The Mad Dog of the Duke's Estate-Chapter 314. Requiem (2)

Debris from a ruined building floated in the air. As if the laws of nature themselves had been overturned, an entire structure jutted downward from the ceiling, while fragments of stone drifted lazily through the gaps.

"What in the world...?" Seria began, but couldn't finish her sentence.

It was no wonder.

In the very core of this place, where every known law had been shattered, stood a colossal beast. It towered so high it seemed almost endless, gazing silently down at them.

The air was crushed beneath the weight of fear.

From the beast's body surged torrents of dark mana, while its hollow eyes glowed with a blood-red light, like crimson bleeding from an empty gaze. The unholy combination of that power and the scene before them radiated a suffocating oppression.

It was a Void Walker.

That was a name Caron had never heard before. And even Seria, an expert on demonic beasts, looked utterly shaken.

"I. Saw. It."

A chilling voice echoed through the vast cavern, dripping with dark mana that rattled the mind like a storm in one's skull.

Stab.

Caron jabbed his calf with the tip of Guillotine, forcing himself awake. The beast's mental interference was so overwhelming that pain was the only way to break free.

The other Imperial Guards followed his lead, each cutting themselves lightly to escape the Void Walker's influence.

"That is a Servant of Void," Shiker's voice said beside his ear. Unlike the struggling Guards, his tone was perfectly steady.

"You're unaffected by that?" Caron asked.

"We have faced such things for far too long. By now, we are... accustomed," Shiker answered.

"And its weakness?" Caron asked.

"Simple. Destroy the strange life-sustaining organ in its neck. It resembles a human heart, but glows an unusually deep violet," Shiker explained.

It was Caron's first time facing a Servant of Void. If he'd known... He wondered if he should have brought the Dark Tower Master, someone who could have known more. But regret was useless now. The situation was here, and what mattered was how to deal with it.

...The Avengers are pointless here, Caron thought.

Even if the elite 7-Star knights known as the Avengers were deployed, they would be useless before such a calamity. Better to fight it with four 8-Star knights than to waste the Avengers' lives in vain.

"Shiker, you've fought them before. Give us some advice," Caron requested.

"Are you afraid?" Shiker asked.

"Not feeling anything while facing that would be the real problem," Caron replied.

Caron's instincts, sharpened through countless battles, screamed at him to flee this place, but he forced them down. He could handle this. That sensation was only fear of the unknown, nothing more.

If four knights at the pinnacle of 8-Star could do nothing, then the entire expedition into the Demon Realm should never have begun.

"Servants of Void are unlike the servants of other Demon Kings," Shiker explained. "They have no fixed form, and they exist for one purpose only—to bring about the opponent's annihilation. The first priority when facing a Void Walker is to overcome the fear within."

Listening, Caron fixed his eyes directly on the Void Walker, forcing himself to see it clearly. This fear consuming him wasn't the fear of defeat. It was simply the fear of the unknown, sharpened by the power of Void.

He exhaled deeply, pushing the terror from his mind. In a calm voice, he told his companions, "Looks like it's been a while since we hunted a beast together."

Caron's trademark mischief returned to his face. His stony expression melted into a soft smile, easing the tension in the others.

The first to respond was Kerra. "Wasn't that something we used to do like eating breakfast? Reminds me of the time the clumsy Oceanwolf Knight Order let a whole pack of demonic monsters escape and we had to clean up. Hah, there were so many fools in that order back then."

"Oh, not anymore, right? The Imperial Guards are full of nothing but reckless puppies now, right?" Caron teased.

"...Once a Commander, always a Commander. Why are you taking their side?" Kerra said.

"Because I am Caron Leston," Caron said firmly.

"What a traitor," Kerra muttered.

Just like old times, they traded jabs and laughter, shaking off the last of their tension. Beatrice and Ugo each threw in a comment as they watched the two exchanging blows.

"Still, this is better than before. Back when you were really the Commander, you always kept your mouth shut just to look imposing. Isn't that right, Ugo?" Beatrice said with a smirk.

"Indeed, this is a far better look for you, Commander," Ugo agreed.

The two—each having crossed human limits more than once—locked eyes and shared a slow, knowing grin.

Whoosh!

Mana in all colors and forms began to pour from their bodies—starting with Caron's dark blue mana and stretching to Beatrice's own, which was faintly tinged with holy power.

Flash!

Four different moons rose into the air above them.

The Imperial Guards' swords each drew their own moon—many moons to guard the sun that was the emperor. Their swords had existed for one purpose: To protect that sun.

But the moons that had once guarded a sun shrouded in darkness no longer defended it.

"Commander, I'll cover your back," Kerra said.

"You go ahead," Ugo added.

"If we struggle against something as low as a servant, not even a Demon King, we'll lose every shred of dignity. You understand?" Beatrice said.

Their moons melted into the sea, beams of moonlight weaving together in the dark blue waters to form a breathtaking harmony.

Caron couldn't help but smile as he watched the light soak into the waves. He thought, ...They haven't changed a bit.

It had been so long since he last fought in sync with them, yet moving together came so naturally. No words were needed—they all remembered. These three were comrades who had stayed with him until the very end. Those memories never faded, and the bonds forged by crossing countless lines of life and death endured even beyond life itself.

"How. Futile."

The Void Walker swung an arm as large as a house. In an instant, dark mana of Void gathered and blasted toward Caron's comrades like a colossal cannon.

Pssshhh!

