power of the Divine Sword.
The crimson light of Eugene’s Divine Sword was the essence of his special qualities and potential. It embodied the faith of the War God Agaroth and the reverence for the Hero Eugene Lionheart.
The specter had experienced the power of the Divine Sword at the beginning of the battle. Like the miracle formed through the unification of the Moonlight Sword and the Holy Sword, the Divine Sword could not be avoided once it was drawn. Moreover, the Divine Sword also carried the miracles of slaying evil and certain death with it.
That was the divine power of the arrogant and wild War God Agaroth. In the battlefields of the Age of Myth, Agaroth’s opponents were mostly demons and Demon Kings, which was why the sword he wielded had to embody the divine will to cut through evil.
However, the current form of the Divine Sword did not match the power wielded by Agaroth when he was at his peak. It was still incomplete. While this deep-red sword light might transcend space and time, it could not truly reproduce the acts of evil slaying and certain death in their fullest sense.
Yet, having already been struck by the Divine Sword once before, the specter knew the power it carried. His personal experiences, as well as the intuition and instincts he gained from becoming the Incarnation of Destruction, allowed him to thoroughly reassess the Divine Sword.
This blade of the Divine Sword was rough.
It seemed to grind rather than cut. The edge of the Divine Sword was jagged and chaotic, like the teeth of a beast or a saw. As such, it left deep wounds in its opponents. Furthermore, it inflicted pain beyond a simple cut, similar to pouring and rubbing salt or shattered glass into the wound.
‘A curse...’ the specter concluded as he moved. ‘Resentment and venomous grudge….’ The anger, hatred, and murderous intent were carried through the eras and transformed Eugene’s divine power into poison.
This was not the divine power of Agaroth but the divine power of Eugene Lionheart. The faith accumulated in the Hero of this era, rather than the War God, was sublimated into divine power.
‘It’s unbefitting of the Hero.’ The specter entertained such a thought as he watched the sword light coming closer. It was a sentiment shared by many who had seen Eugene’s flames and strength.
But though it may not seem fitting, Eugene’s sword still cut through evil in a steadfast manner. No, rather, it ground them to shreds and tore them apart. In that sense, the current Divine Sword wasn’t much different from Agaroth’s Divine Sword. Eugene’s Divine Sword was intended to kill demons and Demon Kings.
Then, it should not be avoided. Strictly speaking, while the specter was not a Demon King, he was obstructing the Hero like one, and he intended to kill the Hero like a Demon King.
When he first saw the Divine Sword, he had failed to respond properly, or rather, it had been impossible to respond. The Divine Sword could not be avoided, and as such, he had been stuck in a dilemma, wondering whether to defend against the attack or attempt a counter. The specter had ended up clumsily launching an attack of his own, only for it to break instantly without any resistance.
Now, there was no need to ponder between the two choices. The specter immediately grasped his sword. Various colors mixed together to create a chaotic-looking blade formed from dark power.
The specter utilized Vermouth’s White Flame Formula. The seemingly endless surge of dark power took the shape of flames, and the ominous power whipped around the specter like a lion’s mane.
The Divine Sword collided with the demonic sword. But unlike before, the demonic sword did not shatter in vain. The endless supply of dark power continuously repaired the blade even as it was torn to shreds.
‘It's different,’ thought Eugene.
He noticed that the demonic sword itself was the same as before. However, the power it carried, the precision with which it struck, and even the specter’s manipulation of dark power were significantly better than before. Both Eugene and the specter came to a realization at that moment.
‘I’m getting stronger,’ the specter thought.
Was it because he was becoming more accustomed to the power as the Incarnation of Destruction? Or was Vermouth providing him with more power? Did Vermouth want to test Eugene’s limits that badly?
The specter resolved, ‘If that's what you wish for, then I….’
The specter hadn't yet reached the point of dissolution. He could still fight. He was firm in his resolve, and he was determined to use all of his power to kill Eugene.
‘Try it,’ Eugene challenged, his lips twisted with a mix of disdain and challenge. Vermouth, you bastard. ‘If you, from whichever hole you're hiding in, want to see how strong I am….’
There was no sound amidst the clash between the Divine Sword and the demonic sword, but their exchanges were causing a phenomenon. The space, a chaotic mix in the rift of dimensions, was disintegrating. The darkness that lay like a backdrop to their dance started to blend with divine and dark powers, and as a result, the space was beginning to be dyed with various colors.
[Hamel...!] Anise screamed in horror.
Eugene knew what she was worried about. However, he didn’t cease his attack.
Fwoosh!
With a roar, the darkness vanished, leaving behind a void of pure white where Eugene and the specter stood alone.
Craaack!
