Chapter 228 - Damn Reincarnation

The Canyon

Many things changed once they entered Leheinyar. For one, the weather was fucking awful. Out on the snowfields, there had at least been occasional breaks in the snowfall, and sometimes the sunlight had shone down warmly.

But in Leheinyar, even catching a glimpse of the sun was difficult. It was surely somewhere high in the sky, but the madly raging blizzard made even the sky’s color impossible to discern. The snow fell so relentlessly that Eugene began wondering what distinguished that pale, cold stuff pouring from the heavens from garbage.

And it wasn’t just snow. Occasionally—no, quite often—hailstones larger than stones but smaller than boulders came pelting down. They were hard enough to crack an ordinary person’s skull with a single blow.

“What the fuck is wrong with this mountain? It’s like Senya cast a spell on it.”

Eugene grumbled as he glared at the swirling snow and hail.

Senya was absurdly heavy-handed. Whenever a large-scale battle began, she would invariably use magic to unleash a natural disaster. Blizzard, which rained murderous snowstorms and hail over a vast area, was one of her favorite spells.

Of course, the snow and hail here were no match for Senya’s Blizzard. Even if Eugene let this puny hail batter him for days on end, it wouldn’t crack his skull or shatter his bones. Still, he had no desire to simply endure it, so he cast magic around himself to keep the snow and hail out.

But wasn’t it only natural to feel like shit after getting battered, even if it didn’t hurt?

WHINE

Evil whined in response to his disgruntled voice. Since entering Leheinyar, the wolf had grown noticeably more attached to Eugene. He understood that Eugene was protecting him from the snow and hail.

“The higher we climb, the harder it becomes.”

Even the patient Kristina couldn’t help growing sick of this mountain. Apart from Noir Giabella’s attack—or rather, her mischievous greeting—they had encountered nothing that could be called trouble on the snowfields. Most monsters were too frightened by Eugene’s presence to approach, and the blizzards had been bearable.

Leheinyar was different. Though these mountains rose from those same snowfields, they felt like treacherous terrain in an entirely different region. Compared to this place, the Great Forest of Samar seemed like a pleasant walking trail. The monsters here were fierce and fearless. Even without Eugene concealing his presence, they bared their fangs and claws and lunged at him.

[“This is the northernmost point of the continent, after all.”]

The vast snowfields stretched from the northern reaches of Ruhar, itself a northern kingdom. And Leheinyar was the snowy mountain range rising at the snowfields’ northernmost edge. This was the end of Ruhar.

[“The Bayar tribe guards the edge of the continent.”]

Whenever they talked about their homelands, Moron would say that with a face full of pride.

[“The demonic beasts and monsters of the demon lands are fierce, but so are the monsters living at the edge of the continent that our tribe guards. I have hunted them since childhood. To me, these demonic beasts and monsters feel like docile sheep.”]

[“Bullshit. You nearly died after getting surrounded by demonic beasts the other day.”]

[“Even docile sheep can kill a man if dozens or hundreds gather and surround him.”]

[“Why would docile sheep try to kill someone in the first place?”]

When Hamel asked that, Moron pressed his lips shut and refused to answer for hours.

[“... The land the Bayar tribe protects is called Lehein. My harsh but dearly missed homeland. If you travel farther north from Lehein, you reach a mountain range of snow and ice so high it seems to touch the sky. Leheinyar. In the language of the snowfields, Lehein means north, and yar means mountain. So Leheinyar means northern mountain.”]

[“Hmm... Is explaining that name really something to puff your chest out over...?”]

[“Bayar means brave in the language of the snowfields. A Bayar warrior is a brave warrior. I am Moron of Bayar, Moron the Brave.”]

[“Right...”]

[“But neither Lehein nor Leheinyar is truly the end of the world. Beyond Leheinyar lies Raguryaran. A land of nothing. A land you must never enter. The end of the world. The Bayar live in Lehein and Leheinyar to stop others from crossing into Raguryaran. And to keep Raguryaran from crossing beyond the edge.”]

[“What the hell does that mean?”]

[“An ancient Bayar legend. Or a story to frighten children. My father and mother told me those stories often when I was young. In the dead of night, a Nur rises in Raguryaran. The Nur walks across that vast edge and crosses Leheinyar. Children who are still awake are eaten by the Nur...”]

[“What’s a Nur?”]

[“Just a monster. Didn’t I tell you? It is an ancient legend, a story to frighten children. I stopped being a child long ago. And as a Bayar warrior, I was very brave. So once, to prove my courage, I crossed Leheinyar alone.”]

[“So, did you see Raguryaran?”]

