The commander revealed her contempt for warriors, saying that all that talk about honor was false, because at the most critical moment they abandon others. She explained that she herself had once been left behind by one of those warriors in the chaos of a battle against the demon king's army, and had nearly died. It was then that she found the staff and gained enough power to change her fate, even being acknowledged by the demon king himself. Now on the demon side, she believed that power was the only thing that mattered, since it was what ensured no one would abandon her again.
Banzon Packard said he understood her pain, but did not agree with her view. He explained that many frontline warriors are mentally shaken by the horrors of war, living on the edge of sanity. Yet they still fight, believing their comrades will be there for them. To him, true warriors were not as she described.
The commander fired back, saying that maybe she had never had those kinds of comrades to begin with. She constantly relived the day she was abandoned, carrying that trauma as fuel for her vengeance, determined to eliminate that warrior and anyone who stood by him. To her, adventurers were nothing but hypocrites.
She then recalled her past, explaining that she had grown up in chaos, surrounded by death and destruction, not even knowing exactly who she had lost. Trying to survive, she eventually found a basic grimoire and discovered a natural talent for magic. She joined the adventurers guild simply to make a living, but ended up being sent to the worst possible place, the front lines against the demons.
There, death was constant, with battles happening every day and names being crossed off the guild's list all the time. Even so, it was in that place that she found people she could call comrades, a completely unlikely group made up of a monk, a draconic archer hiding his origin, an assassin, a fugitive warrior, and her, a homeless mage.
Even as misfits, they fought together and supported one another, functioning like a true family. In battle, each of them had a role, and she received constant support to use her magic decisively. Everything worked perfectly until the day she fell in battle, wounded and unable to continue. With her senses failing, she could not even properly hear what her companion was saying. She only saw him turn his back and walk away, leaving her to die. From that moment on, that memory became a deep scar, fueling her desire for revenge.
Now, facing a warrior once again, she provoked him, asking if he could still remain standing. Banzon Packard questioned whether she truly believed those monsters were her comrades, making it clear that in the demonic army she was nothing more than a pawn, not even seen as a real person.
Even so, Eugene replied that it did not matter, because in her view they were still better than humans, especially adventurers, who first earn your trust and then betray you. To her, monsters were more honest, since they never hide what they are. And if she had the chance, she would kill all humans at once, even selling her own soul to the demon king.
Without hesitation, she unleashed a powerful spell toward Banzon Packard, who knew he would not be able to endure for long, even with his shield. At that moment, he remembered what Yuta had said about his blood being necessary to activate the weapon's true power, but he also noticed that Eugene was using souls absorbed from the battlefield, which seemed to suffer in her hands.
He thought that if he had not met Yuta and regained his power, perhaps his own group would have met the same fate, trapped as lost souls. Even so, he could not bring himself to hate Eugene, because he understood that she had once been like them, someone who trusted her group and was betrayed. That was when Banzon Packard decided to show what it truly means to protect one's comrades, recalling the bonds formed on the front lines and the families that are born there, even amid war.
Using his own blood, he activated the shield's power and reflected all the magic back at Eugene, but she claimed that at his level of power he would never be able to defeat her. When Banzon Packard's group advanced, she began to see her former allies as if they were inside her mind, questioning why they were still there until the very end.
A massive explosion occurred due to the reflected magic, and Banzon Packard approached, suggesting that she had lowered her guard because of her former comrades. Eugene denied it, saying she simply could not block the attack, but he insisted that it was not too late for her to return, that her family was still waiting. This only angered Eugene, who said that all warriors say the same thing, and that he was making the same expression as someone from her past that she hated.
At that moment, the demons attacked without caring if they hit Eugene as well, but Banzon Packard blocked everything. Confronting them, he called them disgusting for attacking their own comrade, but the demons made it clear that she had never been an ally, just a useful human. Eugene, irritated, said she did not need to be protected and did not want to be saved out of pity, but Banzon Packard replied that the decision was his, and that anyone behind his shield becomes his comrade.
Suddenly, however, the runes on his equipment faded and he lost the ability to convert mana into strength. Eugene realized he had used up all his energy and that his weapon was broken, meaning he could no longer fight on the front lines. A demon then claimed that all of this was pointless, that weak humans would die right there.
But at that instant, Yuta appeared, suggesting that maybe they could turn the demon into a weapon as well, before striking a devastating blow to its head with her hammer. As she cleared the battlefield, defeating other enemies, Yuta commented that she could either make use of the demon's body or simply crush it into dust. At the same time, Ash observed that this group was very different from what she had known before, and praised Banzon Packard, saying he took his role very seriously.
She told him he could lower his shield now, since reinforcements had arrived, but he still worried and apologized for not having done more. Shortly after, the guild master approached, recognizing his effort in managing to block the attack of an entire legion, but Banzon Packard insisted it was not all his doing, since Eugene had hesitated at the final moment. Yuta then explained that weapons like these change according to the wielder's heart, reinforcing just how terrifying war truly is.
At that moment, Eugene's true companions appeared, and she, already exhausted, asked them to finish her off. Even so, they acted as they always had, casually arguing among themselves, which only irritated her further. She accused the group's leader of abandoning her, but then learned that he had never returned because he died protecting her, facing hundreds of the demon king's soldiers alone to ensure her survival.
Hearing this, she began to understand the truth, while her former allies made it clear that they did not blame her, as she had been corrupted by the weapon's power, and that in the end she was still part of the family.