Chapter 79: Voidborn

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Voidborn

The words echoed through the arena like thunder rolling across an empty plain.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

The nobles simply stared at Duke Asmodeus as though he had spoken a language none of them understood. Their faces reflected confusion, disbelief, and dawning horror in equal measure.

"What is a Voidborn?"

One of the nobles finally whispered, his voice barely carrying across the silent arena.

Another looked at the demon beside him with questioning eyes. "Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"No."

"Neither have I."

Confusion spread through the gathered crowd like wildfire. Even those who had spent centuries studying ancient demonic history looked uncertain. Elders who had devoted their lives to understanding the deepest mysteries of the demon realm found themselves grasping for answers that would not come.

Ifrith stood silently in the center of the arena.

He looked at Asmodeus with cold, unreadable eyes. Then his gaze dropped toward the ground beneath his feet, studying the empty space where a shadow should have been. Then his attention returned to Asmodeus.

Voidborn.

The word meant nothing to him.

He had never heard it before. He had never encountered it in any story or legend. He did not know what he was. He did not know why he possessed no shadow.

And, more importantly, none of that mattered to him.

His family was slaughtered like livestock.

That was the only truth he cared about and the only reality that occupied his mind. Everything else, every revelation, every secret, every ancient record and forgotten prophecy, meant nothing compared to the simple, devastating fact that his parents were gone.

The mysterious silver-haired girl was the first to break the silence.

"Voidborn?"

Her crimson eyes remained fixed on Asmodeus, demanding answers.

"What does that mean?"

Asmodeus slowly turned toward her. For the first time since his confession, he seemed almost relieved to have something else to discuss. His posture relaxed slightly. His breathing steadied.

He took a slow, deliberate breath before speaking.

"Voidborn’s aren’t demons."

The nobles immediately became quieter, straining to catch every word.

"They are beings connected to something far older than the magic we know."

Asmodeus looked toward Ifrith with newfound gravity.

"The Void."

The word itself seemed to make the atmosphere heavier. The torches flickered. The air grew thick. Something ancient and nameless pressed against the edges of perception.

"The Void is an ancient existence that lies beyond the ordinary magical laws of this realm. It is not another kingdom. It is not another race. It is something that exists beyond the understanding of ordinary demons."

One noble frowned in confusion. "Then how can a demon become a Voidborn?"

Asmodeus shook his head slowly. "They don’t become one."

His gaze remained fixed on Ifrith.

"They are born that way."

A murmur moved through the nobles like wind through dry grass. Some shifted uncomfortably. Others exchanged worried glances.

Asmodeus continued, his voice taking on the cadence of a lecturer addressing students. "That is why I said he is a Voidborn."

He pointed toward Ifrith with an unsteady hand.

"He is not simply a demon with extraordinary power. His existence itself is different. His very nature operates under rules that ordinary primodial demons cannot comprehend."

The mysterious girl watched Ifrith carefully, studying his expressionless face.

"What makes them different?"

Asmodeus hesitated before answering, clearly weighing his words.

"The ancient records described several characteristics."

He raised one finger.

"First, a Voidborn possesses no natural shadow."

Every eye in the arena immediately dropped toward Ifrith.

There it was.

Nothing.

The ground beneath him remained completely empty. The torchlight illuminated his body from every angle, yet the space beneath his feet remained bare. Untouched. As though light itself refused to acknowledge his presence.

Asmodeus continued, raising another finger. "Second, their magical energy is abnormally dense."

His eyes narrowed with intensity.

"It does not behave like ordinary demonic energy. It is compressed to a degree that should not be possible for a normal being. A single unit of their magical power contains more force than an ordinary demon’s entire reserve."

Another finger rose. "Third, their aura affects the life around them."

His voice became more serious, carrying weight.

"Animals can become sick. Weaker creatures can die within hours of exposure. Even powerful beings can experience difficulty breathing when they remain too close for too long. The aura of a Voidborn is inherently hostile to ordinary life."

The nobles slowly began remembering everything they had heard that had happened around Ifrith’s childhood home.

The dead livestock.

The strange beasts that appeared and died without explanation.

The difficulty breathing that visitors had reported.

The rumors that had spread through the lesser realm like a plague.

All of it suddenly made sense. All of it clicked into place like pieces of a puzzle they had not known they were solving.

Asmodeus raised another finger. "Fourth, their strength cannot be measured according to their apparent rank."

He looked directly at Ifrith with renewed fear.

"A Voidborn can overwhelm beings vastly above its supposed level. A child can defeat an adult. A lesser demon can defeat a primordial demon. Their power gap does not follow the natural hierarchy of any realm."

The nobles glanced at the corpses of the two demonic beasts. Their massive bodies lay still and cooling on the arena floor.

Then their gazes moved toward the body of the primordial demon Ifrith had cut in half with a single strike.

