Novel

Chapter 70: The Grave (6)

After it stood up, the entity possessing the Death Knight didn’t directly reveal who it was. However, there was an ominous presence lurking deep within those dark eyes. And just by the fact that Amelia had gotten down on one knee, Eugene could be sure that the presence within the Death Knight was none other than the Demon King of Incarceration himself.

“Eugene Lionheart,” the Death Knight said.

Although the words coming from its jaws were spoken in the same hoarse voice as before, they were packed with a ‘power’ that made them feel incomparable to before. Eugene’s heart, which was racing as if it was about to burst, cooled down instantly the moment he heard the undead’s manner of speech.

The cold sweat running down Eugene’s back felt like a drop of ice.

“I have seen you through the eyes of Balzac Ludbeth,” the Death Knight — no, the Demon King murmured. “Are you here to offer flowers at the grave of your ancestor’s closest companion[1]?”

“…,” Eugene didn’t answer him.

“Since you have seen it, you should be aware of this as well. The owner of this grave is Hamel Dynas[2]. Although he is known to the world as Stupid Hamel, he was truly far from stupid. Among ‘dear’ Vermouth’s comrades, he was especially outstanding and strong, so much so that Vermouth always kept that man by his side.”

You. What makes you think. That you have the right! TO TALK LIKE THAT?!

Eugene barely managed to suppress this shout as it threatened to burst out of his mouth. He bit his lips with such force that they were bruised and split, dripping blood down his chin. Eugene glared at the Demon King with bloodshot eyes.

“I do not comprehend your hostility,” the Demon King commented.

Even though Eugene was blatantly emitting killing intent, the Demon King didn’t show any signs of displeasure.

“Vermouth and I truly understood each other and built a friendship based on this understanding,” the Demon King claimed. “Admittedly, trying to force such a relationship from three hundred years ago onto his distant descendants would be a ridiculous stretch. I might respect the ‘Lionhearts’ as the descendants of a close confidant, but that does not give me reason to force you to return this respect.”

“…,” Eugene kept a firm hold of his tongue.

“This may be our first time meeting in person, Eugene Lionheart, but I’m already aware of your exceptional accomplishments. It has been three hundred years since Vermouth passed away. I have seen many Lionhearts during this time, but among those, I believe that you are the one who has most strongly inherited the blood of Vermouth.”

“…Ha,” Eugene could help but bark out a laugh of incredulity.

‘Dear’ Vermouth? Respect? All of what the Demon King had been talking about had already seemed absurd, but what he was saying now felt even more ridiculous.

“…Lionheart. I see, so that’s how things are,” Amelia, who was still kneeling on one knee, muttered to herself. “Gray hair and golden eyes. The Kiehl Empire’s Lionheart clan.”

Amelia stared at the Demon King through narrowed eyes and asked, “For you to personally come to this shabby place, using this Death Knight as your vessel…. Demon King of Incarceration, how am I supposed to accept such an honor?”

The Demon King dismissed her veiled barb, “It is your freedom to choose how you respond to my presence.”

“However, I still need to accept the consequences that come with this freedom, right? Please don’t speak to me in such an impish manner. Demon King of Incarceration, is your purpose for coming here really just to protect this naughty lion?” Amelia demanded.

“It is because he is the descendant of my close confidant.” As the Demon King said this, he turned his gaze towards her.

Amelia’s eyes shook slightly as they met with those pitch-black eyes. She covered her veil, which was shaking from her rapid breaths, with her hands.

Once she had composed herself, she asked, “…Just for that, are you really going to suppress my freedom, which you’ve always claimed to respect?”

“Amelia Merwin,” the Demon King intoned. “Although I may love and respect you, I don’t love and respect you as much as I do Vermouth.”

“Vermouth is dead.”

“However his bloodline has continued uninterrupted, especially within Eugene Lionheart. In him, I can see the appearance of my old friend, Vermouth.”

These words stirred up Eugene’s emotions even more. Eugene wondered what kind of reaction this Demon King would show if he got up right now and started cursing this bitch of a Demon King to his face. Didn’t he say that he wouldn’t force the Lionhearts to return his respect? If that was the case, wouldn’t it be alright even if Eugene did swear at him?

“…The ghost of someone who died three hundred years ago… you’re saying that you respect it more than me, who’s currently living?” Amelia angrily demanded, her emotions having been similarly agitated by the Demon King’s words.

