The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-487

Chapter 487: The Marquis of Discord (5)

The river of blood had finally dried up.

The war between the human world and the demon world, which had raged for decades, has been etched into history as the "Era of Destruction."

And on the day the human world's victory was set in stone, a head was hung at the main gate of the renowned Baskerville Clan, known for their iron-blooded swordsmanship.

Name: Vikir van Baskerville

Crime: Treason

Vikir. Vikir Van Baskerville.

The illegitimate son of the Baskerville Clan head, Hugo le Baskerville.

The shadow that had stained his hands with endless blood behind the scenes of the Clan.

He was the hunting dog of the Baskerville Clan.

* * *

The severed head said nothing.

The world where the hunting dog's head was displayed was still suffering from the aftermath of the war.

The Imperial Capital was half in ruins.

The Red and Black Mountains was ravaged by fire and water.

The Colosseo Academy was reduced to rubble.

The countless towering Abyss trees that pierced the sky were abundant.

The Reviadon, Donquixote, and Usher were still engulfed in the red death.

The Baskerville estate, became a place where only smoke rose.

The fallen Quovadis.

The decayed Bourgeois.

Morg was struggling alone in a losing battle.

The desiccated corpses in Tochka, dried up due to the lack of drinking water.

The shattered angel statues.

The collapsed clock tower.

The completely vanished Nouvellebag, and much more...

How could anyone forget this all-too-familiar scenery?

How could anyone forget that wasteland, reddened by the blood of countless fallen comrades?

“...! ...! ...!”

Vikir trembled as if struck by lightning.

Yes, Andras had not opened the gates of destruction.

But it was as if he had, nonetheless.

The world on the other side, where the gate of destruction was already open.

The world where Vikir had lived and died before his return.

He had opened the dimensional doors that led to that world!

[Heheh—the world where the gate of destruction is already open. These doors connect to that world.]

This was not achieved by Andras' powers alone.

The bloodline of the Emperor.

The first Grand Emperor of the Great Empire of Lok, who unified the continent, Golding Gerald, was said to possess the ability to see the future.

Golding Jack Meridue, who inherited the bloodline of the first Emperor, also possessed a latent power within his blood.

The combination of the host's future foresight and the unique ability to "open doors" resulted in Andras acquiring the power to open doors to past or future worlds, transcending the timeline.

In other words, he gained the power to interfere with parallel worlds.

Although this ability was significantly limited in many ways, even that level of power was extraordinary.

Unlike other Ten Corpses who chose hosts with superior physical prowess, Andras chose a host with the ability that he could utilize best.

As a result, Vikir was able to stand here now.

Andras smirked.

[So, are you willing to make a deal now? If you just tell me who my brother is and where he is now, I'll ensure you avoid the worst possible outcome.]

"……"

[You’re not planning to destroy this world as well, are you? Do you intend to bring misfortune wherever you go? Shouldn’t you at least protect one of these worlds?]

"……"

Vikir furrowed his brows.

The original world where he had died no longer existed.

In that world, the Gate of Destruction had already opened, and the doom of the ‘Storm of Calamity’ had already descended, killing more than 99% of the population.

Crackle…

The two worlds were beginning to connect.

Though it was indirect, it was as if Hell had already established a link.

A rain of fire would soon flood in.

Countless monsters would cross over.

Undoubtedly, countless humans would perish once again.

However.

"…In my past life, humanity won. No matter what, the Era of Destruction ended."

Yes.

Even though 99% of humanity had perished and Vikir himself had been executed in the end, falling victim to a demon’s schemes… in the end, humanity was not wiped out.

A great flood eventually came, extinguishing the fiery deluge.

All of the Ten Demon Lords either died or disappeared after exhausting their magical powers.

The hellfire that had engulfed the world was extinguished, and the remnants of the monsters were hunted down.

Everything that crossed through the Gate of Destruction eventually vanished.

As a result, although the number of humans, once as numerous as the grains of sand in a desert, had dwindled to just a handful…

A victory was still a victory.

"So, even if you’ve opened a dimensional gate connected to that world, there’s no fire or monsters left to cross over here."

Vikir gritted his teeth as he spoke.

Before his return, humanity had avoided extinction thanks to the countless sacrifices of many heroes.

That was something he had clearly seen before his head was severed.

But Andras merely chuckled dismissively.

[Do you really think so?]

"…What?"

[Do you really think the destruction has ended and that you humans have won?]

