Chapter 628: Chapter 572: The Holy See (4)

Sienna knew that it was only natural for Eugene to ask about the Demoneye, but she had never expected him to ask her at a time like this. Sienna’s face, which had been smiling mischievously just a few moments ago as she teased him, suddenly stiffened.

After hesitating for a few moments, she nodded and said, “I already told you back then. I took it with me.”

“That’s why I’m asking where it is now,” Eugene pressed.

After a short sigh, Sienna pulled open the front of her robes.

A purple diamond-like gem hung from a necklace hanging around Sienna’s neck. Eugene’s brow furrowed at this sight.

He didn’t really think that it would still be in the form of an actual eye, but he was still surprised to see that Sienna would turn it into a jewel and wear it around her neck. But Eugene felt especially surprised because he couldn’t feel any unusual energies coming from it, even though the Demoneye of Fantasy was hanging right in front of him.

“It’s been sealed,” Sienna explained.

“Sealed?” Eugene repeated questioningly.

“Mhm. It’s too hard to control. It’s also overflowing with dark power,” Sienna said before letting out another deep sigh and gently rubbing her finger against the necklace.

With this gesture, it only took a few moments for her to lift the seal.

Eugene could immediately see why Sienna had had to seal it and why she had described it as difficult to control and overflowing with dark power.

The moment Sienna’s magical seal was lifted, the jewel began to give off a bewitching glow.

Whoooosh!

A seemingly endless surge of dark power poured out from the jewel. At the same time, the Demoneye of Fantasy seemed to activate on its own accord as it began to draw on the flow of dark power.

Grrrrrumble....!

As the whole room started to vibrate, everything contained within began to shake. Though this wasn’t actually happening in reality, it was all just an effect of the Demoneye of Fantasy going out of control as it continued to draw on the flow of dark power.

With his brow furrowed in concern, Eugene turned his head to look behind him. He wanted to take a look at Kristina’s expression.

Fortunately, unlike when Noir had used it, it seemed that the Demoneye of Fantasy wasn’t able to subdue its targets’ minds and forcibly drag them into a dream. This was because that particular power had been based on Noir’s own ability, and it wasn’t something that the Demoneye of Fantasy could do on its own. However, after it randomly went on a rampage and began to swallow up large amounts of dark power without any restraint, the ability of the Demoneye of Fantasy instead manifested itself as a direct mental attack.

This was why Kristina currently felt a slight headache and couldn’t help but let out a frown.

Kristina’s face suddenly disappeared, accompanied by a crackling noise. The Demoneye of Fantasy seemed to have activated on its own once more, replacing Kristina’s face with the appearance of Noir, who looked exactly as Eugene last remembered her. Noir seemed to turn to look at Eugene with a bright smile. That smile also looked exactly like the smile in Eugene’s memories.

—Hamel.

Then there was her voice. Eugene clicked his tongue as he tried to keep his cool. That alone was enough to shatter the illusion. Noir’s face disappeared, going back to Kristina’s original appearance.

“You understand now why I’m keeping it sealed, right?” Sienna said with a sigh as she stroked the jewel once more.

At this second touch, all of the dark power that was pouring out of it was sucked back inside, and all visual indicators of the Demoneye of Fantasy’s activation disappeared.

“I don’t even know what kind of illusion you were seeing,” Sienna muttered grumpily. “That’s how difficult this thing is to control.”

Eugene frowned, “Does that mean you can’t control it at all?”

“Who do you think I am? Of course, I can control it. Although it’s extremely annoying and tiring to do so, it also consumes a lot of mental power. That’s why I usually keep it sealed up like this,” Sienna muttered proudly as she pulled her robes back together. “But still, it’s nice to have access to such an endless source of pure, high-quality dark power. It’s much stronger than the dark power Amelia Merwin can generate, so of course, this Lady Sienna will make good use of it.”

Eugene kept strangely silent.

Sienna continued unabated, “In fact, even without being able to control the Demoneye of Fantasy perfectly, just the fact that I can combine its dark power with my mana to create soul power is—”

“Sienna.” Eugene’s eyebrows wrinkled as he carefully considered a certain possibility. After staring at Sienna for a few moments, he began speaking again, “Is it possible that Noir Giabella’s soul... or any of her remnant thoughts were left within the Demoneye of Fantasy?”

Eugene recalled how Noir’s face and voice had manifested during the jewel’s rampage just a few moments ago. What if that wasn’t just a simple illusion? What if some trace of Noir’s existence remained within the Demoneye of Fantasy?

