Chapter 220: A Signature (4)

Chapter 220: A Signature (4)

Along with regret, the mention of those two existences brought up many old emotions within Eugene.

The regret, of course, stemmed from his guilt at not killing them three hundred years ago.

Though, in fact, he had never had a good chance to do so.

When they had first confronted the Blade of Incarceration, Gavid Lindman, Hamel and Sienna had been on their own. At that time, Sienna was already an amazing wizard, and Hamel’s skills could also be described as having been in his prime, but….

They still almost died.

Hamel had gone so far as to use Ignition to buy time for Sienna to escape. To be honest, Hamel had been prepared to die. According to Hamel at that time, if he considered the value of their respective lives now that they were challenging the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration, then, of course, Sienna was the one who needed to survive and return to their comrades.

Fortunately, Gavid had been the one to retreat first, but if their battle had continued, Hamel would have lost his life without even reaching the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration.

Then there was the Queen of the Night Demons, Noir Giabella. Likewise, he had never gotten a good chance to kill her. From the middle of their journey through Helmuth, whenever Noir spotted an opening, she would invade their dreams and use her Demon-Eye of Fantasy to turn their dreams into reality. Whenever this happened, it was only with the help of Anise and Sienna that they managed to escape from their dreams within a dream and their dreams in reality.

Even three hundred years ago, these two demonfolk had been strong and difficult to deal with, but they had still managed to survive until now. As such, Eugene couldn’t help but feel regret. If the Hamel from three hundred years ago had just been stronger, he could have killed Noir Giabella and Gavid Lindman.

“...You’re saying I’ve drawn their attention,” Eugene murmured.

Currently, Eugene wasn’t just feeling regret. He was also feeling some concern. And there was part of him that thought this was inevitable.

Three hundred years ago, Hamel was weaker than Gavid Lindman. He had never been in a fight with Noir Giabella, but honestly speaking, it would have been impossible for the Hamel in his prime to fight with and defeat the Queen of the Night Demons all by himself.

Even Iris had become stronger by training herself over these past three hundred years. In an empire of demonfolk ruled by the Demon Kings, Eugene was well aware of just how much the demonfolk valued rank. For more than three hundred years now, Gavid and Noir had been sitting in their positions as Dukes, reigning over the heads of countless demonfolk.

Eugene recalled, ‘Iris did say that she left Helmuth after being defeated in a territory war with Noir, didn't she?’

But that didn’t mean Noir was just a few steps ahead of Iris. While it was obvious that Noir was stronger, it was even more apparent that the gap between Noir and Iris was far greater than just a few steps.

This meant that the current Eugene wasn’t able to handle her strength.

“It seems that the Dukes of Helmuth are extremely idle,” Eugene observed. “To think they’d have the time to pay attention to someone in a distant country from theirs.”

“You’re far from ordinary, Sir Eugene,” Balzac pointed out. “As a descendant of the prestigious Lionheart clan… and especially since you have even been called the Second Coming of the Great Vermouth after all.”

Eugene conceded, “Well, that might be true. Unfortunately, it’s not like we can do anything about those rumors.”

“The problem is that the Dukes aren’t just paying attention to you because of the rumors alone, Sir Eugene,” Balzac warned as he stared at Eugene through narrowed eyes. “The Dukes are aware that you have been acknowledged by the Holy Sword.”

Instead of replying immediately to these words, Eugene searched his memory.

Had there been any occasions where he pulled out the Holy Sword in public? No, there weren’t any. He had never once pulled it out in the Rainforest of Samar. It was only when Eward had attempted that ritual at the Black Lion Castle that Eugene was forced to draw the Holy Sword. Afterward, he had to prove to the Inquisitors that he was the new master of the Holy Sword.

Then came the Fount of Light.

“The reason I’m saying this isn’t to confirm whether or not you really are the master of the Holy Sword. I don’t really have much interest in that. However, since I honestly do favor you, Sir Eugene, I felt that I just needed to give you a warning.” After silently exchanging looks with Eugene, Balzac continued speaking, “In fact, you can’t really call this a warning. If the two Dukes really were to make a move, how could we even stop them? Also, if they wished to meet with you, Sir Eugene, how would you be able to avoid them?”

