Chapter 549: Divine Ascension (10)

He was back.

Eugene gasped for breath as he opened his eyes. The very first thing he saw was the unconscious look on Ciel's face as her eyes had rolled back into her head. From the way she had slumped into her chair, her body seemed to have been drained of all of its strength.

Alarmed, Eugene grabbed Ciel by the shoulder. Although he had succeeded in his plan to reach Vermouth, it seemed that the whole experience had placed far too heavy a burden on Ciel.

Eventually, Eugene sighed in relief, "Phew."

Fortunately, Ciel was just exhausted. She wasn't suffering from any internal injuries or anything that could leave lasting effects. But even so, just in case, Eugene leaned closer and carefully cradled Ciel's head. Worried that there might be something wrong with her Demoneyes, Eugene wanted to take another look at them, but the problem was that her pupils had rolled back into her head.

In that case, he had no choice but to try and roll them back down.

A flame rose from the end of Eugene's fingertip, and he carefully rubbed Ciel's eyes. The rolled-back eyes slowly returned to their original position. Once that was done, Eugene looked deeply into Ciel's unfocused gaze.

Thankfully, there weren't any issues. Her Demoneyes were also perfectly fine. It seemed that Ciel had just lost consciousness. Eugene let out a sigh of relief as he pulled his hand away from her eye.

It was under such circumstances that the light suddenly returned to Ciel's eyes. Her vision might still be blurry, but Ciel had managed to regain consciousness. She couldn't help but feel slightly flustered because the moment she regained consciousness, the very first thing she saw was Eugene's face at far too close a distance to hers than expected.

"...Ahem," Ciel cleared her throat awkwardly while feeling a mixture of embarrassment and nervousness, following which she was immediately overcome with regret.

If she had just moved her lips forward a little bit while using the excuse that she was half asleep, wouldn't that have resulted in a kiss, even if it was only by the slightest of contact? The distance between them was close enough for that, so it would have been easy to make such a slip.

Ciel paused. On second thought, she was glad that she hadn't done so.

After finishing her examination of Eugene's face from such a close distance, Ciel couldn't help but change her mind.

She could see that Eugene's eyes were currently filled with a flurry of mixed emotions. Ciel wasn't able to fathom the source of all those emotions, but she could at least sense that they weren't positive emotions.

Ciel felt that current expression and that look in his eyes really didn't suit Eugene.

So she hesitantly asked, "What's... the matter with you?"

Eugene returned the question, "With me? What do you mean?"

"You look sad," Ciel stated bluntly.

"Really now." Eugene let out a snort as he returned to his seat.

Did he really look that sad? Eugene clicked his tongue as he absentmindedly rubbed his cheeks.

His cheeks truly did feel a bit stiff. Even the tip of his nose felt a bit sore. No matter how he thought about it, apart from its talent when it came to things like battle, this new body of his had a whole lot of problems associated with it. Eugene felt like there had to be some kind of innate defect with his new body that was causing him to lose control of his tear ducts.

"It's because I'm tired," Eugene explained weakly.

"What?" Ciel raised a brow.

"It's late, isn't it? By this time, I'm usually already asleep," Eugene muttered before letting out an obviously fake yawn.

It was such a clumsy lie that even a child would have been able to see through it. However, Ciel didn't bother to point that out. She felt that whatever problem Eugene was facing, she should avoid talking about it.

So instead, Ciel asked something else. "...What exactly did you do to me?"

Things were different from the last time Eugene had gone to that place when they were both facing Iris at the Souther Sea. Back then, Ciel had seen Vermouth with Eugene, but this time, she hadn't been pulled in with him. Whatever Eugene had done, it had felt like a flame was spreading inside of her body, but rather than heating her up, it was instead cooling her down; then, in a moment of blind panic, she had suddenly lost consciousness. Ciel's memories had cut off right at that point.

"It seems I went a bit too deep in my examination," Eugene said with an awkward cough.

Should he tell her about meeting Vermouth? After giving it a few moments of thought, Eugene decided to keep it to himself. He felt sorry for Ciel, but the whole story surrounding Vermouth would be hard for her to comprehend. Also, from now on, there would be no further need to use Ciel's eyes as a doorway to that place.

"But I still finished your ordination while you were passed out," Eugene quickly informed her.

Ciel stuttered in surprise, "D-don't you have to tap me on my shoulders with a sword, or something like that?"

Eugene shrugged as he said, "Instead of doing all that, I just did it while I was touching your eyes."

