The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound - Chapter 12

Droopy Cerberus.

Greasy vomit flowed out of his mouth at the same time.

Tsutsutsutsutsu……

Immediately after Cerberus’ death, the spirit from his body got absorbed Vikir’s body.

This mysterious energy, called karma, karma, experience, etc., makes the body and spirit of those who defeat monsters even more noble.

“It must be difficult to carry this.”

Vikir tried to move Cerberus’ corpse, but gave up.

And he decided to just leave Cerberus’ body here.

Anyway, the cause of death was clear, and there were many guide dogs who saw Vikir shaving a wooden spear in this hideout, so there were many people who could prove it.

So, all he did was to remove a few important parts and entrails and bury them in a secret place.

… More than anything.

“It’s not important right now.”

Vikir peered beyond Cerberus’ corpse into the deeper forest he had come from.

Cerberus is basically a gatekeeper-type monster born with the habit of defending his territory.

Regardless of whether he had been pushed all the way here by the barbarians, it was clear that there was probably a ‘dungeon’ guarded by Cerberus nearby.

A dungeon is a cave-like place where treasures were usually present, but most of them are also the habitat of powerful high-ranking monsters.

“Cerberus is dead, so it’s likely no other monster is there.”

In general, monsters are attracted to strong demonic energy, so there is a high possibility that relics with strong demonic energy existed in the dungeon where Cerberus was.

To be honest, Cerberus is not a monster that just lived anywhere.

Vikir searched the outside of the borders, keenly alerted to the usual spirit of Baskeville’s hounds.

Hellhound and quite a few monsters fled far away just by lsmell of Cerberus.

Vikir’s eyes trace back the footprints and marks of Cerberus, buried in the withered soil, rotting leaves, damp roots and dismal darkness.

As I walked through the withered thorns, burned roots, and decayed old trees, the depths of the flood were soon revealed.

Dungeon.

It was a low-lying crypt between large mounds of earth.

From above, it looked inconspicuous.

It was not made by Cerberus, and it is assumed that it has been there for quite some time.

Of course, this place was also a place in Vikir’s memory. It will be discovered in the next 10 years or so.

“… … But I think it was an empty back then.”

But now it is different.

The smell of demons hidden behind the rotten smell.

An inexperienced hunter might miss it, but Vikir managed to sense it.

… clattering!

Vikir broke the parched mound and slipped down into the crypt.

Eventually, you will see a dungeon made of reddish soil and rocks.

A vein of ruby protruded out of the mound, as if it was connected to the Le Rogue Mountain, a tributary of the Le Rogue Mountains.

As he entered the darkness of the cave, he saw a deep, winding passageway.

A place so dark and deep that you have to feel it with your hands.

But surprisingly, the inside of the dungeon was wide and bright.

There was a fairly spacious stone chamber, and a ruby stone the size of a fist protruded around it, emitting a red light.

A stone chamber stained red like blood by the ruby light.

Vikir looked at his own shadow that was cast on the wall of the stone chamber.

“… … Is it a dungeon with nothing?”

The stone chamber was just empty.

No, it wasn’t quite empty.

At the end of the place where Vikir’s long shadow reached, two skeletons were scattered.

A skeleton with cuts all over its body cut and broken as if it had been stabbed by a knife.

Looking closely, the inside of the ruby-colored had marks of a fight.

Judging by the marks, it must have been a very long time.

Yet Vikir found a page of handwriting written on the side of the skeleton.

[ First of all, it’s okay if you don’t know my name. Just call me ‘Gain’.

Do I really need to stain this paper with my name?

After thinking about it several times, I write down a few characters for the purpose of preventing

future generations from making the same mistake as me. ]

It was an unusual diary from the start.

Vikir continued to read the text, relying on the red light.

After some time, Vikir noticed that these letters were written in a old script descended from the Baskeville family.

“Is he the ancestors of Baskeville?”

It was a reasonable inference.

[ This stone chamber is an ancient dungeon that has been talked about as a legend within the family.

My brother and I found this place by chance, went through countless trials to explore it, and

eventually reached this room.

It turns out that this dungeon once had a fairly tough difficulty level.

Although now it remains only as an empty and lonely crypt.

And it is presumed that the person who wrote this memoir and the skeleton scattered here must

have been twin brothers.

My brother and I killed countless monsters and arrived at this place.

