Chapter 76 - Damn Reincarnation

Black Lion Castle

“Aaaahhhhhh...”

Cyan’s screams grew steadily more distant. Even as Eugene plummeted toward the ground far below, he kept his eyes on Cyan. The young master of the Lionheart main family, a renowned martial house—someone with Cyan’s background would have learned all sorts of things from childhood, but free falls like this were not among them.

And why would they be? He had stepped through a warp gate only to find himself falling from high in the sky. Even now, Cyan was flailing in midair, screaming his throat raw.

‘Should I help him?’

First, Eugene decided to look after himself. Slowing his fall with levitation magic, he looked toward Cyan. With his abilities, Cyan could not survive a fall from this height. Even with extraordinary luck, he would shatter a few bones.

‘Guess I don’t need to help.’

This was no accident. If dropping them out of the sky was how things began, there had to be safeguards in place for emergencies.

Eugene was right. Cyan was still shrieking, but his fall was gradually slowing. A mage somewhere in the forest below had cast a spell on him.

Eugene stopped worrying about Cyan and turned his head. An old castle stood near the mountain’s summit. He saw a flag fluttering atop its spire.

Its lion emblem emphasized the beast’s fangs and teeth. That was Black Lion Castle, their intended destination. Could he simply fly there from here? If so, they would not have dropped him like this.

Though he did not know the precise reason, Eugene welcomed the situation for now. Vermouth’s tomb might be within the castle grounds, but it could just as easily be hidden somewhere on this mountain.

‘I doubt they’ll let me wander around as I please.’

He would make his way to the castle while investigating any places that caught his attention. With that decided, Eugene accelerated his descent. The wind circling him pushed him onward.

“Is that Wynnyd’s power too?”

“No. He used levitation magic before calling in the wind spirits.”

“He showed no sign of panic either... I see. He’s adept at magic as well.”

Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, Doynes smiled. He and the other elders were watching Eugene and Cyan from the castle walls. Without so much as a telescope, they could see the distant boys as clearly as though they were right before their eyes.

“How accomplished is he in magic?”

“... Even the lowest-level levitation spell belongs to the Fourth Circle. Despite falling from that height, he’s maintaining a steady speed... and his balance is excellent. I can’t say for certain, but he appears to be at least at the Fifth Circle.”

The elder answering Doynes wore large glasses. He came from a collateral branch renowned for its magic even among the Lionhearts.

That made him all the more inwardly astonished by Eugene’s magic. At least the Fifth Circle? Eugene Lionheart was nineteen. He had heard that the boy’s progress in the White Flame Formula was unprecedentedly impressive as well. Had he reached the Fifth Circle just two years after taking up magic?

“... Family head, do you know which star Eugene Lionheart has reached in the White Flame Formula?”

Mastering his surprise, the elder looked at Gilead. Gilead, who had been watching Eugene and Cyan with a slightly tense expression, considered for a moment before answering.

“... He reached the third star before leaving for Aroth, and around last year, I received a letter saying he had reached the fourth.”

“Hoho!”

It was Doynes who answered with a laugh. He nodded, stroking his chin.

“The fourth star at nineteen...! Perhaps he’s advanced even further in the year since.”

“... That... is impossible.”

The speaker was a neat-looking middle-aged man. Of the ten elders, only three came from the main family and had learned the White Flame Formula.

Doynes Lionheart, the main family’s most senior member and head of the Council of Elders.

Carmen Lionheart, sister to the previous family head.

And Klein Lionheart, the previous family head’s brother and Carmen’s younger brother, who had just declared it impossible. Decades ago, he had left the main family to establish his own household, and ten years ago, he had retired from active service to take his place as an elder.

Retired though he was, Klein had trained in the White Flame Formula his entire life.

Even he had failed to break through the barrier to the seventh star. Of all the living Lionhearts, only Doynes and Carmen had crossed that threshold. Even Gilead, the current family head, and his younger brother Gion remained at the peak of the sixth star, unable to reach the seventh.

