The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-418

Chapter 418: End Game (10)

*Flash!*

A storm raged.

A massive crater formed, and all the dust, debris, moisture, water, steam, underground water, lava, smoke, sulfur gas, and everything else around it vanished completely.

The ground was swept clean, feeling smooth to the touch.

The atmosphere was bone dry, without a trace of moisture, and there wasn’t a single flame or gas in sight.

In the center of this newly transformed wasteland, two men knelt on one knee.

Their clothes were torn to shreds, blood flowed from their foreheads, and their weapons were deeply embedded in the ground, protecting their owners.

Despite the blinding light and scorching heat, they endured everything with their eyes wide open.

One, showing a terrifying will, was Orca, the warden of Nouvellebag.

The other was the worst prisoner of Nouvellebag, Marquis Sade.

“…What was that?”

“Geez, my whole body aches. What do you mean barging in all of a sudden?”

Although both old men had withstood the massive explosion and its aftermath, the sources of their strength were entirely different.

Warden Orca had the will to protect and defend.

Marquis Sade had the will to harm and destroy.

These two opposing wills and purposes had surprisingly produced the same result.

Amidst the chaos, the two old men, who had not fallen, straightened themselves and prepared to fight again.

But.

“…!”

Both old men were stunned by the scene in front of them as soon as they opened their eyes.

Rumble—

A blue flame was rising from the center of the crater.

A thick, massive pillar of fire was shooting up from beneath the ground.

It pierced through every floor of Nouvellebag—Lv.9, Lv.8, Lv.7, Lv.6, Lv.5, Lv.4, Lv.3, Lv.2, and Lv.1—and extended even higher.

Rumble—

The Gate of Good and Evil.

This gigantic circular gate, serving as the lid of Nouvellebag, was blocking the blue pillar of fire, but the chains around it were breaking one by one, looking precarious.

Even the surrounding pulleys were breaking, and with each snapped chain, the entire gate was heating up to a bright red, a clear sign of imminent danger.

As the Flubber mucus thinned, the incoming water from outside began evaporating completely before it could even approach the pillar of fire.

“What the heck is that?”

Orca gaped in disbelief.

But no one knew anything about this bizarre phenomenon.

Far away, D’Ordume, Souare, Sadi, and Aiyen, along with Marquis Sade, were all staring blankly at the tip of the fire pillar.

…All except for one person. Vikir.

Rumble!

Vikir approached the point where the pillar of fire sprouted—the place where the blue egg ‘Posieden’ had been.

The scorching heat and blue flames roared as if to burn him alive, but Vikir did not falter.

Having disguised himself with Garam’s face so often that his face frequently got burned, he had become somewhat accustomed to heat… but this heat was different.

The ultra-high temperature of the blue flames created an immense updraft that was incomparable to any ordinary fire.

“This pain is nothing now.”

Vikir pushed through the blazing flames.

In the midst of it, he had to use all his strength to stay grounded and not be blown away.

Eventually, beyond the flames and heat waves, he saw Poseidon.

The round sphere was split in half, with the blue pillar of fire erupting from within.

The root of the pillar of fire, descending below, was barely visible.

Judging by the intermittent explosions and the earthquake coming from deep underground, he guessed that it might be touching the deepest part of the thermal layer of Nouvellebag’s volcano.

“As expected, Nouvellebag is not an extinct volcano.”

This volcano was still alive.

However, it had been secretly gathering strength, waiting for the biggest, most grandiose explosion someday.

The blue seed, “Poseidon,” had rooted itself at the convergence point of this power, absorbing it. Strictly speaking, it was a parasitic presence within Nouvellebag.

‘Or maybe not. Perhaps this entire place, Nouvellebag, was created by someone with the purpose of hatching Poseidon…’

…But that wasn’t the important thing right now.

Vikir reached into the flames and cleared away the scorching layers.

Amazingly, the flames, which had initially emitted a fierce heat, calmed down as soon as Vikir touched them.

