Chapter 77 - Damn Reincarnation

Black Lion Castle

Eugene hadn't expected to end up fighting Ciel right away, but he had no intention of going easy on her.

It wasn't because she'd reacted so coldly to the joke he'd ventured. Absolutely not. Ignoring the heat of embarrassment threatening to burn his earlobes, he reached toward her.

Mana surged. As Ciel surveyed the Magic Missiles instantly surrounding her on all sides, she clicked her tongue to signal the wyvern.

"Kieee!"

The wyvern flapped its wings with a shrill cry. These winged lizards looked very much like dragons. They couldn't cast magic themselves, but they could do something similar. With its powerful resistance to magic, a wyvern could break spells apart by beating its wings.

The Magic Missiles rushing toward Ciel veered off in different directions. Rather than resist the wind, she arched her body like a bow and harnessed its strength. Accelerating even further, she thrust her rapier at him.

"Well, look at you."

This wasn't some rigid fight where they kept their feet planted and swung their swords around with little cries. Enjoying that a little, Eugene adjusted his grip on Wynnyd.

CLANG!

His upward slash knocked the rapier aside.

At the same time, the whip in his left hand shot out. Its movement caught Ciel off guard for a moment. He hadn't swung it; it had shot straight toward her like an arrow.

"Ugh!"

The whip hurtled toward her as though it would pierce her shoulder. Ciel hurriedly twisted in midair. At that instant, Eugene flicked the wrist holding the whip, changing its course.

The bending whip wrapped around her waist. Eugene pulled his arm back and dragged her down to the ground. Ciel looked up with a furious grimace.

Eugene was still floating in the sky. He grinned and tugged the whip. It wasn't wrapped particularly tightly around her waist. He could crush it if he tightened his grip in earnest, but he didn't want to cripple her.

"Got you."

"Not yet."

Ciel spat the words out.

KIEEE!

The enormous wyvern charged, its teeth menacing in its wide-open jaws. Eugene was about to swing Wynnyd and cut straight through it when Ciel shrieked.

"Don't kill Draggy!"

"Draggy... what?"

"I said don't kill him!"

The nerve of her. She ambushed him first, and now she had all these demands. Grumbling, Eugene put Wynnyd away. He considered ignoring her cry and cutting the wyvern in half, but then she might burst into tears and resent him for the rest of her life.

"Count yourself lucky, you little lizard bastard."

Though he'd put Wynnyd away, the wind spirits hadn't disappeared. Eugene twisted in midair and kicked.

CRACK!

His kick slammed into the wyvern's jaw. Its open mouth snapped shut, and it reeled in midair. Eugene immediately rushed it and drove his fist down onto its snout.

CRUNCH!

The wyvern crashed into the ground, shaking the earth. In the meantime, Ciel cut through the whip around her body and attacked Eugene again.

"You bastard!"

Eugene thought the accusation was unfair. He was the one who'd been ambushed. She'd told him not to kill the wyvern, and he hadn't. All he'd done was smash its jaw so it wouldn't be able to chew meat for a while. Surely that was considerate enough toward his sister?

"Coming at me again?"

Still, he liked her grit. Cyan had it too. Was Anisilla simply that good at raising her children?

'Much better than Theonis, at least.'

Eugene threw away the severed whip and boldly reached toward the thrusting rapier. Ciel was horrified to see him reach barehanded toward sword force.

'Is he insane?'

Just as Eugene didn't want to turn Ciel into a cripple, she didn't want to turn him into one either. The battles in this forest were meant to test the main family's children, not leave them permanently crippled.

So Ciel hurriedly diverted her rapier. Eugene laughed at the sight and drew himself forward.

"You're surprisingly nice, you know."

She'd felt she had no choice but to redirect the blade, but she couldn't help regretting that decision. That absurd bastard would never take a risk that actually hurt him.

But it was too late for regrets. Eugene grabbed her wrist and twisted it.

"Ugh!"

Ciel let out a short cry and dropped her rapier. Still holding her wrist, Eugene bent her arm behind her back and drove his knee into the back of hers.

