The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-396

Chapter 396: Dead Man Walking (1)

A week passed quickly.

*Sizzle!*

Vikir burned all of Garam’s diaries. The necessary information had already been acquired, and his handwriting had become perfect, thanks to the forgery techniques he learned from Chihuahua.

“Now I can confidently imitate Garam’s handwriting whenever necessary.”

It was fortunate.

‘I want to leave this place. With her.’

Vikir silently gazed at the pages of the diary burning white-hot. Garam’s wish to leave this place would never come true. They would only turn into dark and white ashes sinking to the bottom of the deep sea.

“…,” Vikir silently watched as dozens of notebooks turned into ashes from beginning to end. It was a meager ending for a young man’s entire life.

“Still, I was able to obtain a lot of information. Thank you,” Vikir murmured, thinking of Garam, until the smoke from the burning diary disappeared completely.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

Tap, tap.

Opening the door, Kirko stood there with her usual expressionless face.

“It’s three hours before the execution.”

“…Why are you here so early?”

“I wanted to inform you in advance.”

“…Is that so?”

Kirko stood in front of the door, seemingly waiting for Vikir to finish getting ready, without moving a muscle.

Vikir found her blank stare somewhat unsettling but proceeded to dress.

Then, “Captain.”

Kirko spoke up as Vikir turned his head.

After a deep breath, she continued, “May I speak with you briefly before the execution?”

It was a somewhat unexpected request.

Since there was no reason to refuse, Vikir nodded, indicating his willingness.

In a solemn tone, Kirko began to speak.

“As you know, Captain, I was born in Nouvellebag.”

“…?”

“There was an incident in the past where a prisoner assaulted a guard, resulting in my birth.”

Kirko’s straightforward words caused Vikir to pause in buttoning up his shirt.

“I’m warning you in advance, it might be an immediate execution. Ever since the ‘unfortunate incident’ between a guard and a prisoner 19 years ago, the Hangman has been strict in control and punishment.”

The words Major D’ordume had spoken when Vikir had refused labor for some reason still lingered in his memory.

Kirko continued in a composed tone.

“After that, both my biological father and mother were referred to the disciplinary committee and disappeared. It is assumed they escaped… Anyway, I don’t know who my parents are. Naturally, I’ve never been to the surface.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” Vikir asked.

Kirko hesitated for a moment before revealing her true feelings.

“It’s because I’ve disliked you, Captain, due to my personal past that I’ve mentioned before.”

Kirko didn’t like Garam. No, she hated him. It was not because Garam was dull and sluggish, or because he was inherently kind and easy to manipulate, but for reasons beyond his constant mistakes.

Garam had parents to miss and a homeland on the surface, while Kirko, of the same age, had neither.

“Captain, you have a homeland and parents. When we first met, you said you came here to help your parents’ livelihoods. You said you missed your homeland’s mountains, fields, rivers, and lakes.”

“…?”

“Maybe I envied that. No, it’s more like inferiority. So, every time you made a mistake, I filled my lacking self-esteem by looking down on you and feeling contempt.”

Perhaps Garam would never have known that Kirko harbored such thoughts, even until the end.

‘No, even if he knew, would it have changed anything?’

Vikir stared intently at Kirko, as if asking what she wanted to say.

After taking a deep breath, Kirko finally spoke.

“I wanted to confess this and apologize honestly. I shouldn’t harbor such lazy and rotten emotions towards my superior whom I should respect.”

“So, is that why you volunteered to be my subordinate?”

“I… didn’t volunteer.”

“I see.”

Vikir nodded.

Then, Kirko, with more hesitation than before, spoke up.

“Do you have anything to say to me, Captain?”

“…?”

When Vikir raised his head, Kirko, unusually, seemed to stutter.

“I… When you saved me during the riot of the Level 8 prisoners…”

“What?”

“I’m not completely deaf, you know!”

“…?” Vikir furrowed his brow, showing an attitude as if he didn’t understand.

Kirko started to sweat slightly, her ears turning red.

“Th-the senior officers around have been saying things…”

“What things?”

“About when you became a hostage instead of me during the riot of the Level 8 prisoners… They’re wondering about the reason you did that for me…!”

Finally, Vikir understood what Kirko wanted to say.

“he… he liked her that much?”

