The Mad Dog of the Duke's Estate-Chapter 345. The Turning Point (2)

Meanwhile, in the Realm of Lust...

For the first time in ages, Halo's grandchildren had gathered together to carry out a mission.

"Ahem."

Leo, who had somehow stumbled into the realm of an 8-Star, cleared his throat several times and glanced at Hugo and Leon.

"Hugo, Leon. I was just lucky enough to—" Leo began, but was cut off.

"Leo," Leon said, interrupting him. "That's the hundred and thirty-second time you've said that already."

Hugo smirked and said, "Let's be honest, you're just a flimsy 8-star."

"Flimsy... 8-Star?" Leo echoed blankly.

"Even if you sparred with us right now, you'd still get pummeled. How long are you planning to keep acting so high and mighty? Do you want me to beat the arrogance out of you?" Hugo said.

Leo's mana realm had indeed gone up, but that didn't mean his swordsmanship had caught up. When Leon raised a fist at him, Leo broke into a nervous sweat and quickly looked away.

The fear ingrained in him from years of discipline didn't vanish so easily. In fact, before Leon—the one who served as their unofficial drill sergeant—even Caron rarely spoke out of turn.

"Caron, does this mean if I die and come back to life, I'll become an 8-Star too?" Leon suddenly asked.

Caron chewed a strip of jerky and shook his head, then answered, "Of course not. Leo's case was unusual."

"Why?" Leon asked.

"Well, first he was overtaken by the dark mana of Lust, and in the process a whole mess of other factors came into play... Anyway—Your Highness," Caron turned toward the future empress, "You won't ever go through something so reckless, so give up on that idea."

As he spoke, Caron recalled the transmission he'd received the night before from the Imperial Palace.

"I cannot stop Leon if she insists on going. But Caron, remember this—if even the slightest injury befalls her..."

Revelio, it seemed, was already showing the temperament of a devoted husband, despite the fact that the wedding hadn't yet even taken place.

In truth, Caron had no intention of sending Leon into any perilous missions. Nor Hugo, nor Leo. None of them were ready to stand at the true frontlines. Against ordinary demon nobles they could hold their own, perhaps even excel—but against duke-level demons, the danger would be far too great.

He'd raised his cousins with utmost care.

Still, I can't shelter them forever, Caron thought.

He had raised them with an eye on the distant future, not just the immediate present. This mission was meant to gift them real combat experience, but in a measured way.

The objective was simple. It was to eliminate the remnants of Lust's forces and fully absorb the domain. It was the final stabilization before the march toward the Demon King of Void.

Crack!

Leon cleaved through a charging fiend's neck in a single stroke. She brushed her hair back with one hand and casually said, "Since it's just us here, let me ask—who do you think will become the next family head? Hugo, you go first."

As if on cue, Hugo lopped the head off another fiend, then replied, "Hard to say. I don't know."

"Don't be boring," Leon pressed.

"One thing's for sure. Father won't get it. Grandfather never really approved of him," Hugo said.

The war was far from over, yet here they were, talking about matters still years away. But Caron didn't stop them. He, too, was curious about their thoughts.

"Don't you have any ambition, Hugo?" Leon asked.

"For what?" Hugo asked.

"For the position of family head. Let's be real, wouldn't Grandfather stay in that seat for longer? There's a good chance he'll pass it to our generation," Leon pointed out.

Shhhk!

She cut down another fiend with ease and gave a shrug, then added, "I think you'd make a fine head, Hugo."

At that, Hugo cast a wary glance at Caron... then flinched as though struck by lightning.

"No. No way. Even if I have to die, never," he answered sternly.

Because in truth, being the next head meant tying a bomb around one's neck—Caron himself. Hugo wondered if anyone could truly serve as family head while dragging that madman along.

No chance, he thought.

It was a poisoned chalice. No, it wasn't even a chalice. It was nothing more than a dog bowl filled with poison.

