Chapter 66: The Grave (2)

Although Eugene spat out this demand, the Death Knight didn't comply with his order. Instead, it emitted a hideous and sinister glare, but the anger and murderous intent that Eugene leaked in return wasn't lacking in comparison.

As he projected his hostility, Eugene ran forwards. Thoughts he didn't want to think about kept rolling around inside his head. He kept imagining some truly ominous and fucking disturbing ideas. No, he wasn't just imagining things. After all, wasn't the proof right in front of him?

This place was Hamel's grave.

Death Knights were made from the corpses of dead warriors. Resentment, anger, and hatred — souls that had been drenched in these sorts of emotions would refuse to leave this world, even after they had died, and would remain trapped in their corpses.

Most undead were made by tempting these sorts of souls. In return for granting their desires, these souls would sacrifice themselves to their contractor and become slaves. Souls that had refused to leave this world would never reject such an offer. Their bitter resentment would force them to accept the deal even if it meant becoming a slave for the rest of their existence and never being able to reincarnate.

Although liches were usually insane wizards who had turned themselves into an undead, a Death Knight was a corrupted soul that had chosen to remain on earth even after it had died. A Death Knight was something that had given up all the dignities that living beings should possess and sacrificed everything it had for the sake of revenge.

Because of that, they couldn't help but be strong. Eugene was well aware of how terrifying and terrible the power that they had obtained from using their soul as collateral could be.

But what was going on here?

'Hamel?'

The Death Knight was claiming that its name was Hamel.

'You're really saying that you're Hamel?'

Crazy bastard, it seemed like it had completely lost its mind after it had passed away.

Eugene had no doubts about the fact that he was Hamel. In the first place, there was no room for him to doubt himself. The Spirit King of the Wind, Tempest, had confirmed that Eugene's soul was previously Hamel's.

Even without Tempest's confirmation, there was no reason to doubt this fact. If Eugene wasn't Hamel, then who on earth could he be? His memory, experiences, and everything else all fit his identity perfectly.

However, Eugene's soul might have belonged to Hamel, but his body did not.

'That build....'

It was just like Hamel's.

'His habits... there aren't any. Well, it's true that I didn't have anything like that.'

Although it wouldn't be strange for someone to develop one or two habits that would reveal themselves during a battle, during his previous life, Hamel had intentionally erased all of his habits. He wouldn't have been able to grow any stronger if he had held on to his established habits. He wouldn't have been able to survive in Helmuth either. And he wouldn't even have the slightest chance of surpassing Vermouth. Under such pressing motivations, he had erased all the habits that weren't of any use to him.

As such, Eugene couldn't tell this guy's identity just by looking at him like this. Although it seemed certain that this was a Death Knight formed from some poor soul, that alone wasn't enough.

His face, Eugene needed to see his face.

'If they really did make my corpse into an undead by stuffing another soul in there....'

If that was the case, then all this rage and murderous intent that Eugene felt wouldn't simply go away. That thing was his body. The body from his previous life. The body that Sienna, Anise, Molon, and Vermouth had painstakingly built a grave for and laid to rest.

"Which fucking bastard was it—"

Boom!

Eugene jumped into the air and twisted his body.

"—that stuffed you—"

His cloak billowed. As the space inside opened wide, the handles of countless weapons protruded from it. From among all of these weapons, Eugene grabbed hold of two sword-hilts.

"—into that body?!"

Swoosh!

The two swords that Eugene held in either hand were thrust downwards. Although the Death Knight had two swords descending toward its head in a flash, it didn't panic. Instead, it skillfully twisted its body to get out of the swords' trajectories and then spread its hand out towards Eugene.

A hand that was covered by a black gauntlet shot straight at him. Eugene gritted his teeth hard and blocked the attack with both hands.

Boom!

The blue flames wrapped around Eugene's hands exploded.

'It has a Mana Shield,' Eugene realized.

Strictly speaking, the power that Death Knights and Black Wizards used wasn't mana but was instead demonic power. However, the way that they used it was no different from mana. Its dense demonic power had been wrapped around the Death Knight's body to form a shield.