Eugene couldn’t help but have such doubts. When he finally slew Noir, he hadn’t used his divine power or Divine Sword. As such, Noir’s soul hadn’t been erased.

~

—If one day, I am reincarnated like you were, and if, by any chance, we meet again....

~

The words that Noir had whispered before she died were swirling within Eugene’s head.

He could have erased her soul. Even if he couldn’t use his divine power or Divine Sword, he could still have used the ominous light of the Moonlight Sword that had been fused into Levantein.

The reason he hadn’t used it....

In the end, it was because Eugene had also harbored the desire to see the “one day” that Noir had spoken of. So he couldn’t muster up the will needed to erase Noir’s soul. Because he didn’t want to fully erase her. So in the end... he just took her life.

“There’s nothing in here,” Sienna shook her head with a sigh. “I know that it might be inevitable for you to have such concerns, but you were there; Noir died right in front of us. Her soul... probably went where souls are supposed to go.”

“Well, you do have a past criminal record,” Eugene pointed out jokingly with a grin. “Three hundred years ago, when I died, who was the one who trapped my soul in this necklace and kept it with them?”

“That’s!” Sienna blushed. “I kept it with me for a reason, you know? It’s because of what you wished for with your last words! Because you wanted to be reincarnated into a world where all Demon Kings had been slain!”

“Alright, alright,” Eugene gestured for her to calm down.

“In any case! That damned Night Demon is well and truly dead,” Sienna stated firmly. “She might someday be reincarnated as a man, a woman, or even an animal, but that’s none of my business! There’s not a single trace of her left in the Demoneye of Fantasy!”

“Then why did it go on a rampage like that?” Eugene questioned.

Sienna turned the question back on him, “Did the Moonlight Sword go on a rampage because it also had an ego driving it to do so? It went out of control because I’m trying to forcefully control a power that I don’t meet the right conditions to use freely!”

After the Moonlight Sword was brought up as an example, Eugene got the feeling he shouldn’t ask any more questions.

Well, indeed, it wasn’t like Sienna had had any reason to preserve Noir’s soul, and if there really were any traces of Noir left within the Demoneye of Fantasy, what reason would Sienna have to hide it? If any such traces had remained, rather than keeping them intact, Sienna would have destroyed them long ago.

“You just stop arguing with me and get changed into a proper set of clothes,” Sienna frantically ordered. “You have to give a speech, remember!”

Eugene blinked doubtfully, “Does it really have to be today...?”

“Then what, do you want to do it tomorrow? Hmm? Or perhaps the day after?” Sienna offered sarcastically. “After being unconscious for three months, are you really going to waste any more time?”

To think that Sienna would be so naggy after he had just teased her a bit. Feeling aggrieved, Eugene grabbed the bottom of his hospital gown and pointedly lifted it up to his head without any warning, making a show of obeying Sienna’s order.

At the sight of Eugene’s abs, which had grown even more defined due to his prolonged involuntary fasting, Sienna spun her head around and screamed, “Kyaaaah!”

“Kyaaah!”

[Kyaaah!]

Kristina and Anise also let out identical screams. However, the Saints didn’t turn their heads away, and instead just covered their eyes with their hands. Their fingers were also splayed wide open.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Sienna snapped, her face blushing red.

Eugene shrugged as he said, “What? You told me to get changed.”

Eugene honestly couldn’t understand her reaction.

Even going back three hundred years ago, Molon had always gone around without any shirts on, and when the battlefield was low on supplies, Hamel had also been forced to wear rags so threadbare it was practically the same as not wearing any clothes at all. Moreover, even in the present day and age, there had been quite a few times when his clothes had been left in an embarrassing state following a battle.

“Who told you to get changed in front of everyone?!” Sienna complained.

She didn’t say it out loud, but Sienna also felt embarrassed by her overreaction. But there was a time and a place for everything. And now naturally wasn’t the time for something like that.

Eugene sighed, “You really are being picky. So what exactly do you want me to do?”

Sienna stammered, “I-I’ll keep my back turned, so get dressed already.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you just stepped out of the room?” Eugene proposed.

Sienna rejected the idea, “I can’t do that, you might run away because you don’t want to give the speech.”

“Do you think I am a child? That I would run away just because I didn’t want to do something?” Eugene scoffed.

Sienna remained firm, “No matter what, I won’t leave this room. So just quietly get dressed—”

Whooooom.

The shadows in the corner of the room suddenly rose from the ground. Eugene blinked in surprise for a few moments, wondering what the source of this new interruption was. The fact that he couldn’t feel any traces of hostility coming from the shadows, as well as the frivolous conversation that he had just been exchanging with Sienna, distracted Eugene from coming up with an immediate response.

