Chapter 95

Ȓ&e;&a;​d ȯǹ ​Κ​ａtR̈e‍аd̀in̈ɡC‍a​ｆｅ​

I wanted to savor it a bit longer.

Using the curse obstructing my regeneration as an excuse, I could’ve asked Eugene to burn me, or maybe even claimed that my limbs were rotting from the extremities and begged them to cut them off.

If circumstances had permitted, I might have actually gone through with it.

But unfortunately, this wasn’t the time to indulge in my hobbies.

Nothing had been resolved yet. The rift was still spewing monsters, and all we’d managed was to defeat a single Black Knight. Actually, we hadn’t even fully defeated it, so that statement wasn’t entirely accurate.

“Urk… kuh, cough!”

Blood welled up my throat, and though I tried to swallow it down, it inevitably spilled out as I retched.

I felt light-headed and oddly giddy, but my body was growing colder from the blood I had lost.

Without a beating heart, blood circulation was sluggish at best.

If I left things as they were, I’d faint for sure.

No, I couldn’t let myself become a burden.

Time to regenerate.

The Black Knight’s death energy clung to me tenaciously, obstructing my healing. But with super regeneration, recovery was still possible.

Fortunately, the Black Knight had underestimated me, dismissing me as an annoying small fry rather than a serious adversary that required a full-force strike.

That’s why our ambush had succeeded.

Sometimes, weakness can be a valuable weapon.

If I’d been stronger and the Black Knight had deemed me a threat, condensing its death energy into its longsword, even super regeneration wouldn’t have been enough for a swift recovery.

Which meant that if Lucia were to be struck by that, it would spell disaster.

“Careful…”

I was the first to notice something was amiss.

Eugene and Frey were too focused on me to be mindful of their surroundings.

Did they forget that this was a battlefield? Their backs were completely exposed—far too vulnerable to an ambush.

“…!”

Eugene’s expression hardened as he finally sensed the danger.

He didn’t have eyes on the back of his head, so he must’ve picked up on it from the presence alone.

Moments later, Frey, too, seemed to detect the ominous shift, turning her gaze away from me.

She slowly turned her head. Black haze shimmered and twisted in the air.

The Black Knight, which had previously crumpled to the ground like an empty shell.

Its right arm was still missing, and where its head should have been, there was only empty space.

Nothing had changed—except its position.

Defying gravity, the ebony armor floated midair.

A sinister black mist spiraled around the Black Knight, emanating from its core.

“What the—wasn’t it dead?” Frey asked, her voice tinged with alarm.

I silently nodded in response.

Neither of them had seen it, as they’d been too preoccupied with me.

The Black Knight was dead. Its core must have been shattered.

What we were seeing now was simply rampancy.

An overwhelming surge of death energy that even the Black Knight couldn’t contain.

The massive power that had once been sealed within the jet-black armor was now running wild without a focal point to anchor it.

The earth cracked and withered.

Even the resilient vegetation that had endured the intense battle disintegrated, rotting into decay.

The foul stench of decomposing corpses wafted through the air on the breeze.

The world around the dead Black Knight was dying along with it.

This was the aftermath I’d mentioned earlier.

Left unchecked, the death energy would spread endlessly.

The park would become a desolate wasteland, unfit for anyone to tread upon.

Worse still, the contamination could extend beyond the park.

This problem could be resolved by a supernatural with exceptional firepower, someone capable of obliterating the Black Knight’s corpse and its death energy simultaneously.

Luckily, we had Eugene, who wielded flames, and Frey, whose abilities were specialized for destruction.

It was an ideal situation.

I glanced at them with hopeful eyes, only to flinch involuntarily.

W-wait.

Eugene’s face…

It was frighteningly cold.

No, it wasn’t just Eugene. Frey looked much the same.

Their expressions were terrifyingly grim, as if suppressing their anger.

Uh, are you… mad?

Thinking about it, it’s understandable.

They’d just watched a friend go through something like that.

And Eugene and I—well, we were best friends.

Not yet, but we’d promised to be.

His expression was captivating in its own way.

It’s always the quiet ones who scare you the most when they’re angry.

I shivered, feeling both thrilled and unnerved.

I almost wanted to ask him to spank me.

Or step on me, perhaps?

Honestly, Eugene’s kindness had always led me to believe that even if I asked him to do something rough, he’d hold back. But… seeing that face, I realized he might actually go all out.

I wasn’t joking—my heart dropped.

It felt like a heavy weight had just fallen on me.

I almost called him “Master” on instinct.

I didn’t know Eugene could make a face like that…

Lucia Points +3.

I wanted to give him +30, but that’d be too much, right?

Yeah, I’m slowly inching towards him earning that wish voucher.

