Eugene’s Seven Stars were swirling. In the midst of their increasingly violent rotation, the Stars appeared to be collapsing into each other as the distinction between each Star grew blurred.
However, this phenomenon wasn’t causing any pain to Eugene. His mana was still flowing according to his will, so the torrent of mana that was being generated by his Stars didn’t deviate from Eugene’s control in the slightest.
Even though Eugene was almost bursting from containing such force, his body didn’t seem to have any issues handling it.
Agaroth’s Ring, worn on the ring finger of Eugene’s left hand, radiated a dark red light. But the ring’s power had yet to have been activated.
This light was the glow of divine power. For some reason, the trace of divine power remaining in Agaroth’s Ring was responding to Eugene’s will.
Cracracrack…!
A shattering sound was heard from somewhere deep within the Demon King’s body, but it wasn’t Iris’ physical body that was shattering. The sound was generated because too much of the enormous mass of dark power that made up the very existence of a Demon King had been consumed. It was also partly due to the fact that the attack she had just been struck with was an extremely heavy blow.
Baaaaang!
In contrast to the huge explosion of noise, the Demon King didn’t fly all that far. She only stumbled backward a few steps at the very most, and the injury didn’t look very large.
Following the trajectory of the Holy Sword’s swing, there was now a solid diagonal line that started at Iris’ right shoulder and ended at her left waist. That was the only visible wound left on the Demon King’s body.
Cough. But the Demon King’s face twisted as she choked.
Black blood poured out from her unconsciously parted lips. She had already taken a few steps back to mitigate the force, but that hadn’t been enough. The Demon King staggered one more step backward as she placed one hand on the thick line that had been carved across her body.
Fwoosh!
At that moment, blood spurted from the wound.
That slash had truly been a heavy blow, and a serious one at that. It had also struck deep. Eugene Lionheart’s slash had gone beyond slicing apart the Demon King’s body and had managed to reach the very core of her being.
He had managed to land such a heavy blow with just one strike, but Eugene was already swinging his sword once more. And after that, there would come a few more times, as there was no way his attack would just end there.
Eugene had activated Ignition. Now that he was using Ignition, he definitely had to kill the Demon King. Because once his Cores’ overclocking ended, he wouldn’t be left in any state to fight.
“Cough!” The Demon King spat out even more blood as the arm that she had desperately lifted to defend herself was sliced off by Eugene’s blade.
The black flames that spread from that slash swept over the wound and began to gnaw at Iris’ very existence.
Letting out a scream, the Demon King stumbled backward.
Eugene seemed different.
That was the thought that was on everyone’s mind.
While trying to suppress a headache that felt like her skull was splitting open, Anise shook off a lingering thought. Meanwhile, Kristina licked her bloody lips and recited a prayer on trembling legs.
Fooosh!
Eugene’s body was strengthened by a miracle and a blessing, and the Saint’s Light was projected into the already shining Holy Sword.
‘He’s used Ignition,’ Sienna thought as she clutched at her chest and gasped for breath.
Sienna suddenly heard a voice inside her head, [Lady Sienna.]
It was Maise, who was on the ship behind them. Faithfully heeding Sienna’s warning, he had been keeping his distance.
Reactivating her now-rickety Eternal Hole, Sienna barked out, “Give it to me.”
Maise passed on this order.
Grrrrrrr!
Mana from Maise and the other wizards began pouring into Sienna. This mana crackled like lightning over her waving staff as pure white mist began gathering at a single point.
Sienna bit her lip, ‘Now that he’s used Ignition, there’s no going back.’
Cracracracrack!
Dozens of lights shot toward Eugene and began to follow his movements. Unlike the light of the Moonlight Sword, the light currently covering Eugene didn’t reject Sienna’s magic. Instead, the wings of Prominence on his back burned even more fiercely the moment the magic attached itself to him.
Sienna had linked her magic to Eugene’s movements. As if having memorized his every motion, the magic flowed along with the timing of Eugene’s attacks, dissipating the Demon King’s dark power and injuring the Demon King’s body.
Nearby was Ortus Hyman. He had never once thought of himself as particularly just or moral or a person of such integrity that no dirt could be found on him, no matter how one might look. Instead, in his own opinion, he believed himself to be a very ordinary person.
Of course, this wasn’t referring to his talent in the martial arts. It was referring to Ortus Hyman’s innate nature as a man.
