The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 421: Goodbye Nouvellebag (3)

Nouvellebag’s volcano erupted in a massive explosion.

A tremendous roar. It was as if the entire ocean was being lifted into the sky.

The crimson pillar of fire that blew away the Gate of Good and Evil soon turned blue, doubling, tripling, quadrupling… growing hundreds of times larger.

The pillar of fire shot up, surrounded by secondary and tertiary updrafts, creating a giant column of water that wrapped around the fire and surged upwards.

Truly, an unprecedented seismic sea wave, a cataclysm that humanity had never seen before.

It was a massive tectonic shift that affected all life, both in the sea and on land.

* * *

A few minutes before the explosion at the Nouvellebag prison..

Vikir witnessed the Gate of Good and Evil, a symbol of Nouvellebag, being blown away.

Seeing that massive alloy chunk fly off like a bottle cap gave an idea of the explosion’s power.

‘…But that won’t be the end of it.’

Soon, secondary, tertiary, quaternary, no, hundreds of shockwaves would follow and sweep through this place.

If that happens, everything will be over.

‘I hope Aiyen made it safely.’

Vikir glanced back.

The gulper eel was no longer visible.

The strong currents created by Orca had likely pushed her to safety.

He had no choice but to believe that.

After finishing his thoughts, Vikir turned his head back.

…Rumble! Crash!

Lightning struck the seabed.

Earthquakes and tsunamis, powerful enough to destroy a nation, raged fiercely.

In the face of this massive chaotic vortex, humans were nothing more than insignificant grains of sand.

At that moment.

Tap, tap-

A hand tapped Vikir’s shoulder.

It was Marquis Sade. He looked at Vikir with a questioning gaze, as if asking what to do.

Even in this extrsituation, Vikir racked his brain to find a way to survive.

A tremendous explosion was imminent.

After that, a giant updraft would sweep away everything here.

At that moment.

“…!”

Something caught Vikir’s eye.

The Gate of Good and Evil.

The massive disc that symbolized Nouvellebag.

Despite being directly hit by Poseidon’s power, it had not shattered.

The center was dented, but there were no cracks.

Only the chains around it had all snapped, causing it to be flung away.

Vikir recalled the Bourgeois family’s vault.

The vault crafted by Belial was also made from a mithril and orichalcum alloy.

Despite its size, it withstood the attacks of the PitBull Knight Order for two hours.

Then what about the Gate of Good and Evil?

The strongest door that no one had ever breached.

Even Poseidon’s initial explosion had only managed to slightly dent it.

Vikir moved instinctively.

“Wait, takewith you!”

Marquis Sade flailed his limbs frantically, following closely behind Vikir.

Soon, Vikir arrived at the wildly shaking ground and landed on the Gate of Good and Evil, which was draped over the walls of Nouvellebag.

Nearby, the pillar of fire was turning increasingly blue.

It would soon grow in intensity, sweeping over this place and lifting everything upwards.

Vikir planned to stay close to the Gate of Good and Evil at that moment.

Like a cork riding the surge of a champagne bottle, he intended to cling to it and ascend to the surface.

“Are you insane?” Even Marquis Sade’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

But there was no other way.

Soon, they’d run out of oxygen, and more importantly, without this method, there was no way to traverse the 10,000 meters of seabed to reach the surface.

“We must find a way to survive, somehow.”

Of course, the chances of survival were less than 1%, perhaps not even 0.001%.

But it was better than zero. If there was any chance, it had to be taken.

Vikir moved to the concave center of the Gate of Good and Evil and took his position.

Then, he channeled mana into Decarabia.

[…Human.]

Decarabia sensed Vikir’s plan.

He intended to ride the top layer of the explosion, holding onto the Gate of Good and Evil like a surfboard.

“You must block the pressure from above.”

Vikir’s strategy was simple.

Like a sandwich, the Gate of Good and Evil would be at the bottom, and Decarabia’s shield would be on top to minimize the pressure.

With Decarabia’s dome-shaped shield, they could withstand the tremendous pressure from above.

The problem was that Vikir’s aura was insufficient to maintain such a high-level shield.

“If the issue is insufficient aura, I’ll help.”

Marquis Sade, who was nearby, spoke urgently.

He seemed desperate not to be left behind by Vikir.

“I’m curious to see how much the surface has changed. Please, takewith you!”

Marquis Sade pleaded earnestly, holding Vikir’s hand.

Feeling the high-quality mana flowing through their clasped hands, Vikir nodded.

But even so, the chances of survival remained slim.

Though Decarabia’s defense was reliable, it was uncertain how long they could maintain it with their combined mana.

Just then.

Tap-

A hand appeared over the edge of the Gate of Good and Evil.

Strong fingers, interspersed with black webbing, gripped the edge with force.

“…Takewith you.”

An old man, covered in blood, pulled his upper body onto the disc.

Orca. He gazed at Vikir with his one remaining eye, the other having been destroyed in the recent shock.

