Chapter 141 - Damn Reincarnation

The Hunt

Something had changed. The sense that something was out of place encroached ever further on Eugene’s senses as he advanced.

But he could not tell what it was. He had checked with Akasha again and again, but it was not magic. The influence of demonic energy? If it were anything of that sort, there was no way Eugene would have failed to notice.

“... Sir Eugene.”

Mer, who had been staring ahead with an expression as though she had bitten into sand, spoke.

“Are you sure this isn’t magic?”

“Yes.”

Eugene answered with a glance at Akasha in his hand. Akasha’s power of understanding magic allowed him to see through even hidden magic. This forest was not under the influence of any magic whatsoever.

“... But something is strange.”

Mer surveyed their surroundings through narrowed eyes.

“It feels as though something is guiding us.”

“Me?”

“Not just you. The mana and demonic energy... the ‘power’ within this forest.”

Eugene glanced at the compass he was still holding. It pointed toward the greatest concentration of demonic energy. Right now, it was not pointing toward the heart of the forest. If he relied on this compass alone, he would end up somewhere completely different from his intended destination.

What if he had no compass? He would have to find his way by other means, but warriors often placed too much faith in their trained bodies and senses. Under ordinary circumstances, that approach was not entirely wrong. After a few failures, keen senses could find the right path even through a forest surrounded by nothing but trees.

But in a forest artificially ‘entangled’ like this one, even the senses were being guided. It was too subtle to notice, yet to Eugene, who had grasped the broad outlines of the situation, all of it felt like a blatant trap.

‘... The problem is that I’m not the only one caught in it.’

It was not magic, but this ‘trick’ encompassed a vast area.

‘Everyone who entered the forest... Have they excluded the Black Lion Knights near the heart? What about the captains acting as guardians? It would take a hell of a force to even pick a fight with them.’

The unknown gave rise to speculation. Just beyond Mount Uklas lay Kiel’s border, and beyond that, the Great Forest of Samar. When outlaws from that forest attempted to enter Kiel illegally, crossing Mount Uklas was their usual route.

One of the Black Lion Knights’ primary duties was to eliminate those infiltrating outlaws.

‘... No... Even so... Bastards like that would never pick a fight with the Black Lion Knights. The only remotely plausible possibility is...’

Dark elves.

‘Iris’s dark elves are in Samar.’

The Rakshasa Princess would want the elves of the main family handed over to her.

‘... Could she be taking hostages to exchange for them? Iris is a crazy bitch, but has she gone this far off the deep end in three hundred years?’

Speculation alone would not give him an answer yet. Eugene focused his mind and spoke.

“Tempest.”

The call, imbued with power, reached the spirit realm. The wind around him stirred, lifting his hair.

[“What is it?”]

“I need you to scout the area. You know Genos Lionheart’s face, right?”

[“... Hamel, you must be the only one who would use the Wind Spirit King for such trivial errands—”]

Tempest’s voice abruptly stopped.

“Eek!”

Mer thrashed inside the cloak. After twisting this way and that, she grimaced and pulled Wynnyd out from deep within it.

Held in both her hands, Wynnyd hummed and trembled. Eugene accepted the sword and tilted his head.

“What? What’s wrong?”

[“Hmm...!”]

Tempest’s voice trembled just as Wynnyd did. Eugene had possessed Wynnyd for quite some time now, but Tempest had rarely been this agitated.

WHOOSH!

The wind gathered in one place. Manifesting with it as his body, Tempest looked around and reached out here and there, feeling his surroundings. Each time, gusts spilled out and shook the branches fiercely.

Eugene did not understand what Tempest was doing, but he could at least tell that it was not for a good reason. He therefore said nothing more and waited for Tempest to speak.

[“... I cannot believe it.”]

“What is it?”

[“The wind spirits, the earth spirits... No, every spirit in this forest is asleep.”]

“... Why?”

[“Darkness.”]

Tempest’s voice was still trembling.

[“Most beings sleep in darkness, where there is no light, and fear it as they imagine what might lurk where they cannot see. ... Hamel. Since ancient times, darkness has been regarded as a place where sinister forces stir and ominous beings roam.”]

“... And?”

[“... Even such darkness harbors spirits. Spirits of darkness. They are harder to contract with than any other spirit. They are indifferent to humans. Furthermore, spirits of darkness drive humans mad...”]

“...”