If he saw others finding a way to make a profit, he, too, would want a share of that profit. He didn’t mind taking advantage of his special privileges to do so. Even if it required playing some tricks that couldn’t be said to truly be honest, he would still be willing to partake in such foul play as long as it wasn’t too severe.
However, he never wanted to be the first person to try and do such a thing. Having always taken care to be extra cautious, he had never been tempted to be the second, third, or even the fourth either. This was because he didn’t want to take responsibility if they ever got caught in the act.
Ortus was just such a person.
He wasn’t the type to stand firm in the face of scolding. If possible, he always preferred to slyly step back and use other people as cover.
He hated the thought of being cowardly and running away on his own. But he was still willing to do so if it couldn’t be helped and if everyone else was doing it.
As Ortus got older, with the wisdom he had accumulated over the years, he still believed that the best course of action was to keep your head low and avoid standing out.
But ironically, Ortus’ life didn’t end up going that way. Ortus had found himself in a position where few others in this entire country were held in as much regard as he was. As a result, he often got caught up in things that were beyond his natural ability to handle, and this subjugation expedition was no different.
Ortus didn’t think of himself as a hero, nor did he believe that he deserved the opportunity to be one. When the goal of the expedition had changed from subjugating a Pirate Empress to subjugating a Demon King, the reason that Ortus had agreed to move forward after finishing his own deliberations wasn’t that he held unquestionable faith in their success.
It was because he didn’t want to take responsibility for the aftermath of not doing so. And with the Hero, the Saint, and an Archwizard with them, he felt like they could win. So Ortus decided to keep his head low and quietly allow himself to get carried away by their air of purpose and determination so that afterward, he could still brag about it if everything ended up going well.
However, now….
‘How strange,’ Ortus thought to himself.
Now, there was no reason for him to step forward. Eugene Lionheart had been the protagonist of this battle from the very beginning. While Eugene was away from the battlefield, Ortus had to risk his life and stand in the way of the Demon King, but now that Eugene had returned, there was no need for Ortus to continue doing so.
However, contrary to such thoughts, Ortus’ body was moving forward. Even though there shouldn’t be any need for him to do so, he still stepped forward to block the Demon King from one side while swinging his sword.
Was it because they needed to win at all costs? Yes, that was certainly important. However… aside from that, Ortus also had the feeling that this was just what he needed to do.
Ortus gave in, ‘Fine then.’
Although the core of her existence had been threatened, the Demon King’s dark power remained a vicious threat. Even as her dark power was being blocked by the Holy Sword and Sienna’s magic was destroying her body, murderous intent still shone in the Demon King’s eyes..
‘To think that I also had this side to me,’ Ortus thought wryly.
The instincts that he had trained over his long career made him extend his sword.
Claaaang!
The heavy weight of the sudden blow flung his body backward, but Ortus’ lips twitched into a strained smile. The power of Iris’ Demoneye had manifested without any sign and had targeted the priests who were supporting the Saint. However, thanks to Ortus, the Demon King’s Demoneye was unable to kill the priests as she had hoped.
Enraged, the Demon King unleashed her Demoneye’s power once more. Dark matter rained down on Ortus, who hadn’t yet righted himself after being thrown backward.
However, once again, the Demon King’s plan went awry. Eugene’s sword split apart the dark matter, and at the same time, an arrow struck Ortus’ body.
‘Ivic?’ Ortus thought in surprise.
The arrow that had struck his body wasn’t sharpened. When it hit him, all it did was push him away. Ortus, who was pushed backward a few more steps by the arrow, unconsciously let out a snort. To think that he would actually end up receiving help from that man.
Meanwhile, Ivic thought to himself, ‘I never knew that Ortus could fight so fiercely.’
And to think that he would actually end up saving Otus. Ivic also let out a snort as this thought ran through his head. Ivic nocked another arrow on his bowstring as he turned his gaze back towards the Demon King.
“Haaah…,” Ivic let out a sigh without even realizing that he was doing so.
He could have shot another arrow, but he wasn’t able to release the bowstring. To think, even at this distance….
The site of the battle was only at a distance where Ivic should have been able to take in everything with just a single glance, but… he just couldn’t see anything. He was able to take in the scene as a whole, but he couldn’t understand or even attempt to follow any of the movements that were taking place within that chaos.
“So this is how much of a gap there is?” Ivic muttered in disbelief.
Earlier, Eugene had already been so much stronger and faster that Ivic had been struggling to believe it, but Eugene’s current movements couldn’t even be compared to what he had shown earlier.