"Could you be a little gentler?"

Even pinned facedown on the ground, Ciel kept complaining. Eugene chuckled and shook his head.

"If you stop attacking me."

"... You've already won. This was impossible from the start. I can't test you."

After spitting that out, Ciel worked her lips for a moment.

"... Did you expect me to turn my rapier aside?"

"That was fifty-fifty."

"If I hadn't, you'd have lost your hand."

"I reached out because I knew I wouldn't lose it."

"Son of a bitch."

He'd expected her to call him obnoxious. Had her insults evolved a step further? Eugene snickered and released her hand.

"It's been one unpleasant surprise after another since I arrived. Now that I've caught you, how about explaining a few things?"

"... You just need to reach Black Lion Castle."

"I know that. What I want to hear is how much trouble you're going to give me on the way."

"... Sixty Black Lion Knights."

Ciel pouted and shifted her body.

"That includes the captains. They're all scattered around this mountain, and they'll ambush you and my brother."

"Isn't that excessive for a coming-of-age ceremony?"

"The head of the Council of Elders thinks highly of you. He seems wary of you, too. My poor brother just got caught up in all this because of you."

"Of course he thinks highly of me. But why's he wary?"

"Do you really need to ask? You left Aroth and stopped by Nahama before coming back."

"I'm free to go wherever I want."

"Apparently, he doesn't see it that way. Things in Nahama have been suspicious lately. And in the middle of that, you went there on your own initiative."

"Then he should've told me not to go in the first place."

Grumbling, Eugene slapped Ciel on the back.

"So he's worried I picked up some foolish ambition while I was away from the main family that might cause trouble for the family?"

"... And he's testing you at the same time."

Ciel looked back at him as she spoke.

"How long are you going to keep squashing me?"

"Listen to you. When did I squash you?"

"You're doing it right now."

"This isn't squashing you. It's restraining you."

Eugene stepped back, grumbling. Only then did Ciel sit up properly and brush the dirt off her uniform.

"You nearly broke my bones."

"As long as I didn't, it's fine."

The wyvern embedded in the ground raised its head with a whimper. Ciel promptly stood and went over to stroke its scales as though she were smoothing its fur.

"Sixty..."

Eugene stood there in thought for a moment.

"That's too many just to ambush two people."

"... It's a big mountain. Besides, they're not just ambushing you. They're also keeping you and my brother from wandering into places you shouldn't."

"Places we shouldn't?"

Eugene looked at Ciel, his eyes gleaming.

"Where?"

"... Dangerous places, obviously. You must've run into monsters on your way here. There are a lot of monsters on this mountain."

"So they're keeping us out of dangerous monsters' territories? Is that all?"

Vermouth's tomb might be somewhere on this mountain. Eugene looked at her in hope of learning something about it.

"Around here, ogres are the worst of it, but go a little deeper and there are dangerous things that hunt ogres like they're nothing."

"Things?"

"Demonic beasts."

Ciel grimaced.

Eugene's eyes turned cold.

"Demonic beasts? Why are there demonic beasts here?"

"... They say they're raising them to give the Black Lion Knights more experience in real combat."

"Humans are raising demonic beasts?"

Eugene burst out laughing in disbelief. Back on Bolero Street, he'd heard that humans secretly bought demons as slaves. That had been absurd enough, but raising demonic beasts was even more ridiculous.

Demonic beasts weren't livestock, nor were they monsters. Raising them was impossible. They might call it that, but clearly they'd simply released them deep in the mountain.

For all the danger demonic beasts posed, summoning them wasn't difficult. A mage skilled in summoning magic could call one forth without any particular sacrifice.

That was why the world had been crawling with demonic beasts three hundred years ago. Those fucking Demon Kings had interfered with all sorts of summoning circles cast at vast distances, manipulating them to summon demonic beasts instead of whatever the mage wanted. Once spread throughout the world, those beasts bred among themselves, bore young, formed packs, and attacked people.

"It's not that dangerous."

Seeing Eugene's expression harden, Ciel hurriedly added an explanation.

"They inspect the demonic beasts' territories and cull them every week. The knights gain combat experience in the process..."