After Eugene managed to push the Death Knight away, he retracted his stiffened hands. This opponent wasn't something that he could compete with in terms of strength. No matter how well Eugene was able to control his mana or how effectively he could amplify it by using the Ring Flame Formula, the fact that it had only been six years since Eugene had first started training his mana remained unchanged.

It was only natural that he couldn't compete with this Death Knight in front of him in terms of strength.

Eugene reminded himself, 'I also don't really know anything about it.'

How long had that Death Knight been guarding here?

The first thought that came to mind was that this Death Knight had to have been created by Amelia Merwin. She had opened the door to this tomb six years ago, entered inside... and then made a Death Knight from Hamel's corpse. Since Hamel's soul hadn't remained trapped in his body, she had to have stuffed a different soul in there.

If that really was the case, that made it even more unlikely for Eugene to be able to defeat this Death Knight. As a Death Knight made by a black wizard of Amelia Merwin's caliber, it had to be at least as strong as the Lionheart clan's Patriarch, Gilead, or a Captain of the Black Lion Knights.

Using his logic, Eugene could only reach such a conclusion. However, Eugene had no intention of retreating.

So what if the Death Knight was strong?

Fwooosh!

The flames covering Eugene grew even more intense. As he exploded his mana without restraint, Eugene reached into his cloak.

Whoosh!

The Death Knight's hand tried to grab Eugene once more. Eugene immediately evaded with a Blink, reappearing behind the Death Knight.

The weapon that he pulled out next was a giant ax. As Eugene retrieved this ax from inside his cloak, he spun his body.

But as he unleashed his blow, Eugene wasn't able to send the Death Knight flying like he had hoped. The moment that the ax touched its body, the Death Knight's sword had sprung into action.

Schk!

The large ax was sliced in half exactly down the middle. Eugene immediately let go of the ax and took a half-step back.

Eugene's hand was already reaching back into his cloak. What he took out next was a greatsword that was even larger than the previous ax. Eugene raised the sword over his head and swung it down at the Death Knight's helmet.

Although Eugene may have stepped back, the Death Knight refused to reciprocate. Instead, it charged forward and swung its sword.

Kacrack!

The greatsword immediately shattered into pieces. Eugene had never seen an attack like this that could so easily destroy an opponent's weapon.

Eugene examined the way that the Death Knight was swinging his sword. Although it seemed to have intentionally erased its habits, from the way it looked when wielding a sword to the allocation of its mana and the strength of its sword-force... such things weren't habits but instead part of its basic skills. These sorts of things couldn't be discarded, even if you wanted to.

'...It's similar,' Eugene admitted.

He couldn't deny it. The Death Knight's movements resembled Hamel's.

But it was just his movements, nothing else.

This guy in front of him wasn't Hamel.

Eugene was reassured about this truth once more.

His cloak flapped loudly as, in the middle of all this, Eugene lowered his stance. The Death Knight instinctively sensed his approach, so it spun around and held up its sword.

Boom!

The attack unleashed from beneath Eugene's cloak came as a shock. However, the Death Knight's demonic power wasn't even shaken. Instead, its eyes gleamed from behind its upheld sword.

Eugene pulled out a spear and held it in both hands as he brandished it towards the Death Knight.

"Boy, it seems like you're good at wielding various weapons," the Death Knight spoke up.

Boy? Eugene snorted and lowered his knees.

"If you're trying to imitate me, then do it properly," Eugene critiqued him; Hamel would never use tame words like that. "Didn't I tell you to take off your helmet?"

The Death Knight replied, "There is no reason for me to do so."

"I think I liked it better when you just kept your trap shut."

If the Death Knight was going to claim that its name was Hamel, then it should stop talking so politely. From when he was young, and even as he grew older, until the day he died, Hamel had never spoken so politely.

Shick.

The spear thrust forward. No, it just looked like it had been thrust forward. It had been a feint. But the deceptive movements of the swaying tip of the spear as it was pulled back and forth couldn't just be dismissed as a simple trick. The obvious momentum of the speartip could instantly turn the fake into the real at any time.

