Damn Reincarnation

res, but wild predators that stood at the top of the food chain.
Instead of using reason to suppress their true natures, these predators used their ability to reason to kill even more effectively and take delight in the act of slaughter.

The man who was now walking over to them was one such predator.
A beast who was able to walk like a human.
He had golden eyes and fangs, and his face looked like a mix between a tiger and a human.
Unlike beasts, he had the upper limbs of a human, but tiger-like stripes clearly stood out against the fur covering his body.

“So you said that you’re a brother of Jagon?” Eugene asked as he glared at the beast.
“That means should also be a son of the Depraved Oberon.
From what I’ve heard, Oberon was a bear.
If you’re the younger brother of his son, why are you a tiger?”

“Brat,” the man said as he licked his lips with a smile.
“You should be careful with what you say.
Our former commander’s name bears far too much weight to be used carelessly by someone like you.”

“A bastard beast pretending to be a human,” Eugene scoffed as he tucked Kharbos back into his cloak.
“Are you some kind of mongrel? Did a tiger happen to catch Oberon’s eye, so when he had kids with her, the eldest son Jagon was born as a bear and you, the second son, was born as a tiger?”

The man growled, “I said—”

“If that’s the case, then it’s quite a surprise,” Eugene interrupted him without any hesitation.
“To think that a child could actually be born between a bear and a tiger…! Even a bastard beast like you knows what a mule is, right? It’s a hybrid that’s born between a horse and a donkey.
It’s said that such hybrids cannot produce any children no matter what gender they’re born as, so… are you a eunuch as well as a beast?”

“—be careful with your words,” the man spat out as his face twisted into a scowl.

Eugene also no longer had a smiling expression on his face.

“If I am careful with my words, are you really just going to let me go as I please?” Eugene asked, his hands still inside his cloak.
“You’ve come here to kill me, haven’t you? So no matter what I say, you’re going to try and kill me, so why should I watch my mouth?”

This man knew exactly who Eugene was, but Eugene had never once revealed his identity upon entering Samar.
In this forest, only Kristina and the elves living in this village knew about him.

So the fact that this bastard beast had come here in order to catch Eugene meant that….

‘Who was it?’ Eugene asked himself.

Someone outside of the forest had opened his mouth.
Could it have been someone from the Holy Empire? Or perhaps… it might even have been someone from the Lionheart clan’s side of things.
Eugene didn’t want to even imagine that this was a possibility.

Among the members of the Lionheart clan, not many had been informed that Eugene would be going to Samar.

There was Genos, Commander of the Second Division of the Knights of the Black Lion; Doynes, Head of the Council; and Gilead, the Patriarch.
Apart from those three, no one else had been informed of the fact that Eugene was heading to Samar.
Even Eugene’s biological father, Gerhard, and the twins, Cyan and Ciel, were unaware of Eugene’s departure from the Black Lion Castle.

“You sure have a disgusting mouth on you, brat,” the man said without any attempt to conceal his bared fangs.
“If I was going to kill you, then I could have killed you at any point before now.
Did you know? When you picked up the one-legged elf, I was the one who took care of the warriors from the Garung tribe that were chasing after you.”

“Thanks for taking care of such a troublesome task for us,” Eugene said insincerely.

He had thought that the pursuit was a bit looser than he’d been expecting.
Eugene narrowed his eyes as he glared at the man.
That being said, this meant that the man had been following Eugene right from the very beginning.

‘I didn’t even notice,’ Eugene thought regretfully.

It couldn’t be helped.
No matter how sharp Eugene’s senses were, it was impossible for him to have noticed someone who was following them from such a considerable distance.
On the other hand, the man had already been aware of Eugene, and the uniquely strong sense of smell that beastfolk shared meant that he wouldn’t lose Eugene’s scent even from a distance.

“So you were saying… that your goal isn’t to kill me? So what is your purpose?” Eugene asked.

“Unlike that stupid elf, it seems that we’re able to communicate,” the man said as his slips twisted nto a smile.
“My name is Barang.
Brat, about what you’ve been yapping, I might not share the same blood as Jagon, but we do share a bond of brotherhood between us.”

As he had thought.
Wasn’t it impossible for a tiger to be the descendant of a bear?

“The reason I’ve been following you is in order to find the elven domain that’s said to be hidden somewhere within this forest,” Barang explained.

Eugene listened silently, “….”

