Damn Reincarnation

ng swept away by the Moonlight Sword, Belial used his last resort — an attack containing the last bit of his power before death.
This was quite an obvious attempt at an attack.
It was aimed at Vermouth, but he was more than capable of dodging it.
No one doubted him.

It should have been the same for Hamel.
Hamel was the last one to ever doubt Vermouth.
Hamel knew how Vermouth fought, and he knew how strong Vermouth was.
Such an attack could never hope to kill Vermouth.

“Why?” uttered Sienna with utter shock.

It had been an unexpected and sudden act, which made it even more unbelievable.
For a reason unknown to them, Hamel had jumped in front of Vermouth.
Even before Vermouth could avoid the curse, Hamel had used himself as a shield against it.

“Why?” Sienna couldn’t understand the reason why.

Hamel wasn’t supposed to be there.
There was not much for Hamel and Molon, the warriors, to do in a battle of magic against Belial.
Their role in a battle like this was to protect Sienna and Anise.

They had carried out their roles with perfection this time as well.
Despite his struggles, Hamel had fulfilled his duty anyway, and that was where it was supposed to have ended.

“Hamel.” Sienna staggered up to Hamel.

Vermouth stood dazedly, looking down at Hamel.

“Please,” uttered Sienna.

Molon screamed, “Hamel!”

He lifted Hamel’s body.
It was light.
Molon’s eyes quivered, and he looked around, not knowing what to do.
He walked over to a wall nearby and sat Hamel down.

Molon said, “A-Anise.
Come over here, quickly.
Hamel… Hamel is….”

Anise’s legs gave out beneath her as she covered her mouth with both her hands.

Her role as a priestess was to ensure the safety of her comrades, but she couldn’t fulfill her role right now.

‘A curse.’

This was no ordinary curse.
It was a curse conjured by Belial, the worst black wizard and lich in history, in exchange for his life.
Even brushing against it would have caused a fatal curse to permeate one’s body.

“…Ha,” Hamel chuckled, tilting his head back, but black blood poured out as soon as he opened his mouth.

Tears fell from Anise’s eyes at the sight.

Anise knew what would follow.
The curse, which utilized the dark power of the Demon King of Incarceration, would slowly destroy Hamel’s body from the inside out.
Even though Anise was the Saintess and the Imitation Incarnation of Light, it was impossible for her to purify all of the dark power of a Demon King.
In the end, Eugene’s body would completely break down, and he would perish.

Unfortunately, that would not be his end.
A soul inflicted with the curse of the Demon King could not go to heaven or hell.
At the moment of death, it would become the possession of the Demon King.
This truth devastated Anise.

Hamel would not be able to go to heaven.

“Hamel….
Hamel, Hamel…!” Sienna howled.

She attempted to approach Hamel but stumbled over her steps, and her legs gave out beneath her.
Sienna tried to get back on her feet, but she could give no strength to her legs.
In the end, she was forced to crawl toward Hamel.

“What are you crying about?” said Hamel with a grin.

Why was he smiling? Sienna just couldn’t understand why Hamel was smiling.
She shook her head as tears dripped down her cheeks.
She gazed at the hazy figure of Hamel through her blurred vision.

Sienna could see a… hole in the center of his body, but she couldn’t see Hamel’s insides through the hole.
The hole was filled with the curse, and only darkness was visible inside it.
As the curse spread, it ate away at Hamel’s body.

“Anise….
W-What are you doing? Come quickly.
The wound… the wound is getting bigger,” Sienna stuttered.

There wasn’t even any blood coming from the hole.
Sienna tucked her trembling hand inside her robe.

Right, she still had the elixir.
It was a precious remedy crafted with holy water and infused with divine power and magic.
The concoction served as an all-purpose medicine for emergencies when magic or divine magic couldn ’t be employed.
They had several doses left in reserve since Anise ’s presence meant they didn’t really need it.

“…It’s fine,” Sienna muttered to herself once more.

Everything was fine.
It had to be.
Sienna repeatedly muttered such words while pulling out a bottle.

She popped the cap of the elixir and poured the concoction over Hamel’s wound.
Unfortunately, even though she finished pouring an entire bottle, the wound showed no signs of healing.

“It’s fine.”

