Chapter 322. Landing in the Demon Realm (2)

The demons who had been chasing the young demon finally revealed themselves. Their eyes were crimson like fresh blood, and their brows furrowed with malice as they glared at Caron and his companions, who had captured the child.

A heavy silence settled over the wasteland.

The silence was broken by one of the demons—likely the leader of the pursuit team—who stepped forward and spoke with a voice dripping in contempt. "The stench of the continent reeks even here. What business do you pests have on this glorious land?"

A surge of dark mana pulsed from his body—an immense quantity, even at a glance.

If it weren't for Libre's translation magic, understanding him would have been impossible, yet Caron and his group caught every word without difficulty.

Caron smirked, pressing the crimson-tinted Guillotine against the young demon's throat. "Why do you think we're here?" he asked with a sneer. "We came to carve you up while you're still breathing."

His tone was crude, no better than that of a common thug.

The demons ground their teeth, gripping their weapons at the audacity of his words. Their murderous intent thickened, yet their hesitation betrayed something important.

Caron noted it instantly and thought,

So this brat's worth more than I thought.

Normally, demons would have rushed in headlong, without question. Instead, they stood rooted in place, their eyes darting nervously toward the child.

This stage was Caron's alone.

He hauled the young demon upright and gently clasped its neck with his left hand, his grin widening like a villain from a bloody play.

"Seems this kid's pretty important to you lot, huh? Hehe..." Caron said.

From the sidelines, Seria squeezed her eyes shut and muttered a prayer under her breath, "O Light... Please, bless even a scoundrel like this."

Taking a hostage against demons meant shame clearly meant nothing to this man.

Seria and the others, however, were long accustomed to Caron's ruthless antics.

Libre, the Dark Magic Tower Master, even clapped his hands with genuine admiration and said, "As expected of the great Caron! Truly, you never disappoint. Why not take this chance to become the Demon King? The other demons would surely bow before such a noble character!"

Smack!

Leo's palm crashed against Libre's back, silencing him with a glare and grumbling, "For the love of sanity, stop tempting death, Dark Magic Tower Master."

Amidst that chaotic exchange, Caron strode forward slowly, still holding the young demon firm. His eyes swept over their enemies, counting with mechanical precision.

There's twenty-two of them,

he noted.

It was a considerable number. Far too many for what was supposed to be a mere slave hunt. And demons were no ordinary foe; calling them a warrior race was no exaggeration.

Caron wondered if he could handle them.

Easily,

he concluded.

He loosened the seal on his pouch of dimensional space. From it, his Avengers slipped silently into the abyssal shadows of Pluto.

The Demon Realm weakened most spirits, but Pluto was different—it had absorbed the essence of Void. Here, it was untouchable.

Encircled now, the demons didn't even realize they were prey. Caron grinned wider and spoke again, his voice mocking. "So what's so special about this brat that you were chasing it down?"

The leader gave a crooked smile, his tone laced with disdain. "Humans don't need to know, heh. Whatever your reasons, it doesn't matter. We'll drag your carcasses to Lord Castellan as an offering. That should cool his wrath."

"Lord Castellan?" Caron repeated.

"No more questions. Kill them! Tear those worms apart—" the leader began, but couldn't finish his sentence.

Slice!

Guillotine, crimson under the moonlight, drew a swift diagonal arc through the air—a strike so simple it bordered on art. And in that fleeting instant, the leader's head tumbled from his shoulders, silencing his command forever.

Splurt!

Blood fountained into the darkness as his body crumpled with a lifeless thud.

Caron stared at the severed head lying on the ground and grinned brightly, then said, "Ah, I couldn't hold back. Guys, let's finish this."

The moment the demons flared up, releasing their dark mana in a frenzy—

Slash!

Slash!

Blades shot forth from the darkness, piercing through the demons without mercy. From the shadows spread across the ground, the Avengers surged out, swinging their swords in swift arcs. The demons fell one after another, unable to even mount a proper defense.

"Deep darkness, bind their feet!"

