The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-163

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Chapter 163 Sins and Punishment (Part 2)

Title: ‘The Ninth Corpse,’ Dantalian

Danger Level: S+

Size: Unknown

Discovery Location: Unknown

Also known as ‘The Ninth Corpse.’

One of the ten calamities, known as the enemy of humanity, the Unsolvable and Unkillable.

“It shall be filled with sores due to the disease.”

Book of Ten Commandments 10:1 –

Thud, thud, thud!

The human disguise shattered, revealing the true form of a demon. Vikir watched it all with a calm demeanor.

“…It has finally emerged.”

Dantalian, the Ninth Corpse, one of the ten supreme demons. An evil being with thirty-six different heads and faces, capable of changing into various identities, from old men to young women, from beggars to nobles.

Each of the thirty-six heads had a violet tongue that could extend far beyond their mouths, sharper than any blade. Although their appearances varied, the grotesque bodies of this demon were unforgettable, invoking a sense of eeriness.

‘A thousand-faced’ Dantalian. The one who had killed most of Vikir’s comrades before his regression.

Dantalian possessed the ability to steal the faces of those he killed, be their mothers, fathers, siblings, friends, mentors, or lovers. Anyone who hesitated or wavered in the face of Dantalian’s ever-changing identities would inevitably meet their end at his razor-sharp tongues.

Vikir, having lost many comrades to Dantalian before, couldn’t help but evaluate him as such.

“An demon to eliminate from the outset, regardless of his strength.”

Given that he was destined to inflict the most harm on the united human forces in the future, it would be wise to dispose of him early on.

At that moment,

Tsst, tsst, tsst…

A foul odor, reminiscent of decaying flesh, began to permeate the air, accompanied by a noxious energy.

Vikir quickly stepped back. Dantalian was not only known for having multiple faces but also for spreading diseases wherever he went.

He could both unleash and control plagues, all while maintaining a gentle facade to pass as a fake priest.

But this time, there was a stroke of luck. Dolores stood behind Vikir.

“Paah!”

Dolores emitted a divine light that blocked Dantalian’s plague miasma. She questioned him with a stern expression.

“What’s the reason for this?”

[Dedede- Reason? What reason?]

Dantalian retorted, causing veins to bulge on Dolores’s neck.

“Why would you come to the human realm and do this? Why engage in such acts at an orphanage of all places…!”

In response, all thirty-six faces looking down at Dolores simultaneously broke into mocking smiles.

[It’s a kind of ‘farm’ management, you see.]

“What?”

When Dolores asked, Dantalian replied with a taunting tone.

[See this?]

He held up a golden necklace in his hand, which some of the orphanage children wore around their necks. Dolores frowned but remained silent.

[This is a ‘breeding stock,’ so to speak.]

“…!”

Dantalian’s words further hardened Dolores’s expression.

[We demons capture and consume humans, just as you humans hunt and eat animals. So, I thought, why not change the perspective? Rather than the hassle of hunting humans every time, let’s raise them like livestock. Like dogs or pigs.]

“What… what the hell are you saying?”

[Inside here, they breed, increase the population, manage the quality of their flesh, and when they reach a certain age, they get devoured. How efficient is that? It’s a win-win strategy, isn’t it?]

“Madness! How can that be a win-win situation!?”

[It is a win-win situation. These orphans in this orphanage were originally destined to be stillborn, die shortly after birth, or end up as beggars on the streets. Thanks to me, they could live relatively safe and comfortable lives until their late teens. Of course, we have to eat them before they get too old, or their meat becomes tough and tasteless. Hohoho!]

“Ugh…! How dare you do such a thing behind the name of piety! You will face divine retribution, you demon!”

Dolores shouted in anger.

However, when Dantalian heard the word ‘divine retribution,’ he opened his eyes wide as if he didn’t understand it.

[Hohoho – Divine retribution? But I haven’t done anything wrong, have I? According to your faith’s standards.]

It was quite ironic that a demon who had captured and devoured innocent children claimed to be innocent. Even a passing dog would laugh at that.

But Dantalian genuinely seemed to think so because:

[I have these certificates.]

Eventually, Dantalian took out a bunch of paper fragments from a space pocket. They looked like banknotes but were slightly smaller in size.

Dantalian scattered the white pieces of paper with red lettering and a stamp on them into the air.

The text on them resembled a priest’s decree.

“…This is.”

Dolores gazed at the white pieces of paper suspended in the air, her expression blank.

[Certificate of Absolution]

“All sins of this faithful believer are forgiven.”

– Issued and endorsed by the Old Testament faction; counterfeit punishable by law –

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[Certificate of Pardon ]

“All punishments of this faithful believer are forgiven.”

– Issued and endorsed by the Old Testament faction; counterfeit punishable by law –

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The ‘Certificate of Absolution’ had been confirmed by the Rune Religion to absolve the sins and punishments of repentant individuals in a different dimension.

Dantalian had countless such certificates of absolution and pardon.

[Hohoho! I paid a substantial offerings to get these certificates. So, my sins have been forgiven according to your church’s standards.]

In the world’s order, when you sin, you should face punishment. But even if you’ve sinned, you can be exempt from punishment, or even the sin itself can be forgiven if you repent.

This was a law recognized and accepted by the Church of Quovadis, which resulted in the ironic situation of a demon, the origin of sin, being declared innocent.

Shocked and lost for words, Dolores fell silent. She couldn’t even condemn them as heresy or heretical beliefs.

Because it was nothing less than a malignant tumor that had grown inside her family, causing a horrible rupture.

[Hohoho! And this is the man who issued me these certificates. Your father, in other words~]

“….!?”

[Hohoho! He stacked up treasures like a mountain of gold, so he was very particular about affixing stamps, isn’t he?]

