The eye hovering above the ancient monolith turned toward Caron.
In that vast, empty wasteland, only the violet eye floated—sinister and alive. Around it, the power of Void churned endlessly, a storm without center or mercy. The power of Void sleeping within Caron's body began to stir in response, drawn irresistibly toward the swirling core.
Whoosh.
Mana surged from Guillotine, wrapping around Caron's core. A wave of dizziness threatened to pull him under, but he steadied himself and took a deliberate step forward.
Fwaaaash!
The violet light that flowed out from the eye took the shape of a figure. Amid the faint glow, a pair of vivid azure eyes shone clearly.
There was no doubt about it. It was Caron himself.
"So, how does it feel, standing on the edge of your vengeance?" the Demon King of Void began, his tone flat and devoid of feeling. "Drive your sword through my throat and complete your revenge."
Thud.
The Demon King of Void stepped closer. He was dressed in ordinary clothes, yet each footstep made his face shift.
The face of Rael Leston...
The face of Cain Latorre...
And then the face of Caron Leston...
The Demon King of Void unfolded the countless lives Caron had lived.
With a mere flick of his finger, new memories surged into Caron's mind. The once-faint memories of his life as Rael Leston now returned in vivid detail.
And those memories tried to erase every trace of Caron Leston.
Whoosh.
But Caron rejected those memories by his own will. He no longer needed the memories of a life filled with failure.
Whether he was the reincarnation of Rael Leston or Cain Latorre, it no longer mattered. What mattered was that he had reached this place, in this life.
He had too much to protect now.
And so, his only thought was to completely annihilate the Demon King of Void, here and now.
"There's no honor to be found here," the Demon King of Void said coldly. "You'll either kill me... or be devoured by me. There is no third path."
His voice, devoid of even the slightest hint of emotion, was chilling beyond comparison.
Fwaaaash!
From the Demon King of Void, waves of dark mana surged outward in an instant. Across the desolate land, hundreds of swords began to emerge from the ground.
It didn't take long for Caron to realize what they were: Guillotines.
The scene resembled a graveyard of blades, each one drenched in someone's blood, buried around the Demon King of Void as if wailing in agony.
"These are the traces the countless worlds you and I have created left behind. Rael Leston, this is the second time you've reached this place. And yet, your future remains utterly blank," the Demon King of Void said.
"Talking as if you've got the gift of prophecy now? You sure talk a lot for some bastard about to die," Caron replied.
"The Demon King of Havoc has twisted your fate far beyond repair. But that... only makes things more entertaining," the Demon King of Void added.
Whoosh.
The blades buried in the ground began to rise. Hundreds of Guillotines floated into the air, each one pulsing with the power of Void.
It wasn't an illusion. Every single one of them was real.
"I hate you."
"Once again, you will fail."
"Cursed Leston... Only ruin awaits us!"
Whispers echoed inside Caron's mind, hundreds of voices speaking at once. But their noise was soon drowned out by another voice, sharp and defiant.
"Don't listen to those fake bastards of demonic swords. Owner. Listen to me," Guillotine said.
Caron smirked faintly and said, "You're sounding pretty reliable today."
"Are you planning to make me one of those fakes? Snap out of it and hold me tight, you stupid owner!" Guillotine snapped.
"I'm already holding you," Caron replied with a smirk.
"...Give it everything you've got!" Guillotine shouted.
As Caron spoke with Guillotine, the tension melted away, replaced by a reckless calm.
"Haaah," he exhaled slowly.
When he turned his head, Halo stood beside him, his expression as composed as ever. The man never wavered, his sharp gaze fixed on the Demon King of Void.
"You don't look nervous," Caron remarked.
"I am nervous," Halo said simply.
"You bastard, so dramatic," Caron said.
"What's the plan?" Halo asked as he channeled mana into his sword, Gram.
Caron shrugged and answered, "You see that monolith? We destroy it, and this all ends."
"Hmm, it's not complicated," Halo remarked.
