"You all go to the heart," Eugene said as he rapidly closed the distance and blocked the advancing Destruction.

Crack!

A burst of dark power vaporized along with his flames right before him. Eugene glanced at the tips of his hair turning to ash as he took half a step back.

"I'll keep this bastard here,” he said.

No longer could he sense Vermouth in the Demon King of Destruction standing before him. Its eyes were as unfocused as before, and instead of flames, its entire body was enveloped in a vibrant color and dark power.

"By yourself?" Sienna asked. She was about to join him but paused.

"Not alone. Anise and Kristina are with me,” Eugene replied, pushing his Divine Sword forward. As if to prove his words, his wings emitted a brilliant light.

Roar!

The light quickly turned into a baptism of fire that engulfed Destruction. However, Destruction was not consumed by the flames; instead, it repelled them with its dark power and swirling color.

"Understood,” Sienna said as she nodded without hesitation.

Eugene had fought and defeated the specter in the past after it had become the Incarnation of Destruction. But what they faced now was beyond any incarnation. The entity controlling Vermouth’s body was a fragment, or perhaps even the Demon King of Destruction itself. It was on a different level compared to the specter.

Could Eugene really stop it alone? There was no need to consider whether that was possible. It was Eugene’s decision to make. His divinity, which was linked with

victory

, didn’t play a role in this decision. There was a simple reason why Eugene, or Hamel, was acting this way.

‘Because he’s never beaten Vermouth,’

Sienna thought to herself.

With a shake of her head, she turned around. Unlike Sienna, who had paused momentarily, Molon had not stopped at all. As always, he charged forward without hesitation.

"Kraaaaah!"

With a war cry, Molon raised his axe. However, the heart of Destruction did not remain silent either. With a crackling sound, the surface of the heart broke, split, and opened. Dark power flowed out from within and surged toward Molon.

Molon’s axe fell. The large blade cut through the mass of dark power, but at the same moment, an explosion of color engulfed Molon. Just then, Sienna cast a spell with a deep sigh. The space between them was severed, and as if it had always been so, Molon was transported next to Sienna.

"Stupid bastard! Don’t go off alone!" Sienna chided.

"Sienna, I trusted you,” Molon answered simply.

Sienna could no longer reproach him after hearing his response. She knew from Molon’s character that his words weren't mere flattery. He had sincerely believed that Sienna would assist him when he charged.

"Alright, alright, I get it, so just don’t go charging in alone. We need to see what to do about that first,” Sienna said, gesturing to Destruction’s heart.

Sienna sighed again and narrowed her eyes. The surface of the heart continued to wriggle. The mess of bones and flesh continued to unfold. Inside, purple and dark red flesh writhed like rotten meat, with dark power and swirling colors flowing within instead of blood.

"How disgusting,” Sienna commented.

She had seen countless rotting corpses before. Her stomach was steeled to the point where she could have tea amidst such grotesque scenes without feeling sick. Yet, the sight of that heart made her insides churn and flip.

It was certainly repulsive to the eye, but it was also the effect of the dark power and colors emanating from the heart. What accumulated and congealed inside was far more noxious and dreadful than any poison the Demon King of Incarceration had ever concocted.

'How long can I last?'

Sienna wondered.

Sienna chewed her lip as she held back her nausea. Her divine power had grown significantly stronger after the battle a week ago. Her resistance to dark power had increased as well, though she was not completely immune.

Boom!

A loud explosion behind her interrupted Sienna's worrisome thoughts. There was no time to think.

"Molon," she called out.

After brief contemplation, she made the same decision as three hundred years ago. When they faced an unknown enemy, in a situation with no clear answers, it was always Molon who charged first.

"Go ahead,” she said.

"I knew you would say that,” Molon said with a grin.

He leaped forward. Sienna watched how he confronted the heart and how it would resist. She glanced back briefly, but a mere glance was insufficient for her to comprehend the situation.

All she could see was a chaotic intermingling of light and colors.

Of course, Eugene did not want to fight Vermouth this way.