There were more bottles, and Anise was here as well.
Anise seemed to have collapsed from the shock, but she would quickly regain her senses and come running over.
She would reprimand Hamel for being an idiot before healing him and making him whole again.

“It ’s fine,” Sienna murmured yet again.

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She emptied several bottles.
Hamel only coughed up blood in the meantime, and the light in his eyes dimmed every time he blinked.

“Get lost,” said Hamel.

His voice was weak; it was as if his life was slipping away.

“Please,” Sienna begged while crying.

She had a headache, there was a terrible taste in her mouth, and her heart was pounding.
She was cold, hot, and trembling.

“That’s….
That’s why I told you to go back.
Why did you have to be so stubborn and—” Sienna said without meaning to.

Feeling disgusted at herself, she quickly clasped her hand over her mouth.

“Sienna.
Put that away first.” Hamel gave a weak smile while staring at Sienna.
He could see her figure as his vision dimmed.

“The elixirs are precious.
Why are you trying to use such precious things here? Don’t waste them,” said Hamel.

“But—!” Sienna shook her head with tears streaming down her face.

How could the elixirs be considered precious when they were unable to heal Hamel ’s wounds in the most dire of times?

At this moment, Anise joined Sienna.
She sat down and held her rosary as she recited a prayer.
Tears flowed down Anise’s cheeks as she summoned a glowing light at the tip of her fingers and directed it toward Hamel ’s wound.

However, the Light failed to illuminate the darkness.

“That’s enough.
I know my body best.
I can’t survive.
I’m about to die,” Hamel stated calmly while vomiting blood.

Sienna did not want to hear such words.
She didn’t want to accept them either.
She lowered her head, taking ragged breaths.

“I could have avoided it,” muttered Vermouth, stumbling toward Hamel.
“There was no need for you to do this.”

Belial’s curse had been directed at Vermouth, but Hamel had intercepted it at will.
Sienna could not bring herself to look at Vermouth’s face.

“Get out of here,” Hamel said with a laugh.

“You should have known….” Vermouth grabbed his pale face.
“There’s no need for you to die like this.”

Sienna sobbed silently.
She did not want to accept it, and she did not want to believe it.
However, in the end, she had no choice but to face reality.
The warmth of Hamel’s hand was fading away, and the light in his eyes was dimming.

“This is enough to be an honorable death,” Hamel said.

Why did that matter? Sienna raised Hamel’s hand and placed it on her cheek.
The tears that streamed down her face were so hot.
She wanted to add warmth to his hand.

“It was obvious that I would only be a burden if we continued, and I didn’t want to go back either,” explained Hamel.

In the end, Hamel proved himself to be a stubborn fool.

Sienna had known that his physical condition had been abnormal.
In fact, she knew that she had been fooling herself by her own consolations that Hamel was fine.
She had seen Hamel’s body become slow as they battled their way up the castle, and he had not stood at the center of the battles.

If he accompanied them further, he would only get in their way.
Yet, now that he was here, he could no longer return.

“You’re supposed to be so fucking cool, so I shouldn’t need to console you,” Hamel’s voice was slowly dying.

Sienna repeatedly muttered to herself that it was fine as she clasped his hands.

“…I’m getting sleepy, so go,” Hamel murmured.

He said nothing more after that, and the light disappeared from his eyes.

Vermouth lowered his head and knelt down, muttering in a small voice, “Thank you.”

This was the end.
Hamel spoke no more, and he did not open his eyes again.
The hand that Sienna held went limp in her grasp.

Sienna hated how Hamel had acted.
It pained her, and she resented him for leaving nothing behind.
She had hoped for something more, even if it turned out to be a lifelong curse for everyone who survived.

She had been hoping for something cliché, something like Make sure you kill the Demon Kings, Save the world, or Be happy.
But Hamel, that bastard, had left no such wishes.
Was it because he had trusted his comrades? Perhaps.
Even so….

“I….
I need it,” Sienna muttered.

Sienna had never imagined a future without Hamel, and even though it was happening in front of her eyes, she could not believe it.
Hamel had always been there in the future that Sienna painted.

“I need… it,” Sienna repeated.

Even if his will turned into a curse, she needed a reason to continue.
If Hamel had asked her to kill the Demon Kings and save the world, Sienna would have lived her life to fulfill his wishes.
If Hamel had asked them to be happy, then…

“Please…,” Sienna begged.