In short, it was a role to be avoided at all costs.

If Grandfather truly intended to pass the mantle of family head down to their generation, then...

"...It should be Leo," Hugo declared.

"Huh?" Leon blinked.

"The next head of the family. It has to be Leo," Hugo said.

"Why me?" Leo asked nervously.

"Because the ducal family needs young blood," Hugo said flatly.

"Hu–Hugo, not you too! Why are you doing this to me?" Leo wailed.

"Regardless, it has to be you, Leo. I fully support you. Neither our father nor our uncles should ever hold that seat. You're the only one suited for it," Hugo continued.

Truthfully, Hugo wanted his father to abandon the thought of succession. It wasn't a seat of honor—not as long as Caron lived.

Casting a quick glance at Caron, Hugo leaned toward Leo and added, "Besides, it makes for the perfect story."

"What story?" Leo asked, suspicious.

"The tale of the boy dismissed as talentless, who clawed his way up through sheer effort to become head of the family! Doesn't that sound like something straight out of a heroic epic? So yes—it should be you," Hugo replied.

"You really are wise, Hugo," Leon chimed in. "I agree. Leo, I support you too."

Caron gave a lazy grin and said, "If everyone's in agreement, I suppose I'll back Leo as well. Congratulations, our future family head."

Leo's face turned red. It wasn't from pride or joy, but from sheer rage.

"...God, if You are listening, please cast these demons back into hell where they belong..." he whispered.

It was fury, pure and simple.

Leo had thought he'd already suffered enough under Caron, but now they wanted him to keep suffering, forever shackled.

All Leo longed for was freedom. Absolute freedom—from Caron most of all. But he wondered if such a day would ever come.

"Ah, right. Leo," Caron called suddenly. "You've reached a level you can't handle on your own. From now on, train with me for five hours every day."

"That's torture, you bastard!" Leo shouted.

"Torture? I'm making time out of my busy day to help you. Stop acting so ungrateful—it's troublesome," Caron said.

"Someone, please, drag this demon away!" Leo groaned.

"Now, now," Caron said, feigning innocence. "I'm the chosen Warrior of the God of Light. Isn't that right, Seria?"

He tilted his head toward the back, where Seria raised a single finger and replied coolly, "Drop into hell. The God of Light must have made a mistake choosing you."

"Seria, aren't you overstepping these days? You're the Grand Saintess, you should show some dignity... Wait. Where did you even get that warhammer?" Caron asked, staring at the massive weapon in her grip.

"I borrowed it from the paladins," Seria answered. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"...No," Caron muttered, wisely backing down.

And so, with bickering and banter, Caron's cousins and Seria pressed forward until they reached their destination.

A grim silhouette loomed before them. It was the fortress of the Demon Queen of Lust.

Once known as the fortress of Slaughter, it stood at the very heart of Lust's realm. Caron's group had been ordered to occupy it.

Caron swung Guillotine casually and said, "Better stay alert. We might have to—"

But before he could finish...

Whooosh!

Flames erupted around the fortress walls.

"O Demon King of Liberation!"

"These humble folk welcome Your return!"

The voices of countless demons thundered across the land, shaking the very ground.

Boom!

The gates of the fortress creaked open of their own accord. Caron scratched his head with one finger, muttering, "Well, that killed the mood."

He had thought there could be resistance. Apparently, there were no stragglers left at all.

Caron glanced at his companions and simply said, "Let's go in."

He had to finish things up quickly. But his eyes kept drifting upward, toward that distant, ash-colored sky.

***

Even from outside, Caron had sensed it, but the fortress of the Demon Queen had already been subdued within.

"You have come, O Demon King of Liberation," Judas, the duke who now followed Caron, said as he bowed deeply in reverence.

Caron waved a hand carelessly in response and said, "There are still stray demonic monsters roaming outside. Keep an eye on that."

"My apologies," Judas replied.

