Chapter 214 - Damn Reincarnation

Darkroom

He took a few steps forward. But rather than approach all the way, he stopped midway. His startled heart pounded, his head spun, and words surged up his throat.

“You son of a bitch.”

Eugene made no effort to hold those words back. He had no reason to.

As far as Eugene was concerned, Vermouth deserved far worse abuse. No, he deserved more than just a tongue-lashing. He ought to accept it without complaint even if Eugene grabbed him by the collar and punched him in the jaw a few times or slapped him across the face.

But Eugene couldn't grab Vermouth by the collar right now. Not because their reunion after three hundred years had softened his heart, but simply because the Vermouth before him wasn't real. He was a projection.

“... The person standing before me now.”

Vermouth's mouth opened. He was unmistakably a projection, yet so lifelike that he seemed to be sitting right there. Still, he lacked the presence of the real Vermouth.

What period of Vermouth's life did this image depict? His hair was neater and his clothes cleaner than when they had stormed the Demon King of Incarceration's castle. Was this from when he had served as Kiel's grand duke, revered as Vermouth the Great? Or... after he had faked his death?

“Hamel. Is it you?”

A quiet question.

Eugene clenched his fists and glared at Vermouth.

“I imagine it is. This projection wouldn't appear for anyone else. How much time has passed? I can't predict that precisely, but I suspect it has probably been three hundred years.”

Even three hundred years ago, Vermouth had rarely smiled. He hadn't always been as expressionless as a block of wood, but in most situations, he had worn that same blank face.

Now was no different. Vermouth sat straight in his chair, his expression blank but seemingly peaceful.

He looked exactly like the Vermouth in Eugene's memories. Eugene couldn't help feeling conflicted. An image from three hundred years ago. Vermouth wasn't actually here, yet Eugene could feel him so strongly in that projection.

“... Hamel. If it's you, you must be hurling some truly vicious insults at me right now. There weren't many occasions when I found your insults pleasant or entertaining, but now... I find myself missing them. That leaves me feeling a little disappointed. I'm curious what you're calling me.”

“F*cking bastard.”

“By now, you must have realized. The person before you is who I was centuries ago. I can neither see you nor hold a conversation with you. I can only speak to you one-sidedly. Still, don't get too angry.”

Don't get angry? Eugene laughed in disbelief. So he did realize this was something to be angry about? It wouldn't accomplish anything, but Eugene raised his middle finger at Vermouth's projection anyway.

“What should I tell you? Where should I begin? I'm a little afraid that, impatient as you are, you won't want this conversation and will simply walk away.”

Murmuring quietly, Vermouth rested his interlaced hands on his knees. Then he closed his eyes and sank into thought for a moment.

“I have... many secrets, Hamel. I cannot lay them all bare for you. I have no intention of doing so, nor should I. So this conversation won't answer all your questions.”

“Everyone but you knew how suspicious you were.”

Grumbling, Eugene plopped down on the floor.

“Yes. Let's begin with your reincarnation. Hamel, that must be the greatest question on your mind.”

“Go on.”

There was no need to respond, but Eugene nodded along anyway.

“You should not have died there.”

Eugene's eyebrow twitched at the answer that followed. He swallowed the curses rising within him and reined in his surging emotions.

“But there is no undoing it. Hamel, you... must have thought it was better to die there. Your body was, in fact, breaking down with every moment we spent climbing the Demon King of Incarceration's castle. You must believe that happened because of your own recklessness.”

“... Why are you stating the obvious?”

Eugene clicked his tongue as he muttered.

He had thought it over dozens of times already, but his conclusion hadn't changed.

The Demon King of Incarceration's castle. Hamel had died there because he had been too reckless and too weak. Senya and Anise had warned him about the dangers of Ignition time and again, but in that hellish castle, forcing a path through without Ignition had been all but impossible.

“You will hate hearing this. But this is what I believe, so I have no choice but to tell you. Hamel. You died because I failed to protect you.”

Vermouth said it without the slightest change in expression. Eugene couldn't possibly let those words pass. He sprang to his feet and glared at Vermouth.

