The Mad Dog of the Duke's Estate-Chapter 368. The End of A World (3)

Slice!

"See? I told you to try living a little nicer!" Halo shouted, swinging his blade.

"What—this is all my fault now?" Caron shot back furiously. "Half of the bastards in here are your kills too! No, more than half! And what, should I have died instead? If I hadn't killed them first, they would've killed me!"

Slice!

It was hell.

To take even a single step forward, they had to cut down dozens. The scene was grotesque enough to befit a final act—a stage soaked in death and memory.

Every soul Caron and Halo had ever slain now rose again, charging at them in a frenzy of hate.

Most of the enemies were fine, but some were terrifyingly dangerous.

"Shouldn't you be prepared to bear at least this much karma? Heh... Even in death, I'm glad to be with you, my Rael."

"Usurper of my throne—die."

They were the Demon Kings.

There should have been three. But in truth, Caron had slain four.

"Technically, it's three!" Caron yelled. "Why the hell is the Demon King of Slaughter here too? That bastard was killed by Laia, not me! Killing a bastard like that's supposed to be justice, not karma!"

A mocking laugh rippled through the air.

"Heh, how adorable."

Even facing a single Demon King was a nightmare. Facing four at once was lunacy.

Every time Caron turned his gaze, the Demon King of Slaughter hurled a weapon through the air, while Laia's cursed petals blurred his sight. The poisonous mist of Sloth clouded his mind, and the dark magic of Havoc struck relentlessly at every opening.

Clang!

With practiced ease, Caron shifted places with Halo, then unleashed Maelstrom, deflecting the incoming attacks in a violent cascade.

He thrust Guillotine straight toward the neck of the charging Demon King of Slaughter.

Shhhk!

Even as the blade pierced his throat, Slaughter's hand shot forward, clawing for Caron's neck.

Clang!

If Caron hadn't summoned a clone to intercept the strike, his neck would've snapped right then and there.

"Each one feels damn real," Halo muttered.

"If I brought Leo here, we would've died," Caron said through gritted teeth.

"I feel like I'm about to die, you brat," Halo snapped.

"That's your karma! And seriously—why the hell is my previous life over there?!" Caron shouted, slashing wildly.

Boom!

Amid the chaos, a black blade sliced through the air, aiming for Caron's neck. It was a familiar sword technique.

A black sword veiled in moonlight suddenly appeared, then twisted right before Caron's eyes. It was a technique that curved from aiming at the neck to striking the chest instead.

Caron twisted Guillotine instinctively.

Clang!

The clash sent a shockwave rippling through the battlefield.

"...Yeah," Halo muttered bitterly. "That one's my karma."

Cain Latorre lunged at him, eyes gleaming with madness.

It felt different from facing a doppelganger. The man who had been mocked his entire life by the Demon King of Havoc was now fighting beside that very demon.

"Damn it," Caron hissed.

Whoosh.

The Azure Mana enveloping Caron deepened into an ominous black glow. And in one swift motion, Caron spun and slashed across Cain Latorre's chest.

Slice!

A burst of crimson blood spilled from the wound, and as Cain staggered back, Halo didn't hesitate—his sword followed through in the next instant.

Thud.

Cain's head hit the ground under the combined attack of the two 9-Star knights.

Instinctively, Caron's hand went to his own neck as he muttered, "This kind of pisses me off, Halo. Don't you think that was a little too ruthless?"

"That wasn't you," Halo said flatly. "This place isn't real anyway, is it?"

"What are you talking about?" Caron shot back. "If this world was created by Void, then it's real."

"Is that so? Well, even if it is, there's nothing I can do about it," Halo replied. "What, it's not like I can just die, or did you want to die instead?"

"Well, that's not exactly what I had in mind," Caron said.

Booooom!

There was no time for banter anymore.

The Demon Kings had retreated a few paces, only to unleash a relentless barrage of ranged attacks. At the same time, waves of demons, humans, and other races swarmed into the fray.

It was chaos beyond chaos, a battle where there were no allies, no sides. The Demon Kings didn't care who they struck.

As the minutes bled away, Caron and Halo's bodies became full of injuries.

