Caron stood before the Veil of the Void, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"So this is the mark left behind by the Demon King of Havoc breaking through?" he muttered to himself.
From the violet curtain radiated traces of the dark mana the Demon King of Havoc had shed.
Dark mana leaked from the rift, coiling around Caron and his companions, but with a casual sweep of his hand, Caron absorbed Void's mana into himself.
"Seria, can you patch this up for now?" he asked.
"It will be difficult," Seria replied.
"That's a shame. Still, let's at least cover it temporarily. We won't be using this passage anyway. Later, we'll bring priests and mages to restore it properly," Caron insisted.
Seria gave a small nod, then raised her hand. Holy power flared from her fingertips, then...
Flaaaash!
Radiant white light poured forth, filling the gaping wound in the barrier for a short while.
Caron glanced back at his companions. There were Halo's four grandchildren, along with Kerra, Orion, and Libre—an elite task force assembled specifically to analyze the Veil.
Kerra jabbed his sword into the barrier several times, then clicked his tongue and asked, "Can this thing even be broken?"
In front of others, Kerra still spoke informally to Caron, almost as if he relished it.
"Of course it can," Caron answered with a shrug.
"Doesn't look like it to me," Kerra retorted.
"That's just because you've gotten rusty," Caron shot back.
"Tsk tsk. Don't you respect your elders?" Kerra said.
"Get stronger than me first, then we'll talk," Caron replied.
Ever since reaching 9-Star, Caron had regained his old stature—at least when dealing with his former subordinates.
Kerra clenched his fist, glaring, then said, "I feel like punching you."
"Fair's fair. One hit each?" Caron teased.
"Ahem!" Kerra cleared his throat loudly, then raised his fist toward Caron. "If you can really break it, prove it. I'll believe it when I see it."
"Nothing easier," Caron replied.
Shrrrk!
He drew Guillotine from its sheath and slashed. A sharp crack split across the barrier. The blade devoured the dark mana, and with the Demon King's power layered on top, the Veil parted smoothly under his strike.
Watching the curtain open in an instant, Kerra muttered in frustration and muttered, "I could do that too once I hit 9-Star."
"Sure, but you're still stuck at 8-Star," Caron said with a grin.
The two men's childish bickering earned nothing but weary looks from the others. The most furious, unsurprisingly, was Seria.
Smack!
Seria slapped Caron's back hard enough to sting. Grinding her teeth, she said, "You've just made another hole I have to seal! Your head's really in the clouds, huh?"
"Argh! Seria, your smack... That's a deadly weapon!" Caron croaked.
"For once, just take things seriously!" Seria snapped.
Still, Caron had proven he could pierce the Veil. He turned slyly toward Leo and said, "You could do it too, Leo."
"...Me?" Leo asked in surprise.
"You've inherited a Demon King's power as well. Want to try?" Caron asked.
Leo inhaled softly, then swung his beloved blade, Rigor, at the curtain.
Craaaack!
A frigid wave sliced across the Veil. Though not as clean as Caron's strike, a faint fissure appeared.
Leo's face lit up with pride. He shouted, "I–I can do it too!"
"Then we've found the method," Caron said with satisfaction.
It seemed clear now. The key to breaking the Demon Kings' barrier was none other than Demon King power itself.
With the method in hand, what remained was deciding their next move.
Orion, the elf patrol captain, asked with flames of Ifrit curling around him, "But is it even necessary to open a new passage?"
"Why walk into an enemy's trap?" Caron replied. "We don't need to force ourselves into the path they dug."
The Demon King of Havoc had crossed with his strength intact. This would be their fiercest battle yet. His armies dwarfed even those of the other Demon Kings—monstrous demonic monsters in uncountable numbers, highborn nobles at his side.
To march blindly into his chosen tunnel would be suicide.
"The ones who'll enter this path are already decided," Caron said with a wicked smile. He swept his eyes around the group. "The nobles who once followed Lust and Sloth—we'll drive them into this tunnel."
"And you're certain they won't betray us?" someone asked.
"Of course not. They're bound completely to me," Caron replied.
During the conquest of the Demon Realm, countless demonic monsters had fallen under Caron's control. At first, he'd considered killing them all, but that would have been wasteful. Better to use them as bait.
The plan was simple. They were going to hurl the demonic monsters and traitorous nobles into the tunnel, then surround Havoc's forces. The expeditionary army would annihilate the Demon King of Havoc and his troops in one overwhelming strike.
That was the strategy their commanders had agreed upon—and the experiments with the Veil had been for this very purpose.
"An overwhelming victory is what we need," Caron declared.
For the Demon King of Void, they still knew nothing. Which meant unknown dangers awaited them. To face that, they had to conserve their strength. To do that, they had to win here in absolute terms.
"We'll mobilize everything," Caron continued. "The Magic Tower's airships, every strategic weapon we've built."
A fated battle loomed ahead. He could feel it. The Demon King of Havoc was surely waiting just beyond the Veil.