[“... The darkness in this forest belongs to a spirit. It has encroached on this vast area and forced even the other spirits to sleep. Spirits of darkness are ominous and powerful, but one with influence this great...”]

“A Spirit King?”

[“... No, not that. There is no Spirit King of Darkness. What has encroached on this place is probably a higher spirit of darkness. Hamel, I know your capabilities, but this is not an opponent to underestimate.”]

Murmuring those words, Tempest dispersed his body.

[“... Genos Lionheart. He is probably wandering in the darkness. Putting someone of his ability to sleep is difficult, but twisting the paths to make him lose his way is child’s play for a spirit of darkness.”]

“We find the spirit summoner.”

Eugene spoke as he bent his knees. Thanks to the lightning flame dissolved into his mana, he could now sense the spirits of the World Tree, but that did not allow him to sense other spirits as well.

He would therefore leave tracking the spirit of darkness to Tempest.

Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Mer stopped complaining and gripped the cloak tightly. Eugene located a dense concentration of demonic energy, then kicked off the ground and sprang forward.

* * *

“... Young master?”

Dezra, who had remained silent all this time, looked anxiously around.

“... Are you sure we’re going the right way?”

At some point, their surroundings had stopped feeling like a ‘forest.’ The sun should certainly have been up, yet looking skyward revealed no sign of it.

Was it because they were deep in the forest? Because the foliage was thick? Even so, could it really be this dark?

“The demonic beasts have gotten stronger.”

Cyan spoke as he scrubbed the splattered blood from his armor.

“No matter how stupid you are, you must have noticed that, right? Just now, for instance. When that pack of Fangclaws attacked, you couldn’t even fucking stab them to death properly. You just backed away!”

“That was...”

“What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you even join this hunt if that’s all you can do? If you’re weak, if you’re weak, at least put in more effort. You’re no help at all...”

Something was wrong.

This was not something to get so angry over, yet his emotions were strangely inflamed. Even as he recognized something was wrong, he could not contain his irritation. Why should he have to contain it in the first place? He was simply saying he disliked something he disliked. Why should he hold that back? He was the next family head of the Lionheart main family, wasn’t he?

Why did he have to drag such a useless person around here? Why did he, the future family head, have to lead the way and open a path with his sword? Why did he have to fix that pathetically weak idiot’s mistakes?

‘... Because I’m the future family head.’

That faint flicker of resolve stopped the chain of thoughts. Cyan drew a deep breath and shook his head. This pitch-black forest was making people strange. It was probably because they had ventured too deep. The denser demonic energy was bound to have some kind of effect...

“I’m... I’m not weak. No help at all...! I worked hard. When you couldn’t watch your back, I defended you. I skewered your enemies with my spear!”

Dezra shouted, on the verge of tears. Cyan was not the only one whose emotions were running high.

“And this really is strange. Strange, it’s strange! If you can’t feel that something is wrong, that means you’re the stupid idiot, young master. Look around. We can’t see any-anything. It’s a forest, but we can’t see the trees, we can’t hear insects, and even the ground underfoot feels wrong!”

Dezra shrieked and kicked off her shoes. Then she stamped her feet against the ground.

THUD! THUD!

“A forest has soil! It’s supposed to be soil, but there’s no dirt on my feet! No r-rocks, either. Aren’t we going down somewhere? What the hell is this?”

“Get a grip. Delirium isn’t uncommon when you aren’t used to demonic energy...! You, you! You knew you were coming to this forest, and you didn’t even study the basics...?”

“You’re the one who led us somewhere strange!”

Contain the irritation. He tried to contain it. But listening to Dezra shout like that made his blood boil. And had she just dropped all respect from her speech? Cyan was a whole two years older than her.

“You goddamn—”

“Enough.”

Gargis, who had been listening quietly, spoke. His deep, weighty voice mercilessly cut off the abuse Cyan was about to unleash.

“As the young master said, it seems we are all suffering delirium caused by demonic energy. We are tearing each other down because our minds are weak.”

With that, Gargis lifted Dezra in one arm. Suddenly suspended in the air, she screamed and flailed both feet.

“Let go, let go!”

“Put your shoes on.”

Dezra’s swinging hand struck Gargis’s cheek, but his face did not turn even slightly. He was kind enough to carry her over to the shoes she had discarded.

“... Are you... all right?”