"Freeze them."

Libre's dark magic and Gratia's draconic incantation stole every shred of freedom from the demons. In the dark of night, even their screams were swallowed whole.

The rest of the fighters, other than the mages, stood with arms crossed while quietly watching the demons' inevitable demise. No matter how fierce the latter's combat lineage, there was no escaping such a sudden slaughter.

After time passed, except for three demons whose limbs had been severed, the rest were swallowed without a trace into the shadows.

Caron evaporated the blood clinging to his blade with a faint hiss and smiled faintly, then said, "Just dead weight, that's all they were."

The first battle had ended in an utterly one-sided fashion, leaving Caron to click his tongue in disappointment.

Leo frowned and asked, "If you were just going to slaughter them like this, why bother with that hostage act?"

"Leo," Caron replied casually.

"What?" Leo asked.

"Why does there need to be a reason? I did it because I felt like it. Seria, we're taking those three limbless bastards back to the base. Seal them up," Caron said.

"Understood," Seria answered. Her holy power was perfect for subduing demons. At Caron's request, she spread her holy power with practiced ease and began the sealing ritual.

With the fight over in a flash, Caron loosened the rope around the young demon's neck and said, "You did well, friend."

The expression on the young demon's face had changed completely. Gone was the look of killing intent and malice. In its place lingered only deep, suffocating fear.

With a trembling voice, the demon asked Caron, "W-Who... Who are you?"

Even the dark mana that had seemed ready to tear Caron apart moments ago had completely vanished.

The young demon, body quivering, stared at Caron and said, "...From your body... I sense the power of the Demon King. Are you... a Demon King incarnated in a human form?"

He seemed to have thought of that after witnessing the power of Slaughter that Caron had swallowed.

Caron folded his arms, pondering briefly,

Should I kill him here?

The goal had been to wipe out every demon. By that logic, this one had to die too.

But after a short pause, Caron slowly shook his head and thought,

There's no rush.

The kid seemed to have a story. With his will to fight shattered, there was no need to kill him here.

So Caron looked him in the eye and asked, "You choose. Will you follow me... or die here? Consider it a special favor, since you're a kid. How old are you?"

"By... human standards, I'm twenty-nine years old..." the young demon answered.

"When I say you're a kid, you're a kid. Anyway, what's it going to be?" Caron pressed.

The young demon lowered his head and replied, bowing deeply, "I shall follow your will, my Demon King."

Apparently, a massive misunderstanding had taken root.

Caron was about to clear things up when Libre jumped in eagerly, saying, "Hahaha! As expected of a demon—you have sharp eyes! This man will be the first human to ascend to the Demon King's throne! The absolute ruler—Caron Leston! Pay homage to your new—"

"Enough. Get in the pouch of dimensional space," Caron interrupted as he stuffed the babbling Libre into the pouch of dimensional space and turned back to the demon. He said, "We'll get to your story later. For now, just tell me your name. What is it?"

"My name... is Dennis. Dennis, my lord," the young demon answered.

"Good. Dennis, you're coming back with us," Caron said.

The first battle had ended almost too easily—disappointingly so.

With their spoils in hand, Caron and his party decided to return to base.

***

Caron and his companions returned to the forward base aboard Gratia.

What had once been a barren coastline was now dotted with impressive structures. There was a towering lighthouse stood ready to guide incoming ships, and there was a massive stone wall, still under construction.

Judging by their incredible speed, the engineering corps of the advance party was proving their worth.

"You've arrived," Zerath greeted Caron's group warmly.

Caron handed over the captured demons from the earlier battle. Even with their limbs severed, the fact that they were still breathing showed just how tenacious those creatures were.

"There was a skirmish," Caron reported. "No casualties on our side. We did confirm the presence of a demon stronghold nearby, but it was too late at night to continue scouting."

"No need to push yourselves on the first day," Zerath said. "How strong were they?"

"Disappointing, really," Caron said with a shrug. "They went down without a fight."

