Damn Reincarnation

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‘…But no.’ Eugene shook his head.

The one who had really wanted to find the elven territory had to be the Demon King behind Barang.

Which, in this case, was the Demon King of Destruction.

Eugene had no desire to recall that name, or the figure associated with it.

In his previous life, there was just one occasion where he had ‘seen’ the Demon King of Destruction.
Even then, they hadn’t come face-to-face, instead having spotted him while he was moving from a distant location….
No, had it just seemed like he was moving…? Had he really just been standing still? Eugene couldn’t feel any certainty.

The Demon King of Destruction was just such an existence.
Eugene had only ever seen him that once, but everyone who had been there had shared the same gut feeling. That wasn’t something that they could fight. That wasn’t something that they stood any chance of resisting.

That was something incomprehensible.

The Demon King of Destruction was a uniquely strong and bizarre existence even amongst the five Demon Kings.
They had only seen him that once, but everyone had immediately understood this fact.
Killing the other Demon Kings was nothing more than a step forward in their goal to eventually reach the Demon King of Destruction, and their battle with him would be the ‘final decisive battle’ of the war.

‘…The beastfolk have sworn their service to the Demon King of Destruction,’ Eugene recalled.

The Demon King of Destruction was undoubtedly bizarre, but he wasn’t one for solitude.
Even back three hundred years ago, the Demon King of Destruction had had quite a few vassals.
However, even in his avoidance of solitude, he still proved to be bizarre.

Demon Kings were all able to grant their vassals power through various different methods.
As one received this power from a Demon King, their soul was mortgaged to the Demon King.
This form of contract was the same as the one used by the ordinary demonfolk.

The Demon King of Destruction did accept vassals, but he didn’t grant them the power that could be obtained from their contracts with the Demon King.
So his vassals weren’t forced to mortgage their souls to the Demon King of Destruction.

That said, it didn’t mean that their contracts were useless.
Just being able to become a vassal of the Supreme Demon King, who ranked first in strength among all Demon Kings, was something special.
In addition to this, their ‘contracts’ with the Demon King of Destruction marked them with an imprint that also gave them the knowledge of how to control demonic power.

However, such an imprint gave a set amount of knowledge on how to control demonic power, only up to a certain extent.
In other words, it was of limited value to other demonfolk or black wizards.
If they were going to sign a contract, even if it meant having to mortgage their souls, it was better for them to sign a contract with the Demon King of Incarceration, who could promise a huge amount of ‘power’ in return.

Something else that was clear was that the Demon King of Destruction wasn’t focused on governing his vassals like the Demon King of Incarceration was.
He didn’t have much of a master-servant relationship with his vassals.
This bizarre Demon King didn’t really meddle in the affairs of his vassals, much less anything else in the world.

‘If the Demon King of Destruction is taking an interest in Sienna… why wait until now?’

For now, Eugene stopped trying to figure out what kind of conspiracy was going on.
All that he could do at this point was make guesses.
He needed more information.

He needed to know what kind of position Barang, who had claimed to be Jagon’s sworn brother, had held amongst the other beastfolk and who he had been connected with.

He also needed to know what kind of rumors were circulating about the Raizakia staying in the Dragon Demon Castle.

~

“Are your preparations done?” Eugene asked the crowd.

Over a hundred elves had gathered in the center of the village.

The elves who had been injured in Barang’s attack two days ago had all been healed by Kristina’s holy magic.
This meant that all the elves were able to move on their own two feet.

“They are,” Signard confirmed.

Signard had also received the same treatment as the others.
But the expressions of the elves, including him, weren’t all that relieved.
From now on, they would be leaving the village that they had lived in for so long and would be forced to cross the hostile Rainforest.
If they managed to arrive at their destination, they would have a much better life than the one that they had in this village, but… most of the elves still feared that this journey would end in failure.

“How’s your body?” Eugene asked.

“…Mm…” Signard hummed.

The biggest problem that they faced was that several of the elves were infected with the Demonic Disease.
Although the Demonic Disease wouldn’t progress any further so long as they lived in this forest, if they were unlucky, they could die from the Demonic Disease as soon as they left it.

“…It seems fine,” Signard replied after some hesitation.

Among the elves, the one with the most advanced case of the Demonic Disease was Signard, so he had been given a long branch to hold in his hand.
No, he wasn’t just holding it.
Signard was reverently supporting the branch with both hands, as if he was serving as its vase or pedestal.

This was the tree branch that Eugene had cut off the World Tree.
Since the barriers of the village were maintained by the saplings that sprouted off the World Tree, Eugene thought that branches cut from the World Tree might have a similar effect….

Fortunately, it seemed that things had worked out just as he’d been expecting.

“…It feels so comfortable, as if I’ve finally returned home…,” Signard muttered.

Eugene asked him bluntly, “Isn't that just an illusion on your part? Are you sure you’re comfortable?”

“I’m sure of it,” Signard stated confidently.
“Although it’s only a branch… I can feel the warmth of home coming from this.”

