Damn Reincarnation - Chapter 570

Chapter 570: The Holy See (2)

According to Vermouth’s predictions, the deadline he had given Eugene would arrive within a year.

Eugene naturally had no intention of leaving things right until the end of that year. There was no definite time set for the deadline, as Vermouth’s prediction was solely based on how long he felt he would be able to endure. But, to put it simply, the Demon King of Destruction was expected to escape Vermouth’s suppression and wake up on its own within the year.

What would happen then? Would the Nur proliferate on a large scale like they had during the Age of Myth? Or would the Demon King of Destruction manifest directly and wipe away the world, just like he had during the last days of the previous era?

Eugene hoped that it would be the former. If the Demon King of Destruction manifested directly, there would be far too little time left for them to do anything to avert it. In the case of the former outcome, it might not be much, but it would at least buy them a little more time.

However, before all that, they still needed to climb up Babel in order to defeat the Demon King of Incarceration. If they wanted to reach their final goal of saving Vermouth and slaying the Demon King of Destruction, they first had to overcome the challenge of the Demon King of Incarceration.

Yet even with all that in mind, it was still impossible for them to simply rush to attack the Demon King of Incarceration. But the problem with waiting to make a plan was that Eugene had been in a coma for the past three months.

“A declaration of war...,” Eugene groaned as he held his throbbing head.

He had already heard the news from Anise.

A month ago, the Demon King of Incarceration had announced the start of the war.

If this were in the past, it would have been Gavid Lindman who had made the announcement in his role as the Archduke of Helmuth instead of the Demon King of Incarceration himself, but Gavid Lindman had already died at Eugene’s hand.

That said, the Demon King of Incarceration still hadn’t appeared in person to make this announcement. Instead, the one who stepped forward to do so was the former Tower Master of the Black Tower of Magic, Balzac Ludbeth.

Amelia Merwin had already fallen into a state beyond any possibility of recovery, so of the Three Mages of Incarceration, Balzac was the only one left who was currently still alive and well. So when Balzac Ludbeth reappeared, it made sense that it would be as the emissary of the Demon King of Incarceration.

A month ago, all of the screens installed within Helmuth suddenly turned on by themselves and began broadcasting Balzac’s figure.

Balzac had informed the city’s residents that the Oath from three hundred years ago had finally expired. Soon, elite warriors from every nation on the continent would be invading Helmuth. As such, all of the demonfolk who wished to partake in this war would need to gather at Babel.

Helmuth had no intention of avoiding this war. Having betrayed the Demon King’s mercy, the ungrateful humans would soon be making their way to Pandemonium to challenge the climb up through Babel.

There, they would meet their deaths in Babel.

That was a basic summary of what Balzac had announced in his role as the emissary of the Demon King of Incarceration. The very first thing that was arranged after this declaration had been given was the mass evacuation of all non-demonfolk immigrants who had been living in Pandemonium.

‘Even though I thought that they would keep the humans as hostages,’ Eugene thought to himself in surprise.

Though on second thought, it didn’t seem all that unexpected, as the Demon King Of Incarceration wasn’t the type to use Helmuth’s immigrants as hostages.

Shortly after this extreme evacuation policy had been implemented, Pandemonium, as befitting of its name, had descended into a frenzy of war-lust. This was all thanks to the fact that the city was now solely occupied by savage demonfolk with cravings for war.

Then, a week before today, Pandemonium had begun to move towards the frontlines of Helmuth.

“After Helmuth declared a state of war, all nations across the continent immediately began entering their own war preparations,” Anise reported. “Each country began mustering its elite forces and mercenaries, then deployed them onto their border with Yuras, as this is the closest nation to Pandemonium. All of your Holy Knights also began gathering here, quickly arriving at the Holy See—”

“Hold on, just hold on for a second,” Eugene suddenly raised his hands to stop Anise from continuing to speak. He had been trying to listen patiently until the end of Anise’s explanation, but he couldn’t help but interrupt her, “There’s something that I don’t quite understand. Did you say that Pandemonium has moved towards the frontlines of Helmuth...? And that’s why the other nations have deployed their troops on Yuras’ borders?”