Nobody needed an explanation.

They had already witnessed it. They had already seen the impossible with their own eyes.

Finally, Asmodeus lowered his hand.

"And the last characteristic..."

He paused, gathering his thoughts.

"Is their connection to the Void itself."

The mysterious girl asked, her voice soft but insistent, "What does that mean?"

Asmodeus shook his head slowly. "The records do not explain it completely."

His expression became uneasy, troubled by something he had read but could not fully understand.

"They only state that the power of a Voidborn is connected to something both ordinary and Primodial demons cannot comprehend. Something that exists beyond the boundaries of our reality. Something that should not be."

Silence returned to the arena.

One of the nobles swallowed hard, his throat bobbing visibly. "How rare are they?"

Asmodeus answered immediately, his voice flat. "Extremely."

He looked toward the ancient stone structure surrounding the arena, as though seeking answers in its weathered surfaces.

"The records suggest that entire eras can pass without a single Voidborn appearing. Generations of demons live and die without ever encountering one. They are considered theoretical beings by most scholars. Creatures that exist only in ancient texts and forgotten prophecies."

The nobles became restless.

Entire eras.

That meant the creature standing before them was not simply unusual. His existence was an event that might happen once in countless generations. A phenomenon that defied statistical probability.

Some nobles began whispering again.

"A Voidborn..."

"Then what exactly does that mean for us?"

"Does this mean he will become stronger than the Sovereign?"

"Be quiet."

The whispers continued, spreading through the crowd like ripples across still water.

But Ifrith did not react.

He did not look proud neither did he look excited. He did not even look interested in the revelations about his own nature.

His expression remained cold. Distant. Frozen.

He slowly turned his eyes toward Asmodeus.

The Primordial Demon Sovereign finally spoke, his voice cutting through the murmur of the crowd.

"Asmodeus."

The single word silenced the entire arena.

Asmodeus immediately turned toward the throne, his body snapping to attention.

"Yes, Sovereign?"

The Sovereign’s gaze remained fixed on him with cold intensity.

"Are you certain of this?"

Asmodeus lowered his head in deference.

"Yes, Sovereign. I am absolutely certain. I cross-referenced multiple sources. I consulted forbidden texts that have not been read in millennia. There is no doubt."

The Sovereign did not respond immediately.

Instead, his eyes shifted toward Ifrith.

In that moment, the Sovereign looked at him differently. Not as a lesser demon. Not as a child who had trespassed into his palace uninvited. Not even as the murderer standing in the middle of his sacred space.

He looked at Ifrith as something potentially far greater.

Something that might possess a future none of them could predict and that could reshape the very foundations of their civilization.

The Sovereign’s eyes narrowed with calculation.

A Voidborn.

He had lived for an extraordinarily long time. He had seen empires rise and fall. He had witnessed the birth and death of countless civilizations. Yet even he had never encountered one.

And now one had appeared in front of him.

A child.

A child who had walked into the heart of the Primordial Demon Realm carrying nothing but a sword and an unbearable aura. A child who had killed a primordial demon with a single strike. A child who stood before him without fear.

The Sovereign studied him with renewed interest.

But Ifrith did not care.

He did not care about the Sovereign’s gaze on him and neither did he cared about the nobles. He did not care about the ancient records. He did not care about the Void or its mysteries.

His eyes remained fixed on Asmodeus.

"Did knowing what I was, give you any right to kill them?"

Asmodeus’s expression stiffened. His lips pressed together in a thin line.

Ifrith’s voice remained quiet, almost gentle, but something dangerous lurked beneath the calm surface.

"My family."

He tightened his grip around his father’s sword until his knuckles turned white.

"Did knowing what I was, give you the right to kill them?" He repeated.

Asmodeus took a slow, steadying breath before responding.

"I already told you."

His voice became defensive, bordering on argumentative.

"I did what was necessary."

Ifrith’s eyes hardened. "Necessary?"

"Yes."

Asmodeus straightened his posture, attempting to reclaim some of his lost dignity.

"I acted for the greater good."

The moment he said those words, Ifrith’s aura surged outward.

The floor beneath his feet cracked, sending spiderweb fractures racing across the stone. Several nobles stumbled backward, their faces pale with terror. The air grew thick and heavy, pressing against their bodies like an invisible weight.

Asmodeus’s face tightened with barely concealed fear.

"I knew what you could become."

He forced himself to continue, his voice trembling despite his best efforts.

"I could not allow a potential threat to grow unchecked. That would have been irresponsible. That would have been a dereliction of my duty."

"A potential threat?"

Ifrith’s voice became colder, sharper.

"You never knew me."

Asmodeus gritted his teeth. "I knew enough."

"No."

Ifrith took one step forward, his foot striking the cracked stone with deliberate force.

"You knew nothing."