Like an animal allowing its fur to be stroked.

As the heat subsided, only a warm glow remained.

Vikir used the power of the basilisk to regenerate his skin as he moved forward.

Eventually, he pushed aside the fiery curtains and peered inside.

Within was a very narrow, circular space.

A pair of eyes looked up at Vikir.

[…!]

Black scales. And between them, blue flames flickering.

…It was slightly smaller than the size of a palm?

A strange creature, resembling a lizard but with wings on its back, stared intently at Vikir.

It looked as though it had been born from fire, fed on fire, and would return to fire, its entire body engulfed in flames.

“….”

Vikir gazed down at it quietly.

It, too, gazed up at Vikir quietly.

They were each seeing something entirely new for the first time.

Finally.

Hiccup—

It let out a small hiccup.

Tiny blue flames flickered from its small nostrils and then vanished.

“Beautiful. Something like this can be born from an egg. Is it like a salamander?”

“No… It’s a much, much higher being.”

Aiyen, who had followed closely behind, exclaimed in admiration. Vikir responded briefly.

Vikir did not know exactly what this creature was either.

He only knew that it was one of the ancient beings, possessing the greatest and most magnificent potential.

This was evident from Decarabia’s reaction, which was trembling on his chest.

[My goodness! To think this still exists! I thought it had gone extinct ages ago! I heard that the Dark Emperor personally exterminated them all! This might be the last one left in the world…!?]

Upon seeing Poseidon, Decarabia began to express all the excitement he had been suppressing.

Meanwhile.

Guruk— Guruk— Guruk—

The creature moved its black and blue body closer to Vikir.

It rubbed its cheek against the back of Vikir’s hand.

A gesture of affection. An expression of unconditional liking and attachment to the first being it had ever seen.

But the moment of bonding was brief.

Wham—

The creature then spread its wings, preparing to leap into the sky.

Vikir met its gaze calmly, as if to say goodbye.

‘See you again.’

The message resonated in his mind. Though it wasn’t conveyed through words, its meaning was clear and deeply moving.

Vikir responded in kind.

‘Human lifespans are short. By the time you’ve grown enough to come find me, I won’t be here anymore. We might not meet again.’

As Vikir closed his eyes and shook his head, the creature’s expression became profoundly sad.

Then, the moment came.

It spread its small wings wide.

The blue pillar of fire, erupting from the deepest, hottest part of the volcano, fueled its wings with power.

Rumble—

The volcano’s strength concentrated on its tiny wings, radiating a blinding blue light.

It seemed ready to launch itself from the depths of the earth, through the dark ocean depths, above the surface, into the vast sky.

“It’s done. It’s finally over.”

Vikir lost interest in everything around him.

He had completed all the tasks he had undertaken, enduring countless crisis and hardships to achieve his goal in this shitty fortress in the deep sea.

“My mission in Nouvellebag ends here. Poseidon has finally hatched; there’s nothing more to do.”

“Really? So, now we just leave?”

“…That’s the new problem.”

Vikir fell silent.

When he first descended into Nouvellebag, he had thought if he could find and activate Poseidon a few years earlier, he would have fulfilled his duty, and it wouldn’t matter if he died afterward.

But now, having come this far and succeeded brilliantly, new desires emerged.

He wanted to live.

He wanted to survive longer.

To see how humanity’s future unfolds, how this long and terrible war ends, and to witness the final resolution he couldn’t see in his past life.

Many would die.

Many would survive.

And they would continue to live.

The future. A future far beyond what Vikir had seen in his previous life.

…Thud!

Vikir reached out and grabbed Aiyen’s wrist, pulling her along.

“Huh?”

Aiyen looked surprised as Vikir spoke briefly.

“Let’s go.”

It was finally time to leave Nouvellebag.

Faces filled his mind, faces he missed dearly.

It was time to return to the surface, which might have changed so much during his absence.