The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-202

Chapter 202 Corpse Queen (5)

…Thud!

The world turned entirely crimson.

Feeling his entire body trembling, Vikir stepped back.

Thick blood and pieces of organs oozed from his mouth. His vision blurred, and his body wasn’t responding properly.

Vikir summoned the power of the Fog Lizard to restore his body.

Tsutsutsu-

Although it consumed a considerable amount of stamina and mana, he could mend broken bones and connect severed muscles.

However, most of his strength went into restoring the core skeleton, internal organs, muscles, and missing body parts. As a result, numerous wounds across his body remained unhealed.

Touching the blood-soaked body and adjusting the mask that barely covered his face, Vikir thought, ‘I can’t return to the academy like this.’

Tudor, Sancho, and Figgy would surely be horrified if they saw him now.

Then.

[Hak-hak-hak-]

Something was clinging to his left wrist.

Baby Madam. The creature had returned.

“…Thank you. I owe you my life.”

Vikir gently stroked Baby Madam’s head.

Right before the clash with the Corpse Queen, there was a thread that caught Vikir’s neck as he was engulfed in the explosion.

The thread was secretly attached by Baby Madam to Vikir’s back. A resilient lifeline that could withstand the whirlwind of mana without breaking.

It was connected to a rock behind him.

Baby Madam pulled Vikir from that rock, allowing him to narrowly escape the explosion.

Without this thread, Vikir would have died from injuries that even the Fog Lizard’s instant regeneration could not heal.

Meanwhile.

Psssst…

The lich and the Carnal flesh Golem turned into dust and disappeared.

And behind them, the Corpse Queen stood tall.

…However.

Thud!

The Corpse Queen eventually knelt down, one knee on the ground.

Seemingly unconscious, probably due to the shock from the mana backlash within her body.

“…Half demon, half human, the impact of mana backlash would be even greater on her.”

Vikir observed the Corpse Queen quietly.

Before the direct confrontation, he remembered the words she had uttered in a critical moment.

[…Wait a moment!]

Why did the Corpse Queen lose focus at such a crucial moment?

Thanks to her momentary lapse in concentration, Vikir could shatter the black sun, with the help of his small seventh fang.

‘Although she’s only half transformed, She’ll undoubtedly grow very strong in the future’

“…I must kill her and now.”

The reason why the Corpse Queen lost her strength at the last moment is unknown, but it doesn’t matter now.

The Corpse Queen, Sere, was defenseless and seated. Vikir had to kill her.

Thud, thud, thud-

Vikir stretched out the cursed sword Beelzebub and walked forward.

Blood flowing from his ragged body left long traces on the ground like a snail crawling.

Then.

[…Don’t.]

The Corpse Queen’s mouth opened.

Her head drooped like a death row prisoner before execution. The skeletal mask was already shattered, but her face remained hidden.

However, her lips were definitely moving.

[…Don’t leave me.]

A heavy and disordered tone. Then a faint noise followed. It was a sob.

It seemed that the Corpse Queen had some kind of story.

However.

“Every grave in the world has its own story.”

Vikir just tightened his grip on the sword.

Among the dead, who among them had no elaborate excuses and stories?

Vikir had no interest in the life the woman in front of him lived before becoming the Corpse Queen, or the stories she carried.

Because there was a greater mission before all of that.

The revenge for himself, his comrades who had died, and ultimately the vengeance of all humanity.

The sense of duty to prevent the era of destruction.

That’s what made him rise again, like a phoenix rising from it’s ashes.

Soon, Vikir stood before the Corpse Queen.

“…”

With her head hanging low, the Corpse Queen remained motionless. She unconsciously let out a sigh while in a state of unconsciousness.

Vikir raised Beelzebub high.

Like a guillotine preparing for a fall, the sharp blade would soon separate Sere’s head from her body.

And the third of the ten supreme demons would perish, buying humanity more time.

Suddenly,

Swish-

The blade descended.

However, things in the world don’t always go according to plan.

Bang!

There was a presence blocking Beelzebub.

“…Geronto!”

Vikir’s brow furrowed.

A piece of iron armor blocking the crimson blade.

The sorcerer once known as Rosie Morg in her living days had become a lich and was now obstructing Vikir.

Clang!

Although the piece of iron armor broke, it successfully deflected Baalzepub.

Vikir staggered backward.

Soon, Gerento’s dark mana created flames and pieces of iron all around.