“What the hell are you saying, you bastard?”

Eugene's face twisted. A different sort of anger from what he'd felt upon seeing the Spring of Light inflamed him.

This was humiliation. He'd died because Vermouth had failed to protect him?

'Who the hell are you to say you had to protect me?'

That wasn't the kind of relationship they had.

Eugene had never wanted that kind of relationship. And he wasn't the only one. Everyone who had fought alongside Vermouth three hundred years ago must have felt the same. Vermouth was strong. So strong it was hard to believe he was human, and capable of anything.

But the four who had fought alongside him would never once have thought of themselves as being under his protection. They hadn't wanted to burden him. On the battlefield, all five of them, Vermouth included, had been equals. They stood together, and when one advanced, the others guarded their back and flanks.

“Hamel. Are you angry?”

Vermouth asked. Eugene stood there glaring at him. Vermouth wasn't here. That bastard wasn't here. This was merely a projection Vermouth had created long ago, speaking however it pleased.

Yet Vermouth raised his head and looked straight up at Eugene. His gaze was certain that, upon hearing those words, Hamel would have leaped to his feet in fury.

“I was angry then, too.”

The corners of Vermouth's mouth slowly rose.

“Proud as you are, you must be furious that I said I ‘should have protected’ you. But Hamel, how did you die? You died protecting me. Even though there was no need.”

“...”

“You must have known it in that moment, too. You didn't need to throw yourself in front of me. Hamel. You simply... needed a place to fall. You threw yourself forward because you thought that, if you continued with us, you would only become a burden. To save me, when I wasn't in any danger at all. Was that a satisfying reason for you as you lay dying?”

Eugene couldn't say a word. Every last word was an undeniable truth.

“You were selfish, Hamel. You used me as your place to fall. You didn't need to protect me there. The only person you needed to protect was yourself. But you didn't. You died. And so I have no choice but to regret it. To regret failing to protect you.”

“... Bastard.”

With a long sigh, Eugene sat back down.

A brief silence followed. Vermouth shook his head several times, then lowered his gaze to look straight ahead again. His gaze wasn't level with Eugene's eyes, but neither of them cared.

“... Let me continue, Hamel. In the end, you died, and our journey ended there. You must be familiar with the present age. I made a promise with the Demon King of Incarceration and brought the war to an end.”

“... What the hell was that promise?”

“As for that battle... it was difficult. Victory was impossible.”

“Would the outcome have changed if I'd fought alongside you in that broken-down state? You know it, too. I couldn't fight properly anymore. Even if I'd climbed up there with you, I wouldn't have been much help against the Demon King of Incarceration.”

“I cannot tell you the terms of the promise, but making it was the best choice available to me then.”

Vermouth fell silent again. He stared into space with empty eyes, then chuckled.

“... If you had been with us, we wouldn't have needed to fight the Demon King of Incarceration once we reached the top of his castle.”

“What?”

“That was my foremost requirement. To reach the top of Babel, the Demon King of Incarceration's castle. If I could meet the Demon King of Incarceration's true self there in person, that would have been enough. Had I accomplished that, the terms of the promise would have been very different.”

“What... are you talking about?”

It made no sense. Eugene stared at Vermouth with trembling eyes.

The sound of chains... dragging across the ground. Crimson eyes appearing in the darkness. That was the Demon King of Incarceration. Ever since his past life, that was how Eugene had known him.

Had he ever encountered a Demon King?

Many times. The Demon King of Destruction had plunged them all into despair merely by moving on the far side of the plains. He had also seen the Demon King of Incarceration, who ranked just below Destruction. It had been when they first entered his castle, Babel.

Writhing darkness. The clank of chains. A pair of red eyes. The Demon King of Incarceration had personally greeted the intruders in his castle.

[“I will await you at the summit.”]

No battle had broken out then, but Eugene had keenly felt that this second-ranked great Demon King was on an entirely different level from the Demon Kings they had killed before.

And yet.