"It's simple, but not easy. Do you think the Demon King of Void is just going to let us walk up to it?" Caron said.
Kkkhhddd.
A deep rumble split the ground. From the ground tainted by Void's power, dozens—no, hundreds—of Void Walkers emerged.
Each one was a monstrous creature, easily capable of destroying a city. The countless monsters unleashed deafening roars around the Demon King of Void.
"If we break the monolith, everything will be over," Caron said, his blue eyes now burning violet.
He could see clearly with his own eyes that the monolith was the source of it all. The ancient evil that had existed since the dawn of time.
The destruction of the Arcane Civilization, and this tragic tale—all had begun with that monolith.
Suddenly, the fragments of the Demon King of Havoc's memory surfaced in his mind.
"We touched an evil we should never have laid a hand on."
"In the end, all of this is our karma."
"Our greed led us here in the first place."
"It is our original sin."
The Arcane Civilization had discovered dark mana from that very monolith. And Rael Leston and Cardan were their descendants. The dark mana that began spreading from that monolith had ultimately destroyed their world, truly marking it as a connection that had lasted for ages.
"Evil that's existed since the beginning," Caron muttered.
The goal was simple. He had to destroy the monolith, and end this accursed chain once and for all.
"Let's rampage our cores," he suggested.
"Back-to-back rampages might shatter them completely," Halo warned.
"It's better than watching our world fall apart," Caron pointed out.
"...Sometimes, you actually say something right," Halo said with a faint smile.
From the start, there had only been one answer. They had to burn everything at this moment.
Caron's lips curled into a fierce grin as he rampaged his core once more.
Crkkk...
Pain ripped through him. It was sharper than before, but he accepted it with a bright, almost serene smile. It was better to be in pain physically than to feel the pain of losing what was precious to him.
Halo followed suit, forcing his own core to rampage.
Booooooooom!
The ground shattered beneath their feet as two men who were far beyond human limits set their very lives ablaze, charging forward.
***
Every step forward felt like hell itself. Yet the two friends pressed on, shoulder to shoulder, defying the weight of the world that sought to drag them down.
Booooooom!
A thunderous roar split the air.
The ruined wasteland clawed at their legs, refusing to let them pass. Countless vengeful thoughts clung to them, and from above, violet beams of light rained down—each blast fired by the Void Walkers.
The Guillotines fired by the Demon King of Void tore through the gap like a barrage of densely packed arrows.
Yet the 9-Star knights, having pushed their cores to the limit, paid no mind to the onslaught and charged straight through.
Two flashes pierced the ground. One a deep azure, the other a dark blue, both cut across the violet-tinged land as they surged toward the monolith.
The two men's bodies were already battered and broken, so mangled that finding an unscathed spot was nearly impossible, yet their faces shone more brilliantly than ever.
"Are you tired?" Caron asked through the chaos.
"Not a chance!" Halo shouted back.
They had no regrets about pushing their cores to the brink. From the start, they had entered this cursed place with death already in mind.
Halo glanced sideways at Caron, a faint smile curling his lips. Though Caron had once faced the end alone in another life... This time was different.
Not this lifetime, Halo thought.
This time, they stood together—on the same battlefield, fighting toward the same direction.
And so, there was nothing to regret.
Only one thought filled Halo's mind—to protect Caron's life. He thought, I'll make sure at least you make it out alive.
Halo had already made peace with his own death. He had enjoyed his life enough. He had been born a noble, lived as a hero, and finally met his friend again. That was enough for him.
On the other hand, Caron still had so much he hadn't experienced. Halo fervently wished for Caron to live his own life, a life fully freed, liberated from the chains of vengeance.
Clang!
You deserve to enjoy it, Halo thought.
Countless worlds, countless Carons, that didn't matter. To Halo, the only Caron Leston was the Caron in front of him.
So he had no doubts. He trusted Caron's choices and stood by his side.
"Caron," Halo said, his voice steady. "I'll clear the way."
"How?" Caron asked.