“Eugene!” Ciel suddenly leaped out of the dark center of the shadows with a loud shout.

It wasn’t just Ciel. There was also Gilead, Gion, Cyan, and Carmen. As well as Alchester, Ivatar, Ortus, Ivic, Raphael, Honein, and all of the Archwizards. All of the general staff of the newly formed Divine Army emerged out of the darkness along with Ciel.

Looking at the scene in the room, Ciel was struck dumb.

She had been praying for Eugene to come to his senses and had been using the power of her Demoneye of Darkness, which could allow her to become one with shadows, to check up on him every day since his return. Only to be greeted with the sight of Eugene’s abs.

The newcomers also belatedly realized the situation they had just barged in on.

With his face stiffened into an expressionless mask, Eugene slowly pulled down the hem of his hospital gown, acting as if nothing had happened.

For a few moments, everyone was silent.

They had only recently found out that Sienna, who had returned from Neran in a hurry, had rushed into Eugene’s room. Following that discovery, the entire general staff had also hurried over to Eugene’s room using the power of Ciel’s Demoneye. But now they were faced with the question of why Eugene, who had finally reopened his eyes after being in a coma for three months, was trying to take his clothes off in front of Kristina and Sienna.

“Oh my, oh my my my...,” Melkith began blushing to herself as she cradled her cheeks with both hands. As she slowly sidled back into the darkness she had just emerged from, Melkith hissed, “What are you all doing? Stop being so tactless. Don’t you see that we should all head back and stop interfering with the touching scene of how these two ladies plan to welcome the hero who came back from the dead?”

Tempest was right, Eugene realized. He should have killed Melkith El-Hayah earlier.

Eugene glared at Melkith and growled through gritted teeth, “It’s not like that.”

“What do you mean it’s not? And even if that really isn’t the case, don’t you think that Lady Sienna and Saint Kristina will be disappointed if you state your rejection so firmly,” Melkith complained.

Eugene cursed, “Damn it, I’m saying that you’ve got the wrong idea.”

Melkith puffed out her chest, “Damn it? Did you just curse in front of me? Have you forgotten the memories from your childhood just because you’ve become a god? Don’t you remember how kindly your big sis treated you when you were just a cute little human child?”

Eugene clenched his fists as he exclaimed, “Ah damn—”

“Again with the cursing? Fine, keep going then. What comes after the damn? ‘It’ or ‘you’? Huh?” Melkith childishly pointed between Eugene and herself.[1]

Eugene’s fists shook in anger at her obnoxious show.

Couldn’t he just kill her now? No, Eugene told himself that he shouldn’t. Although it was hard to believe it judging by her usual behavior, Melkith could debatably be chosen as one of the strongest humans on the entire continent. Even compared to the rest of the general staff, who were all standing in front of Eugene, Carmen might be the only one who could truly match Melkith in power.

Eugene silently pondered this fact:

A world in which a madwoman like Melkith could arguably be described as the strongest human being on the continent, wouldn’t it be better for such a world to be destroyed? A madwoman like that was actually the greatest Spirit Summoner in the world? Even if it was just for a few moments, Eugene seriously contemplated the thought of erasing everything and starting over again.

Tempest’s voice was suddenly heard inside Eugene’s head. [As a Spirit Summoner, Melkith El-Hayah really isn’t all that bad.]

Eugene silently cursed, ‘You bastard, you must be out of your mind. Have you really been corrupted by that woman...?!’

[Don't be mistaken, Hamel. I still have yet to acknowledge Melkith. However, after giving it some rational thought, I have found that she is not as terrible a human as I initially perceived her to be,] Tempest claimed.

It seemed that the Spirit King had looked too deeply into the abyss. This thought ran through Eugene’s mind as he breathed in deeply, trying to soothe his growing anger.

“Are you feeling alright?” Gilead asked as he hurriedly approached Eugene. “It sounds like you’re having trouble breathing. It might be better for you to get some more rest.”

Eugene’s breathing had grown rough because he was starting to lose his temper. There was no way that Gilead couldn’t have noticed this, but the Patriarch’s intention was to resolve this awkward situation as quickly as possible.

“Oh Radiant Lion, your halo is even more radiant than before, but unfortunately your body has dried up and withered.” Carmen, who had simply spoken out of a desire to say the words ‘Radiant Lion,’ shook her head and sighed.

“Is it really not that sort of thing?” Ciel slowly asked as she shot Eugene a suspicious glance.