Amelia’s eyes widened and she tried to stand up, but things didn’t move according to her will. Her body was about to get up, only to sink back down again. Amelia showed a flustered expression on her face, but she didn’t release any sounds of distress. Instead she glared at the Demon King with even more venom in her eyes.

She hissed, “You dare… to my body…!”

“You have indeed been given independence, but that independence can never supersede my authority,” the Demon King said. “Amelia Merwin. No matter what you planned to do with Hamel’s grave, I respected your freedom to do so. But if you wish to harm Vermouth’s descendants, then I am afraid I cannot allow that. At least, not for now.”

“…For now?” Eugene hadn’t missed those last words.

He raised both eyes and glared up at the Demon King.

“What do you mean by that?” He demanded.

“As I thought, you really are a disrespectful brat,” Amelia spat out with frowning eyes.

She felt infuriated that Eugene wasn’t showing proper respect to the Demon King.

“Vermouth is dead,” the Demon King said. “Although, to me, it doesn’t feel like it happened too long ago… It has already been three hundred years. That’s quite a long time, for humans at least. During these past three hundred years, I feel like I have continued to show a sufficient amount of goodwill and respect to Vermouth’s descendants.”

Amelia no longer showed any signs of displeasure, and instead stared at the Demon King with eyes full of anticipation.

The Demon King’s voice lowered as he continued speaking, “I have respected their freedom to not show me any goodwill or respect in return. However I am concerned that you may be taking my continued goodwill for granted. First and foremost, I am the ruler of numerous demonic beasts and demonfolk, a king of Helmuth.”

With each word that the Demon King said, Eugene felt like his heart was being constricted in a vice. While enduring this pressure that felt like someone was stepping on his chest, Eugene glared at the Demon King.

Eugene refused to kneel in front of the Demon King. He had no reason to kneel, nor did he wish to.

The Demon King lectured, “With freedom comes responsibility. Freedom without responsibility is just indulgence. Descendant of Vermouth, tell this to everyone in the Lionheart clan. Do not take the goodwill that I have granted you as an incentive to go too far. If you will not give me my due regard, then I shall no longer respect you either.”

Eugene clearly understood the meaning of these words. It was a warning.

The Demon King of Incarceration hadn’t attempted to conquer the world in the past hundreds of years, and had instead taken to showing his goodwill and respect to the other countries. Eward’s affair, which had taken place just two years ago, was one such example.

To the Demon King of Incarceration, Eward’s scandal wasn’t significant enough to even be considered a problem. That said, the Demon King of Incarceration had still gone out of his way to solve the situation ‘peacefully’. Balzac Ludbeth, who was personally contracted to the Demon King, had bowed his head to the Lionheart clan’s Patriarch, and the Demon King had even beheaded the incubus who had attempted to contract Eward.

It wasn’t just the Lionheart Clan. Following the Oath made three hundred years ago, there had still been a lot of people who were wary of Helmuth’s demonfolk and Demon Kings. The Holy Empire and the Anti-Demon Alliance, who were located in Helmuth’s immediate vicinity, had made several attempts to rally support for conquering Helmuth and slaying the remaining Demon Kings.

Of course, an attempt had never actually taken place, but there had been several musterings of armed forces. Even now, the troops of the Holy Empire were stationed on the border with Helmuth, and the forces of the Anti-Demon Alliance were aligned with them.

However, both Helmuth and the Demon King of Incarceration had simply ignored them. For the past three hundred years, the demonfolk had worked hard to rectify their image, but in spite of that, there were still places on the continent where demonfolk were being oppressed.RE𝒂ad updated st𝒐ries at n/𝒐/vel/bin(.)com

In Eugene’s opinion, they were just receiving the punishment that they deserved. He knew full well just how terrible the world had been three hundred years ago.

However the demonfolk of Helmuth certainly wouldn’t think so. And perhaps that went for the Demon King of Incarceration as well.

“…What are your reasons for coming here and saying these words now?” Eugene managed to spit out after taking a deep breath.

After having been silent for three hundred years, what was it that made him send a warning now of all times?

“Your ancestor may have made an Oath in exchange for his freedom, but now, the end of that promise is drawing near,” the Demon King revealed. “The time is coming for the wheel that has stalled to resume moving forward once more.”

