“If you’re asking if it feels good, hmmm…,” Molon blinked a few times as he pondered his answer.
He was currently feeling a mix of specific emotions, but he wasn’t sure how to express them in words.
While Molon was lost in such concerns, Anise widened her slitted eyes and glared at Eugene, “What a pathetic, shameless, and ugly sight…!”
Mer originally wanted to take Eugene’s side, but she couldn’t help but empathize passionately with Anise's words.
Who was the one who barged in here of his own accord?
It was Eugene.
Who was the one who begged for a fight with Molon, even when Molon had said that he didn’t want to fight?
It was Eugene.
Who was the one who got all agitated and decided to restart a fight that was already over?
It was Eugene.
All of this happened because of Eugene. He had even gone so far as to use Ignition, only to lose. Having lost so completely, shouldn’t Eugene at least keep his mouth shut out of shame or embarrassment? So why on earth was Eugene screaming like he had anything to be proud about? As such, Mer just nodded her head in agreement with Anise.
Even Kristina slightly agreed with them. Having fallen in love with Eugene ever since the Fount of Light incident, Kristina tended to view everything that Eugene did as meaningful, noble, glamorous, and cool. But at this moment, she honestly felt that the current Eugene, who was kneeling on the ground with a spurting nosebleed, shouting whether it felt good to win, looked a bit unsightly.
“...Hm…,” Molon continued to hesitate, unable to answer right away.
He was slowly coming to understand the true nature of his feelings.
Did it feel good? Of course, it did. Even if he might be different from his previous life, the opponent was none other than Hamel. It had been fun to fight with Hamel like this, and it was also fun to have been able to defeat him with an overwhelming gap in their strengths, even with Hamel using Ignition.
However, Molon couldn’t just say, ‘It was really fun.’ Now that the madness had been driven from his head and Molon was able to think clearly, he realized that if he answered positively, the one afflicted with madness this time would be Hamel.
During the moment when Molon was hesitating, unable to give an immediate reply, Prominence, which had yet to disappear, burst into flame. Embers of mana ignited in the air around Eugene. Eugene wasn’t able to move his limbs as he wished, but if he used his mana in place of his muscles and nerves, it was still possible for him to move like this.
With as much speed as he could currently muster, Eugene’s body transformed into a flash of lightning. He raised his broken arm and readied a warhead of flames in his fist. Like this, Eugene aimed for Molon’s chin, but—
Baaam!
Their two fists crossed. If both of their arm lengths had been similar, their fight could have ended in a beautiful cross-counter, but there was actually an extreme difference in Eugene and Molon’s arm lengths.
This meant that Eugene alone was struck by Molon’s fist. Fortunately, Molon didn’t intend to strike Eugene with his fist, instead only seeking to block Eugene’s forward movement. In contrast, Eugene had swung his fist with all his might as he aimed for Molon’s chin, but because of the unavoidable difference in their arm lengths, he couldn’t even touch Molon.
“...Argh,” Eugene choked out a groan.
Molon’s fist was as large as Eugene’s whole skull. As such, rather than looking like he had been blocked by Molon’s fist, it looked more like Eugene had slammed into a huge boulder face-first.
“Oh my god…,” Mer gasped.
A surprise attack right as Molon was thinking of a reply. And it didn’t even manage to succeed. Eugene’s speed just made him slam his face even harder into the counter. Perhaps because Eugene was in such an exhausted state, he was too tired to even dodge it.
Eugene fell back, his nosebleed spewing blood like a fountain.
Seeing his miserable appearance, Mer unconsciously let out a deep sigh, “How ugly…!”
Thankfully, Eugene wasn’t able to hear Mer’s regretful sigh. This was because the moment his head fell backward, the lights turned off in Eugene’s head, and he fell unconscious.
How long had he been out?
Eugene finally came to his senses, but he wasn’t able to open his eyes right away. This was because the things that had happened right before he fainted were messily playing out inside his head….
The blood had gotten to his head, and he had lost control. Now that his agitation had subsided, Eugene clearly realized just how ugly his behavior had been.
Eugene silently writhed in shame.
He was afraid of what kind of teasing and stares awaited him when he opened his eyes. But that wasn’t the only reason he couldn’t open his eyes. His eyelids were simply too heavy. His body didn’t have any strength… and it really hurt! He literally couldn’t lift a single finger.
“I know that you’ve regained consciousness. So why are you still pretending to be asleep?”
A devil’s whisper tickled his ears. Eugene tried not to react to it. However, the devil wouldn’t allow Eugene to just ignore her.
Poke.
The devil’s finger gently pressed down on Eugene’s pectoral muscles.
Eugene groaned, “Gaaaagh…!”