As Molon had said, the formalities weren't all that important when it came to knighting someone. As long as Eugene wanted it to happen, the ordination would work no matter what form the ceremony took.

Ciel hesitated for a few moments as she turned to look at Eugene.

After hearing what Eugene had just said, Ciel could sense that her ordination truly had been completed.

Right now, inside Ciel, there was a different source of light other than the flames of the White Flame Formula. If this were any other time, she might have started flirting with Eugene while drawing on her newly gifted divine power right in front of him, but right now, it didn't feel like they had the right atmosphere to do such a thing.

"Why are you being so tactful?" Eugene eventually asked.

"So what, would you prefer if I dropped the tact and just acted selfishly?" Ciel asked with a sniff.

Eugene shrugged before saying, "That's what you did when you were young."

"Just what kind of impression did I leave in your memories from when we were young?" Ciel asked with a huff.

Eugene answered her rhetorical question honestly. "You were an annoying and arrogant brat who knew how to make good use of her pretty looks. Instead of being tactful of others' feelings, you preferred to make everyone else cater to your whims."

Ciel fell silent for a few moments after hearing such a decisive response. Moreover, every word in Eugene's description of her was so accurate that there was nothing Ciel could refute.

"E-even so..., I feel like I've always been very considerate of your feelings," Ciel tried to argue.

"Really? It's been over ten years since I first met you, but it's only now that I'm finding that out," Eugene drawled sarcastically.

"In any case, I've always paid attention to what you're feeling, and that's still the case even now. So how can I not notice something wrong with you when you're having such a sorrowful expression?" Ciel muttered as she pouted her lips.

Then, she leaped out of her seat and continued, "That's why I'll just be heading back to my room now. Right now, judging by your expression, you must be truly depressed about something, and it doesn't seem like the sort of issue that can be resolved by discussing it with me. Alright? See, I really can be considerate of you."

"Really now," Eugene said with a snort.

"What, do you have any complaints?" Ciel narrowed her eyes and glared at Eugene.

"No, that's fine with me," Eugene replied with a long sigh.

It was only then that the corners of Ciel's mouth curved upwards in a slight grin as she asked, "What about the Saint Sist — ahem — I mean, the Lady Saints, how long do they have to remain like that?"

"Who knows," Eugene said with a shrug. "I don't have any prior experience when it comes to something like this. Still, it shouldn't take more than a full day."

Ciel questioned, "Do they have to soak their body in that bathtub for a whole day? That seems like it would get cold."

"It's not just any ordinary water, but holy water, so it probably won't get that cold," Eugene said, his voice sounding unsure.

"You won't do anything strange while I'm gone, will you?" Ciel narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Eugene cocked a brow and asked, "Something strange? What do you mean, strange?"

"Isn't it obvious? A man and a woman are sharing a bathtub in the same room," Ciel leered as she let out a giggle.

Eugene blinked in surprise at these words, then shook his head in bewilderment. "That's some crazy nonsense you're spouting. This is a sacred ritual. It's obvious that I'm just baptizing her. Don't you know that what you said could be considered blasphemy?"

Ciel sniffed and said, "It was barely even an insult."

"If I, as a god, were to feel insulted, then it's obviously a case of blasphemy," Eugene argued back.

"Alright, fine, you're the god," Ciel said, rolling her eyes before sticking her tongue out at him and turning around.

Her previous words were only meant as a joke. Ciel didn't really have any suspicions that Eugene might do anything perverted. While the Saints might secretly desire for something like that to happen, Eugene himself would never have such inappropriate thoughts.

'Even a genuine eunuch might not be as chaste as he is,' Ciel thought as she turned to shoot Eugene one final glance.

She saw that Eugene was still sitting in his chair with that same depressed and solemn look.

Eugene, who was resting his chin in one hand, felt her gaze rest on him, so he turned his head to her and asked, "What is it?"

"No, it's nothing," Ciel said before turning around once more and leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

With that, the only ones remaining in the room were Eugene and the two Saints. Eugene slowly got up from his chair and walked over to the bathtub that had been placed in the back of the room.

The holy water within the tub emitted a soft glow. Kristina's expression as she lay submerged in the bathtub looked much more comfortable than it had when she had first stepped in. Eugene's attention was drawn to the Stigmata engraved on both of Kristina's hands. The light from the holy water that filled the bathtub was gradually being drawn toward her Stigmata.

'I've done everything that I can,' Eugene thought to himself with a sigh.