“Brat, I saw you enter the elven territory.
Since I wasn’t able to enter along with you, I came here instead in order to wait for you, but that elf bastard sprawled at your feet tried to attack me first while saying that he was going to kill me,” Barang stated calmly.

“Of course he’d attack you,” Eugene said as a smile twisted the corners of his lips.
“So what, are you asking me to lead you to the elven territory?”

“That’s right, let’s just keep things simple and make a deal,” Barang said with a nod.

“And what happens after I lead you there?” Eugene inquired.

“Then we can just part ways with a smile.” Barang reassured him, “Like I said, I have no intention of killing you.”

Eugene changed the subject, “Why are you looking for the domain?”

“I have no intention of telling you that,” Barang denied.

“Fine.
If that’s the case, I’ll ask you something else.
Who’s the one who flapped his lips and told you about me?” Eugene demanded.

Barang warned him, “You shouldn’t try to know too much, brat.”

“It seems that even though you’re asking so much from me, in reality, it looks like you don’t really want to grant me anything that I desire,” Eugene observed.

“Such unreasonableness is the privilege of the strong,” Barang boasted with a chuckle.

Instead of making another reply, Eugene tilted his head to the side.

‘He says that in the end, we’re just going to part ways with a smile?’

As if that would really happen.
Eugene couldn’t trust Barang’s words.

Moreover, he was asking Eugene to lead him into the elven territory.
It was an unthinkable request.
Sienna and the other elves were still sealed away in the World Tree that stood in the center of the elven domain.

Although he didn’t know why that bestial bastard wanted to enter the elven territory, or what he was going to do there once he entered, Eugene didn’t even have the slightest intention of leading him there.

And this wasn’t an opponent that he could turn away with words alone.

“…Eugene, run away,” Signard squeezed out from between trembling lips.

Barang also heard these words.
He laughed loudly and shook his head.

“Are you really asking him to abandon over a hundred elves?” Barang taunted Signard.

Signard’s face contorted at these words.
…If he sacrificed himself, would it be possible to stall for time?

No, that was impossible.
Even though Signard had charged at him with all his might, that beast didn’t even have a single wound on him.
Regardless of how much weaker Signard had gotten from his prime due to being afflicted with the Demonic Disease, it was an indisputable fact that this beast was strong.

Eugene was also aware of this fact.
This was a tough guy who had only received minor injuries even after being hit by a bombardment from the Dragon Spear.
It was impossible for Eugene to fight Barang and win.

“Sir Eugene!”

A voice called out from behind him.
It was Kristina, who had been following after him and had just now reached the village.
With a pale face, she took in Signard and the other elves who had been horribly wounded.
Eugene stretched out a hand and stopped Kristina when it looked like she was about to come to his side.

“Stay there,” he ordered her.

“…Huh?” Kristina gasped with a puzzled expression, unable to understand his reason for this.

Eugene took a step forward.
Barang smiled at this step, as if he thought Eugene was foolish for doing so.

Barang had heard about this brat, Eugene Lionheart.
A genius who was said to be the ‘next incarnation’ of the founding ancestor from the history of the Lionheart clan.

But Barang could only see him as a nineteen-year-old young boy.

Barang scoffed.
“Just give up, brat.”

Eugene had no intention of negotiating with Barang, nor did he intend to follow Barang’s orders.

‘The fortunate thing is…’

Eugene checked the weapons stored within his cloak.
There were dozens of miscellaneous weapons, as well as the Storm Sword Wynnyd, the Devouring Sword Azphel, the Dragon Spear Kharbos, and the Thunderbolt Pernoa.

Then, there was the Moonlight Sword.

‘…I have plenty of weapons, and…’

Eugene pulled out his right hand that had been immersed within his cloak.
Brang smirked and shook his head.
The hand that emerged from his cloak wasn’t holding any weapons.

Instead, Eugene placed his right hand on his chest.

‘…I’ve got a high-ranking priest here who can stop the worst of the side effects.’

This wasn’t an enemy that he could handle as he was now, so Eugene would just have to adjust his own condition so that he could handle Barang.

The nineteen-year-old Eugene couldn’t handle the Barang in front of him.

However, the Hamel he’d been in his previous life would definitely have won.

If his current abilities weren’t enough, then….

He would just need to get close to the abilities from his prime.

‘Ignition,’ Eugene chanted silently.

Eugene’s right hand stayed on his chest.
The mana flowing from his hand put pressure on his heart and his Cores.

Badump.

Everyone could hear the loud beat of his heart.

A burst of flames rushed out from him in the shape of a lion’s mane.