The Death Knight didn't show any reaction. It just stepped back a little to get itself out of the spear's reach.

Just as the distance between them was growing wider, Eugene's body moved into gear. The blue flames wrapped around the spear gave off a brilliant shine. Each time the spear shook, sparks would scatter off of it. The Ring Flame Formula then transformed each of these sparks into a spell. Chains of flame pierced through the air along with his spear.

Crack!

The chains that were about to wrap around the Death Knight's body were cut apart by a dark ray of light, but this attack failed to block the spear. At the moment of collision, the spear's trajectory twisted aside. In Eugene's hands, the straight spear was able to move both flexibly and freely. This transformed an ordinary spear into a deadly viper.

With its fangs bared wide open, the viper struck the Death Knight.

Bang!

The Death Knight's mana shield fluctuated, but the one blow wasn't enough to push it back. Even though Eugene had managed to strike it firmly, the blow was still too light. Eugene's strength was insufficient to shove his opponent away.

However, Eugene had done this in order to confirm something with his own eyes. The technique Eugene had used to handle his weapon was something that had belonged to Hamel. If the Death Knight was claiming to be Hamel, then it needed to at least be able to see through and understand this technique.

"Boy, your skill is amazing," the Death Knight complimented.

Eugene sneered, "I told you to shut your trap."

The Death Knight was acting like nothing had happened just now. As soon as it had been bitten by the viper, it had retreated backward so the attack couldn't dig in any deeper.

Its technique was also sophisticated and skillful. However, this wasn't enough for the Death Knight to be able to claim its identity as Hamel. Even though the Death Knight had managed to retreat from the blow, it had still set its bones ringing.

But then something broke.

Eugene looked down at the shattered spear in his hands. It was because of the Death Knight's sword. Its attack had been just a simple stab with no finesse, but it was strong and fast enough to shatter his spear.

Now, the Death Knight had no intention of retreating any further. A vicious demonic aura filled the room. Shaking off the pressure that was constricting his whole body, Eugene shoved his hands inside his cloak.

"How unfortunate," the Death Knight muttered.

Suddenly, it appeared right in front of Eugene, its sword swinging forward in a black slash of light. It was impossible to read any emotions from its eyes, but the words spat out by its hoarse voice made the Death Knight's opinion obvious.

Eugene's face was no longer contorted in a scowl. Having gone far beyond the boiling point of rage and murderous intent, his face had hardened into a cold mask.

Then, in the next moment, Eugene's sword-force split apart the Death Knight's darkness.

It happened in an instant, and the Death Knight was left looking like it couldn't understand what had just occurred. This was only natural. Its slash had come close to slicing open Eugene's throat, but suddenly it had failed to make contact.

It was as if its sword had been twisted to the side. However, there was no reason for the sword to do so. With Eugene's strength, he shouldn't have been able to strike the Death Knight's sword aside.

"...What did you just do?" the Death Knight asked.

"You don't know?" Eugene spat out in a voice that carried no trace of amusement. "That's proof that you're not Hamel."

This was an application of mana that had been able to astonish even an Archwizard like Sienna. Although his affinity to mana was also excellent, what Hamel had truly excelled in was his mana control. He might not have been well-versed in magic, but in his previous life, Hamel had still been extremely good at manipulating his mana.

Hamel's body hadn't been as strong as Molon's. He wasn't even as well-rounded as Vermouth. He hadn't known how to use magic or divine power either.

Nevertheless, Hamel had been able to run wild on the battlefield. The reason why he was able to face the attack from the huge Kamash head-on and pierce through it was—

"Parrying?" the Death Knight asked as it looked down at the position of its deflected sword.

Of course, it wasn't just simply parrying. The moment both attack and counterattack collided — at that instant, Eugene had synchronized a wave of mana composed of sword-force along with his counter-attack. So that the whole strength of his sword-force would burst forth the moment that their attacks met.

'How heavy.'