Meanwhile, Cyan let out a deep sigh as he stepped forward to stand beside Gilead, then he opened his arms wide and embraced Eugene.

“I’m glad you’ve woken up safely,” Cyan said.

Ultimately, it seemed that Eugene could still count on his brother. While subtly feeling moved, Eugene reciprocated the gesture, wrapping his arms around Cyan.

Before exiting the hug, Eugene whispered, “You didn’t get married while I was unconscious, did you?”

Cyan’s face twisted in response to his quiet question.

After the commotion had finally settled down, Eugene forced Carmen and Melkith to take an oath.

They promised to never, ever interrupt Eugene’s speech. They weren’t to raise their voices, nor could they mix in with the crowd so that they could start up any chanting. They weren’t allowed to scream, either. They were forbidden from doing anything except listening quietly.

In fact, Eugene at first tried to tell them not to listen to his speech and just stay away, but Carmen rejected this command with a straight face, saying that she absolutely couldn’t do such a thing, so Eugene was left with no choice but to compromise.

Once a year, during the feast day that marked the birth of the Holy Emperor, the Pope would conduct a service for the crowds in front of Yurasia’s Holy See. During this event, the Pope would stand at the highest point of the Apostolic Palace[2] and look down at the square below before giving his sermon.

“Please come this way,” Pope Aeuryus politely directed.

Although it was a sudden request, Pope Aeuryus didn’t seem surprised that the event was being hijacked. This was because, from the Pope’s position, he thought that it was only natural that Eugene should be giving such a speech, and the fact that they had called the believers to pray for Eugene in the main square in front of the Vatican only supported Pope Aeuryus’s conclusions.

Thanks to that, Aeuryus happily granted them access to the rooftop of the Apostolic Palace.

“But are you truly not going to wear the Holy Crown?” the Pope asked with a disappointed expression.

He was holding in his hands a magnificent five-tiered crown that was heavily decorated with gold and precious gems. This crown had been specially made for Eugene and was incomparably more extravagant than the three-tiered crown that the Pope usually wore during public events.

Eugene scoffed, “How am I meant to wear something that looks that heavy? It would break my neck.”

Aeuryus protested, “But for a historic speech like this—”

Eugene bluntly interrupted him, “I’ll die before I wear that. In fact, I don’t even really want to wear a cape like this either.”

“Sir Eugene, you are the Divine Emperor of Yuras,” Aeuryus reminded him.

“When did I ever agree to that...?” Eugene grumbled as he looked down at the clothes he was wearing.

Beneath his red floor-length cape, he was dressed in a gorgeous outfit that was colored in white and gold. The Pope had also specially prepared this set of clothes for Yuras’ new Divine Emperor.

Aeuryus tried to persuade him, “Right now, Sir Eugene, you are not just speaking as a member of the Lionheart Family. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Divine Army and the Divine Emperor of Yuras, you will soon be giving one final speech before heading into battle against Helmuth and the Demon King of Incarceration. Therefore—”

“Alright, alright, I’ve got it already. That’s why I’m wearing this instead of the Lionheart uniform. But that Holy Crown is just going too far,” Eugene expressed his disgust as he cut the Pope’s lecture short.

As Eugene subtly bared his intimidating aura, the Pope decided to refrain from offering any more advice and just quietly nodded.

“Before your speech begins... would you please promise me a few things,” Gilead politely requested as he walked over to stand by Eugene. He had been standing nearby with a worried frown. “Please, in your speech... ahem... please avoid the use of any profanity.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t do such a thing,” Eugene said as he nodded in agreement.

“And also... please don’t make any threats either,” Gilead hesitantly added.

“Huh?” Eugene frowned in confusion.

Gilead explained, “For example: If we lose the war or if the war situation becomes unfavorable, we will have no choice but to forcibly conscript even the civilians... so if you don’t want to end up conscripted, pray for our victory.... I’m talking about those kinds of threats.”

Eugene stared at Gilead silently.

How had Gilead known what he was planning?

Goosebumps rose on Eugene’s skin. He felt like his mind had just been read. However, Eugene didn’t reveal any trace of that surprise in his expression.

“Of course, I wouldn’t do that,” Eugene blatantly lied.

In fact, Eugene had been planning to make a quick getaway after making that threat the key point of his speech. But now, he had been directly told not to do such a thing. Then what sort of speech should he give? As Eugene’s head was about to start letting off steam from all the work it was doing...

Aaaaaaaah!