Eugene posed a question back, “Could they really be intending to kill me?”

Balzac assured him, “As long as the Demon King of Incarceration hasn’t changed his mind about preserving the peace, the Dukes won’t be able to do anything to kill you, Sir Eugene. However, isn’t it a burden just to be noticed by existences such as theirs?”

“That might be true, but it’s not like I can do anything to avoid it. If I really didn’t want to draw any attention, I would need to lie down and pretend to be dead, but I have no desire to do so,” Eugene declared firmly.

In Eugene’s opinion, it was only a matter of time before this occurred. Although if they hadn’t found out that he was the master of the Holy Sword and thus the Hero, the Dukes who lived far away in Helmuth wouldn’t have been so quick to notice him.

“By the way, just how did they find out?” Eugene asked.

Although Eugene was confirming that he was the master of the Holy Sword by even asking this question, since he had already drawn their attention, what was the point of hiding now? So Eugene decided to just ask this question confidently.

Balzac revealed, “I’m afraid that I don’t know how he did it either, but it seems that it was the Staff of Incarceration, Edmond Codreth, who informed the dukes about you, Sir Eugene.”

“But I’ve never even met that person,” Eugene protested.

“Of course, you wouldn’t have. After all, Edmond never leaves Helmuth. However, the facts are that Edmond truly is the one who informed the Dukes about you, Sir Eugene, and as a result, the attention of the Dukes has now been drawn to you,” Balzac said with a wry smile.

As Balzac was one of Incarceration’s Three Mages, he was also a member of Loyalty, a secret group with ties to Helmuth’s Three Dukes. Having become the Black Tower Master of Aroth, he was unable to attend Loyalty’s regular gatherings, but he still occasionally exchanged letters with his fellow black wizard, Edmund Codreth.

However, in Balzac’s opinion, such a relationship wasn’t close enough to be called a friendship. To put it bluntly, it was more of a business relationship than camaraderie between fellow partners. While their relationship was by no means casual, if you wanted something from the other party, you would need to pay for it.

As such, Edmond didn’t ask Balzac for much information regarding Eugene. Even now, after having leaked the information that news about Eugene had been brought up during Loyalty’s regular meeting, Edmond hadn’t asked Balzac for anything in return.

Balzac knew the reason for this. It was because he had no interest in what had been discussed at the meeting of the Loyalty. Nevertheless, Edmond had still bothered to inform him in advance about the contents of the meeting because he knew that Balzac had already established a relationship with Eugene during his earlier stay in Aroth, and Edmond wished to intentionally spill this information.

“Have you sold them any information about me?” Eugene asked bluntly.

Balzac pointed out, “It’s not like I really have any information to sell, no?”

“And if you did?” Eugene countered.

Balzac paused, “Hm, I’d have to consider the question at that time, but from my point of view, I don’t really have any desires or expectations for the price Edmond would be willing to pay for such information. Moreover, my interests and expectations are actually greater of you, Sir Eugene.”

“You really are quite a strange person,” Eugene rudely commented.

“Although I have quite the fondness and curiosity regarding your exploits, Sir Eugene, it isn’t purely out of such fondness and curiosity that I would be willing to reject such a deal should Edmond offer one,” Balzac admitted. “To a certain extent, my greed would factor into such a decision.”

Eugene repeated, “Your greed?”

“I’m afraid I’m not quite willing to reveal the desires I harbor deep within my heart. What I can say for certain is that I have often warned you, Sir Eugene, and shown you such favor is not just because I approve of you,” Balzac said with a smile as he took another sip of his tea.

Eugene couldn’t read the emotions hidden behind those calm eyes, but he could sense that Balzac was only hovering on the edges of Helmuth’s true power center.

‘Well, if that wasn’t the case, then he wouldn’t have had any reason to return to Aroth and become the Black Tower Master.’

Eugene was lost in thought for a few moments. Balzac seemed to have his own goals, and because of that, he had chosen to warn Eugene about the danger approaching him several times now. At least for now, the current Balzac was not Eugene’s enemy.