“That’s right,” Anise said as she nodded in confirmation.

“No... just what on earth does that even mean? How on earth... does a city like Pandemonium even move?” Eugene asked in confusion.

He just couldn’t understand what Anise meant by those words. The city of Pandemonium stood at the very heart of Helmuth.

In the first place, three hundred years ago, the Empire of Helmuth had been founded with Babel at its center and had then proceeded to spread outwards across the Red Plains that surrounded the castle. The current Pandemonium might be seen as such a highly developed city that no other capital city of any other nation could even compare to it, but three hundred years ago, all there was where the city now stood were the blood-red plains that the desperate armies of mankind had been forced to march across while risking death with every step they took.

“I meant it in a literal way,” Anise stated with a serious look on her face.

Anise knew that Eugene’s confusion at this news was something that couldn’t be helped. Even Anise herself, who was currently giving him this report, had had no choice but to react in a similar fashion a week ago after personally witnessing the sight of Pandemonium in motion.

“Rather than trying to explain it through words, it would be quicker for you to see it for yourself,” Anise said with a sigh as she walked over to the window.

When Eugene, who had been unconscious for nearly a hundred days, had first woken up, any overly bright sources of light would have been enough to damage his eyes. That was why Eugene’s room had been dimly lit with only faint sources of light for illumination.

However, it wasn’t like the room he was in was devoid of windows. Anise pulled back the thick curtains and, seeming to decide that alone wasn’t enough, she also pulled aside the screens that usually covered the windows.

“Aargh, the light is burning my eyes,” Eugene complained.

“If you lose your sight, then allow me to serve as your eyes,” Anise offered generously.

“No, you can just heal them, remember,” Eugene reminded her bluntly.

“To think that that would be your reaction to such romantic whispers,” Anise grumbled as she threw open the glass windows themselves.

The bright sunlight instantly illuminated the entire room.

Eugene’s eyes were stinging and sore from the light, but after blinking a few times, he soon got used to it. Looking at the angle of the sun, he realized that it was already noon.

Just as this thought went through his head, Eugene spotted something in the distance, “What is that?”

Eugene’s voice couldn’t help but tremble slightly. He walked over to the window on unsteady legs. Then he held onto the window frame with his hands as he stuck his head further out the window for a better look.

“Do you understand what I meant now?” Anise asked sympathetically.

The target of Eugene’s observation was at a considerable distance. They were in the Holy See, the center of the capital city of Yuras, so they were located quite far from the country’s border with Helmuth. However, even from this distance, that thing could still be seen as a faint dot in the sky.

If that was the case, then Balzac was truly a fool. Eugene sincerely believed this proposition. No matter what techniques Balzac might use, it was impossible for him to inflict any serious harm on either Eugene or Sienna.

Then, just what kind of scheme could he really be up to?

Eugene didn’t have any clue as to what kind of plan Balzac might be brewing up, but if they did encounter Balzac as they climbed up Babel, and if Balzac truly did choose to stand in their way as an enemy, then....

Eugene would destroy him without any hesitation.

Sienna would also do the same. Whether they met Balzac in Babel or on another battlefield, if he truly did turn out to be their enemy, they would definitely take his life and thus crush his dream of wanting to become a legendary wizard into nothingness.

“But where is Sienna?” Eugene suddenly asked.

Anise glanced at a clock, “At this time, she should be instructing the Divine Army’s magic corps.”

“That’s...,” Eugene hesitated, “there’s something that I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while now, but I got distracted. And I really am just asking because I truly don’t know the answer, but why exactly are we calling it my Divine Army?”

“It’s only natural, Hamel,” Anise said with a smile. “After all, you’re the one who will be leading this army as its Commander in Chief.”

Eugene’s eyes fluttered in shock as he was met with this calm response.

Anise shook her head slowly as she said, “Hamel, haven’t you realized yet? You are the God Emperor of the Holy Empire of Yuras, the Speaker for the Allied Powers, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Divine Army.”

