Damn Reincarnation

…Well, that might be the case, but… in the end, you’re still going to go and save Miss Ciel and the others,] Mer insisted.

“No, that’s not what’s important.
The important thing is that it’s only natural for me to get mad in this situation, right? Mer, you already know this, but I have quite a savage and shitty personality.
Since you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, my personality is exactly the same as it was in my previous life.
The Council Head? The Demon Spear? Fuck that.
I have the Moonlight Sword and the Holy Sword.
Do you really think I’ll lose if I use the Storm Sword, the Dragon Spear, and the Thunderbolt all at the same time while also turning on Ignition?” As Eugene spat out this tirade, he dropped the Moonlight Sword back into his cloak.

[That’s… Sir Eugene, you really can’t just be honest, can you?] Mer said with a sigh.

“What? Where would you even find someone as honest as I am?” Eugene demanded.
“Some fuckers are acting like motherfuckers, so I’m going to go fuck them up.
What’s wrong with that?”

[Did I ever say there’s something wrong with what Sir Eugene is planning?] Mer questioned.

“Then stop saying so many pointless things and just sit tight inside the cloak,” Eugene growled as he glared into the darkness.

After reading Eugene’s thoughts, Mer gulped and asked, […As expected… is it really Sir Eward?]

While holding Akasha, Eugene had managed to spot Eward.
To his sight, it appeared that Eward really hadn’t learned any black magic, nor was he using any forbidden magical artifacts.

But the only thing that Akasha allowed Eugene to see was ‘magic.’ If Eward had made a contract with a spirit of darkness, it was impossible for even Akasha to detect it.

‘Seeing how they’re preparing offerings, it seems like they’re preparing some kind of ritual related to black magic.
If there isn’t some unknown third party involved… then Eward must be at the center of all this,’ Eugene reasoned.

This was a crime that couldn’t even begin to be compared to when Eward had tried to learn black magic on his own.
Since Eward had gotten his own siblings and a lot of his collateral relatives involved, even the Patriarch, Gilead, wouldn’t be able to defend Eward from the consequences.

‘That means it’s fine even if I kill Eward here,’ Eugene rationalized.

The image of Eward’s face, as he smiled while thanking Eugene, flashed through his head.

Eugene couldn’t even begin to understand what in the world Eward had been thinking when he had said that.

* * *

“…You’ve caught one more,” Hector muttered as his brows furrowed.

On a tree that loomed in the darkness, the ‘sacrificial offerings’ dangled like fruit from a branch that had been stretched out in a bizarre shape.

There were the twins from the direct line as well as Gargith and Dezra from the collateral lines.
When Hector had left this area, there had only been four sacrifices in total.
Now, Genia had been included as well, bringing the total up to five.

Hector looked up at Genia, who had lost consciousness and was hanging there completely limp.

“I’m not the one who brought her here,” Eward’s voice emerged from the darkness.
“She found this place on her own and ran in all by herself.”

“But you’re the one who made her do that,” Hector accused.

“I know that you and that young lady have a close relationship.
However, Hector, you were the one who failed to bring back the offering that you were tasked with.
As such, isn’t it alright for me to add another offering of my own accord?” Eward argued.

Hector sighed, “When you put it like that, I can’t say anything back, young master.”

Hector looked away from Genia.

“Well… it ’s true that we were pretty good friends.
She was quite a fun sparring partner as well.
However, with all that… I don’t think we’re close enough for me to beg you not to sacrifice her….
Hm….” Hector pondered for a moment on what to say.

He couldn’t quite figure out which words would best express his complicated mood.

“This is quite a delicate feeling….
Hm… so that’s it.
Although I don’t mind killing her, I don’t want to see her die like this….
That’s right, it’s like that,” Hector said with some relief at figuring it out.

“So what, are you asking us to not sacrifice her?” Eward asked.

“No, like I said, I don’t mind.
What matters right now isn’t my mood.
It’s that the young master manages to complete this spell properly.
With more sacrifices, the spell will become correspondingly better, right?” Hector said, waving his hands dismissively as he headed closer to the center of the darkness.

However, he wasn’t able to get too close.
The more the distance between him and it shrunk, the more an indescribable ominous feeling nibbled away at his mind.

This feeling wasn’t unfamiliar to Hector.
Within Northern Ruhr, the country which had just opened its gates to the demonfolk of Helmuth starting from five years ago, there had been several times when Hector had met a high-ranking demonfolk.

‘It’s not unfamiliar, but… it still makes me feel dirty every time I encounter something like this,’ Hector thought as he narrowed his eyes and peered into the darkness.

The ground was covered in a magic circle painted in red blood.
It wasn’t just the ground, either.
Even in the empty spaces midair, blood had spread out in several lines from the magic circle.

Hector hadn’t learned any magic.
However, he had enough of a connection with magic that he was able to carry a high-ranking artifact that couldn’t be bought even with millions of sals.
Because of that, Hector could feel it intuitively.

