The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-120

Chapter 120: Hunt for the Second Son (1)

In a dark cave.

A man sat alone in a training hall on the outskirts of the Baskerville territory.

Seth Le Baskerville, Hugo’s Second son.

He was reading a letter brought by a crow with three eyes.

“Hmm… So, Vikir left for the academy, huh?”

Seth put the letter aside.

Shhhhh…

Suddenly, the Letter burned and disappeared, leaving behind vivid black flames.

Seth opened his eyes, his eyes suddenly converged into a common pitch-black hue.

“Well, it’s better this way. He would be a hindrance when I devour the family.”

Seth chuckled and leaned his head against the wall.

Suddenly, a dark and enormous shadow appeared on the cliff.

“Hugo, Osiris, and those Counts were already annoying to keep in check, and now this young one shows up. I should have killed him in the mountains. Ah, I should have ended it when I released the viper in the cradle. All because of that foolish mother and wet nurse.”

After pondering various thoughts, Seth seemed to lose his temper and reached his hand to the side.

There was a terrified-looking child there.

“Sir? Where is this place?”

“Well, don’t worry. This is your new home.”

“New? But the orphanage director said I would be adopted into a nice home… This place is a scary cave!”

The cave was so dark that nothing could be seen, and it was filled with a nauseating stench that made it hard to breathe for a moment.

Seth grabbed the child’s arm and pulled them while grinning.

“Cave? Oh, you mean this place. There seems to be a misunderstanding, but of course, this cave is not where you will be going.”

The child’s expression briefly relaxed at Sethh’s words.

However.

“Where you will be going is here.”

At the same time, Sethh’s mouth, which had been looking at the child’s face, opened.

Sharp teeth like knives were inside his gaping mouth.

A large eye inside the mouth blinked and blinked, Looking at the child’s face in amusement.

Before the child could even scream, Sethh swallowed their head in one bite.

…Crunch! Squelch—

The child’s shadow contorted pitifully.

The blood sprayed on the wall instantly lost its color.

Seth grumbled his mouth a few times, then spat out the bones onto the floor.

“Human fluids are truly the most delicious. I just can’t quit them. Maybe I should try raising them collectively? Let them reproduce too.”

“My own Livestock~”

Seth grinned as he looked at the pile of bones on the floor.

In the darkness, the pitch-black floor was already piled with numerous bones like mountains, emitting a foul odor.

The smell of decaying corpses, Sethh, who smelled it, wrinkled his nose and made a happy expression.

“Well, the scent of my homeland. It’s truly my sweet home.”

Sethh lay down on top of the pile of bones.

Just then.

A crow with three eyes opened its beak.

[Hey, Ten (十). Are you handling your mission well?]

“Whoa, you startled me.”

Sethh was surprised and spat out the bone he had been chewing on.

The crow with three eyes spoke, its three eyes gleaming.

[We need to exert our strength to open the ‘gate’ and usher in a new era. The dawn of a new era is right before us. You haven’t forgotten, have you?]

“Got it. I understand. Keep an eye on the others, am I the only one being watched? What have you been up to?”

[For now, you don’t need to worry about us. I have another human to pay attention to as well.]

“An individual I should pay attention to? Eight, are you talking about yourself?”

[It’s a case similar to yours.]

At the crow’s words, Sethh furrowed his brow.

“I’m watching Vikir, and Eight, You’re in Morg right…?”

Seth quickly found the answer to who the new talented individual who recently appeared in Morg might be.

“Is it that subordinate who recently joined the Dark Side? What was her name? Camus? Why her?”

[…]

The crow did not answer but gave Seth a subtle reprimand.

[I won’t answer unnecessary questions. And, aren’t you devouring human fluids too frequently lately? Reports of kidnappings and infant disappearances are heard too often. Be careful not to give off a scent since Baskerville’s dogs have keen noses.]

“Don’t worry; I’m not getting caught. I’ve never been detected.”

[Seeing the pile of bones in the cave makes me a bit uneasy. What if someone intrudes?]

“Don’t worry about that either. This cave is protected by a barrier that only allows monsters or humans under the age of 8 to enter. No one can find it.”