They hadn't needed to fight that terrifying great Demon King? If all five of them had reached Babel's summit without anyone dying and met the Demon King of Incarceration's true self... that would have been enough?

“There was no going back.”

Vermouth spoke.

“So I had no choice but to seek another way. I bought time with the promise and took possession of your soul. ‘For now,’ Senya still has the necklace containing your soul... but I intend to convince her to give it to me someday.”

Convince her? After he'd gone and torn up someone else's grave, then blasted a hole through Senya's chest when she'd come running in alarm?

“Hamel. The fact that you are here must mean things turned out as I hoped. You will have been born as my descendant and learned the White Flame Formula to reach this place. You won't be pleased, but I reincarnated you.”

“I know, you bastard.”

“I had no choice but to reincarnate you because... of everyone I know, you are the most worthy of being a Hero.”

“... What are you talking about?”

“For me... climbing Babel, the Demon King of Incarceration's castle, was the best I could do. But you can see what lies beyond. Hamel. You can accomplish what I could not.”

“Vermouth, you son of a bitch. Say something I can understand. What? Of everyone you know, I'm the most worthy of being a Hero? You crazy bastard. Have you lost your fucking mind?”

“You won't want to acknowledge it. But my opinion won't change. The fact that you're there now proves I never changed my mind.”

Vermouth smiled faintly.

“In the end, I simply wasn't enough.”

“If you weren't enough, then who the hell...!”

Unable to contain himself, Eugene shouted. The Demon King of Carnage, the Demon King of Cruelty, and the Demon King of Fury. They had been able to kill those three Demon Kings because Vermouth had fought. The Demon King of Incarceration had made a promise and backed down because Vermouth had been there.

That was who Vermouth was. Someone who could turn an unwinnable battle into victory. Someone whose mere presence on the same battlefield raised his allies' morale. A brilliantly shining Hero. They had been able to kill a Demon King because he had drawn the Holy Sword. They had been able to kill a Demon King because he had wielded the Moonlight Sword.

“Hamel, you are strong.”

Unable to find any words, Eugene clutched his chest. Vermouth continued speaking.

“You were strong in your past life, but you must be even stronger now. How could you not be? I don't know exactly when or into which family you will be reincarnated. I increased my descendants as much as possible so your reincarnation could happen sooner. I created inviolable rules to keep those multiplying families from killing one another.”

“... You crazy bastard.”

“I don't care whether you approve, Hamel. Just as you did as you pleased and died, I'm simply doing as I please. In any case, the family bearing my name will prosper, and the main family, where I have left my legacy, will look down on the collateral branches from its lofty heights. I won't be able to see it for myself, but that is undoubtedly what will happen.”

Vermouth was right. That was how Lionheart had existed for three hundred years. The guard dogs Vermouth had created, the Black Lion Knights, strictly kept the families from killing one another. The Bloodline Succession Ceremony, the spirit vein, and the White Flame Formula ensured the collateral branches could never encroach upon the main family's power.

“And then, someday, when you are born among those countless Lionhearts, your body will be beyond comparison with the one from your past life. It must be. I designed it so that your body would be formed entirely to suit your soul.”

Eugene Lionheart.

This body was extraordinary. Even in childhood, before he'd learned mana, it had moved just as he wished. No matter how hard he trained, it never broke down. And that wasn't all. The talents Eugene had possessed in his past life had blossomed even more magnificently in this body.

“Your past life and your present one. Hamel, your circumstances are vastly different. You will inevitably stand out at the Bloodline Succession Ceremony. My descendants might envy you, but you will be more than capable of rising above such circumstances. In fact, that must be how you've come to be here.”

“...”

“How old are you now? The White Flame Formula is difficult to learn, but with your talent... I doubt you're any older than your mid-twenties at most. Have you seen the weapons in the Treasury? You probably already have a few of them in your hands. The Holy Sword... honestly, I don't know. Have you earned the Light's recognition?”

Vermouth laughed again.

“... Perhaps you were disappointed that the Moonlight Sword wasn't in the Treasury. But the Moonlight Sword is too dangerous. Dangerous in more ways than one.”

