Chapter 545: Divine Ascension (6)

“Why did he have to put it like that?” Ciel grumbled as she walked down the mansion’s hallways.

It was now dawn on the day following the banquet. For him to invite her to his room at such an early hour of the morning, she couldn’t help but wonder if there might be some misunderstandings going on.

If a relatively sane and ordinary man had said those words to her last night, Ciel might just have felt some strong hope that the outcome of these supposed misunderstandings was exactly what she desired.

However, the one who had said them was Eugene.

Ciel was very familiar with Eugene in various aspects, and he had even once rejected her so harshly that she had felt like her body wouldn’t be able to withstand it. Therefore, she definitely wouldn’t have any such misunderstandings, nor would she harbor any hopes.

‘Until that bastard slays all the Demon Kings, he’s sure to live his life like a eunuch,’

Ciel cursed to herself.

It wasn’t like she could directly ask him if he meant something else by his invitation and receive a clear answer, but Ciel was certain that Eugene hadn’t meant anything more than what he said.

But why was Eugene so averse to that? Was it because of the possibility that he might die during his battles? In that case, wouldn’t it be better for him to let his desires burn all the more passionately? Let the flames of passion burn so brightly that even if he did die, he would die without regrets...?

Ciel was silent for a few moments, caught in her unending thoughts.

In any case, if Eugene died, the world would end, whether it be at the hands of the Demon King of Incarceration or the Demon King of Destruction. No matter what measures the survivors took, it would be impossible for them to stop those Demon Kings.

But wasn’t that enough reason, no, even more of a reason why they should make sure to burn so brightly that no regrets remain should everything end in vain?

“Ahem,” Ciel cleared her throat as she forced herself to stop this seemingly endless train of fatalistic thoughts.

Of course, Ciel knew all too well that Eugene would never be tempted by such distractions. Even if the world were to end tomorrow, he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to down even a single glass of wine before leaving to avert the end of the world.

Instead, he would just... even if he knew that he wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop the impending destruction, Eugene would still just sharpen his sword before setting off to stop the end of the world.

That was just the kind of guy he was.

‘...In the first place, if Eugene had invited me to his room for such personal reasons, he would have made sure to call only me,’

Ciel admitted to herself reluctantly.

But, in that case, would it even be her that he would call? Such a depressing question suddenly crossed her mind, but Ciel desperately attempted to ignore that line of thought.

‘In any case, he didn’t invite me alone. Since he also invited big sis Kristina, I guess... it must be something truly important,’

Ciel realized.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

But what on earth was so important that it could only be done in his room rather than anywhere else? For now, Ciel brushed away all possibility of a misunderstanding. She also gave up even the smallest of hopes.

Yet even so, just in case, shouldn’t she still prepare so that she was ready if maybe, just maybe, things turned out that way? So Ciel had made sure to take a bath as soon as the banquet was over, change into a new set of clothes, and she had also sprayed on some light perfume.

Ciel suddenly came to a halt and stood silently for a few moments.

She was only a few steps away from the tightly shut door to Eugene’s room. The reason for Ciel’s halt was that she had just seen Kristina acting strangely in front of the door, doing things like stamping her feet, pinching her own cheeks, and tearing at her hair.

So why was Kristina acting like this? Ciel didn’t even need to ask her directly to know the answer. The breeze flowing from Kristina’s direction wasn’t carrying even the slightest trace of alcohol. Instead, there was a subtle yet refreshing soapy scent. There was no doubt that she had also decided to prepare for the slight chance of a ‘what if?’ scenario by taking a bath beforehand, and now it seemed like both of the Saint’s personalities were fighting over who would be the one to open the door and enter Eugene’s room.

“Ahem-hem.”

The fight was getting so intense that it seemed like it would soon lead to self-harm. Ciel couldn’t bear to watch this continue any longer, so she pointedly cleared her throat a few times. At this sound, the Saint quietly released her fistfuls of hair, then used her fingers as a comb to brush through the tangled mess of her hair a few times.

“What’s this? You’ve changed into a fresh set of clothes and even sprayed on some perfume. Just what kind of cheeky expectations are rising within you?” the Saint teased as she shot Ciel a sharp look.

This personality had to be Anise.

With a calm expression, Ciel shrugged and said, “The banquet ran for quite some time, didn’t it? So it’s not so strange that I took the chance to wash up and put on some fresh clothes.”

Anise narrowed her eyes, saying, “It seems that, despite your young age, you’ve sprayed on quite the mature scent. Is that really your preference? Or could it be that you were in such a rush that you had no choice but to use that scent?”

