Chapter 94. A Chaos
After a four-hour rest, Caron's group immediately moved southward. With their destination clearly marked near the southern Great Forest, finding the exact location wasn't difficult.
"To think my great self would be used as a mere guide dog... You're the first one to treat me like this, owner," Guillotine grumbled.
"Was there anyone else who could claim that role besides me and the first ancestor?" Caron retorted.
"No, which makes you the first," Guillotine replied.
Thanks to Guillotine's sharp guidance, Caron and his group were able to push forward without wasting any time or effort. The closer they got to the southern Great Forest, the taller the trees became, stretching high and dark against the sky.
Pshhhh.
"...Why are the trees like this?" Leo muttered, grimacing as he looked down at a tree root he had just stepped on, which crumbled into dust. The trees here were supposed to be vibrant and green, but their bark was charred and lifeless.
Caron replied with grim certainty, "It's mana disease, a sign of dark mana. It also means that we're getting closer to the source."
It wasn't just the trees, either. The air reeked of rot, like decaying bodies mingling with the stench of death.
"Caron, why don't we rule out the possibility that the elves had no idea at all?" Leon asked, running her fingers over a blackened leaf that crumbled into dust at her touch.
Caron nodded. She was probably right. If the corruption had spread this far, the Southern Great Forest would be in no better shape.
This doesn't match what Neria told us... he thought. Neria hadn't reported anything this extreme. She had no reason to withhold such information, so the corruption had likely advanced recently.
"Yes, you're probably right," he said, revising his initial assessment to fit the new conditions. "The elf patrols must be active by now."
The elves were notoriously unwelcoming to humans, and the Southern Great Forest was off-limits. The forest itself didn't tolerate outsiders. The moment someone unauthorized set foot there, the entire forest would turn deadly. Any intruder left stranded quickly fell prey to the elf patrols and the hunters, who guarded their borders with unwavering vigilance.
"The Southern Great Forest is probably just as corrupted..." Caron muttered as he contemplated the possibility of a three-way conflict, which he had never imagined until now. If the fiercely isolationist Holy Kingdom and the elves were to enter this chaos, things would spiral out of control.
"This was never a mission that should have been assigned to just you and Leo from the start," Caron said, openly criticizing the decision of his family elders. "Those cursed with dark mana are all insane. The only answer is to hunt them down to extinction."
Caron's words reminded them of the signs that had been present for some time. They recalled the demonic monsters that had emerged four years prior in the farmlands of Duke Leston's western territories, the dark mage in Belrus Barony, and the succubus that had appeared in the imperial palace. The warnings had been there all along.
"You only need to deal with those bastards once to know. They're the ones who'll turn your life into a living hell," Caron said.
Leon glanced quietly at Caron's face, noting the hatred in his eyes. All the kin of the Leston family harbored a grudge against dark mana, but with Caron, it ran deeper. Leon and Leo understood his sentiment well enough. The villages those creatures had ravaged were left with nothing but ashes and destruction.
"That's why I'm going to kill them myself," Caron added, a grim smile spreading across his face. "I don't plan to leave that privilege to the elves, the fanatics, or anyone else."
With that, Caron took off ahead, charging forward with determination. Leo and Leon exchanged a look as they watched him go.
"...Should we ask for backup, Leon?" Leo asked.
"Even if we wanted to, communication's out. Plus, we didn't come all this way just to turn back," Leon answered.
"No matter how you look at it, this isn't a problem that the three of us... or rather, the four of us... can handle alone," Leo said.
When Utula heard Leo, he thumped his chest with confidence and said, "We can do it, Leo Leston! Warriors are stronger together!"
"You've got to be kidding me," Leo muttered, though he knew there was no use in complaining. He could never figure out what was going on in Caron's head. Caron was a lunatic, but he somehow got things done. The problem was, he never solved problems quietly or calmly, and this time wouldn't be any different.
Leo let out a chuckle, causing Leon to ask, "Why are you laughing all of a sudden?"
"It just finally feels real that Caron is back," Leo replied.
Causing trouble, charging ahead without a second thought... That was exactly the kind of thing Caron would do. And somehow, just watching Caron's back put Leo at ease.
Without another word, the group resumed their silent run through the forest.
***
Before long, Caron and his group reached the source.
"I would've been able to find this place without you," Caron muttered to Guillotine.
"...I agree," Guillotine replied flatly.
Caron glanced around at the source, taking in the scene of its condition. The air was thick with the stench of blood, and demonic monsters prowled around everywhere. But above all...
A towering wall of bodies loomed in front of them. Even Caron, who'd seen his fair share of battlefields, felt revulsion claw at his insides.
"This... This mad bastard," Caron muttered.
And if it was hard for him, it could only be even worse for the others.
"Oh god..." Leo whispered.
"How can they call themself human?" Leon murmured.
Leo and Leon seemed quite shocked and at a loss for words. However, Caron didn't reprimand them. Instead, he calmly assessed the layout of the source. The entire fortress had been built using bodies as a foundation. Alongside the demonic monsters, undead lurked in various corners, and patchwork golems loomed like grotesque sentinels.
"The fortification is complete, owner. It seems to have been built quite some time ago," Guillotine observed.
"At least we know what kind of bastard we're dealing with," Caron said.
Only one group of people would commit atrocities like this: The dark mages. Demons didn't desecrate the dead like this, and the entire source was fortified. Dark mages were highly skilled at establishing strongholds.
"The one we fought in the Belrus Barony was nothing compared to this," Caron murmured.
