The Mad Dog of the Duke's Estate-Chapter 362. The Difference (3)

Caron let out a low whistle as he surveyed the expedition's advance squad.

"...They really picked out only the best of the best, huh?" he murmured, half in awe.

They were encamped on the outskirts of the final city, Glory.

To conquer that formidable stronghold, Caron's forces were making their final preparations. The elite members of the expedition had already gathered in small groups, sharpening blades, checking gear, and murmuring strategies in the dimming light.

Night had fallen, making it unfit for battle.

"Caron, if you die, this war is over," Halo said flatly, tearing into the piece of jerky Caron had tossed him. "I made the only logical choice as Commander."

Kerra, seated beside him, chuckled and poured Halo another drink before saying, "So even the Grand Duke knows the secret now, huh? It was so hard to keep up the act, you know."

Halo smirked faintly and gave a curt nod, then replied, "I've known for quite a while."

"I figured as much," Kerra said with mock offense. "That secret mission you gave me back then... It was because you were angry at me, wasn't it?"

Caron narrowed his eyes, sipping his drink. He asked, "Secret mission?"

"Oh, come on, Commander," Kerra replied, feigning exasperation. "That terrifying Grand Duke here threw me straight into the North Sea. He said someone had to check the conditions there—and just shipped me off."

Caron turned toward Halo and asked, "Is that true?"

"You have a problem with that?" Halo asked dryly.

Caron laughed and clapped Kerra on the shoulder, then said, "Not at all. Well done. You deserved it. Honestly, you had it too easy lounging in that Southern Great Forest."

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to raise a kid? Huh?" Kerra protested.

"Well, Aqua didn't give you that much trouble," Caron pressed.

"That's... true," Kerra muttered, crossing his arms. "Still, it wasn't easy. You know what I mean."

As Kerra protested, Ugo and Beatrice chimed in teasingly.

"If you ask me, the Great Forest is a paradise," Beatrice said.

"I nearly became a Death Knight," Ugo added dryly.

"I joined hands with lunatic fanatics to get revenge on the Demon Kings. Kerra, if you got to chill with Aqua in peace, just zip it." Beatrice snapped.

With everyone piling on him, Kerra looked utterly betrayed.

It was a drinking gathering with Halo and the former Imperial Guards.

As Halo quietly reminisced about the past, he soon spoke to the former Imperial Guards. "Even after all these years, none of you have changed. Feels like fifty years ago."

"Did we even drink together back then, Your Grace?" Kerra asked.

Beatrice smacked the back of his head and snapped, "You don't remember? We dragged the Commander out and forced him to drink with us."

"That happened more than once," Kerra muttered.

"Don't you remember that night when the moon was so pretty, we went to the garden behind the main palace?" Beatrice continued, laughing. "The day after you confessed to me."

"Now that you say it like that... I do remember," Kerra trailed off.

"And Halo here was flirting with the maids until we caught him red-handed," Beatrice added gleefully. "He tried to play it off by drinking with us instead."

"Ahem," Halo grumbled.

"Honestly," Beatrice went on, "The Grand Duke was such a troublemaker back then. It's hard to believe he's the man sitting here now."

It seemed as if Halo wasn't supposed to hear what was just said. Beatrice's blunt honesty made both Halo and Kerra clear their throats in embarrassment.

Kerra looked away and muttered, "Didn't you say there was someone else you liked?"

Beatrice took a silent sip of her drink. Then, she smiled faintly with a nod and replied, "Yeah. If I'd known I'd grow old this lonely, I should've held onto someone while I could."

"There's still time to find someone," Caron said with a grin.

Beatrice narrowed one eye at him and said, "You haven't changed a bit. Still completely clueless when it comes to this stuff."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Caron asked, frowning.

"Nothing," Beatrice sighed dramatically. "Just go ahead and die old and alone, Commander."

Clink!

Their glasses met, the sharp sound ringing in the cool night air, followed by laughter. They drank, talked, and reminisced late into the night; old comrades sharing warmth in the shadow of war.

During their talk, Caron came to realize that Halo had, in his own way, tried to look after the others—at least until contact had been completely cut off.

"By the way, Commander," Kerra began quietly, "About those corpses earlier... Why weren't ours among them?"

