Chapter 217. The Truth (2)
After Caron's conversation with Rigor came to an end, he tossed the white sword to Leo and said casually, "Leo, from now on, this sword is yours."
Clink.
Leo caught the sword, staring down at it with a stunned expression.
This was a sword worthy of being called legendary. No one would simply hand over such a rare treasure so easily.
"Hey, you should be the one to use it," Leo said.
"It's a hassle," Caron replied. "Besides, the color's awful. White and dark blue? That's a horrible match. Ever heard of color coordination?"
Leo looked down at the blade. To be honest, he had no idea just how powerful it really was. Compared to Sylphid, the sword he'd always used, this one had a thicker blade, which made him hesitant.
And more than anything...
How much is he going to torment me just because he gave me this? Leo thought.
He could already sense what was coming. Knowing Caron, he'd probably bleed him dry over a single sword.
So Leo decided to refuse for now. He began, "I'm fine. I've got Sylphid. I've been using it forever—it's grown on me—"
"Sylphid is one of our family's treasured blades," Caron said with a nod, "but it's not on the same level as Rigor. If you go back to Azureocean Castle with that sword, the place will flip upside down. Grandfather might literally sprint over barefoot."
"...Seriously?" Leo asked.
"Just like you said, it's a le-gen-da-ry sword," Caron answered.
Leo knew better than anyone to never fall for that silver tongue. If he did, there was no telling what kind of chaos would follow.
"It doesn't really suit my swordsmanship style," Leo said, trying to sound convincing.
He needed a solid excuse. An excuse that would give him a decent pretext to turn it down. Leo put all his energy into finding that justification.
But Caron, as if waiting for that exact moment, clapped his hands and said, "So, you're saying that it's fine as long as it suits your swordsmanship, huh? Rigor, you heard that, right? If Leo doesn't accept you, you're going straight to the forge."
Ego swords were supposed to choose their own masters. And Rigor was no ordinary sword—he was one of the rarest. But even he couldn't stand against the raw, unrelenting force of Caron.
Fwoosh!
A white light shimmered, and Rigor's shape morphed into one identical to Sylphid's.
With that, Leo's excuse evaporated. Cold sweat began trickling down his neck. He said, "...Still, I was chosen by Sylphid. I can't just throw it away—"
But that only backfired.
"Who said anything about throwing it away? Just keep both. Most of the time, you can stash it in my pouch of dimensional space. And when things get rough, bust out the dual swords," Caron said, cutting Leo off.
"Why would I?" Leo asked.
"Because dual wielding is cool," Caron answered.
Caron was insane. Completely, certifiably insane.
Just as Leo furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to protest, a desperate voice echoed in his mind.
"Merciful human, I beg you. Please show me your grace. Free me from that wicked man. I am Rigor, the legendary sword that led countless heroes to glory. Accept me, and I swear, you will never regret it."
Rigor clearly thought he sounded dignified.
But when Leo gave no response, his voice grew even more desperate.
"P-Please! I beg you! I'll do anything! Just don't hand me back to that wicked lunatic! Top-tier swordsmanship? Amazing cultivation techniques? Name it! I can even control monsters, I swear!"
I mean... Even if you say that... Leo began internally.
"Please, my new master. If you abandon me too, I'll really be melted down in that forge..."
It's not that... Leo tried to continue.
"You may speak casually to me! Even informally, if that pleases you!"
Leo couldn't help but wonder what exactly this sword had been made to gothrough in Caron's hands. He recalled how Caron had spent a long time earlier infusing the sword with mana.
Leo had no doubt about it that something close to torture had taken place. The memory stirred a flicker of sympathy in him. For some reason, he felt a strange kinship with this white sword.
...Yeah. He is kinda pitiful, Leo thought.
Rigor didn't miss that opening.
Whoosh.
A chilling aura flowed from the blade, wrapping around Leo. It said, "I don't know the full situation, but isn't it time we joined forces? I promise I'll make you stronger—far stronger. And together, we'll get revenge on that wretched human. It's more than possible!"