◈

It’s happening again.

Just like before.

And now, again.

The same situation repeats.

I said I’d save everyone.

Lucia, the others—everyone.

I declared it confidently, as if I could actually do it.

So why does it always end up like this?

‘…It’s hot.’

Eugene stared down at his trembling palms.

The blood caked on them, baked by the heat, had dried into dark crusts.

It was his blood, and Lucia’s as well.

It had mingled, making it meaningless to differentiate the two.

Eugene slowly curled his bloodstained hand into a fist.

It quivered as the tendons stood out sharply.

The veins bulged, threatening to burst.

Even as his nails dug into his palm, tearing the skin, he couldn’t unclench his fist.

His heart pounded furiously.

His head throbbed.

If emotions weren’t unleashed immediately, it felt like Eugene’s entire being would shatter into pieces. Yet, simply wounding his palm did little to quell his turmoil. If anything, it was like pouring oil on a fire. The meaningless pain only fanned Eugene’s growing rage.

He had won, but he had also lost.
This battle was his defeat.

His relentless assault had been fierce, each strike devastating. Yet he couldn’t mount a counterattack, barely managing to endure. Though he had fought to his limits, he could only hold out for so long. His momentum faltered, leaving him vulnerable, and the Black Knight’s longsword had found its mark, aimed squarely at his heart.

But it was not Eugene’s heart that was pierced—it was Lucia’s.

A devastating, total defeat.
Had she not intervened, Eugene’s body would be cold and lifeless by now.

How many times had it been already?
First on the bus.
Then during the ambush by the high rank monster.
And now, against the Black Knight’s blade.

‘My chest… it burns.’

Emotions surged, shaking him to his core. He had felt this before.
That day. That moment. Back then.

The day he had faltered in fear and broken his promise thanks to Astaroth.
When he had pathetically trembled, unable to act.
When he had been consumed by self-loathing afterwards.

He had spoken so boldly, vowing to protect everyone, but the reality was stark.
There were so many he had failed to save.

He had promised to protect Lucia, yet who had actually been saved?
All his words had been empty, meaningless.

The image of Lucia’s chest pierced by a blade resurfaced. Her trembling, her futile attempts to mask her pain with a forced smile—it all replayed in his mind.

“C-careful… Eugene, your injuries…”
The words of someone whose own heart was torn apart, still thinking of others in the midst of her agony.

Even in unimaginable pain, she had worried for him.

‘What kind of hero am I?’

In truth, he had done nothing meaningful. At most, he had tried to hold her steady to prevent her wounds from worsening and uttered hollow reassurances no one would believe.

Where had things gone wrong? When had it all started to unravel?
When the Black Knight appeared?
When the rift opened?
When the masked child dragged Lucia in pieces before him?
Or when Astaroth herself casually strolled forward?

No. None of that was the root.
It had been wrong from the very beginning.

‘Because I’m weak.’

That was the problem.

If only he had been stronger. Strong enough to overcome any monster, to repel even the beings who arrogantly claimed the title of devils.

If he had possessed that strength, Lucia wouldn’t have needed to sacrifice herself.
Her chest wouldn’t have been pierced, her blood wouldn’t have spilled, and she wouldn’t have to look up at him with those tearful eyes.

‘I’m so angry.’

His chest burned, a fiery, unrelenting rage that consumed him. It clawed at his mind, threatening to engulf him.

‘So unbearably angry.’

This anger wasn’t new. Eugene had always felt weak.
When his beloved family had been slaughtered.
When someone he cherished collapsed, bleeding out.

He hated his weakness. He despised himself for it.

Without a word, Eugene stepped forward.

The headless remains of the Black Knight were devouring all life around it, as if intent on dragging everything into death alongside itself. The world seemed to fade, drained of color.

The grass wilted, the broken cherry blossom tree rotted away.
The azure sky and the fractured space beyond dimmed.
Even the Black Knight’s armor turned dull.

But there was one thing the encroaching grayness could not touch—the flickering flames.

“Sun Sword.”

A vow held meaning only when fulfilled.
Eugene had once sworn never to run away again. But merely standing firm meant nothing if he lacked the power to act.
What worth was there in a promise one couldn’t keep?

‘I must become stronger.’

“Vertical Slash.”

Strong enough to protect everyone.
And among that everyone, she would—no WILL always be included!

“Maximum Output!”

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Soon, it will be the 100th chapter…

Is it time to try again?

R-19 chapter…

Ah, this won’t do.

Nothing obscene will do!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
“Eugene, set your heart ablaze!” -said by a certain glazed donut, probably.

The 100th chapter is soon dawning upon us! Fingers crossed, heh.