“He’s risking his life for a woman. Does he not understand what it means to be taken hostage by me?”

“He’s obsessed. Risking his life for unrequited love.”

“Manly. Risking his life for a woman he loves.”

Thoughts of their snide comments flashed through his mind.

The murmurs of other guards echoed as well.

“I-I became your subordinate through a natural course of personnel assignment, not because of any such reasons. The separation of work and personal matters is important, and if the relationship between superiors and subordinates becomes like that, it may disrupt official duties… Moreover… huh?”

But Kirko couldn’t finish her sentence.

Before she knew it, Vikir, fully dressed in uniform, had left the room.

* * *

Knock-knock.

A vast underground passage resembling the throat of a gigantic monster.

Droplets of water drip from the wrinkled ceiling.

Thud-thud-thud.

The heavy sound of Vikir’s military boots resounded as he walked.

Tap-tap-tap-tap.

Behind him, the hurried footsteps following Vikir were equally noisy.

“Where are you rushing off to while I’m talking, sir?” It was Kirko.

Vikir raised a finger to his lips in response to Kirko’s murmuring.

“Shh. There are people around now.”

Vikir and Kirko had come to Level 5 to attend the execution.

There, numerous guards and prisoners had gathered, with today’s protagonist standing at the center.

Captain Bastille, who had been on the podium, addressed Sakkuth.

“This isn’t an official execution. You will be recorded as alive in the records forever.”

He spoke with a bitter voice, glaring at Sakkuth and the other prisoners gathered around.

But Sakkuth showed no particular reaction, just scanning through the guards with slightly trembling eyes.

Then, Sakkuth’s expression visibly brightened as he spotted Vikir among the crowd of guards.

Soon, the guards conducting the execution stepped forward.

Vikir was in charge.

Leading Sakkuth, Vikir headed towards the edge of a cliff.

At the edge of the cliff stood jagged rocks, and Sakkuth was left standing precariously at the edge.

“Do not falter until the end,” Vikir spoke softly behind Sakkuth’s back.

“When you fall from the cliff, the rescue operation will be carried out. Understood?”

“I understand,” Sakkuth replied calmly.

Being thrown off this pitch-black cliff was the ‘unofficial execution’ of Nouvellebag.

Thud…

Vikir noticed Sakkuth’s legs trembling slightly.

“You pathetic fool. Are you scared?”

“H-how could I be, sir?”

“Don’t worry. See the guards and prisoners over there? They’re all operatives.”

Vikir pointed to the left and right sides of the cliff.

Sakkuth turned to look in the direction Vikir indicated.

Indeed, some guards and prisoners seemed oddly stiff or awkward among the crowd.

“They’re the insiders who will help you. They’ll rush to your aid as soon as my order is given.”

“I see… You truly are remarkable. When did you manage to enlist so many?”

“…”

Vikir didn’t bother to answer. In truth, the guards he had pointed out were just ordinary guards and prisoners. It was merely exploiting the psychological phenomenon that people see what they want to see when cornered.

With baseless hope, Sakkuth stood at the brink of the cliff.

“Ha-ha-ha! I have no regrets in life anymore. Do as you please, you bastards!”

Sakkuth shouted triumphantly at the surrounding guards before turning his head to give Vikir a smug glance.

And then, without hesitation, Sakkuth leaped off the cliff.

Wheeeeee!

A prisoner falling into the deep abyss, into the depths of darkness.

However…

The guards’ expressions remained unchanged.

The execution wasn’t over just because Sakkuth had jumped off the cliff.

…Eventually.

Rumble, rumble…

The ‘real’ execution had begun.

“Huh?”

Even Sakkuth, who was being executed, didn’t realize it.

And for Vikir, it was also his first time seeing it in person.

Rumble, rumble…

In the darkness, a long line was drawn.

It spread wide like the mouth of a living creature, revealing grotesque deformities nestled inside.

The long line extended endlessly, opening wide to reveal a gaping maw filled with these grotesque creatures.

One enormous face with bared teeth looked down from above.

“W-what!? What is that!?”

Sakkuth’s face turned pale, and Vikir too swallowed hard.

Among the five pillars representing Nouvellebag, the one with the most veiled identity had appeared.

“…I heard it wasn’t a human as well, but I never imagined it’d look like that.”

It was the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Flubber.