The enemy had lost all will to resist.
Boom!
"Some of the demons and demonic monsters are starting to flee!" someone shouted.
"Kill every last one of them except those running north! Drive the stragglers that way!" Caron commanded.
With no thought of mercy, he suggested they continue bombarding the fortress interior, and Halo readily agreed.
The fortress had already become a living hell. What was once trusted to shield them had turned into nothing more than iron bars trapping them inside.
Seated beside Halo, Caron took a long swig of whiskey. Dealing with the Void Walkers had drained more of his energy than he cared to admit.
Of course, it wasn't physical exhaustion. It was the kind that wore on the mind.
Glancing around to make sure no one was listening, he lowered his voice and said to Halo, "Looks like this is almost over, don't you think?"
"The Demon King of Havoc has never withdrawn from the field before," Halo replied gravely. "Thanks to you, our losses are far lighter than expected. But no matter how I look at it, this strategy is shamefully underhanded. It isn't knightly."
"What's so great about being knightly?" Caron asked dryly. "Charging in on horseback just to get skewered and die? Halo, if it comes down to it, I'd rather live a coward than die a noble fool."
"...I swear, you've changed a lot," Halo said.
"They say refusing to change is the greatest sin," Caron muttered. "Back then, I didn't have the choice to run. That was the only difference."
Maybe it was because the high of battle was still thrumming in his veins, but no matter how much whiskey he drank, he couldn't feel its warmth or haze.
Crash!
He flung the bottle to the ground, where it shattered into glittering shards before they were quickly swallowed by ash-gray dust.
"This place is hell," he murmured to himself.
"I agree," Halo said with a slow nod. "Any word on where the Demon King of Havoc disappeared to?"
"Hmm," Caron responded, then pulled a fresh bottle of whiskey from his pouch of dimensional space and popped the cork with a nod. "The Core of Sin."
"...Never heard of it," Halo muttered.
"It's where the Demon King of Void was born. Never mind, not born—found," Caron replied.
Through the Void Walkers, the Demon King of Void had left Caron fragments of memory. They were undeniably the memories of Rael Leston. Memories not just of a previous life, but of the life before that. Through them, Caron had learned much.
It was disorienting, like having someone else's mind layered inside his own. Yet he embraced the knowledge. For victory in war, such truths were priceless.
"Where is Shiker?" Caron asked.
"He is restoring facilities in the fortress of the Demon King of Sloth," Halo answered.
"I have a few questions for him..." Caron began.
"Then ask the Queen to summon him here," Halo suggested.
To both men, even the Pirate Queen who terrorized the southern seas of the continent was little more than a convenient courier.
Caron furrowed his brow as he surveyed the battlefield.
The demons bound unwillingly to him tore at one another in bitter infighting, while the expeditionary forces steadily cut down the ones still attempting to flee.
It was nothing short of a crushing victory. Since their entry into the Demon Realm, never had they triumphed so completely.
And all of it was possible because the Demon King of Havoc had abandoned the field.
"Tsk tsk. I even gave a rousing speech telling them all to go die gloriously. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered?" Caron muttered with a mischievous grin.
Halo shrugged and said, "If even one more man survived because of it, then it was worth it."
Thanks to Caron's quick thinking, their losses had been reduced to an astonishing degree.
The demons and demonic monsters had fallen into a savage frenzy, tearing each other apart. The expeditionary forces only needed to wait for the bloodletting to run its course before advancing into the collapsed fortress to claim it.
Halo exhaled slowly as he watched the enemy escaping northward. He called, "Caron."
"Yeah?" Caron replied.
"What in the world lies to the north?" Halo asked.
Caron paused, then forced a smile as he answered, "The end."
"...The end?" Halo asked.
"All the things Rael Leston failed to achieve, the original sin of the Arcane Civilization, and the sin of survival itself," Caron replied.
The memories were still hazy, yet they conveyed enough information to be useful. They weren't memories he wanted to recall. He combed through them mechanically, extracting only what he needed.
There were far too many secrets tangled within, too many truths Rael Leston had hidden away. Explaining everything to Halo would be impossible.
"This battle is only the beginning," Caron said.
"What do you mean?" Halo asked sharply.
"Void will keep testing us. And if we want to move forward, we'll have no choice but to endure those trials," Caron answered.
