Chapter 344. The Turning Point (1)

"...Another madman has been added. And of all people, it had to be one of the proud blood of the Ducal Family of Leston wielding such vile power!" Halo roared, then slammed his fist against the desk.

Crack!

The wood split beneath his blow.

As the head of the family, he couldn't help but rage. Because Leo's mana leaked the faint but undeniable presence of a Demon King's power.

Ssshhhhh!

"...I–I'm sorry," Leo said quietly.

It wan't the dark mana of Lust. It felt far too pure for that. Yet it wasn't Azure Mana either, as it carried an unbearable discomfort.

It was unmistakably the power of a Demon King. But it didn't resemble Caron's. Not in the slightest.

Crack!

That strange mana spread like frost, freezing everything around it, and Leo himself could barely restrain it.

"Stop it," Halo ordered.

"I–I can't stop it properly, Grandfather," Leo stuttered.

"...Caron," Halo called.

"Yes, sir," Caron replied, then casually waved his hand and devoured Leo's mana in one sweep. Then he grinned brightly at Halo and added, "Since I've been given the title of the Demon King of Liberation, let's call Leo the Demon King of Frozen Sea."

"Why are you turning my grandson into a Demon King?!" Halo roared.

"Oh, calm down. This was nothing but an accident. Do you think I wanted to make my cousin into a Demon King? It just happened in the process of saving his life," Caron said.

During the attempt to save Leo from Lust's dark mana, an unforeseen disaster had occurred.

Caron had used his power of Void to swallow that dark mana. That much had gone well. But instead of returning to Caron, the power had lodged itself in Leo's core.

No one could have expected it. Not only had the Void accepted someone other than Caron, but Lust's dark mana had rooted itself in Leo as well.

Of course, Leo's sword Rigor had intervened at the last moment. And the result was this: A mana that froze the world into an icebound sea, a frost so cold it sent minds adrift.

Quite literally, too. Just looking at the ice made one's consciousness blur. Caron had tested it lightly on the soldiers of the expedition, and nearly all of them had muttered the same things.

"I thought I'd been crushed beneath an iceberg."

"...It's so cold. Too cold."

It was a power that induced hallucinations. Clearly, it was a mutation born from the fusion of Lust's dark mana and Caron's Void.

The demons who'd been freed by Caron from the Demon Kings had looked upon Leo's power and gave him the title "Demon King of Frozen Sea."

Since he had truly absorbed the power of a Demon King, it was hardly an exaggeration.

"That is a corrupt power, Leo," Halo warned. "It could devour you."

"You don't need to worry about that," Caron said lightly. "The moment Leo gets swallowed by it, I'll finish him myself."

"...Finish?" Halo asked in a low voice.

"Better for him to fall by his cousin's hand than to rampage as a Demon King, isn't it? After all, it was I who saved his life. If anyone should take it, it ought to be me. Oh—steady there, Grandfather. People do die when their heads are cut off, you know," Caron replied.

"Huuuuuuhhh..." Halo gripped the hilt of Gram, leaning against the desk, barely holding onto his patience.

I've lived too long,

he thought.

Halo was able to tolerate Caron becoming a Demon King. After all, Caron had always been a black-hearted brat. Whether he turned into a Demon King or a hero mattered little—truthfully, the title suited him. He had been a madman from the very start.

But Leo inheriting a Demon King's power was another matter entirely.

"Being a Demon King isn't so bad, honestly," Caron added with a smile.

"That's because it's you, you lunatic!" Halo bellowed.

"G-Grandfather..." Leo faltered.

He'd never seen his grandfather like this before. Halo had always been stern, dignified, terrifying. But now, he spoke to Caron almost as if they were equals—friends even. It was impossible to describe, but Leo could feel it.

Even more ridiculous was Caron's attitude in return.

Caron beamed, downed a sip of whiskey, and waved a hand dismissively, then said, "Well, I did some digging. Our Founder was from the Demon Realm, wasn't he? If that's the case, why can't we become Demon Kings? We can just be good Demon Kings. That's all."

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Coming from the man who had vowed to slay every Demon King and wipe out the demonkin, the words sounded absurd. Yet Caron had his logic.

