CH 272

Eugene quickly dismissed such thoughts. After all, the clan masters had long established a relationship with the imperial family of the Roman Empire, and they were the leaders of large, powerful forces. However, their relationship with the imperial family wasn’t between a lord and their subordinate.

‘Moreover, I’m sure that whatever the yellow bastard has been up to has more to do with the vampire clan masters rather than the emperor. I’m sure they were responsible for the current predicament as well.’

With growing confidence, Eugene retrieved the troll lord’s mana stone before turning around.

“I think this one was the gatekeeper,” Eugene said.

“Then, will you be heading into the heart of the dungeon?”

“Only me and Galfredik will go. Princess Lilisain, destroy the remaining monsters with the other knights of Eland,” Eugene said.

“Honor,” Princess Lilisain answered. The elven knights already knew that they couldn’t enter the heart of the dungeon. As such, they immediately turned around and departed to the other side of the dungeon with Princess Lilisain.

Eugene turned to the two high lords, who were still kneeling on the ground, and said, “You two should go look for traces of the one responsible for manipulating this dungeon. Christian, it’s what you were doing before, so you should be able to find them, right?”

“I will not let you down,” Christian answered with a bow, thinking that whoever was responsible for this dungeon would have employed similar methods as him. Soon, the two vampire high lords seeped into darkness while Eugene headed in another direction with Galfredik.

***

“Hooh? This is quite amazing,” Galfredik commented while descending down a steep hill with Eugene. An energy that could only be described as pure evil was emanating from the end of the corridor.

“It’s evil energy. Princess Lilisain and the elven knights couldn’t endure it from this point forward. Are you doing okay?” Eugene asked.

“Well, it’s not too bad,” Galfredik responded with a grin. A crimson Fear was fluttering all over his body. It wasn’t that he was emanating it on purpose, but rather, the Fear was responding to the growing evil energy and had naturally emerged to protect him.

“Master, even the two imperial goons should be able to withstand this much,” Galfredik commented.

“As expected from them. That’s why they chose vampire high lords or black wizards,” Eugene responded.

“Hmm. So the one responsible for this entire matter is someone who knows about the heart of evil lands?” Galfredik asked.

Eugene nodded. “That’s right. I don’t know who they are, but they seem to have done their research on evil lands.”

“It couldn’t be an ordinary person then. Besides, they must have some powerful subordinates if they managed to crawl in all this way…” Galfredik muttered.

“A mere lord couldn’t have done it. At the very least, it’s someone on par with a king in terms of status,” Eugene said.

“So, it’s that crown prince. But it could also be someone great enough to receive the support of the crown prince. But what are they possibly hoping to gain from this?” Galfredik asked with a puzzled expression.

Eugene responded with a cold smile, “Most of the kingdoms and territories affected by the monster uprising are adjacent to the Roman Empire. Either that or they are considered crucial locations by the empire. In the face of a crisis that even the lords and monarchs couldn’t handle, who would they turn to for help?”

“…That crown prince bastard. He has really outdone himself with this one,” Galfredik said as if he were flabbergasted. The Roman Empire wouldn’t offer help out of the goodness of their heart. Rather, they would only act if there was something to be gained, or if they could profit from it. Perhaps they could exert a stronger hold over the kingdoms and territories in return for offering them help.

“Ha! Now I see why you’ve decided to take those imperial goons with you instead of killing them,” Galfredik said with a grin.

Eugene responded, “I will have them testify later. Well, I still don’t have any evidence proving that they’re directly related to the yellow bastard.”

Rummmmble!

A powerful boom resonated from the other side of the corridor. Eugene and Galfredik stopped their conversation and glared at the passage with their hands on their weapons.

“Is this it? Is this how the monsters crawl out from the wall in the Demon World?” Galfredik asked, recalling the story regarding the passage to the Demon World he had heard from Eugene.

“It seems to be… But it’s a little different from what I had seen and experienced in the Tywin territory’s evil land,” Eugene answered.

“What do you mean, different?” Galfredik asked.

Eugene spoke as his eyes glimmered even colder, “They’re not just ordinary monsters. This doesn’t feel the same as when I saw ordinary monsters cross over. This is…”

Eugene paused. He remembered the ‘things’ that had been carefully observing him or staring at him defiantly from the other side of the translucent wall.

Eugene continued, “Demonic creatures, or… demons.”

The two shared a gaze before quickly running through the passage. The evil energy grew strong enough to sting their skin, which was being protected by both armor and Fear, but Eugene ran without care. Similarly, Galfredik followed Eugene without hesitation, although his expression had turned rather stiff. Soon, Eugene could see the same translucent wall he had previously seen in the Tywin territory’s dungeon.

The two came to a stop simultaneously.

“That’s…” Galfredik muttered with a sharp gaze. Although Eugene looked relatively calm, he was also quite surprised as he observed the entrance to the Demon World. What stood in front of the translucent wall wasn’t a monster. Rather, it was a humanoid creature with gray skin and ice-blue eyes.

“Demon…” Eugene muttered after instinctively realizing the creature’s identity.

The demon had two short horns protruding from its forehead, and it was holding a strange sword in both hands, while a pale, luminous platecoat made of an unknown material was wrapped around its body. The creature turned its head toward Eugene and Galfredik before meeting Eugene’s gaze. The demon’s eyes suddenly widened, and it stumbled backward. Anyone could tell that the creature was greatly flustered.