He had appointed Molon as his Holy Knight and the Greatest Warrior under his command. The knights and other warriors who had attended last night's banquet had also been ordained. With that one act alone, Eugene had fully formed his personal order of Holy Knights. When the time came to march on Babel, they would serve as Eugene's Divine Army and battle against the demonfolk of Pandemonium.

After he killed the Demon King of Incarceration and conquered Babel....

...the next step would be the Demon King of Destruction.

Most of the vassals of Destruction who had been sheltering in Ravesta had already died in Hauria. There might be a few of Destruction's vassals still left in Ravesta, but those that remained were likely just the dregs of their group who wouldn't even be able to put up a proper threat.

That said, this didn't mean that Eugene wouldn't have to consider any variables that might arise. Just thinking back to when they had retaken Hauria, the specter had used the humans and demonfolk under his command to create hundreds or even thousands of Nur. Following the conquest of Babel, the next duty of Eugene's Divine Army would be to stand guard just in case they were needed to block a sudden surge of Nur.

'If they do come, where will they come from?' Eugene carefully considered.

Perhaps they would emerge from Raguyaran or Lehainjar? Molon's help would also definitely be needed in their battle against the Demon King of Destruction. It had been confirmed that Sienna's magic could temporarily suppress the emergence of Nur for a certain length of time, but they couldn't just blindly place their trust in that. To a certain extent, the appearance of Nur in the aforementioned locations was merely a portent of what was to come.

'A portent of Destruction,' Eugene thought grimly.

The Demon King of Destruction was currently in a sealed state. However, through his meeting with Vermouth just now, Eugene confirmed that the seal wasn't permanent and that the Demon King would be breaking out soon.

'There's no way he can just continue sleeping peacefully while we're getting ready to kill him, right? He's sure to wake up as soon as he's provoked,' Eugene mused.

If that happened, then even Sienna's magic might not be able to suppress the emergence of Nur from Raguyaran and Lehainjar. Therefore, part of the Divine Army would need to be deployed there in order to prevent the spread of Nur.

'It should be fine if we leave that side to the Ruhr Kingdom's army,' Eugene decided.

During last night's banquet, he had ordained Aman and the elite knightly order of the Ruhr Kingdom, the White Fangs. He would only be able to make a decision after seeing the actual situation, but if the Ruhr Kingdom's army alone wasn't enough, then they could also mobilize the army of the Shimuin Kingdom or the Slad mercenaries to support them.

As he carefully considered these next steps, Eugene unconsciously let out a smile. The military forces that Eugene was casually ordering about inside his head were all the elite forces of their respective countries. In addition to these various elite forces, if Eugene so desired, he could also order these various countries to conscript and mobilize additional forces.

"I really have grown a lot," Eugene muttered to himself while shaking his head.

No matter how famous Hamel had been three hundred years ago, it would have been impossible for him to issue orders to the king of a country. However, such a thing was now possible for Eugene. If Eugene truly desired it, he could gather up the forces of not just one country but the entire continent and order them into action. Eugene Lionheart had become a name capable of wielding such influence all within a span of ten years or less.

This gathering of influence was done out of necessity. Setting aside the significance of his newfound divinity, the fate of the world now rested in Eugene's hands.

It was by his actions that they would all either perish or survive. And if they did survive, he would be the one to decide what form their future would take.

"As expected, it really is heavy," Eugene gave a low chuckle as he reached into his cloak for some alcohol.

He filled the table in front of him with several bottles of wine that he had brought with him from the banquet.

Kristina and Anise, who practically ran on alcohol[1], were present but silent. Sienna, who also liked alcohol quite a fair bit, though not as much as the Saints, was still occupied in the forest, and Molon was all the way in the far north.

'...I've done everything I could,' Eugene told himself once more.

Since he had already attained godhood, there was no point in spreading his faith any further. In the first place, from the moment the Light had entered Eugene, all of the divine power that had been accumulated as part of the Light's plan since the Age of Myth ended was almost entirely at Eugene's disposal.

Their preparations were complete, and all that was left... was to muster up their resolve. Once they had all firmed their resolve, they would face their final challenge.

But all that said, it wasn't so easy to make up one's mind and commit everything they had to face this challenge. Eugene knew there was nowhere to run to, and they also didn't have much time left. But what if he failed? What if he died? In that case, he guessed he would just need to find a good place to die.

Eugene was reminded of the specter and what he had said during the specter's final moments, as he grabbed his copy by the hand.

~

—Let's go.

~

Eugene had already made his declaration back then. He had promised to kill the Demon King of Incarceration, and he had promised to save the world. But if he were to be killed by the Demon King of Incarceration, his soul would be captured. That would mean that all hope for the next era would be extinguished.