“This sort of scent is actually quite trendy nowadays. As for you, oh Lady Saintess, it might be because you’re someone from the distant past, or perhaps it’s just because you’re a priest, but do you know that the scent you are currently using is quite old-fashioned? If I had to be polite about it, I guess I could at least call it quite the refreshing odor,” Ciel commented, refusing to back down despite Anise’s piercing words.

For a few moments, their gazes clashed in midair.

“Hmph,” Anise snorted as she turned around. “Little girl, it’s obvious what kind of foolish hope you might be harboring in your chest, but it won’t turn out the way you wish. In the first place, if he wanted to do something like that, there is no way that Hamel would call both you and me together.”

“Hmm? But I didn’t come here bearing any expectations, though? So I’m not sure what exactly you might be implying,” Ciel said, strolling closer while pretending ignorance.

Anise glanced at Ciel with a skeptical look, but she didn’t fire off any more shots. Because in the end, no matter what she tried to say at this moment, Anise would just be spitting into the wind.

Of course, in Anise’s case, she could be excused to a certain extent.

It was Kristina who had washed up while feeling a mixture of anticipation and excitement, put on a fresh set of clothes, and then hurried over at a frenzied pace to stand in front of Eugene’s door. It was also Kristina who had screamed at Anise and yanked her back by the hair when the latter had tried to take advantage of her seniority and be the one to first step into Eugene’s room....

So as far as Anise was concerned, Kristina should be the one to feel troubled by this behavior.

“For now, let’s just go in,” Anise calmly proposed.

Ignoring the sad wails that were echoing inside her head, Anise reached out to turn the doorknob, showing not a trace of expectation on her face.

But Anise suddenly paused and questioned, “Should we really head in together?”

“He called for the both of us,” Ciel argued.

“That might be true, but why don’t I head in first to examine the situation,” Anise generously offered.

“No, he called for the both of us,” Ciel insisted, her eyes narrowing in determination as she refused to back down.

Anise got the feeling that if she continued to argue, things would only get ugly, so she clicked her tongue and opened the door.

Ciel and Anise were both left speechless by what they saw within.

Should they say that it was just as they had expected? The scene within the room was completely different from the shallow hopes that all three women had secretly harbored. There wasn’t any romantic lighting or light refreshments or glasses of wine laid out for them to partake in. Eugene also wasn’t wearing something seductive like a bathrobe.

He just greeted them with a question. “Why are you all just standing there in front of the doorway?”

Even if this was his room, Eugene was looking far too casual for such a late-night rendezvous. He had taken off his stuffy formal clothes and was wearing a loose, short-sleeved top, and he was also holding a large haunch of meat in one hand.

If it had only been that, it would have been understandable. Throughout the banquet, Eugene had been consuming large amounts of meat whenever he could. Following the end of the duel, Gilead had relayed to Nina exactly what Eugene had requested, and during last night’s banquet, a separate table had been prepared just for Eugene. He had already gone through an extravagant mountain of meat... yet even now, Eugene was taking big bites of meat from the leftovers he had brought from the banquet while doing something else.

“...Why exactly are you doing that?” Ciel hesitantly asked, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

Currently, Eugene had blood flowing down from cuts on both of his wrists. It was obvious that he had deliberately sliced open the veins on his wrist. And it was exactly because he was planning to let out so much blood that Eugene had chosen to wear short sleeves.

“Divine Ichor,” Anise muttered as her brow furrowed.

In Yuras, there were sacred relics that were rumored to be able to create Divine Ichor, the very blood of the Incarnation of Light, or perhaps just that of a past Saint. Those sacred relics in the shape of grails were said to have received their power after such blood had first been poured into them.... Of course, Anise knew that most of such relics were fake. And even those rarely found “genuine” relics weren’t truly powerful enough to be called sacred relics.

However, the blood being spilled in front of her was an entirely different matter. Eugene was a genuine god, and that was unmistakably the blood of a god. It was truly Divine Ichor.

[Ah....] Kristina, who had already stopped sobbing, released a long sigh of realization as she saw what was behind Eugene.

It was a small bathtub. Although they couldn’t see inside from where they were standing, Anise and Kristina could both tell that this bathtub wasn’t simply filled with water.

“Has it now come to the point where you have to rebuild the Fount that you yourself destroyed?” Anise noted the irony.

“Of course, it’s different,” Eugene said, shaking his head. “That one was a fake, and this one is the real deal.”

They were talking about the Fount of Light in Yuras that Eugene had personally destroyed. It had been a pool of purified holy water created by using the holy relics of past Saints to filter out any impurity. Following the repeated birth and death of each new generation of Saint, the performance of the Fount of Light grew ever stronger, and Saints through the ages had been forced to incorporate this holy water by receiving cuts all over their body and immersing themselves in the Fount of Light. Through this method, Yuras had trained generations of Saints to serve as their holy weapons.

