Chapter 197: Chapter 143: The Hunt (6)

Hector watched this scene take place from a distance.

Hundreds, no, thousands of spikes shot up from the previously empty ground. The spikes were all black, but they were not shadows. They were all wriggling as if they were alive, and each spike seemed to be covered in black keratin.

[Don’t get too close,] the voice inside his head seemed full of excitement as it warned Hector. [Even if it’s you, if you were to get close to that, your body would rot away and die.]

“Have you confirmed any signs of life?” Hector eventually asked.

[There’s nothing to see, but if you want to check, go have a look yourself. However, Hector, despite your abilities, if you get close to any of those with your bare body, you will definitely rot away and die,] the voice repeated with emphasis.

Hector’s face contorted into a frown at these words. It wasn’t like he suspected those words were unfounded, as the speaker didn’t have any reason to lie to him, but he still felt a need to check it out. Hector picked up a few stones lying near him and threw them forward.

Psssssh!

The moment that the stones touched the black thorns, the stones turned black and disintegrated into ashes. Upon seeing this happen in front of him, all thoughts of going closer vanished. Shaking his head, Hector stepped further backward.

“He must be dead,” Hector agreed with some regret.

[We have enough sacrifices in any case. Wasn’t it just Eward’s selfishness that made him obsessed with having that guy as an offering?]

“Well… with the relationship between them, he has a reason for his obsession. Or perhaps it’s because of Eugene’s value as a sacrifice?” Hector speculated.

[Hm. I’ve heard that blood relations like siblings or parents are of higher value as sacrifices, but… strictly speaking, Eugene Lionheart isn’t blood-related to Eward, right?]

Hector just shrugged in response to the voice and turned around. What kind of reaction would Eward show to the fact that he had been unable to capture Eugene and bring him back? Would he be angry? Or perhaps disappointed?

Hector recalled the usual look on Eward’s face. Eward looked as if something had been emptied out of him… no, he looked as if he had been emptied and that void had been filled by something else instead. Although Hector was interested in the nature of Eward’s existence, he had no intention of trying to understand Eward or getting familiar with him.

Even after Hector left that location, the thorns didn’t disappear.

[Sir Eugene…?] Mer called out to Eugene in a voice full of anxiety and concern.

However, there was no response to her words. Mer’s body started trembling in fear at this silence.

[You’re… you’re okay, right?] Mer pleaded once more, but just like before, no reply came back.

Although she wanted to stick her head out of the cloak, Mer wasn’t able to do so. Even without direct contact, as long as she was in the range of these thorns, her very existence would be corroded.

However, Eugene was perfectly fine, without a single injury.

It was all thanks to the Moonlight Sword.

Even this intense corrosive curse couldn’t leave any kind of mark on the Moonlight Sword. Eugene stared down at the Moonlight Sword that he was holding close to his body and the soft moonlight emanating from it.

The bracelet on his left wrist was now broken. The moment the thorns had begun sprouting from the ground — Eugene had immediately shattered the bracelet without any hesitation before drawing the Moonlight Sword.

The only reason Eugene had been able to react so quickly was his familiarity with this type of attack. This attack had a very long range. As long as one could confirm the location and coordinates, they could raise these thorns beneath their target even while being dozens of kilometers away.

‘...Though it seems they’re not that skilled at using it,’ Eugene observed.

His body wasn’t injured, but Mer’s voice kept ringing inside his head. Although Mer should know that he hadn’t received any injuries, even so, she kept asking him if he was alright.

Eugene knew the reason for this. What Mer was concerned about wasn’t his body but his mind. Eugene finally smiled faintly and shook his head.

“I’m fine,” he reassured her.

The inside of Eugene’s chest felt like it was boiling over. On the other hand, his head was as cold as ice. Glancing down at his throbbing left hand, he saw that the fingernails on his tightly curled-up fingers had dug into the skin on his palms and drawn blood.

“I was just reminded of the past,” Eugene muttered in a low voice as he wiped the blood off his palm.