Yet a child who had not even come of age might have reached the White Flame Formula’s fifth star? Klein could not bring himself to acknowledge the possibility.

“Just because you’re incompetent doesn’t mean everyone else is.”

Carmen murmured as she took a cigar from an elegant case. Klein flared up and turned toward her.

“Oh, Sister!”

“Don’t call me your sister with a face like that.”

“What’s wrong with my face?”

“Anyone looking at us would think you were my father or grandfather.”

“That’s because you refuse to look your age and insist on keeping that young face...! How long do you intend to cling to your youthful appearance?”

“Looking young is vastly preferable to looking old.”

“You have no dignity, I tell you! Once people start calling you an elder, you ought to cultivate the gravitas to match. You’re over sixty, yet you still think you’re a maiden in her twenties...”

CRACK!

Carmen’s teeth snapped the cigar, and Klein could say no more. Embarrassing as it was to admit at his age, he was afraid of his older sister’s fists.

Still, he believed it was important to have the dignity befitting an elder. Of the ten elders, Carmen alone insisted on remaining in active service.

Just look at her now. She had a cigar she never smoked between her lips and wore a coat draped over her shoulders so large it might as well have been a cloak. With one boot planted on the railing, she faced the buffeting wind head-on, striking an elaborate pose.

‘Even in front of our nephew...’

It was one thing when only the elders were around, but he wished she would show a little restraint in front of their nephew Gilead. Especially since their grandnephews would soon be arriving...

‘... It’s already too late.’

Klein heaved a sigh and stroked his beard. Hadn’t Carmen already taken their grandniece Ciel as her squire two years ago? Whenever he thought about it, he found himself kicking his blankets in embarrassment on behalf of his still-immature older sister.

“They’re down.”

After confirming that Cyan and Eugene had descended into the forest, Doynes turned around. Behind him stood the elders and the ten captains who led the Black Lion Knights.

“Klein.”

THUD.

Carmen spoke as she lowered her boot from the railing. The sight drew another sigh from Klein. Despite boasting more experience than any Lionheart save Doynes, his immature older sister still refused to retire from active service and continued to lead the Black Lion Knights.

“I’m not going.”

When Carmen called him out directly, Klein hastily shook his head. He was an elder now. Why should he exert himself? Carmen frowned at his answer.

Just as Klein considered his sister immature, Carmen thought the same of her younger brother. Rather than setting an example for their descendants, he cared only about taking it easy now that he was older...

‘No wonder he never improves.’

Shaking her head at her pathetic younger brother, Carmen stepped away from the wall. She was not the only one to do so. Six captains, including her, began moving off one by one.

“Dominic.”

Doynes called his grandson’s name among the departing captains. Dominic Lionheart, captain of the First Division, gave a slight nod instead of a spoken reply.

“... Surely it wouldn’t be too late to test them after bringing them to the castle...”

“Then it wouldn’t be a test, family head. Don’t you trust your children?”

“... I do.”

“This is different from the Bloodline Succession Ceremony. There’s no point if we make allowances for the children’s ages and experience. Especially... your children... Haha. You might not like hearing this, but aren’t they far more accomplished than you were at their age?”

“... If this is how their coming-of-age ceremony is to be held, I think we could have invited Eward as well.”

Gilead spoke while struggling not to frown. But he could do nothing about the emotions welling up deep in his chest. Sensing his displeasure, Doynes shook his head regretfully.

“Are you still holding on to hopes for your eldest son?”

“...”

“I know you can’t help it because he’s your son, but you must let go of those hopes for Eward, family head. The boy wouldn’t want you clinging to them. You’ve heard the reports yourself, haven’t you? Eward is living peacefully and happily with your wife’s family.”

“... Even so, Eward is my son and the eldest son of the main family. He may no longer be eligible to succeed me, but he has the right to a coming-of-age ceremony.”

“The boy is already an adult.”