Eugene ignored the throbbing pain in his arm. He could also taste blood at the back of his throat. Although he had definitely gotten the timing down perfectly, it was impossible for him to have dealt with such a strong attack without any issues. Hiding all signs of this, Eugene cycled the Stars rotating around his heart even faster.

Bang, bang, bang!

Countless Stars exploded and reformed in the Circle formed by his original Stars.

Baaang!

A sword wrapped in blue flames collided with the darkness, but he couldn't sustain such a fight for very long. As Eugene resisted the urge to pant for breath[1], he attacked the Death Knight with one blow after another. The Death Knight defended itself while aiming for a counterattack, but its sword wasn't able to move as it desired.

Eugene wouldn't allow this to happen. If the Death Knight tried to swing its sword, Eugene would stab at it from below. If it tried to stab at him, he would chop down from above, and if it tried to chop at him, he would slice at its side. Eugene was able to read the Death Knight's attacks and make the first move each time.

However, it felt like Eugene's bones were splintering, and his muscles were being torn apart. So even this talented body couldn't stand up to such abuse? But this didn't matter. Because Eugene had been able to fight just as well with a body that was in much worse shape than this. As long as he was still conscious and his head was clear, he could still move. He could still fight.

Most importantly, Eugene needed to take off that helmet and see its face. If the Death Knight refused to take it off, then Eugene would just need to break it.

Even if the face that was revealed because of this wasn't Hamel's, Eugene still planned to kill the Death Knight. The reveal wouldn't change anything. The fact that it was a Death Knight was more than enough reason to kill it.

On top of that... how dare this thing... lock itself up in his grave? Acting like it was the owner... sitting in front of this door... blocking this passageway[2]. And it even dared to call itself Hamel?

Something like this?

"Hmph...!" the Death Knight grunted.

It was being pushed back.

The Death Knight's body and feet were slowly sliding backward. The sword that it couldn't wield as it wished was just serving as a hindrance to it. The Death Knight's movements were now completely under Eugene's control. No matter how much stronger the Death Knight was compared to Eugene, Eugene's skills exceeded its strength, and it was left unable to swing its sword in a way that truly took advantage of its strength.

Eugene was currently dancing on the edge of a blade. He was bursting forth with one attack after another, but he still wasn't able to inflict any fatal wounds on this Death Knight. In the first place, injuries meant nothing to an undead. And with the strong demonic power that this Death Knight possessed, any wounds it received were healed immediately.

'I need to end this in one blow,' Eugene thought desperately.

He wasn't paying any more attention to his breathing. Instead, all his focus was concentrated on the attacks.

'Counterattack, watch out for the sword, then recline upper body.'

The mana shield wrapped around Eugene's body was growing ever fainter. All the mana erupting from his Ring Flame Formula was being infused into his sword. Thankfully, he was using the Storm Sword Wynnyd. Its wind worked together well with his flames.

Squeeeeal!

Eugene's sword screeched as it collided with the Death Knight's armor, prompting the Death Knight to back away in alarm.

The Death Knight wasn't Hamel. Its skills were too inadequate, and its battle instinct was lacking. Even though it showed off a bloated strength, it still couldn't control this power properly.

Eugene realized something, 'In the first place, you—'

Eugene's body slid to the side, avoiding a simple and obvious stab. The Death Knight's stab was just a simple attack down a straight line. Although there was sufficient speed to give it great power, that was all there was to it. Then the explosion of the demonic power infused into the sword almost engulfed Eugene.

Just before Eugene Blinked away, he stomped on the ground with his foot.

Pwooosh!

The ground melted into mud with the sticky consistency of glue and swallowed the Death Knight's feet. Although that's what it looked like, the gluey mud was actually disintegrated the moment it touched the Death Knight's demonic power. But that delay alone was enough. As long as it was able to occupy the Death Knight's attention for a few moments, the distraction had proven effective.

'—you're not a swordsman.'

