The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-123

Chapter 123: The Hunt for the Second Son (4)

“The poison acted a little late.”

Vikir pieced back together the torn flesh of his chest and forearms.

He could feel the wraiths sealed in the slots of his magic sword, Beelzebub, rampaging madly.

Beelzebub

Slot -1: Deadly Venom – Madam Eight-Legs (S)

Slot -2: Silent Hill – Mushussu (A+)

Slot -3: Super Regeneration -Fog Lizard (A+)

Vikir inspects the slots on Beelzebub, his body restored by the regenerative powers of the Fog Lizard.

Crackle-crackle-crackle-dahlgraak!

The red beads beneath the blade clattered against one another, violently churning.

Madam Eight-Legs was the wraith raging the most furiously within Beelzebub right now.

She seemed pleased that Andromalius, who had been poisoned by her own poison, appeared so frail.

But Vikir was taken aback by the effect for the time being.

The Madam’s poison was so potent that it knocked one of the ten supreme demons off his feet, and it was so terrifying that even a life that had already died could be jeopardized again.

Being able to inflict debuffs like slow, numb, and blind against such a high-ranking demon was a huge win.

Andromalius, meanwhile, watched in horror as his own body faded to black.

[A poison that even a demon like me can’t escape? What in the world is this poison… a mere mortal!]

Andromalius thought as he struggled to control his spinning vision.

How many demonic creatures in the world possessed such a vile poison?

The cunning spiders of the Red and Black Mountains, the nine-headed snakes of the Giant Country, the great jellyfish under the Black Sea…

There are several other candidates who live in the depths of the Outer Demon Realm who should come to mind, but how their venom is used by mere mortals is beyond me.

‘It’s so potent that even the most powerful demons are hesitant to deal with it, and it’s impossible to contain or store it anywhere, so how could a mere mortal…’

But there was no time to ponder it now.

Andromalius clenched his teeth and took a step back.

The bloodsuckers followed suit and backed away.

He looks around to see if there are any other humans around, but there aren’t any.

The only Human is Vikir in front of him.

But his blood is already tainted with a terrible poison, and sucking on it will only poison you, as it is now.

“Not good for you.”

Vikir bites down on his index finger, drawing blood and spraying it into the air.

Cha-cha-cha-cha.

The bubbling droplets of venom flew like bullets.

The blood could turn from mundane to venomous at any moment, depending on Vikir’s will.

Not only is it hemorrhagic and neurotoxic, but it is also deadly acidic, burning Andromalius’ body and soul at the same time.

[Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

As a demonic sword, Beelzebub deals direct damage to a demon’s soul.

Andromalius had no choice but to attach meaning to each and every one of Vikir’s attacks.

What’s more, Vikir’s own brute strength was more than enough to draw out the power of a sword of the Peak Graduator.

Baskerville Seventh Form. Six teeth, followed by a seventh, small but distinct.

Once again, the tip of the sword destroyed Andromalius’ entire body.

[Ugh! What the hell!]

Andromalius gnashed his teeth at the absurdity of it all.

He hadn’t expected to be attacked by a mere mortal, much less on his home turf.

Ehhhhh…

Andromalius swatted at the remaining swarm of flies, forming a black mist, and quickly ducked behind it.

He stepped back, intending to close the distance.

“That’s what I was hoping for.”

Vikir didn’t bother to follow Andromalius as he fled deeper into the cave.

Only.

Kararak-

pulled two black sticks from his back and assembled them into one.

It was the black bow wielded by Adonai, the legendary archer who had led Anubis and Balak in their prime.

…Boom!

An arrow from Anubis flew out and pierced Andromalius’ body.

Boom!

Andromalius hit the cave wall and looked down at the hole in his chest with a horrified expression.

The arrowhead was dyed red and, of course, coated with Madam Eight-Leg’s venom.

[Ugh, a bow!?]

This is unbelievable.

Why would a Baskerville swordsman use a bow?

He looks up and sees Vikir walking toward him.

…… …… …… …… …… …… …… ……

His stride was as smooth as a snake’s, his killing intent eerie.

The ghostly figure made no sound as it walked, and Andromalius felt goosebumps creep up his spine.

“No.”

Andromalius decided that he could not face Vikir in the cave.

Weng-

At Andromalius’ call, all the flies gathered in one place.