Ivic felt hollow and ridiculous. Idlers who liked to make things like lists usually mentioned a fixed group of people whenever they discussed who was the greatest knight on the continent, but all of that was now just empty talk.
There was no need for any other name to come up when discussing who should be at the top of that list. It was Eugene Lionheart. After today, the whole continent would be aware of that fact. If they survived, Ivic would be the first to start telling people all about it at the nearest pub.
Carmen also had the exact same thought. She wasn’t just thinking about it, either. She could feel the truth of it with her entire body.
She was no longer able to keep up with the flow of this battle. Even if Carmen tried her best, she was ultimately slower and weaker than Eugene. They had reached the same rank in the White Flame Formula at the Seventh Star, but why was there still such a difference between them? No, in the first place, were those flames really from the White Flame Formula?
Carmen wondered, ‘Those unorthodox… black flames.’
Fwoosh!
The Demon King’s dark power barely grazed the ends of her hair. While spinning her body like a top in mid-air, Carmen swung her leg.
Bam!
Although her kick was blocked by a barrier, it still managed to pause the Demon King’s movements for a few seconds.
The Demon King grunted, “Gagh!”
Eugene took advantage of the opening to thrust the Holy Sword into the Demon King’s throat. The moment the sword penetrated her flesh, flames exploded, covering the Demon King’s entire body.
Claclunk!
Carmen’s Heaven Genocide fully extended itself. Pure white flames gathered in the center of her palm.
Carmen’s most powerful technique, Destiny Breaker, slammed into the Demon King.
Roooaaarrrr!
Flames engulfed the Demon King and then transformed into a fiery whirlwind that soared into the sky. Carmen’s white flames became intertwined with Eugene’s black flames.
The wings of Prominence flared upwards. The fluttering feathers clung to each other, creating black spots.
Cracracracrack!
Eclipses fell from the sky, bombing the Demon King and sending her and the whirlwind of flames crashing down.
Iris was dazed, ‘This is….’
She wasn’t even able to keep screaming, and she didn’t have the strength left to provide any meaningful resistance to the downward force acting on her. All that the Demon King could do was die and be revived several times over as she kept getting pushed downwards by the immense force.
Iris realized, ‘Am I really… truly… going to die…?’
Splash!
The Demon King’s body crashed into the sea. It was only after the Demon King entered the sea that she was freed from the force of the bombarding Eclipses.
She might really die here.
The truth that she didn’t want to accept kept circulating in her head. The weight of the word ‘death’ seemed to be dragging the Demon King further into the abyss.
Dying? Her? Even though she had become a Demon King? She was dying without having done anything, without having left any legacy?
Iris hesitated, ‘If I run away….’
—Fate often repeats itself.
The words left by the Demon King of Incarceration began to circle inside her head.
—Don’t be afraid, Iris.
She saw the Former Demon King of Fury silently mouth these words.
‘He’s using Ignition. He shouldn’t have much time left now,’ Iris thought calmly.
After activating Ignition, he could only last ten minutes at the very most. How much of that time had already passed? How much of her own dark power, lifeforce, and immortality was left? As long as she could stay alive until the duration of Ignition was over—
‘I’ll win,’ Iris realized.
But was that really the case?
Riiiiiip!
The sea around the Demon King split apart so that she was no longer surrounded by seawater.
The Demon King widened her eyes as she looked up, only to see the Holy Sword overflowing with black flames. The sword had unleashed the slash that had just split apart the sea.
Iris told herself, ‘I just need to last until Ignition ends….’
But just how many minutes more would she be able to hold on? Such a thought kept repeating itself inside the Demon King’s head.
And if she managed to endure it? After that, would she really be able to win?
Even if Hamel was forced to stop fighting, there were still the others, the Wise Sienna and the Saint. This might not have been the case earlier, but for the current Demon King, who was close to the end of the line, she couldn’t be sure that she would definitely be able to win against those two opponents. Moreover, Carmen, Ortus, and Ivic were also here. In her current state, even they could pose a threat to her.
Escape….
This word once again reappeared in the Demon King’s mind.
‘No,’ the Demon King denied the thought as soon as it popped up in her head.
It was a foolish idea. There was no running from this.
As for victory? Or survival? Those were also foolish desires. The Demon King faced the very essence of her desires hidden deep within her heart. It was true that she did want victory and a chance to seek glory. However, the most fundamental thing that she desired… was revenge.
Revenge on whom? On him, Hamel. No matter what might happen, she needed to kill Hamel.
