Whoosh.
A low hum filled the air as Caron's mana began to surge, pressing down on the Demon King of Havoc like a heavy tide.
The condition of the so-called Demon King was pitiful. His entire body bled as if he had been torn apart by wild beasts, and one arm and one leg were missing.
"Whoever worked on you must've had an eye for art," Caron said coolly. "Though their sense of symmetry could use some work."
His tone dripped with malice.
This wretched creature—Cardan Karien, the Demon King of Havoc—was the origin of all his tragedies. The previous life of Cain Latorre was nothing more than a construct born of this man's hands.
There were countless questions Caron wanted to ask. But looking at the condition of the Demon King of Havoc, it didn't seem he had much time left. He remarked, "Your heart is shattered."
Cardan gave a bitter laugh and said, "He's already become the Demon King of Void. There was no way I could win."
"There's no way you lost without even putting up a fight, right?" Caron asked.
At Caron's sharp tone, Cardan smiled faintly and nodded. He answered, "Half a day. That's how long it'll take him to recover his strength."
"How uncharacteristically diligent of you," Caron said, drawing Guillotine.
Shring .
"Owner, the restraints binding me feel weaker. I think I'm fine now," Guillotine remarked.
The sword's voice echoed in Caron's mind. And from the way Guillotine glowed steadily, it seemed Cardan's words were true. Until now, Guillotine had been nearly paralyzed by the overwhelming presence of the Caron of Void.
Caron aimed the sword at Cardan's chest and said quietly, "Still, you made it here alive. What about your army?"
"They're all dead," Cardan said flatly. "Regrettable, but inevitable."
"A Demon King crawling back alone, huh? What a pathetic ending. You come here to die by my hand?" Caron asked.
This man was his sworn enemy—the beginning of every loss Caron had ever suffered. Cardan had borrowed the body of his own descendant and thrown the empire into chaos, stealing even Caron's past life in the process.
No matter how he tried to reason it out, Caron could never understand the reason why . He said coldly, "Then tell me one thing. Why did you do it?"
"In accordance with the vow I made with Rael Leston," Cardan answered, "I kept my promise."
"I'm not Rael Leston," Caron stated.
That answer, strangely, seemed to satisfy Cardan. He chuckled softly, then asked, "Then are you Cain Latorre?"
"I'm neither Rael nor Cain. They're both lives that have already passed. I can't live forever bound by my past," Caron answered.
After facing the Caron of Void, he had wrestled with the question of who he really was. Whether he was Rael Leston or Cain Latorre. The memories of both lives had tangled endlessly within him, and the vengeance that had driven his current life was rooted in those memories.
But the conclusion he'd reached was startlingly simple.
"I'm Caron Leston," he declared.
Caron had gained too much in this life to waste it on the past. Before, he had never once thought there was anything he needed to protect. He had been consumed by vengeance alone.
But now... Now it was different.
The idea of protecting something felt heavy, yes—but not unbearable. He couldn't let revenge be the only thing left at the end.
"Revenge can wait," Caron said quietly. "If I don't kill that bastard, the Demon King of Void, it's all over anyway."
He smiled faintly at his own words. Without something to protect, he doubted he would've kept his sanity this long.
A man consumed by revenge was nothing more than a vengeful spirit. And Caron already knew well what would happen if such a spirit were given immense power.
"Isn't that why you came to me?" he asked with a smirk.
"Interesting," Cardan murmured.
"Believe me," Caron said, voice low and venomous, "I'd otherwise chain you down and tear you apart forever. So consider this situation a kindness."
"You don't understand how long I've waited for this moment. Your mind isn't ready to absorb my memories all at once. Store them in Guillotine—and consume them slowly," Cardan suggested.
"That's for me to decide." Caron raised his sword. "Now, get ready."
Cardan's brow furrowed slightly and asked, "Ready for what?"
"To surrender," Caron answered. "You think I'd just accept your submission because you came crawling here alone?"
This was vengeance long overdue. And even if it wasn't as satisfying as he'd imagined, he refused to let it end dull and empty.
"Because of you, countless lives went to hell. So before you die, I'll make sure you feel every bit of what you've done. Everyone, come out," Caron said.
At his call, three former Imperial Guards stepped out from behind him. Their lips curled into cruel smiles as they fixed their eyes on the fallen Cardan.
Kerra gave an exaggerated bow and said, "It's been too long, Your Majesty, the damned Malevolent Emperor bastard that you are. How have you been? Oh, wait—judging by your looks, maybe not so well. But I must say, it suits you very well."
"...Kerra. Ugo. Beatrice," Cardan muttered, recognizing each face. Then he turned to Caron and asked, "Why are you wasting time and energy with this meaningless farce?"
"Meaningless?" Caron echoed, digging at his ear. "Who said anything about this being meaningless? Whether we stab your corpse or carve you alive—that's for us to decide, you stupid bastard."
Whoosh.
Guillotine's blade gleamed a deep, dark blue. The sea itself stirred to life around it, as though drawn to the sword's wrath.
"Oh, and don't worry," Caron added with a smirk. "I already got permission from your descendants. The current Emperor himself—your far-flung heir—commanded me personally. Said to make sure you die slowly and miserably. And I'm the kind of guy who listens to imperial orders."
With that settled, Caron raised his hand and said to his subordinates, "He mocked our lives. Avoid the vital spots and stab deep. How do we handle the pain?"
"Return it in full!" they roared in unison.
Caron nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's the spirit. Let's begin."
The former knights of the Malevolent Emperor advanced without hesitation toward their once-master.
Thunk!
Thunk!
