Reincarnated as the Baron's son: My Infinite Card Upgrade System-Chapter 114: The secret

Ava’s hands shook, the box slipping from her grip and clattering to the floor. Alaric’s hologram flickered out, his last words—"my soul will get damaged"—burning in her skull. Her chest heaved, like she’d been punched.

Dead?

Ninety percent gone?

Revival?

It was too much—too damn much.

She staggered backwards, her eyes wide with fear, as she looked at Hina, who appeared ghostly pale. Her lips were trembling.

Velmo was frozen in place. His previous smug grin vanished, replaced by a look of shock.

Erica’s hope, which had just flickered to life moments before, was crushed. She held onto the doorframe tightly, her nails digging into the wood.

"No... no, no, NO!" Ava screamed, her voice cracking the room’s silence. "He’s not dying! He’s not doing this alone!"

Hina snapped out of her daze, grabbing Ava’s arm.

"We have to find him! We have to find him now!" Her voice was sharp, but her eyes were wet—fear, not just for Alaric but for what he’d become.

Velmo stood, wincing through his bandages. "The northern region—he’s gotta be there. Shards, demons, that’s where the war’s thickest." His tone wasn’t playful anymore; it was grim, like he’d seen a ghost.

"That bastard’s really ending the world."

Erica choked out, "Alaric... my brother... he wouldn’t—" She cut off, tears spilling, streaming down her cheeks.

A shadow flickered in the doorway. It was Kika, and her face looked terrified. She had overheard everything—her son’s shocking plan to burn down Vergino and sacrifice himself.

She pressed her hands against her chest, as if trying to keep her heart from breaking. "Oh, my boy..." she murmured in a trembling voice. "Why didn’t you tell me?".

Ava turned around, noticing the hurt in Kika’s eyes, and something inside her broke.

"We can’t just stand by! We’re all going to stop him before he—" She couldn’t finish the thought. Before he hurts himself. Before he hurts others.

"Let’s go!"

No one argued.

Ava grabbed the box—useless now, but it felt like Alaric’s last piece.

Hina was already at the door, sword strapped tight. Erica wiped her face, nodding, finding some fire in her grief.

Velmo muttered, "Crazy kid," but followed, his limp not slowing him.

Kika staggered forward, refusing to stay.

"I’m seeing my son," she hissed, daring anyone to stop her.

They rushed out of the mansion, the unsettling silence of the barony seeming to taunt them.

In the distance, gunshots rang out—Dergen’s army hadn’t arrived yet, but the aftermath of the war could be felt all around.

Horses were tied up outside; Ava hopped onto one, while Hina and Erica climbed onto another, sharing the saddle.

Velmo grumbled as he took the third, and Kika climbed up behind him, holding on tightly.

"Yahh!" Ava shouted, urging her horse into a fast gallop.

The rest of the group followed, the sound of their horses’ hooves pounding over the clean, open fields of the barony.

The road was hell.

Scattered bodies—soldiers, civilians—littered the path, some burned, others torn by demon claws.

Ava’s stomach churned, but she didn’t slow.

Alaric did this. Her Alaric.

The man who’d held her hand after nightmares, now drowning the world in them.

Hina rode beside her, face hard but eyes flicking to every corpse—guilt, maybe, for helping him.

Kika’s quiet sobs behind Velmo cut deeper than any scream.

"Faster!" Ava growled, urging her horse through a ruined village.

Smoke stung her eyes; charred homes crumbled around them.

A few survivors ran, screaming about "flying devils."

Demons. Alaric’s demons. Velmo cursed under his breath, "He’s not hiding anymore."

Hours bled together—day to dusk, dusk to night. The northern region loomed, its hills jagged under a blood-red sky.

Ava’s horse panted, foam at its mouth, but she didn’t care.

Her ribs ached from her old wounds, but pain was nothing. Alaric was everything.

She’d drag him back, slap sense into him, anything to stop this madness.

Hina pointed ahead. "There—smoke!".

A valley glowed unnatural green, like mana gone wild.

Ava’s heart leapt—shards.

He’s there.

She spurred harder, the others struggling to keep up.

Kika’s voice broke through, "Alaric, please be alive..." It wasn’t hope—it was a plea.

They crested a hill, and the sight stopped them cold.

The valley below was a nightmare.

Eighteen glowing shards floated in a circle, each pulsing like a heartbeat, their light searing the ground black.

Demons—hundreds, maybe thousands—knelt around them, chanting in guttural tongues. Guns lay piled like offerings, barrels glinting green.