"Just handle it properly, alright? I can't babysit you through every little thing. Do you want to live as a meat shield and die that way?" Caron snapped.

"...Forgive me. I will give my utmost," Judas answered.

Caron treated the demonkin born as slaves with warmth, but to those granted noble titles, he was a devil incarnate.

Judas, having received his orders, quickly moved with his subordinates. Leo watched him retreat and remarked, "He's competent enough."

"At the end of the day, he's still just a demon," Caron replied. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Their vengeance was almost complete. Just a few more steps. They only needed to enter the Void, cut down the corruption that awaited them, and finally erase the Demon King of Void. Then this cursed fate would be finished.

"...Hah," Caron exhaled as his gaze settled on the pink throne at the far end of the hall. Around it bloomed clusters of black flowers.

It was the Throne of Lust. It was the very symbol of dominion over this realm.

"Leo, how does that throne make you feel?" Caron asked, glancing at Leo, who had absorbed Lust's dark mana.

Leo answered with a flat look, "Doesn't really stir anything. I guess it's... pretty?"

"Utterly useless," Caron muttered.

"Oh, was I supposed to feel something? You should've told me first," Leo said.

"I didn't expect anything anyway," Caron said dryly.

Hugo and Leon chuckled quietly at that. Caron strode toward the throne. Perhaps it was his imagination, but the closer he came, the more vividly he thought he could see the Demon Queen of Lust seated upon it.

Fragments of ancient memories he'd absorbed from Lust flickered faintly in his mind.

"Tsk tsk," Caron responded.

They swirled together as if they were his own, only to scatter again. The sensation was unpleasant.

In those visions, he had been Rael, and Lust had once been close to him.

"I knew you would return."

The seductive voice of Lust resonated through the air, a remnant she had left within the throne.

Caron ignored the whisper and continued forward.

Explaining Rael's connection to Lust wasn't difficult. Before becoming a demon, the Demon Queen of Lust, Laia, had been someone very close to him. Whether romantic or not was unclear, but Laia had undeniably held feelings for Rael. Then came the calamity: An outbreak of uncontrollable dark mana that had turned her into a demon.

"...What a damned mess," Caron muttered as he stopped before the throne.

Even if his previous life—no, his life before that—had been Rael Leston, it made little difference now. He had no memories of that time. Yet these shards of Laia's recollections tugged at the buried void of memory, and that unsettled him.

"Remember me forever."

"Do not forget me."

The voice carried no malice, only a desperate plea. It begged to remember her and to not abandon her.

It was the sound of yearning.

"Foolish to the end," Caron whispered.

She had fought the Demon King of Sloth to lighten their expedition's burden, and even offered her own memories willingly. All of it had been Laia's choice.

But Caron felt no pity. Whatever her intentions, too many had perished by her hand.

Even after absorbing Sloth's power and Laia's memories, his mind remained clouded. Only one truth was certain now.

The life of Rael Leston, the life of Cain Latorre, and the life of Caron Leston. The secret binding these three lives awaited beneath that gray sky.

Whoosh.

Caron channeled Azure Mana into Guillotine and drew in a long breath. Then he swung the blade lightly.

Slash!

The ornate throne split clean in two, scattering black petals into the air. The faint dark mana bound to it flowed into Caron.

"When the day comes that you face the truth... What expression will you wear?"

With those final words, Laia's voice faded into silence.

Rustle.

The throne crumbled into dust. The last trace of Laia, who had shackled this realm, vanished. Only a single flower remained where it stood, a flower now devoid of dark mana.

Caron left it untouched. He simply drove Guillotine into the ground beside it.

Whoosh.

His mana rippled outward, spreading across the land. The Realm of Lust was finally absorbed into the Realm of Liberation.

By now, the Realm of Havoc should have been secured as well. Only one remained.

Caron lifted his eyes to the endless gray sky and breathed out quietly.

Just a few more steps to the end.

"...I'm sick of this place already," he said.

The destination lay just before them.