Eugene usually was quite skilled at overcoming pain. However, right now, he wasn’t in a situation where he especially needed to endure pain, and her fingertips were able to accurately pinpoint the places where his muscles had ruptured and poked down into the sensitive inner layers and were far too merciless.
“Open your eyes,” Anise instructed, her usually slitted eyes opened wide as she stared down at Eugene.
Seeing Eugene like this, with his forehead furrowed to its limits, as he let out a groan from between tightly clenched teeth, Anise felt a kind of exhilarating ecstasy.
Eugene eked out a growl, “You….”
“No way, Hamel. Did you really expect me to have completely treated your body while you were comfortably passed out?” Anise sarcastically scoffed.
That was what Eugene had been hoping for. However, currently, if he answered in the affirmative, Anise would surely have scolded him.
As such, Eugene could only spit out the right thing to say in this sort of situation: “I’m sorry.”
Usually, Anise’s anger couldn’t be resolved with just a single apology. However, the current Anise wasn’t really all that angry. Hamel’s body had already paid the full price for going on a rampage on his own. Also, Hamel’s action had been for Molon’s sake.
Anise caved in, “Where would you like me to treat you first?”
Anise had fallen in love with Hamel’s kindness. She might have felt a thrill of excitement at seeing him in pain, but in addition to that, she had also felt some heartache. With a bright grin, Anise tilted her head closer to Eugene.
“Tell me directly with your own lips, Hamel. Where is the most painful area on your body? What type of pain do you want me to help you with first?” Anise asked excitedly.
“Could you start by putting away the finger poking my chest…?” Eugene ground out.
Ah, she had completely forgotten. Anise quickly removed her finger and wiped away her embarrassed expression.
She had asked him where it hurt the most, but that was a tricky question to answer for the current Eugene. It felt like he had more broken bones than unbroken bones. All his muscles were torn, and even his internal organs had been damaged. It wouldn’t be strange if he had died from this, but the fact that he hadn’t died… was all because Anise wouldn’t allow Eugene to die.
‘If she was going to prolong my suffering, she should have at least treated me. Like I’ve always thought, she has a terrible personality…,’ Eugene silently complained before requesting, “Do something about my insides first.”
“Your… insides?” Anise questioned.
“I’m talking about my internal organs,” Eugene clarified. “Whether they’re in the chest or the stomach….”
Anise seemed embarrassed, “By those words, Hamel, are you asking me to take a good look deep within you?”
Eugene gaped in confusion, “Uh….”
Anise scolded him, “What a shameless and vulgar person…!”
What in the world was Anise even talking about? Eugene absolutely couldn’t understand what was going on inside Anise’s head. As Anise’s cheeks flushed red, she carefully caressed Eugene’s body.
The one currently taking the lead to examine Eugene’s body wasn’t Anise but Kristina. Anise hadn’t forgotten the promise that she had made to Kristina earlier.
With the Light infused into her fingertips, Kristina carefully ran her fingers over Eugene’s pectoral muscles. The shredded and torn muscle fibers began to heal.
Kristina coughed, “...Ahem… where… would you like to be treated next?”
“Why did Anise change places with you?” Eugene inquired.
“Hah?” Kristina gasped in surprise.
Was there really that much of a difference in the way that they spoke? Kristina turned to look at Eugene with a startled expression.
Eugene answered her unspoken question, “There’s a difference in your touch.”
“Really…?” Kristina asked doubtfully.
“It’s hard to explain exactly, but… it’s similar to someone’s aura,” Eugene attempted to explain. “Your touch and Anise’s are different. Your body may be the same, but there’s something about the way you move your fingers….”
The truth was, Eugene hadn’t received much treatment from Kristina, not enough to remember each and every detail of her touch. However, he definitely remembered what Anise’s touch felt like.
Even though they shared the same body while only their consciousness swapped, Eugene could immediately tell the difference between Kristina and Anise whenever they did so. Eugene said all this with a casual expression as if it wasn’t anything much, but these nonchalant words of his caused the innocent Kristina’s heart to pound. This was because it felt like Eugene was validating who she was as Kristina Rogeris.
Eugene returned to the main topic, “So why have you two swapped places? Wasn’t Anise the one healing me?”
Kristina faltered, “Ahhh… um… that is….”
Eugene suddenly realized something, “Ah… is this some kind of test of your divine magic? Like I’ve always said, Anise also has quite a nasty personality. Why does she have to treat me as a test subject at a time like this…?”
“Ahem. We can’t always leave your treatment up to Lady Anise, Sir Eugene. Just like Lady Anise, I, too, am a Saint. As such, I need to get familiar with taking care of your wounds,” as she finished giving an explanation that she herself knew was complete nonsense, Kristina began treating Eugene’s wounds.
