The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound - Chapter 302: Age of War Enthusiasts (4)

Chapter 302 Age of War Enthusiasts (4)

As the criminals continued to break through the magical barrier and surge past the outer walls of the academy, their numbers steadily increased.

“Hehehe- I always wanted to step inside this academy and see what it’s like,” a man chuckled as he rummaged through the ruins of the devastated auditorium.

Known as the ‘Fashionista,’ he was a notorious psychopath who enjoyed making coats from the skin of those he had killed. “Hmm~ the scent of higher education. Is this the sacred aura of the Colosseo Academy?”

Once pursued by Imperial guards and saved from capture by Sadi just before being apprehended, he became an ardent follower of hers.

“Noble young masters, nurtured so elegantly in the greenhouse, the skin and hair of the young ladies here are the finest materials. I must make a coat for this winter. Hehehe- if I offer it to the queen, she’ll surely admire me, won’t she?”

The Fashionista, after scanning his surroundings, noticed a mother and daughter sitting beneath the ruins.

A slender female student and her even more delicate-looking mother.

“Wow, secured coat materials! With them, I might barely have enough for an upper-body garment, right? No, our queen needs the bust area to be generously accommodated~ Well, maybe a bit short?”

He approached the mother and daughter with bouncy steps.

“Now! Don’t be too frightened. I won’t take your lives. Just going to peel off your skin.”

As the fiend whispered with large scissors in hand, the mother and daughter screamed, shedding tears.

Then, suddenly…

…Thunk!

Sharp fangs pierced through the Fashionista’s throat.

“Huh?”

He was oblivious to what happened to him.

Before he could comprehend…

Thunk!

Fangs in his throat jiggled briefly from side to side, then snapped, breaking his bones.

Thud!

The corpse of the criminal was thrown aside like garbage.

Night Hound, a creature that hunts sinners and kills them, now stood before the mother and daughter like a sentinel.

“…Go that way, towards the direction where the smoke is rising. There should be an escape route.”

Vikir spoke to the mother and daughter with a gruff tone.

However, seeing Vikir in a mask, the mother and daughter looked even more terrified than before.

“N-Night Hound…”

A villain even more infamous than the Fashionista they encountered earlier.

Knowing this, Vikir simply sighed lightly under his mask.

“If you don’t run in that direction right now, I’ll kill you both.”

“Eek!”

Faced with Vikir’s unavoidable threat, the mother and daughter got up from their spot and sprinted towards the escape route.

…”

Having confirmed the disappearance of the mother and daughter from his sight, Vikir proceeded to eliminate three more criminals who were chasing after them.

…Splat! Thud-

Night Hound’s fangs pierced through tough skin, rupturing internal organs.

Swinging his sword a few times, Vikir realized that the number of criminals wasn’t as significant as he initially thought.

“But they are all converging on critical locations. Someone must have informed them about the event plan and internal layout in advance.”

Right at that moment,

“Hohoho-”

Vikir noticed laughter echoing through the dust.

Miss Ouroboros. Professor Sadi.

Approaching gracefully, she spoke, “I finally get to meet the Night Hound here.”

Sadi’s voice carried a politeness that had never been present before.

Nodding his head, Vikir opened his mouth in response.

“I’m a fan.”

Regardless of Vikir’s opinion, Sadi continued speaking.

“Night Hound, you’re interested in the ‘ancient era,’ too, aren’t you? The logic of the era when strength was everything! Don’t you miss that? I understand. From you, I can smell the fragrance of someone living in the past, just like me. Hohoho-”

The words were accurate.

Vikir, too, was a specter living in the past, reliving the era of destruction to prevent it from happening again.

But the underlying meaning was entirely different.

“I live for the future.”

Vikir’s life experiences were from a future that hadn’t arrived yet. Therefore, one could consider Vikir a being from the future.

However, upon hearing Vikir’s response, Sadi seemed to interpret something again on her own.

“A person from the future! That’s wonderful! Since the era I seek, the warring state’s era, will come again, can I also live for the future then? Hohoho- You truly are someone worth learning from.”

Admiration and worshipful glances. Vikir gave up on having a normal conversation with her.

But then…

…!

Vikir noticed what Sadi was holding – the Winter’s Blade, Orwell. A cherished sword once wielded by Winston, the Principal of the Colosseo Academy. Legend had it that the sword, with its long and pointed conical blade, remained flawless, even after breaking a thousand blades. Looking at the handle protruding beneath the sharp and elongated cone, it resembled observing a short dagger.