Even… even if it meant that she would be unable to take her rightful place as the Demon King. Even if it meant that she would die here today. Even if she couldn’t inflict her Fury on the rest of the world.
As the Demon King and as Iris, killing Hamel was more important than anything else. It was what Iris wanted more than glory, victory, or even her own survival.
Hamel had to die here, in this sea.
‘For my father,’ Iris solemnly vowed.
Fear disappeared from the Demon King’s swirling emotions. Its absence was filled with her desire for revenge. The choice that the Demon King had ultimately come to wasn’t to find some way to survive or run away. No, she was going to keep fighting and kill Hamel no matter what.
That was what a Demon King should do.
The walls of the dark red sea began to flow back down. The Demon King, leaping upwards, ignored everything else to rush at Eugene. Her killing intent was infused into all of her remaining dark power. Instead of any defenses or barriers, all of her strength was focused on attacking with her swinging hands and feet.
Bang!
Struck by these hits, Eugene was pulled backward.
At first, the Demon King thought he might be trying to buy time, so she was surprised when he charged her in reverse. After all, such a fight was exactly what Eugene wanted. Eugene was more aware than anyone else that his time was running out fast.
In an instant, they had distanced themselves from the sea and the remaining ships. Letting out a snarl, the Demon King swung both of her hands at him. But the flames of the White Flame Formula stood ready as Eugene tightly gripped the Holy Sword with both hands.
Bam bam bam bam bam!
Dark power collided with flames, shattering against each other.
The wings of Prominence suddenly radiated light. The feathers then scattered from the wings and immediately transformed into black dots before they had even gone very far. But the black dots that were shot at her were all blocked by Iris’ Demoneye. Once she had prevented their explosions, the Demon King shot out her fist again.
Booom!
The Holy Sword shook. The palms of Eugene’s hands throbbed as he held on tightly to the Holy Sword. Eugene swallowed the blood rising in the back of his throat and swung the Holy Sword once more.
Its light was so intense that it didn’t seem like it could even get any brighter. However, it still couldn’t completely stifle the Demon King’s dark power. As the Demon King of Fury went on a rampage, she even began converting her own life force into dark power.
Swoooosh!
A spear of magic pierced through the sky. It was a spell fired by Sienna. The Demon King avoided its trajectory but didn’t move to intercept Sienna. Her murderous desire to kill Hamel/Eugene, no matter what, was even beginning to claw at Eugene’s own emotions.
‘Though the same goes for me,’ Eugene vowed.
If he had just killed her three hundred years ago, there wouldn’t have been any problems now. None of the bullshit currently happening in this sea would have happened either. And Ciel, she wouldn’t have had to throw herself in front of Eugene to save him.
Cracracrack!
Eugene’s grip on the hilt of the Holy Sword tightened even further. Agaroth’s divine power had now completely enveloped his left hand.
But its light only served to drive the Demon King even crazier. As a Demon King, she could recognize what this light was.
“Die!” the Demon King screamed as blood poured from her mouth.
Boooom!
Every time they collided at full strength, Eugene’s heart throbbed as his Stars were pushed past their limits by Ignition. The Seven Stars began to completely collapse from the strain of having generated such a torrent of mana until now.
Even so, the resonance and rotation of the Stars never stopped.
The White Flame Formula’s Stars were also acting as the Cores that controlled his mana. If a Star were to shatter, that meant one of his Cores would also have shattered.
Once the Core was broken, the person would usually die. Even if they were lucky, they would be crippled for the rest of their life. However, Eugene currently couldn’t feel any pain, let alone a sense of his impending death.
The flames stoked by Ignition were able to create a new Star each time one of them shattered. The tens and hundreds of Stars that had already shattered so far were enough to form a galaxy inside Eugene.
Eugene had managed to reach the Seventh Star of the White Flame Formula. No, Eugene’s White Flame Formula had even begun to break down the boundary that came after the Seventh Star. He was already stronger than the Vermouth he had known in his past life, but through this battle, he would become even stronger than that Vermouth.
For the sake of that desire, Eugene had been evolving the White Flame Formula even before this battle had begun. Eugene had to overcome his limits in order to achieve this desire, and in the completion of this evolution, a miracle was slowly revealing itself inside Eugene.
‘It’s still not enough,’ Eugene decided.
He was starting to lose consciousness, but Eugene refused to lose hold of who he was. He was Hamel Dynas, and he was Eugene Lionheart. Eugene glanced down at his hands that were holding the Holy Sword.
On his left hand, Agaroth’s Ring was so cracked that it seemed as if it would shatter with any movement.