“…,” Eugene silently processed these words.

The Demon King paused in thought for a brief moment.

“Someday… we may have to make a new Oath. I wonder who will be able to make a new promise in Vermouth’s stead, and stop this wheel once more.”

“…Just what the hell was in the Oath?” Eugene burst out once more.

The Demon King did not respond for a few moments, then ‘Hamel’s’ lips twitched in a faint smile as he said, “You do not deserve to know such details.”

Eugene struggled to keep himself from cursing, “….”

“Because you are not Vermouth,” the Demon King explained.

“…My ancestor died three hundred years ago,” Eugene reluctantly argued.

“It seems that you resent your ancestor,” the Demon King observed.

Eugene was struck dumb, “….”

The Demon King smirked, “You Stupid Lion.”

Those words.

Eugene’s body trembled in surprise. He unconsciously tried to run towards the Demon King, but his body wouldn’t move according to his will.

The Demon King stared at Eugene’s trembling body and continued speaking, “Your existence, your soul, and everything else that you have…. it’s all thanks to Vermouth’s Oath that you were able to be born now, after three hundred years have passed.”

“…What?” Eugene grunted in confusion.

“Amelia Merwin,” the Demon King said, no longer looking at Eugene.

Eugene desperately tried to squeeze out a few words, but his voice just wouldn’t come out. The same force that had been constricting his heart was now constricting his throat.

“Return to your dungeon,” the Demon King ordered.

“…I still have something that I need to ask that brat about,” Amelia tried to argue.

“There is nothing that he can tell you.”

“But that’s absurd…! My pet is dead because of him. And then there’s that door—!”

“There is nothing beyond that door.” As the Demon King said this, he reached his hand out towards the door.

At this gesture, the closed door turned to dust and disappeared. On the other side, Laman was still collapsed on the floor, having yet to come to his senses. This sight caused a bewildered expression to appear on Amelia’s face.

“Nothing of importance happened here,” the Demon King affirmed once more.

Amelia desperately wanted to refute this. Nonetheless, in the face of the Demon King’s gaze, as he stared right at her, she couldn’t put up any resistance.

She eventually squeezed out a question, “…Demon King of Incarceration. Have you developed a fondness for that body?”

“I will return this corpse to you,” the Demon King reassured her.

“Is that alright? Isn’t that the body belonging to your dear, cherished Vermouth’s friend?”

“I have no fondness for Hamel.”

This reply caused Amelia to burst into laughter. Straightening up from her bent knee, she nodded her head.

Then she looked at Eugene and said, “…You got lucky.”

“…,” Eugene glared at her silently.

“The next time, your luck won’t be as good as it was today,” Amelia threatened.

She was still left with a lot of questions about this place. Just in case, Amelia had tried to read the memories recorded in the mana, but it was just as the Demon King of Incarceration had said. The mana’s memory had been erased, making it appear like nothing had happened here. It wouldn’t be too much trouble for the Demon King of Incarceration to have done something like this, but it felt unlikely that the Demon King would go so far to protect that young lion.

‘…Next time,’ Amelia promised herself as she slowly turned away.

The Demon King of Incarceration had made his will clear. Amelia also didn’t know anything about the contents of the Oath, but she was more interested in the ‘warning’ that the Demon King of Incarceration had given—that the Oath was about to expire—than in what the Oath involved.

She couldn’t do anything about this brat right now, but someday…. Once the Oath was over with, there would come a time when things wouldn’t stop at just a warning.

Amelia Merwin left the grave. The Demon King of Incarceration, who had possessed the Death Knight for this brief period of time, also left with her.

Nevertheless, Eugene remained fixed on the spot for quite some time. Until the very end, he had refused to kneel to the Demon King of Incarceration. Even now, he remained standing. The Demon King of Incarceration may have already disappeared, but Eugene was forcing himself to stay upright. He didn’t want to collapse, nor did he want to just sit down.

Eugene stood there for quite a while, trying to get control over his emotions.

In the end, he couldn’t stand it any longer and screamed, “…Aaaaaarghh!”

Eugene stomped on the ground several times, then he smashed his fists against the cracked walls. He didn’t care about his exhausted body, his injuries, or anything else. Roaring out several curses, Eugene vented his anger.

“That fucking bastard!”