Finally, the crow nodded in relief as it pleased and ended the conversation.

[For the annihilation of Humans!]

Gradually, the magic emanating from the crow’s eyes faded. The crow collapsed to the ground and died.

“He always comes, says his piece, and leaves. What an annoying guy.”

Seth, as if irritated, crushed the crow’s corpse with his foot.

“Damn it. We’re still far from accumulating enough magic power to open the gate. How much human blood do I need to suck to make it possible? At this rate, I’ll have to wait at least another 10 years.”

Seth grumbled, emitting the characteristic eerie look of a demon.

His cunning brain calculated the mana required for the plan and the time needed to gather it.

Precisely 12 and a half years.

He has to keep hiding in the human world for that long.

Only then could they create the massive gate connecting the demon realm and the human world, Setting the stage for a great war.

“…We need to open the ‘Era of Annihilation’ as soon as possible. Ahh, just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.”

Seth shouted in excitement, envisioning the hellish future and the devastated human world that lay ahead.

His excitement seemed like it would last for quite a while.

“What are you talking about?”

…Unless an uninvited guest had suddenly intruded into the cave.

In an instant, Sethh jumped to his feet.

“!”

The intruder had entered, but Seth didn’t sense their presence.

The flow of mana, the concentration of magic, and not even a single sound heard in the infiltration. Seth was shocked when he saw the face of the person who entered the cave.

It was Vikir. Vikir Van Baskerville. Seth’s younger brother, who was supposed to have gone to the academy.

“What, what’s going on? Weren’t you going to the academy?”

“I will. But before that, I wanted to see your face.”

Vikir answered casually and stood in front of Seth. Seth narrowed his eyes and looked at Vikir. Although faint, he could distinctly smell the scent of a demon coming from Vikir, especially around his right wrist.

“So, he managed to break through the barrier?” Seth expanded his senses to check the barrier. There were marks resembling thorns on the barrier as if it had been torn apart like a drumhead. A small rift, clearly created for a single person like Vikir, was visible.

Meanwhile, Vikir looked into Seth’s eyes. Inside those eyes, filled only with inky black, magic unique to demons was spewing out in abundance.

“You’re not even trying to hide your identity now.”

“In the scene of the crime, what’s the point?”

In response to Vikir’s question, Seth shrugged his shoulders.

Shortly after, when Vikir saw the scattered bones on the ground, he swallowed his anger. In his previous life, he had been falsely accused of these horrific acts and executed. It had been even more miserable, as it happened after the Era of Annihilation had ended.

Now, the perpetrator of the accusations he had suffered was laughing right in front of him. Because of this guy, Vikir had been deceived countless times, narrowly escaped death many times, and even actually died in the end. And Pomeranian had lost his family and had to endure a difficult childhood.

Hugo and Baskerville’s misfortune had also been caused by this guy. Seth Le Baskerville, or whatever was wearing his outer skin.

Vikir warned the enemy in front of him shortly. “Don’t laugh.”

But Seth let out even more laughter, sounding almost like a mocking sneer.

“Phew, phoo-hoo-hoo… My dear brother, I don’t know how you found your way here, but with just the skills of a Mid-tier Graduator? You’re overly confident.”

Seth drew his Sword, which was coiled around his waist. Gradually, the aura of a high-tier Graduator began to envelop the sword.

Seth grinned broadly and swung the sword at Vikir.

At that moment…

Thud!

A short, muffled sound echoed. Seth was left bewildered, only able to blink his eyes, not understanding what had just happened.

Shortly after…

Thump!

The sound of something hitting the ground was heard. It was his left arm, cleanly severed from the midpoint. Blood gushed out profusely from the severed part.

“…Huh?”

Seth raised his head with a dazed expression, and he could see Vikir’s sword, Beelzebub, right in front of his face. And the seven fangs on it.

Baskerville Seventh Fang.

However, what truly astonished Seth was something else—the Gooey honey-like aura was almost turning solid. The aura of a Graduator, transcending to the level of a Master.

The aura of the Peak Graduator was surging!

“I told you to shut up.”

That was the last thing Vikir said before ripping apart both sides of Seth’s mouth before his final words.