With a bitter smile, Doynes patted Gilead’s shoulder. Gilead said nothing further, but he could not accept Doynes’s words.

It had been two years since Theonis and Eward had gone to stay with her family. Gilead had not been able to see either of them even once.

The Council of Elders, led by Doynes, would not permit it. No matter how grave his son’s offense, how could they forbid even a meeting? As a result, Eward had never had a coming-of-age ceremony, and Gilead had been unable to visit his wife’s family to hold one for his son.

For the main family’s eldest son to attempt to take up black magic was a grave offense, dragging the Lionheart name and its three hundred years of history through the dirt. Ordinarily, disowning him over it would have been entirely understandable.

‘... In practice, that’s what this is.’

If they had not gone so far as to disown him, shouldn’t they embrace his son despite his offense and guide him gently? Gilead had questioned the Council of Elders repeatedly, but Doynes’s position had never changed.

He had... a vague idea why. Doynes and the Council of Elders suspected that someone might have instigated Eward’s attempt to take up black magic. Perhaps Eward would try again once Gilead and the rest of the main family were no longer watching him...

The Council of Elders was using Eward as bait to draw out enemies within or outside the family.

Though Gilead understood that, he felt profound resentment, sorrow, and anger toward the Council of Elders. He might be head of the main family, but with his son guilty of such an offense, he could not openly defy the council’s wishes.

‘... Eward.’

Gilead closed his eyes with a long sigh.

He trusted his son Eward, but the Council of Elders did not.

* * *

CRUNCH.

Eugene glanced at the leaves and twigs breaking beneath his feet. Then he looked up again, but the branches were so dense that he could barely see the sky.

“... Hmm.”

Stroking his chin, Eugene looked around. Several marks carved into the tree trunks caught his eye.

‘A barrier.’

He had expected it from the outset, but now he knew for certain. It was distorting his sense of direction and making him walk in circles. With a quiet chuckle, Eugene picked up several fallen twigs and crushed them in his hand.

Then he began moving forward, dropping the fragments one at a time. He did not merely drop them; he also tossed them in various directions. He considered destroying the entire barrier with the Moonlight Sword, but that would clearly make the aftermath troublesome.

The Moonlight Sword had left no mark on history. Even the books handed down in the main family contained no mention of it.

‘Besides, I’m not sure the Moonlight Sword in its current state could destroy a barrier this large.’

Had they simply dropped him into the forest and expected him to find his way to Black Lion Castle? That seemed to be the idea for now, but this was no simple navigation exercise.

The forest was quite dangerous. Though he had only landed a short while ago, Eugene had already encountered two twin-headed ogres.

‘Normally, there’s no way two would be in the same territory.’

Ogres ranked among the most powerful medium-to-large monsters, and those with two heads were especially strong. They claimed entire forests as their territories. Solitary creatures that never formed packs, ogres simply could not be encountered twice in such a short span of time.

They had been released here and were being raised. Not just the ogres—the entire forest was a vast breeding ground where monsters roamed freely.

‘Isn’t this excessive for a test for children?’

That would be true of ordinary children. Did they believe children of the main family would breeze through this much? No, if that was their thinking, it was actually too easy. Dangerous as ogres were, they posed little difficulty to someone skilled at wielding sword force.

‘It’s not as though they’re restricting our mana like in the Bloodline Succession Ceremony.’

The only nuisance so far was the barrier that kept him from finding his way and sent him wandering through the forest. Surely they would not have dropped him out of the sky just for this.

“I see.”

The wind stirred violently. Eugene chuckled and bent his knees.

CRASH!

Branches came tumbling down from high above, falling over Eugene. He leaped backward to avoid being buried beneath them and looked up.

“Huh.”

This time, he was genuinely surprised. What had dropped from the sky was a huge wyvern. Though a monster that size had descended from directly overhead, the barrier had delayed his noticing it.

The wyvern’s attack was surprising enough, but the person riding in a saddle on its back astonished him even more.