Although it seemed to be able to handle its sword quite well, the Death Knight's swordsmanship was so crude that it was hard to believe that it was even capable of acting as a Death Knight. Eugene could admit that such swordsmanship would be able to receive praise for its strength no matter where it went. However, there was no way that it would have been able to stand at Vermouth's side with only this level of swordsmanship.

Three hundred years ago, among all the knights who had followed them into Helmuth, there was not a single one whose swordsmanship was lacking in comparison to the Death Knight's.

Every time it swung its sword, the Death Knight had to withdraw to recover its stance. Additionally, when the Death Knight swung with its right hand, its left hand, shoulders, and knees would all twitch beforehand. Finally, the Death Knight's gaze was also a little slower than its swing. All this proved that the Death Knight wasn't a swordsman.

Unleashing another attack, the Death Knight violently twisted its body!

Kwaaargh!

The demonic power that spewed from the sword swing sprayed across the entire hallway. Something was damaged and fell to the floor.

It was one of the countless weapons now strewn across the hallway.

The Death Knight's eyes shook in shock, 'How did they all appear in such a short time...? Was it while he was casting Blink?'

Behind it!

It was faster for the Death Knight to release a spray of demonic power backward than turn around. The demonic power collided with a blast of flames and exploded. But this explosion was part of Eugene's plans.

The Death Knight's senses were suddenly covered in points of high-density mana. In ones and twos, dozens and then hundreds, their sudden appearance overwhelmed his senses. Each of them was an attack that Eugene had fired wildly at it.

Bang bang bang bang!

Hundreds of magic missiles shot into the Death Knight's wavering demonic aura. In the midst of all this, Eugene readied his body.

"Now, let's see your ugly mug," Eugene panted in a harsh voice.

Wynnyd's sword-force split apart the darkness as he leaped.

The Death Knight's helmet was sliced in half.

Thud.

As the only noise that could be heard was the sound of Eugene landing behind the Death Knight, he turned his head to look back at it.

The Death Knight was standing still, holding the split-apart pieces of its helmet in both hands. As Eugene recovered from his panting, he glared at the back of the Death Knight's revealed head.

It had short hair, a severed left earlobe, and the back of its neck had a tangled mess of scars.

As he calmed his heart which felt like it was about to burst, Eugene demanded, "Look at me."

The Death Knight turned its head.

A scar ran from the tip of its right chin, across its eye, and onto its forehead. Eugene was very familiar with this scar. Before the point where he actually died, that was the scar that Hamel had received upon coming closest to his death. The event had happened shortly after entering Helmuth.

It was the scar he had received while fighting the Blade of Incarceration[3].

'The earlobe... that was pierced through while fighting the Demon King of Cruelty.'

At the sharp point of the Demon Spear Luentos.

Although it was hidden by the armor, the scar from his battle with the Demon King of Carnage should also still remain on its right shoulder. That guy's weapon had been the Annihilation Hammer Jigolath. If Hamel had been even a little late in retreating, his body would have been crushed in half.

But he had come the closest to truly dying back then, at the moment when his face was sliced open by the Sword of Incarceration. Looking at these scars, Eugene's current face, which was clean of any scarring, seemed to be throbbing for some reason.

"...Bastard, you sure are one handsome guy," Eugene cursed as he looked at Hamel's face.

Even though hundreds of years had passed, that face hadn't rotted away and was still the same as it had been in his previous life.

However, there was no life to it. Its skin was pale and bloodless, and its two eyes were a grayish red like rotting blood.

"Your soul is incredibly ugly, but at least your face is handsome," Eugene consoled the undead.

The Death Knight did not respond. With blank eyes, it was staring down at the helmet it was holding in its hands.

"...Grrr... Wooo...."

Its body started trembling as it made these sounds.

The helmet it was holding shattered into pieces.

"Roooar!" with a roar, the Death Knight threw its sword.

1. The original Korean idiom for this feeling is that Eugene is swallowing a breath that has come up to his chin. ☜

2. These pauses were in the raw text appear to show that Eugene is gasping for breath and is distracted. ☜

3. One of the three strongest servants of the Demon King of Incarceration, along with the Staff and Shield. ☜