Nearly twenty minutes had passed under that relentless attack before Halo shouted over the noise, urgency lacing his voice, "This isn't working. Caron, listen to me carefully!"

"What are you planning to do?" Caron yelled back.

"I'll rampage my core and buy some time! You head for the temple!" Halo said.

"Do you think you can hold out?" Caron asked.

"I'll find out soon enough," Halo answered.

The answer was very Halo-like. He always tried to shoulder everything alone.

Sure, if Halo rampage his core, Caron could carve a path through the horde, but he wondered if it was the right move.

Clang!

Caron swatted aside the Demon King of Slaughter's sword, shaking his head and saying, "Stop trying to do everything by yourself."

"What choice do we have?" Halo shot back.

"You're trying to use the method you taught me before, aren't you?" Caron asked.

The method to force the core to rampage temporarily was a technique that only knights who had reached 9-Star could attempt. It required perfect control over one's core and fully opened mana channels throughout one's body. It was dangerous, pushing mana to violently surge backward through its conduits.

Caron hesitated for a bit, then nodded. He continued, "We have to reach that temple anyway, right?"

"Right," Halo answered.

"If we keep fighting like this, we'll both die. So we'll just break through to the temple fast. Once we're inside, I'll absorb Void's power. I think that's how we can finish this," Caron suggested.

It was the worst case scenario, but it was the only one they had.

The Core of Sin that the Caron of Void once faced was likely the same as what stood before them now.

No—if it had been the Caron of Void, he would have surely slaughtered even more, making the scene far more horrific.

After all, this stage was designed to be that way from the very beginning.

Clang!

Caron grit his teeth as he deflected the sword of Cain Latorre, who had somehow resurrected.

"Killing the Demon Kings won't end this," Caron growled. "So you're coming with me."

"Caron..." Halo began.

"If I lose myself to Void's power," Caron said, his tone grim, "then kill me—like before."

Halo gritted his teeth as he asked, "What the hell are you thinking?"

Caron gave him a crooked grin and answered, "Something a little bad."

"You bastard..." Halo said.

"We don't have much time," Caron said. "Let's run."

As he said those words, he began to reverse the flow of his core's mana.

Boooom!

Caron's sea of mana surged wildly, and seeing it, Halo clenched his jaw and rampaged his own core.

"This will hold for thirty minutes. After that, we'll need time to recover—you know that, right?" Halo asked.

"It won't take that long. We'll finish before then," Caron replied.

"Then let's move. Run," Halo said.

The mana of the two blazed fiercely.

Two different surging waves began to tear through the Core of Sin.

***

"...Are you alright?" Caron asked.

"My arm feels like it's barely hanging on, but I'm fine. This much is nothing. But Caron, you should pull that spear out of your back before you talk any further," Halo replied.

"Can you pull it out?" Caron asked.

Puuuk!

"Gently, you lunatic," Caron hissed.

"What about disinfection?" Halo asked.

Whoosh.

A low hum filled the air as Caron reached into his pouch of dimensional space and pulled out a small crystal bottle of the Dew of the World Tree. He uncorked it and poured the glowing liquid down his back without hesitation.

"Use half," he said.

"You do realize that stuff costs about a duchy's annual budget, right?" Halo muttered.

"I've got a few bottles left. Use it freely. The elves gave it to me as gifts," Caron replied.

He steadied his breath, eyes fixed on the temple entrance. They had managed to get inside. To buy some time, they'd collapsed the entryway behind them, but oddly enough, the enemies hadn't followed.

Their bodies were wrecked. Even for men who had long surpassed the limits of humanity, surviving that hell had been nearly impossible.

"What's the plan?" Halo asked as he scanned the surroundings.

Caron made a face and answered, "Do you really think I have one? 'No plan' is the plan."

The temple loomed high above. From the inside, it felt even larger—immeasurably so.

"Hey, Halo. Is your mind holding up?" Caron asked.

Every breath carried traces of Void's energy, seeping into their bodies like poison.

Caron, who had already absorbed the power of Void, was fine, but Void's energy spread so widely that he couldn't help worrying about Halo.