Marquis Sade asked incredulously, “Are you crazy? Have you forgotten we were just fighting?”

“I’m sane. I remember perfectly.”

With that, Orca no longer looked at Marquis Sade.

His gaze was fixed solely on Vikir.

“I cannot die here.”

“…”

Vikir sensed the strong and unwavering will in Orca’s eyes.

“No! If we take that old man with us, nothing will work out!”

“I’m far more trustworthy than that notorious criminal.”

Even in their bloodied state, Marquis Sade and Warden Orca exchanged sharp, tense words.

Vikir looked at the two and thought about the original timeline.

“…it’s all twisted..”

In the original history, Marquis Sade would escape much later, during the latter part of the Great Demon War.

Sadi, who had gathered forces outside, infiltrated Nouvellebag using spies to open the Gate of Good and Evil and rescue her grandfather, Marquis Sade.

Intrigued by the reports of the surface turning into a fiery battleground and an era of chaos beginning, Marquis Sade killed BDISSEM, inciting a massive uprising among all the prisoners.

At that time, Warden Orca and the guards, distracted by the attacking demon army, missed Marquis Sade’s jailbreak.

Faced with the simultaneous threat of defeat by the demons and the jailbreak, Orca made a drastic decision.

He activated “Poseidon,” a project he had been researching since discovering it during the Level Ten construction.

By inducing a massive eruption at Nouvellebag, Orca wiped out numerous demon soldiers and Marquis Sade in one blow, then ascended to the surface to join the human alliance.

And now, Orca, covered in blood, was begging Vikir for mercy.

“Believe me. The surface has turned into hell. Even if we escape, it won’t be like before. I saw it with my own eyes.”

Orca pleaded, banging his head on the Gate of Good and Evil.

“Save me. Takewith you. I will be of great help against the monsters.”

Vikir stared at Orca for a moment.

Then he said, “…Get on.”

With a brief nod, Orca quickly climbed onto the Gate of Good and Evil.

“Ugh, it’s cramped enough already. And now we have this big old man…”

Marquis Sade grumbled, but Orca ignored him and stood beside Vikir.

The Night Hound, Vikir.

The leader of the 47 person incident, Sade.

The Warden of Nouvellebag, Orca.

As the three stood together, a red inverted pentagram appeared above them.

Decarabia manifested in a hemispherical form, enveloping the gate of good and evil.

“If the Gate of Good and Evil doesn’t hold, we’re all dead. If we run out of mana for Decarabia, we’re all dead too.”

At Vikir’s words, both Marquis Sade and Warden Orca, who were infusing aura into him, nodded with grim expressions.

The Gate of Good and Evil, the symbol of Nouvellebag.

The only material that could survive in this massive chaos.

Vikir used it as the base, with Decarabia forming a das the ceiling and walls.

And now, the tof judgment had come.

Ooooooh…

All the surrounding space began to distort.

A heavy force was pushing up from the ground.

Right below, towards their feet!

Boom!

The first explosion, loud enough to tear through eardrums, was heard by everyone.

…! …! …!

The second and third explosions followed, beyond the audible range of humans, felt only as a silent tremor.

Marquis Sade and Warden Orca were both stunned.

Even they, who had lived lives marred by gambling and war, felt an unprecedented wave of anxiety, danger, tension, and desperation.

This was a reckless gamble they hadn’t made in a long time.

Finally, the Gate of Good and Evil was lifted upwards.

Like a worthless coin swept away by a strong wind, it ascended haphazardly.

But the three people riding it were experiencing true hell.

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

The pressure felt like their entire bodies were being crushed, as if they were being ground into meat while still alive.

Vikir poured all the aura that Marquis Sade and Warden Orca were channeling into Decarabia’s shield.

Simultaneously, Beelzebub pushed the regenerative ability of the Basilisk to its absolute limit.

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The pressure was so immense that it could make even an S-rank monster scream, crushing bones, flesh, muscles, and blood to their limits.

[…Human!]

[…Up!]

[…We go!]

Through the silent cacophony of deafening roars, Decarabia’s voice faintly echoed in Vikir’s ears.

Suddenly, a memory flashed through Vikir’s mind.

For sreason, the words he had spoken upon his promotion to Captain resurfaced at this moment.

“I will stake everything to transform Nouvellebag.”

The plan he had held since he walked into Nouvellebag on his own.

It was perfectly realized. He had indeed brought about a tremendous change.

“…”

Vikir’s lips curled into a faint smile. He remembered a phrase.

Jininsadaecheonmyeong — to do one’s best and leave the rest to fate.

He had done all he could as a human.

He had completed everything perfectly to the best of his ability.

Now, what remained was in the hands of the heavens.

And Vikir was now heading to meet the heavens.

After nearly four years in this hell, he was being launched skyward to confront the heavens and question the future and the fruition of his endeavors.

…Towards the surface, a full 10,000 meters above!