But Leo was no pushover. If there was one thing he'd learned from spending time with Caron, it was this:
If I say any of that out loud, he'll absolutely love it. Right? Leo threatened.
With Caron, threats were just another form of negotiation.
From the looks of things, Caron had already made up his mind to give the sword to Leo. And if that was the case, Leo figured he might as well establish some authority now.
At his subtle pushback, Rigor faltered. "W-We're... on the same side, aren't we, Master?"
If someone's going to get bitten by a mad dog, better you than me. Don't drag me into it, Leo replied.
He was starting to get the hang of handling this ego sword. He just had to treat it the same way Caron treated Guillotine.
"How is it? Does it suit your taste, Leo?" Caron asked, arms crossed and a pleased grin on his face. "Isn't it nice having a cousin who hands over a legendary sword? Shows how much I care for you."
"...Thanks," Leo said flatly.
"Repay me whenever," Caron added.
Just as Leo expected, Caron had sunk his teeth in and had no plans of letting go.
Caron stood there with the benevolent smile of someone who believed himself a saint, and beside Leo, Rigor murmured softly, "Truly, he's a vicious man... Master, what kind of life have you been living?"
When even a newly-bonded ego sword pitied him, it said everything.
Leo forced a grin and nodded slightly, then replied, You think this is bad? Just wait till it's your turn.
"...Gasp!"
And so, as Leo asserted his authority over his newly-acquired ego sword, Caron finished his business and turned toward the Imperial Guards behind him.
The emergency treatment had been completed, the dungeon's master was dead, and now, all that remained was to leave this place.
Caron glanced at Luke with a playful smile. "I believe I gave you more than enough time to think it over," he said. "So... Have you made your decision?"
Luke closed his eyes and nodded, then replied, "...Yes."
"Then let's save the details for when we're on our way back to Riad," Caron said.
And with that, the short dungeon raid came to an end. Now, it was finally time to uncover the truth hidden within this place.
***
After completing the dungeon raid, Caron and his group returned straight to the city.
On the way back, Caron was briefed by Luke about the general circumstances surrounding the incident. He said, "All I know is that His Highness the Crown Prince personally ordered this mission."
Just revealing the Crown Prince's involvement was enough. Luke had done his part. After all, the Imperial Guards were nothing more than knights who carried out the will of the royal family. No master in this world bothered explaining their intentions to mere servants.
"Do you think Sir Luke was telling the truth?" Leo asked casually, driving his sword into the chest of a fallen doppelganger at his feet.
Caron gave a cold nod and said, "I suspected as much. I just needed confirmation."
The Crown Prince's involvement meant far more than it seemed on the surface. It implied that the royal family could have orchestrated the entire incident.
In other words, there was a very real possibility that the Crown Prince had deliberately sent the Imperial Guards in as fodder for the doppelgangers.
They couldn't yet confirm exactly what he was planning, but the odds of some sinister plot brewing were high.
Caron asked Sir Luke to travel to Azureocean Castle. He wanted Luke to testify about the royal conspiracy, a kind of internal whistleblowing.
"I wonder if Sir Luke will actually go through with it," Leo murmured.
"Why do you say that, Leo?" Caron asked.
"Well, Sir Luke is still one of the Imperial Guards. How many knights out there have the courage to raise a sword to their own master?" Leo pointed out.
The Imperial Guards were sworn to serve the royal family. That loyalty was deeply rooted—passed down for generations.
At that, Caron gave a bitter smile and said, "In the end, it comes down to his choice. Will he follow a ruler who walks a crooked path and die with him? Or will he choose the greater cause? Whatever the decision, it's his to make—as a knight."
A memory from his previous life surfaced. It was of the time when the Malevolent Emperor had tried to sell the empire out to the demons, and Caron—then known as Cain—had done nothing but accept it.
But Luke's situation now was far better than Cain's back then. Cain had had no choice, but Luke did.
In the end, it was up to Luke to define his own chivalry.
Caron let out a self-deprecating chuckle as old memories returned. He murmured, "...History does seem to repeat itself."
If this really was the Crown Prince's plot, then he was repeating the same sins his grandfather had once committed.