‘I wasn’t able to fully split them in two,’ Eugene thought regretfully.

He had originally meant to use the Moonlight Sword to slice apart all the sprouting thorns.

But his efforts had fallen short. Perhaps if it had been with the Moonlight Sword at its full power, he would have been able to do it, but what Eugene currently possessed was merely the hilt of the Moonlight Sword, with only the power from a fragment restored to it.

‘...Well, it’s not the only thing lacking in strength,’ Eugene mused.

He had still been able to slice off enough of the thorns so that his body wasn’t injured. There also weren't any subsequent waves of attacks. Now that he had taken a slow look around, he could see that the shape and density of the thorns were lacking compared to their full potential.

‘As expected,’ Eugene thought as he lifted the Moonlight Sword. ‘For a human being who isn’t the Demon King or even a demonfolk, this is probably their limit.’

Whenever the Demon King of Cruelty had thrust his Demon Spear Luentos forward, the entire Demon King’s Castle had become a field of thorns. That unpredictable attack had almost killed Hamel, several times.

After the Demon King of Cruelty was slain, and with Vermouth currently missing, the new owner of the Demon Spear Luentos was now the Council Head. Doynes Lionheart.

Eugene ground his teeth as he swung the Moonlight Sword.

Baaang!

The light spraying forth from the Moonlight Sword erased countless thorns. After swinging the Moonlight Sword a few more times, Eugene left the site behind.

‘Now that the bracelet has been broken, he won’t be able to sprout those thorns on my exact location anymore,’ Eugene thought with some relief.

With the power of his demonic eyes, the Demon King of Cruelty could summon his thorns without needing their specific coordinates, but Doynes wouldn’t be able to do that.

‘...Value as a sacrifice,’ Eugene repeated to himself.

Those were the words that Hector had muttered.

‘Although I don’t know what they’re doing that requires a sacrifice… for now, that means their purpose isn’t to slaughter everyone unconditionally,’ Eugene realized with relief.

To be honest, he hadn’t thought that Doynes would be able to use the power of the Demon Spear.

Eugene recalled, ‘In the first place, the only one who could freely use the weapons of the Demon Kings was Vermouth….’

In his previous life, Eugene had also picked up the Demon Kings’ weapons a few times.

The moment he had grabbed them, his blood had begun to turn black, and he had felt like he was going crazy.

‘That’s not a power that can be used continuously,’ Eugene guessed.

But this was all simply self-justification. Eugene had to admit that he had been careless. Although he had suspected that Doynes was a villain, he had only thought of the man as the ‘Head of the Council,’ not as the ‘Master of the Demon Spear.’ To think that Vermouth’s distant descendants would really be able to draw out the special attack of the Demon Spear…

[...What are you going to do?] Mer asked with a voice chock-full of anxiety. [From that darkness spirit summoner to the Council Head as well… this forest is much too dangerous. I know that Sir Eugene is strong, but fighting the enemy on their home ground is—]

“He said that there were sacrifices,” Eugene silenced Mer, though he knew what Mer was worried about. “Hector must have captured Cyan.”

Mer fell silent.

“It might not just be Cyan. Ciel might have been captured as well…. Gargith and… the others could also be included in their capture targets,” Eugene said, his face twisting into a scowl.

As long as Cyan and Ciel were okay…. Eugene tried to reassure himself with this thought, but he just couldn’t stay calm.

[...Sir Eugene might have a dirty mouth and a nasty attitude to boot, but your heart is in the right place,] Mer cheered him on.

“Be quiet,” Eugene snapped.

Instead of listening, Mer continued, [Indeed, if you were a hard-hearted person, then you wouldn’t have fought against the Demon Kings to save the world. Even if the world was in a terrible state three hundred years ago, with your skills, Sir Eugene, you would have been able to live comfortably without taking any risks in such a world.]