Cyan asked with an uneasy expression. Unlike Cyan and Dezra, whose emotions were swinging wildly from delirium, Gargis looked as solemn as ever.

“A healthy mind dwells in a healthy body.”

Gargis answered by pointedly flexing his arm.

“If you build a healthy body like mine, young master, you too will gain the composure to remain free of anxiety in any situation.”

“Hmm...”

Cyan swallowed and nodded.

Thanks to Gargis’s intervention, Cyan and Dezra stopped tearing into one another. But the situation was far from good, and they had no idea what else might happen if they kept going.

“The demonic beasts are fine. We can handle them.”

Cyan shook his head vigorously as he spoke.

“If the influence has gotten this strong, the heart can’t be far away. The Black Lion Knights have been hunting there since yesterday... so there shouldn’t be as many beasts as you might think.”

It was not a hasty assumption. In fact, the deeper the darkness around them became, the fewer demonic beasts they encountered.

“... If something dangerous does happen, it’ll be because of our mental instability, not the beasts. For instance... Dezra. You might go for my back like you did at the Bloodline Succession Ceremony. With that spear in your hands.”

“... Are you serious?”

“I’m saying it could happen.”

Cyan took a deep breath.

“Of course, I’ll trust you—both of you. We’ve come this far together, after all. Don’t worry about danger from the beasts. I’m stronger than you, and I can protect you. So you just need to do your part.”

“... I suppose I’m the only one who needs to do better.”

Dezra muttered, lowering her gaze. Gargis watched her for a moment, then slapped her on the back.

“Ow!”

“Straighten your back and puff out your chest. That poor, unstable posture is tiring your mind.”

“Ugh...”

“And you must believe in yourself. That is what confidence means.”

With that, Gargis strode forward. As he took the lead to open a path, Cyan followed without much comment.

“Don’t walk ahead of me when you’re weaker than I am.”

“Yes, young master.”

Gargis replied with impeccable respect.

They walked like that for quite a long time. Their surroundings were as dark as they could possibly be, and they could no longer tell what sort of ground lay beneath their feet. As Dezra had screamed earlier, it also felt as though they were descending.

It was only a feeling. There were certainly trees around them. When they reached out to touch something wavering before their eyes, it proved to be a tree. ... If anything, that made Cyan and his companions more nervous. The feeling of being in a forest that did not feel like a forest. Something could be right under their noses, yet they could not identify it without touching it...

“... Shall we rest a little?”

Cyan spoke, feeling slightly dizzy. Gargis nodded as well.

Dezra desperately wanted to rest, but she could not readily show it. Instead, she deliberately pressed her lips together and scanned their surroundings as though scouting.

“... Uh...”

Dezra’s lips parted slightly.

“... That... I’m not the only one seeing it, am I?”

“You’re trying to mess with me, aren’t you?”

“No... No, I’m not. L-look, over there.”

Pale-faced, Dezra pointed. Cyan clenched his fists as his blood began to boil. Apparently that stupid girl mistakenly believed the next head of the main family was still afraid of ghosts.

‘I got over that ages—’

When he looked where she was pointing, his expression froze. Gargis, who had turned with him, also opened his eyes wide. Gargis swiftly reached out to grab Cyan, but Cyan surged forward before he could.

“Young master!”

Gargis shouted.

Cyan did not hear that shout. All he could hear clearly was his heart pounding so fast it felt ready to burst. White flames erupted around his body, their mane streaming behind him.

‘Ciel.’

His only younger sister. Bloodshot veins spread through Cyan’s golden eyes. His sister was hanging in the middle of the pitch-black darkness. Her body was invisible, only her head protruding, her bloodless face pale and her eyes closed.

The sight forced a horrible possibility into Cyan’s mind. Demonic beasts that ate humans were not rare. No, all demonic beasts ate humans. Among them were horrific creatures that hung the corpses of the humans they had eaten to mark their territory.

Had she been eaten, leaving only her head?

He did not want to think about it. With a shout, Cyan leaped toward Ciel.

BOOM!

He had not lost his reason. On the contrary, in this moment, Cyan’s mind was colder than ever. That was why he could react to the surprise attack that came without warning.

‘What is that?’

Twisting in midair, Cyan looked at the sword he had swung. Something like black slime clung to its blade. The attack did not end there. The darkness in front of him writhed, then shot toward him.

He could not cut it. Reaching that conclusion immediately, Cyan raised his left arm.