The void split open, leading to another collapse of dimensional layers. Exiting could mean becoming lost in an unknown dimension or being sucked into an unfathomable dark abyss.
Eugene wasn’t a fan of either outcome. Just before the dimensional layers completely disintegrated, Prominence blazed black. He had not lost his connection to the outside world. He was still connected via the Light thread, and the flames of Prominence connected him with the Light of the Saints.
He leaped.
The scenery changed instantly. He was no longer standing in the disintegrating space. Instead, Eugene found himself back above Hauria. The first thing he saw was the scar in the sky. It bubbled as if it was boiling, then contracted before disappearing.
He looked behind him.
Hauria lay in ruins. Where there had been some semblance of a city, now there was nothing. Thousands of Nur had trampled and demolished every building, flattening the area. Below him, there was no longer a distinction between buildings and streets.
A horde of monsters were roaring and rampaging wildly. The Liberation Army stood in front of the rampaging monsters.
Melkith stood out on the battlefield. Although she was a wizard, she wasn't at the rear of the army but at the forefront, clearing the way.
Lovellian’s Pantheon was in full effect. He summoned numerous creatures from atop it to block the advance of the Nur.
Gilead had dismounted his steed and was leading the White Lions, breaking through the summoned creatures into the ranks of the monsters. Cyan was right beside his father, and they were followed by Alchester, Ivatar, Aman, Ortus, and Ivic. The commanders were actively participating in the battle, and the wizards and priests continuously cast spells and prayers.
The battle was in full effect in the sky as well. Knights on wyverns, pegasi, and summoned beasts were engaging in fierce combat with the Nur.
The banners of Lionheart were visible, along with several others. Raphael held the reins of a giant pegasus while swinging his claymore to decapitate a Nur, while Carmen's flames engulfed others nearby. Gion was seen rallying the knights, and Genos, too, charged at the Nur in his coat of red flames.
Darkness flickered.
It was the effect of the Demoneye of Darkness. Though Ciel’s eyes were bloodshot from strain, she continued to unleash the power of her Demoneye.
Eugene's gaze shifted further back. The universe seemed to have opened up in the sky behind Sienna, and the space behind her was filled with the debris of collapsed walls and buildings.
Sienna had enjoyed using such magic even three hundred years prior.
She would imbue mana into objects of mass and crudely hammer her enemies with them.
The most renowned of these spells was Meteor, a spell considered the pinnacle of war magic.
However, even an Archwizard couldn't single-handedly bring down meteors from the distant sky. It was near impossible without the aid of other wizards or a magic circle that was prepared beforehand.
But this was a limitation only for other Archwizards. Sienna could not be bound by the same restrictions. With her level of magic, she didn't need to pull suitable meteors from the sky. If she needed a meteor, she could create one on the ground and enhance the impact it would create with magic to simulate a cosmic fall.
"You should at least say something when you're leaving," Sienna grumbled, pouting. She waved her hand dismissively at Eugene.
Eugene understood immediately. He was in the trajectory she was drawing with her magic, so she was telling him to dodge the attack.
With a thunderous roar, a massive meteor crafted by magic left the makeshift universe. It traveled at a speed so fast that it merely cast a fleeting shadow on the ground. Not wanting to get entangled in the devastating attack, Eugene leaped high into the sky to avoid the meteor's parabolic path.
The meteor crashed amidst the Nur army. The massive object contained enough force to obliterate an entire city, and it was concentrated only on the Nur. But despite the meteor’s immense power, the Nur weren’t fully decimated. Their screams transformed into dark power and offset the crushing impact of the meteor.
"These bastards are like cockroaches," Eugene muttered.
These monsters were more obnoxious than the ones he had seen three hundred years ago or the demonic beasts he had just slain a while ago — repulsive, hard to kill, and swarming in vast numbers.
"Can't you just clear them out?" Eugene asked.
"I'd prefer not to repeat the same conversation," the specter replied, standing nonchalantly on the opposite side of the sky.
The demonic sword's light was fading, but the flames around the specter were growing even more ferocious and ominous.
"What, you are testing them as well?" Eugene asked mockingly.
"You're not going to march into Helmuth alone and climb Babel, are you?" the specter countered.
"No reason I couldn’t. At my current level, I could massacre even the high-ranking demons,” Eugene retorted with a scoff.
The specter didn't deny it. Among the demons in Helmuth, only Gavid Lindman and Noir Giabella could pose a threat to Eugene.
"Are you planning to ignore the resolve of those inspired by you, the Hero, to come here?" the specter mocked.
"You piece of…." Eugene's face contorted, and his earlier smirk disappeared.
The specter's words were a twist on what Eugene had said earlier. He hadn't expected his own words to be thrown back at him like this.