After his tantrum had continued for quite some time, Eugene’s rage had settled slightly. He took deep breaths and sat down on the ground.

‘He knows about me,’ Eugene thought to himself.

‘Stupid Lion.’

That choice of words had to be deliberate.

‘My existence, my soul, and everything else is only possible because of Vermouth’s Oath? What does that even mean?’

Could it be? Had the Demon King of Incarceration meant to say that Vermouth had sworn an oath with the Demon Kings in exchange for Hamel’s reincarnation? But this sounded absurd. Perhaps there were some pure feelings of friendship hidden deep within that dreary man’s chest, that made it so that Vermouth couldn’t get over the death of his comrade. But if that guy had truly cared for Hamel, then he would have just prioritized killing the Demon Kings instead of arranging for Hamel’s reincarnation.

In the first place, that Oath was something along the lines of a peace treaty. It shouldn’t have been focused on my reincarnation.’

Didn’t the Demon King of Incarceration say something else as well? That in exchange for the Oath, Vermouth had sacrificed his ‘freedom.’

‘The end of the Oath… the stopped wheel. That motherfucking Incarceration bastard. As a Demon King, why does he have to be so coy with his words?’

The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he was about to boil over. Should he have just let loose at the Demon King without thinking about the consequences? There were hundreds of curses that Eugene had wanted to fling at him, so he should have just gone ahead and tossed them all at the Demon King.

I have no fondness for Hamel.

“I also hate you, you son of a bitch,” Eugene cursed as he ground his teeth.

In the end he hadn’t managed to destroy the corpse from his previous life that had been turned into a Death Knight. Well, alright. It couldn’t be helped. Rather than the deceased body from his previous life, wasn’t the body that he had been reincarnated into more important?

‘I got lucky? That goes for you too. Because next time, I’m going to kill you,’ Eugene promised Amelia in his head.

The Demon King of Incarceration hadn’t killed Eugene.

Even though he knew that Eugene was Hamel, the Demon King still hadn’t killed him. He hadn’t asked what had happened beyond that door either.

I wonder who will be able to make a new promise in Vermouth’s stead, and stop this wheel once more.

‘I have no intention of making any promises.’ As he thought this, Eugene reached into his cloak. ‘Why should I try and stop that wheel? If that fucking thing starts moving again, rather than stop it, I just need to break it.’

If his reincarnation… had been arranged by Vermouth instead of Sienna or Anise then….

‘If it’s you. Then you won’t be expecting too much from me, right?’

Eugene pulled his hand out of his cloak.

What he had pulled out were a few withered leaves. He had found these leaves… in the room where the Moonlight Sword had been sealed.

Why were there leaves fallen here, deep underground, where there weren’t even weeds, let alone trees?

“…A nasty thought comes to mind,” Eugene mumbled as he stood up.

Two hundred years ago, after Vermouth had died, somebody had intruded into this grave.

Sienna had noticed what was going on in the grave, so she had traveled all the way here from Akron. She had gotten into a fight with the intruder, and then she had disappeared.

Eugene recognized these leaves. ‘These are the leaves of the World Tree.’

They were a treasure that Sienna valued even more than Akasha. The leaves of the World Tree, the holy figure of the elves’ religion. With these, it was possible to teleport to the forest of the elves from anywhere in the world.

If Sienna had been driven into a corner, she may have used the leaves of the world tree to warp to the forest of the elves.

But who was the one who had broken into his grave? Had they really been able to back Sienna into a corner?

He was also reminded of a previous mystery, ‘A lich’s curse is said to annihilate both body and soul.’

Eugene stumbled as he tried to stand up.

‘Was it cured by Anise? Or perhaps it was due to the power of the Holy Sword? In any case, it seems that I wasn’t annihilated, by any standard.’

His corpse and his soul had been preserved. Then, they had both been placed in this grave.

‘Then someone took my body from the coffin in that room… and brought it out here… but the only one who could do that would be….’

Vermouth.

‘…So he faked his death… but what reason could he have had for doing that?’

Eugene suspected that the one who had fought with Sienna was Vermouth himself.

But he truly didn’t want to believe this.

1. The Demon King has a very stiff and formal way of speaking. ☜

2. The raw text has Bryce, but this seems to be a typo. Hamel’s surname was previously revealed to be Dynas and the wiki agrees with this. ☜