CLICK!

The armor encasing his left forearm split apart to form a shield.

Gedon’s Shield. This shield sent every attack that struck it into a void. Its capabilities were absurdly powerful, but it was not all-purpose. It could not completely block an attack beyond what its wielder’s mana could handle.

WHOOOOM!

Space distorted. It drained a considerable amount of mana, but he succeeded in sending the unknown attack into the void. Cyan landed and corrected his stance.

‘She’s alive.’

Cyan glanced toward Ciel. Though her face was bloodless, she was still breathing faintly. ... That was enough. Regaining control of himself once more, Cyan glared ahead.

“... Who are you? A demonic beast? Or... a person?”

“It’s me.”

Cyan’s face twisted at the answer.

“... Brother Eward?”

“Yes.”

He could hear the voice, but could see no one. He did not understand what was happening. Why was Ciel hanging there like that, and why had Eward attacked him?

... He did not understand? He simply did not want to believe it. Cyan felt a rage so vast that he could hardly believe it was his own. As though responding to that rage, the flames around him swelled.

“You’re a legitimate son of Lionheart... Have you really gone mad? After all Father did to defend you...!”

“Twins really are twins. How can you say exactly the same thing as Ciel...?”

Eward did not reveal himself. Crouching in the darkness, he chuckled.

“Eward...! If you feel no shame over the crimes you’ve committed, stop hiding and come out! You goddamn son of a bitch!”

“There’s no need for me to come out.”

SCRITCH... SCRAAATCH.

Eward murmured as he carved a pattern into the floor with red blood.

“I don’t like fighting.”

“Cut the bullsh—”

THUD.

The sound came from behind him. Startled, Cyan turned.

The first thing he saw was Dezra lying limply on the ground.

Beside her, Gargis’s massive body was collapsing.

“... You insane...”

Cyan spat the words as he gripped his sword hilt tightly.

Could he rescue Ciel and escape? Would he have to abandon Gargis and Dezra, then? No, was rescuing anyone even possible in this situation? Wasn’t he himself in the most immediate danger, rather than anyone else? So, for now, he should escape alone...

There was no time to think at length. Cyan forcibly cut off his thoughts and charged forward. Ciel, Gargis, Dezra. No matter how he looked at it, escaping with all three at once was impossible.

The next family head, abandoning his sister and members of his family to flee? Unthinkable. And so this charge was not an attempt to escape.

“Hector!”

Cyan shouted and swung his sword.

Hector Lionheart.

With a wry smile, he raised both hands.

“Subduing someone without killing them is much harder.”

Still, it had to be done. Hector abruptly lowered his body and slipped beneath Cyan’s sword stroke. The sword’s trajectory changed midway. Following the blade as it fell toward his shoulder, Hector’s eyes flashed.

SMACK!

Hector caught the blade between both hands.

‘He caught the sword force?’

Cyan’s eyes widened. Hector’s hands had come together like a clap, clamping the sword so firmly that it would not come free. Cyan hurriedly released it and retreated.

Hector did not let Cyan get away. As Cyan took two steps back, Hector took four steps forward. Their bodies closed together.

CRASH!

The Aura Shield surrounding Cyan shattered.

“Gurk...!”

Cyan doubled over.

CRACK... CRACKLE!

The fist buried in his solar plexus crushed his armor.

THWACK!

One downward blow of Hector’s left elbow against Cyan’s back sent his eyes rolling back.

“Phew.”

Hector released the breath he had been holding.

As he slung the collapsing Cyan over his shoulder, both hands stung. A glance showed them drenched in blood.

“As expected of a young master of the main family.”

Hector smiled and flexed his bloodied hands. It was true that he had taken a crude approach to subdue Cyan quickly, but he had never expected his hands to suffer such injuries. How long had it been since he had bled? Pondering that, Hector approached the darkness.

“Will it take much longer?”

“Not much longer, but I need time.”

“Hmm... I suppose controlling that is beyond your capabilities?”

“Haha... If I could do that... I wouldn’t have needed your help.”

“True enough. How about offering a heartfelt prayer? You might be told a simpler way to do it.”

“Prayers are offered to gods or Demon Kings.”

“Hmm...”

Hector shook his head and set Cyan down.

“Well, I’ll be off, then.”

“Where?”

“Young Master Eugene is coming.”

SCRITCH... SCRATCH.