The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-352

Chapter 352: Outside the Tower (2)

[This, this is impossible…]

As if unable to believe it, Amdusias stared into the void.

A person’s size in the Inner World corresponds to the magnitude of one’s burdens. It indicates the extent of the weight carried on the shoulders. And the soul of Vikir, visible before him now, possessed an unimaginable enormity.

An ordeal of eons, the infinite annihilation, an experience of the destruction of the world—all of these could not be described unless one had endured it firsthand.

How could a human bear such immense and heavy burdens?

How could such a being exist here!

[Just who, who are you? Where do you come from, and how did you grow to harbor such thoughts…]

Amdusias asked with a trembling voice.

But Vikir didn’t respond.

He only repeated a single determination to himself.

“All demons must die.”

A lone hound from a world where everything had burned and rotted in the era of destruction.

The Inner World within Vikir, carrying the resentment and anger of the entire world, was so deep, vast, and dark that even Amdusias could hardly comprehend it.

Koo-guguguguk!

Vikir raised his fist, each finger resembling massive mountain ranges.

And he brought it down upon Amdusias.

Crash!

The Inner World shook violently.

An impact capable of bringing about the destruction of a whole world.

[Grgh!?]

Amdusias was crushed under the massive fist.

Simultaneously.

…Crack!

The Inner World maintained by Amdusias’s mental strength began to shatter.

Fissures spread throughout the void. Amdusias’s magical barrier fluctuated uneasily.

[No, this can’t be happening! The Abyss tree is…!]

But Amdusias couldn’t even finish his words.

In this Inner World, Vikir was the master, and until the master released him, he couldn’t leave.

Crash! Thud! Crash-crash-crash!

The Abyss tree erupted within the consecutive punches.

…Th-thud!

As Amdusias’s magical barrier completely shattered.

Thud! Rumble-rumble-rumble!

The Abyss tree began to shake violently.

* * *

“…Huh?”

It started subtly.

A man who had been setting up tents and preparing a camp in front of the Abyss tree, thinking of his children who had descended into it, suddenly looked up.

The Abyss tree, which had remained unmoved despite the antics of great heroes within, had just tilted slightly to the side.

“Did I see that right?”

The man blinked.

But he hadn’t mistaken it.

Koo-gugugugoo…

The Abyss tree was unmistakably tilting to the side.

Even most of the people gathered there hadn’t noticed, it was so slow, so slight.

“Gasp!?”

Eyes, previously drooping with drowsiness, snapped wide open.

He hurriedly woke his wife sleeping beside him, hastily speaking up.

“Honey! Wake up! I think this thing just moved…”

But he couldn’t finish his sentence.

Boom! Crash! Rumble-rumble!

The Abyss tree suddenly erupted into a tumultuous explosion, twisting out of shape.

The roots, which had spread out like teeth, withered and snapped like brittle bones.

Each time, the concentrated sap inside burst out, vaporizing instantly upon touching the air.

Hiss-sizzle…

Fortunately, most of the aftermath of the explosion was directed upward, so the parents and professors gathered around didn’t suffer any significant harm.

However.

“Monsters?! Are monsters coming out?!”

“A dungeon!? Is it a gate?”

“Prepare for battle!”

The problem was that with the eruption of the Abyss tree, countless monsters were crawling out from within.

Orcs, hellhounds, ogres, goblins, harpies, and more were pouring out with all their might from the Abyss tree.

Parents and professors rallied together, their senses sharpened.

Leading the charge were heroes like Cervantes and Roderick.

…However.

“Huh? What are those things doing?”

“They’re running away?”

“They don’t seem hostile.”

The monsters that emerged from the Abyss tree were fleeing as if their tails were on fire.

Some were even shedding tears as they kissed the ground in relief.

It seemed as though they hadn’t emerged to fight, but rather had been forcibly imprisoned somewhere and were now fortunate enough to break free.

But that wasn’t all.

Various humanoid races such as centaurs, elves, dwarves, and giants were also fleeing from the Abyss tree.

Among them were also the barbarians from the western flood plains. The Ballak warriors.

Most of those who emerged from the Abyss tree were young boys and girls with fierce faces, but their demeanor was that of seasoned warriors.

Startled, they darted through the crowd of astonished parents and professors like the wind, scaling walls and disappearing.