However, what Eugene was creating now was something different. This small bathtub didn’t contain any sacred relics taken from the bodies of previous Saints. It was a genuine Fount of Light that had been created through a generous supply of Divine Ichor, a single drop of which was far more valuable than even Dragon’s Blood or an elixir.

“For now, we should be roughly done with ordaining my Holy Knights,” said Eugene.

Chomp.

Eugene tore off a shred of meat from the bone with his teeth before chewing and swallowing it.

Even with all of the godly vitality he had been granted, pouring out so much of his godly essence and Divine Ichor was causing Eugene to feel extremely fatigued. No matter how much he ate, he still felt hungry, and his head grew dizzy.

Eugene continued, “However, I have yet to rebaptize you as my Saints, haven’t I?”

Anise was silent.

“You two should have already felt it,” Eugene pointed out with a wry smile as he shook his head. “Your situation is bound to be different from mine and Sienna’s. And you’re also a different case than Molon.”

“I know,” Anise admitted with a short sigh and a nod. “Our strength and abilities come from the god whom we serve. No matter how much we pray and strengthen our beliefs, there is no way for us to become as strong as you all are.”

It might be different if she was just another warrior or wizard, but as a priest, it was difficult for her to become stronger on her own. Because, in the end, a priest’s strength came from the divine power they had been granted.

“...But really,” Anise sighed once more and shook her head. “I never thought that you would be the one to bring up this suggestion first.”

“Is that so?” Eugene cocked an eyebrow.

Anise nodded, “Yes. Is this because you’re taking into consideration our wounded pride?”

“I did think that it would be better for me to prepare in advance rather than wait for you to come and ask me for it personally,” Eugene confirmed. “Did I make a mistake?”

“Even without you admitting to it just now, I know that you were just being considerate of us. You’ve always been like that, Hamel. You’ve always been sympathetic towards me without showing me any needless pity,” Anise said with a smile.

When she thought about what changes may have already happened after she had become Eugene’s Saint rather than the Light’s, Anise recalled how the Stigmata on Kristina’s body had grown. Now that Eugene had assumed ownership of the godhood held by the Light, it was only natural that their abilities as his Saints had grown stronger.

Yet Anise had already been able to sense the widening gap. Currently, the two Saints were able to heal dozens or even hundreds of people with a single prayer. They could regenerate severed limbs and shattered organs without missing even a single drop of blood.

However, that still wasn’t enough. No matter how much their capabilities as a Saint may have grown, all that strength was ultimately still drawn from Eugene.

In the first place, it was impossible for a Saint to provide their deity with assistance. So eventually, during the battles that would take place from now on, the Saints wouldn’t be able to give any more help to Eugene.

“Hamel, if we are baptized once more by you, what will that enable us to do?” Anise asked.

“You’ll be able to ease some of my burden,” Eugene answered with a grave expression. “You’ve seen it for yourself, so you should already be aware of the problem, but it’s difficult for me to handle the divine power of the Light on my own, on top of everything else I have to do.”

Levantein had been created as a tool that would grant Eugene access to the full force of the Light. However, the flames that would burst forth from Levantein when such strength was activated were so intense that even Eugene found it difficult to handle its full power. This made it nearly impossible for him to even wield it properly without first activating Ignition. Yet even with Ignition activated, increasing the flow of power to its very limits placed a huge burden on Eugene.

Anise was still hesitant, “Isn’t Molon enough for that?”

Eugene shook his head, “The roles of a Holy Knight and a Saint are different.”

Anise felt a throbbing sensation coming from their Stigmata. These Stigmata were the genuine deal. They hadn’t been forcibly engraved on Krisitna’s body like in the past, through the use of the Fount of Light or at the hands of the Pope and his Cardinals. It had been engraved into her body by her own sincere belief and faith.

Molon was already strong, and now he had become the first Holy Knight of the God of War and the Light, and was the Greatest Warrior of his god. However, just like Eugene had said, the roles of a Holy Knight and a Saint were different. In the end, because Molon didn’t have the same faith as the Saints, no Stigmata had been engraved into his flesh.

“That is true,” Anise finally nodded with a faint smile. “Hamel, you... by baptizing us anew — I as your new angel, and Kristina as your new Saint — are you trying to turn us into your Incarnations?”

“That’s right,” Eugene nodded firmly. “The divine power of the Light is so huge that even I, after attaining godhood, can’t easily control all of it. So, I will connect you to the divine power I’m not using. And then you can use the Stigmata on your hands as gates to extract that divine power.”

Anise listened to the explanation silently.