"Is it just demonic beasts?"

Eugene narrowed his eyes and glared at her.

"Our ancestor's tomb is supposed to be on this mountain. I just don't understand. Of all things, they released demonic beasts on the mountain where he's buried?"

"Why are you getting angry at me?"

"As a member of the main family, how could I not be outraged?"

"Since when have you been so devoted to the family?"

Pouting, Ciel climbed onto the wyvern's back.

"As far as I know, our ancestor's tomb isn't anywhere near the demonic beasts' territories. The Council of Elders isn't insane. Why would they release demonic beasts near his tomb?"

"Then where is it?"

"How would I know? What I do know is that it's not in their territories. I've gone out to cull demonic beasts several times myself, and I've never heard anything about our ancestor's tomb."

Eugene frowned in thought.

'Then... somewhere without demonic beasts. Where? This mountain is so damn big...'

The news that the head of the council was openly wary of him bothered him. He'd intended to search the mountain thoroughly while pretending to make his way toward Black Lion Castle.

'They're already watching me. If I do anything unnecessary, they're obviously going to give me even more shit.'

With things as they were, he had no choice but to use the other method he'd considered. He wasn't particularly keen on it, but for now he decided to head obediently to Black Lion Castle. He needed to explain his visit to Nahama anyway. He'd told Lovellian he was going there to eat Cactus Scorpion, but that excuse wouldn't work on the old men of the Council of Elders.

"... Where are you going?"

Eugene stopped thinking and looked at Ciel. She was stroking the neck of the groaning wyvern.

"Why ask something so obvious? I'm going back."

"Who said you could?"

"I did. Why?"

"I'm thinking of taking you hostage and riding your wyvern back."

"Don't be ridiculous."

Ciel grumbled and pulled the reins.

"I'll give you one piece of advice before I go. You'd better get out of here as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"I was targeting you from the start, so I got here first. But the other knights will be here soon."

"Who?"

"I don't know. The captains will probably take a little longer, though. They were all up on the castle walls—"

Before Ciel could finish, Eugene lunged at her. Startled by the sudden attack, she let go of the reins and leaped backward.

The gust Eugene unleashed pushed her far back. In the meantime, he seized the wyvern's reins.

"Kieee!"

The wyvern screamed shrilly and tried to throw him off. Eugene let go of the reins and placed a hand on its neck.

"Wanna fucking die?"

Wyverns couldn't understand human speech. What did that matter? The fact that it flew with people on its back and wore a saddle and reins meant it had been raised and trained by human hands. It didn't understand Eugene's words, but it felt the strength of his grip on its neck and his killing intent.

Besides, he'd already beaten it up. The wyvern stopped screeching and immediately spread its wings. Sometimes, talking with your body was faster than talking with words. Eugene smirked and took the reins.

"This is my first time riding a wyvern."

Still, thanks to the beating he'd given it beforehand, it obeyed him well. Flapping its wings, the wyvern soared into the air.

"You son of a bitch!"

Ciel shouted from where she'd fallen to the ground.

"Draggy! Come back!"

"Go back and you're dead."

Eugene whispered in a low voice and shook the reins.

KIEEEEE!

Ignoring Ciel's cries, the wyvern rose higher.

Once they had climbed high enough, Eugene could look down over the entire forest. He studied it for a moment, then raised his head to look ahead. Black Lion Castle stood in the distance.

"Oh, for fuck's sake."

The castle wasn't the only thing in sight. A dozen or so wyverns were flying toward him. Narrowing his eyes, Eugene examined their riders. Carmen wasn't among them. He didn't know the other captains' faces, but he saw no one powerful enough to look like a captain either.

In that case, there was no reason to hesitate.

"Giddyup!"

Eugene shouted and shook the reins. The wyvern flapped forward. With the wind striking him head-on, he changed the cloak's shape. Its fluttering fabric grew thin and clung to his body.

"The audacity of that boy...!"

The knight riding the lead wyvern could only marvel. Who would have expected him to steal a wyvern and soar into the sky? It was certainly an ideal way to reach the castle quickly, but only if no one interfered.

