The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-415

Chapter 415: End Game (7)

Water was gushing out everywhere in Nouvellebag.

On the first floor, guards who were suppressing the prisoners’ rebellion in front of the Gate of Good and Evil finally realized the gravity of the situation.

“Damn it! The hole in the outer wall isn’t being fixed!”

“Where is Lieutenant Colonel Flubber?! Why is the water still coming in?!”

“It’s a disaster! The collapsed bulwark section is continuously flooding!”

“The inner wall is already halfway submerged! Damn it!”

As the areas Lieutenant Colonel Flubber couldn’t cover increased, so did the amount of water pouring into the fortress.

“If this continues, we’ll all die!”

Both prisoners and guards were terrified.

Unlike when BDISSEM disappeared, if Flubber were to vanish, the entire fortress would be submerged 10,000 meters underwater.

No life would survive, that much was certain.

“Now’s not the time to be fighting among ourselves!”

“What do we do? Should we block the water first?”

“Run! We have to escape!”

“Where to?! We’re 10,000 meters deep in the ocean! It’s the same wherever we go!”

Prisoners and guards stopped fighting and frantically looked for a way to survive.

At that moment, Head captain Bastille shouted.

“Warden Orca! Warden Orca must be here! Where is the warden?!”

“I-I don’t know! He disappeared at some point….”

Orca, who had been fighting on the front lines against the Level Nine prisoners, was nowhere to be found.

Head Captain Bastille had no choice but to give the final order.

“We have no choice. Everyone to the fifth floor! Move to the gulper eel farm!”

Perhaps due to the urgency of the situation, he had no idea what his command would lead to in the future.

“Abandon suppression! Everyone retreat!”

Head Captain Bastille’s statement marked the beginning of a significant event that would later be recorded in a small corner of human history.

It was humanity’s first official declaration to abandon Nouvellebag.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the tenth floor of Nouvellebag, a completely new figure appeared.

Professor Sadi. She spoke as if nothing had changed from her time on the surface.

“Hello, friends~ Long time no see!”

She waved once at the bewildered D’Ordume and Souare.

Vikir voiced his surprise.

“……You managed to come all the way here.”

“Oh my—Night Hound. It’s an honor~ Ho ho ho.”

She walked gracefully and shook hands with Aiyen, who was standing next to Vikir.

“Long time no see, Night Fox~”

“Good to see you again, Miss Ouroboros. You kept your promise.”

“Of course~ I said I’d follow right behind. I have business here too.”

It seemed that after escaping from the Abyss tree, Aiyen had sought out Cindiwendy, who then introduced her to Professor Sadi.

Aiyen, who inherited the reputation of ‘Night Fox’ Aquilla as an archer in the Imperial Capital, and Professor Sadi, known as ‘Miss Ouroboros’ for her terrorist activities, had joined forces.

Both harbored resentment towards the Empire, which made Aiyen and Sadi quite compatible.

Vikir thought to himself.

‘It was wise to order Cindiwendy to find Sadi before getting trapped in Nouvellebag.’

When Vikir was sentenced to Nouvellebag, he had handed Cindiwendy a note with instructions for the future.

‘…First, find Professor Sadi.’

He believed that she would eventually be a powerful ally. Despite her erratic and unpredictable nature, their similar objectives made her a useful asset, and this turned out to be correct.

Aiyen chose to go to Nouvellebag deliberately to follow in Vikir’s footsteps. Professor Sadi, once an employee of the Imperial Arrest Squad, used her connections to disguise herself as a guard. She blended in with the group of guards that had recently returned from the surface and made her way down here.

“Ho ho ho—It was perfect timing with Warden Orca and you all up on the surface. With so many prisoners being transferred, it was easy to slip in. Forging identities is my specialty, after all.”

Sadi acted as if she knew D’Ordume and Souare well, which only made their expressions grow more sour and disgusted.

“You, who once worked for the Empire as an interrogator for the arrest squad, why did you betray us? It’s revolting to think you were once considered a candidate for the warden with us.”

“Hmph! Imagine if we had to endure being called the ‘Six pillars’ with someone like her. Though she was ultimately rejected because of her traitorous lineage.”

Despite D’Ordume and Souare’s harsh criticism, Sadi continued to smile brightly.

“Do you think I’d be crazy enough to rot in this damp, dingy place with pigs like you? How unrefined.”

With that, Sadi dismissed any further conversation with D’Ordume and Souare. Then, as if she just remembered, she turned to Vikir and asked,

“Oh, by the way, have you seen a subordinate I planted in Nouvellebag? He’s from Revaidon, goes by the name Sakkuth… quite a capable pig.”

