Chapter 584 - 583: The chosen son and the Antagonist

Chapter 584: Chapter 583: The chosen son and the Antagonist

"Hah..."

Kiro’s eyes suddenly opened wide as he found himself back in the tent.

Keith was standing before him, calmly looking at him.

"Are you ready?" Keith asked.

Kiro didn’t even know what to think or feel.

What the hell was that?

He looked at Keith again.

Ever since their last battle in the slave arena, when Keith had transformed into that devil-like creature, Kiro had always had a hunch that Keith wasn’t human.

But now...

It seemed he was beginning to notice something else about Keith.

He didn’t know how to explain it.

Keith was changing.

But into what?

Kiro couldn’t tell.

He clenched his fists.

Only then did he realize that his hands were wet.

"Go," Kiro said, forcing a smile.

"I’ll follow you shortly."

Keith raised an eyebrow.

This is my tent, isn’t it? Why are you telling me to leave?

Regardless, Keith left the tent.

As soon as he was gone, Kiro looked down at his palm.

BADUM!

His heart suddenly began pounding rapidly.

Blood...

There was blood on his hand.

"Was that real...?"

Kiro stared at the place where Keith had disappeared, horror filling his eyes.

---

"Yes..."

"That’s my boy!"

Void laughed inside his room, his face filled with excitement.

He was thoroughly enjoying what was happening in the Mortal Realm.

Of course, he was fully supporting his son.

Void cautiously looked around.

After confirming that there were no guards or Peak Rank 3 demons nearby, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then...

He casually pulled out a recliner and an enormous bucket of popcorn.

He sat down comfortably and began eating.

As a Rank 4 Demon, Void could see what was happening anywhere within the Mortal Realm at any moment.

He could even intervene if he wanted to.

His actual abilities were so absurd that explaining them to a mortal might literally cause their mind to collapse.

How could Void explain that he could rewrite the history of a world in real time?

That he could jump between reality and unreality?

That his words could become reality?

For an existence like him...

How could anyone be certain that what they were being told was real?

Or that what they were seeing was real?

If everything could bend according to his will...

Then what exactly was True?

Void casually popped another piece of popcorn into his mouth.

"Hehe..."

"You’ll never know I stole some of your stash."

Void grinned.

Printed across the enormous popcorn bucket was the image of a white-haired man wearing glasses and sitting comfortably.

Beneath it were the words:

INFINITY POPCORN

Made by and only for Nephem.

Yes.

That’s right.

Void had stolen some of Nephem’s popcorn.

Could he really be blamed?

Hell no.

Who knew Nephem could make popcorn this good?

Why should Void waste his time making his own when he could simply steal some?

Right?

Void looked toward Keith and nodded.

This little boy...

After years of waiting, he had finally grown.

And now...

He was beginning to change.

Of course, for someone who had grown up with his life orchestrated by the world itself, watching adults enjoy themselves at the expense of children’s suffering had inevitably twisted his mentality.

What Keith had experienced in that city wouldn’t magically change him.

If anything...

It would make him even more twisted.

Why?

Because Keith was fucking...

The antagonist.

His fate had been decided long before he was even born.

Besides, he would eventually become hated by everyone in the Mortal Realm.

After all, his destiny was to become the key that would release Void into this realm.

And this time around...

Ire would join him.

And then...

Boom.

An entire realm would fall to its knees.

Just thinking about it made Void chuckle.

"Ancestor."

Suddenly...

A Peak Rank 3 Demon appeared.

"Heh."

Void’s expression changed.

He glanced to the side, and his eyes widened.

What the hell?

Hadn’t he sent all the Rank 3 demons away from the castle?

The enormous demon stood hundreds of meters tall, its massive body casting a shadow over Void.

Void felt his body tremble.

Damn it.

He immediately stood up, gritting his teeth.

The recliner and popcorn disappeared in an instant.

Void turned toward the Rank 3 Demon and casually waved his hand.

The demon’s crimson eyes suddenly went blank.

A moment later...

They returned to normal.

"Ancestor..."

The demon greeted him once again.

Only this time...

There was a small piece of its memory missing.

No.

It wasn’t missing.

That memory had simply never existed.

Yet as Void looked at the Rank 3 Demon, he still felt as though his secrets had been exposed.

He could almost feel a cold wind blowing against his ass.

No...

