Chapter 243 - Damn Reincarnation

Moron the Brave

Fight Moron.

Fight him and win.

'There's no way that's possible.'

Eugene had never entertained the possibility of victory in the first place. His chances would be slim even if he threw everything he had into the fight. Expecting to stand a chance against Moron without even using a weapon was arrogance taken too far.

'Ignition... I'd rather not use it. I'll see how things go. Yeah.'

Winning the fight wasn't what mattered.

Eugene didn't know what Moron thought, but that was how he felt.

Truthfully, he would have liked to win if he could. It wasn't as though the thought had never crossed his mind in his past life, when he was Hamel. Three hundred years ago, just as Moron had wanted to fight Hamel, Hamel had wanted to fight Moron.

But their circumstances had changed far too much. Hamel had become Eugene, and Moron had lived for three hundred years. Those years had worn away at Moron's mind, but his absurd brute strength had entered a new prime.

And Eugene? He possessed countless possibilities, but they had yet to fully blossom. By his own estimation, going all out would make him no weaker than he had been in his past life. In terms of what he could do, he had more options now. But he couldn't declare himself stronger in every respect.

Back then, Hamel in his prime hadn't possessed a wide variety of abilities, but when it came to killing enemies, he had been uncannily good.

And even Hamel in his prime would not be able to defeat Moron as he was now.

"Hamel."

Moron spoke. He was looking at Eugene with utter incomprehension. Why did they suddenly have to fight? What would fighting change?

It would change nothing. Perhaps Hamel intended to win and then tell him:

I won, so listen to me.

That sort of behavior and those words suited Hamel perfectly. But that only applied if Hamel won, didn't it? Was he too worked up to gauge the difference in their strength?

"There's no point in this. I don't want to..."

Eugene didn't let Moron finish. He pulled Akasha from inside his cloak. Since he wasn't going to use weapons anyway, he took the cloak off altogether and tossed it behind him.

"E-Eugene!"

Mer, who had finally adjusted to the miasma of the reverse side, poked her head out. She didn't understand why things were turning out this way either. She wriggled beneath the cloak, trying to emerge, but hesitated, her fear not entirely gone.

Her adjustment only meant that she could remain conscious, and even that was possible only because she had more than half her existence hidden in the Cloak of Darkness's extradimensional space. She was afraid that if she stepped outside, that terribly ominous energy might damage her very existence as a familiar.

"Leave the idiots alone."

Anise picked up the cloak. After glancing at Mer's head poking out through a gap, she draped it over her shoulders.

Divine power flared into light around Anise's body. Only then could Mer feel safe.

"Th-thank you..."

"There's no need to thank me. You and I are both suffering because of those idiots, Mer."

"... Aren't you going to stop Eugene, Lady Anise?"

"You're not the only one asking. Kristina keeps asking why I won't stop them too. Those idiots won't listen even if I try. Since words won't get through to them, I would have to put myself between them to make sure they stop. Why should I put myself through something so exhausting?"

Anise's face twisted into a deep scowl.

"I'm leaving those idiots who won't fucking listen alone. Idiots must have their own idiotic way of resolving things."

"But..."

"I understand what you're worried about. But Mer, who do you think I am? No matter how recklessly those two fight, I can heal them as long as they don't die. That idiot Hamel is probably doing this because he trusts me. That's why I'm very, very annoyed. In the end, I'll have to work a miracle for those idiots, won't I?"

["Sister. If you don't want to do that, wouldn't it be better to mediate between them now?"]

'Foolish Kristina! You really don't think things through. If we leave them alone, Hamel will end up half-crippled and begging me for a miracle. Don't you want to look down at Hamel when he's utterly weakened? Don't you want to see him find peace within the miracle you perform?'

Her words were so sinister that it was hard to believe they had come from a saint. Kristina was appalled, but she couldn't possibly answer Anise with a no.

["... Sister. You must switch with me when that moment comes."]

'Don't worry. And remember this, Kristina. Not just at moments like these, but whenever there's something for us both to enjoy, you must share it with me.'

The bond between Kristina and Anise grew even deeper.

While that conversation took place behind him, Eugene prepared to activate the signature stored within Akasha. He had devised it in Aroth with the help of several archmages. It was still incomplete, but that didn't mean it was slow to activate.

In a duel between mages, speed took precedence over a spell's scale, power, or intricacy. The signature reputed to be the fastest was Pantheon, belonging to Red Tower Master Lovellian—Eugene's magic teacher.

Lovellian himself had vouched for the speed of Eugene's signature. It simply couldn't be slow.

The enormous spell formula characteristic of grand magic wasn't stored solely within Akasha.

Eugene's Ring Flame Formula wasn't merely intended to vastly increase his mana output. Inspired by Senya's Eternal Hole, he had replaced the circles of the circle magic formula with the stars of the White Flame Formula. The resulting Ring Flame Formula, like Eternal Hole, recorded spell formulas and allowed him to cast most spells without an incantation.