The magic circle that Eward was currently drawing was by no means part of any ordinary spell.
As a wizard of the Fourth Circle, Eward was definitely incapable of properly operating such a magic circle.
In the first place, magic circles weren’t something that could be used just because they were drawn neatly.
With a high-ranking magic circle, it was impossible for them to be operated unless you were a wizard of sufficient skill.

“How amazing,” a voice was heard from behind Hector.

Hector turned around to look back in surprise.

“…You came much faster than I expected you to.
Can you really move that fast just by running?” Hector asked.

“It’s because all the paths were connected in a straight line,” Dominic said with a grin.
“This spirit of darkness is more convenient than I thought it would be.
To think that the eldest son who’s been called the disgrace of the clan… would really be able to sign a contract with such a high-ranking spirit of darkness.”

“Weren’t you already aware I had made such a contract?” Eward asked.

“Of course I knew,” Dominic confirmed.
“However, I thought you would have just made a contract with a lower-ranking spirit, no? To think that a former heir without any talents for the martial arts or magic… would truly turn out to have an affinity for the spirits of darkness, who would have ever guessed?” Dominic said with amazement.

“It’s a bit different from that,” Eward replied from within the darkness.
“I don’t actually have any affinity to spirits.”

“…What does that mean?” Dominic asked in disbelief.

“The spirit told me that directly.
Except under special… haha… yes, special circumstances, it wouldn’t have signed a contract with a person like me,” Eward revealed bitterly.

“Special circumstances?” Dominic repeated.

“That’s right… in my case, it seems that I’ve received quite a bit of help from my pedigree.
Isn’t that funny? My position as the eldest son of the ‘Lionheart’ clan, the burden that I’ve longed to discard… if it wasn’t for that, there would be nothing special about me,” Eward said as he continued to stare straight ahead.

He was looking directly at Deacon Lionheart, whose chest had been split open.
Even looking at this corpse from such a close distance, Eward didn’t feel anything in particular.
For Eward, this eighteen-year-old boy was nothing more than the first offering, a paint bucket filled with the ‘blood’ needed to draw the magic circle.

Beside the corpse of Deacon, the Annihilation Hammer Goliath was floating in midair.
The magic circle drawn in Deacon’s blood was spreading outwards from the Annihilation Hammer.
The Annihilation hammer served as the vessel that gathered the power of the sacrifices and amplified the strength of the darkness spirit.

“…What have you done with the Head of the Council?” Eward eventually asked.

“I stabbed him through the chest,” Dominic replied with a calm smile, “from right behind his back.
No matter how old he might have become, I had no confidence in fighting him head-on.
Especially since I left the Annihilation Hammer here.”

“…Did you kill him?” Eward prompted.

“Haha….
Even though my grandfather is called the Immortal White Lion, with a hole in chest, he’s bound to be dead,” Dominic responded as he lifted his right hand for a closer look.

He was actually holding onto a blackened and withered right arm that was itself holding onto the Demon Spear Luentos.
Dominic grunted as he started pulling at the withered hand still clinging to the spear.

“I used grandfather’s arm to cast the Spear Forest[1], but it looks like it’s impossible to cast it again.
Since I have no desire to cripple one of my own arms,” Dominic commented.

“Can’t you just cut off someone else’s arms and use the special attack through that arm like you just did?” Hector asked out of pure curiosity.

Dominic just snorted at this and shook his head before explaining, “Don’t say something so absurd, Hector.
The only reason this arm is still intact is that it ’s the hand of my grandfather, who’s been using the Demon Spear for fifty years; any other arm would rot off just by touching the spear.
My father and the previous Patriarch both died from the aftereffects of wielding the Demon Spear and the Annihilation Hammer.”

“Aha… so that really is the case,” Hector nodded in understanding.
“However, wasn’t the Council Head able to stay in control of the Demon Spear for over fifty years? Lord Dominic is also the master of the Annihilation Hammer.”

“That’s why my grandfather and I are so special.
Though, now that my grandfather is dead, I’m the only one who’s special,” Dominic declared proudly as he nodded his head with a grin.

After tearing away each of the Council Head’s fingers that were still clinging to the Demon Spear, he spun the Demon Spear around to get a good look at it.

“So, young master, when will the spell be done? Have you double-checked the spirit’s instructions?” Dominic reminded Eward.

“Lord Dominic, you, of all people, are suspicious of him?” Eward asked.

Dominic hesitated, “Well, I… after all, he’s never spoken to me.”

“The magic circle is complete.
Now we only need to start—” Eward’s voice suddenly halted.
“…Didn’t you say that you killed him?”

The darkness shook.

“Killed who?” Dominic asked, puzzled.

“I’m talking about Eugene Lionheart.”

“What in the world are you talking about? Could that guy really still be alive?” Dominic asked as he turned to look at Hector in bewilderment.

Hector hesitated.
“I didn’t check his corpse… no, I wasn’t able to do so.
And didn’t you say there wasn’t any need for it?”

“Of course, there was no need to check.
Who the hell would even be able to survive the Spear Forest—”

Before Dominic could finish his cry of protest, a hole was pierced through the layers of darkness.

1.
This is the name of the Demon Spear Luentos’s special attack.
☜