Someday, he wanted a proper duel with Vermouth to finally determine who was stronger — but certainly not today. It was something he yearned for after everything was over. It was something to be had in a peaceful routine where they wouldn't have to think about Destruction or Demon Kings, without any grand resolutions or beliefs, after their victory.

And after his victory, if Vermouth were feeling defeated and down, Eugene would tap him on the shoulder a few times after the fight. Though Eugene seriously doubted that he would actually react that way. More likely than not, he would say something typical of a victor, like, “

You will become stronger one day,”

and then go for a drink together.

"But not today," Eugene said with a chuckle as he wiped the blood from his lips.

He didn't consider his current opponent to be Vermouth. Ultimately, the excuse that he had given,

that he had never beaten Vermouth before,

was just a way to steel himself.

"Strictly speaking, it's not even a one-on-one, right?” Eugene said.

[Technically, Hamel, there are three of us on our side,] Anise answered.

[But Sister, I don't think Sir Eugene is being unfair. The opponent is evil, has lived as long as the Demon King of Incarceration, and must be thoroughly defeated,] Kristina countered.

Unlike Anise who playfully teased Eugene, Kristina defended him earnestly.

[My goodness, Kristina…. With your current reasoning, even if Hamel were to defecate in the street, you would be able to give a reasoning for it and explain it to everyone,] Anise said sarcastically.

[Sir Eugene would never do such a thing,] Kristina retorted.

"Why would I shit?" Eugene questioned as well.

Boom!

An explosion a short distance in front of him made Eugene's hair flutter. He steadied his breath and reached out. The Light flowing from his chest instantly created an Eclipse.

"And it's not the three of us,” he said.

Eclipse was launched into the center of the explosion. The spreading force was all sucked into Eclipse, which then exploded again. This explosion shook the void with a force many times greater than the previous ones. Destruction raised a sword nearby. It was holding a sword, one that was eerily similar to the one Eugene knew.

‘The Moonlight Sword.’

The Moonlight Sword was created by Vermouth by drawing out his dark power after splitting off from Destruction. Thus, there was no reason for the Demon King of Destruction to wield the Moonlight Sword. Yet, since earlier, Vermouth had been crafting and wielding it in battle.

Despite lacking sentience, its attacks weren't awkward either. Earlier, Destruction had only known simple attacks using its arms or manipulating magical power and color, but now that was no longer the case. As the clashes continued,

its

movements evolved.

Destruction disappeared from Eugene’s view, having sliced through Eclipse’s explosion. It hadn’t done that before, or rather, it couldn’t. But Destruction had adapted and evolved. For several moves now, Destruction had been moving that way, and actively using it to attack Eugene.

This was the belly of Destruction. Vermouth was born here, and he could move anywhere he wanted, just like now. Though Eugene couldn’t see it directly, his instincts honed from his divinity compelled him to move. The Moonlight Sword’s strike slashed through the air where Eugene's head had been just now.

He dodged the strike. But the attack wasn’t over. The colors drawn in the air writhed and exploded in all directions. Eugene couldn’t utilize Prominence to leap through space here. Thus, he retreated, dodging the spreading colors, and drew his sword.

‘I’m certain,’

Eugene thought to himself.

The current attacks were sharper than the previous ones. Without his instincts, dodging Destruction’s strikes would have been difficult.

It

was getting used to its method of movement and adding attacks to complement its movement technique. How could that be when

it

had no sentience?

‘It’s evolving,’

Eugene concluded.

There was no other explanation. The Demon King of Destruction was using Vermouth, the vessel, to grow explosively. The original combat techniques Vermouth knew were being used against Eugene. Destruction was responding to Eugene’s strikes in ways that Vermouth would typically utilize.

“You,” Eugene growled.

He confirmed his suspicion. Destruction flailed around while looking at him. Once more, Destruction disappeared from Eugene’s view.

“Son of a bitch,” Eugene muttered.

Eugene felt intense anger. It was just like the time when he fought against the specter. The way this bastard fought like Vermouth, despite not being Vermouth, infuriated him. It reminded him of his time as Hamel when he had never defeated Vermouth. He had vowed to avenge his past defeats by fighting the

real

Vermouth someday, so encountering such cursed situations made his stomach turn. It seemed to dilute the joy he would feel when he would eventually defeat Vermouth.