[“It was a vast land. A land where the sky was terribly angry. There was no sun, no moon, no stars. A dirty, murky sky, like snow trampled by muddy feet, stretched all the way to the horizon. From Leheinyar’s highest peak, I could see a vast sea at the far end of Raguryaran. A frozen sea. There were no Nur. No one lives in that land, and no one can.”]

They had shared those stories across a campfire three hundred years ago.

Whenever Moron spoke of Bayar and the snowfields, his eyes sparkled like a child’s. Those clear eyes were utterly at odds with his massive frame, but Hamel had listened to his stories without teasing him.

[“Actually, instead of just listening to all this, you could take me there someday.”]

[“You would come to the snowfields with me?”]

[“I don’t know when this damned war will end, but once it does... we’ll have plenty of time and not much to do. Wandering through places I’ve never been doesn’t sound so bad.”]

[“Hamel, if you come to the snowfields with me, I will help you marry the second-most beautiful woman warrior in our tribe.”]

[“What is this moron talking about?”]

[“Senya, don’t worry. If you wish, I will help you marry the second-bravest warrior in our tribe...”]

[“Cut the crap.”]

[“But why second?”]

[“You ask the obvious. Naturally, the bravest warrior in the Bayar tribe is me. Does Senya wish to marry me?”]

[“Drop dead.”]

[“I knew you would refuse. The most beautiful woman warrior in our tribe must marry me, its bravest warrior. So, Hamel, for you, the second-most beautiful woman warrior...”]

[“I said drop dead!”]

Eugene recalled Senya’s shrill shout from that day as he looked up at the dizzyingly high snowy mountains.

Leheinyar, the mountain range barring the way to Raguryaran, was immense and towering. They were climbing with Evil leading the way, but he had no idea how much farther they would have to climb before reaching Great Hammer Canyon.

GRR

Evil stopped. He sniffed, pricked up his ears, and looked into the blizzard. But his eyes didn’t turn fierce, nor did he give a threatening growl as he did when he spotted monsters.

Eugene stopped where he stood rather than passing him. Only after Kristina, following close behind, had also stopped did a clear orange light appear beyond the blizzard.

They were Leheinyar’s rangers. Dressed in thick winter gear, each carried a magical flame glowing orange. Eugene had noticed their size even from afar, but as they approached, just how massive they were became clear. The three rangers stopped a good distance away. Each stood well over two meters tall.

“Evil.”

Eyes gleamed behind thick goggles. The ranger in front had recognized Evil. He looked between the wagging wolf and Eugene.

“... Lionheart?”

“I’m Eugene Lionheart.”

“I’m Kristina Rogeris.”

“Why are you with Evil?”

The ranger’s voice was rough, his pronunciation clumsy. He apparently understood and spoke the common tongue well, but his pronunciation wasn’t entirely accurate. The winter clothing, hats, and goggles obscured their faces, but Eugene guessed they were descendants of the Bayar.

“His Majesty the King of Ruhar lent him to us, saying he would guide us to Lehein.”

“The Knight March is not being held on this mountain. Go back down.”

“His Majesty also recommended that we visit Great Hammer Canyon in Leheinyar. I followed Evil here in accordance with his wishes. Must we really go back down?”

At Eugene’s reply, the rangers exchanged glances instead of answering immediately.

“If His Majesty has given you permission, we will let you pass, but it may be dangerous for just the two of you.”

“The two of us made it this far without feeling endangered.”

“Great Hammer Canyon is Leheinyar’s boundary. The closer you get, the more dangerous it becomes.”

“What, do the monsters become more numerous and vicious? Or does the weather get worse?”

“No. Nur appear in Great Hammer Canyon.”

Nur. The monsters Moron had spoken of three hundred years ago. When Eugene tilted his head, the ranger continued.

“Nur are monsters, yet different from monsters. Nor are they demonic beasts. You will feel it if you see one, but it is impossible for me to explain.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“I told you it is impossible to explain. If you do not fear the Nur, keep climbing after Evil. If you insist on going to Great Hammer Canyon with His Majesty’s permission, we rangers will not stop you. But we cannot guide you there. If you do not want danger, please turn back now.”

Perhaps because Eugene had invoked the king’s permission, the rangers did not actively bar his way. But neither did they simply step aside. His surname was Lionheart, and his companion was Kristina Rogeris, the Holy Empire’s candidate for sainthood. They had come to Great Hammer Canyon at the King of Ruhar’s recommendation.

If the two died on their way there, the King of Ruhar would have to bear the responsibility.

“After coming all this way? Not a chance.”

