Caron led his forces into the Core of Sin. He felt a little lonely without his companions, but at least he wasn't short on conversation partners.
"You should've waited outside too," Caron said.
"As long as I can feel the Lord's presence, I cannot stay still," Gratia replied solemnly. "This is my duty, oath-bearer. If he has returned in a corrupted form, then it is my hand that must end him."
"Well, if you insist," Caron said lightly. "But remember, Lady Gratia—you have to serve as a tutor later on."
"A... tutor?" Gratia asked.
"Aqua needs proper dragon education if she's ever going to grow into her full form," Caron explained, a grin tugging at his lips.
"...You truly dote on your daughter," Gratia said with a faint smile.
Perhaps it was because he'd wandered too many battlefields, but Caron's thoughts suddenly drifted back to Azureocean Castle—his family waiting there, and Aqua's bright face. Even when he'd been exhausted to his bones, Aqua's playful smile always melted his fatigue.
When the war was over, he decided he'd buy her all the delicious things she wanted. It was only natural, he supposed—when things got hard, the longing for family always grew stronger.
"Ahem. Lord Caron, I am right beside you as well," a voice called out.
"The dark mage should keep quiet," Caron said coldly. "You're a person of interest right now."
"Me?" Libre asked, feigning innocence.
"Let's not forget, this place is sacred ground for your master. Who's to say you won't suddenly turn and stab me in the back?" Caron replied.
"I've told you countless times, I do not serve the Demon King of Void!" Libre protested desperately. "I—Libre—will overcome this trial. I came only to uncover the truth behind all of this!"
Caron couldn't recall Libre ever showing malicious intent. Since joining the expedition, the man had been cooperative, even volunteering for tedious tasks others avoided. Still, dark mages were notorious for betrayal—it came as naturally to them as breathing. Caution was always necessary.
After offering a mild threat to keep Libre in check, Caron scanned his surroundings. He muttered, "This place really is... abnormal."
"All laws are twisted here," Libre said quietly. "Time, space—everything."
From the outside, the city had seemed desolate. But within, the capital of the ancient Arcane Civilization—Glory—still retained fragments of its old grandeur.
Towering structures stretched into the ashen sky, blasphemously high, and grotesque creatures flitted through the air like living shadows.
Kwoooom!
Boom!
Explosions echoed from every direction. It was far from peaceful—sporadic battles were erupting across the city, and through the chaos, Caron could sense faint traces of the Demon King of Havoc's dark mana.
"Looks like the guests who entered before us are fighting hard," Caron remarked. "Seems that Havoc and Void aren't on the same side after all."
"Owner... I feel sick," Guillotine murmured in his mind.
"You're a demonic sword, Guillotine. How can you even feel sick?" Caron asked, frowning.
"I don't know... It feels as if my strength is draining away. What's happening to me?" Guillotine replied.
It was the first time the sword had ever complained of such a thing. Caron frowned deeper, feeling uneasy.
"It feels like my body's being pulled somewhere..." Guillotine added.
Whoosh.
A low hum vibrated through the sword. Caron didn't know what it was, but something in this place was affecting Guillotine.
"You're high maintenance today," Caron muttered, sighing as he infused the blade with his mana.
Only after Guillotine absorbed its fill of energy did the sword release a relieved sigh. It said, "Phew... Better."
"Keep yourself stable. I'll find out what's causing it," Caron said, inspecting Guillotine's condition once more.
Before he could dwell on it, Duke Judas approached and kneeled, then said, "My Lord, the Army of Liberation has finished its preparations."
"No need to wait," Caron said. "Advance. Our target is the city's center—there should be a grand temple there."
The memory Void granted him had been little more than an invitation. Caron recalled the faint map imprinted in his mind—the layout of Glory.
The center was where the Demon King of Void waited. Judging by the scattered battles around them, the city still held forces loyal to Void.
Where is Rael Leston? Caron thought grimly.
There were too many variables. He wondered if Rael Leston was here, and where he could be hiding.
This is getting annoying, Caron thought.
It would be ideal to eliminate the uncertainties, but there was no time. All he could do now was smash through with overwhelming force.
He turned to Judas and said quietly, "If you survive this, I'll grant you a chance."
"...A chance, my lord?" Judas repeated.
"I won't kill you," Caron said coolly. "So fight fiercely. Kill my enemies. I'll free you from the dark mana's curse."
"Forgive me, but without the dark mana, we are nothing," Judas said.
"Then would you rather die with it still festering in you?" Caron asked, voice dropping to a cold whisper. "Because I can make that happen too. It's easier for me that way."
The Army of Liberation was, in truth, a punishment unit. The demons within would bleed to prove their worth.
"If you spill your blood in their place," Caron continued, "someone from the expedition will live. You're paying for your sins now."
There was no other path forward. The demons followed him with blind devotion, and Caron had no intention of forcing meaningless deaths upon them.
Perhaps Judas understood. He bowed his head solemnly and said, "Thank you for giving us this opportunity."
Caron's expression turned glacial. He added, "Then go and prove your worth. Remember the countless innocents who died to your kind. Let guilt carve itself into your soul—because that guilt is the only salvation left for you."
He still harbored nothing but bitterness toward the demons. And yet here he was, leading them. If it meant victory, he would grant them temporary absolution. But the price of that mercy would be steep.
Whoosh.
A pulse of mana flowed from Caron into Judas, who received it in silence.
He didn't need it spelled out to understand. He thought to himself, ...O Demon King of Liberation.
This was the greatest mercy the Demon King of Liberation could offer. Even from the will that seeped into his mind, Judas could tell how deeply the king hated demons.
But he willingly accepted Caron's will. He would gladly throw everything away to prove his worth.
Every living being clung to the instinct to survive, even the battle-mad demons. If this battle could grant their kind a future...