Halo grinned faintly and replied, "It's a technique I was saving to mock you with later on—but seeing as we might both die here, you might as well watch closely."
Booooooom!
Halo's rampaging mana core spewed out mana without rest. Over the deep, silent sea, the sun began to rise.
And from Halo's sword, Gram, a blue star emerged.
Whoosh.
The mana Halo released became a supernova, dazzlingly illuminating the silent sea. Everything in sight was engulfed in blue light.
It was Halo's signature technique, which Caron had never seen before.
Halo exhaled deeply and murmured, "Star's End."
The blazing blue divinity descended upon the Void Walkers.
Boooooooom!
As the star exploded, the Void Walkers were swept away, and the path leading to the monolith came into view.
Leaving Halo behind, Caron hurled himself forward without hesitation. Halo's move was a technique that burned away the very life force of a 9-Star knight. If Caron missed this chance, he would regret it for eternity and would never be able to forgive himself.
Whoosh.
"I'll go first," Caron said.
"...I won't be far behind, so hurry," Halo replied calmly.
Caron left Halo with a brief farewell.
Halo, his face pale, forced a faint smile and gave a slow nod.
Vwoooom!
Caron's body shimmered with Azure Mana as he dashed across the violet field. Along the path toward the monolith, relentless waves of enemy attacks came flying at him.
Phhhkkk!
Phhhkkk!
Countless other Guillotines pierced through Caron's body, but even that wasn't enough to halt his charge. Pain was something he had long since grown used to, so that could no longer slow him down.
Almost there, he thought.
The monolith was now right before his eyes. Caron gathered every ounce of focus he had left, eyes fixed solely on his goal.
Whoosh.
Guillotine gleamed a deep, dark blue as Caron steadied his breathing. This was something he had done every single day, through every life he'd ever lived—to steady his breath, and thrust his blade straight and true.
Something that Rael Leston couldn't accomplish, what Cain Latorre had longed for all his life—now Caron Leston would finally achieve it with his own hands.
Fwoooosh!
As he poured the last of his remaining mana into Guillotine, its blade was engulfed in a hue darker and deeper than ever before.
Phhhhhkkkkkk!
The blue blade pierced straight through the center of the monolith.
Caron gripped the hilt of Guillotine tightly, his eyes wide open.
"How interesting, Challenger. In the other worlds, you stood here alone. Yet now, you stand beside another."
The voice of the Demon King of Void echoed by his ear.
Caron turned his head toward the man standing beside the monolith. There was no doubt that the man was smiling.
"Now then... It is time to choose," the Demon King of Void said.
Craaaaack!
The Void's power seeping from the monolith twisted into thorns. And those thorns, as if it were only natural, pierced straight through Caron's chest.
Phhhk!
The sound of flesh tearing echoed through the air.
"Argh...!" Caron coughed up blood. Yet the faint smile lingering at the corner of his lips didn't fade. With bloodshot eyes, he stared ahead.
From the monolith impaled by Guillotine, thick, blackened blood was seeping down its surface.
Sssshhhhh.
The Void's power seeped through the thorns, consuming Caron's entire body in an instant.
"Caron!"
From afar, Halo's voice rang out.
Caron slowly turned his head and saw Halo sprinting toward him, tossing aside his blood-soaked armor.
"Keep... your promise," Caron urged, forcing the words out with the last of his strength. "I'm counting on you, Halo."
Suddenly, the memory of that final moment—on the grand staircase of the main palace—flashed before his eyes.
"Just... like back then," Caron added.
It didn't matter if he met the same end as before. Back then, death had left him with nothing. But this time... This death would mean something.
That alone was enough for him.
Even if his body, even if this cursed fate ended here, and even if he had to burn everything he had left, that would be enough.
"Caroooooon!" Halo's voice grew faint, distant.
Caron smiled brightly at his friend one last time. And then he welcomed the sinister power surging into his body.
At that very moment...
Sssshhhhh!
Darkness filled his vision completely.