The aura around him became heavier, more oppressive. The nobles who had been whispering fell silent, unable to draw enough breath to speak.

"You never knew my family."

Another step forward.

"You never knew my mother."

Another.

"You never knew my father."

His fingers tightened around the sword until the leather wrapping creaked.

"You never knew my brothers."

His eyes darkened, shadows gathering in their depths.

"You never knew my sister."

The arena trembled beneath his feet. Dust rained from the ceiling. Several nobles dropped to their knees, unable to withstand the pressure.

"And lastly you never knew the unborn child my mother carried in her womb."

Asmodeus’s expression changed. Something flickered behind his eyes.

Ifrith stopped walking.

"You killed them because you were afraid."

Asmodeus’s jaw tightened. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"I protected this realm."

That answer only made things worse.

Ifrith’s aura exploded outward with devastating force.

The nobles cried out in terror. Some fell to their knees, their bodies refusing to respond to their commands. Others collapsed entirely, their consciousness overwhelmed by the pressure.

The mysterious silver-haired girl remained standing, her crimson eyes fixed on Ifrith. Her silver hair whipped around her face in the invisible wind of his power.

The Primordial Demon Sovereign watched carefully.

Something about Ifrith’s rage was different. Something about the way his power responded to his emotions fascinated the ancient ruler.

The more emotional Ifrith became, the stronger his presence seemed to grow. His power did not deplete as it was used. It expanded. It intensified. It fed on his anger and grew stronger.

The Sovereign suddenly understood something that had eluded him moments earlier.

Asmodeus had misunderstood the ancient records.

The records had never stated that a Voidborn would destroy the Demon Realm. They had not predicted conflict or war. They had simply described the existence of a being whose potential was beyond ordinary understanding.

Being a Voidborn did not automatically make Ifrith an enemy.

It meant only one thing.

His potential could exceed the boundaries of the Demon Realm itself.

The Sovereign’s gaze hardened with cold calculation.

"Asmodeus."

Asmodeus turned toward his ruler, his face pale.

"You misunderstood the records."

Asmodeus froze, his eyes widening with disbelief.

The Sovereign continued, his voice carrying absolute authority.

"The existence of a Voidborn does not mean that this child will become an enemy of the Demon Realm."

"But Sovereign—"

"It means his potential cannot be measured by our understanding. Nothing more. Nothing less."

Asmodeus opened his mouth to argue. No words came.

The Sovereign looked toward Ifrith with renewed interest.

"Little Boy."

The boy did not respond. His eyes remained fixed on Asmodeus, unwavering and cold.

The Sovereign continued, undeterred by the lack of response.

"What exactly are you?"

Ifrith did not even turn toward him. Did not acknowledge his existence.

The Sovereign’s expression changed slightly. Not anger. Not offense. Something closer to amusement.

The boy had ignored him completely.

Not because he was disrespectful. Not because he was trying to be difficult. The question simply meant nothing to him. The only thing occupying his mind was the man responsible for destroying his family.

Ifrith slowly lifted his sword, pointing it directly at Asmodeus.

"You killed my family because you were afraid of what I might become."

Asmodeus swallowed hard, his throat bobbing visibly.

"I did what was necessary."

The same words again.

Ifrith’s expression became terrifyingly calm. The cold stillness of a predator that had already decided the fate of its prey.

"Necessary."

His voice was barely above a whisper, yet it carried throughout the silent arena.

"You call murdering innocent people necessary?"

"I was protecting the Demon Realm!"

Asmodeus shouted, his composure finally cracking.

"You do not understand what your existence means!"

He pointed toward Ifrith with a trembling hand.

"You could destroy this civilization! And could become something none of us could control! I could not simply sit back and wait for that to happen!"

Some of the nobles reacted to his words with grudging agreement.

"He has a point."

"If that creature truly is a Voidborn..."

"Then eliminating him early was not completely unreasonable. It was pragmatic."

Others immediately protested, their voices sharp with fear.

"You are insane."

"Did you not see what he just did?"

"Do you want to die?"

The nobles began arguing among themselves, their voices rising in a chaotic crescendo. Some supported Asmodeus, claiming he had acted in the best interests of the realm. Others remained silent, too terrified of Ifrith to speak.

Then the mysterious silver-haired girl stepped forward.

Her voice cut through the noise like a blade through silk.

"And your solution was to murder his innocent family?"

Silence.

Every noble stopped speaking. Every eye turned toward her.

Asmodeus turned toward her, his expression darkening.

She continued, her voice calm but filled with quiet fury.

"You claim you were protecting the Demon Realm."

Her eyes hardened with cold accusation.

"But you killed people who had never harmed you. People who had no idea who or what their child was. People who had never threatened anyone."

She looked at Ifrith with something approaching compassion.