“There’s something wrong with your words,” Eugene denied as he clicked his tongue and shook his head. “I was able to survive in that world and become stronger because I just couldn’t feel comfortable with living in such a world. It wasn’t just me, either. That goes for Sienna, Anise, Molon, and… Vermouth as well. We all shared that same trait.”

These words came naturally to Eugene without any trace of exaggeration.

If Hamel had wanted to seek comfort on his own, he could have done so on a few occasions. When his entire village had been annihilated by monsters, leaving him as the sole survivor, he could have just been grateful for that miracle and decided to live quietly.

But he hadn’t done that. Hamel had wanted revenge. That was why he had become a mercenary.

When he finally succeeded in making a name for himself as a mercenary, he also had plenty of opportunities to live in comfort. But just when his fame was on the rise, Hamel had instead decided to head to Helmuth.

Sienna, Anise, Molon, and Vermouth had also been the same. If they had really wanted to, they would have been able to find a way to live comfortably.

Vermouth had certainly been the pillar of the party, but none of them had ever said something like ‘I want to go back, I don’t want to fight, this much should be enough… so let’s just stop.’

They just continued to hope and long for the future. They even thought about and discussed what they might do when they had managed to defeat all the Demon Kings, and the world had become peaceful. What kind of lives would they live?

[It’s because you’re a hero,] Mer said, not really trying to persuade Eugene.

“...But I hate that title because of how heavy it is,” Eugene sighed.

[But Sir Eugene, at this point, you’re still going to go and save everyone, aren’t you?] Mer pointed out.

“Well, it’s not quite true that I’m going there to rescue them,” Eugene replied as his face twisted awkwardly. “But I’d feel bad if I just left them there, so it can’t be helped. Also, I’m pretty pissed off. After all, wasn’t I just doing my own things? But that fucker Doynes, the old bastard, he tried to kill me, didn’t he? So he’s the one who picked a fight first. And Hector, the other bastard, kept chatting me up, but he was just trying to stab me in the back.”

[...Well, that might be the case, but… in the end, you’re still going to go and save Miss Ciel and the others,] Mer insisted.

“No, that’s not what’s important. The important thing is that it’s only natural for me to get mad in this situation, right? Mer, you already know this, but I have quite a savage and shitty personality. Since you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, my personality is exactly the same as it was in my previous life. The Council Head? The Demon Spear? Fuck that. I have the Moonlight Sword and the Holy Sword. Do you really think I’ll lose if I use the Storm Sword, the Dragon Spear, and the Thunderbolt all at the same time while also turning on Ignition?” As Eugene spat out this tirade, he dropped the Moonlight Sword back into his cloak.

[That’s… Sir Eugene, you really can’t just be honest, can you?] Mer said with a sigh.

“What? Where would you even find someone as honest as I am?” Eugene demanded. “Some fuckers are acting like motherfuckers, so I’m going to go fuck them up. What’s wrong with that?”

[Did I ever say there’s something wrong with what Sir Eugene is planning?] Mer questioned.

“Then stop saying so many pointless things and just sit tight inside the cloak,” Eugene growled as he glared into the darkness.

After reading Eugene’s thoughts, Mer gulped and asked, [...As expected… is it really Sir Eward?]

While holding Akasha, Eugene had managed to spot Eward. To his sight, it appeared that Eward really hadn’t learned any black magic, nor was he using any forbidden magical artifacts.

But the only thing that Akasha allowed Eugene to see was ‘magic.’ If Eward had made a contract with a spirit of darkness, it was impossible for even Akasha to detect it.

‘Seeing how they’re preparing offerings, it seems like they’re preparing some kind of ritual related to black magic. If there isn’t some unknown third party involved… then Eward must be at the center of all this,’ Eugene reasoned.

This was a crime that couldn’t even begin to be compared to when Eward had tried to learn black magic on his own. Since Eward had gotten his own siblings and a lot of his collateral relatives involved, even the Patriarch, Gilead, wouldn’t be able to defend Eward from the consequences.