However, the last task we received in this stone chamber kept our brothers on their feet. For a

whopping 3 years!

Vikir raised his head.

What is the “task” they are talking about?

The question was soon resolved.

It was because I could see the writings engraved on the stone wall in the direction where the skeleton’s skull was facing.

[ One comes in, two come in, and one goes out. ]

It was a strange riddle.

Vikir looked at the notes again.

[ My brother and I pondered over this gloomy phrase for a long time.

However, considering that this dungeon has been passed down as a legend in the Baskeville

family, the meaning is clear.

We don’t know what it means only one of us can achieve what he wants from this dungeon?

We brothers who entered the dungeon.

They were originally one when they were conceived in their mother’s womb, but split into two

when they came out into the world.

And to get what they want out of this dungeon, they must become one again.

Realistically, the bodies of the twins could not be joined as one, so they had to kill each other to

remain as one. ]

It is the custom of the Baskeville family to instigate rivalry between siblings.

The two brothers started fighting each other for a long time, and the match ended with the death

of the younger brother.

“Then, does the younger brother here become ‘Abel’?”

Cain and Abel.

The older brother who had to kill his younger brother in order to be ‘chosen’.

Vikir thought as he looked at the skeletons scattered on the floor.

A skeleton that was almost weathered even in a windless stone chamber, no matter how long it had been dead.

However, the content of the manuscript was quite unexpected.

[ I killed my brother after a fierce battle. Now, I am the only one left in this stone chamber.

However, despite this, there was no change in the stone chamber.

A handwriting that gradually becomes colored with madness.

The handwriting also became more and more crooked, and in the end, Vikir had to understand the meaning of the letters at an almost decipherable level.

[ Even though it was obviously two to one, I didn’t get anything!

You can’t get out without getting anything!

nothing! nothing!

However, as for the last handwriting, it was returned in a neat handwriting, probably written after

a long time had passed.

I’ll stop wasting time.

If there are brave descendants who will visit this place in the distant future, I would like to

you to give up.

get out of here right now

It is said that nothing can be obtained in this devil’s den, which only deceives and mocks people. ]

In the end, what he wanted to say was clear.

He passed through all the barriers and came here, but it was dog hair.

And latecomers are also encouraged to go back the way they came from without losing their strength.

… But Vikir thought differently.

“I’m not a twin.”

Despite the fact that Vikir is not a twin, the content of the assignment is still valid.

That means that Cain and Abel, who were here, misinterpreted the contents of the text.

“When I came in, I was one, but when you came in, there were two, so when you go out, you have to become one again?”

Baskeville looked at the cave behind him.

It was a jet black without a single strand of light.

And in front of it was a stone chamber where there was light.

Before long, Vikir turned his head to look at the skull.

What hangs over the end of the skull is its own shadow. shadow!

“… … Right.”

Vikir raised his fist.

Then he smashed the large ruby ore that lit up the stone chamber red with his fist and shattered it.

Clink!

When the ruby shatters, the faint magic within it also disappears.

The inside of the stone chamber was plunged into darkness for an instant.

OK.

Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-kwak!

A strange thing happened.

The stone wall on one side of the stone chamber had collapsed.

The wall was so thick that the thickness alone could reach tens of meters.

It is so large that you would never think of it as a door.

Vikir nodded.

The answer to the riddle was simple ‘shadow’.

When you enter, you are completely alone in the passage of darkness, but the moment you enter the stone chamber illuminated by ruby light, the shadows separate.

And when the ruby is removed and complete darkness comes, the shadow returns to the body.

When they become one, the final stage of the stone chamber will be opened.

Vikir cautiously reached out in front of him.

Fortunately, the space beyond the stone wall was a flat, single road, and there were no traps.

Cain and Abel would have sorted out the swarming monsters long ago, so all that remains is to check the dungeon’s rewards.

Before long, something cold touched Vikir’s fingertips.

It’s the handle of a sword.

The sword was firmly stuck vertically into the rock, and an inscription was inscribed in front of it.

Vikir fumbled with his fingertips and read the words.

‘Only the blood of the Baskevilles is this ‘…’’Will I be able to pull out.’

The text mentions the last name Baskeville and Carl’s first name.

And the moment he learned the name of the knife, a shock like a thunderbolt hit Vikir.

“… …Was this an artifact that found here?”