Eugene landed in a hallway that was choked with both smoke and dust. With a buzzing sound, the sylphs that had followed him started to generate some wind. Using this to scatter the smoke, Eugene strode purposefully down the hallway. 𝘪𝑎.
There was only one room at the end of this hallway, which meant Eward had to be in that room. Even as he continued to stare straight ahead at the locked door to the room, Eugene’s feet suddenly slid sideways.
Hiss.
A spine-chilling noise swept past as something brushed the side of his head. Without panicking, Eugene manipulated the wind around him.
Boom!
The wind gathered into one spot above him before exploding like a bomb. Falling from the ceiling, the man who had tried to attack him was forcefully embedded into the wall as his mouth sprayed out blood. It was one of the two men who had been waiting for Eward in the restaurant.
“If you’re trying to backstab me, then you should at least aim properly, cheeky bastard,” Eugene clicked his tongue at the man before reaching into his vest with his left hand.
The ambush wasn’t over just yet. Without even opening the door, someone inside the room attacked Eugene by casting a spell that burst through the door.
With a snort, Eugene pulled out the item he had been reaching for. He then casually threw the luxurious wooden box that he had obtained from the auction house in the way of the attack.
Contained within the box was the fragment of the Moonlight Sword that he had bought at the auction house.
Gwaaah!
The spell was split into dozens of strands that swept across the surrounding walls. The fragment didn’t break or show any other reaction to the spell’s mana.
“What astounding performance,” Eugene muttered as he grabbed the fragment that had fallen to the floor.
Although none of the original sword’s appearance had been retained, the Moonlight Sword’s characteristics could still be seen from this small fragment.
Eugene continued speaking while looking straight ahead, “If you had hit me with that attack just now, the power could have killed me.”
Behind the door that had been shredded by the attack, a man in a black robe was standing there. It was made even more obvious from his attire, but the spell he had cast had already revealed his identity as a black wizard.
Panicked by the failure of his attack spell, the black wizard shrieked, “Who are you?”
He had cast that spell with a resolve to kill, but it had somehow been blocked using some unknown method. Had this intruder used magic just now? But how had he never heard of a defensive spell with such an effect?
“Why are you raising such an uproar here?” the black wizard also demanded.
It was true that Eugene had been the one to start attacking unilaterally. After beating up the guards outside, he had barged in through the front door and smashed through the ceilings of the first and second floors to reach the third floor. So the wizard had reason to feel wronged.
However, Eugene didn’t care about that. He didn’t feel the need to explain the situation or even reveal his name.
Escaping from reality through a dream made by a succubus was pathetic but understandable. However, Eward had crossed the line this time. Drugs were already a step too far, but he was even consorting with a fucking bastard who used black magic.
—Don’t get involved with black magic.
Gilead had even given Eugene a stern warning about such conduct before he left for Aroth. But what did Gilead’s real son think he was doing, palling around with someone who could even be called Vermouth’s enemy?
“Get out of the way,” Eugene spat out an order as he put the fragment of the Moonlight Sword back inside his vest. “If you run away now, I won’t have to try and catch you.”
“I already thought you were a cheeky brat, but that’s—!” The black wizard snarled, “Do you even realize where you are now and in whose presence you’re behaving so rudely?”
Eugene coldly replied, “I know exactly who I’m behaving so rudely to. That’s Eward Lionheart, isn’t it?”
The thing that made Eugene feel even more furious and scornful was that, despite all the commotion, Eward had yet to raise his head, let alone make a sound. Eward was so high on alcohol and drugs that he was still buried in the sheets of his large bed, giggling to himself.
“It seems like your distinguished young master still doesn’t even understand what’s going on,” Eugene observed sarcastically.
The black wizard suddenly screamed, “Kill him!”
The demonfolk who had been sticking close to Eward sprang into action. They were the ones supporting Eward on the way here from the restaurant. The three daemons directly threw themselves at Eugene.
‘So they’re all here,’ Eugene noted to himself.