At this point, Eugene hesitated before continuing, “Anise, you... since you’ve already experienced this three hundred years ago you should already be aware. If you do accept this baptism, it will cause you pain whenever you need to perform a miracle. You might also have to shed blood.”

“Hamel. Three hundred years ago, whenever I started bleeding from my Stigmata and was driven to drink to forget the pain, you were the one who always came looking for me and tended to my wounds. But despite that, are you now trying to force that agony back onto Kristina and me?” Anise asked accusingly.

In response to this question, Eugene had to close his eyes for a moment.

“That’s right,” Eugene admitted after his eyes had reopened. “Because I promise that I will always be there to clean your shed blood and apply ointment to your wounds. So until we kill all the Demon Kings, I am asking you to bear that burden.”

“Ahahaha,” at these words, Anise let out the laughter she had been holding back. “If you are willing to personally tend to my wounds like you did in the past, then I am willing to bear the pain, no matter how bad it gets. In the first place, during my lifetime, you were the one who always had to suffer until you were at the point of near death. However, I, as the Saint, didn’t have to suffer much and just had to support you with my prayers from the rear.”

Anise took a step forward.

“I’ve always hated that.” It was Kristina’s turn to speak. “Even though doing that is my role as a Saint, I’ve always hated that you, Sir Eugene, were the one who always had to face the harshest challenges. I also want to share the same pain with you, Sir Eugene, and fight alongside you.”

Kristina took a step forward.

“As such, we both will gladly accept this baptism. But in that case, oh my Lord, allow me to point out the error in your words. You said we will only need to bear this burden until all the Demon Kings are slain. But no, that is not nearly enough. Until all the Demon Kings are killed, and until both Vermouth and the world have been saved, we will gladly shed our blood with smiles on our faces.”

With a wry smile, Eugene got out of their way. The bathtub he had dragged out of the bathroom was filled to the brim with a golden liquid.

“It thought that it would just look like a pool of bloody water,” Anise observed.

“I also expected that, but after mixing it with some water, it became like that,” Eugene said as he continued to stare at the Saint.

Standing in front of the bathtub, Anise clicked her tongue as she felt his gaze focused on her.

“Do you mind? Are you really going to keep looking like that?” Anise demanded.

“Huh?” Eugene grunted in confusion.

Anise reminded him, “If I’m going to step into a bathtub, I need to take my clothes off before I go in.”

Eugene was taken aback and hastily said, “Ah... it doesn’t matter if you leave your clothes on when you go in—”

“It will definitely feel uncomfortable, so I am not going to do that,” Anise simply rejected.

“No, but...,” Eugene hesitated. “It won’t end with just you soaking your body. I need to be able to touch your Stigmata while making a few adjustments....”

At this response, Anise’s face twisted in consternation. Three hundred years ago, she had already been willing to show him her naked back, but the current situation was different. No matter what, Anise didn’t feel ready to show Hamel her naked body.

[I don’t mind it,] Kristina said.

Instead of concern, Kristina almost seemed to be anticipating the reveal.

[It’s not like that! Th-this is an extremely sacred and pure ritual—! Just what kind of lewd and devilish thoughts are you thinking, Sister?!] Kristina shouted her own accusations.

Anise ignored the now familiar slander as she calmly placed one foot into the bathtub. As the glimmering golden waves rose past her ankle and reached up to her calf, Anise’s body began to tremble.

‘It’s so hot,’

Anise thought to herself.

It felt like flames were seeping in through her skin. Anise took a deep breath before fully entering the bathtub.

“Hah...,” Anise let out a short hiss.

“Are you alright?” Eugene asked with a concerned expression.

Unable to find even the words to speak, Anise could only nod a few times. Kristina was also feeling the same pain at the same time. But since she had agreed to share this burden, she would also willingly share the pain.

Ciel stood there quietly, watching all of this take place in front of her.

Well, for now, she would just have to accept that washing up, spraying on some perfume, and putting on a fresh change of clothes had been stupid. Right now, the Saints could not even speak properly and could only continue to pant heavily while Eugene just stared at them with eyes full of concern....

“Ah... ahem,” Ciel awkwardly coughed as she took a step back. “W-well, I’ll just be off then.”

If he was planning to do this, then why had he also called her here? Ciel thought in annoyance to herself, but even the most snot-nosed brat would be able to tell that this wasn’t the time to say such a thing.

Eugene turned and scolded her, “What do you mean you’ll be off?”

Ciel, who had been backing away towards the closed door, stopped where she was.

“Come closer,” Eugene curtly demanded.

“W-why?” Ciel asked nervously.

“Just come here quickly,” Eugene impatiently ordered with an unusually overbearing attitude.

Feeling a mysterious sense of excitement, Ciel slowly slinked over to Eugene.