“This feeling… A count? No, perhaps even beyond a duke?” the demon muttered. Although Eugene had never heard the language before, he could understand the creature’s words.

‘What’s going on?’

Eugene was surprised. The ability of interpretation he had gained from killing the drake back then wasn’t the reason why he could understand the demon.

‘It’s… a language I already knew?’

He was astounded, but it was true. It felt completely different from understanding a foreign language. Rather, it was a language originally imprinted on his mind. Moreover, it felt as if he could speak the language as well.

Eugene parted his lips with conviction. “What are you?”

“What?” Galfredik turned toward Eugene with surprise.

The demon also continued staring at Eugene. It looked even more flustered, or rather, scared of Eugene.

“I asked a question. What are you?” Eugene repeated himself.

“Ah, I… No, m-my…” the demon stuttered.

Rumbleeeee!

The translucent wall to the demon world once again emitted a loud boom as it shimmered. Soon, various demons emerged from the surface of the wall, which was riddled with dozens of expanding holes.

“We have finally arrived at the breeding grounds!”

“Hooh! There’s more evil energy than I thought.”

“Are we the first to arrive?”

The dozen-or-so demons chatted loudly for a while. As their voices gradually died down, their gazes naturally turned to Eugene and Galfredik. They displayed a similar reaction as the first demon upon seeing Eugene.

Eugene spoke coldly, “What are you?”

“…” The demons appeared greatly perplexed as they kept their silence.

Eugene took a large step toward them.

“Well, I should be able to get an answer if I leave one or two of you alive.”

Kwaaaaaaah…!

A crimson current soared upward from Eugene’s eyes as it surged above his shoulders like a gushing waterfall.

“Kehehe! I prefer this to a sword.” Simultaneously, Galfredik began to overflow with Fear after sheathing his sword. He retrieved two maces from his back, and a red haze began to flow from inside his helmet.

The demons hesitated for a moment. They shared a brief gaze before reacting.

Kuwuuugh! Kyaaahk!

The demons emitted terrible screams before rushing toward the two. Any ordinary person would have received great injuries in their spirits just from hearing the terrible screams. At the same time, the bodies of the demons morphed in a bizarre way. Their blunt horns instantly grew five or six times longer, and their faces, which had been no different from a human, became strangely distorted. There were some who took on forms similar to an insect like the praying mantis, some who grew two more heads, as well as others who stretched out their transformed, rock-like limbs.

Monsters…

The demons took on different forms based on typical monsters, then aimed their fangs and claws, which were overflowing with evil energy, toward Eugene and Galfredik. Eugene simply watched them indifferently as he fully extended his Fear before suddenly moving both of his hands.

KyaaaaaahkkK! Kwarararak!

Madarazika and Wolfslaughter painted a crimson flash, and the demons were swept away by the brilliant light. Eugene hadn’t utilized any of his powers as an Origin. Rather, he had simply projected his Fear through Madarazika and Wolfslaughter. However, the weapons of pure silver and meteoric iron sliced through the bodies of demons like cheese. The demons caught in the attack were dissected into dozens of meat pieces that were immediately blown away.

“Kuweeh…?!?” Some of the demons escaped with their lives, though portions of their bodies had disappeared. And they retreated whilst screaming.

However, Galfredik was waiting for them.

“Kuhaaaap!” The vampire swung his maces with a powerful roar.

Shuack!

Sharp shockwaves unbefitting a blunt weapon resounded through the air, and the beating of the surviving demons began.

“Kuhuuung!” The demons were in disbelief.

They did not know pain. They had been able to survive in a world filled with battle and slaughter. As such, they didn’t flinch even when their limbs were severed. However, there was something different about the attacks of the knight enveloped with an explosive aura different from evil energy. Every blow was accompanied by a terrible pain that attacked both their bodies and souls.

“Kuaagh! Kuagh!”

“Kuweegh!”

The demons were pounded into pastes with every swing of Galfredik’s maces. Although the accumulated evil energy had detached them from pain and filled them with nothing but killing intent and hostility, it was of no use here. Like so, the heart of the dungeon was transformed into a space filled with only the sounds of dull strikes and screams.

After a few minutes, only two vampires and a demon remained. And they were surrounded by unrecognizable pieces of flesh and corpses.

“Huaaah…” The demon kneeled while grabbing the stump where its arm had once been. The demon had reverted back to its original appearance, perhaps from the pain or fear.

Tap. Tap.

Eugene slowly walked toward the demon, then expressed one of his authorities as an Origin for the first time.

Kwaaaaaaaa…!

His Fear was expressed to the limit, and it transformed into a mist of blood that completely eroded the space. The blood of the dead demons rose into the air, and the countless grains of crimson were absorbed into the mist of blood.

“…!!!”

The demon took on a stupefied expression. Eugene opened his mouth as a brilliant crimson light emitted from his eyes, which sharply contrasted with the eyes of the demon.

“I will ask again. What are you?”

At that moment, the only surviving demon came to a realization—it had finally recognized the identity of the existence in front of it.

The only King of Darkness who had left the Demon World to head to the ‘other side’. A name that had long solidified into a legend due to the difference in the flow of time between the two worlds.

“D-drakan. Eugene, King of Darkness…” the demon muttered.

“…!”

One of the few things that had remained in Eugene’s memory was his name—Eugene.

However, it wasn’t the name of a vampire who had lost his memories. Instead, it was his true name that wholly represented his existence.