The sixth star of the White Flame Formula. Now Eugene's stars never stopped rotating. The Ring Flame Formula had fully merged with the White Flame Formula and evolved.

He held stars within his heart. Akasha resonated with their light. He had divided his signature's spell formula between Akasha and the Ring Flame Formula because this magic itself needed to be engraved into him.

That was why this spell required no incantation. Simply making Akasha and the Ring Flame Formula resonate would unleash it instantly.

FWOOSH!

Purple flames surged from Eugene's left shoulder blade. They looked like a flickering blaze, like a wing made of fire. The single wing of purple flame rose higher and higher, spreading wide.

"Hamel. What on earth is that?"

Without stepping back, Moron studied the single fiery wing unfurled behind Eugene.

Despite having lived for centuries, Moron was still ignorant of magic. Even so, he knew that the spell Eugene had just unleashed was extraordinary. At first glance, it was a wing made of flames, but he felt none of the heat fire should give off.

Instead, he felt mana of indescribable magnitude and intricacy. No, he could see it. Even Moron's keen eyes couldn't read the shape of a spell, but he could see that the flames forming that wing were vast, intricate mana.

"Prominence."

He hadn't meant to say it aloud, but since Moron had asked, Eugene answered with a sullen expression. Moron blinked a few times, then burst into loud laughter.

"A splendid name."

In those flames, Moron sensed Vermouth as he had been three hundred years ago. The name White Flame Formula hadn't existed back then, but the pure white flames Vermouth conjured had been just as immense and bright. Moron's own mana had been vast too, but it couldn't compare to Vermouth's flames.

He sensed not only Vermouth, but also Hamel from three hundred years ago. Hamel's mana hadn't been as vast and fierce as Vermouth's flames. But Moron couldn't even imitate that mana, so intricate that it left not a single opening.

The moment he thought that, the fog in his head cleared a little. Moron removed the pelt draped over his shoulders and tossed it behind him, just as Eugene had done.

"Hamel. I still don't want to fight you."

Moron's muscles began to writhe.

CRACK. CRACKLE.

His muscles swelled as though pumped full, and his already enormous frame began to grow larger still.

"But you must have a reason to fight me. I don't know what it is, but I do know one thing."

Moron the Brave.

His unruly hair streaming, he looked down at Eugene. His eyes no longer looked dull and exhausted. Eugene saw a clear light shining within them.

"Hamel. You can't beat me."

"We won't know until we try."

Eugene answered with a smile. Embers began to scatter from the flames behind him. Each beat of the wing embroidered the sky with feathers.

"If you're so sure you'll win..."

Eugene undid a button on his sleeve. There was no real point to undoing a single button. His clothes would probably be in tatters before long anyway.

"Let me hit you once. Don't dodge or block it."

He knew it was a shameless request. But he never imagined being refused.

"All right."

That was the sort of man Moron was. He spread his arms and opened his chest wide, inviting Eugene to come at him. Eugene glared at his face and clenched his fist. Purple flames engulfed Eugene's body.

There was nothing light about the step he took. Moron had said he would neither block nor dodge. That meant this blow might be Eugene's greatest—and last—opportunity.

Beat Moron. Knock him down. Eugene knew that wouldn't solve the problem. But if he could, he wanted to bring Moron down.

Because he wanted to prove Hamel was stronger than Moron? No, that wasn't it.

He simply...

Didn't like the things his friend was saying, worn out and aged after centuries of life. No matter how hard people tried not to change, they changed little by little. All the more so if they lived for centuries.

But Moron refused to accept that. Moron the Brave didn't want the companions he had finally reunited with to see how those centuries had broken him.

Eugene didn't like that. He hated it. That was why he wanted to beat Moron up. Vermouth. That son of a bitch had left him a request without asking, and this idiot had made it his life's mission, fighting unidentified monsters in this hellish place. Eugene wanted to beat him up, knock him onto his ass, and...

Eugene kicked off the ground. Accelerating at full speed, he channeled an overflowing abundance of mana flames into his fist. It was far too much power to unleash on a man who had promised neither to dodge nor to block.

But Eugene didn't hesitate. His opponent was human, yet not human. Moron Ruhar. How could Eugene not know how tough and strong that idiot was?

'Still.'

Just in case. He considered where he could land a blow to end it in one strike. The heart? He wasn't confident he could punch through those thick chest muscles. Then the head. Should he aim for the chin? Or drive it straight into the middle of his face?

No.

He decided to hit wherever he wanted. Changing the course of his all-out punch in midair, he slammed it into Moron's cheek.

It didn't feel remotely like hitting a person. He drove all his strength into it, but Moron's head didn't turn even a fraction. Naturally, there was no sound of his cheekbone shattering either.

CRACK!

The sound came a moment later. Unable to break Moron's body, the flames scattered through the air.

'Fucking monster.'

With that thought, Eugene immediately detonated his mana. Successive explosions swallowed Moron's body. Eugene used the recoil to retreat.