With these three, Eugene had finally met all the five people who had escorted Eward to this opium den. One of them was still embedded in the wall outside, and the other had started trying to cast a spell right in front of him.
Fwoosh.
The stars around his heart began to resonate as white flames flared up to cover Eugene’s body. As he started to charge forward, wisps of flame scattered from him. Eugene lowered his body and drew Wynnyd back behind him.
A lion with a white mane hides its claws, not needing to make the first move.
It was only when the daemons got into range that Wynnyd made its move.
Phwoosh!
The lion’s claws swung forward, tearing apart everything in its path.
“Aaaargh!”
Blood spurted out from the chest of the daemon who had rushed closest to Eugene.
In the next moment, Eugene took a step forward. The wind wrapped around his sword exploded, and the body of the second daemon, who had been slowed by fear, was thrown backward by the wind.
“Ugh!”
The daemon who was right behind the second one was startled by this sight and tried to back away. However, it was much faster for Eugene to dive forward than for the daemon to retreat. Although the daemon lengthened its fingernails into blade-like claws and swiftly slashed at Eugene, the daemon’s arm was completely severed at the wrist before it could even complete its swing.
The daemon didn’t even get a chance to scream in pain. Having already gotten into reach, Eugene’s hand grabbed the daemon by its face.
Crack! 𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮
With this grip, Eugene smashed the daemon’s head through the floor.
“Th-this is insane,” the black wizard muttered as his face turned pale.
Although Eugene’s skills were undeniably amazing, it was the white flames covering Eugene’s body that truly shocked the black wizard. Those scattered wisps of fire that looked like the mane of a lion — only one mana training scripture in the whole world could cause such a unique phenomenon.
That was the Lionheart main family’s White Flame Formula.
The black wizard stammered, “M-might you be… Sir Eugene Lionheart?”
He stopped trying to cast his spell. Instead, he stepped backward, all the while sweating profusely, and laid down his staff. Eugene shook the blood off of his hand after getting up.
“Get out of the way,” Eugene repeated.
For a moment, the black wizard considered whether he should continue to resist or just submit. Neither choice would prevent this from turning into the worst-case scenario, so instead….
The black wizard hid the murderous intent in his eyes, and he subtly shuffled over to the staff that he had laid down.
“…N-now hold on a moment…. Allow me to explain the situation…,” the black wizard drew out his words, trying to buy even a few more seconds of precious time.
However, Eugene had no intention of listening to his story. He had told the black wizard to get out of the way, but the black wizard hadn’t. As such, Eugene was now decided on what to do next.
Eugene narrowed the distance between them in an instant and reached out to grab the black wizard. Unfortunately for him, there was far too little time for the black wizard to properly cast a spell, so he recklessly burst out his mana. Although it wasn’t as powerful or as effective as a proper spell, he was just trying to stop Eugene from getting any nearer by blindly expelling his mana.
However, this still failed to cause Eugene any hindrance. Eugen just added sword-light to his sword that was already covered by a blade of wind. The blast of mana could not stop Eugene’s slash without any refinement.
‘How insane—!’ the black wizard cursed.
How could he have imagined that his last-ditch effort could be cut through so easily? He couldn’t believe that Eugene was currently only seventeen.
‘I’m going to die…,’ or at least, that’s what the black wizard thought.
Eugene’s sword stopped right in front of the black wizard’s throat. The black wizard trembled nervously, unable to gulp out of fear that this would cause his throat to be sliced open.
“Stay still,” Eugene spat out this order as he walked past the black wizard.
Eward was still intoxicated from all the alcohol and drugs he had taken. However, Eugene didn’t draw any closer to Eward and instead slowly turned his gaze to the spot on the bed beside the disappointing heir.
There laid a bowl containing a grotesquely jiggling mass of flesh.
“Could that be what I think it is?” Eugene asked as he pointed to the mass of flesh.
This wasn’t just a simple chunk of meat. This was a ‘cup’ used for certain ceremonies.
