Chapter 487: Flame (8)

When Eugene Lionheart grasped his chest with his right hand, or rather, even before that, a thought crossed Gavid's mind. He observed the battle between Eugene and the specter, the flurry of precise strikes that split a single breath into hundreds or even thousands, and how he would deflect an attack at the last moment and control the opponent's movements with his own.

The techniques Eugene used were far more sophisticated and powerful than those of the specter. Gavid was familiar with all of Eugene's movements. Although they had evolved far beyond the forms he remembered, it wasn't hard for him to recognize where they originally stemmed from.

He didn't believe it.

He thought it was impossible. Even when he set aside his emotions and thought about it rationally, he arrived at the same conclusion.

So what if Eugene Lionheart was using Hamel's techniques? What was so strange about that? Hamel's techniques had been passed down in the Lionheart family.

Then what about the fact that Eugene far surpassed the specter in those techniques despite the fact that the specter possessed Hamel's memories? It wasn't hard to figure out, either. Eugene Lionheart was a genius who was praised as the reincarnation of the Great Vermouth. It wouldn't have been impossible for him to develop the techniques he inherited as his own and further enhance them.

However, Gavid had to accept what he didn't want to believe when he saw it. Even though it seemed impossible, there was no other explanation. What Eugene Lionheart was using wasn't something that could be passed down as a technique. Gavid thought Eugene might be drawing another blade of strange light like before, but he saw no crimson light bursting forth from Eugene's chest.

Instead, flames violently erupted from Eugene's chest, and his mana started to surge wildly.

"...Ignition," Gavid murmured in a trembling voice.

How should he accept that Eugene Lionheart was using Ignition? Was there no other explanation than the absurd possibility that flitted through his mind?

"I am." It came as a whisper from far below. Gavid's ears, wide open, caught Eugene's voice. Without realizing it, Gavid leaned forward and held his breath as he waited for Eugene's following words.

"Hamel."

He was stupefied by the declaration.

Kwaaaa!

A black wing formed from flames appeared in front of Gavid.

The single wing pierced the sky, and Gavid felt dizzy and staggered backward. The wing in front of him resembled a sword of black, burning flame.

"My goodness..." Gavid uttered, shocked.

The declaration alone had been enough to shock him completely, but the power contained in the wing shocked him even further. It came to him as a different form of astonishment.

Even a dragon might not possess mana as destructive and vast as this. Was this really a power allowed to a mere human? Was this a power that could truly be wielded by a human?

'No, it's not just mana. There's something else mixed in,' Gavid realized.

Before he could delve into the nature of that power, the wing shrank. But even though the wing disappeared before his eyes, the remnants of the power left by the flame lingered in front of him.

Gavid swallowed hard and looked down.

The black wing of flame had now transformed into a nebula-like shape as it fluttered behind Eugene. Even at that moment, Eugene was not looking at Gavid. Only Gavid was looking down at Eugene.

'...Looking down on him?' Gavid mused.

Was that really the case? Gavid clenched his fist as he felt a chilling shudder.

Although it was true that he was physically looking down on Eugene from this height, he couldn't shake the feeling that he stood on equal footing, if not lesser, with Eugene in spirit.

"...Hamel of Extermination," Gavid muttered under his breath.

During his time three centuries ago, Vermouth Lionheart was revered by humans as the Hero and despised by demons as Vermouth of Despair. Alongside him was a band of madmen who went out to kill all the Demon Kings and conquer the Devildom.

One particular individual had left a profound impression on Gavid among Vermouth's companions — Hamel of Extermination.

Was it because he was strong? Certainly, Hamel was powerful, but not more so than Vermouth, nor had he been stronger than Gavid.

Yet, Gavid had been fearful of Hamel.

Their first encounter had been when Hamel and Sienna of Calamity came out for reconnaissance. Naturally, Gavid planned and attempted to kill them both on the spot. He had no reason not to take this perfect opportunity to reduce the enemy's forces.

But he had failed.

It wasn't due to a lack of power. If it had been merely about strength, Gavid was much stronger than Hamel and Sienna at the time. If it had not been for Hamel's peculiar technique, Gavid could have killed them both effortlessly.

Ignition.

Hamel would place a hand over his heart and induce a self-destructive, incredible surge in his Core.

It was a technique of resolve, used with the determination to kill the opponent at all costs. It was a technique that would result in certain death for the user if they failed to kill the opponent. It was truly an incredibly foolish technique.