"Didn't you say one hit, Hamel?"

Moron stood tall amid the flames. His black hair streamed, and light blazed from his wide-open eyes.

WHOOSH!

With a single shake of his head, Moron scattered every flame engulfing him.

THUD!

Moron began to walk.

He raised his right arm to the side, muscles writhing. His thick fingers curled into a fist.

That alone made Moron the center of the world in Eugene's eyes. Nothing else was visible. Such was the enormity of the presence Moron now radiated.

"You can dodge."

Moron spoke. Normally, hearing something like that would only make Eugene refuse to dodge. His pride wouldn't allow it.

But right now, he couldn't spare a thought for something as trivial as pride. If he blocked, he would be crushed along with his defenses. Dodging was his only option. How, where, and at what moment?

Eugene didn't spend much time deliberating.

Moron threw his punch.

Just as Eugene had sensed, the strength packed into it was absurd. A shudder ran through him as he felt that immense force smashing toward him head-on.

KABOOOM!

The force swept across the ground. It didn't end there. Without diminishing in the slightest, it pierced the air and annihilated an entire peak in its path. Mer looked back at the sight, her jaw dropping.

["H-he'll die if that hits him...!"]

Kristina screamed too. But Anise merely snorted and grumbled.

"It seems Moron hasn't completely lost his mind, at least."

"Wh-wh-what do you mean? Lord Moron tried to kill Eugene!"

"If he wanted to kill him, he would have punched harder than that. If Hamel can't dodge a punch thrown with restraint, he's an idiot."

He had erased a mountain peak with a single punch, and that was holding back? Unable to comprehend it, Mer stared at where the peak had vanished.

After she blinked a few times, the peak that had most certainly disappeared reappeared, completely intact. This wasn't reality, but an isolated space created by Vermouth's magic.

Moron didn't lower his outstretched fist. He tilted his head in puzzlement. Eugene hadn't been caught in the punch. He had successfully dodged it.

But Moron didn't know how. Had he moved his body? If so, Moron couldn't have missed it.

He had said... that he would use magic. Even Moron knew what sort of spell Blink was. Had he used Blink to escape just before the punch engulfed him?

'Strange.'

Moron drew back his fist.

He couldn't see him ahead. But he could sense him. Across this vast space, Hamel's presence kept moving. Its speed and complexity were beyond Moron's comprehension.

Each feather of Prominence served in place of spatial coordinates.

That eliminated the need for the line of sight and coordinates required by Blink. Even the spatial distortion that inevitably appeared when casting Blink was concealed by the mana flames composing the feathers.

The larger the space, the more exponentially Prominence's possible jump points increased. That wasn't all. Because the drifting feathers kept moving, his opponent couldn't predict his destination.

Prominence created infinite paths for closing in on an opponent.

His eyes ached, and his head throbbed. It couldn't be helped. Eugene's mind was currently linked to countless feathers.

Thanks to them, he could perceive Moron from any direction. Even from behind Moron, he could see his front. Unlike seeing directly with his own eyes, the information was engraved straight into his mind. He could see not only how Moron's body moved, but how his mana itself moved and reacted.

That vast, brutish power moved. Moron gave up trying to pursue or predict Eugene. Such things had never been his forte, nor did he prefer them. He didn't know where Eugene would appear? He didn't know when he would attack?

Then he simply had to sweep everything away.

Moron raised both fists high. Realizing what he intended to do, Anise grimaced and moved her lips. A dazzling barrier of light rose to protect her.

Moron brought his raised fists crashing down. At that moment, Eugene was in the sky some distance away. The feathers drifting there served as his foothold.

The descending fists unleashed an explosion of power. The force that swept across the ground surged into the air. Thus, Moron engulfed the entire space he could sense in his power.

Within that enormous storm, Prominence's feathers drifted as though they might be swept away at any moment. But they never vanished. Erasing every feather was the obvious way to counter Prominence, so Eugene had prepared for it from the spell's conception. Against power like this, they couldn't hold out for long.

But holding out for a moment was enough. Countless feathers moved at Eugene's will. Just before the force soaring into the sky struck him, the embers composing the feathers blazed fiercely. Purple flames clung to one another.

And so a blackened sun was born.

Eclipse.

Once again, Moron couldn't understand what had happened to him. He had brought his fists down, and an explosion had erupted... He had caused everything up to that point, but the black spot that appeared within it was not his doing.

It was small. A tiny black dot. Yet how could it possess such power? Right now, Moron was flying through the air, caught in the explosion unleashed by that black spot—Eclipse.

"... Ha!"

Moron burst out laughing as he gazed at the dark sky. Rather than righting his body as he lay in midair, he spread both arms wide.

"Wahahaha!"

Fiery feathers drifted. Lightning flowed. Lightning Flash's acceleration joined his successive spatial jumps. Purple flames and lightning burned across the sky.

Drawing all of it with him, Eugene appeared directly in front of Moron.

CRAAASH!

Moron's body slammed into the ground.