Chapter 496: Delusion (4)

Whooosh!

Noir didn’t turn into mist and disappear like she had back in Giabella-Park. Instead, she spread out her previously folded wings as if to show them off to everyone, then leaped up off the spot and swiftly flew high into the sky.

“...,” Noir silently tilted her head and glanced down.

She saw Eugene standing there, scrubbing away at his lips, which had been covered in their mingled blood and saliva. For some reason, she thought that his appearance was particularly amusing, cute, and lovable, so Noir unconsciously smiled without even realizing that she was doing it.

“It’s just like you said,” Noir murmured.

Her lips, which had started off with the light touch of a gentle kiss before roughly crashing into his lips a few more times, still retained the warmth of Eugene or Hamel’s touch. The taste of their mingled saliva and blood could still be vividly felt on her tongue.

Noir savored the feeling of their

love

that had been transmitted through her lips and engraved right into her Core as she slowly raised her arms to hug herself around the shoulders.

“What we

have

to do and what we

want

to do hasn’t changed. Because that is what you and I both desire,” Noir whispered.

However, because of that, the closing act of their romance would be all the more tragic and heartbreaking. As such, she still needed to bury herself even deeper into his heart.

While thinking this, Noir licked her lips.

“The woman who loves you is Noir Giabella. The man I love is you, Hamel Dynas and Eugene Lionheart,” Noir stated confidently.

Her love was different from the love that had once been held by Aria, the Twilight Witch and the Saint of the God of War. Noir could be sure of that much at least. The love that Noir had felt from the person, who now only existed in her memories, was a love that was completely unique solely to that woman, to Aria.

And even if that hadn’t been the case, even if this love was a connection that had been drawn from their past lives... Noir wouldn’t be hampered by confusion any longer. After all, there was also a sweet enjoyment to be found in a destined love like theirs.

“Even if that does mean your hate for me is no longer so pure,” Noir sighed softly.

The ground was getting further and further away. However, Noir’s eyes were still staring right at Eugene. She saw how Eugene had raised his head towards her and seemed to be spitting out curses in her direction. Even when he looked like this, he was still just so loveable. Noir held both hands in front of herself and shaped her fingers into a heart.

“It just means I’ll have to learn how to enjoy such complex feelings as well,” Noir encouraged herself.

Her body was trembling from the love boiling within her. Noir even felt tempted to swoop down right now and pounce on Hamel.

If she decided to act on her desires, then who on earth would be able to stop her? Moreover, the current Hamel was in a state where he couldn't possibly put up any resistance. In other words, this meant that if Noir really decided to go through with her desires, she could do whatever she wanted to him.

In that light, should she just head back down immediately to kidnap Hamel? Should she throw him over her shoulder and carry him back to the Giabella-Face? Should she show him such a wonderful night that it would leave him feeling like he had flown all the way into outer space? The fantasies running through her head, one after another, left Noir’s body shivering with excitement.

“No,” Noir told herself firmly.

Not today, at least. She didn’t want to capture or destroy Hamel at such an early date. Noir suppressed the desire rising within her as she turned around to leave.

***

Eugene had scrubbed his lips several times, but the sticky feeling of Noir’s mouth on his refused to go away. Her tongue had ravaged the inside of his mouth like a wild beast, leaving behind the mixed taste of their mingled saliva and blood.

Ptew.

“That rotten bitch,” Eugene cursed as he heavily bit down on his bottom lip.

The figure of Noir, who had flown up high into the sky, could no longer be seen. Shaking off his anger, Eugene spun around.

He tried to walk away, but that soon proved impossible. This was because all of the strength had been completely drained from his legs. Collapsing onto the ground, Eugene let out a curse once more.

“Are you alright?” Ivatar asked, approaching the collapsed Eugene.

Having been swept away by the gale from Gavid’s sword just a few minutes earlier, Ivatar's arms had been left covered in blood. However, he still stretched his hand out towards Eugene without showing any sign of pain.

Eugene nodded, “Yeah, and you?”

“Apart from losing my beloved axe, I’m just fine,” Ivatar replied with a grin as if it wasn’t a big deal.

If placed in Ivatar's position, most other humans wouldn’t have just lost their axes; they would have also lost their lives.

That was just how deadly the wind from Gavid’s sword had been. However, thanks to Melkith throwing her body forward to act as a shield for the others and Ivatar's own tough physique, he had only suffered minor physical damage.

The injuries of the others present weren’t much different from Ivatar’s. In the case of Melkith, who had been struck directly by the sword wind, her Omega Force had been destroyed, but her physical body had suffered barely any damage.

Letting out a sigh of relief at this fact, Eugene accepted Ivatar’s support and stood up.