"We've done all we can here. It's time to move. Return to headquarters," Caron ordered.
Only seven days remained until the operation began. Seven days to decide everything—victory or failure.
Caron refused to imagine the consequences of failure. For now, there was only one path: victory.
At his words, his companions nodded and turned swiftly toward the base.
The place they left behind sank into suffocating silence.
***
Time flowed swiftly.
While the expeditionary army readied for battle, massive supply lines were established. The continent's greatest merchant guilds, vying for influence, poured resources into the war effort. Thanks to them, the army not only replenished everything it had consumed, but even surpassed the scale of its initial landing in the Demon Realm.
"Future participation rights in the Demon Realm development project will be granted based on contribution."
That was the condition Fayle, acting as the de facto quartermaster of the expedition, had laid out. With money and power as the bait, the merchant guilds had little choice but to open their coffers. It was greed, ambition, and madness rolled into one—but it created a miracle.
The army finished its preparations at record speed. Never before in the history of the continent had such an immense resupply been accomplished.
And reinforcements arrived as well.
With the expedition's chances of victory rising, nations began sending their hidden elites—knights and soldiers who had been trained in secret.
"Only by claiming merit can our voices be heard."
"We've raised these knights in the shadows, but... This is our chance."
Every kind of selfish motive and political scheme became tangled in the mix. Yet the expeditionary army didn't care. They needed every available hand.
With reinforcements and supplies complete, the force now stood larger and stronger than any army in history. Their morale soared higher than ever before.
At last, the day of battle arrived.
"...What a damn crowd," Caron muttered, clicking his tongue as he gazed out at the army before him.
The army consisted of demons and demonic monsters in terrifying numbers. The demonic monsters alone numbered over half a million, with several thousand nobles among them—thanks to Caron absorbing the nobles who'd once followed Sloth and Lust.
Halo, hands folded behind his back, murmured softly, "What a waste."
"What is?" Caron asked.
"With numbers like these, they'd be a great help. Are we really going to throw them away as bait?" Halo asked.
Caron gave a thin smile, then replied, "The bait has to be big to lure the prey. And besides, if we leave them be, they'll cause more trouble than they're worth."
"It's a wicked plan," Halo said.
"Why blame me? Every other commander agreed to it too," Caron replied with a smirk as he swept his gaze over the gathered army.
Demons and demonic monsters alike were staring at him. Had they been humans or other races, none of them would have marched willingly as shields. Nobody wanted to die.
But demons were different. They gave blind loyalty. Unless their Demon King fell, they would never retreat. As enemies, it was an infuriating trait. As subordinates, it made them simpler than humans to manage.
"Well, since I'm sending them to die, I should at least offer some words," Caron said.
"Do as you like," Halo replied.
"I'll be back," Caron said with a small smile, then stepped forward.
At once, the nobles dropped to their knees, voices raised as one.
"Liberator!"
"Liberator!"
The chorus of thousands of demons was almost a painting in itself.
Caron walked past them and stopped before the Veil. Slowly, he turned around.
Whoosh.
His mana spread outward, saturating the air. The vast sea of power befitting a 9-Star surged like endless tides, pressing down on the demons with sheer might.
"I still believe your kind deserves extinction," Caron said, speaking his heart plainly. "Because of you, too many have suffered. Too many still suffer. If I had my way, I'd cut you all down right here."
Facing demons never felt natural. The hatred he'd buried for so long stirred restlessly, urging him to lift Guillotine and sever their heads.
But Caron forced the impulse down and said in a level voice, "Yet I will grant you a chance."
There was a simple reason he had spared these nobles. Their lives could buy the lives of his expedition. Every demon they slaughtered was one less soldier lost from his side. It was basic arithmetic.
"You will pay for your sins with your lives," Caron declared.
His voice dripped with venom. The demons bowed their heads, submitting to his judgment.
"Slaughter those who follow Havoc. Kill them, and kill them again. Only then may you hope to atone," Caron commanded.
It was a cruel command. But none of them hesitated.
This man before them wasn't just human. He was the Demon King Slayer, the absolute who had absorbed their Kings' powers. With two Demon Kings already dead, Caron was the rightful master of their loyalty.
And so they shouted in unison.
"We will obey!"
"We will obey!"
Kyaaaaaaaah!
Their roar shook the ground, demonic monsters howling with bloodlust beside them. A murderous aura spread outward, thick enough to make the distant expeditionary soldiers tense in unease.
Caron, however, accepted it as natural. Their killing intent wasn't aimed at him.
"My enemies are your enemies. Go, tear out their hearts. Wash away your sins in their blood," he shouted.
Whoosh!
Caron gripped Guillotine and swung toward the Veil.
This time, unlike their earlier experiments, the result was overwhelming.
Boooooom!
The barrier split wide open, and beyond it stretched a sky of ash. A world drained of life, as if the concept of ruin itself had been given form.
"March," Caron ordered.
The Demon King of Liberation commanded his vassals.
At long last, the final act had begun.