Halo's expression didn't waver. He answered, "It's... irritating, but not enough to cloud my mind."

"If you start losing it, tell me," Caron said.

"There's no way I will, so quit worrying. Anyway, where do we have to head? The temple's bigger than I expected," Halo replied.

"We won't get lost," Caron said, his gaze drawn to the pulsing violet light spilling from deeper within the temple.

And then, a voice echoed—no longer muffled, but clear and vast, resonating in their minds.

"I have waited for so long.

"Are you the one who comes to declare my end?

"Or the one who shall inherit my ruin?"

It was the voice of the Demon King of Void calling for them.

"It was loud and chaotic, but it's quiet here. I guess this bastard knows how to treat his guests," Caron said.

"Maybe you should ask him to bring tea," Halo added.

"Should I?" Caron replied.

Even after their blood-soaked battle, their voices remained calm. The frenzy of combat had vanished, and they scanned their surroundings with colder precision than ever before.

No threatening enemies were in sight, but that didn't mean they were safe. To be precise, the space itself was the enemy; with every breath, the power of Void seeped in, constantly testing their mind.

As always, they exchanged light-hearted jokes while walking down the corridors of the temple.

"When this war's over," Caron began.

"Caron," Halo cut in. "Could you please stop saying that unlucky crap? I've never seen any bastards who say that come back alive."

"Can you just let me finish a sentence? Anyway, after this war, do you want to go on vacation with me? I found an island back when I was pirating—it's beautiful. You'd like it," Caron said.

"A noble bragging about his pirate days... How wonderful," Halo said dryly.

"Hey, I was pirating the pirates! Or we could go to the Southern Great Forest instead. Their apple cider is amazing, and we could collect some Dew of the World Tree while we're at it. Oh! We should bring Aqua too," Caron continued.

"Hmm... That actually sounds nice," Halo admitted.

Even as they neared the destination, their attitudes didn't change. It was just two friends talking as they always did.

"Oh, right," Caron said suddenly. "I've got a proposal for you."

"Let's hear it," Halo replied.

"The next head of the house should be Leo," Caron proposed.

"You're insane," Halo said.

"Dales and Raphael already gave up on becoming the head of the house," Caron added.

"That's because of you, you brat. You ruined the family's traditions," Halo said.

"Technically, I founded the house. Those were my rules, so I can do whatever I want," Caron argued.

"I'm still the current head of the house," Halo protested.

"Why don't you just leave, drop that hassle, and retire already?" Caron suggested.

Halo gave a low chuckle and replied, "I'll consider it."

They both knew this could be their last conversation. Still, it didn't change much.

Like friends did, they just traded insults and quiet laughs as they talked.

"Halo," Caron said quietly. "Remember. If I lose myself to Void..."

"I know," Halo interrupted. "I'll kill you myself."

"That's exactly it," Caron said.

At last, they stepped into a vast, open space. Above them stretched a sky of ashes, and at the center of the barren field stood a single ancient monolith—its age so great that no words could begin to describe it.

From the stone, a massive violet eye opened.

Whoosh.

"Owner," Guillotine called.

"You've done well so far, Guillotine. Just a little longer, all right?" Caron said gently.

"Be your usual self. It's weird to hear you like this," Guillotine replied.

"Then act like you always do, you damned demonic sword. Maybe I've gone too easy on you lately," Caron snapped.

"...You actually changed because I told you to? Owner, you're stupid," Guillotine said.

It was time to end it.

Caron raised his eyes to the great violet eye in the sky, a smile curling on his lips. He had waited for this moment across three lifetimes.

Once, he would have come all this way for vengeance alone, but his thoughts had changed a lot during this lifetime.

He'd once believed that he would sell his very soul for revenge. But not anymore. He was going to get his revenge, and protect the people he cared about.

"Honestly, wanting to achieve both isn't too much greed, is it?" Caron muttered.

"I'm not sure what you mean, but it's not too much. You deserve it," Halo answered.

"Then let's finish this, Halo," Caron said.

The long story was finally coming to an end.

At last, Caron stood right before Void.