‘That means it’s fine even if I kill Eward here,’ Eugene rationalized.

The image of Eward’s face, as he smiled while thanking Eugene, flashed through his head.

Eugene couldn’t even begin to understand what in the world Eward had been thinking when he had said that.

* * *

“...You’ve caught one more,” Hector muttered as his brows furrowed.

On a tree that loomed in the darkness, the ‘sacrificial offerings’ dangled like fruit from a branch that had been stretched out in a bizarre shape.

There were the twins from the direct line as well as Gargith and Dezra from the collateral lines. When Hector had left this area, there had only been four sacrifices in total. Now, Genia had been included as well, bringing the total up to five.

Hector looked up at Genia, who had lost consciousness and was hanging there completely limp.

“I’m not the one who brought her here,” Eward’s voice emerged from the darkness. “She found this place on her own and ran in all by herself.”

“But you’re the one who made her do that,” Hector accused.

“I know that you and that young lady have a close relationship. However, Hector, you were the one who failed to bring back the offering that you were tasked with. As such, isn’t it alright for me to add another offering of my own accord?” Eward argued.

Hector sighed, “When you put it like that, I can’t say anything back, young master.”

Hector looked away from Genia.

“Well… it's true that we were pretty good friends. She was quite a fun sparring partner as well. However, with all that… I don’t think we’re close enough for me to beg you not to sacrifice her…. Hm….” Hector pondered for a moment on what to say.

He couldn’t quite figure out which words would best express his complicated mood.

“This is quite a delicate feeling…. Hm… so that’s it. Although I don’t mind killing her, I don’t want to see her die like this…. That’s right, it’s like that,” Hector said with some relief at figuring it out.

“So what, are you asking us to not sacrifice her?” Eward asked.

“No, like I said, I don’t mind. What matters right now isn’t my mood. It’s that the young master manages to complete this spell properly. With more sacrifices, the spell will become correspondingly better, right?” Hector said, waving his hands dismissively as he headed closer to the center of the darkness.

However, he wasn’t able to get too close. The more the distance between him and it shrunk, the more an indescribable ominous feeling nibbled away at his mind.

This feeling wasn’t unfamiliar to Hector. Within Northern Ruhr, the country which had just opened its gates to the demonfolk of Helmuth starting from five years ago, there had been several times when Hector had met a high-ranking demonfolk.

‘It’s not unfamiliar, but… it still makes me feel dirty every time I encounter something like this,’ Hector thought as he narrowed his eyes and peered into the darkness.

The ground was covered in a magic circle painted in red blood. It wasn’t just the ground, either. Even in the empty spaces midair, blood had spread out in several lines from the magic circle.

Hector hadn’t learned any magic. However, he had enough of a connection with magic that he was able to carry a high-ranking artifact that couldn’t be bought even with millions of sals. Because of that, Hector could feel it intuitively.

The magic circle that Eward was currently drawing was by no means part of any ordinary spell. As a wizard of the Fourth Circle, Eward was definitely incapable of properly operating such a magic circle. In the first place, magic circles weren’t something that could be used just because they were drawn neatly. With a high-ranking magic circle, it was impossible for them to be operated unless you were a wizard of sufficient skill.

“How amazing,” a voice was heard from behind Hector.

Hector turned around to look back in surprise.

“...You came much faster than I expected you to. Can you really move that fast just by running?” Hector asked.

“It’s because all the paths were connected in a straight line,” Dominic said with a grin. “This spirit of darkness is more convenient than I thought it would be. To think that the eldest son who’s been called the disgrace of the clan… would really be able to sign a contract with such a high-ranking spirit of darkness.”

“Weren’t you already aware I had made such a contract?” Eward asked.

“Of course I knew,” Dominic confirmed. “However, I thought you would have just made a contract with a lower-ranking spirit, no? To think that a former heir without any talents for the martial arts or magic… would truly turn out to have an affinity for the spirits of darkness, who would have ever guessed?” Dominic said with amazement.