Eugene changed the subject, “Earlier, you asked about the internal conflict that took place at the Black Lion Castle, didn’t you?”

Eugene didn’t go so far as to show Balzac the spell formula. Instead, he told Balzac what Eward had been hoping to do and what he had done. He abbreviated anything that didn’t need to be said, so the whole story didn’t take very long.

“Hah,” Balzac, who had been silent throughout Eugene’s story, suddenly gasped. “To think that they attempted to reconstruct the soul and create a new body…. Although it’s regarded as a taboo in the world of magic, many black wizards have pursued those goals as the direction of their research.”

Eugene asked, “Does that also go for you, Sir Balzac?”

Balzac shook his head, “It’s not a topic that interests me all that much. In the end, reconstruction of the soul is transforming your soul into something else, and creating a new body requires replacing the vessel you have lived in ever since you were born. In other words, it changes the very essence of who you are, doesn't it? I have no desire for such magic.”

After answering the question, Balzac was silent for a few moments. The more he focussed, the more furrowed Balzac’s eyebrows grew.

Eventually, Balzac resumed speaking, “So the Remnants of the Demon Kings were the ones who motivated and manipulated Eward Lionheart. That certainly seems reasonable. After all, the Demonic Spear and the Annihilation Hammer that the Lionhearts have inherited were once the favored weapons of their respective Demon Kings. I also think that it is possible that those Remnants naturally transformed into a Spirit of Darkness. After all, Primal Spirits aren’t that much different from mana, and they can transform depending on their environments.”

Balzac’s opinion was the same as Lovellian and Melkith. Without personally seeing the spell circle that Eward had drawn and inferring from what Eugene had managed to piece together, it was obvious that Balzac couldn't help but come up with such a response.

“It’s surprising that Hector Lionheart managed to escape,” Balzac muttered.

It might have been because of Eugene’s subconscious emphasis, but Balzac was also interested in Hector’s escape.

Though, in fact, it couldn’t be helped. After carefully examining the forest, Lovellian and Melkith hadn’t been able to come up with any guesses as to how Hector had managed to escape. The same was true for Inquisitor Atarax, who was the one who had figured out that Hector had managed to escape in the first place. He had been able to see through Hector’s escape, but he hadn’t figured out the method.

“You said he had a rare artifact on him, but do you remember what kind of artifact it was?” Balzac asked.

“Yep,” Eugene nodded.

It was a necklace enchanted with seventeen different spells. Eugene’s memory didn’t go so far as to recall the necklace’s appearance, but he definitely remembered how the enchantments had been arranged. He had already reproduced the array of spell formulas that had been built into the artifact once previously for Lovellian and Melkith.

It was virtually impossible to engrave that many spells into a single artifact, especially onto a necklace that wasn’t all that large. However, since the capacity of engraved spells varied depending on how such artifacts were crafted, there was no way to say that it was absolutely impossible.

There were many excellent alchemists in Melkith El-Hayah’s White Tower of Magic. So Melkith had shown the alchemists the diagram of the artifact’s spell formulas that Eugene had given her, but the only response that came back was that those alchemists couldn’t reproduce it.

“...Hm…,” Balzac rubbed his chin as he gazed to the side.

One wall of this spacious room was covered by the spell formulas that Eugene had drawn in the air.

“Are you saying that these complex, convoluted, and lengthy spell formulas were all contained within a single necklace?” Balzac asked in disbelief.

“That’s right,” Eugene confirmed. “Since I used Akasha to examine it, I’m sure of it.”

“However, there are no spells related to spatial movement within these formulas,” Balzac stated.

“That’s why it’s so curious. In the first place, setting aside Blink, is it even possible for humans to use ultra-long-distance teleportation magic? Even if that is possible, just how could they have embedded such a spell into the artifact?” asked Eugene, revealing the source of his confusion.

Lovellian and Melkith shared a similar opinion to him. Even an Archwizard would need to use a warp gate to travel long distances, as it was impossible to warp one’s body when casting the spell yourself. However, in a forest shaking from the conflict between the Moonlight Sword and Dark Power, Hector evaded all their eyes and successfully escaped. If Hector had been an amazing wizard, this might have been possible on his own, but from what Eugene had sensed when he fought Hector, Hector wasn’t a wizard.