Seeing Vikir gaze intently at the sword, Sadi, with a broader smile, remarked, “You recognize it, as expected.”

“…”

“To show interest in this means… Night Hound, are you also interested in ‘that side’? Ah~” Sadi teased with a playful tone.

Vikir completely ignored Sadi’s unfounded playfulness and straightforwardly said, “Hand it over.”

Winter’s Blade, Orwell. For Vikir, it was a crucial piece of weaponry. He was prepared to kill Sadi if that was what it took to get the sword into his hands.

However…

“Yes~ I’ll give it to you~ But there’s one condition.”

Sadi shyly spoke to Vikir.

When Vikir raised an eyebrow, she suddenly unzipped a zipper on her back and revealed her tightly compressed chest that had been confined in tights.

“If you sign here.”

“…”

Vikir hesitated for a moment. It wouldn’t be wise to turn Sadi into an enemy in this situation. Eventually, he accepted the pen Sadi offered and signed on her chest.

Night Hound.

The sharp end of the pen seemed like a tool for tattooing, leaving drops of ink and blood each time it passed over the skin.

Looking at the signature on her chest, Sadi was overcome with ecstasy, as if in rapture.

“Ah~ Night Hound’s autograph. I’m the first, aren’t I?”

“…”

“I hope so, but well, it’s okay if not. I’ll just have to kill everyone else who got my signature before. Hoho-”

“…”

Surprisingly, after receiving the signature, Sadi willingly handed over Orwell.

“I do need the ‘Key to the Main Gate,’ but… well, there are other ways.”

“…”

“Could you promise me one more thing in return?”

As Sadi handed over Orwell, she whispered something into Vikir’s ear.

“…When the time comes, please…bring out the [something] together.”

“…Sure. When the time comes.”

“How splendid of you.”

Having concluded the business, Vikir distanced himself from Sadi. After placing Winter’s Blade into the dimensional barrier of Andromalius, Vikir prepared to leave.

At that moment,

“…!”

Vikir hesitated for a moment.

It was a faint smell brushing past his nose – the scent of a demon.

‘Where is it coming from? Where is it?’

It was a subtle odor that might have gone unnoticed if not paid attention to. Yet, Vikir’s seasoned nose eventually pinpointed the source. The stench wafted from the eye patch covering Sadi’s left eye.

‘Didn’t I injure that eye during mid-terms?’

Certainly, behind that left eye patch, there should be nothing. However, for some reason, the devilish smell emanated from there.

‘This is a strong scent, similar to Belial’s, I gotta investigate more.’

As Vikir turned his head to scrutinize the area, Sadi, with a sly smile, glanced back.

“Do you have more business to attend to? Oh, could it be you want something better than a signature?”

“…”

“Then spit it out – right here. Ah~”

With both hands supporting her chin, Sadi opened her mouth wide.

Just as Vikir was about to frown and say something,

…Thud!

Somewhere, a heavy seismic wave shook the surroundings. It was a powerful shock, almost enough to rekindle the collapse of the nearly ruined auditorium. Even the mighty Vikir struggled to maintain balance in the midst of the intense earthquake – a quake that seemed to have lost its center.

Simultaneously, Vikir caught a strong whiff of the demon’s scent, as if the very air itself was tainted. The odor was far more intense than what emanated from Sadi’s left eye.

“…!”

“…!”

Vikir and Sadi both turned their heads in the same direction. Through the debris, they could see a figure rising amidst the rubble.

Principal Winston.

Behind him, a colossal form also stood up. A monstrous apparition, as if countless shadows were layered together – a figure that could be described as a grotesque being.

Covered in tough muscles, it had four legs, black fur cascading like a waterfall, two ominously glowing eyes, and a giant horn missing its tip. A unicorn. However, this creature exuded overwhelming malevolence and terror far from the holy and sacred aura often mentioned in myths.

Vikir immediately recognized it.

“…The Fifth Corpse!”

The fifth of the Ten Supreme demon lords.

An evil among evils, a demon said to be unbeatable in one-on-one combat, had now revealed itself in the midst of this chaotic battlefield.

_ _ _ _

[PR/N: Yes, there were two ghost wood saplings Vikir got in chapter 259. He must’ve given one to Pomeranian and one to Camus.]