The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-347

Chapter 347: Ballak (5)

A child with whom he had shared meals in the Red and Black Mountains for two years.

“The girl you helped today is his sister. Her name is ‘Ahul.'”

After some pondering, Vikir recalled the name Ahul, the girl who once stood in front of the barracks since dawn, claiming she wanted to be Vikir’s wife.

Their bond had grown strong since Vikir rescued her from the corrupt merchants’ harassment and abuse.

“Ahul has always been frail. I worried as her health deteriorated due to some mysterious illness. Now I realize, it might have been those glass beads those miserable merchants brought that worsened her condition.”

Vikir discovered earrings worsening Ahul’s health, removed the drugs hidden within them, and she regained her health. However, he hadn’t seen her since leaving the mountains.

“…You’ve grown a lot,” Vikir said with a somewhat vacant expression.

Ahul, appearing to be in her mid-thirties but actually nearing eighty, sent him a dewy-eyed gaze. “It’s been a long time, brother.”

***

“What happened?” Vikir asked, and Ahul disclosed everything without hesitation.

After Vikir left, trade resumed, and Ballak began formal peace negotiations with the Empire. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until the sudden appearance of a ‘change’.

Amdusias. This demon manifested independently of Winston’s body and attacked Ballak’s warriors.

“I came to capture Madam Eight legs, but I can’t seem to find her. I might as well take you all.”

It seemed he had gathered terrain knowledge for the abyss tree. Just for his amusement.

But the demon’s amusement demanded too much bloodshed.

Ballak’s warriors clashed with Amdusias, turning the village into a battlefield, and Chief Aquilla perished in the fight, leaving behind fatal wounds inflicted by Amdusias’s horn.

The fact that she hadn’t fully recovered from the wounds inflicted during the battle with Adonai was a decisive setback.

“Other warriors were scattered everywhere. The ambush from the demon was too strong…”

“Why are you here?” Vikir inquired.

“I was hiding in the ruins, protecting newborns at the time. Then, when I came to my senses, I found myself here…”

Vikir nodded as he listened to Ahul’s words. It all made sense now.

It had been quite some time since the reports of Ballak’s warriors disappearing came in. They were swallowed into the depths of the abyss and arrived at this level. Now, seeing Ahul, who was barely a teenager when they first arrived here, aged like this, Vikir understood. The middle-aged warriors accompanying Ahul were likely newborns themselves back then, explaining why they didn’t recognize Vikir.

“I see. So, everyone’s tattoos were faint. They were from childhood, and as their skin stretched, the colors faded.”

Turning his head, Vikir’s gaze met with the warriors he had captured earlier.

Thinking back, when he taught Baskerville’s martial arts to Ballak’s warriors in the past, the adult warriors showed little interest, but some very young children eagerly followed Vikir and learned diligently.

“So, you’re Ajeen. And you’re Amira.”

“Huh!?”

“What!?”

The two middle-aged warriors, addressed by names Vikir dredged up from memory, were taken aback.

Meanwhile, Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca expressed doubt about the Ballak savages being acquainted with Vikir.

Vikir briefly explained. Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca were astonished to hear that Vikir and Ballak’s warriors were like family.

“So you’re from the West, Vikir! Night hound, a hunter of Ballak tribe, a student of the Colosseo Academy… How many identities do you have?”

“Incredible. Ballak tribesmen living alongside Imperials…”

“Yeah, Ballak’s warriors were said to be very closed-off.”

“So that’s why you were so skilled with the bow. It makes sense now…”

Vikir turned his head once again.

Ahul looked at Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca with a sense of apology.

In fact, the mission assigned to the expedition, or rather Ballak’s warriors, was the same.

[Mission] – Kill or be killed!

※ Never let your guard down! Latecomers become stronger as time passes! Even if you’re an expeditioner, you must constantly strive to avoid being caught, right?

※ Recognition will only be given if all members clear the mission!

Ahul and the other warriors were also required to kill Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca. However, Ahul, being kind-hearted, couldn’t bring himself to kill them, so she had no choice but to engage in symbolic fights just to show they were trying to take their provisions.

“Didn’t you consider joining forces to try something?” Vikir asked.

“It’s not like we didn’t. But openly creating a peaceful atmosphere would attract fairies who would ruin everything. For instance, they might assign missions that blatantly require us to kill each other…”

Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca nodded in agreement with Ahul’s words. They too had experienced the fallout of pursuing peace with strong bonds, only to be estranged later, particularly with Sinclaire.