Dolores’s father, Herbert, was known as a staunch adherent of the Old Testament, a symbol of the Old Testament faction, and a stickler for the strict principles of classical laws.

But he was also an ambitious man who gathered enormous wealth by issuing certificates of absolution in exchange for large sums of money, attempting to control the family’s finances.

As a result, even the unforgivable sins of the demon were absolved due to this unscrupulous act.

“….”

Dolores, realizing her father’s true identity, staggered in shock once again..

[Hohoho! And that’s why I’m innocent! I’ve received these certificates as… Huh?]

But Dantalian could no longer taunt Dolores.

Vikir had his sword pointed at the third mouth of Dantalian, holding the elongated tongue that had dared to wriggle.

“When facing a demon…”

Night Hound, Vikir, pulled out the long tongue from Dantalian’s third mouth and gripped it in his hand.

“Do not play with your tongues.”

Simultaneously, Vikir yanked the tongue forcefully, causing the third face of Dantalian to be severed by his blade.

[Scream!]

Dantalian screamed once more. The other faces bearing open mouths seemed to gasp in unison. The violet-colored tongues were as sharp as blades.

However, Vikir’s speed with Beelzebub was much faster.

…Splurt! Sputter!

The blade, honed with malice and tempered by hatred, traced a bloody arc. Dantalian, in sheer panic, cried out when he saw his faces being severed one after another.

“Th-this brat! How dare you point a sword at me!?”

Soon, Dantalian’s first presented face looked at Vikir.

It was the gentle, warm smile of a grandmother.

You know, you can’t spit on a smiling face, right?

However…

…Schwack!

Vikir relentlessly slashed the grandmother’s face with his sword, and the same fate befell the grandfather’s face that followed.

“Horo, you brat!”

Dantalian gnashed his teeth and pulled out a new face.

This time, it was the face of an attractive young actress, whose popularity was currently soaring.

But…

…Schwack!

Vikir swung his blade without mercy once more.

Regardless of which face was presented next, the result was always the same.

…Schwack! …Schwack! …Schwack! …Schwack! …Schwack! …Schwack!

Innocent children, seductive women, feeble old men… all of their faces became side dishes to the blade.

By this point, Dantalian appeared rather bewildered. His faces were crafted from the actual skin of real people, and they could faithfully reproduce their expressions and voices.

However, the guy in front of him remained as emotionless as ever, without a hint of hesitation or sympathy.

“You heartless fiend! Are you saying I’m more human than you?”

“….”

Vikir ignored Dantalian’s words and swung his blade once more.

…Splut!

Foul, greenish blood sprayed, and Dantalian staggered backward, looking disoriented.

Though new faces could regenerate, Vikir’s speed in destroying them was much faster than their regeneration.

‘Even before my reincarnation, I found this annoying.’

Dantalian’s imitated faces and voices were just that—imitations.

In his previous life, Vikir had realized this fact after losing many comrades.

So at this moment, he had no time for guilt or remorse.

“Let’s just cut his throat.”

Vikir, cleaning the repugnant, dark-green blood from his blade, walked forward.

At that moment, Dantalian’s remaining faces all displayed sly smiles.

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[Hohoho! You’re not interested in others, are you? Then how about this?]

Gradually, Dantalian’s face began to change.

They transformed into the faces of boys and girls under the age of thirteen.

These were the faces of the orphanage’s children.

Vikir, with a dry voice, replied, “I’ve slashed the faces of children before. Do you think that will affect me now?”

[Hohoho! Of course, it won’t affect you.]

“….!”

That statement momentarily made Vikir pause.

Yes.

Right now, Dantalian was not affecting Vikir; instead, he was shaking Dolores’s mental state from behind.

Saint Dolores had been volunteering and taking care of many children in this place for several years.

Among them were children who had formed deep bonds with each other and those who had become so sick that they could no longer be adopted into better homes. But not a single one of those children had left this place. The reason was simple; they were all right here.

“Ugh, big sis! I missed you!”

“Sister! Save me, please! It hurts too much!”

“Big sis! Big sis! Big sis! Can you get me out of here?”

“It hurts, sis! Ugh… Sob… I didn’t mean to do anything wrong!”

Numerous faces blossomed above Dantalian’s body like a vase of flowers. They were the children from the orphanage whom Dolores had been meeting every weekend, from the time she entered the academy as a freshman to when she became the student council president in her third year.

Vikir, hearing their simultaneous cries of pain and agony, briefly shut his mouth. He was confident that he wouldn’t fall for such emotional manipulation, but Dolores? The saintess of Quovadis, the beacon of hope for all the unfortunate neighbors?

Vikir felt a slight unease and turned his body. And then, he saw it.

“….”

The slits of Vikir’s eyes, hidden beneath his mask, widened slightly. A dry voice then scraped against his throat.

“….Indeed. A hero is always different.”

At the same time…

Kaboom!

An intense, blinding white flash erupted, searing Vikir’s eyes.

“Wha…?”

Dantalian staggered back, his whole body feeling as if it were on fire. A burning black smoke billowed from his exposed body.

Then, amidst the blinding white light, Dolores’s voice resounded, appearing calm on the surface but concealing a seething rage underneath.

“…You’ve touched what you shouldn’t have.”

That was the tone of her voice. Her words conveyed the idea that something was about to change drastically.

And in that moment…

Shiver.

Vikir felt a slight shiver. Memories of the time before his reincarnation, the battlefield where everything had crumbled and fallen into despair, returned to him. Amid overwhelming despair that felt irreversible, a glimmer of hope had appeared, just like a last-minute miracle, in the form of Dolores, the “Steel Maiden.”

Even if it was for a very brief moment, he was reminded of that feeling.

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