The curse would have caused her to be unhappy for the rest of her life, but she would have forced herself to be happy for the sake of Hamel.

“God of Light, Almighty, please….
Please protect and watch over this stupid lamb.
The rough journey he will experience… after… rest… Sniff….
With love and mercy…,” Anise failed to see her prayer through to the end.

She fell sobbing, and Molon broke out screaming.
He rampaged like a madman, smashing the walls and the floor with his fists.

Boom! Boom!

While Anise and Sienna wept and Molon roared and screamed, Vermouth remained kneeling on the ground with his head bowed.

“N-No.” Sienna raised her hand after sobbing for some time.

The hand she held was becoming too light.
The curse that penetrated Hamel’s body was eating away at his body, causing him to disappear.
Sienna shook her head while desperately grabbing hold of his body.

“No, no, no…! D-Don’t go.
Don’t… leave me behind!” Sienna howled while putting her cheek against Hamel’s face.

Anise stared at the two of them with bloodshot eyes.

“Please… tell me,” Sienna moaned tearfully.

She could no longer feel Hamel’s body in her embrace.
His body was gone, vaporized by the Demon King’s curse.

“Anise.
Please.
Hamel….
Did Hamel go to heaven? Huh? Heaven….
He had to have gone there, right?” said Sienna while looking back at Anise.

More than anyone else in the world, the five of them deserved to be happy.
It was a given.
And if they could not be happy in this life… then at least they deserved to be happy after they died.

“He… could not…,” Anise said while sobbing.

Sienna screamed and took Anise by her collar.

“Why not!? Y-You always said that there is a god, that heaven is real…! You said… that everyone would go to heaven after we died! You said that!” howled Sienna.

“Hamel’s soul… naturally… he should have gone to heaven….
But right now, his soul is… in the hands of the Demon King of Incarceration.
As long as the Demon King chooses not to let him go, Hamel….”

“Ahhhhh!!!” Sienna screamed as she didn’t want to hear anymore.

She fell down to the ground and screamed even more while banging her forehead against the floor.

Hamel wouldn’t be able to see the end of the war and live a happy life, and he wouldn’t even be able to go to heaven…? After spending sixteen years wandering the battlefield and doing nothing but fighting… he would have to spend an eternity in the hands of the Demon King?

“…Not yet,” Vermouth broke the silence.

He raised his head, and Sienna finally got a glimpse of his face.
Vermouth’s face, which had always been calm and emotionless, was crumpled, and there were tear marks under his empty eyes.

“It’s not the end yet,” he stated.

“The end…?”

“We are still here,” Vermouth said, staggering to his feet.

Molon stopped short at his words, and Anise looked up at Vermouth with blank eyes.

“That’s… right,” muttered Sienna.

She saw her hands were bloody, but she couldn’t tell whether the blood was hers or Hamel’s.
Sienna slowly spread her hands and saw the necklace Hamel had left behind.

“We just have to kill the Demon King of Incarceration,” said Vermouth.

The quivering in Sienna’s eyes subsided.

“We just have to rescue Hamel’s soul after killing the Demon King of Incarceration,” continued Vermouth.

Vermouth was right.
It wasn’t over yet.
They were still here.
She was still here.
Sienna took Akasha from the ground and tightened her grasp.

“One day,” Sienna murmured as she placed Hamel’s necklace against her cheek.

It almost felt as if Hamel’s warmth remained on the ornament.
Her tears continued to flow without stopping, and the terrible taste in her mouth still lingered.
Sienna chewed the inside of her mouth and tasted blood.

‘I’m… alive.’

She put on the necklace while coming to face the terrible reality.

“Someday… may we meet in the world you wished for,” she said.

Sienna took her own words as a lifelong curse.
She glared at the ceiling with eyes completely devoid of any light.

Vermouth was the first to start walking, stumbling forward as if he could fall any moment.
Molon followed behind him with drooping shoulders.
Meanwhile, Anise opened the bottle in her hands.
She tried to pour holy water — or rather, alcohol — into her mouth, but there wasn’t even a single drop remaining.

Sienna dragged her feet while holding Akasha, looking back several times along the way.
She gazed at the wall where Hamel died.
There was no body remaining, but she still saw Hamel leaning against the wall.

“Just wait, Hamel.” She tightly clasped her hand around the necklace.
“I’ll come to save your soul.”