Flying up into the sky like that would inevitably draw everyone's attention. Indeed, every knight circling above the forest was converging on Eugene.

"Be careful."

"We know."

The other knights nodded in reply. Their purpose was only to test him, so their attacks couldn't be too severe. But neither could they be overly merciful. Keeping that in mind, they drew their weapons.

Eugene sensed neither hostility nor killing intent. With a chuckle, he stood on the wyvern's back. From what he'd seen, the Black Lion Knights were quite impressive. Even in his previous life, there hadn't been a knightly order composed of fighters this skilled.

But no matter how skilled they were, they weren't coming at him in earnest. Without hostility or killing intent, they couldn't test him.

'Let's take a look.'

Instead, Eugene would be the one testing the Black Lion Knights. Without hesitation, he leaped off the wyvern's back. The wind following him hurled him forward.

The sudden action startled the knights. They knew Eugene could fly, but they hadn't expected him to charge straight at them without changing course.

"Stop him!"

The knights scattered. Those carrying bows nocked their arrows.

Then they fired in unison. Though the arrows flew against the wind, they lost none of their power. Rather than intercept the arrows racing toward him, Eugene twisted in midair.

His cloak spread in an instant and swallowed them. Then it immediately shot them back in the direction they had come from.

'Even the arrowheads are blunt. What a kindhearted attack.'

Even so, an arrow moving that fast would break bones even if it didn't pierce flesh. With a mischievous smile, Eugene added wind to the arrows he sent back. They accelerated further, their trajectories shifting erratically as the wind pulled them along.

Not a single knight was struck. They deftly swung their weapons to knock the arrows aside and checked Eugene's movements.

He was gone.

'Blink!'

Beside him. The knight thrust his sword sideways without hesitation. Eugene, who had appeared there, twisted and swung his hand.

CLANG!

A short dagger struck the knight's sword.

SKRRAANG!

Eugene spun like a top, riding up along the knight's blade and slipping inside his guard in an instant.

"Boom."

Wind burst between them. The knight hurriedly raised a mana shield, but the blast sent him flying backward. Using the wyvern's back as a foothold, Eugene leaped again.

"Haha!"

A nearby knight laughed and thrust his spear. Eugene recognized his face. Nation Lionheart, the Third Division's deputy commander whom he'd met in Aroth.

"Where did you leave Lady Ciel?!"

"Down there."

Answering the shout, Eugene drew a spear from his cloak.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!

The two spears tangled, struck, and pulled apart in midair. It was a brief exchange. Nation could no longer laugh.

'He pushed me back?'

He hadn't been able to break through the spear thrust from that unstable stance. Instead, Nation had been driven back. Though he hadn't properly channeled mana into his attack, he couldn't believe it.

"Hmm...!"

His expression hardened as he swung his spear again. Rather than meet it, Eugene rode the wind high into the sky. There was no need to fight them weapon to weapon. He pinpointed the surrounding wyverns' positions and infused the wind with mana.

The wind became blades of magical power. Surging in every direction, they descended on the wyverns. Wyverns possessed strong resistance to magic, but that alone couldn't disrupt Eugene's control over his mana.

Knowing they'd be slashed all over if they stayed where they were, the wyverns had no choice but to retreat. The more impatient knights released their reins and stood, intending to leap into the air and catch Eugene themselves. This wasn't a situation they'd anticipated, but they were thoroughly prepared for aerial combat as well.

Before they could leap—

WHOOOOM!

Something shot up from the ground. A cannonball. Eugene immediately twisted and spread his cloak wide. But the Cloak of Darkness couldn't swallow this attack as it had the others. The back of the cloak bulged violently, and Eugene spun around.

The cannonball it had failed to swallow tore through the sky. Eugene glanced at its receding rear.

'A rock?'

It wasn't magic. It was just a rock thrown with brute strength. Eugene let out a disbelieving laugh and looked down.

He had no choice but to look up again.

"Hello."

Carmen Lionheart.

Already airborne directly in front of him, she drove her raised heel down onto Eugene.