Three hundred years ago, Gavid had been overwhelmed by Hamel, who had prepared to die in the battle. Despite being superior in terms of power, he was intimidated and was afraid of Hamel's murderous intent.

That was why Gavid couldn't forget Hamel. Gavid bore the nickname of Blade of Incarceration and declared himself a knight of the Demon King of Incarceration. Retreating from a human he perceived as being weaker than him out of fear and pressure was a humiliation he wouldn't experience again in his lifetime.

He had wanted to repay that humiliation in Babel. But he couldn't. Hamel died before reaching the throne room of Incarceration.

'Reincarnation...?' Gavid questioned.

The cycle of life, death, and rebirth was nothing special. But for Hamel to retain his memories through reincarnation and to reincarnate as a descendant of Vermouth and as the Hero, that... could not be a mere coincidence.

Gavid mulled over Eugene's declaration while grinding his teeth. The specter used Ignition at the same moment Eugene did. The specter shouldn't possess a mana-infused Core like humans, but it still seemed possible for him to rampage.

Gavid clenched his fist as he saw the flames of dark power pouring out of the specter. He saw the color of the flames and how they resembled that of the Demon King of Destruction. The specter's flames soon transformed into a vacuous white.

After the shock came irritation and anger.

"You...." Gavid said through clenched teeth.

He began to understand things that had been incomprehensible before.

It had been utterly baffling for him as to why Noir Giabella, the Queen of the Night Demons, was so obsessed with Eugene Lionheart. He had questioned why she showed him kindness, and now he understood.

Because of his strength? His good looks? There could have been numerous reasons for Noir's favoritism towards Eugene, but even considering all that, her obsession and kindness had seemed excessive.

But everything made sense if Eugene was truly the reincarnation of Hamel. Noir Giabella's obsession with and kindness toward Hamel had been evident even three hundred years ago, and she never made an effort to hide it. She was even the only demon who mourned Hamel's death in Babel by wearing a black dress, signifying her mourning.

Gavid gritted his teeth and turned his head. "Of course, you knew—"

His words, filled with irritation and anger, were abruptly cut short. Gavid was taken aback, and his eyes widened at Noir's unusual expression.

Noir's purple eyes were bloodshot. Her lips, which she had chewed in thought, were torn and bloodied, and the marks of tears were evident on her cheeks. Moreover, tears continued to flow freely down her cheeks. But they weren't ordinary tears.

Noir was shedding tears of blood. Her face, which was always plastered with a deceitful smile, now bore no hint of joy. Gavid had known Noir for hundreds of years, yet he had never seen her wear such an expression.

".....?" Gavid didn't know what to say.

Why? Was it because Eugene declared himself as Hamel? It seemed Noir had known Eugene's true identity for a while, so why was she showing such expression and emotion?

'Emotion?' As Gavid thought this, he calmed himself and scrutinized Noir's expression. He saw a mix of various emotions. Among them, one stood out prominently....

'Despair?'

Noir was aware that Gavid was watching her. She knew that her expressions and the emotions she displayed were incomprehensible to Gavid.

But so what? Right now, Gavid's gaze and judgment held no value to Noir.

Her head was a mess. The throbbing pain she felt made it feel as if her head would burst at any moment. No, in fact, her head had already burst several times.

Noir gasped for breath and turned her attention to her hand. She had penetrated her temple with her fingers and mashed her brain to a pulp. She clenched the fingers smeared with blood and brain matter.

'I know.'

She remembered too many unwanted memories. She saw monsters charging with horrific screams, people who stood unwaveringly against them. And from above, dominating the battlefield, boosting morale had been—

The throbbing intensified. Noir bit her lip again and licked the blood seeping from her torn lips.

These were memories from a distant past. They belonged not to Noir Giabella but to another being. The scattered scenes began to connect.

Noir gently caressed her cheek with her bloodied hand.

She didn't want to recall such memories.

***

Eugene and the specter came to a mutual realization of a certain kill.

The moment this thought struck them, they moved. The Moonlight Sword and the Holy Sword emitted different lights. A blindingly brilliant light enveloped the Holy Sword, while a grim, pale luminance wrapped around the Moonlight Sword.

Using Ignition did not necessarily strengthen the Holy Sword, but both the Holy Sword and the Moonlight Sword were influenced by the amplification of Eugene's power through Ignition. It was because the power emitted by both swords was mixed with Eugene's flames.