“How interesting,” Balzac, who had been examining the formulas for quite some time, suddenly burst into laughter. “Well now, Sir Eugene, I’m just speaking from an Archwizard’s point of view, but no matter how amazing of a wizard you are, it’s impossible to achieve such long-range teleportation. The warp gates can manage such long-range teleportation because the connection between the two gates fixes the coordinates. However, it’s impossible to do that when personally casting Warp. The only thing in this world that could allow such a teleportation is a dragon’s Teleport.”

“I already know that,” Eugene said.

“Of course you do. But that means Hector didn’t escape through teleportation,” Balzac concluded.

Eugene frowned, “What does that mean?”

Balzac teased, “Didn’t the Inquisitor who was there already tell you the answer? There was indeed a long-distance teleport without going through a gate. But the Inquisitor wouldn’t have been able to explain the precise spell Hector used to escape, and that’s only natural. So while it's true that Hector may have attempted to escape by using a spatial movement spell, that wasn't really a teleportation.”

As he said all this, Balzac blatantly stared at Eugene’s frustrated expression as if he had found it interesting. When Eugene couldn’t stand it any longer and was about to say something, Balzac suddenly struck.

“Hector is dead,” he declared.

Eugene gaped, “Huh?”

“Although I’m not sure what kind of fight was taking place there, Hector didn’t actually manage to escape. Even the artifact he possessed wasn’t able to protect Hector,” explained Balzac.

By this point, even Eugene could guess what Balzac was trying to say. Eugene’s expression grew cold as he considered the implications.

Balzac finally clarified, “Hector’s body died, but his soul remained intact. Normally, his soul would have left this plane, but if he happened to be bound by contract, then the ownership of his soul would fall to the master who created the contract, not himself.”

“...A demonfolk?” Eugene guessed.

“It could also be a black wizard,” Balzac corrected with a laugh. “Either way, it seems that someone from Helmuth instigated Hector. Such teleportation is possible if the target is only a soul instead of a body. And if that soul was subject to a contract, the master of the contract could summon it from anywhere in the world. Though I can’t actually say for certain without having seen the scene myself, but after looking at the diagram of this artifact, I am sure of it.”

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

“Sir Eugene, Helmuth’s skill in magical artifice is beyond your imagination. I admit that the alchemists of the White Tower of Magic are excellent craftsmen, but in terms of technique rather than alchemy, they fall short compared to Helmuth,” Balzac stated confidently.

Eugene listened silently.

“It’s a pity for the dwarves who are forced to labor in the mining district of the Dragon Demon Castle, but as they are the property of Duke Raizakia, it can’t be helped. Yet even setting them aside, Helmuth is the country with the largest numbers of dwarves on the continent,” Balzac reminded Eugene.

If the handicraft skill of the dextrous dwarven artisans were combined with Helmuth’s techniques, it would indeed be possible to create an artifact with such a compact design.

Eugene asked, “Do you have any guesses about who might be involved?”

Balzac shrugged, “Helmuth has many demonfolk, as well as black wizards. It’s hard to point out who exactly it could have been. Also… wasn’t Hector Lionheart previously an honorary knight of the Royal Knights of Ruhr, the White Fangs?”

Originally, Ruhr strictly prohibited all demonfolk and inhabitants of Helmuth from entering their country, but ever since five years ago, they had opened their gates, and numerous demonfolk had entered Ruhr. Therefore, it was a high possibility that one of those demonfolk had contacted Hector and signed a contract with him.

“I can’t be certain of this, but if Hector saw the spell formula drawn by Eward Lionheart, he may have informed his owner about the ritual once his soul was harvested,” Balzac warned Eugene.

Eugene silently absorbed this information.

“Of course, those spell formulas use the characteristics of the Remnants of the Demon Kings, as well as their new form of a Spirit of Darkness, so it shouldn’t be possible to reproduce it exactly; but it might still be possible to imitate the ritual if they follow the basic foundation of the spell circle,” Balzac hypothesized.

