The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 317: Surplus Humans (4)

“…I’ll be the prey.”

A voice captured the attention of all students.

Vikir stepped forward in front of the students.

His nonchalant expression seemed as if he was offering to do trivial tasks like cleaning or dishes, as if it were nothing.

….

Everyone fell into silence.

There were hardly anyone here who didn’t know Vikir’s face.

The first-year superstar, who was always the talk of the academy.

Whether it was sports, grades, skills, appearance, he was top-notch.

The incident at the bazaar where he outwitted both the noble and clan factions was already a rumor among the professors.

Gordon, the third-year noble faction member, asked in a bewildered tone, “You… want to become the sacrifice for that carnivorous flower?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you even know what a sacrifice is? Or, are you a bit… mentally off? Maybe you hit your head somewhere while falling.”

They hadn’t witnessed Vikir hunting the Hellhound pack or Cerberus.

But knowing that Vikir was much stronger than most seniors, this situation was merely puzzling.

Yet Vikir repeated the same words with indifferent tone.

“I will become the prey. If you don’t like it, find another volunteer.”

After finishing his words, Vikir turned his head and looked at the students on either side of Gordon.

Though covered in blood and sweat, they all wore expensive clothes that seemed high-end.

They were probably students from the noble faction.

Everyone who caught Vikir’s gaze cowered and backed away.

“So, no members of your group, huh?”

When Vikir asked, Gordon and the noble faction students, avoided eye contact.

In such a situation, Vikir continued speaking casually.

“You guys. Weren’t you planning to hunt other students to use as sacrifice for the flower?”

At his words, the eyes of all students widened as if torn apart.

Vikir had heard some rumors from behind, so he was confident that the noble faction students were plotting something sinister.

“That carnivorous flower. It’ll eat even if we throw corpses at it, right?”

“It probably will. It eats everything, alive or dead, as that ugly fairy said earlier”

“…In that case, it’s settled. This should make things easier.”

“I’m thinking the same. Perhaps even easier than the previous stage?”

However, the noble faction students paled at Vikir’s words.

“W-What nonsense! Are you insane!? How could someone even think like that!”

“Am I wrong?”

“Of course!”

“….”

“I’m serious! Believe me!”

Gordon shouted in frustration.

But it was already too late.

Other students who heard Vikir’s warning, meaning those not from the noble faction, subtly began to distance themselves from the noble faction students.

Now, the noble faction couldn’t easily manipulate the atmosphere like before.

Gordon scratched his head while watching the students subtly avoid him.

“Damn it! So what now? You came out to say something, but what do you want!”

“I said it from the beginning. I will become the prey.”

“Then just get eaten! Figure it out yourself!”

“Well, yea… However.”

After pausing his words for a moment, Vikir looked around at everyone.

“I’m just trying to tell you all how to make sure no one dies after me.”

At his words, everyone’s gaze once again fixed on Vikir.

Each of them wore an urgent expression.

Starting with Gordon, who approached Vikir as if he was about to kneel down right away, stumbling.

“What? I-Is there such a way? What is it? Unless… you’re trying to lie because you’ve changed your mind…?”

But Vikir didn’t listen to Gordon’s words until the end.

“I’ll kill it.”

“….What?”

Gordon’s expression momentarily blanked out before he could finish his sentence.

Vikir repeated once again.

“I will kill the Bloodsoaked jade flower.”

The expressions of the surrounding students froze at his words.

“What nonsense is this…!”

“Didn’t you see the footage the fairy showed…!”

“Ah, seriously. We just wasted our time…!”

Just as complaints began to burst out here and there…

…Boom!

A terrifying sound exploded, ripping through everyone’s eardrums like a thunderbolt.

Vikir, with his fist raised, had slammed it straight into the wall of the clock tower.

Crackle-crackle-crack!

The diagonal crack spread rapidly, demolishing one of the cylindrical pillars of the clock tower and causing the arches beyond it to collapse one by one.

“….”

Everyone’s mouths hung wide open.

Vikir spoke again.

“I will kill the Bloodsoaked Jade flower tomorrow, alone.”

“….”

What more could they say if that’s what he decided? The students could only stutter in shock with their mouths gaping.

At that moment, Vikir crossed his arms.

“However, there are a few things that I need.”

“….What, what are they?”

In response to Gordon’s question, Vikir casually answered as if it were inconsequential.

“Random boxes. Candies.”

“….!”

“I need everything you got.”

At his words, the students glanced at each other.

Those who had opened the random boxes hesitated with the candies or miscellaneous items that came out of them, while those who hadn’t opened them were holding the random boxes themselves, hesitating.

Gordon was no exception. Holding 15 strange candies that came out of the random box, he was cursing inwardly.

‘If I knew this would happen, I would’ve eaten all the candies as soon as I received them.’

But Vikir knew exactly what they were all thinking.

“Those who eat candies now will be excluded from the transaction. Even those who have nothing to offer.”