Three blades pierced through Cardan's chest.
Then Caron's sword followed, thrusting clean through his neck.
The Demon King of Havoc who had once plunged the world into terror fell with frightening ease.
"...Caron... Leston," Cardan rasped, lifting a trembling hand to touch Caron's shoulder. "May your hatred... be released."
A heartbeat later...
Fwoooosh!
A dense wave of darkness erupted from Cardan's body, engulfing Caron and the three knights in its shadow.
***
It took quite some time before Caron fully grasped what had happened. When he finally opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by darkness. This was a landscape all too familiar, all too detested.
A low, mirthless laugh escaped his lips and he said, "You really went all out with this one."
Up above, seated upon a grand golden throne, was an emperor.
This place was the Imperial Palace, the very same place Cain Latorre had defended until the moment of his death. And the same place Caron Leston had faced during his Awakening Ceremony.
But this time, it was different. The emperor on the throne wore robes of gold, and beside Caron stood his three old subordinates.
"Commander," Kerra called softly.
"It feels as if we've gone back in time, Commander," Ugo said.
"Still a bastard even at death's door," Beatrice muttered with a smirk. "Couldn't die cleanly, could he?"
Kerra, Ugo, and Beatrice; they were the ones who had once stood by his side, protecting this place together. Their faces hadn't changed much; after all, they had reached the peak of 8-Star and conquered aging long ago.
The only thing different here was Caron himself.
The emperor sat high above, alone upon the throne, while his loyal knights still stood beside him as before.
"What a dull illusion," Caron said dryly. "Wouldn't you agree?"
Of course, this was all an illusion conjured by Cardan, the Demon King of Havoc.
After exchanging a few light words with his old subordinates, Caron slowly turned his gaze to the throne. And there he was: The Demon King of Havoc himself.
"What better place to end this cursed bond," Cardan said quietly, "than here, Caron Leston?"
Caron scoffed and replied, "You killed your father and murdered your descendants. If anyone ever embodied the word evil , it's you."
"That's a rare compliment," Cardan replied, smiling faintly.
"Too bad you can't do anything here," Caron said coldly.
The figure before him was nothing more than a thought—a remnant of will. This world had been created from Cardan's last surge of dark mana. It was neither eternal nor tangible; no physical power existed here.
All Caron had to do was absorb that lingering will. Then everything—the Demon King of Havoc, his power, his memories—would vanish and become his.
Creak.
Caron climbed the steps toward the throne without hesitation, and the three knights followed silently behind him.
As he approached, Cardan spoke softly. "The vow I made with Rael Leston is finally fulfilled. You, Caron Leston, are both the reincarnation of Rael Leston and Cain Latorre."
"So you're admitting that you made yourself the villain?" Caron asked flatly.
Cardan gave a quiet chuckle and replied, "I've never once been virtuous. I didn't play the villain—I was one. Twisting your fate was simply part of my greed."
Creak.
The distance between them closed swiftly.
Cardan's golden eyes glimmered with a wicked light as he said, "Just as I could never understand you, you could never understand me. That was always our nature."
"Long last words for a dying man," Caron said.
A few more steps, and he stood at the foot of the throne. The moment he had dreamed of for lifetimes had finally come, and yet... There was no satisfaction in it.
"You're truly a damned bastard to the very end," Caron said.
This wasn't the revenge he had wanted. He'd hoped the Demon King of Havoc would resist, that he would fight, scream, and suffer.
But when Caron met those golden eyes, he knew that was impossible. They weren't the eyes of a man clinging to hope. They were the eyes of someone who longed for death.
Caron wondered why it had taken him this long to realize.
"I don't feel sorry for you," Cardan said softly. "I used you just like Rael used me. That's all."
Caron gave a bitter smile and said, "Honestly, I'm grateful you stayed a bastard to the end. Of course you should. You can't be sorry to me."
"You command an army of millions," Cardan said. "The false one has fallen. The path to the Core of Sin lies open. What happens next is up to you."
A faint violet hue flickered in his golden eyes as he continued, "Only another life can twist a fixed fate. Yours has already changed—and you and your companions have been tempered beyond recognition."
At last, Caron reached the top. The throne stood before him, its jewels dulled and grayed over time.
Cardan closed his eyes and murmured, "Remember this feeling. When all the malice of the world turns upon you, you will already know what choice to make."
Caron said nothing. He simply raised Guillotine high.
"I pray we never meet again," Cardan said, his voice fading. "May fortune guide you, Caron Leston."
Shrrk!
Caron swung.
A streak of dark blue light cut through the air, severing Cardan's head cleanly.
Shaaaaa!
Ash spilled from the corpse, soft and gray, not like the darkness before. The ash drifted, as if waiting, and was swiftly drawn into Guillotine's blade.
Thud!
Caron drove his sword straight through Cardan's body, and the strike pierced clean through the throne behind him. Through Guillotine, the Demon King of Havoc's power seeped into him, and with it, his memories began to unfold.
"This is... impossible!" Guillotine screamed in his mind. "These are memories spanning millennia! You can't absorb this! Owner! This isn't normal!
"That doesn't make sense," Caron muttered. "The Demon Kings appeared barely three hundred years ago—"
"I told you! It's impossible! Some of these memories must be sealed away again, or—!"
Before the blade could finish, flashes of scenes began flooding Caron's vision.
"Another failure, Rael Leston. You were wrong."
Cardan was staring down at Caron's own corpse.
And that memory wasn't it.
"You couldn't overcome the malice."
"My power cannot change fate."
"Then... The only choice left is—"
One death after another, dozens of endings, unfolded before Caron's eyes.