Damn Reincarnation

r>He unleashed Spears of Death one after another, and lightning fell from the space distorted by magic.

The Wing of Prominence quivered, and a diminished manifestation of Eclipse erupted, intercepting the oncoming bolt.
The spears were thwarted as Eugene brandished the Moonlight Sword and the Holy Sword in unison.

“Just die!” Edmund shouted once more.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With a forceful strike of Vladmir against the earth, a multitude of blades, thorns, and chains erupted from the ground, soaring through the air with lethal intent.
The chains would ensnare, the blades cleave, and the thorns pierce.
However, the chain was the first to succumb, and its hold shattered.
The thorns clashed against one another, their piercing ends rendered ineffective.
Even the blades encountered resistance, blocked from their intended path.

“The Demon Spear!” shouted Edmund.

Eugene ignored his cry and struck the ground with the Demon Spear.
The spears he summoned struck the Cube, but it endured.
Next was the Annihilation Hammer.
After storing the spear away, he took out the Annihilation Hammer and struck the Cube with all his might.

Booom!

Though unable to breach the surface, the impact of the strike disturbed the magic circle forming on the Cube ’s exterior.
Eugene withdrew the hammer without any regret.
As he prepared to retrieve another weapon, Edmund held his breath, his grip on Vladmir tightening.
This time, a silver-blue sword emerged — a familiar sight to Edmund.
It was none other than Wynnyd, the very sword he had witnessed before.

However, instead of wielding Wynnyd, Eugene tossed it behind his back.
One of the floating feathers disappeared together with the sword.

“…What did you do?” asked Edmund, wary of Wynnyd’s disappearance.

Eugene shook his head before answering, “You don’t have to worry about it.”

He dismissed Tempest’s complaints, and after confirming that Cyan had received Wynnyd, Eugene once again wrapped his hands around the Moonlight Sword and the Holy Sword.

Edmund’s eyes quivered at the sight.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Edmund asked sincerely.
“If you had not come here and had not complicated my plans, then I would have achieved my long-cherished wish.
I would have achieved something no one had ever achieved, no, something no one will ever achieve in the future! I, a human, could have ascended to a Demon King through magic.”

Edmund’s cries were bitter and desperate.
He used magic while willing the Cube backward.
The space between Eugene and Edmund became distorted.
Even though Eugene moved forward, the distance didn’t seem to decrease.

“Eugene Lionheart! What the hell did I ever do to you? I have never blocked your path, gotten in your way, or threatened you.
So why are you interfering with my plan and threatening me!?” Edmund’s shouts reverberated in the distorted space.
It was quite a powerful hallucination magic, but it had almost no effect on Eugene.
There was no way he would succumb to mere tricks when he had already experienced Noir Giabella’s fantasies.

“Why are you doing this to me? Even if I become a Demon King, I would not do anything to you.
My purpose isn’t to achieve something by becoming a Demon King but to transcend my existence by becoming a Demon King! If the ritual succeeds and I become a Demon King, I will do nothing.” Edmund continued to shout.

His screams caught Eugene off guard.
Did that bastard truly think that way? Wasn’t it natural to stop a black wizard from trying to become a Demon King? Moreover, it wasn’t like he was trying to become a Demon King from the corner of a room without bothering anyone.
He was holding a ritual that required countless sacrifices.
Did he really think that he would be left alone?

“What the fuck is this bastard saying?” Eugene spat with a scowl, raising the Moonlight Sword.
There was no need to hear any more of the nonsense.

Edmund truly felt wronged.
No one cared about the wars that the natives of Samar waged.
It was precisely this reason that led him to select Samar as the location for his ritual.
He believed, and rightly so, that if it hadn ’t been for Eugene ’s interference, his ritual would have proceeded smoothly, unhindered by any complications.

“Don’t come any closer!” Edmund screamed while swinging Vladmir when Eugene raised the Moonlight Sword.
Dark Power turned into a wave of black and washed over Eugene.

Booom!

Eugene blocked the wave with Eclipse, then severed the Dark Power with the Moonlight Sword.

”Again! ” Edmund exclaimed, his hand instinctively clutching his chest.
Feelings of injustice and sorrow surged within him, intensified by the sickening presence of the Moonlight Sword.
Though he had encountered it in the records, witnessing it firsthand made him acutely aware of the sheer absurdity of this weapon.
How could a sword, a mere sword, possess the power to effortlessly sever the Dark Power of Demon Kings and Vladmir?

“I dedicated my entire life to my magic! It’s just a sword!” Edmund screamed.

Eugene remained silent in response to Edmund ’s outcry, yet he felt a bit bummed.
The Moonlight Sword was far from deserving the label of a mere sword.
Edmund had dedicated his entire existence to the pursuit of magic, but Eugene had devoted his entire life to the art of swordplay.
In fact, if he were to account for his previous life, Eugene had spent two lifetimes immersed in the study and mastery of the sword.

“Don’t come near me!” Edmund shouted while striking the ground with Vladmir.
The Cube moved, and the cube of absolute defense rose into the sky.

Time — he needed time.
How much longer? Had he not bought enough time already?