He was referring, of course, to the bodies of Caron's old comrades—Seria and the others—left behind as violet remnants of despair. Among them, only the three former Imperial Guards had been missing.

"That's because in that Caron's world, you didn't exist," Caron replied.

Kerra frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The Caron from that side was someone without the previous life of Cain Latorre. Naturally, he never had you as comrades. Over there, you were probably just nameless Imperial Guards—numbers one, two, and three," Caron explained.

He had meant it as a little joke, a teasing jab to lighten the air, but Kerra, Ugo, and Beatrice simply nodded without protest.

"Sounds about right," Ugo said.

"If not for you, Commander, we wouldn't be who we are now," Kerra added.

"It's an annoying thing to admit," Beatrice muttered, "but I'll give you that one."

They accepted it so easily that Caron felt the fun drain out of his little tease. He frowned slightly and said, "What's with you all? Don't say things that make me want to throw up."

"Then throw up," Beatrice replied.

"And clean it up yourself, Commander," Kerra added smoothly.

"You've always been dramatic like that," Ugo said.

The exchange made Caron chuckle. The atmosphere was easy, relaxed—like the old days. Especially with Halo there, it almost felt as if time itself had turned back.

He did miss those days. But not enough to want to go back. Cain Latorre's life had been nothing but suffering.

And yet, if someone asked whether that life had been meaningless...

No way, Caron thought firmly.

The Caron who had absorbed the Demon King of Void was a different man entirely. That difference, he knew, came from Cain Latorre's life itself.

If Cain Latorre's life could be summed up in a single word, it was "lack." But that very lack had created something powerful—something essential.

All the memories the other Caron carried from his past were those of Rael Leston.

The next question was if Rael Leston was an evil man.

No, Caron thought. Rael Leston was a hero.

Rael Leston had sacrificed everything for others, and his traces remained scattered across the continent like echoes of light.

"It only takes the smallest difference to change a person," Halo said, noticing the faraway look in Caron's eyes. His tone was quiet, steady. "So imagine how much someone would change after living an entirely new life. You call Cain Latorre's life a curse—but through that life, many things changed. Don't see it as a curse."

"I don't think of it as a curse," Caron said softly.

Memories had a way of softening with time, becoming prettier than they had been. But Cain Latorre's life had been far too wretched and too cruel to ever be beautified.

Caron raised his head toward the crimson moon and smiled faintly.

"I still have my friends," he said. "I still have my subordinates. That means I've left enough behind. Now I've got a lot that I don't want to lose."

"Funny," Halo said with a smirk. "Even just a few years ago, you were like a man obsessed with revenge. Still, it's good to see you seem to have changed for the better."

"I'm still obsessed with revenge," Caron said.

"Yes, I figured," Halo replied.

Clink.

Their glasses met with a sharp note, and both men downed their drinks in one smooth motion.

Caron set his cup down and said, "Time to think about how to win. I can't fight this one alone, Halo. I'll need your help."

"You already have a plan?" Halo asked.

The other Caron Leston who had devoured the Demon King of Void was a being of sheer terror. Even Halo couldn't imagine what he would look like if he unleashed his full power.

But this Caron would find a way. He always did.

"Let's start by analyzing their strength," Caron said.

And so, their real preparations began. They spoke and strategized through the night, until dawn's first light touched the horizon.

***

The results of their all-night discussion were, in a word, dismal.

Fwaaaash!

Seria placed her hands over Caron and Halo, blessing them with soft light. A faint sigh escaped her lips.

"Thank you, Seria," Caron said, rolling his shoulders. "You cleared my fatigue right up."

"It's nothing difficult," Seria replied lightly.

Caron's tone was easy, but his expression was anything but.

The violet Caron, now known as the Caron of Void, was still the worst opponent he had ever faced.

His swordsmanship had likely reached the pinnacle of the Oceanwolf Sword Arts. From what Caron could tell, that other Caron had inherited the complete memories of Rael Leston, making his swordsmanship several levels above Caron's own.

His mana was insurmountable, too. Even in terms of pure mana capacity, that monster far exceeded Halo—who himself surpassed Caron.

As for unique powers like Pluto's power or the Void's power, even there, the advantage lay with the enemy.

In the end, Caron and Halo reached only one grim conclusion...