They had heard countless times that the Demon King of Void was fundamentally unlike the other Demon Kings. At first, no one had truly understood what that meant. But now, Caron finally did.
Void only had two goals.
"Either to be destroyed himself... or to destroy the entire world," Caron said quietly.
Halo grimaced and said, "What a mad bastard."
"He was born of malice. Or no—if he's existed since the beginning, maybe this entire world was forged from the malice of Void itself," Caron said.
"Then isn't he worthy of being called the Great Demon King?" Halo asked.
"I don't know," Caron admitted. "He doesn't even have a body. That's why I couldn't kill him."
"...You?" Halo asked.
"Oh, right, I mean myself from two lifetimes ago," Caron said casually. "Come on, Halo. When your ancestor tells you something, you should understand it right away."
Halo clenched his fist tightly, forcing down his temper as he thought, This lunatic.
Even now Caron had the gall to joke. Halo could grudgingly accept that Caron was the reincarnation of the founder, but there was no way in hell he would ever treat him like some revered founder.
Caron, reading his expression with ease, smirked and said, "Hey, I've been calling you 'Grandfather' all this time. Is it really so hard to call me 'Founder' just once?"
"That's because you decided to do it yourself. Not a chance in hell until the day I die," Halo snapped.
"Fair enough. Doesn't change the fact that I'm your ancestor's reincarnation. Still, let's say I let it slide this time. Consider this a favor you owe me," Caron said.
"You damned lunatic," Halo muttered.
Caron chuckled, and that only irritated Halo further.
With that bit of banter, the tension between them eased, and both turned their gazes back to the battlefield.
Howls rang out across the smoking ruins, the thunder of bombardment never ceased, and countless lives flickered and went dark.
They wondered how many would walk away alive from this place.
This has to end here, Caron thought. To prevent another war like this, every root of the calamity had to be severed.
He swallowed another mouthful of whiskey, the burn settling into his chest.
"Halo," he called.
"If you're about to start another joke, save it until after we—" Halo began, but was cut off.
"No. I have something to tell you about the Demon King of Havoc. Something very important," Caron interrupted.
After a pause, he began to speak, revealing the truth about the Demon King of Havoc.
"Say that again," Halo demanded.
"It's the truth," Caron said firmly.
"This reeks of the Void's trickery. If we let ourselves be toyed with—" Halo began again.
"But even if it's true, would it change anything?" Caron didn't let Halo finish.
Halo's expression twisted with fury and doubt.
***
The expeditionary forces, having seized the momentum, relentlessly pressed the enemy. The nobles who still clung to the Demon King of Havoc quickly rallied what troops they could and fled northward through the fortress.
By the twelfth hour of battle, the fortress—scarred with traces of the Arcane Civilization—finally fell.
"...We've won!" someone cried.
"Wounded! Get the wounded first!" another shouted.
"Battle-priests, begin immediate treatment! Medics, assist the priests!"
For the first time since stepping into the Realm of Void, the expedition had won a clear victory.
The forces that Havoc had brought into the war suffered devastating losses, having managed to salvage barely a tenth of their strength before abandoning the fortress.
Vice Commander Hollander dispatched only scouts to shadow the retreating enemy, then immediately ordered his troops to regroup.
It was a one-sided triumph, but the expedition had still paid in blood. Before they could celebrate, the wounded had to be tended.
Caron exhaled lightly as he looked upon the rows of demons assembled before him and said, "Funny. Their numbers look even bigger than before."
The nobles he had seized from Sloth and Lust hadn't diminished much in number. The original plan had been to drive them all into this fortress and let them die in the carnage, but the battle had changed course. The losses were minimal.
Now, with the addition of Havoc's nobles—newly bound under his control—Caron suddenly commanded a host that dwarfed the expeditionary force itself.
"...I can't just keep telling them to slaughter each other," he muttered.
"O Demon King of Liberation, we dedicate our lives to you! Please, use us as you see fit!" the nobles cried, kneeling.
Their loyalty had changed utterly. The so-called "Evolved Rabies" Caron had unleashed earlier had spread to the existing nobles, until nearly all of them now worshiped him with blind devotion. Even the demonic monsters were no different.
Caron now stood as the most powerful Demon King in the world. Ironically, he found himself more troubled than elated.
"Congratulations, you've truly become the greatest Demon King now. I always knew you'd be good at this whole Demon King business," Guillotine said.