Slowly, the parents and professors began to realize.

“It seems like those trapped inside the Abyss tree are coming out!”

“My daughter! Where is my daughter?”

“Oh! Son! Your mother is here!”

Everyone who had anxiously waited with bated breath soon found the faces they had longed for.

“Aah! Where are we now?”

“Huh? The Academy? Did we ascend to another floor?”

“Huh? I distinctly remember being eaten by a Mimic.”

“Gasp! Where are we now? I distinctly remember falling asleep in the Lost paradise lounge…”

Challengers trapped inside the tower.

Colosseo Academy students all reunited with their families.

Whether dead or alive, whether they had given up or continued to strive, all had returned equally.

“Oh, my son!”

“Oh, my daughter!”

“Oh, my sugar baby!”

Tearful reunions between parents and children, mentors and students were taking place everywhere.

“Mommy! I missed you for the past 10 years!”

“Dad, why are you making such a fuss! It was only three days!”

“What are you talking about, you rascal! It’s been months since you’ve been trapped in the Abyss tree!”

“Father, did you receive the letters I sent? From the Garden of Eden…”

“I missed you, my cute sugar baby!”

Conversations about recent events continued all around.

Sigh…

Meanwhile, the Abyss tree bracelets that had been adorning the students’ wrists were charred black and disappeared.

On the other hand, Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca also emerged from the Abyss tree.

“No way! W-We really made it out! For real!”

“That guy cleared the tower! Hooray!”

Tudor and Bianca embraced each other as soon as they stepped outside.

“Ugh, I thought I’d be trapped in there for life!”

“Don’t cry! You’re making me cry too!”

However, their joy at being outside was short-lived as they soon became conscious of the many onlookers.

“Wha-!?”

A moment of awkwardness passed between Tudor and Bianca, realizing the attention on them.

“My son!”

“My daughter!”

Cervantes and Roderick came forward and separated them.

Sancho and Figgy also found themselves in the embrace of their families, shedding tears.

“Phew.”

Dolores, who had also made it outside, wiped off the cold sweat.

In the distance, Mozgus was running towards her, tears streaming down his face, and behind him, Pope Nabokov I, could be seen, but her gaze was drawn elsewhere first.

‘…Was it a success?’

Dolores murmured softly, looking down into the Abyss tree where the Abyss tree was sinking.

At that moment, the triplets, Highbro, Middlebro, and Lowbro, landed beside her.

“Gasp! What’s happening? Are we outside?”

“We’re outside?”

“Outside?”

They soon guessed the situation was changing. Someone had cleared the tower. And it seemed they knew who that someone was.

At that moment, a cold-faced young man approached the triplets.

Osiris Le Baskerville.

Having spent quite some time here, he asked his half-siblings in front of him, “You seem unharmed, thankfully.”

“Thank you.”

Highbro nodded on behalf of the group.

Osiris nodded back and then looked around, asking, “Where is he?”

Referring to Vikir.

And those searching for Vikir weren’t few.

Dolores, Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, Bianca, Highbro, Middlebro, Lowbro, and countless others who owed their lives to Vikir, all glanced around.

“Oh, come to think of it, where is he?”

“Vikir! Thanks to him, we’re alive!”

“Yeah. He’s the real hero.”

“We said we’d show our gratitude if we could get out of the tower…”

“Huh, where is he? He’s the only one missing!”

“Could he not have made it out?”

With all the students successfully escaped, Vikir was the only one missing.

The expression of Professor Banshee, who had rushed here upon hearing the news of all the students’ safe return, darkened just then.

…Crash!

An enormous column of light shot up from the depths of the Abyss tree where it had sunk.

It was thick and long, emitting immense power, resembling the ascension of a dragon.

The Pillar of Aura.

It was a divine presence that none but those embodying the realm of master could dare to imitate.

“W-What… is that thing?”

“Swordmaster! It’s a Master’s aura!”

Even the Spear King Cervantes Donquixote and Roderick Usher were startled to the point of their eyes bulging out.

Swordmaster. The solid aura that only beings of the realm of master could manifest.

With the sudden appearance of this absolute and eerie phenomenon, all eyes were focused on it.

And then.

Someone tore through the veil of the Abyss tree and rose above it.

A being exuding an aura akin to a black sun from his sword, the Swordmaster.

Vikir was standing there.