“They shall swarm like flies.”

These were the flies that had been swarming over the children and licking the flesh off their bones.

These myriads of grave-dwelling flies loyally rallied at their master’s call.

But,

“Flies are the spider’s food.”

Vikir intermittently slashed his wrist, black blood pouring from it.

The fog of blood, laced with venom, was killing flies by the dozen.

Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz.

The stiffly moving flies melted like ice cream dumped into a flame as soon as they touched Vikir’s blood mist.

That wasn’t all.

Vikir had also contaminated the groundwater flowing along the walls and ramps with his blood, so the flies were constantly draining their health without a place to stick.

Vikir was in control of the situation, including the terrain around him.

Waaaahhhh…

Demon’s breathing was getting tougher.

He didn’t know why he was being pushed back.

Andromalius’ expression crumpled.

“…For God’s sake, I should’ve spared a few children.”

He’d never regretted eating all the children he’d kept in the cave for blood bags as much as he did now.

…But.

[Yeah. I’ll give you credit for pushing this body this far as a mere mortal].

Andromalius was still not relaxing.

Outside the cave, outside the circle, there was a river and a sandy bank that cut a wide swath through the training grounds.

If he could burst the bank and divert all of the river’s overflow into this cave, he still had a chance.

‘His regenerative powers of the flesh will not be able to keep up with a demon.’

He would lose some magic power, but that would also delay the summoning of the gate that would open the Age of Destruction by quite a bit, but it was unavoidable.

[Ku-k-k-k-k… Yeah, that was fine for a human. It was for a moment, but it was embarrassing. But that’s it. You crossed the line.]

Andromalius raised his blood-red eyes and glared at Vikir.

Then, he took the first step toward leaving the cave.

He broke the bonds.

Tsutsutsutsutsuts…

The binding that had enveloped the entire training hall disappeared.

Only demons and children under the age of eight could enter the Demon Binding Realm, and it required an enormous amount of magic power to maintain.

It’s no wonder it’s so secretive that even an archmage can’t detect it, and it’s so powerful that it can’t be broken by anything less than demonic strength.

Breaking the bond restored Andromalius’s magic to a great extent.

With that, Andromalius suppressed the poison that was eating away at his body and leaped up through the hole in the ceiling in the center of the cave.

[Hold on, I’ll show you real hell soon].

With a sickening laugh, Andromalius slammed into the rock.

On the other hand, he was relieved to finally be able to eliminate the dangerous bastard.

He’d be truly unbearable in a few more years.

‘It would have made a big difference if Hugo, Osiris, or the Seven Counts were here as well.’

It’s better to kill Vikir now, so it’ll be smoother the next time he wants to devour Baskerville.

Then.

Andromalius came to a halt at the end of the hollow, where he could see the night sky.

Down below, he could see Vikir standing still.

[……?]

Andromalius furrowed his brow and bowed his head.

Somehow, Vikir hadn’t given chase.

He just looked up and stared at Andromalius with his usual expressionless face.

…With a strange-looking whistle in his hand.

With that, Vikir raised the tooth-like whistle and blew it.

A high, piercing note echoes through the hollow.

Andromalius felt a chill run down his spine as he heard it.

[……!]

It is impossible not to know that he also has the experience of living for decades wearing the skin of the second son of the Baskerville.

What is that whistle in Vikir’s hand, and what does it mean?

And then.

The night has grown even darker.

Dark clouds blocked out the moonlight and a veil of inky darkness fell.

Long shadows began to cast countless shadows from outside the hole in the ceiling Andromalius had climbed.

Flutter.

Blood Red-colored wisp fluttered in the night breeze.

Andromalius raised his bloodshot eyes to the sky outside the hole.

The ceiling after the Demon Binding had disappeared.

There, the tips of countless shadows pointed at Andromalius.

“What are you doing there… son?”

Hugo Le Baskerville.

Beside him, was his eldest son, Osiris Le Baskerville.

And the Seven Knight Captains standing behind. Seven counts.

Pit Bull.

Mastiff.

Doberman.

Shepherd.

Rottweiler.

Wolfhound, and so on.

A total of one hundred hounds under each knight order, seven hundred in total.

The full force of the Baskerville military power.

All the dogs of Baskerville were assembled.