“Since when do you ride a wyvern?”

Ciel Lionheart. Even as she yanked the reins, her expression was bewildered.

“How did you know?”

She could not help being surprised. The barrier spread throughout the forest was the work of the Black Lion Knights’ Sixth Division, which consisted of combat mages.

It completely concealed an attacker’s presence. Yet Eugene had shown no confusion inside it and had reacted to an attack without warning. Ciel could scarcely believe it.

“The wind was making a fuss.”

“What kind of crazy nonsense is that?”

As she demanded an explanation, Ciel guided the wyvern.

WHOOSH!

Its powerful wingbeat tore up the ground and sent it hurtling at Eugene. He nimbly retreated again and slipped his hand inside his cloak.

“Figures. I thought it would be too easy if there were only monsters.”

“We haven’t seen each other in ages, and that’s all you have to say?”

“You’re no better. Isn’t attacking without even saying hello a bit much?”

“... Doesn’t your head hurt?”

Ciel asked abruptly. Taking a whip out of his cloak, Eugene tilted his head.

“My head? Why?”

“This barrier. It should be... clouding your mind...”

“That explains it. I felt a little dizzy when I first came in.”

“... That’s all?”

“I’m pretty strong mentally.”

Ciel let out an incredulous laugh.

‘That cloak. He said it blocks magic up to the Fifth Circle, didn’t he? Even so... the magic used in this barrier should be beyond the Fifth Circle.’

The barrier projected its targets’ fears as illusions, breaking down their minds. Even now, Cyan was shrieking at illusions of gruesome ghosts. Yet Eugene claimed he had felt nothing more than mild dizziness, without seeing any illusions at all.

Ciel glared at Eugene. Ordinarily, she would not have attacked so soon; first, she would have observed how he reacted to the fears he encountered.

Unlike Cyan, however, Eugene had not wandered aimlessly through the barrier. That had forced her to attack earlier than planned.

“... Isn’t there anything you’re afraid of?”

“No.”

Eugene answered calmly. The dizziness had alerted him to the possibility of a mental attack, but... things he feared? What a nasty barrier. Did it give form to the fears inside his mind?

‘Nasty as it is, I’ve endured this sort of mental attack more times than I care to remember.’

Reincarnation had changed his body, but his soul remained the same. His memories had not vanished either. Thanks to that, Eugene’s mental fortitude was exactly what it had been when he lived as Hamel.

In his previous life alone, he had endured countless mental attacks far more vicious and horrific than this. The queen of the dream demons. Noir Giabella. That fucking bitch had sent dream demons at every opportunity, trying to break his mind.

And it had not just been Noir Giabella. In the three Demon Kings’ castles, he had faced mental attacks at every turn as well.

The forest’s barrier was not designed to shatter its targets’ minds outright in the first place. With the Cloak of Darkness bolstering Eugene’s mental resistance, it could do no more than cause mild dizziness, let alone show him the shapes of his fears.

“Are you going to stay on that thing?”

The wyvern’s wingbeats whipped up a gale, but the fierce winds could not reach Eugene. The wind spirits he had summoned through Wynnyd were canceling out the wyvern’s wind.

“Why? Do you want a ride too?”

“I can fly without riding that.”

Grinning, Eugene floated into the air. Ciel immediately kicked off the wyvern’s back and lunged at him. Her drawn rapier thrust at him like an awl. Eugene swung Wynnyd lightly, pushing her away.

“Since when did you become such a fly-by-night girl?”

“You lunatic!”

Ciel’s face twisted at Eugene’s muttered remark. Kicking off a tree trunk to leap at him again, she screamed, her expression still contorted.

“Where did you learn a joke like that?!”

“Ahem...”

Eugene cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment and shook his head.

“It wasn’t a joke. It just came out that—”

“It’s not funny at all!”

“I wasn’t trying to be funny!”

He had hoped for a very, very small laugh, admittedly. But Eugene kept that to himself and shouted indignantly.