Eugene chuckled and stepped forward.

He wasn’t thinking about political complications. All they had to do was climb up and come back down. The King of Ruhar, Beast King Aman Ruhar, had said that Great Hammer Canyon held a legend of the royal family. He had also called it the place where royal descendants were reborn as warriors.

Nur.

Three hundred years ago, Moron had said that no such thing existed in Leheinyar or Raguryaran. Was the royal legend the Beast King mentioned about the Nur? Moron was the founder of Ruhar’s royal family. Wouldn’t that mean the legend of Great Hammer Canyon had ultimately been passed down from Moron’s own words?

“Please be careful.”

When Eugene kept walking, the rangers stopped blocking the path and stepped aside.

“Nur?”

“Apparently, they’re monsters that live on this mountain. Moron told me about them three hundred years ago.”

“Lady Anise says she has never heard of them.”

“Of course she hasn’t. When Moron told us about the Nur, Anise said it was boring and went off to drink alone in a corner like a lunatic.”

[“What was I supposed to do? It was boring.”]

At Anise’s grumbling, Kristina let out an involuntary little laugh.

After meeting the rangers, they spent two full days climbing Leheinyar. They hadn’t fallen behind or wasted time taking unnecessary breaks. The mountain was simply fucking awful, far too high, and Evil could only move so fast.

While guiding them across the snowfields, Evil had run remarkably fast. But as they entered Leheinyar and climbed, he grew steadily slower. He kept sniffing and watching their surroundings, changing direction again and again as he searched for a path.

Leheinyar was as large as the Uklas mountain range, where Black Lion Castle stood. Finding their way precisely to Great Hammer Canyon in mountains like these was bound to take time.

The rangers had said Great Hammer Canyon was dangerous, but during those two days, Eugene had found nothing to justify their warning. The monsters had become more vicious and numerous, and their attacks more frequent, but he didn’t think any of that warranted a warning.

On the second night, they erected a barrier against the blizzard and pitched the large tent they had been using throughout their journey across the snowfields. As in Samar, Eugene and Kristina took turns keeping watch.

Unlike then, the presence of Mer and Anise, who never slept, kept their watches from being entirely dull. Mer pestered Eugene for attention during his watch, while Anise chattered to Kristina about events from three hundred years ago during hers.

“About the hot springs in Lehein. Will I be going in with you, Sir Eugene?”

“Are you crazy?”

“I brought a swimsuit. Don’t you have one?”

“That’s not the issue. We won’t be the only ones there.”

“Are you embarrassed about other people watching? I don’t mind at all. I’m a familiar, after all.”

“Stop talking nonsense and go with Kristina. Or Ciel.”

“But you might want to see me.”

“I don’t.”

“Then what about Lady Senya? B-bathing together with Lady Senya, or seeing her in a swimsuit...”

Eugene pressed his lips together without replying.

Bathing with Senya. Senya in a swimsuit. He didn’t want to imagine either, but the images kept forming in his head...

[“Kristina, did you hear that? That wicked familiar is seducing Hamel.”]

‘Sister...! I need to sleep.’

[“How can you be such a liar? Kristina, I can feel a wicked flame boiling deep in your heart, as hot as the fires of hell.”]

‘Sister! I may have been through many things, but I am still a cleric who believes in the Light. To say that the fires of hell burn deep in my heart—even you must refrain from saying such things.’

[“Oh my... I am speaking to Kristina Rogeris, not the Saint of Light. Why do you keep trying to hide, Kristina Rogeris? The only one watching you now is... hehehe, me.”]

‘Ugh...’

[“So you needn’t hide yourself ei—hehehe...”]

“Aaah!”

Recalling the fireworks, Kristina covered her ears and screamed.

That miraculous moment, as beautiful and sweet as a dream, was etched into her mind. The memory she had wanted to treasure for a lifetime was being tarnished by Anise’s mischievous teasing...

“That startled me.”

“Why are you suddenly screaming?”

Eugene and Mer looked at Kristina at the sudden scream. Having sprung to her feet, she opened and closed her mouth for a moment, then slapped her burning cheeks with both hands.

“I... I had a nightmare.”

“A nightmare?”

“Yes. An ominous, wicked devil appeared in my dream and whispered something vile.”

“Don’t tell me... Noir Giabella? Did that filthy whore invade your dream?”

“Yes... What? N-no. It wasn’t the queen of the dream demons. Just, yes, a devil... a devil.”

[“Calling me, the most radiant Saint of Light in Yuras’s history, a devil... This is blasphemy.”]

Anise grumbled, but Kristina ignored her.