"If the dark mana has been completely purified, but the mana now manifests the authority of a Demon King... Is it really evil anymore? At its core, it's no different from magic. The principle is the same," Caron continued.

"This unnatural power can eat away a knight from within," Halo countered.

"Oh, if Leo trains hard enough, it won't be a problem. Isn't that right, Leo? You're not about to slack off in swordsmanship just because you got a little extra power, are you?" Caron asked.

"Of course not," Leo answered.

"Then it's fine," Caron said.

Caron had even let slip a shocking revelation—that the Ducal Family of Leston's bloodline traced back to the Demon Realm.

Leo, however, wasn't shaken. He thought,

That explains it.

He had absorbed part of a Demon King's power and still survived. It had to be this ridiculous bloodline.

Halo let out a long sigh as he looked at Leo, then said quietly, "Leo, you must be exhausted. Go and rest."

"Yes, Grandfather," Leo answered.

"All of us owe you our lives. If you feel any harm in your body, tell us at once. Do you understand?" Halo asked.

Leo had walked back from death itself. Whether or not he had inherited some of a Demon King's power, many in the expedition owed him their survival.

They could have lost him that day. And none of it had been Leo's fault.

That was why Halo's gaze turned warm as he said, "Go and rest well."

"Then, I'll take my leave," Leo said. He cast one last glance at Caron, then bowed respectfully to Halo.

Creak.

The moment Leo stepped out, Halo pounced as though he had been waiting all along, spitting venom at Caron, "This all happened because you let the Demon Queen of Lust slip away, didn't it? Hmm? You might have reached 9-Star, but you're still unfamiliar with that realm—how could you be so arrogant...?"

At those words, Caron lowered his head with a defeated look, then gave a bitter smile and replied, "You're right. It's all my fault."

"...And what does that make me, if you admit it that easily?" Halo muttered.

"You gathered every elder to hunt down the Demon King of Havoc, but in the end, this is on me. I really did lose hold of Lust in that instant. My dear cousin, Leo, nearly died because of it," Caron continued.

"So, you don't show respect when speaking to me, yet you call Leo your dear cousin? This family tree is an abomination," Halo complained.

"What does it matter? If you want to play the genealogy game, do you want to start calling me the Founder?" Caron asked with a smirk.

"Get out of my sight," Halo snapped, then swigged straight from the whiskey bottle, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and let out a long sigh.

"...Do you think Leo will be all right?" he eventually added.

"The new power has settled perfectly. Maybe it really is because of the blood that runs in us," Caron answered.

He'd checked Leo's condition multiple times. Leo showed no sign of harm—if anything, he looked healthier than before he fainted. The exhaustion of a long battle had weighed him down, but awakening this new power had even restored his color.

And more than that, his realm had risen.

"...He seems to have reached 8-Star, no?" Halo asked.

"When I checked, yes, that's what I saw. He even took part of my mana, and the dark mana he absorbed was converted in an instant," Caron explained.

Perhaps it was because Caron had personally adjusted Leo's core. It had expanded enormously, a fortune wrested from the jaws of death.

"This has become troublesome," Halo muttered. "Leo is now stronger than his uncles."

"What's so troublesome about that?" Caron asked.

"Dales and Raphael may accept you, but they will not sit idle while Leo surpasses them," Halo said.

"You're really thinking about family politics at a time like this?" Caron asked.

"When you're the head of a house, you can't help it," Halo replied.

"If you're that tired of it, hand it over to me. I'll clear everything up. How about it?" Caron offered with a smirk.

Halo imagined Caron as head of the Ducal Family of Leston for a moment, then shuddered.

Absolutely not,

he thought. That mad dog would ruin the house in an instant.

"I'd rather deconstruct the house," Halo muttered.

"Why? I've gotten good at politics lately. Haven't you heard of Caron Leston, the icon of schemes and agitation?" Caron asked.

"Leaving it to you would be no different than taking it apart," Halo said.

The already tangled succession would only become more chaotic. But he decided not to dwell on it.

...Things will go the way this brat wants anyway,

he thought.