“What do you mean by ‘excluded from the transaction’?”

“Figure it out yourselves. I have everything planned.”

At his words, everyone bit their lips.

In truth, there wasn’t much to ponder.

From the beginning, receiving the random boxes and the items from them was a means to survive against the Bloodsoaked Jade Flower.

If sacrificing those items could save their lives, it was a deal worth making.

However, human hearts are cunning.

When it comes down to it, it’s not easy to offer up what you’ve got in your hands for the greater good.

Starting with Gordon, the leader of the noble faction, and other members of the noble faction.

Vikir addressed Gordon’s hesitation and the noble faction students beside him.

“Earlier, you looked at me as if you would never lose your people. Was the relationship so cheap that you couldn’t afford to give up the random box?”

“T-That’s not true! It’s not because we find the random box precious! It’s because we’re wary that you might eat our random boxes and candies without returning them!”

“I suppose you could think of it that way. Then, don’t hand over the random boxes to me yet. Tomorrow, when the flower wakes up, I’ll go stand in front of it. Then, keep a certain distance and stack the random boxes there. You guys should stay a bit further away.”

It’s a way for each party to come up with a plan if the contract were to be broken.

If Vikir betrays them, the students can rush forward to retrieve the random boxes.

If the students betray Vikir, he can flee to the opposite side using his quick skills and strong strength.

“I won’t betray you. As long as the number of random boxes and candies is well preserved.”

“….Um. But do they have to be just random boxes and candies? What if we pay you money when we leave, or what if a good job?”

“No. It’s strictly random boxes and candies. All the other items that came out of them as well.”

Even the students here knew that promises for outside the tower were worthless now.

Just as everyone seemed to be resigning themselves…

“Here you go, Vikir.”

Granola stepped forward first.

For some reason, his eyes were sparkling.

“If you want it, you should have it. We’re ‘friends,’ after all. I trust you!”

Vikir chuckled for a moment.

Eventually, Vikir accepted the random box that Granola handed over.

And the moment he opened it…

…Crunch!

Instead of exploding, the random box bit into Vikir’s wrist.

It was a mimic. Granola’s random box was a mimic. They could not do anything since there was no way to tell from the outside.

Blood drained from Granola’s face.

“Aaaah!? Oh my god! Vikir, are you okay!? No, no! I didn’t know either! I-I really didn’t know, ugh…! No, that’s not important right now! Healer! Quick, Healer!?”

But Vikir just smiled wryly.

“Calm down.”

Vikir gripped his arm, bitten by the dud, with force.

And then…

Crack!

With his other hand, he smashed the top of the random box.

As the box-shaped exoskeleton shattered, the tongue, organs, and teeth poured out with blood.

There wasn’t a scratch on Vikir’s wrist, from which he had taken the mimic out.

“Ah well, Thanks for the gesture.”

“….”

Granola initially wore a blank expression but soon sent sparkling glances again.

“As expected! As expected of my friend!”

Seeing this, all the students rolled their eyes as if they were fed up.

It was because just a while ago, they had witnessed a fairly strong third-year student lose their wrist to a mimic in a rather anticlimactic manner.

Moreover, Vikir’s demands were not yet over.

“And one more thing. There’s something that must be handed over.”

“…What now?”

“This is the most important thing.”

Vikir opened his mouth and spoke the final requirement.

“We need a body.”

“….!”

The expressions of everyone, including Gordon, changed drastically.

This demand was on a completely different level from the random boxes and candies they were asked for earlier.

“What… What are you talking about? Why would you ask for a human body? Weren’t you supposed to be the sacrifice?”

“The need for a human body is only once. Currently, the Bloodsoaked Jade Flower is excessively dry, so its skin is very tough. Because of that, although it has slowed down, it’s still difficult for me to land a blow.”

Granola had seen Vikir struggling to cut through the flesh of the Bloodsoaked Jade Flower.

Furthermore, other students had also witnessed a shit ton of Hellhounds being completely wiped out without leaving a single scratch on the Bloodsoaked Jade Flower, so everyone had no choice but to agree with Vikir’s words.

Eventually, Gordon asked bluntly, “Fine. Do as you please. So, who are you gonna chose as a sacrifice.”

Ultimately, they had no choice but to revisit the discussion they had earlier.

Who would die?

The student who couldn’t study well?

The student from a less affluent household?

The student with few friends?

Or simply the student who lacked strength?

Faced with all these questions, Vikir once again drew his sword.

“I’ll decide that.”

At that moment…

…Roar! Crash!

The cylindrical pillars that Vikir had just shattered with the force of his fist finally collapsed.

Seeing this scene, the students suddenly realized just how much weaker Vikir had become inside the tower, a fact that they had overlooked.

And, despite denying reality several times, they couldn’t help but inevitably come to a conclusion they had to voice.

“….Could he be a Swordmaster?”