“It’s a bit different from that,” Eward replied from within the darkness. “I don’t actually have any affinity to spirits.”

“...What does that mean?” Dominic asked in disbelief.

“The spirit told me that directly. Except under special… haha… yes, special circumstances, it wouldn’t have signed a contract with a person like me,” Eward revealed bitterly.

“Special circumstances?” Dominic repeated.

“That’s right… in my case, it seems that I’ve received quite a bit of help from my pedigree. Isn’t that funny? My position as the eldest son of the ‘Lionheart’ clan, the burden that I’ve longed to discard… if it wasn’t for that, there would be nothing special about me,” Eward said as he continued to stare straight ahead.

He was looking directly at Deacon Lionheart, whose chest had been split open. Even looking at this corpse from such a close distance, Eward didn’t feel anything in particular. For Eward, this eighteen-year-old boy was nothing more than the first offering, a paint bucket filled with the ‘blood’ needed to draw the magic circle.

Beside the corpse of Deacon, the Annihilation Hammer Goliath was floating in midair. The magic circle drawn in Deacon’s blood was spreading outwards from the Annihilation Hammer. The Annihilation hammer served as the vessel that gathered the power of the sacrifices and amplified the strength of the darkness spirit.

“...What have you done with the Head of the Council?” Eward eventually asked.

“I stabbed him through the chest,” Dominic replied with a calm smile, “from right behind his back. No matter how old he might have become, I had no confidence in fighting him head-on. Especially since I left the Annihilation Hammer here.”

“...Did you kill him?” Eward prompted.

“Haha…. Even though my grandfather is called the Immortal White Lion, with a hole in chest, he’s bound to be dead,” Dominic responded as he lifted his right hand for a closer look.

He was actually holding onto a blackened and withered right arm that was itself holding onto the Demon Spear Luentos. Dominic grunted as he started pulling at the withered hand still clinging to the spear.

“I used grandfather’s arm to cast the Spear Forest[1], but it looks like it’s impossible to cast it again. Since I have no desire to cripple one of my own arms,” Dominic commented.

“Can’t you just cut off someone else’s arms and use the special attack through that arm like you just did?” Hector asked out of pure curiosity.

Dominic just snorted at this and shook his head before explaining, “Don’t say something so absurd, Hector. The only reason this arm is still intact is that it's the hand of my grandfather, who’s been using the Demon Spear for fifty years; any other arm would rot off just by touching the spear. My father and the previous Patriarch both died from the aftereffects of wielding the Demon Spear and the Annihilation Hammer.”

“Aha… so that really is the case,” Hector nodded in understanding. “However, wasn’t the Council Head able to stay in control of the Demon Spear for over fifty years? Lord Dominic is also the master of the Annihilation Hammer.”

“That’s why my grandfather and I are so special. Though, now that my grandfather is dead, I’m the only one who’s special,” Dominic declared proudly as he nodded his head with a grin.

After tearing away each of the Council Head’s fingers that were still clinging to the Demon Spear, he spun the Demon Spear around to get a good look at it.

“So, young master, when will the spell be done? Have you double-checked the spirit’s instructions?” Dominic reminded Eward.

“Lord Dominic, you, of all people, are suspicious of him?” Eward asked.

Dominic hesitated, “Well, I… after all, he’s never spoken to me.”

“The magic circle is complete. Now we only need to start—” Eward’s voice suddenly halted. “...Didn’t you say that you killed him?”

The darkness shook.

“Killed who?” Dominic asked, puzzled.

“I’m talking about Eugene Lionheart.”

“What in the world are you talking about? Could that guy really still be alive?” Dominic asked as he turned to look at Hector in bewilderment.

Hector hesitated. “I didn’t check his corpse… no, I wasn’t able to do so. And didn’t you say there wasn’t any need for it?”

“Of course, there was no need to check. Who the hell would even be able to survive the Spear Forest—”

Before Dominic could finish his cry of protest, a hole was pierced through the layers of darkness.