“I don’t really care about that,” Eugene said, as a corner of his mouth twisted in a smirk before folding his arms together. “As you just said, without the Remnants of the Demon Kings or a Spirit of Darkness, the spell formulas won’t function properly. Even if they do take the basic outline and imitate it, it can’t be any more dangerous than reviving the Remnants of the Demon Kings.”

“That’s true,” Balzac agreed.

“Since we don’t know who Hector’s master is and we don’t have any guesses, him getting his hands on the spell formula and what he intends to do with it isn’t any of my business. If he ends up blocking my way or pissing me off, I can just slice his throat open then,” Eugene said menacingly.

“Don’t you need any more help from me?” Balzac asked as he tilted his head to the side with a faint smile. “Sir Eugene, if you would be willing to share with me the spell formulas you saw, I might be able to guess how those spells might be imitated with black magic. Also, since I have an established status in Helmuth, I may also be able to help you search for Hector’s master.”

“That sounds like quite the generous offer, Black Tower Master, but as it happens, the ones who I most suspect of being Hector’s master are the Three Mages of Incarceration. Of course, you’re also included in these suspicions, Black Tower Master. You might be telling me all these things now, but all of this could actually be a tactic you have devised to avoid suspicion, right?” Eugene accused suspiciously.

Balzac was taken aback, “Are you really accusing me?”

“I might just be overthinking it, but in any case, I still need to be careful. I can’t really call you a good black wizard, Black Tower Master, but I still think of you as a decent black wizard. However, even so, I have no intention of completely trusting you and cooperating together with you,” Eugene said as he stood up from the sofa. “By the way, Black Tower Master, just because I rejected your offer, you wouldn’t say something like I’m no longer allowed to take these research notes, would you?”

“Please, take them,” Balzac insisted.

“As expected, you truly are the most decent person I have seen among all black wizards,” Eugene complimented with a smile as he opened his cloak. After he had finished storing the research books within, he bowed his head to Balzac and continued speaking, “Thank you again for the warning. In fact, even after receiving this warning, I might not be able to do anything to prepare for it, but I’ll still try to be cautious.”

“Can I ask you one more question?” Balzac asked with a curious tilt of his head as he got up to see Eugene off. “What’s the difference between the most decent black wizard and a good black wizard?”

“It’s the difference between a human and a corpse.”

“Huh?”

“According to my standards, the only good back wizards are dead back wizards,” Eugene stated seriously. “Ah, and liches aren’t included in the category of dead black wizards. Liches are fucking bastards who need to be torn limb from limb.”

In his previous life, Hamel was killed by a lich. That was why Eugene hated liches. No, he hated all undead. While being killed by a lich had already pissed him off, this hatred was also because Hamel’s corpse had been turned into a Death Knight.

“There’s no need to see me off,” Eugene said as he strode towards the window.

By the time Balzac, who had been momentarily lost in thought due to Eugene’s words, belatedly came to his senses and turned to look at the window, Eugene had already thrown the window wide open and climbed onto the windowsill.

“I’ll see you again sometime in the future, but hopefully not too soon. And if we don’t end up meeting again, that’s fine with me as well,” Eugene still spat out such a rejoinder, even after accepting Balzac’s gift, listening to his warning, and hearing his expert opinion of Hector’s fate.

Then, without even waiting for Balzac’s goodbye, Eugene leaped out of the window.

“...Hah,” Balzac huffed in exasperation.

He could hear screams coming from the lovers who had been touring the rose garden outside the tower. When Balzac poked his head out the window, he saw Eugene silently landing on the ground below and striding calmly out of the garden. While staring at Eugene’s back, Balzac let out a snort of amusement.

“Like I thought, he’s quite the interesting individual,” Balzac muttered as he returned to his chair.

Then, for a few moments, Balzac was lost in thought.

During this conversation with Eugene, Balzac had mostly spoken the truth, but he had told one lie.

Balzac had already guessed who Hector’s master was.

‘So that’s how it is,’ Balzac mused as he soon drew a conclusion.

While sorting out the thoughts that had popped into his head, Balzac grinned.

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