Caron didn't believe the Crown Prince had acted alone.
There had been the Revanchists appearing in the capital. And now, this dungeon of doppelgangers. This wasn't something the hollow puppets that were the royal family could pull off on their own.
At the very least, it meant that the true power players of the empire had become involved.
It's not my decision to make, Caron thought.
Ultimately, this would be decided by Halo.
"How far do you think this will go?" Leo asked.
Caron's voice lowered as he replied, "To the one thing our family does best."
"You mean... You're considering rebellion?" Leo asked in shock.
"Not outright rebellion," Caron answered. "But if the charges are proven true, deposing the Crown Prince wouldn't be difficult. Removing him would be far easier than toppling the emperor himself. The first time's hard. The second time? It's much easier."
As long as they had a cause, it was enough. The emperor was still alive—for now. If they could expose the Crown Prince's schemes, things could be corrected swiftly.
Of course, doing so would come with chaos and political upheaval, but if it came to that, Halo wouldn't hesitate to draw his sword.
"...Wouldn't be surprised if the Crown Prince is the reason the emperor's stuck in bed," Caron muttered.
Leo grimaced and asked, "Isn't that... borderline treason?"
"So what? That family practically inherited treachery in their bloodline," Caron answered.
"Please stop saying that kind of stuff out loud, at least in public," Leo said.
As the two exchanged banter...
Boom!
The doors of a nearby building burst open, and someone stepped out, holding the corpse of yet another doppelganger. It was another Caron.
This second Caron tossed the body at the real Caron's feet and, with a puff of smoke, dissolved into nothingness.
Leo stared blankly at the spot, then let out a long sigh.
It hadn't been long since Caron acquired that clone ability, and he was already using it in combat as if it had always been part of his toolkit. Unfortunately, he had a terrifying talent for adaptation.
Leo wondered what kind of madness Caron was going to pull off with that power from now on. And the thought of dozens of Carons running around made Leo's skin crawl.
"This is what you call auto-hunting, right, Leo?" Caron said cheerfully as he shoved the doppelganger's corpse into his pouch of dimensional space and nodded in satisfaction. "Clean-up complete."
They had finished wiping out the remaining doppelgangers in Riad.
Normally, tracking down doppelgangers was a painstaking process, but this time, Rigor had proven to be a major help.
Whoosh!
"How did I do, Lord Caron? Not bad, right?" Rigor asked.
Rigor, still in Leon's hand, was quite different from Guillotine. He came with a fully functional voice.
Caron nodded, barely interested, then said, "Yeah, you're somewhat useful."
"I even stopped the Monster Wave!" Rigor added.
"Of course you had to stop it. Weren't you the reason the monsters came swarming in the first place? Pretty sure that was on you," Caron said.
"That wasn't my will! It was the Demon King's power inside me..."
It turned out Rigor really could control monsters, just as he'd claimed. And indeed, the monsters that had gathered near Riad dispersed almost instantly.
With the doppelgangers eliminated and the surrounding threats gone, the city's people would finally be able to enjoy a peaceful night's sleep.
Caron slid Guillotine back into its sheath and exhaled. The frigid northern air filled his lungs.
Perhaps it was because the work had been handled so cleanly—but something about the air felt refreshing.
"Caron. Look over there," Leo said, nodding to the right.
Turning his gaze, Caron spotted Natasha, the local informant for the Ducal Family of Leston, rushing toward them.
Natasha reached them quickly, then caught her breath before speaking in a calm voice. "Connection with Azureocean Castle has been established. His Grace is requesting to speak with both of you."
It was time to start wrapping things up.
Caron gave a slow nod and asked, "Count Kandle is still at the Lord's manor, right?"
"Yes, Count Kandle is awaiting both you and Lord Leo," Natasha said.
Caron turned to Leo, throwing an arm over his cousin's shoulder with a grin, then said, "Let's close the book on this one, yeah?"
Then with a voice as smooth as it was smug, Caron added, "We finished the job—now it's time to collect."
That voice had all the charm of a ruthless debt collector.