Ahul sighed deeply. “I’m worried about what happened to the other tribe members. Especially with my brother and the chief…”

Ahul was concerned about her brother, Ahun. And there was also one other person, ‘her,’ who remained the most vivid memory in Vikir’s mind.

“…Aiyen.”

Vikir rubbed his chin for a moment.

They were said not to have been dragged into this tower. Then what happened to them?

“We’ve managed to survive here somehow, but if… if those who didn’t make it here suffered even worse fates…”

“…”

Vikir placed his hand on Ahul’s shoulder. “Don’t dwell on the worst-case scenarios. You can go out and see for yourself.”

“…Can I leave? From here?”

“Of course.”

Vikir briefed Ahul on all the knowledge about this tower: The Abyss tree, the World Absorber Amdusias’s peculiar hobby. As Ahul listened, it was as if he was witnessing a tale akin to the runes’ annals.

“So… this place is stitched together from parts of the demon’s world, and when a level is cleared, the world and its inhabitants on that floor are liberated?” Ahul asked.

“Half correct, half wrong. There’s no liberation. Not until the tower is cleared,” Vikir clarified, recalling the rebels he met in the Black Sea recently. Those who tried to leave the tower were reduced to a handful of ashes by lightning strikes. They probably failed in their escape attempt. “This tower is particularly merciless to quitters.”

Vikir admonished Ahul and the other Ballak warriors not to give up on their mission halfway through, whether it be to kill or to be killed. They had to persevere until the end.

“You still inspire trust, Brother,” Ahul admired Vikir.

Then Tudor stepped forward. “Um, excuse me for interrupting. But what about the mission?”

It was a valid question.

[Mission] – Kill or be killed!

※ Each expeditioner possesses formidable power! Life was never meant to be easy~

※ Recognition will only be given if all members clear the mission!

Both sides were given the same mission: to kill the opposing group.

If not, the mission could never be cleared, and they would be trapped on this floor forever.

“…In the end, we have to make a choice,” Figgy spoke up with a trembling voice.

Was it Vikir’s connection to the Colosseo Academy or his affiliation with Ballak? Only one group could survive and leave this floor.

So, which side had to die now?

The answer lay entirely in Vikir’s hands.

Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, Bianca, along with Ahul and the other Ballak warriors, all looked to Vikir’s blade.

Then, Vikir’s mouth, which had remained closed until now, finally opened.

“Do you trust me?”

Vikir gazed at Ballak’s warriors.

Without a doubt, everyone, including Ahul, nodded.

In their eyes, Vikir was once a hero in his prime, while they were all just children. They had naturally heard of all of Vikir’s exploits like legends or myths.

Everyone, including Ahul, bowed their heads before Vikir.

“We will obey the Hero’s words,” they said in unison.

Vikir nodded in response and turned to Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca behind him.

“What about you guys?”

Then, Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca each spoke their piece.

“We naturally trust you. You’re our friend.”

“I’ve always felt it. Despite being of similar age, you’ve always seemed like an elder.”

“I’ll believe anything Vikir says, no matter what.”

“Hmph. Since you came, the mission, which was faltering before, has started progressing. Can’t help but believe it. Besides, we won’t die just yet. So, do whatever you want.”

Everyone agreed with Vikir’s words.

Nods…

Then, Vikir lowered his head with a stern expression.

And then…

*Chss!*

He swung his sword, severing Ahul’s head right before their eyes.

“What–?!”

Before Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, Bianca, and Ballak’s warriors could even react in shock…

*Splatter!*

A relentless barrage of attacks traced an infinite trajectory, cleanly slicing through the necks of everyone present.

Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca’s heads rolled across the grassy field, now stained crimson with blood.

A dense fountain of blood sprayed into the air, faces frozen in disbelief.

Vikir stood silently amidst the scattered bodies, gazing up at the sky.

[Mission] – Kill or be killed!

※ Each expeditioner possesses formidable power! Life was never meant to be easy~

※ Recognition will only be given if all members clear the mission!

The mission still remained unfulfilled.

Vikir, who had doubted no one and killed all those who trusted him, stood alone.

Gradually, his parched lips also quivered heavily.

“…I also trust you all.”