And in the centre, Alaric stood, his back to them, hands raised.

His cloak was torn, hair wild, but even from here, Ava saw his slump—tired, dying, just like Hina said.

"Alaric!" Ava screamed in a raw voice. She leapt off her horse, sword drawn, ready to sprint down.

Hina grabbed her wrist.

"Wait! Look!"

The shards flared brighter, and the air screamed—a sound like metal tearing.

Ava’s ears rang; Erica clapped her hands over hers, wincing.

Velmo muttered, "What the hell..."

Kika slid off the horse, staring, her face pale as bone.

Alaric didn’t turn.

His hands moved, tracing symbols—same as the box’s paper.

The shards spun faster, trails of light linking them into a ring.

The demons’ chants grew louder, frenzied.

Ava’s skin crawled; it wasn’t just power—it was wrong, like the world was fraying.

"We’re too late," Hina whispered, her sword shaking in her grip.

"He’s got all 18."

"No!" Ava tore free, stumbling toward the valley.

"I need to get to him!" Her voice cracked—she didn’t know how, didn’t care. She’d tackle him, beg, anything.

Hina ran after her, shouting, "Ava, you can’t!"

Erica followed, sobbing, "Brother, stop!"

Velmo hesitated, then cursed and joined, dragging Kika, who wouldn’t look away.

They were halfway down when the shards exploded—not in fire, but in shadow.

Eighteen pillars of darkness shot skyward, each one twisting into a shape—giant, monstrous, alive.

Demon lords.

Ava froze.

They weren’t like Argon’s crew—these were gods of slaughter, eyes glowing red, claws longer than trees. One roared, shaking the earth; another spread wings that blotted the stars.

Across Vergino—hell, the world—more pillars rose.

Ava saw them on the horizon: north, south, east, west.

Screams echoed from distant towns, carried on the wind.

People were running, pointing, praying.

Then a sound started—not a roar, but a hum, high and sharp, like glass about to break. It dug into Ava’s skull, making her teeth ache.

Hina clutched her head, gasping. Kika fell to her knees, whispering, "No, no, no..."

Velmo yelled, "What’s that noise?!"

But no one answered.

The hum grew, and Ava saw it—people in the valley, demons, even some of Alaric’s own, started to shimmer.

Their skin cracked, not bleeding, but fracturing, like diamonds splitting under pressure.

A demon screamed, then burst into glittering dust.

Another followed, then a human scout nearby—crack, shimmer, gone.

Ava’s breath hitched. "Alaric, what did you do?"

She ran faster, ignoring Hina’s shouts. The hum was everywhere now—soldiers in the distance, villagers miles off, all shattering.

Not burning, not bleeding—breaking into light, like their souls were glass.

Ava’s heart pounded; was this his plan? Kill them like this?

She reached the valley’s edge, close enough to see Alaric’s face—pale, eyes sunken, blood trickling from his nose.

He was chanting in a low voice with trembling hands.

The demon lords towered above, their forms solidifying—horns, fangs, endless hunger.

Ava screamed his name again, but the hum drowned her out.

He didn’t look back.

Hina caught up, grabbing Ava’s shoulder. "He’s summoning them all! We can’t—"

Her words cut off as a demon lord’s claw swiped the air, not at them, but at nothing, like it was tearing reality.

The ground split, green light spilling out.

Velmo was silent, just staring, his schemer’s brain failing him.

Kika crawled forward, reaching out, "Alaric, my boy, stop..."

People kept breaking—dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands.

Ava saw a town in the distance glow, then vanish in a shimmer of diamond dust.

The hum pulsed louder, synced with the demon lords’ roars. Alaric staggered, one knee hitting the ground, but his hands didn’t stop.

The shards were gone, burned into the lords’ bodies. He’d done it—18 demon lords, all here, all awake.

Ava took a step, sword raised, not to fight him, but to reach him. "Alaric, please!" Her voice was a whisper against the chaos.

The hum spiked, and she felt it—a tug, like her bones were vibrating.

Hina yanked her back, shouting, "Don’t get closer!"

A demon’s body cracked nearby, dust glittering in the green light.

Alaric’s head tilted, like he heard something—her? The goddess? He smiled, sad, broken, and raised his hands higher.

The demon lords screamed as one, and the world shook. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Ava fell, Hina holding her tight.

They were too late.

Alaric had summoned them all, and the shattering spread—people, places, everything turning to diamond dust. Ava stared at him, so close, so far, as the demon lords’ shadows swallowed the sky.