Noir, who had once been Agaroth’s Saint, had recalled the memories of her past life. There was a good chance that Ivatar, who had served as Agaroth’s Great Warrior, might also have recalled his past memories.

So, with a suspicious expression and slight hesitation, Eugene asked him, “Do you... well... have you suddenly had any memories resurface?”

“Memories? What do you mean by that?” Ivatar asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

When faced with such a question, Eugene wasn’t able to come up with an immediate response and was left blinking as he quickly tried to think of what to say.

Soon, Eugene let out a cough and continued speaking, “I just wanted to ask, during the earlier battle... when you looked at me, did you happen to recall anything?”

“I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at, but... I don’t seem to have recalled any strange memories,” Ivatar shook his head in denial.

Was it because their relationship was too shallow? Eugene couldn’t really believe that to be the case. It was true that Agaroth had regarded Aria as someone special to him and had truly loved her. However, the Great Warrior was also Agaroth’s faithful comrade and a long-time friend.

‘...Could it be because of her lingering attachments?’

Eugene thought with a wry smile.

Aria must have left behind strong emotions and lingering feelings of regret in her final moments. As for the Great Warrior, he hadn’t had the time for that. He had died on the battlefield when the Demon King of Destruction had gone on his rampage. Most of Agaroth’s soldiers had died in that battle without even getting the chance to realize what was about to happen to them.

And instead of regret, such a death would have been just what the Great Warrior wanted. After all, he had died while fighting on the battlefield; he had died fighting for his liege. The Great Warrior Eugene had seen in Agaroth’s memories was just such a person.

Ivatar suddenly added, “However, I did feel a certain emotion.”

“Emotion?” Eugene repeated doubtfully.

“I don’t think I’m the only one who felt it,” Ivatar explained. “During today’s battle, everyone who saw you must have felt the same emotion that I did.”

Eugene Lionheart was the reincarnation of the Stupid Hamel. Some of the commanders on the battlefield, including Ivatar, had already been made aware of that fact.

However, today’s Eugene had left an all-new and incredibly strong impression on everybody who saw him, to the extent that it had erased the particularity of his past life from everyone’s minds. To those watching, it had felt like as long as they had him on their side, they would never be defeated. When he led the way forward and swung his sword at their enemies, it seemed like nothing would be able to stop him.

It made them want to accompany him. It made them want to follow him wherever he led. It made them want to march into any war that Eugene might start.

Eugene had given off a presence of such absolute martial dominance that it made it impossible to imagine him being defeated. Rather than a human, it felt like he was a god. It was as if... as if they had just been spectating as a god decided the final outcome of the war....

“What we felt was belief,” Ivatar explained.

He didn’t think this was something that he, as the Great Chieftain of the Zoran Tribe who ruled the Rainforest, should say. That was because the forest had its own exclusive set of beliefs.

However, Ivatar couldn’t find any way to express this feeling other than by using the word “belief.” At the very least, he felt that this feeling was something far beyond simple admiration. Especially at that final moment, the red slash that Eugene had pulled out while he was engulfed in light... it had felt like the sort of mystery that no human could ever hope to copy.

“Belief, you say,” Eugene muttered in a low voice.

Eugene’s goal for this war was to increase the people’s belief in him. Although he had accomplished his goal... he didn’t feel too pleased about it. This was because the specter hadn’t been a purely evil figure. He wasn’t truly a Demon King. In the end, the specter was someone who was left with no other choice but to die in this war.

Then Noir had reawakened the memories of her past life. Her feelings for him had become even stronger.

But there was yet another reason for Eugene’s bad mood....

It was all because of that bastard.

“How long do you plan to stay down there like that?” Eugene spat out as his brow furrowed in a scowl.

If Eugene could have had his way, he would have wanted to do this while standing on his own without any support, but that wasn’t possible right now. Instead, Eugene glared down into a deep pit while leaning against Ivatar.

At the bottom of the pit was Gavid Lindman.

Although an immense force was pressing down on him from above, trapping him in the space he was in, Gavid’s expression was totally calm. He easily lifted his head to glance up at Eugene.

“What about Noir Giabella? Is your conversation with her over?” Gavid asked politely.

Eugene snorted, “What the hell! So you were just staying here out of consideration for her?”

“Did you really think there might be any other reason for me to do this?” Gavid returned the question with a cold smile.

Gavid’s gaze drifted upwards.

While staring at Sienna, who was floating in the sky, Gavid continued speaking, “I’ll be honest and acknowledge what deserves to be acknowledged. Sienna Merdein’s magic had clearly transcended the limits of humanity. To think that such would exist magic that I cannot cut.