[Trust in us,] came a voice. He wasn’t sure whether it was Anise or Kristina. It could have been either of them.
"We’re living in a time when it’s hard to even believe in gods. How easy do you think it is to trust others?” Eugene responded.
[Please refrain from saying such blasphemous words.]
Eugene clicked his tongue, then shook his right hand as if dusting it off.
Eugene’s Divine Sword had disappeared. He could still draw it out one last time, but before that, he extended his right hand forward and slowly placed it on his chest, covering the area near his heart. The specter laughed at Eugene’s blatant posture.
"Are you doing as you warned you would?" asked the specter.
"Yes,” came the response.
Eugene's fingers delved into his chest. His White Flame Formula no longer harbored Stars. Instead, the cosmos had taken their place.
The black flames began to surge, darkening to the depth of complete darkness. Amidst the darkness, star-like twinkles blossomed, and thus, the flames transformed into the galaxy as they enveloped Eugene.
Eugene’s White Flame Formula had evolved, and he had awakened the Divine Sword. Since then, activating Ignition wasn’t just about overloading the Core anymore. This galaxy was the embodiment of all possibilities Eugene had reached through his past lives as Agaroth and Hamel.
This wasn’t a simple skill or a spell. Just like the Divine Sword, this was a miracle manifested by Eugene.
"You prepare yourself as well," Eugene declared while immersed in the galaxy.
"Did you already know?" the specter asked, covering his heart with his right hand. "Noir Giabella and Gavid Lindman are watching us high above this place in the sky.”
"I didn't expect them to come watch in person,” Eugene muttered without surprise.
They were so high up that their presence was barely perceptible, but Eugene could feel them now. Noir was hiding in the Giabella Face, and Gavid was standing outside.
"Noir… knows you are Hamel. But Gavid doesn't know you're Hamel,” the specter said.
"That idiot's pretty clueless. In the first place, I did hide my identity in front of him,” Eugene responded.
"You're not planning to hide anymore?" the specter asked.
"After coming this far?" Eugene responded with a mocking smile.
The expanding universe that had been surging and swirling inside him came to a standstill. Lightning streaked across the stars, and the universe compressed around Eugene.
"I am…” Eugene began.
There was no need to look up. Gavid would be looking down from the sky anyway. There was no need to shout it either. Gavid would be listening.
"...Hamel,” Eugene said with a smile.
With a mighty roar, Prominence soared high and pierced the sky, instantly reaching Noir and Gavid. In an instant, the shape of Prominence shrank rapidly and transformed. No longer was it a wing of black flames; now, it was a wing formed from the dark blue and orange hues of the nebula.
It contained absurd power. Even the Demon Kings of three hundred years past would feel fear if they stood in Eugene’s presence.
But paradoxically, this overwhelmingly dominant power was also majestic and beautiful. Like the night sky illuminated by countless stars, the Milky Way created by flowing stars, or the auroras seen in the polar regions, Eugene now harbored a beauty beyond human comprehension.
Crack.
The specter's fingers dug into his chest.
His White Flame Formula was the original version passed down to him from Vermouth. The White Flame Formula, which was inherited by the Lionheart family for three hundred years, was designed by Vermouth to be suitable for his descendants.
The original White Flame Formula wasn’t something that ordinary humans could practice because Vermouth’s existence was anything but ordinary.
The specter was no different. He was not human and was far from ordinary. If the White Flame Formula inherited by the Lionheart family, the one Eugene learned, allowed one to shine like a brilliant star, then the star Vermouth harbored was a malevolent body.
The beautiful white flames and the flowing mane of the lion were dyed the color of nothingness.
When the specter’s five fingers dug into the chest, the malevolent star went berserk. The doors to his Core were opened, and the dark power of Destruction poured out. No, to be more precise, the specter’s Core became one with the Demon King of Destruction. The rampaging malevolent star became the specter’s Core.
If Eugene possessed an alien beauty, then the specter held an unknown ominousness. All sorts of colors mixed and blazed in his flames, and once all the colors blended, the color of Destruction turned into a vacuous white.
"Haha." The specter became submerged in the white flames. With one hand still on his chest, he laughed.
The omnipotence he felt now was incomparable to when he recklessly caused his dark power to surge in the Samar Forest.
"So this is how it feels,” the specter whispered softly while gazing at Eugene.
With nebulae as his wing and wrapped in galaxies, Eugene still had his hand on his chest. Unlike the laughing specter, there was no hint of mirth in his golden glowing eyes.
But now, both Eugene and the specter felt the same thing.
They were both certain that they could kill their opponent.
Openbookworm & DantheMan's Thoughts