Then I will gladly offer my life to the cause, Judas thought. He was going to fight for the will of the Demon King.
"Then," Judas began at last, turning to his troops, "we will begin the assault immediately."
With grim resolve, he raised his weapon high.
The battle for the Core of Sin had begun.
***
The Army of Liberation found their first enemy to be something utterly unexpected.
Krrraaaah!
Kaarrgggghhhh!
Shrieking followed, savage and inhuman.
Given that they were in the Realm of Void, they'd assumed they would face Void Walkers or some other beings born of emptiness. But instead, what blocked their path were demons and demonic monsters.
"Kill them all!" someone shouted.
"Salvation awaits!" another voice cried.
These weren't the ragged remnants of the Havoc Legion—they were something far more numerous and organized. The demons, as if possessed by madness, muttered grotesque incantations and threw themselves into the fray. Those who followed Caron met them head-on, their own eyes glinting with a similar frenzy.
Thus began a true civil war among kin. Dark mana surged and twisted through the air. Screams from demonic monsters echoed across the barren land.
And yet, they hadn't even reached the outskirts of the city.
"Where the hell did these bastards crawl out from?" Caron muttered.
Slash!
With a single clean motion, he severed the neck of a wolf-shaped demonic monster—a Fenrir—that lunged at him. His brow furrowed.
These weren't troops of Havoc. Nor were they troops of Void. And yet, something about the mana within the monsters felt... familiar.
"...Azure Mana?" Guillotine said in disbelief.
"Don't talk nonsense," Caron growled.
"Owner, you feel it too," Guillotine said.
Each time the blade fell, the dark mana within the slain monsters erupted outward—and in that dark surge, Caron could sense a trace of something he knew all too well.
He wanted to deny it. He really did. But there was no mistaking it. He could feel it clearly now.
The force commanding these monsters was none other than Azure Mana.
But Caron wondered why and how that was. He wondered why Azure Mana—power meant to suppress dark mana—was flowing through these creatures.
Kwoooom!
A monstrous demonic monster with three heads swooped down from above. Caron bit his lip and swung Guillotine in a wide arc.
Waves erupted from the ground, splitting the creature's heads apart in an instant. Its blood rained down like a crimson storm, drenching the gray wasteland.
What the hell is going on? Caron thought grimly. Never since entering this Demon Realm had he felt such an ominous presence until now.
He tightened his grip on Guillotine and surveyed the battlefield. The gray earth had turned red from the mingling blood of demons and demonic monsters.
Azure Mana even tainted the demonic monsters themselves. Caron already knew whose power it was. He couldn't not know.
"...Rael Leston," he whispered.
There was no doubt. It was Rael's mana. But if that was true, Caron wondered why that mana was flowing through these demonic monsters.
Fine, let's say they follow Rael. But why are they attacking us? Caron wondered.
Gratia had said this place was a distorted space—time and dimensions twisted upon themselves. If that was true, then another version of Rael could exist here.
Even so, Caron couldn't understand why Rael—his own former incarnation—would turn against him.
Rael Leston, founder of the Ducal Family of Leston, had once been Caron in a previous life.
...So, the Rael Leston of this world is different from the one I knew? Caron thought.
That seemed to be the only explanation. Otherwise, nothing made sense.
To be honest, he wasn't even sure it was Rael. The Demon King of Void could be toying with them. With Void's omnipotence, it wouldn't be impossible to create a being infused with Azure Mana.
After all, this entire world was false. And within a lie—anything was possible.
"Damn it all," Caron hissed.
He'd hoped to find allies in Rael Leston and the Dragon Lord. Instead, this was the worst-case scenario.
If Rael Leston was the enemy, then chances were the Dragon Lord was too. Even estimating their odds of victory felt meaningless now.
"The grand finale, huh?" Caron spat. "You bastard, Demon King of Void."
He cursed under his breath and swung his blade—
Craaaash!
A bolt of black lightning fell from the heavens. Caron twisted instinctively, barely dodging.
He had no time to breathe in relief before a dark hand emerged from where the bolt had struck.
Whsshhk!
A shadowy arm lunged for his throat, but Pluto—hidden within Caron's own shadow—lashed out and deflected the attack.
Flash!
Caron expelled mana through his feet and leaped back to widen the distance.
From the settling darkness, a woman stepped forth—her silhouette curving, graceful, and familiar.
The moment Caron saw her face, his brow tightened further. He muttered, "Great. Just great."
The woman smiled, voice smooth as silk, "How cold. You could at least pretend to be happy to see me."
"Why are you here?" Caron demanded.
"Who knows?" the woman replied lightly. "You probably think this is all an illusion anyway... so believe whatever you want."
Fwoooosh!
Ten wings flared open behind her back.
Caron clenched his jaw and adjusted his grip on Guillotine . He asked dryly, "When did you grow two more wings?"
"In the distant future you'll never see," the woman said.
"And when did you start dyeing them that color?" Caron asked.
"Because the one I serve now isn't Light," the woman answered.
"What a cursed world," Caron muttered. "Just looking at you tells me enough—this place really is built on lies."
Her wings were black, but there was no mistaking her.
"Seria," Caron said in a low voice.
Seria's lips curved into a weary smile, then she replied, "Let me tell you one thing first."
Her fist darkened, dark light pulsing from her knuckles as her voice trembled with something like resignation. She continued, "This world... isn't a lie."
"Have you ever seen me fall for a demon's whisper?" Caron asked.
"Never," Seria said softly. "If anything, you're the one who seduces demons, not the other way around."
"Then you already know what I'm going to say," Caron said.
Seria's smile faltered, but she nodded and replied, "Of course."
"Then that's that," Caron said simply.
And with no hesitation whatsoever, he drove his blade straight through Seria's heart.