“Cut it out,” Eugene growled in anger.

His instincts warned him. Kristina and Anise also shouted Eugene’s name in surprise. But Eugene didn’t move as before. He stood still with a snarl.

“If you evolve using the methods Vermouth would use to attack…,” he muttered.

The Divine Sword in his hand turned into flames and disintegrated. The distance between them was too short to swing a sword. Divine flames wrapped around Eugene's hands. And then Destruction appeared. It swung the Moonlight Sword from an even sharper and more lethal angle than before.

"Then I can easily…," Eugene said as he clenched his hands into fists.

He punched, his fist wrapped in divine fire. He blocked the Moonlight Sword that was aimed at his neck with his left arm. The ominous dark power devoured the divine fire and bore into Eugene's forearm.

The moment the Moonlight Sword pierced his arm, his still-clenched right fist slammed into Destruction's face. With a loud crash that seemed too intense for a mere punch, Destruction was driven downward.

"Predict how you’re going to move...!" Eugene muttered while shaking his sore fist.

His left arm was deeply cut, though not to the bone, and blood flowed from it unabated. Destruction's dark power hindered his recovery.

[What if your arm had been severed?!] Anise shouted angrily.

"You would have reattached it,” Eugene answered.

[You know that doesn't reattach immediately,] said Anise.

"That's why I hit before it could be severed,” retorted Eugene.

The sensation of making contact with Destruction was less than what he expected. The colors enveloping Destruction must have dispersed the impact. Eugene clicked his tongue while opening his hand. He had thought pounding Destruction with his fist might suffice, but the effort seemed fruitless compared to the result.

Time was against him. Resisting the dark power endlessly wasn't a feasible option. He would be the first to be worn down if the fight dragged on. Eugene glanced back.

He saw Molon slicing through the surge of colors and dark power emanating from the heart, with Sienna pouring her magic into the path he opened. Despite the high-powered magical strikes, the heart showed no significant damage.

It was to be expected. That had been Destruction's heart for thousands of years, perhaps many times more than that. The dark power accumulated over such an extensive period was deeply embedded and stored in the heart.

'And you’re growing too,'

Eugene thought with worry.

Destruction pushed itself up with both hands from the ground. There was no expression on its face. The cheek where Eugene had struck it showed no swelling or blood. Eugene’s lips quivered at the sight. Destruction’s attacks were growing explosively stronger with each exchange. But for now, he could still handle it. The enemy was fighting with only Vermouth's intelligence and experience.

If so, he needed to outpace its growth with rapid, overwhelming attacks. He needed to make sure Destruction couldn’t respond to his attacks. Eugene crouched, preparing Ignition with Prominence.

"There are four of us," Eugene said.

These were the words he hadn't managed to finish earlier. It wasn't just Eugene and the Saints fighting Destruction. During the attack, he saw a slight tremor in Destruction's fingertips. It wasn’t affecting the combat yet, but there was a tremor in Destruction's movements that seemed unintended.

'Vermouth,'

Eugene called out silently.

That idiot finally seemed to understand what Eugene and his comrades had been saying. He had told him not to think about dying here today.

Don't talk like Destruction's avatar; don't despise or deny yourself. Fight together. Don't just be swayed; struggle against it.

The tremor in Destruction was evidence that Vermouth was struggling. Vermouth was still inside.

'I can see it,'

Eugene realized.

It wasn’t the first time. Unlike before, he wasn’t relying on instinct. Eugene immediately leaped and raised divine fire. Two Divine Swords appeared in his hands.

He had to surpass Destruction’s explosive growth rate. He needed to launch attacks so intense that just using Vermouth’s intelligence and experience wouldn't be enough to counter them.

For a brief moment, Eugene's memory flashed back to past duels with Vermouth. Among them, the attack that had nearly given him the upper hand was—

"Asura Rampage."

The two Divine Swords unleashed a flurry of slashes.

Openbookworm & DantheMan's Thoughts