Andras’s chuckle escalated into outright laughter.

Behind that unsettling grin, there was an unmistakable confidence and malice.

Soon, more dimensional gates began to open around them.

Crackle…

Portals shrouded in dark energy appeared.

A translucent barrier like a mirror formed within the darkness.

The world beyond the dimensional gates became more visible.

A wider land, a higher sky began to come into view.

In that instant.

"…!?"

Vikir's eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Reflected in his trembling pupils was a world he did not recognize.

After his execution, the world had grown even more horrendous.

He saw massive flames erupting from the highlands where the surviving humans had gathered.

He heard the roars of gigantic monsters, thought to have been extinct, echoing once more.

Enormous centipedes coiled around mountains, colossal cephalopods emerging from the sea like islands, giants tearing through the earth, birds so large they blotted out the sky, and beasts of all kinds rampaging across the land.

And leading these hordes were powerful demons with overwhelming magical energy.

The eastern deserts were drenched in human blood, turning them into muddy swamps.

A storm so fierce it turned the western jungles into wastelands was raging.

The southern seas had turned into rotten waters due to a rampant plague.

A wave of fire, hot enough to turn the northern ice fields into molten lava, was surging forward.

The demons and monsters rampaging in hordes were far more numerous and ferocious than anything Vikir had ever faced in any grim era.

Oooooooooh……

The only sounds were filled with rage, sorrow, and despairing cries.

The few remaining humans were fighting back with desperate ferocity, but it was clear they wouldn’t hold out for long.

"H-how is this possible? I died after witnessing the United Human Alliance's victory…!"

It was rare for Vikir to be caught off guard.

Since his return, it had been even rarer.

But the current situation was so dire that even a seasoned warrior, who had faced death countless times, couldn’t help but be shocked.

"This is impossible. Is that really the world I once lived in?"

Vikir's pupils trembled.

The world before him was indeed the one he had once inhabited.

His instincts, honed to a superhuman level, told him so.

What he was witnessing far exceeded the horrors he had seen and experienced before his return.

This was a scene of utter devastation, so horrific that even someone who had lived through the Era of Destruction couldn’t suppress their shock.

-We've been overwhelmed! More demons are coming!

-Total annihilation! We’re being wiped out!

-This… this is impossible!

-How much longer must we fight?

-Just kill me! Kill me now!

-It was better when the Gate of Destruction first appeared.

-Even the heroes are all dead!

-…It’s over. This is truly the end.

.

.

Countless people were dying.

Even the veteran heroes who had survived the Era of Destruction alongside Vikir were falling like trash, illustrating the dire state of affairs.

The demons and monsters that had emerged from the Gate of Destruction, along with the Ten Corpses, who had led them, had merely been a "tutorial."

Vikir doubted Andras’ words more than once, suspecting he might be showing him some elaborate illusion.

[…Human. This is neither an illusion nor some kind of mind control. It’s reality.]

Even Decarabia, a demon lord of the same caliber, saw the same thing, confirming its authenticity.

The scene beyond the dimensional gates was indeed the world after Vikir's execution.

Andras clutched his stomach, laughing as if he found this utterly hilarious.

[What did I say earlier? Did I mention that the world had stabilized a lot after your death? If you must know, that was the lie.]

"That can't be! I saw all ten of the Ten Corpses defeated before I died!"

[You saw correctly. We did fail. ‘We,’ being the key term here.]

"…!?"

Andras continued with a sly grin.

[As long as the Gate of Destruction remains, the demons can always rebuild their forces. Do you know why?]

And then, Andras uttered something unbelievable.

[Because the Ten Corspes, THE TEN DEMON LORDS THAT KILLED ALL HUMAN HEROS AND DESTROYED 99% OF HUMANITY, were the 'weakest' of the demon lords.]

[Hahahahhaha~]

It was a familiar story.

A cliché.

But clichés exist for a reason.

They resonate because they often reflect reality in the most terrifying ways.

Soon, massive shadows began to loom beyond the many dimensional gates.

Crackle…

These shadows were so vast and enormous that they not only covered the other world in darkness but extended through the dimensional gates into this one.

Andras spoke.

[I am Andras, the 'Marquis of Discord,' ranked merely 63rd among the 72 demons lords of hell. …Do you know what that means?]

He grinned, his mouth splitting from ear to ear, nearly reaching his crown.

[It means 62 demons beyond that Gate of Destruction are stronger than me.]