That time, their enemy had been a dark mage of the sixth circle. That dark mage was a deadly enough foe for Sabina to have stepped in personally. But the one in this fortress seemed to be at least of the seventh circle. There was no other way to explain the sheer number of monsters and undead present.
"It seems this has been their base for quite some time," Caron remarked.
If the Keath Kingdom had been in its prime, this dark mage would never have dared to establish a fortress here. No kingdom would stand idly by while a dark mage built a stronghold on their land. But the Keath Kingdom had been weakened by years of war, its resources stretched thin, and its security had frayed beyond repair. There was no way the kingdom could've detected a dark mage's schemes in its current state.
"...I'm sorry, Caron. I showed you an embarrassing side of me," Leon said softly, finally regaining her composure. However, Caron was still thinking as he observed the source.
"It's alright, Leon. But, are you feeling okay?" Caron asked. "Most people would be puking after seeing something like that."
Leon gave him a slight nod and replied, "Yes, I'm fine, but... Leo..."
"...I'll tear apart those bastards," Leo said.
Leo was still staring silently at that dreadful structure. No matter how many different situations he had encountered on his missions, it was no doubt his first time seeing a sight like this. Such a place was a complete abomination. The dark mage's handiwork was hell on earth, a sickening display of horror.
Caron said in a steady tone, "Think of it as an early inoculation, Leo. We'll probably be seeing this sort of thing often."
He frowned as he stared at the wall of bodies. It wasn't as if things had ended up like this because of a delay of a day or two. If they had arrived and destroyed it at least two months earlier, before the fortification was completed, it wouldn't have been so difficult.
"So, how are we even supposed to handle this?" he muttered to himself.
The idea of breaking through with just four of them was madness—no, it was a suicide mission. Even if they borrowed Guillotine's strength, charging through a fortress carefully constructed by a dark mage would be impossible. Also, judging by Leon and Leo's conditions, they'd be exhausted before they even broke the wall. A stealthy approach was out of the question, too. With the fortress fully fortified, a single step in the wrong place would trigger an alarm spell.
"I guess the direct method is the only one left," Caron sighed.
Conquering a fortress built by a mage was simple. It entailed bringing either a larger number of mages, or overwhelming explosive firepower. But they had neither option at their disposal.
Caron thought through their situation before slowly nodding and declaring, "New plan."
He'd decided to abandon the idea of taking the fortress head-on.
"We'll wait here," Caron said calmly.
They wouldn't be the ones charging in; instead, they would let someone else break the fortress down. And once the enemy forces were distracted, they'd slip inside and take the dark mage's head.
"Let others take the risks, and we'll reap the rewards. Everyone clear on that?" Caron asked.
Utula did a small, disgruntled stomp, then grumbled, "I wanted to fight them head-on, Caron Leston."
"But isn't claiming the enemy commander's head the highest honor?" Caron replied.
"...Now that you put it that way, I suppose so! I will follow your instructions," Utula replied, a grin spreading across his face as he sat heavily on the ground. Leo and Leon followed his lead.
Leo, who had finally calmed down, managed a casual expression as he glanced at Caron. He said, "Honestly, I thought you were going to say we should run headfirst into that wall, Caron. At least you're a madman who can still think."
"Don't hold back your feelings, Leo. I can see your legs still shaking," Caron teased.
"...When it comes to things like that, just pretend you didn't see it," Leo said.
Caron patted Leo on the back a couple of times as a gesture of encouragement.
Then, he looked at Leon and said, "If you have any good ideas, feel free to share them, Leon."
Leon gave him a weary smile and shook her head, then said, "No, I'm with you. There's no reason to push ourselves into a direct assault."
"Alright, sounds good. Let's sit back and rest a bit," Caron suggested; he didn't think they'd be waiting long.
***
Just as Caron had predicted, another faction soon approached the dark mage's fortress.
Whoooooooosh!
Wind roared like a gathering storm.
Rumble rumble!
Something massive rose from the enraged earth.
Whoooosh!
Flames erupted in the sky, scattering embers like sparks of war.
Kraaaaash!
A giant surge of water snaked through the forest, battering the fortress walls without delay.
"Oh, this is unexpected," Caron murmured as he stood up, eyes fixed on the spectacle before him. He'd expected the zealots of the Holy Kingdom to arrive first, but that clearly wasn't the case.
"Caron," Leon said, calling his attention.
"It's spirit magic," Caron said, nodding in response as he watched the raw, natural magic unfold. Elves were the only group in the world who had the power to wield spirit magic on this scale.
"Elves. I didn't think they'd be the first to show up," Caron remarked.
Elves rarely left the Southern Great Forest. So for them to come this far meant that the dark mana emanating from this place had to have disturbed their very core.
Squeeeee!
An arrow shot out from the forest and pierced the head of a monster, and towering spirits began to hammer away at the fortress walls. Soon, elves astride white wolves emerged from between the trees, silent and deadly.
Leo, who'd been watching the assault, muttered, "Maybe we don't need to get involved after all."
There had to be at least five hundred elves. The sheer magnitude of their spirit magic inspired something akin to reverence.
But Caron shot Leo a sharp look and pointed out, "Leo."
"What?" Leo replied, looking back at him.
"Why would you let someone else have the most delicious food?" Caron asked.
"...A dark mage isn't delicious, Caron," Leo answered.
But Caron shook his head, unfazed, before saying, "To me it is. Right, Guillotine?"
"Now you're talking. That's exactly the right attitude," Guillotine replied with a sinister satisfaction.
"Alright then, get ready to feast," Caron muttered with a smirk. An opportunity to devour the mana of a seventh circle dark mage wasn't one he would pass up.