“…Is it something like the taste of your mom’s stew?” Eugene asked curiously.

“Why would a branch taste like stew?” Signard scoffed.

“Why would a branch feel like home?” Eugene shot back as he drew Wynnyd.

[I’ve confirmed it.
The spirit of the World Tree does reside in that branch.]

‘If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean we can use Signard as a moving barrier?’

[…A moving barrier…?]

‘What? I’m right, aren’t I?’

[Hm… that certainly seems to be the case.
You’re right Hamel.
The Demonic Disease won’t be able to progress in an area around that elf.]

‘Is it impossible to purify the disease completely?’

[Well… if it’s not the World Tree itself, then I can’t say for sure.
After all, that’s still just a branch….] Tempest pondered this question for a few moments before continuing to speak.
[However, if you plant that branch and those saplings together in your family’s estate, they might one day be able to grow into a giant tree capable of purifying the elves of the Demonic Disease.]

‘That will take quite a while,’ Eugene grumbled to himself with a sigh as he walked over to the saplings of the World Tree.

There were three saplings in total.
He had thought about placing them inside of his cloak, but he might cause the saplings to dry out and die.

As such, he had no choice but to pull them out of the ground, roots and all, and take them with him.

[To think that you’re using such a barbaric method….]

‘What about it?’ Eugene asked defensively.
‘It consumes a whole lot less mana to just uproot them and lift them in the air with your wind, than it would to make the ground flow like a river and carry the saplings.’ 

[It’s only thanks to me that the mana consumption of the first method is so low.]

‘Uh-huh, thanks a lot,’ Eugene pacified Tempest and swung Wynnyd.
A strong wind was called that uprooted the three saplings.

As such, a bizarre spectacle was created.
From now on, Eugene would have to cross the forest with three trees floating above his head and leading more than a hundred elves behind him.

“How tiresome,” Eugene complained to himself.

He couldn’t just carry the trees around with him either.
Each time they had to take a break, the trees would also need to be replanted and given time to recover, so that they didn’t wither.
The fairy trees that grew solely in Samar were strong enough that they wouldn’t die so easily, and they even had the branch of the World Tree with them, so it was unlikely that they would truly wither and die, but… better safe than sorry.

“I’m already getting all impatient,” Eugene muttered as his brows furrowed, and he placed a hand inside of his cloak.

When the saplings were uprooted, the barrier that had protected the village completely disappeared.

Two days ago, Barang had attacked the village by breaking through the barrier using his brute force.
Imediately afterwards, he had fought with Eugene and had even been driven to commit suicide.

The loud explosion that Barang had created with his death had caused enough of a fuss to attract the attention of the nearby tribes.
It was likely due to the barrier having been broken, but they had noticed that this place seemed to have something to do with the village of the wandering elves.
As a result, quite a lot of the natives had gathered in the surrounding forest.

Eugene had no intention of trying to negotiate with them.
No matter what he tried, their group couldn’t help but stand out, and unless he was willing to give up on the elves, they would continue to be attacked.

Eugene had finished the last of his tasks in this forest.
Since he had already been exposed, there wasn’t any need to keep being so careful.

Eugene took out a bow from his cloak.

The bow named Thunderbolt Pernoa shone with a golden light.
With its huge size, it couldn’t be compared with an ordinary bow.
Eugene held the bow that was as tall as he was in one hand and aimed it at the sky.

He had now reached the Fifth Star of the White Flame Formula.
Although it had only been an increase of one Star, Eugene’s mana had doubled from what it had been before.
The use of Thunderbolt consumed even more mana than the Dragon Spear, but as he was now, Eugene was able to use the bow without much of a burden.

“Cover your ears,” Eugene warned them in advance.

The elves, who were filled with worries about their future, turned to look at Eugene.

If it was in the past, they might not have followed his warning.
However the elves had seen Eugene fighting with Barang.
They had seen the overwhelming power with which Eugene had defeated that terrifying invader.

“Yes,” they quickly acquiesced.

The elves no longer doubted Eugene.
And among the elves, Narissa and Lavera in particular looked at Eugene with an admiration that went beyond trust, even as they covered their ears as he had instructed.

“Are you planning on killing all of them?” Signard asked.

“Do you really see me as such a butcher?” Eugene retorted with a smirk as he spread his arms.

The bow didn’t appear to have a string, but as he bent his fingers, a thin strand of light appeared in the place of the bowstring and was caught by his fingers.

“For now, I’ll just give them a warning shot,” Eugene stated.

Buzzbuzz!

An electric current flowed through the taut bowstring.

“If they still chase after us after this…”

Eugene’s mana, amplified by the Ring Flame Formula, was converted into lightning.

“…then, well, it can’t be helped.”

His fingers released the bowstring.
A small lightning bolt was shot up into the sky.

Soon after….

Krakoom!

A huge lightning bolt landed in the distance.

1.
This has been debunked by several studies.
Please don’t tear your muscles, that’s not what progressive overload is. ☜

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