Eugene promised, “If it turns out that there’s a human heart in that bowl, you can be sure that I will skin you alive and cut you to pieces, starting from your toes.”
“It-it really isn’t,” the black wizard pleaded as he immediately knelt on the spot. “That thing inside there really isn’t a human heart. It’s a m-monster’s heart.”
“What kind of monster?”
“A unicorn’s….”
Instead of listening any further, Eugene checked the inside of the bowl for himself. Indeed, he could see that the heart was too big to be a human’s, and it also had a slightly bluish tint to it. Unicorns were monsters with such strong mana and divine power that they were called divine beasts.
If it was meant to be used as a ‘sacrifice,’ then a unicorn’s heart was much more valuable than a human’s.
“…Is the other party a Demon King?” Eugene eventually asked.
The black wizard reacted with shock, “How dare…. I-I mean, how could someone like myself arrange a contract with one of the Demon Kings?”
“Then who is it?” Eugene prompted,
“…It’s… it’s Baron Olpher of Helmuth…,” the black wizard finally answered with his head bowed low.
Eugene was unfamiliar with that name. His brow furrowed as he turned back to look at the black wizard.
“And just who is that bastard?” Eugene asked.
The black wizard explained, “He is an incubus who serves under Duchess Giabella.”
“Duchess Giabella? Are you talking about Noir Giabella?”
“Yes, sir….”
Noir Giabella was the queen of the Night Demons. Eugene snorted and shook his head. It wasn’t surprising that that damn succubus was still alive after three hundred years. Although the Helmuth of the distant past was nothing more than a hell ruled by the five Demon Kings, with none of the trappings of a real nation, the current Helmuth was now a genuine country ruled over jointly by the Demon Kings of Incarceration and Destruction.
Although it wasn’t possible for her to stand on the same level as the Demon Kings, if it was the queen who ruled over all the Night Demons, it made sense for Noir Giabella to be called a Duchess.
Struggling to hold in his irritation, Eugene said, “So what you’re saying is… this damned bastard… was about to sign a contract with a mere servant of Noir Giabella, an incubus who is nothing more than a baron…. Is that what you’re saying?”
“S-sir Eugene,” the black wizard stammered, unsure what to say.
“So he was planning to offer up the heart of a unicorn, while out of his mind on drugs and alcohol, in exchange for a contract with a mere incubus baron. Have I got all that right?”
“It was Sir Eward’s own desire…!” The black wizard hastily made his excuses as he banged his head against the floor in apology, “I was only listening to Sir Eward’s request. Sir Eward was also the one who gave me the money to purchase the heart of a unicorn. I-I just listened to Sir Eward’s request… and I just couldn’t refuse his o-order.”
“Of course, you couldn’t refuse him,” Eugene drawled sarcastically. “After all, you must have been so excited. That idiot is still the eldest son of the Lionheart clan’s direct line. On top of giving you money, he even wanted to make a contract with your master. If it had all worked out as planned, your strength would have increased greatly thanks to that fucking bastard named Olpher.”
“…,” the black wizard stayed silent.
“No, on second thought, it wouldn’t just end with you getting stronger. If the deal had been struck, you might even have been able to negotiate a contract with that bitch Noir.”
This was why he had been so eager to arrange for Eward to sign a contract with the enemy of Vermouth and the Lionheart clan.
“You were willing to arrange this contract because you were also greedy for the results. So don’t push all the blame onto others and keep your mouth shut if you don’t want me to beat you up,” threatened Eugene.
The black wizard was unable to come up with any more excuses. The killing intent that Eugene was exuding was far too ferocious and frightening for him to dare open his mouth any time soon. Eugene turned his gaze away from the black wizard to look at Eward, who was still lying on his back, eyes half-open, and with drool dripping from his slack-jawed mouth.
First of all, he needed to calm himself down. Eugene took a deep breath before taking another look at Eward’s face.
“This son of a bitch.”
In the end, he still couldn’t contain his temper. Spitting out a vile curse, Eugene slapped Eward on the cheek.
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