Edmund meticulously monitored his divided consciousness, his gaze unwavering as he scrutinized Eugene ’s every move.
The ongoing conflict within the Footprint of the God of the Land had exacted a heavy toll, claiming the lives of innumerable native inhabitants.
The blood spilled, and the souls harvested had already surpassed the minimum requirements Edmund had established for his ritual.

Moreover, he had to take into account the blood and souls coming from the capital of the Kochilla Tribe.
Was it sufficient to attempt the ritual? He wanted to make the calculations, but he could not afford to.

Crunch!

Eugene broke through the obstruction and swung the Moonlight Sword.
Gray light scratched the surface of the Cube.

“You bastard!” Edmund shouted with sincerity.
It was impossible for him to attempt the ritual and repair the Cube at the same time.
Was he truly left with no option but to gamble? Unfortunately, he wasn’t given the time to contemplate his options.

Craaaack!

Eugene repeatedly slashed with the Moonlight Sword, leaving cracks on the surface of the Cube.

‘I should…!’

In the eleventh hour, Edmund found solace in his unwavering self-belief.
The culmination of the ritual ’s intricacies left no room for doubt — it stood resolute in its completeness.
Edmund had made the calculated choice to prioritize quantity over quality, ensuring an abundance of sacrifices at his disposal.
The sacrifices he had amassed thus far ranged from those offered by the capital to those acquired from the battlefield.
He had ensured his connection to the twisted Earth Veins as well.

It would be impossible for him to take Raizakia’s Dark Power and the power of the World Tree as he originally intended, but… he knew his greed could well cost him his life.

Edmund gave up repairing the Cube and turned his full attention to the ritual.
All of his existence was channeled through Vladmir and connected to the Earth Veins.

Rumbleeee!

The Footprint of the God of the Land began to quake.
The ritual inscriptions engraved beneath the ground started coming to life.

‘I did it.’

The ritual successfully linked to Edmund’s existence.
The magic neared completion as the sacrifices were made.
His body and soul would soon be reconstructed as a transcendental being, a Demon King.

Eugene frowned as he struck down with the Moonlight Sword.
However, Edmund was no longer afraid of the Moonlight Sword.
He burst into laughter.
“It’s a success!”

The light of the Moonlight Sword caused a large crack to form on the surface of the Cube.
But it all seemed so slow to Edmund’s eyes.

His perception underwent a profound metamorphosis.
He transcended the boundaries of ordinary existence, assuming a vantage point from which he looked down upon those deemed inferior.
His feeble form underwent a remarkable transfiguration, assuming the imposing stature of a Demon King, possessing an invincible and superior corporeal vessel.

“I won….”

He was interrupted midway through his victorious declaration.
The ritual, which was near completion, started to collapse.
The magic, which was woven around Edmund, started to become tangled.

What was going on? Edmund could not understand the current situation.
There was no reason for the ritual to fail.
He had gathered enough sacrifices, and the ritual had been perfected.

“…Uaaaah!” Edmund turned his head with a scream of despair.
He had come to a belated understanding of why the ritual had failed.

The insufficiency of the sacrifices was undeniable.
It was an oversight he couldn ’t have overlooked, yet he had been deceived.
The blood and souls meant to be wholly consecrated to the ritual had been unlawfully usurped by another party, leaving him bereft in the midst of his endeavor.

“Balzaaaac!” Edmund had failed to keep Balzac in sight because he had been occupied with Eugene, a monster who kept coming at him, unscathed by attacks that should have killed him.

How? He could not figure it out, despite his mind having gone through a half-transformation.
Had Balzac predicted that he would change the ritual midway? Since when had he been planning to steal the offerings from the capital?

Edmund ’s eyes widened as he scanned the surrounding darkness, desperately searching for any trace of Balzac.
Yet, to his dismay, Balzac remained elusive and concealed within the shrouded depths of Blind, blending seamlessly with the inky blackness, erasing any semblance of his presence.

‘Is his objective to take the ritual away from me?’

A portion of the ritual was flowing to Balzac, but it was a weak connection in Edmund’s eyes.
It was impossible to transcend into a Demon King with something like that.

Edmund came to a new conclusion.
Balzac’s purpose wasn’t to become a Demon King.
He had stolen the offerings and connected himself to the ritual to destroy Edmund at a critical moment when he became sure of his success and attempted the ritual.

Balzac had forced Edmund’s impatience.

Despite the impenetrability of Blind ’s darkness within the Cube, Edmund ’s wariness of Balzac had been ignited from the very moment he laid eyes upon him.
The presence of Balzac and the other adversaries had compelled him to expedite the ritual, driven by the shifting tides of battle and the urgent need to secure sacrifices from the capital, forcing him to hastily modify the intricate process he had meticulously crafted.

“You… bastard…!”

Edmund felt an even greater disgust toward Balzac.

If Balzac harbored intentions of usurping the ritual in order to ascend as a Demon King, Edmund found himself begrudgingly capable of acknowledging it.
Despite his anger and the potential failure to attain his own desires, there was a begrudging understanding within Edmund that perhaps such an outcome, though unwelcome, held a certain validity.

However, Balzac wanted no such thing.
He only took a small portion of the ritual and only a part of the offerings.

Edmund’s ritual had failed because of such a small thing.

“Uwaaaaahhhh!” Edmund roared frantically with anger and frustration.

That was when the moonlight smashed apart the cube and devoured his body.