His cloak, which had been lying on the floor, began to crawl over to Eugene. Once the cloak was stuck to his side, Mer poked her head out of it.
Eugene wasn’t able to understand why the glare that Mer had in her eyes as she looked at him felt so cold. Even so, as if it was only natural, Mer rested her chin on Eugene’s stomach so that he could stroke Mer’s hair with his trembling fingers.
“Please stay still. The treatment for your hands isn’t finished yet,” Anise, who had swapped with Kristina, instructed.
As Anise’s hand was enveloped in Light, Eugene’s broken bones glued themselves together, and his torn muscles and nerves were reconnected. Eugene twisted Mer’s hair into coils with his now much more comfortable hand.
“Where has Molon gone off to?” Eugene belatedly asked.
Although he didn’t know how long he had been unconscious, Eugene felt like not too long had passed. They hadn’t even left this space yet; they were still on the other side of Lehainjar.
“He’s left to catch the Nur,” Anise replied.
Eugene gave a surprised, “What?”
Anise explained, “Before you woke up, Nur seemingly reappeared on the outside.”
“Is that so,” Eugene replied in a low voice.
Anise blinked at this muted response.
She then put on an ill-natured smile as she leaned her head over Eugene, “Aren't you worried about Molon? That idiot might have lost his mind again after catching the Nur, so he might be out there somewhere, causing harm to himself.”
Eugene scoffed, “If it was earlier, I would be worried. I’d have also said something to you as well, asking why you allowed Molon to go on his own and why you didn’t go with him. However, there’s no longer any need for that now.”
There wasn’t a single speck of doubt or worry in the words that Eugene had just uttered. He had said it all drily as if he was only stating the very obvious. Though their brawl hadn’t lasted very long, by crossing fists with Molon’s barbarically limitless strength, Eugene had gotten a feel of Molon.
Booom!
The ground started rocking up and down. Molon had fallen from the sky, holding the carcass of a huge wild boar over his head. Although the monster was already dead, Eugene could instinctively sense that that wasn’t just some huge beast, monster, or demonic beast.
“Eeek—” Mer’s shoulders trembled in fright, and she fled back into the cloak. Eugene wrapped the cloak around his body, and while barely being able to raise his head off of the ground, he stared at Molon. Molon, who was holding a Nur the size of an entire house with just one hand, bared his row of shining teeth in a smile as he met Eugene’s gaze.
“Hamel!” Molon greeted him. “You’ve woken up!”
There was none of the madness that Molon had shown when he had decapitated the Nur in the Great Hammer Canyon or when they had seen him smashing his head against the ground.
Molon continued speaking, “Anise said that you would be okay, but I was truly worried. After all, the wounds you had when you fainted were so terrible.”
“Those were all your fault,” Eugene complained.
“My fault? You’re wrong, Hamel. You’re the one who attacked me even though I didn’t want to fight,” Molon corrected him.
Although this was the undeniable truth… Eugene still wanted to refute him somehow. While chewing on his bottom lip, Eugene thought about what he could say in response. However, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t think of anything other than resorting to personal attacks.
Just as Eugene was about to seriously consider choosing his swear words, Molon grinned and called out to him, “Hamel, I’m going to get rid of this corpse up there. Would you like to go with me?”
Eugene grunted, “Hah?”
He hadn’t expected that Molon would say such a thing first. As such, Eugene honestly let out a noise of surprise. After staring at Molon for a few moments, Eugene smirked and nodded his head.
“Of course, I want to go with you, but right now, my body isn’t moving the way I want it to,” said Eugene.
Although she had already healed all of his injuries, even Anise’s divine magic couldn’t take care of Ignition’s recoil as well. As such, Eugene currently wasn’t able to move his body as he pleased.
Naturally, Molon was also aware of Ignition’s recoil.
“In that case, I’ll just have to give you a hand like I did in the past,” Molon proposed as he tossed the gigantic Nur all the way to the mountain's peak.
Watching as the Nur’s corpse flew into the distance, Eugene gaped for a few moments before finally asking, “If you can just throw them like that, why do you insist on carrying the corpse all the way up to the peak?”
“No real reason. Usually, I’m not in my right mind, so I just throw them away wherever. Whenever I start thinking there are too many of them, I just collapse the mountain on top of that. If I do that, then everything becomes neat and tidy in no time,” Molon explained with a chuckle as he gestured to their surroundings in explanation.
Due to the fight between Eugene and Molon, the whole mountain had seemingly collapsed, but now there weren’t any traces of their battle left. There still wasn’t any snow, but the bizarre scenery that had reminded them of their time in the Devildom those hundreds of years ago had also changed to a rather ordinary-looking scenery of a regular mountain.