“…No, I haven’t seen him.”

“Really? Well, he always was a bit unstable. He was so eager to prove himself that I didn’t have high hopes. It seems things didn’t work out for him~”

Laughing, Sadi positioned herself in front of D’Ordume, Souare, and even Flubber.

“I’ll hold them off. Do what you need to do.”

At the same time, a dark mana began to emanate from Sadi’s entire body.

Vikir immediately understood what Sadi was about to do.

…Kururrrk!

From Sadi’s left eye, a demonic, ferocious energy exploded.

Demonization aka Majinification. She turned into a Majin

Vikir could sense a familiar energy from the transforming Sadi.

‘Belial! Is this the relic she obtained after I defeated the Sixth Corpse?’

He had wondered why no relic was found when Belial (the head of Bourgeois Clan) died.

Sadi removed the eyepatch that covered her left eye, revealing a golden prosthetic eye that gleamed ominously.

Tsutsutsutsu…

The aura, a mix of black and gold, flared up, making Sadi’s whip even longer and more powerful.

Crack!

The black-and-gold snake whipped the ground violently, launching D’Ordume, Souare, and even Flubber into the air.

Vikir swallowed hard at the overwhelming combat power radiating from the demonized Sadi.

Back in the Abyss, even a mere sword expert like Dogma gained strength comparable to an A+ grade monster after becoming a demon. Sadi, who was already strong enough to rival a master, was now an unimaginable powerhouse.

[Ho ho ho—this technique will leave me bedridden for at least half a year, but it’s certainly effective!]

Unlike Dogma, Sadi was not completely demonized. She maintained a precarious balance, with half of her body remaining human.

With a balance that far surpassed human capability and an innate combat sense,

Sadi’s strength was pushed to another level.

“……!”

D’Ordume and Souare faltered under the fierce assault from Sadi.

Even Flubber struggled against the wide-reaching lashes that incinerated everything they touched.

Sadi’s chaotic aura whipped around violently in all directions.

Though her attacks were inefficient, this actually played to Vikir’s advantage.

The shockwaves transmitted to the surface allowed Poseidon to absorb increasingly more power.

‘It’s almost there… just a bit more!’

The blue light emanating from Poseidon grew stronger and stronger.

Crack! Crackle! Crack!

With intense vibrations, cracks began to appear on its blue surface.

As Vikir and Aiyen were pouring all their aura into Poseidon…

…Boom!

A presence emerged, disrupting everything at once.

Zzzzzt!

A shockwave descended to the ground.

The earth shattered, D’Ordume and Souare were thrown back, and Flubber was left flustered.

“What?”

Sadi also closed her left eye, cutting off her demonic power.

Her instincts, honed by genius, screamed a warning.

Having once ignored such a warning and lost her left eye, Sadi wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.

…Leap!

Sadi did three backflips to retreat.

Even then, she remained vigilant, lowering her stance and pressing her body close to the ground.

Soon enough.

A presence so formidable that even the demonized Sadi had to step back and bow emerged in the middle of the battlefield.

A trench coat of black fur swayed. Stiff white hair and a beard stood out.

It was Warden Orca.

He had personally descended to Level Ten.

“…Sadi?”

Orca’s face contorted with displeasure at the sight of her.

Hearing his deep, raspy voice made Sadi break out in a cold sweat.

“…Don’t say my name, bitchy old man.”

Her whip lashed out like a venomous snake towards Orca’s face.

Wham—

Orca lifted his leg, equipped with greaves, to block the whip.

Screech—

The force of the whip couldn’t withstand Orca’s greaves and boots, wrapping around them instead.

Orca stomped his foot. Trapping the whip under his foot.

…Boom!

With a single stomp from Orca, Sadi nearly lost her grip on the whip.

“……!”

Struggling to maintain her balance, she tightened her grip and pulled the whip with all her strength.

Crack! Creak!

However, the whip, pinned under Orca’s boot, didn’t budge.

“…….”

Orca, the seasoned war veteran, raised his deep-set eyes and scanned the surroundings.

He looked past Sadi as if she were insignificant, taking in the scene slowly.

Then.

“……!”

Orca’s eyes narrowed sharply.

His gaze fixated on the brilliant blue sphere emanating a radiant light and the young man standing beside it, staring back at him with a calm, resolute demeanor.

Vikir van Baskerville. Young in appearance, but a seasoned warrior within, having lived multiple lives.

And Orca Montreal Javert. A veteran who had influenced several generations.

“…….”

“…….”

Transcending time and space, the two battle-hardened warriors faced each other, a sharp tension filling the air.