"A perfectly superior version of Caron Leston. The strongest—and worst—Caron imaginable."

They had talked through the entire night, but no brilliant plan emerged. Caron had fought Demon Kings before and always believed himself capable of handling them. But this foe—the Caron of Void—was something far beyond even that.

There was only one thing in their favor.

"That bastard has to fight alone," Caron said.

Indeed, the Caron of Void was practically by himself. The Dragon Lord followed him, yes, but compared to the sheer danger that Caron himself represented, that creature was almost adorable.

So, a head-on fight was utter madness.

"...So what's the conclusion, exactly?" Seria asked quietly.

Caron smiled awkwardly and answered, "Simple. We don't give him the fight he wants. Playing into your enemy's plan is just another way of losing."

At this point, a direct clash was suicide. If the gap in power was too wide, they needed to narrow it—by any means necessary.

That was why Caron and Halo decided on a different approach.

"We'll ignore him and head straight for the Core of Sin," Caron stated.

If the enemy was impossible to defeat, then he'd simply be bypassed. The whole wretched world was being held together by the power of Void. If they could reach the Core of Sin and destroy the Demon King of Void, the entire world could very well collapse with it.

Even if the Caron of Void survived afterward, their chances of victory would be far greater then.

"In the worst case," Caron added quietly, "I'll absorb the Demon King of Void myself... and fight him as an equal."

To battle a monster, one had to become a monster.

The Caron of Void had devoured that power once already—so there was no reason why he couldn't.

Seria's face darkened and she asked, "Are you sure about this?"

"There's no other way," Caron said with a faint smile. "Don't worry too much. Even if it comes to that, I won't become like him."

Of course, that was only if the worst came to pass. If it did, Caron knew he would have to make a choice.

But he didn't intend to share that part with anyone except Halo. The others didn't need to know.

With a weary smile, Caron deliberately changed the topic. "Anyway, what do you think of that city?"

Seria turned toward the burning skyline and answered, "It's beautiful... but lifeless. Not a city of the living. There's no trace of vitality."

"I thought the same," Caron agreed.

The operation was set to begin in three hours. Waiting longer would change nothing.

Besides, during the night, they had felt massive waves of mana ripple from the city. It was an explosion of mana unmistakably from the Caron of Void. Within that torrent, Caron had also sensed a familiar darkness.

It was the dark mana of the Demon King of Havoc.

"Let's hope that bastard managed to hurt him," Caron muttered. "A Demon King shouldn't go down too easily."

If the Caron of Void hadn't fully recovered yet, that gave them a narrow window to strike.

"You don't look nervous," Seria said with a gentle smile.

"Oh, really?" Caron asked.

"Yes," Seria replied.

"Well, I'm nervous on the inside," Caron said with a chuckle. "It'd be strange not to be. Maybe I'm calm because I saw this coming... I don't know. My mind's at ease."

This was the final act. The endgame.

There was no point wasting energy on fear now. They had made it this far somehow, and that was enough.

Caron nodded slightly and added, "Just pray for me later, will you?"

"What should I pray for?" Seria asked.

"Pray to the gods to watch over the warrior you chose," Caron said softly. "That he doesn't turn into a demon. And if he ever does—pray to strike him down. That's enough."

Seria said nothing, only bowed her head in quiet acceptance. Her face carried the look of someone who had made a decision.

She trusted Caron. For all his madness, he was someone worth believing in.

While Caron calmly prepared for battle, a faint unease crept into the air.

"Seria," Caron called suddenly.

"Yes?" Seria responded.

"Get behind me," Caron ordered.

Something ominous approached. Caron could feel it, so he swiftly pulled Seria behind him.

Moments later...

Craaaack!

A burst of black lightning split the sky, slamming into the ground with an ear-rattling roar. Caron recognized that vile dark mana instantly.

He smirked and asked, "Still alive, huh?"

A ragged, hate-filled voice answered, dripping with venom, "...Pure luck."

Caron chuckled and said, "Looking good. Why didn't you go around like that sooner? Did you come here hoping I'd cut off the rest of your limbs for you? How thoughtful of you."

From the smoke emerged a grotesque figure—limbs severed one by one, body mangled yet still burning with malice.

The Demon King of Havoc, Cardan, had appeared.