Calming her racing heart, Kristina looked outside the tent. The corpses of monsters that had approached during the night and early morning lay strewn all around. Half had had their heads smashed by Kristina’s flail, while the other half had been torn apart by Eugene’s magic.

“... Why don’t we just set off now?”

“Haven’t you had too little sleep?”

“The devil’s whispers have driven away all my fatigue.”

Kristina opened the tent flap.

The interior had been darkened to let them sleep comfortably, but outside it wasn’t dark at all. The fierce blizzard made everything hazy, yet the sun still hung high in the sky without setting. It was a familiar sight. Strangely, ever since they entered Leheinyar, the sun had never set.

“If you’re all right with it.”

Evil, who had been curled up outside, also rose. Eugene stroked his head as his tail swayed, then packed up the tent.

There was no need to hurry anymore. Beyond the blizzard, a tall, rugged cliff loomed faintly. Seen from this distance, the soaring cliff looked like the head of a massive hammer.

Great Hammer Canyon.

Eugene and Kristina had reached the valley leading to the canyon’s cliffs. Had they not decided to spend the night here, they would have arrived at Great Hammer Canyon yesterday. But with the rangers’ warning in mind, they had felt no need to push themselves or hurry, and had decided to rest overnight before proceeding.

“Leaving is fine, but shouldn’t we eat breakfast first? It’s your turn today.”

“... Strictly speaking, it is Lady Anise’s turn, not mine.”

“I don’t want to eat Anise’s pig slop. Couldn’t you cook instead...?”

“Lady Anise says you should stop being so spoiled. Her porridge is a complete meal designed for efficient absorption and replenishing stamina. Besides, you ate her cooking perfectly well in your past life. Why do you suddenly refuse it now?”

“Back then... we had to eat whatever we could. And there was Senya, whose cooking was even worse than Anise’s...”

“Lady Senya’s cooking is wonderful.”

“You’ve never even properly tasted it.”

“I can’t help that. And you just said it yourself. Supplies were so scarce that you had to eat whatever you could get, and Lady Senya made those miserable ingredients edible. Which means! Perhaps her cooking wasn’t actually bad?”

“Nope. Senya was the worst cook among us. Anise was next. Even Moron made more edible food than those two. Vermouth was the best, though.”

“Lady Anise says Lord Vermouth was better than Lord Hamel at everything.”

“Switch with Anise right now. And I’m going to hit her. Is that all right?”

“No. This is my body.”

Kristina answered firmly. They finally began preparing breakfast, though Anise wasn’t actually cooking it herself. She merely gave instructions inside Kristina’s head; Kristina was the one moving her hands.

[“Let’s add wine.”]

‘Pardon?’

[“Don’t you know? Wine removes unpleasant odors from meat and enhances a dish’s flavor.”]

‘But this is porridge...’

[“Red wine will give the porridge a lovely color, too.”]

Thanks to Eugene packing plenty beforehand, they weren’t short of ingredients. Following Anise’s instructions, Kristina poured wine into the bubbling pot.

While their hideous breakfast was being prepared, Eugene cleared away the corpses around them.

A great deal of snow had fallen overnight, but the attacking monsters had been too numerous and too large to be completely buried. The food was already going to taste awful; he didn’t want to eat it while looking at monster corpses... Three hundred years ago, that would have been nothing unusual, but those days were over. Why insist on living as they had in the past?

“...”

Eugene froze in the midst of casually waving a hand to toss the corpses away.

Kristina, who had poured in an entire bottle of wine as instructed and was watching the boiling wine color the ingredients, froze as well. Evil, lingering nearby, crouched low and held his breath.

Mer didn’t merely freeze. She collapsed on the spot.

As a familiar, Mer was extremely sensitive to changes in mana. Eugene immediately gathered her into his arms and guided her inside his cloak. Whatever happened here, the cloak’s interior was a separate space, so she would be safe. Only once inside did Mer finally release the breath caught in her lungs.

[“S-S-Sir Eugene.”]

[“Hamel.”]

Mer called to him in terror, and Tempest’s voice rang out from the previously silent Wynnyd. Kristina had come to his side before he knew it. Her face was deathly pale as she looked at him.

“Hamel.”

It wasn’t Kristina whose face had gone pale. Like Mer, she had briefly lost consciousness, and Anise had taken over her body in the meantime.

“Yeah.”

Eugene nodded.

Eight wings burst from Anise’s back. Eugene activated the White Flame Formula as well, wreathing his entire body in purple flames. Without hesitation, they rushed out of the barrier.