Perhaps handing the family over to Leo directly wouldn't be so bad. At least if Leo became head, he would occupy Caron.

The thought crept in, but Halo shook his head to chase it away. That was a problem for after the war. Nothing mattered more than how to continue the campaign.

"Let's talk about the next plan," Caron began.

Halo sighed and nodded, then said, "The commanders are still debating whether to cross the Veil."

"Debating?" Caron repeated.

"Several kingdoms have raised objections. The results have been good so far, but they fear the damage that might occur if we cross. Some nobles in the empire have echoed the same concerns," Halo continued.

"You're spouting nonsense," Caron cut in.

"The opinion is that we should stabilize the regions we've occupied so far before considering a second expedition. Even within the empire, a few nobles have started bringing it up," Halo explained.

The expedition had gone far too smoothly. Losses had been heavy, but not nearly as bad as expected.

And with this battle, the remaining two Demon Kings' forces had been struck down hard. On the surface, it looked as if they had seized the advantage.

But once victory seemed within reach, the rulers of each nation began calculating. Until now, they had stood together against the overwhelming threat of the Demon Kings. Now, their unity was fracturing, which had nothing to do with Caron's thoughts.

"It's true His Majesty the Emperor is pushing through it, but it's not that easy," Halo said.

"Politicians never understand the severity of things," Caron muttered.

"That's because they've never stood on a battlefield," Halo answered.

The Demon King of Havoc had abandoned his domain and fled across the Veil, but the war was far from over.

The Demon King of Void still remained. If that one wasn't destroyed, this war would never end.

"And I'm supposed to cater to politicians' worries too?" Caron snapped.

"Caron—" Halo began, but was cut off.

"The other Demon Kings were born from the Demon King of Void. That means the tragedy could repeat itself. Unless he's erased, this cycle will continue. To leave the greatest enemy alive—what would that make of all the soldiers who died to reach this point?" Caron continued.

It wasn't something he could compromise on.

Caron raised the bottle and drank straight from it, squinting as he wiped his mouth. He continued, "Tell those fools to shut their mouths. I've had enough. I'll contact His Majesty myself. If anyone wants to pull out of the campaign, tell them to come say it to me directly. I'll be curious to see what faces they make when rebellion rises in their own lands."

"You lunatic," Halo muttered.

"You have to be a lunatic to win," Caron replied.

They had agreed beforehand that seizing Havoc's domain came first. That crucial battle had been delayed, but he hardly cared. To him, it was better this way.

They would cross the Veil, then finish both Havoc and Void.

And then, this long, festering hatred would finally reach its end. His vengeance would be complete.

"...We must accomplish this," Caron muttered, exhaling a heavy breath as he recalled the memories passed down from Lust.

For some reason, his mood was darker than usual today.

Halo looked at Caron's face, lost in thought.

***

After roughly securing the castle where the two Demon Kings had fallen, the expedition soon split into two groups and began occupying their domains.

The nobles who had once followed the Demon Queen of Lust had already been subdued by the nobles loyal to Caron. Thanks to that, Caron was able to absorb and consolidate the Realm of Lust—once known as the Realm of Slaughter—without difficulty.

The same held true for the Realm of Havoc. With Halo and other powerful warriors leading at the front, the expedition seized the territory without facing any meaningful resistance.

The Demon King of Havoc had taken his entire army and marched beyond the Veil, leaving behind no proper defenders. Only enslaved demons remained, left to guard the empty land.

And so, while the expedition continued to claim the Demon Realm without opposition...

"This place has not changed," the Demon King of Havoc murmured, gazing out over the horizon that stretched beneath the ashen sky. "The end is not far now, Void."

It was a world reduced to nothing but dust. Havoc looked over that desolate land and whispered quietly, almost to himself, "Hurry, Leston. I cannot wait forever."

Beyond the gray heavens, something began to ripple and stir. The Malevolent Emperor fixed his eyes on that ominous disturbance and let out a long breath.

"Prepare for battle. The late guests will be ours to welcome," he said.

"Yes, my lord," one of his followers answered.

They would prepare a grand banquet. A banquet worthy of the end.

The Demon King of Havoc lifted his gaze to the ash-dark sky and smiled.