“And who went and decided all that?” Eugene protested.

“It was agreed upon by the leaders of all the Allied Powers. And who asked you to go and put yourself in an unresponsive state for three whole months?” Anise scoffed.

“It’s not like I was unconscious because I wanted to be—!” Eugene erupted before asking with a frown, “Also, what was that about a God Emperor?”

“Yuras is a theocracy that worships the Light, and the Pope is, at its core, the leader of the church. Meanwhile you, Hamel, are the one who was chosen by the Light and entrusted with its divinity. So isn’t it only right for him to concede the rulership of Yuras to you?” Anise asked as if she was only stating the obvious.

Eugene was left speechless.

Anise continued, “Since you’ve already taken up the Godhood of the Light, what’s so difficult about becoming Yuras’ God Emperor as well?”

“I... I already told you that I didn’t want to become some sort of king—!” Eugene protested weakly.

“Don’t worry about that. You’ll only be an emperor in name. The Pope will continue to handle all of the government affairs as he had done up to this point. And even though you are the Speaker for the Allied Forces and the Commander-in-Chief of the Divine Army, no one actually expects you to manage either the alliance or the Divine Army,” Anise revealed with a snort.

Although Eugene himself had said that he didn’t want to do it, after hearing her say something like that, he couldn’t help but feel a little offended.

“Why not?” Eugene demanded in a hurt tone. “I might have some unrevealed talent for kingship that even I don’t know about.”

“No way, Hamel, are you seriously saying that? I can also admit that you do possess some charisma to a certain extent, but to tell the truth, you really don’t have the talent to be a king,” Anise shook her head sadly.

Eugene silently scowled.

“To think that you, someone who always goes running off on your own at the drop of a hat, without any heed for your protection, and who also charges headfirst into battle, would actually believe that you could be a king!” Anise gasped in shock. “It’s terrifying just trying to imagine it. Hamel, if you were to become a king, all of the knights and your other subjects would soon become mentally ill from the stress of your leadership.”

Eugene still couldn’t find a way to deny those words, but after hearing Anise voice such skepticism, each word felt like it was impaling him in the heart.

“A king just needs to be brave enough,” Eugene muttered petulantly.

Anise sighed, “Now you’re even saying something that only Molon would say.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit too harsh?” Eugene protested once more.

“Then allow me to correct myself,” Anise sniffed coldly. “What you said just now was very rude to Molon. After all, Molon at least managed to found his own country and run it smoothly.”

Eugene couldn’t see any way to refute her, so he could only clutch his chest in pain. With a faint hope, he turned to look at Mer and Raimira for help. However, the two of them couldn’t think of any way to defend Eugene either, so they kept their lips shut and avoided his gaze.

Although Eugene had naturally expected a turncoat like Mer to react like this, to think that Raimira, who had always taken his side no matter the issue, would also choose to avoid his gaze...! Eugene’s clenched fists trembled in grief and anger.

“Hey!” a voice suddenly shouted as the window that had only recently been closed burst open.

The person who popped her head into the room through the now-open window was Sienna, who was currently supposed to be instructing the magic corps.

Sienna looked at Eugene with tear-filled eyes and stammered, “Y-you...! You’ve finally woken up—”

But before she could fully share her tear-filled joy at his revival, Eugene preempted her by asking, “Hey, between Molon and me, who do you think would be a better king?”

“What?” a stunned Sienna replied.

Eugene repeated himself, “Between Molon and me, who would be a better—”

Sienna angrily cut him off, “You, having finally woken up after three whole months, do you really think those are the words you should be saying to me right now?”

She didn’t know what conversation they had been having that caused him to ask her that question, but one thing was for certain: this wasn’t the time and place for Eugene to say such a thing.

“Um...,” Eugene panicked as he watched the rage flooding Sienna’s tear-filled eyes. After hesitating for a few more seconds, he greeted her with an awkward smile, “...Hello?”

Bam!

Sienna’s fist slammed into Eugene’s cheek.