The blizzard had stopped before they knew it. It hadn’t stopped naturally. It was as though it had been abruptly cut off midway. Snow no longer fell from the sky. Yet the world remained as hazy as it had been during the storm.

They were running and flying.

Yet the distance between them didn’t grow, and the distance to their destination didn’t seem to shrink.

Great Hammer Canyon. Eugene found the emotion he was feeling unfamiliar. Revulsion and terror... Emotions of that sort mingled into an instinctive unease. He didn’t want to approach. He wanted to get away, no matter what. Yet unfamiliar as it was, this wasn’t the first time he had felt it.

Once, three hundred years ago.

‘Why?’

Eugene and Anise had the same question. They had seen it only once, but that irresistible terror... Something incomprehensible even as they looked at it. Something alien.

Something they nevertheless had to kill.

‘Why here?’

The Demon King of Destruction.

That unknowable being had been in Helmuth three hundred years ago. Like the other Demon Kings, the Demon King of Destruction had never left Helmuth. Nor did it reveal itself often.

It had first been sighted in Ravesta, where most of the dragons had been slaughtered. Far from Pandemonium, Helmuth’s capital, that was the Demon King of Destruction’s domain.

Afterward, the Demon King of Destruction wandered Helmuth like a natural disaster. Every army unfortunate enough to encounter Destruction was annihilated. When Hamel’s party caught even a distant glimpse of it three hundred years ago, the fifty thousand Nahaman soldiers stationed there vanished without leaving a single corpse.

Do not fight the Demon King of Destruction.

As Vermouth had warned, that was the sort of being it was. A being impossible to fight. All Demon Kings were like natural disasters, but true to its name, the Demon King of Destruction was destruction itself, alive and moving. After the war ended, however, it stopped wandering Helmuth and returned to Ravesta, where it had first unleashed its violence by slaughtering the dragons. It had remained silent there for centuries.

... It made no sense. This wasn’t Helmuth. This was Leheinyar, the mountains blocking the way to Raguryaran, the supposed end of the world. What reason could the Demon King of Destruction, silent for centuries, have to leave its domain of Ravesta and come here?

‘... No. It’s different.’

He reconsidered. He hadn’t actually seen the Demon King of Destruction yet. He was merely feeling the same—no, a similar—sensation to what he had felt back then.

‘It isn’t the same. Just look at me now. I feel it, but I’m heading toward it instead of running away. Whatever’s ahead isn’t the Demon King of Destruction.’

Then what was it? ... Oboron. He remembered that creature, one of Fury’s children.

After the Demon King of Fury died, Oboron had sought refuge with the Demon King of Destruction. He had ultimately been killed by his own son, but Yagon, his killer, still resided in Ravista, the Demon King of Destruction’s domain.

‘A servant of Destruction? Is that why I feel this way? Not the Demon King itself, but something granted its power...’

He didn’t know. He couldn’t judge it properly. He decided he needed to see it first. Anise reached the same conclusion. Neither of them intended to flee blindly as they had three hundred years ago.

Great Hammer Canyon.

Something moved atop its cliff.

“... Yagon...”

Eugene stopped. He had thought they weren’t getting any closer, yet somehow he and Anise had reached the foot of the cliff.

“... I don’t think it’s him.”

Yagon’s father, Oboron the Maleficent, had been a bear. His son Yagon would be a bear as well.

But the thing standing atop the cliff wasn’t a bear. It was as large as a giant... A monkey? A gorilla? Though it had vicious-looking horns on its head, it resembled a monkey. An enormous body covered in pure white fur. A monster standing on two legs, with two arms. No... was it a demonic beast? The ominousness emanating from it resembled that of a demonic beast, but wasn’t exactly the same. Above all, that unsettling aura was fundamentally different.

[“Nur are monsters, yet different from monsters. Nor are they demonic beasts. You will feel it if you see one, but it is impossible for me to explain.”]

The ranger’s warning from two days ago.

“Nur?”

Eugene murmured as he looked at the creature atop the cliff.

Its savage eyes looked down at him. Its mouth gaped open, and a long tongue emerged between sharp teeth. Black saliva that looked like venom dripped from its tongue.

GRR

The creature lowered its body. It looked ready to leap off the cliff and attack at any moment. Eugene reached into his cloak to draw a weapon.

SHIK

Before Eugene could even draw his weapon, the creature’s head fell to the ground. The snow that had stopped began pouring down again. Amid the swirling flakes, an axe without a single drop of blood on it rested on a massive shoulder.

Speechless, Eugene looked up at the cliff.

Someone stood there with a foot resting on the severed head.

“... Moron.”

Eugene called the name of his friend from three hundred years ago.