In fact, at this point, Eugene thought that the outcome wouldn't be that much different depending on whether he died at the hands of the Demon King of Incarceration or the Demon King of Destruction. The Eugene Lionheart of this era was able to exist because of the Ancient Gods, who were responsible for reincarnating Agaroth.

All those Ancient Gods had been devoured by the God of Giants and had transformed into a single god. Then all of the power they had prepared over the ages since had been passed down to Eugene through the Levantein.

If the current world were to be destroyed and a new era arrived, at that time, even the faint hope that currently existed would have already completely disappeared. If that happened, it would only result in a repeat of the eternal cycle of creation and destruction. Just how many more times would the world have to be destroyed before the cycle would finally end? Would the Demon King of Incarceration be the only one to survive to see that happen?

His resolve....

Eugene glared down at the wine filling up the bottle. In fact, Eugene already knew the truth. The resolve that he currently needed to muster up the most wasn't the resolve to fight either the Demon King of Incarceration or the Demon King of Destruction. Regardless of whether he ultimately succeeded or failed, Eugene was wholeheartedly devoted to slaying those two Demon Kings. He had already mustered up all the resolve that he needed for that.

The resolve that Eugene currently needed to find was the resolve to kill Noir Giabella. He definitely had enough murderous intent towards her. He wanted to kill her. He needed to kill her.

However, when that moment came, would he really be able to kill her? No matter how resolve he had, no matter how much murderous intent he was emitting, no matter how close he came to actually killing her....

Would he truly be able to kill Noir, to kill Aria, at that final moment?

Eugene Lionheart could do it. Hamel Dynas could also do it. But what about Agaroth?

'I'll just have to force myself to do it somehow,' Eugene thought with a sigh.

Then, after killing her, he would surely feel a lot of regret and despair. He would be left with scars that could never be erased for the rest of his life.

Instead of lifting his glass of wine, Eugene rubbed the scar on his right cheek. This scar had been left on him by Gavid Lindman. This scar would also remain on him for the rest of his life.

But instead of his body, Noir's death would leave a scar on his heart. Eugene was both afraid and disgusted by the knowledge that he would surely feel regrets, doubts, and despair following her death.

"It needs to be done," Eugene muttered aloud, verbalizing something that he already knew to be true.

He was just reminding himself of the facts. There was no need to make any more preparations. Eugene would be ready as soon as he finished firming up his resolve. Right now, Eugene had already taken the first step to muster that much-needed resolve. So he wouldn't need all that long to get ready.

When the Saints opened their eyes, and when Sienna finished her preparations, then....

...all four of them would be heading to Giabella City.

His Divine Army wouldn't be accompanying them. The Divine Army wouldn't be of much help in their battle against Noir Giabella. Numerical superiority was meaningless when it came to dealing with the current Noir. If they did take the army with them, perhaps their army might just end up strengthening Noir instead.

There could be no more delay. Noir Giabella had already surpassed the standards of a normal Demon King. She had already been on the path to becoming infinitely stronger by using the entire city as a factory to supply all the life-force needed for her consumption, but the current Noir no longer needed to rely on mere life-force, instead sustaining herself on the powers of Fantasy that she herself generated.

Just like Aria had once dreamed of during the Age of Myth, Noir Giabella had successfully ascended to godhood.

She had become an Evil God, and Giabella Park was her godly domain.

Eugene let out a deep sigh and lifted the glass of wine to his lips.

But the wine didn't taste like anything.

***

On that night, Eugene wasn't the only one drinking by himself.

This was a city that had sunken into silence. A few days ago, night finally returned to the city where night didn't exist.

The entire city was plunged into darkness because all the lights had been turned off to commemorate the loss of an old friend.

"Haha," Noir laughed as she lay down under the dazzling light of the full moon.

Lying down in the middle of the city, using the entire blacked-out city around her as her cradle, Noir kicked her legs merrily in the air.

"I can feel you thinking about me," Noir said with a grin as she lifted her wine glass.

The full moon seemed to hang on the edge of the swirling liquor within.

Noir could feel the desperate longing that filled the fantasies of the millions of inhabitants currently slumbering within her silent city. But burning even more intensely than all of their desires combined, the murderous intent and melancholic yearning directed at her from some distant location was causing a chill to run up Noir's spine.

It was a familiar killing intent. As well as....

"I guess I'll have to send him an invitation," Noir said with a laugh as she swirled her wine under the light of the full moon.

1. The original Korean text describes her as loving alcohol to the point of death. ☜