“True enough. It's a ridiculously powerful, horrifying sword.”

“I intend to destroy the Moonlight Sword. To remove it from this world entirely. But I will probably fail. This isn't a sword that can be broken simply because one wishes to break it. If I... somehow manage to deal with it and leave it as a provision for you. And if you still have your heart set on the Moonlight Sword, Hamel.”

Vermouth traced his hand through the air several times. Glowing characters appeared in the empty space. They formed a unique magical formula.

“I have built your grave somewhere beneath the desert of Kajitan in Nahama. If you cast magic according to this formula, you will be able to find it. Perhaps you won't be able to use magic... If that is the case, take this opportunity to learn. Senya has established a new foundation for magical studies in Aroth. With your talent, you shouldn't find it difficult.”

“... I've already learned.”

“Of course, even if you visit your grave, the Moonlight Sword might not be there. Still, don't be too disappointed. If the Moonlight Sword is there... if I have left it there, that will mean I couldn't destroy it. But I will at least have succeeded in making it something you can control, so I hope you won't laugh at me too much.”

Vermouth slowly rose from his chair.

“Hamel. I doubt you've accepted... my reason for reincarnating you. But I am certain. Certain that you can accomplish what I could not.”

“What can I say? I've already been f*cking reincarnated. Even if I wanted to confront you, you're not here, Vermouth.”

“I cannot force you to live any particular life after your reincarnation. Perhaps... you have changed? Perhaps you no longer wish to save the world as you did in your past life, and your hatred of Demon Kings and demons has cooled?”

“You know me.”

“I don't believe that could happen. You aren't that sort of person, Hamel. Whatever form you were born in, as long as you are yourself and remember that you are Hamel, your convictions from your past life cannot have changed.”

Eugene smiled without answering.

“And so you must resent me. From your perspective, it might feel as though I betrayed you.”

“... I'm not that petty.”

“Hamel, if you still wish to kill every Demon King and demon and save the world.”

Vermouth closed his eyes.

“... Do not... fight the Demon King of Destruction. Do not go near him. You have seen it yourself, so you must know. That thing is... alien. It isn't something you can fight.”

From afar.

He had once seen the Demon King of Destruction moving. It had been the same then as it was now. Eugene couldn't determine exactly what he had seen.

A ‘something’ moving on the other side of the vast plains.

If that wasn't destruction, then what was? If that wasn't the first-ranked great Demon King, then what could possibly be a great Demon King?

Those thoughts had led him to identify that unknowable being as the Demon King of Destruction. No one there had suggested fighting it. Simply holding their trembling bodies still and calming their minds, which felt on the verge of madness, was the best they could do.

“... But someday, we have to kill the Demon King of Destruction.”

Eugene murmured quietly. Vermouth couldn't hear his answer.

“But someday, we will have to kill the Demon King of Destruction.”

And yet Vermouth said the very same thing.

“Before that, reach the summit of Babel.”

Vermouth opened his eyes.

“Just as I did, stand before the Demon King of Incarceration's throne and meet his true self. The Demon King of Incarceration will not let you climb Babel in peace. That is the sort of being he is. The sort of being a Demon King is.”

“Of course I'll climb it. I've never made it up there, after all.”

“What happens after that, you must experience for yourself.”

Vermouth didn't sit back down. He stood there for a while, stroking the chair's armrest. At last, he murmured with a bitter smile.

“This is the end, then.”

Vermouth looked ahead.

Eugene stood where his gaze was directed.

“It has to be you.”

Three hundred years ago.

Vermouth had appeared out of nowhere and made Hamel his companion, disregarding the objections of the others.

It has to be you.

He had reached out to Hamel as he spoke those words. Once again, Vermouth said them and stretched out his hand.

“... I miss saying that, too.”

Vermouth murmured as he lowered his outstretched hand. Before it fell completely, Eugene clicked his tongue, raised his own hand, and reached for Vermouth's.

An insubstantial projection. Their hands passed through each other without touching, but that was enough for Eugene.

“That's still bullshit.”

Eugene grumbled quietly.