Adjusting his mask, Vikir thought, ‘A damn lackey of Dantalian…’

The situation was dire.

Vikir knew Gerento’s power from previous encounters. With his body exhausted from the fight with the Corpse Queen, it was challenging to face her now.

Vikir stepped back, creating distance. He needed time for his body to recover, even if only a little.

However,

Surprisingly, Gerento did not pursue Vikir.

She merely picked up the unconscious Corpse Queen behind her with a respectful attitude.

“…?”

Vikir raised an eyebrow.

Undead, especially revenants, often harbor jealousy for what they no longer possess. They blindly attack and plunder the living in an attempt to compensate for what they lack.

The same applies to the other kinds of undead, even Gerento who was fused with different parts.

Attacking nearby living beings takes precedence over protecting the owner. When the owner has a strong will, there’s no issue. However, once the owner loses consciousness, the undead falls into an uncontrollable state.

But what about now?

Gerento was holding the Corpse Queen tenderly. Moreover, she did not attempt to attack the battered Vikir.

“What’s going on? Could it be…”

It could be one of two things. Either Gerento was not an ordinary undead, or the Corpse Queen’s consciousness still lingered on the battlefield and controlled Gerento.

‘Maybe both.’

It was certain that Gerento was undead, so in this case, it was likely that the Corpse Queen’s consciousness was still wandering, influencing Gerento.

The content of that consciousness.

[Do not attack him.]

It was a determination to avoid a fight with Vikir.

Whether it was in the final confrontation or Gerento’s current situation, the Corpse Queen seemed to have no intention of fighting Vikir.

“What on earth? Why…”

Vikir furrowed his brow.

The woman of unknown identity became the Corpse Queen instead of Snake Morg. Why was she behaving so strangely?

Blurry vision, labored breathing—Vikir tried to gather his thoughts, but he couldn’t concentrate at all.

Taking advantage of this opening, Gerento drew a magical circle.

Paaat!

It was a teleportation circle.

In an instant, a blue light spewed out, teleporting Gerento and the Corpse Queen, who was sleeping in her arms, away from the battlefield.

“Damn it.”

Vikir took out the Black Bow Anubis and shot an arrow, but Gerento’s teleportation was faster than a blink of an eye.

Flash!

In the blink of an eye, the two women disappeared from Vikir’s sight.

“…Missed.”

Vikir sighed and fell to the ground, exhausted.

Caught off guard at an unprepared moment, facing one the eighth corpse. The future suddenly changed, and due to these variables, he contemplated his next plans slowly.

It was the first time he had failed an assassination.

“Sigh. Still, Even though you’re the Eighth corpse, one of the ten supreme demons. You’re still a weak demon right now.”

Vikir muttered, petting Baby Madam who was creating a cast for his arm by spewing threads.

Soon, the surroundings became noisy.

…Flash!

Torches and mana lights gradually illuminated the area.

Turning his head towards the lower plateau, Vikir could see the Imperial guards approaching, fully prepared for the disturbance.

Familiar voices could be heard.

“Ho-ho-ho, it’s over there! The Night Hound is unmistakably there! Come on, you pigs! Follow me!”

With an eye patch, high heels, and a thorny whip around her slender waist, Professor Sadi led the royal guards who were rushing in.

“…It’s getting troublesome.”

Vikir melted into the darkness, covering his torn body with a tattered black cloak.

Thanks to the ability of Mushussu ‘The Silent heel’, Vikir could move through the darkness without making a sound. Escaping the encirclement was an easy task for him.

Using Baby Madam’s thread, Vikir ascended to a high point in the ruins and instantly moved to a tall building outside the encirclement.

…Thunk!

As Vikir descended to the ground below the building, he looked back at the now-noisy ruins and chuckled.

“I wonder what excuses I should give to the kids.”

As in the past after his fight with Dantalian, his body would be burdened with fatigue and aftereffects for a while.

With the midterm exams just over and the festival approaching, he could take a break.

Using fatigue as an excuse, he might even consider checking into the infirmary.

“Three days. Within that time, I’ll recover and head back to hunt her.”

Vikir pondered various thoughts while adjusting the Picaresque mask.

Soon.

Vikir’s body transformed gradually into an adorable black puppy.

Hak-hak-hak-

A black puppy with severe wounds all over its body, looking exhausted, walked confidently towards the academy.