As a Demon Ancestor, I need to be mysterious, ancient, wise... and cruel.

Void narrowed his eyes.

Over the years, he had grown rather fond of his Demon Ancestor persona.

He had even developed a certain set of rules for himself.

There were things the Demon Ancestor could do...

And things the Demon Ancestor absolutely could not do.

What the Rank 3 Demon had just witnessed was definitely not one of them.

Since the demon had seen him, Void felt as though his carefully constructed image had been shattered.

But even after permanently erasing that memory from the demon’s mind...

It still didn’t feel like enough.

Void waved his hand again.

The Rank 3 Demon’s mind went blank once more.

"D-Demon Ancestor..."

The demon spoke hesitantly.

Even it wasn’t sure what it was saying.

It didn’t even remember why it was here.

Yet every time Void looked at the demon...

He still felt as though his secret had been exposed.

"You..."

Void sighed.

Then...

The Rank 3 Demon turned into ashes.

The wind swept through the room, carrying the ashes away until nothing remained.

Across the entire Purgatory...

The memories of this Peak Rank 3 Demon were quietly erased.

Not only from the Purgatory...

But from the Upper Realm as well.

His enemies were no longer his enemies.

He had no allies.

No children.

No lineage.

Every connection he had ever possessed...

Gone.

At every point in history where the demon had existed, his presence was quietly erased.

Time itself was rewritten.

History briefly excluded him...

Because he had never existed.

And if he had never existed...

What was there to remember?

Just like that...

A Peak Rank 3 Demon disappeared from existence.

"Hmm..."

Several Rank 4 beings suddenly turned their attention toward the Purgatory.

They could sense that the history of the realm had been tampered with.

But they had not been affected.

The alteration had been limited to a Rank 3 existence, so the effects were automatically negated by their higher level of existence.

Therefore...

They simply ignored it.

Only after everything was over did Void finally smile.

"Hah..."

"Finally."

"I feel covered once more."

Void sighed in relief.

He casually restored his Demon Ancestor persona and looked toward Keith.

Everything was back to normal.

But beside Keith...

Void could see another existence.

A being blessed not only by the Mortal Realm, but even by the Upper Realm.

Luck flowed around him like a river, continuously growing stronger.

Void could already see glimpses of the future.

Various races were already showing him kindness, while powerful forces were preparing to support him.

He had his own trials.

His own obstacles.

But the more Void looked...

The more he pitied Keith.

This was the Son of Destiny.

And Keith was the one destined to eventually release Void into the Mortal Realm.

The two of them would inevitably clash.

And Keith would...

"Sigh..."

"I can’t do anything about it, boy."

Void spoke with pity before suddenly laughing.

"...Although it would be interesting to torture you."

"The amount of material I could gain from an existence like you would be immense."

Void couldn’t help but ponder as he continued watching Keith.

---

Mortal Realm

Kiro finally returned and found Keith standing outside.

"You okay?" Keith asked.

Kiro chuckled nervously.

"Yeah. I’m fine. Just had a bit of a blood rush."

"Shall we?"

Kiro nodded.

The two of them began moving forward.

It was only then that they noticed Leon.

Beside him were the two royal siblings, along with several elders from the remaining families.

They were actually heading toward the city.

Keith was stunned.

So was Kiro.

The disciples accompanying them, however, had smiles on their faces as they watched them leave.

"What is happening?" Kiro couldn’t help but ask.

"Ah... You didn’t know?"

"Tonight, Prince Leon went to speak with the leaders of all the forces."

"He asked them what our actual goal was."

"If we allowed the mortals to continue suffering like this, then even if we won the war, what would we have left?"

"At the end of it all, we’d be ruling over a kingdom with no people because they would have all starved to death."

Kiro frowned.

"Hmm..."

"But we can only give them enough food to last a few days at most. There are too many cities. That won’t be enough, and—"

Kiro began speaking, but the disciple interrupted him with a laugh.

"Haha! That’s where Prince Leon showed his strength."

"He had been observing the cities we passed through."

"The nobles are living comfortably. They’re enjoying their lives while hoarding enormous quantities of food."

"So why not order them to release it to the people?"

"At the very least, there should be enough food stored away to keep the citizens alive until the war is over."

The disciple smiled.

Keith’s expression changed.

His hands slowly clenched into fists as he looked toward Kiro.