"Shut it, Guillotine," Caron snapped.
"Oh no, the Demon King himself is scolding me. I'm trembling in fear. Fine, I'll be quiet... heh heh." Guillotine, of course, never wasted an opportunity to taunt.
Caron slammed his fist against the sword's hilt several times in irritation.
Watching this, Leo stroked the blade of his own beloved sword, Rigor, and said softly, "I'm not like Caron, you know that, Rigor?"
"We're the perfect pair, Leo! I believe in you! We'll always be together," Rigor said.
"Thanks," Leo murmured.
Due to how Caron treated Guillotine, Rigor adored its master.
After tormenting Guillotine for a while, Caron turned to Leo and said, "I can't drag all of them around by myself. Leo, take a share."
"...Take a share of what?" Leo asked warily.
"What do you think? The demons and demonic monsters. I'll hand over some of the authority to you," Caron answered.
Ever since being nearly killed by the Demon Queen of Lust, Leo had inherited a portion of demonic power. Other than Caron himself, Leo was the only one in the expedition capable of commanding demons.
"It's inefficient for me to control them all alone. And let's be honest, Leo, it's about time you started pulling your weight. I raised you up for this day. So I'll leave it to you—our Demon King of Frozen Sea."
"...You want me to control those?" Leo asked as his eyes flicked toward the monsters.
They were shrieking, each more grotesque and bloodthirsty than the last.
"You're doing this just because I teased you last time for becoming a Demon King, aren't you?" he continued.
"Come on, Leo. Your younger cousin is carrying all this weight. Share the load a bit," Caron said.
"You mad bastard!" Leo snapped.
It was a rare sight to see two heirs of the Ducal Family of Leston's golden generation standing as Demon Kings, bickering like quarrelsome cousins.
Off to the side, Leon and their cousin Hugo exchanged words as they watched.
"Hugo, how does it feel, being the eldest cousin of two Demon Kings?" Leon teased.
"The worst," Hugo replied flatly.
"Not even jealous? March back to the continent with those armies, and you could conquer it. Why don't you beg Caron to make you a Demon King too?" Leon asked.
"And you?" Hugo asked back.
"Me? If it came to that, I'd rather be an Empress. What kind of question is that?" Leon replied.
Just what kind of world will it be, once this war ends? Hugo wondered.
He remembered the look on his father's and uncle's faces earlier, and he let out a long sigh. Once, his father had dreamed of becoming head of the house. Now, that ambition was gone.
Hugo recalled his father's words...
"...Hugo, when this war ends, we should leave Azureocean Castle... No—forget it. Just your mother and I will go. You must stay and keep Caron in check. Only then will our family know peace. Bear this burden for us..."
His father had abandoned his dream of becoming the head of the house. But his uncle, Raphael, was different.
"I overheard Father talking with Uncle yesterday," Leon whispered. "Guess what Uncle said? He swore he'd make Caron pay for his sins."
"His sins?" Hugo asked.
"He made Leo a Demon King. Uncle swore he'd get revenge," Leon said.
"Revenge against Caron? That's too dangerous—" Hugo began, but was cut off.
"He knows. That's why, instead of striking at Caron, he said he'd just bleed the family coffers dry. Spend everything recklessly once we return. No receipts, no records," Leon interrupted and explained.
"So he plans to take it out on Uncle Fayle, the one managing the accounts," Hugo muttered.
"Exactly," Leon said.
Hugo thought back on how both men had once been willing to do anything to seize the position as the head of the house. Now those men were gone, replaced by pitiful middle-aged cowards, too terrified of being bitten by Caron, the Mad Dog.
...Father. For the first time, Hugo actually pitied him. And with that pity came resolve—starting today, he would treat his father better.
As Hugo and Leon whispered together, the Mad Dog himself turned toward them and shouted, "Hugo! Leon! Come here for a second! I've got something for you to do... Oh, right, Leon! Mind if I have a word with His Majesty the Emperor?"
"...With His Majesty? Why so suddenly?" Leon asked suspiciously.
"I've got something important to tell him. You've got that direct channel to him, right? Don't bother denying it—I heard you two chatting away at night through it. Sounded like a couple of lovebirds. Anyway, lend it to me. It's urgent," Caron said.
And so, amid the noisy chaos of the battlefield, the cousins busied themselves with cleaning up the aftermath.