"His family had nothing to do with whatever you feared he might become. They were innocent in every sense of the word."

Asmodeus clenched his fists, his face reddening with frustration.

"You do not understand—"

"No."

She interrupted him with absolute finality.

"You do not understand."

The arena fell silent again.

Then the Primordial Demon Sovereign spoke, his voice carrying cold authority.

"Asmodeus."

His tone had changed. The calm curiosity had been replaced by something sharper. Something that made even the other primordial demons shrink back.

"Did I ever gave command for this act?"

Asmodeus froze. His face went pale.

"No sire."

The Sovereign’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Did I ever authorize your attempt to assassinate this child?"

Asmodeus lowered his head, unable to meet his ruler’s gaze.

"No, Master."

The Sovereign continued, his voice growing colder with each word.

"Did I authorize the massacre of his family?"

Asmodeus’s lips parted. His throat worked. But he could not look directly at his ruler.

"No."

The answer echoed through the arena like a death knell.

There was no confusion anymore. No ambiguity. The Sovereign had not ordered it. He had not authorized it. He had not even known about it.

Asmodeus had acted alone.

The Sovereign’s gaze became icy cold.

"You acted without my command."

Asmodeus remained silent, his head bowed in submission.

The scene shifted toward the Crown Prince.

He had barely spoken since Ifrith entered the arena. He had remained silent throughout the chaos, watching with an unreadable expression.

But now his face had become tense. His hands gripped the armrests of his seat. His eyes darted nervously between his father and the trembling noble.

The Sovereign noticed.

His gaze settled on his son with cold calculation.

"You knew."

The prince did not respond. His lips pressed together in a thin line.

The Sovereign’s voice became heavier, more dangerous.

"You knew about this, didn’t you?"

Still nothing.

The prince remained silent, his face pale.

The Sovereign stared at him, his eyes boring into his son’s soul.

The silence itself became an answer.

But the Sovereign did not press further. Not yet. He filed the information away for later, his expression revealing nothing.

Ifrith was not interested in the prince.

His attention remained fixed on Asmodeus.

The boy slowly raised his sword, the blade catching the torchlight.

Asmodeus stepped backward, his heel striking against the stone floor.

"Little boy."

The mysterious girl spoke, her voice soft but insistent.

He did not respond. His eyes remained fixed on his target.

"You are going to kill everyone here."

Ifrith’s eyes remained cold, distant.

"They deserve it."

She stepped closer, moving between him and the noble.

"If you do this..."

She paused, choosing her words carefully.

"Then you will become exactly what they called you."

Ifrith’s eyes shifted toward her.

"A monster."

The word struck something inside him. Something deep and buried. Something that had been growing in the darkness of his heart since the day his family died.

He looked around the arena. At the nobles cowering in fear. At the blood covering the floor. At the bodies scattered behind him.

Then he remembered his mother.

Her smile. Her arms around him whenever he returned home. Her voice calling his name with warmth and love.

He remembered his father. The strength in his hands. The way he had taught him to hold a sword. The pride in his eyes.

He remembered the house. The walls that had sheltered him. The roof that had protected him. The warmth that had filled every corner.

He remembered the flames. The screams. The smoke.

His grip tightened.

He wanted revenge.

Every part of him wanted it. Every fiber of his being screamed for it. The need for vengeance burned in his veins like fire.

But the girl stood there without fear.

She was not calling him a monster. She was not looking at him like the others. She was not trying to manipulate or control him.

She was trying to stop him from losing himself.

Slowly, Ifrith lowered his sword.

The nobles released nervous breaths. Some slumped against each other, their strength deserting them.

But his eyes remained fixed on Asmodeus.

"I will not kill you yet."

Asmodeus looked at him with confused relief.

Ifrith’s voice was cold, empty of emotion.

"You will live."

A pause.

"Long enough to understand what you did."

Asmodeus stared at him.

For several seconds, nobody spoke. Nobody moved. The arena held its collective breath.

Then, slowly—

Asmodeus smiled.

It was not the nervous smile he had worn earlier. It was not fear. It was not desperation.

It was confidence.

Ifrith’s eyes hardened.

"You think you have won?"

Ifrith’s grip tightened around the sword, his knuckles turning pale.

"What do you mean?"

Asmodeus’s smile widened, revealing teeth.

"I wouldn’t reveal all that top secret research to you without having a countermeasure against you."

The arena went silent.

Ifrith’s expression shifted. Something cold and dangerous flickered behind his eyes.

The mysterious silver-haired girl’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Even the Primordial Demon Sovereign looked toward Asmodeus with renewed interest.

A countermeasure.

Against a Voidborn.

Asmodeus had prepared something. Something he had been holding in reserve and that had given him the confidence to reveal the truth.

And whatever it was...

He had been confident enough to reveal everything because he believed it could stop Ifrith.