'They are different from Vermouth's swords,' the specter realized.

The Holy Sword had not been as radiant in Vermouth's hands, and the light of the Moonlight Sword had not been as intense. The specter paid attention to the light mingling with the Holy Sword and the Moonlight Sword. These two swords were clearly influenced by Eugene, almost as if they were extensions of his own limbs.

Could this transformation also be part of the 'uniqueness' that Vermouth noticed?

'Even if that may be the case,' the specter thought.

His task remained unchanged. Despite having had a conversation, his decision did not waver. If anything, the discussion only solidified his resolve.

Power surged from the Core connected to the Demon King of Destruction. The specter, too, grasped two swords. The moment he gripped the air, demonic swords burning in white appeared in his hands.

Eugene vanished.

Was it a spatial leap through Prominence? No, he was merely moving at an extremely high speed. Eugene didn't need to use spatial leaps at this distance. Moving was faster for him than using magic to leap.

However, the specter reacted in time. As the Incarnation of Destruction, his power was distinctly amplified as his dark power became more rampant. The surging dark power provided the specter with intuition on how to move before he could consciously decide. It was comparable to the divinity and intuitive insight of the War God.

The pair of swords met in harmony. The beginning was flamboyant and resembled a dance of swords, but the momentum shifted dramatically after a single clash.

There was a flurry of slashes. It was difficult, almost impossible, to track each other's movements by sense alone. They needed to foresee the future before even feeling the slash. They needed to predict how the opponent would swing their sword, how to counter it, how to deflect that counter, how to penetrate the following deflection, how to press on, and so forth....

The endless battle of wits continued within their minds. Even accelerating their thoughts to stretch out reality felt insufficient. During a single clash, dozens of confrontations were already computed in the minds of Eugene and the specter.

'I see it.'

It wasn't in the literal sense, for relying on sight to judge was too slow. Yet, at that moment, Eugene felt as if he could see it. His eyes emitted a divine light.

He was no stranger to battle. If one were to trace back the karma entwined with his soul, he might have experienced enough wars to grow weary of them. In fact, the divinity that Eugene possessed was born from those very experiences.

In battle, he was undefeated; in war, he was ever victorious. Thus, now, Eugene's intuition illuminated the path to victory in combat. It transcended the computations of thought. Eugene let his instincts guide his sword, knowing even a moment of hesitation would only block the way. Even if there seemed to be nothing in the direction he was stabbing, he proceeded.

And as if drawn to it, the specter found himself in the path of the thrust. The tip of the Holy Sword extended like a spear of light, piercing through the specter's shoulder and causing it to disintegrate. Yet, the specter did not halt. White flames pushed back the light of the Holy Sword.

Rumbleee!

A massive explosion followed. Dark power spewed like blood from the specter's disintegrated shoulder, fueling the flame around him even further. Almost half of the city's sky was engulfed in the specter's white flames.

These flames then transformed into a colossal sword, large enough to bisect the city in a single strike. But its size was an underestimation of the sword's power. There was enough power contained in the sword to split an entire nation.

The giant sword moved as the specter twisted his waist and sliced the sky. At the same time, Prominence emitted light. There was a flash from the nebula, unleashing hundreds of Eclipses.

Despite the barrage, the demonic sword's advance was unstoppable. Eugene raised the Moonlight Sword while gritting his teeth.

Rumblee!

A fierce lunar light mixed with the cosmos. The blade of the Moonlight Sword could no longer be considered mere moonlight. The universe that enveloped Eugene extended into the sword.

The Empty Sword also became involved, and the flames, amplified by Ignition, started to overlap. In an instant, the Empty Sword was formed as a dark mass after being activated to its full potential.

It was significantly smaller compared to the specter's demonic sword, but size alone did not determine strength. The more refined concentration of power, coupled with...

Prayer.

'Makes it stronger,' Eugene declared inwardly.

Eugene's prayer transformed into a miracle. Eugene's limit with the Empty Sword had been five layers. Any more beyond that was deemed impossible because the form of mana would collapse.

Yet now, a miracle born from Eugene's prayer added another layer to the Empty Sword. The mana's collapse was sustained by a miracle, and the sparks coalesced.

A six-layered Empty Sword. It didn't grow larger but became thinner as the layers compressed onto the blade.

With a crackling sound, the Moonlight Sword burned black and bisected the demonic sword.