Anything the force touched vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by some monstrous beast.

But Caron no longer felt fear.

"I'll clear the way. There's no need for you to take it all alone," Gratia said, and her eyes shone brilliantly.

Then, as her voice rang through the cavern...

Shrrrkkk!

Countless shields materialized in the air, erasing the Void Walker's barrage in a blink.

It was a draconic incantation—power permitted only to dragons—and it met Void without hesitation.

Pluto, Caron thought, summoning the spirit.

While casually deflecting a lashing violet spike aimed at him, he shared his vision with Pluto. Through the spirit's eyes, he spotted something near the Void Walker's neck. That grotesque crystalline formation had to be the weakness Schiker had mentioned.

Now that the target was marked, what to do next was clear.

"Ugo!" Caron shouted.

"Go get them!" Ugo roared back.

With all his strength, Ugo hurled Caron into the air.

Whoosh!

Caron shot upward at blinding speed, the cavern spreading wide beneath him. From the Void Walker's body, violet-hued abominations kept pouring out without pause.

"It's a walking disaster. And it's making those abominations too?" Guillotine muttered in disgust.

"We just focus on our part. But you know what, Guillotine?" Caron asked.

"What?" Guillotine asked.

"Big guys like this... Aside from the size, they're nothing special. I'm saying this from personal experience," Caron said, twisting his lips into a grin before swinging Guillotine in a great arc.

From the blade's tip, a moon bloomed. The sea swallowed that moon, and its fragments scattered like petals.

Clad in thousands of those shimmering shards, Caron detonated mana at his feet.

Boom!

He rocketed forward like a fired shell, growling, "Let's see just how tough you are."

A comet with a vicious tail pierced straight through the Void Walker's neck.

And in that instant...

"Look. Closely."

Heat shimmer poured from the Void Walker's body, engulfing Caron from head to toe.

***

Caron's eyes opened faintly. His memory was hazy, as though it had been covered by fog. The only clear image left was the mirage that had swallowed his body in those final moments.

"Owner. Owner!" Guillotine's voice echoed like a ripple through his mind. "Get a hold of yourself!"

Guillotine's mana surged violently, and a stabbing pain shot through every nerve in Caron's body. Grimacing hard, he pushed himself upright and muttered, "You've got one hell of a temper."

"If you lose consciousness here, then you'll be eaten. This is the Mental World," Guillotine explained.

"...Mental World?" Caron asked.

At that, he lifted his head and looked around. The cavern where the Void Walker had been was gone without a trace. Everywhere he looked was swallowed in ashen gray—even his own body had been tainted by it.

Fsshh.

Dust scattered from his fingertips. Even his flesh seemed to be weathering away.

"This place..." Caron trailed off.

He wondered if this could even be called a world. Compared to this, the ruined city outside had seemed brimming with life. This was a place utterly stripped of color.

Caron slowly rose to his feet and drew on his mana.

Whoosh.

The mana did flow out, but even that dissolved into dust the moment it left him.

Caron wondered what kind of place this was. But no matter how he thought about it, there was no answer. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"...Why does it feel familiar?" he muttered to himself.

It didn't seem entirely foreign.

Thud.

Caron took a quiet step forward, but even the sound of his footfall was helplessly devoured by something unseen. His head felt heavy and hazy. It was as if he had forgotten why he had come here in the first place.

"What a useless fool of an owner. I said focus!" Guillotine roared.

If not for Guillotine constantly rousing him, Caron could already have been consumed.

Now it came back to him... This was what was inside the Void Walker. Guillotine had pierced through the creature's form, and the mirage spilling from the wound had dragged Caron into this place.

"Hah..." A dry laugh escaped Caron.

Even keeping his sanity intact here was a struggle. The true power of Void was more dangerous—and more fatal—than he'd imagined.

For a mere minion to possess such strength... If Caron wasn't careful, he could lose himself here entirely.

Hmm, a Mental World, Caron thought.

He'd been in such places before—Guillotine's, for one, and Rigor's, for another. It was a kind of illusion manifested through someone's consciousness.

Caron wondered whose mind this belonged to, and what kind of mind could be so barren and dreadful.

"Unbelievable..." he muttered.

It was a world with no life, no color. If there truly were a dead world, it would look exactly like this.

The real question was how to get out of this place.

"Guillotine, how do we escape this place?" Caron asked.

"...Only the owner of this mind would know that. We can't even guess," Guillotine said.

"If I stay here much longer, I'll lose my mind," Caron said.

"You were already mad to begin with, so you'll be fine," Guillotine replied.

They traded meaningless remarks and kept walking forward without any clear destination.

Still, Caron was relieved to have Guillotine with him. Alone in a place like this, he surely would have gone insane already.

He didn't know how much time had passed when his steps halted. He lifted his gaze to the endless horizon... or rather, to the strange phenomenon hanging over it.

In a world of nothing but gray, black was slowly spreading outward. It was like ink bleeding over a canvas, irregular and vast.

It wasn't darkness. The world was being eaten away. That black creeping across it was nothing but the scar left by what had been devoured.

It was a force that cursed existence itself, erasing everything without end.

The moment Caron saw it, he knew whose mind this was. He muttered, "...The Demon King of Void."

And just as the realization struck...

"This is far too soon for you. Meeting Void already was never part of my plan. This... has gotten far too tangled. I can't let you be wasted like this, but... it looks like I have no choice."

A familiar voice rang in Caron's ears.