This was because the mountain that had previously been eroded by the miasma had collapsed and had been remade anew.
“Well then, let’s go together!” Molon declared with a cheerful expression.
It seemed like there weren’t any traces of his previous insanity left in his heart. However, they didn’t know if or when Molon’s heart might be corrupted with madness once more. Something that already collapsed once could one day collapse again.
But for now, at least, it didn’t seem like it would collapse. Molon pulled Eugene up and supported him. Then he also extended an arm to Anise. Anise grinned and clung onto Molon’s arm.
Molon’s feet kicked off the ground. In a single leap, they flew up high into the sky. Eugene and Anise gazed down below as they clung to Molon’s arms.
What they saw was the enclosed scenery of a mountain. This was the other side of the Lehainjar. The mountain where Eugene had just been had collapsed and had been restored, so it looked like an ordinary mountain, but the rest of the scenery hadn’t undergone the same process. Their environments were still similar to the Devildom. The corpses of the Nur could be seen here and there. Traces of Molon’s self-harm could also be seen.
“There it is,” Molon whispered.
Eugene and Anise raised their heads.
They had already climbed higher than the peak of the mountain. In the north, they could see Raguyaran, the End of the World. The landscape they could see from here should be different from what they would see outside. However, Eugene could comprehend why the Raguyaran he could see from here was called the Land that Should Not Be Crossed and the End of the World.
There really was nothing there. All there was, was gray land, gray skies, and gray air. Everything was gray and empty. However, it wasn’t actually empty here. At the base of the mountain, in the outskirts connected to the Raguyaran, countless corpses of Nur had been piled up there.
“In the past, I always threw the Nur’s corpse over there,” Molon explained.
Boom.
Molon’s feet landed on the ground. He put Anise and Eugene down for the moment, then picked up the boar-type Nur that he had thrown here earlier.
“I don’t know where the Nur come from. I don’t even know what the Nur are. However, Vermouth said that the Nur come from the End. Because of that, I thought the deceased Nur should also be thrown back to the End,” Molon further elaborated.
The Nur’s corpse flew into the sky. The huge corpse flew over several mountain peaks and fell into the Raguyaran.
Molon said absent-mindedly, “At some point, I just stopped doing this.”
Anise was supporting Eugene. Without looking back at them, Molon just stared into the Raguyaran.
“Hamel. Anise. I hated coming to the peak for this moment. At some point, I became afraid of climbing up to this peak. I didn’t want to see Raguyaran. The Raguyaran that can be seen from here is different from the Raguyaran that can be seen outside. But in some places, it’s the same. I didn’t want to see Raguyaran. I didn’t want to see the End,” Molon confessed.
“Molon,” Eugene called out.
Molon continued speaking, “I might be strong, but I was lonely. The years have weakened my warrior’s spirit. However, Hamel, it’s fine now. You didn’t tell me your reasons for it in detail, but from your fist, I felt that it was for my sake—”
“That fight doesn’t count,” Eugene suddenly spat out, cutting Molon’s words short. “Just think back to three hundred years ago, Molon. You had an exceptional physique, so you were also skilled in bare-handed fighting, but I honestly wasn’t that skilled with my bare fists. So even when we were both in our primes, if we had only fought with our fists, I still wouldn’t have been able to beat you.”
He needed to acknowledge what couldn’t be denied. As such, Eugene continued speaking quickly. He had no intention of giving Molon any room for rebuttal.
“However, what do you think would happen if I had a real weapon in my hands? Starting from my previous life, I’ve always been an expert in all kinds of weapons. There’s no comparison between me fighting with a weapon and me fighting with my bare hands. So which do you think is the real me? It’s only when I’m holding a weapon that I’m really fighting seriously. Especially since I currently have the Holy Sword, the Moonlight Sword, the Demonic Spear, and the Annihilation Hammer. I also have Vermouth’s Storm Sword, Devouring Sword, Thunderbolt Pernoa, and the Dragon Spear. It’s only when I’m able to use all of them that you can see my real skills. Although you might be able to show your skills off with just a single, crude ax, I can't show my real skills without the right weapon.”
It wasn’t a lie.
“If I had just a single crudely-made knife in my hand, the outcome wouldn’t have been so obvious. After all, facing your barbaric fists with just my bare body and parrying them with a sword would place completely different burdens on me. With my refined techniques, I would have been able to divert all of your attacks without even damaging the edge of my blade, and in the end, I would have been able to slice open your body. You understand what I’m trying to say, right? Our fight just now wasn’t fair. I haven’t really lost to you. So that fight doesn’t cou—”
“That’s not true, Hamel,” Molon replied with a rarely-seen serious expression.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m