“Then there is Kristina Rogeris. I will also acknowledge her divine power. Having lived through the era of the war, I can guarantee that her miracles have already exceeded those once performed by Anise Slywood.”

Gavid’s gaze moved on from the Saint and swept over everyone standing around the pit. “Humanity in this era is much stronger than it was three hundred years ago. Allow me to clarify. If those present had all been around back then, they also would have been able to defeat the Demon Kings who fell in that era with just their own strength, without the assistance of Vermouth and his companions.”

Gavid freely admitted that the Demon King of Carnage, the Demon King of Cruelty, and the Demon King of Fury could have all been defeated by the strength of the humans from this era. If any of them had been born three hundred years ago, they might even have been able to claim the title of the Hero.

In a cold and calmly collected voice, Gavid proceeded to draw a firm line in the sand, “However, they still wouldn’t have been able to change the outcome of the war. Just like Vermouth and his comrades, they, too, would have had their hopes shattered upon reaching Babel. While thanking the Demon King of Incarceration for his mercy, they too would have been forced to beg for peace, thus creating the Oath.”

A fire lit up in everyone’s eyes due to this calm yet arrogant declaration. However, no one was able to refute it outright because they all knew that it was the truth.

The Demon King of Incarceration was on a whole other level.

“And you,” Gavid’s gaze turned towards Eugene, “Are you really arrogant enough to believe that things will be different for you?”

“I don’t think that’s what you truly want to ask me,” Eugene said as the corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a smirk.

Instead of responding immediately, Gavid narrowed his eyes and glared at Eugene. He tried to figure out what kind of scheme was being put into place behind that cocky smile, but he couldn’t figure out what was going on inside Eugene’s head.

“...I have to admit, I was trying to be considerate of your situation. After all, wasn’t it something that you were desperately trying to hide?” Gavid asked challengingly.

“That was the case until now,” Eugene didn’t try to deny it.

Until now, Eugene had done everything that he could in order to hide the fact that he was Hamel’s reincarnation.

He had had no choice but to do so. Hamel’s name had a lot of negative associations with it. Just look at what Gavid had done today. As soon as he found that Eugene was the reincarnation of Hamel, hadn’t he immediately rushed out to kill Eugene? If the fact of Eugene’s reincarnation had been made public any sooner, his enemies would have come to kill Eugene before he was ready to deal with them.

‘That idiot Iris would have surely come to try and kill me,’

Eugene thought to himself.

There had been much more to lose than there was to gain by revealing his reincarnation. That was why he had hidden it. However, what about now? What if his enemies came looking for him to try and kill him?

At this point, there weren’t many people left who Eugene would even consider to be his enemies. And by now, all of Eugene’s true enemies had already found out about his reincarnation.

The Demon King of Incarceration, Noir Giabella, and Gavid Lindman. Aside from those three, did Eugene really have any other enemies in the entire Devildom?

No, there weren’t any. He could be sure of that. Those three were all that he had to worry about. The remaining enemies were all small-fries that he didn’t even have to take the time to think about.

“Hah,” Gavid huffed as he sensed the arrogant implications behind Eugene’s words.

However, he didn’t truly feel discomforted by Eugene’s disregard. Among the younger generation of demonfolk, were there any who could really be considered Eugene’s enemy? There were none. Jagon, who had at least had a small chance of growing up to be such an enemy, had died a few years ago. Apart from Jagon, it would take at least another century for any of the other younger demonfolk to become strong enough to pose a threat to Eugene.

In that case, what about the demonfolk of the older generations, those who had managed to survive the era of war? This included all of the higher-ranking demonfolk within the top fifty ranks of Helmuth. The very highest-ranking demonfolk among them even possessed a ranking in the single-digit range. Could they, who had been granted a share of the Demon King’s dark power, claim to be Eugene’s enemies?

‘They’re still lacking,’

Gavid judged.

Even among the demonfolk who were members of the Black Fog and thus excluded from the ranks, none could fight one-on-one with Eugene either. No, even if all the demonfolk of the Black Fog were to attack Eugene at once, they would all just be defeated.

“So because of that, there’s no longer any need to keep hiding it?” Gavid asked in confirmation.

“That’s right,” Eugene agreed.

A red glow ignited within Gavid’s eyes. Pitch-black dark power also began to flow from the demon sword, Glory, that he held in his hand.

Crackle, cracracrackle.

Sienna furrowed her brow in concern at the slowly increasing levels of dark power. She was wary of Gavid’s Demoneye of Divine Glory and his Demon Sword Glory. As expected, even with her Absolute Decree, was it still impossible to simply keep him suppressed? Sienna and Kristina briefly exchanged glances.