...a loud roar was heard coming from the open door. All of the believers who had been silently praying in the square below had become greatly enthused after hearing that Eugene, who had finally opened his eyes, was about to give a speech.

Eugene silently gulped.

The longer he delayed, the more excited his believers would become. Would they be wondering just how amazing and moving a speech it must be for Eugene to take so much time to prepare before giving it? The longer he dragged things out here, the worse things would get for Eugene. What was needed now was bold decisiveness and the ability to take action.

Taking a deep break, Eugene stepped forward.

“Aaaaah...,” Kristina sighed with an ecstatic expression as she lifted the trailing hem of Eugene’s cape.

As the Saint for both Eugene and the Light, she kept her head bowed deeply as she followed behind Eugene.

They walked out onto the rooftop. The closer they got to the railing that overlooked the square, the louder the cheers grew. At the same time, Eugene could also feel a burning heat rising inside his chest. This feeling was coming from the continuous growth of his divine faith.

Kristina was right. Giving a speech here and now was sure to expand the capacity of Eugene’s divine vessel.

Eugene’s lips parted soundlessly.

Though his head recognized the value of what he was doing and his body could sense the benefits, his thought processes didn’t seem to be functioning properly. Just what was he meant to say to them?

But he no longer had any time to ponder that question. Eugene had already arrived in front of the railing. Since the large plaza had already been filled to capacity, people had even started filling up the nearby roads just to see him. All of the nearby buildings also had people leaning out of their windows and crowding their rooftops.

For now, Eugene just needed to say something, “I....”

Even though Eugene was speaking softly, measures had already been taken to amplify the sound of his voice. Yurasia wouldn’t be the only city listening to his speech. Before Eugene had even opened his eyes, preparations had already been underway for him to give a speech. Currently, Eugene’s speech was being broadcast across the entire continent, just like his duel with Gavid.

‘Damn it,’ Eugene silently cursed to himself.

Maybe he should have at least kept a copy of Carmen’s speech in his pocket. He hadn’t read the contents of her speech, but even if it wasn’t something that no one in their right mind would dare to write, it would at least have to be somewhat appropriate for the situation, right? However, it was too late for regrets.

Eugene continued speaking, “...am Hamel’s reincarnation... Eugene Lionheart.”

Even though all he had said was his name, the crowd immediately responded with cheers.

“The Radiant Lion.” Watching from the rear of the crowd, Carmen whispered amidst the loud cheering.

“The Divine Emperor,” Raphael murmured.

Even Alchester found himself mumbling, “Commander-in-Chief of the Divine Army.”

But Eugene couldn’t bear to continue introducing himself with any of these prestigious titles, so he just continued with his speech.

“While I was asleep... a lot has happened. The Demon King of Incarceration and Pandemonium have descended onto the border in preparation for the war, while the Demon King’s Castle Babel is flying high in the skies above.”

Right now, Eugene just wanted to go home. Or else escape towards the battlefield.

“The end of the Oath that has lasted for three hundred years is approaching. Soon, war will break out. It must be fought for the sake of the world....”

But now that things had turned out like this, it couldn’t be helped.

“But to be honest, rather than fighting for the sake of the world, I just really want to kill the Demon King of Incarceration. That was the case three hundred years ago, and it’s still the case even now.”

It would be better just to lay the truth out directly than to give any false promises.

“To those of you who have never once picked up a sword in your life, I won’t tell you to hold a sword and head to the battlefield. Instead, you should just pray for the safety of the world. No, pray for yourself. That would be of more help than anything else you could do.”

Eugene didn’t think of this as being much of a threat.

“Pray for the victory of the Alliance...”

The crowds were silent.

“...pray that I will kill the Demon King of Incarceration...”

At some point, the cheering had stopped.

“...and pray that I will be victorious.”

Eugene abruptly spun around. His eyes met with Kristina, who had let go of his cloak and was staring at him with her jaw dropped. Eugene pretended not to notice her expression and hurriedly walked away from the railing, looking almost like he was running away.

His speech, if it could even be described as that, had ended with this call for prayer.

Aaaaaaaah!

However, his believers still exploded in cheers behind him.

1. The original text uses a pun that doesn’t translate literally. The word that Eugene curses with comes in two syllables. Eugene gets out the first syllable before Melkith interrupts him. The second syllable can be spelled in two different ways depending on inflection, but they both mean the same thing. These two different ways, on their own, translate literally as ‘arm’ and ‘foot.’ So, in the original Korean text, Melkith shakes her arm and then her feet, teasing Eugene as to which one he is going to use. ☜

2. The Pope’s official residence. ☜