Eugene’s desire had led to a miracle. This miracle was a result of Eugene’s own will, as well as the will remaining within Agaroth’s Ring. Just like how the God of Light answered his believers’ prayers to perform his miracles, Agaroth had granted Eugene a miracle in response to his desire.
But why had the ring granted him such a miracle?
Booom!
The Holy Sword was pushed back once more. Similar to how Eugene had risked setting himself on fire, the Demon King was doing the same. The darkness of the Demon King, who was burning everything that she had left, was unceasing in its attempts to overwhelm the Light of the Holy Sword.
However, it still wasn’t able to stifle that Light. That flickering light was fueled by the power of the Holy Sword and supported by the faith of the Saint and the priests. As long as they kept their faith, the Light of the Holy Sword wouldn’t go out.
‘The Moonlight Sword.’
The Sword of Destruction.
‘The White Flame Formula.’
The legacy left by Vermouth.
‘The Holy Sword.’
What the God of Light left to the world.
It was funny. Even the body that Eugene Lionheart had used to get here now was part of Vermouth’s plan. The weapons that Eugene used and the power dwelling within his body — all of them had been given to him, either by Vermouth or someone else.
—It has to be you.
What could those words mean?
Did Vermouth mean that Hamel was the one who would make the best use of the things that he had arranged? Or perhaps, was he telling Hamel that there was something special about himself that even Hamel didn’t know about?
‘So that’s the case,’ Eugene suddenly realized.
He actually did have something that he hadn’t received from someone else. It was something that Hamel had possessed right from the very start. Whether it was back three hundred years ago, right now, or even in the distant past.
He now knew who the man sitting on the mountain of corpses had been. He knew the man who had walked across a battlefield filled with corpses in despair. He knew the man who had been weeping as the waves and the fog had erased everything.
That man was….
Eugene put away the Holy Sword, somehow sheathing it deep within his own heart. His empty left hand moved. The ring he had been wearing on his left ring finger as a symbol of a contract, cooperation, and a promise, shattered. After reuniting with the existence known as Eugene, it was only now that Agaroth’s Ring had fulfilled its designated contract and reached its assigned fate.
Neither meeting Ariartelle nor receiving Agaroth’s Ring had been a coincidence. No matter what, this ring would have eventually reached Eugene.
From this sudden accidental realization, Eugene’s suspicions had become a certainty. Eugene’s left hand reached towards his chest.
Iris frowned, ‘What is he doing?’
She couldn’t tell the reasons for Eugene’s behavior.
Why had he put away the Holy Sword? Was he giving up the fight? These were some of the Demon King’s suspicions.
The time had come. The flames of Ignition had died away. From the current Eugene, the same intense surge of mana that he had previously given off could no longer be felt. What was left was….
What was remaining was… something unique.
‘I’ve won,’ the Demon King of Fury celebrated as she stepped forward.
She was one step closer to revenge for her father, for herself, for everyone. As long as she killed Hamel here, she would have achieved something with her life.
If she managed to get her revenge, she could retreat from this battle satisfied and with a joyful heart. At this moment, the Demon King was confident of her victory and felt relieved that she had managed to escape death.
But only for a very short moment.
Her vision turned black. A wave of darkness appeared out of nowhere and blocked the Demon King’s way forward, leaving the Demon King’s body frozen for a few seconds.
‘Is this a spell?’ Iris questioned.
No, this wasn’t magic. This darkness and oppression — after being flustered for a second, the Demon King activated the power of her Demoneye. The darkness blocking her way forward collided with the ability activated by the Demon King and canceled each other out.
But that short moment had spelled the difference between success and failure.
Even if the Demon King hadn’t been flustered by that mysterious darkness — even if she hadn’t been blocked by that unknown force — the results wouldn’t have changed. Even if she had taken one more step without anything blocking her way forward, the Demon King still wouldn’t have been able to achieve her revenge.
The left hand Eugene placed on his chest clutched at something.
What he pulled from there was something that had been placed within Eugene/Hamel from the very start. It wasn’t something he had ever received from anyone else. It belonged to Eugene alone.
The Divine Sword.
As the universe that Eugene held within his chest was opened, a sword emerged from his heart. The sword shone with the red light of Agaroth’s divine power. Following Eugene’s will, the sword forged out of this intangible divine power fully emerged and slashed forward.
“Ah,” Iris gasped.
A light that the Demon King knew all too well engulfed her sight.
The world was cut in two.