However, Eugene gave the order before they could do anything. “That’s enough. Stop wasting your effort on someone that we can’t deal with for now. Everyone, back off.”

Sienna’s expression twisted in displeasure at these words. After pouting her lips and glancing reluctantly at Eugene, she let out a sigh as she withdrew her spells. At the same time, the Saints also retracted their divine power, and everyone surrounding the pit took a few steps back.

Those present could be counted as among the continent’s most elite warriors, but they all followed Eugene’s orders instinctively. Instead of hesitating, they all took action immediately before they could express any doubts they might have been feeling. All of this inevitably left Gavid with a sense of mounting tension.

Three hundred years ago, although Hamel was certainly strong in terms of martial strength, he still hadn’t built up much of a reputation for himself. Among the party members, Vermouth was the one who mainly focused on dealing with that aspect of things. But even Molon had managed to garner enough popularity to later establish a kingdom on his own.

Hamel hadn’t done any of that. His comrades, who had spent a long time around him, might consider him differently, but the majority of people who had merely met Hamel in passing remembered him as a rough, irrational, and violent man.

However, what about now? The current Hamel could easily mobilize enough firepower to destroy an entire nation with just a single word....

“You’ve changed,” Gavid accused.

“I don’t think that you really know me well enough to make such an observation,” Eugene sniffed.

“I’m sure that I know you just as well as anyone does,” Gavid muttered with a snort.

There were several reasons why Eugene hadn’t revealed his reincarnation. The main reason he had continued to hide his reincarnation, even after gaining enough power that he didn’t need to worry about his enemies, was that—

Eugene was embarrassed.

While that was certainly one reason for it, that wasn’t the full story.

It was for the sake of belief.

Eugene wanted to create a distinct separation between

Hamel Dynas, the hero from three hundred years ago,

and

the Hero Eugene Lionheart

.

This was part of Eugene’s attempt to make the people of the current era feel a pure sense of worship towards the Hero, thus gathering their belief towards himself. If the fact that he was Hamel’s reincarnation was revealed, Eugene was worried that the belief flowing towards the Hero might end up getting polluted by something else.

However, now that was no longer a concern. Through this war, Eugene had developed an even greater confidence in himself. He had shattered the previous limits of his existence as a human being and had advanced even further forward. When he was fused with the light, Eugene had felt himself absorbing the worship and belief of those present on the battlefield.

So now....

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The identity of Hamel Dynas could no longer overshadow that of Eugene Lionheart. Any worship of Hamel would just serve to increase Eugene Lionheart’s strength even further.

It was a matter of public perception. Eugene Lionheart had made a name for himself as the Hero who had already defeated two Demon Kings in the present era. In doing so, his reputation had grown even larger than that of Hamel Dynas, who had defeated three Demon Kings as a member of Vermouth’s party three hundred years ago.

That was why Eugene was able to declare without any hesitation, “I am Hamel’s reincarnation.”

Nor did he make any efforts to limit the number of people hearing him say this like he had the last time he revealed this news. Eugene’s words were spoken with such volume and clarity that all of the thousands of people currently gathered on this battlefield could clearly hear him.

In a calm and clear voice, without using any complex formats, Eugene simply made his declaration.

Gavid unconsciously let out a laugh, “Heh.”

Fwooosh!

His dark power surged upwards. Gavid leaped out of the deep pit and slowly glided down towards Eugene. Ivatar, who was supporting Eugene, flinched and tried to respond by retreating, but Eugene’s hand suddenly grabbed hold of Ivatar.

His hand... gave Ivatar a very mysterious feeling. Eugene was currently in such a weak state that it would be difficult for him to even pull up a single blade of grass. Although Ivatar had been described as supporting Eugene, it was more like Ivatar was the only thing holding up Eugene’s limp body. Even though that was the case, when Eugene’s hand suddenly grabbed Ivatar’s wrist, it felt like some kind of force had grabbed hold of Ivatar’s entire body.

Ivatar ended up following Eugene’s order as if it was only natural for him to do so. Although he wanted to distance himself from that intense dark power, even if it was just the slightest bit since Eugene was still holding on to him as if to say, “It will be fine,” Ivatar truly felt like nothing would happen to them. As such, Ivatar didn’t move an inch from his spot.

“Hamel of Extermination,” Gavid said with a cold smile as he landed in front of Eugene. “It has been quite a long time.”

Although the greeting had come late, every word that Gavid spat out was filled with murderous intent.

“Indeed, it has been a while, you bastard,” Eugene cursed, his voice filled with disgust rather than an intent to kill. “Why are you suddenly pretending to be a gentleman when you just tried to launch a surprise attack on me when you knew I was weak? Fucking bastard.”