Zerath gave a quick hand signal to his men, and they swiftly took custody of the demons Caron had brought.

"Glad you all made it back in one piece," Zerath said. Then his gaze fell on the small demon boy standing nearby. "But that little one next to you..."

"Oh, him?" Caron began, but before he could explain, the young demon, Dennis, bared his teeth and snarled at Zerath.

"How dare a mere human address the great Demon King so casually? Your Majesty!" Dennis shouted, his eyes blazing. "Give the word, and I shall burn this wretch to ashes for his insolence!"

Zerath froze, pressing a palm to his forehead with a long sigh, then quietly asked, "We're doing this now? You're playing Demon King?"

"It's... a long story," Caron admitted. "I caught this kid while he was on the run, and now he seems convinced I'm a Demon King."

"To be honest, I don't see much difference between you and one," Zerath muttered. "Anyway, since he's yours, you deal with him."

Apparently unwilling to get a headache from this, he quickly excused himself. "Well then, I'll leave you to it. I'm turning in for the night."

"Caron!" one of the party called cheerfully. "That was a fun first mission! See you in the morning!"

Once Zerath was gone, Caron's party hurried back to their quarters.

Before long, only Caron, Leo, and Dennis remained inside Caron's tent. Dennis glared at Leo, who stood beside Caron.

"Your Majesty," Dennis asked cautiously, "Who is this man?"

"He's my cousin," Caron replied.

"Ah! The Demon King's royal cousin!" Dennis gasped. "My apologies. I sensed no trace of dark mana from him and spoke out of turn."

"And that middle-aged man you tried to bite earlier?" Caron added flatly. "He's my teacher. Look—stop calling me Demon King, all right? People might get the wrong idea. I'd rather tear a real Demon King apart with my bare hands than be one. Got it?"

Caron let his words drip with killing intent, and Dennis wilted, nodding meekly, then asked, "...Then what shall I call you?"

"Caron Leston," Caron said. "That's my name."

"Caron Leston! The cursed youngest of the Ducal Family of Leston!" Dennis exclaimed. "I've heard of you!"

Apparently, Caron's name carried weight even among demons. After all, he had cut down the remnants of Slaughter and shattered every scheme of the Demon Kings. It was no wonder.

Caron tapped lightly on his armor.

Shrrrk.

Kavana dissolved away into nothingness. Feeling the relief of freedom, Caron sat on his bed and said to Dennis, "Now, you're going to answer my questions—and you'd better answer honestly."

"Ask me anything," Dennis declared. "You saved my life. I am already your vassal."

"Why were other demons hunting you down?" Caron asked.

At that, Dennis fumbled inside his clothes and pulled out something. It was a necklace, set with a jewel that gleamed with a faint crimson glow.

"Count Dinatrius coveted this necklace for a long time now," Dennis explained. "It's a keepsake from my mother. My father protected me until now, but yesterday... He fell to the Count's hand. So I had no choice but to run."

It felt real that the demons lived together, forming their own society. The Demon King of Sloth wouldn't have proclaimed a decree not to kill young demons out of pity, but only to prevent unnecessary loss of combat power.

Caron stroked his chin thoughtfully as he stared at the necklace, then asked, "What's so special about the necklace?"

"I don't know the details," Dennis admitted. "Only that it's a key... a key to access a certain facility beneath Canales Fortress."

At that moment, Guillotine spoke in Caron's mind, sounding intrigued.

"Owner. That dark mana in the necklace... Doesn't it feel familiar?"

Caron focused. Guillotine was right. There was something about the dark mana. It wasn't the usual sort. It had the essence of the dark mana before it fell—the same force once wielded by the arcane civilization.

"Do you know anything else about this facility?" Caron asked.

"...Father told me it grants the power to control demonic monsters," Dennis answered softly.

"Leo," Caron called.

"Yeah?" Leo replied.

"Go check if the communication network is up. I need to talk to Shiker—now," Caron said.

A dangerous gleam lit Caron's eyes. It felt as if a gold nugget had just rolled into his lap.