…Flash!
The slash fired by Vikir is launched toward the center of the vortex.
The black pillar created by the aura stretched vertically.
"Aaahhhhhh-!"
The scream of Black Tongue became a mere foam in the water.
…Rumble!
The black bricks crumble like sponge blocks.
The black tongue caught at the end of the powerful plasma wave flew straight into the deep sea.
A whole section of the corridor he was standing on was torn off like a piece of cake and floated out of Nouvelle Vague's nature.
There's no way he'd survive being exposed to 10,000 meters of water pressure.
Even Black Tongue in the realm of superhumans wouldn't have the strength to survive.
Slurp…
A transparent membrane began to descend before his eyes.
Brigadier Flubber's mucus coats the entirety of Nouvelle Vague's nature.
Whenever a hole is made in the castle, the mucus is spread out to prevent water from entering.
A coating of mucus has formed in the corridor that Vikir cut.
The water flow slowed significantly, and soon the floor was revealed.
Trickle, trickle, trickle…
The remaining seawater flowed down the slope of the corridor and down the spiral staircase.
Vikir stood on the wet stone floor and peered through the transparent membrane.
Just then.
"...!"
Vikir's crimson eyes, visible through his wet bangs, narrowed.
Something was approaching.
From beyond the darkness of the deep, something huge was coming toward him.
With insane speed!
[Gua-aaaaaah!]
Black tongue! No, what is 'supposed' to be Black Tongue!
It was no longer in human form.
It was an extremely elongated creature with countless leeches clinging to it, technically resembling a sea serpent or deep-sea eel.
It bared its razor-sharp teeth in front of a crushed, melted face.
It swam at a terrifying speed, rushing toward Nouvelle Vague, or more precisely, toward Vikir's area.
Upon closer inspection, Vikir realized it was not Black Tongue.
'Black Tongue is dead, and that must be Asmodeus in true form.'
Asmodeus the Magic Sword sucked all the blood from the dead Black Tongue, whose lungs burst under the pressure of the deep sea.
Using its desires and thoughts as nourishment, it regained its true form before it dried up.
[Gua-aaaaaahh!]
The sea serpent, a grotesque creature that could not be found anywhere else in the world, opened its mouth.
Gums and teeth sprouted haphazardly, left, right, and center, in full bloom.
Vikir clicked his tongue.
"This is how swords that eat their masters...."
Beelzebub resonated in his right hand.
Vikir stretched out a finger and snapped the hilt of Beelzebub's sword.
"Don't even dream."
At the same time, Night Hound's eyes glow red.
Baskerville 8th Form. Black Sun.
Eight teeth circle the sphere, crushing everything in their path.
Asmodeus, sucked in, lets out a grotesque scream and twists and shudders, but cannot escape the fate of being dragged into the center of the black sun.
ppageujag! wagigigigig!
With a loud crash, the sound of something shattering was heard.
Vikir could tell by the sensation in his hands that he was controlling the Eight Teeth.
The magic sword Asmodeus had been completely shattered.
And then.
The Black Sun sank, and within it was the shattered remains of the sword, broken into nine pieces.
Silence. The frenzied rampage of a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.
They sink silently, wordlessly, row by row, toward the darkness of the deep, like the remains of a shooting star that has fallen into the sea and cooled.
"...The dog that bites its master is boiled."
Vikir murmured coldly as he watched the sinking remains of the sword.
It was a truth Vikir knew all too well from his own experience.
In the end, one of the Seven Swords, Asmodeus, sank into the depths of the sea in nine pieces.
It had been lost forever.
The Seven Swords were now six, with one destroyed.
'But I can't say for sure. It's a sword with a strong life force, so it might still be alive.'
But is there a human who can pick it up and use it?
On this point, Vikir was skeptical.
It would be a waste, but it was impossible to handle more than two swords anyway.
Vikir shook off any lingering regrets about the sunken Asmodeus.
Instead, Vikir chose to focus on the actual harvest.
"More than that, I finally have it."
Vikir lifted his left hand.
It was a thick leather hilt, quite heavy.
He opened the pouch and found it filled with dark eggs.
These are the egg sacs of sea leeches, black eggs that are commonly found on the carapace of snow crabs.
The tertiary egg membrane, which forms a sac within the strong foreskin until the leech larvae inside hatch, is hard and elastic and not easily broken.
'So this is a variant that Black Tongue put a lot of effort into?'
Vikir recalled the leech that had once attached itself to Kirko's stomach, gradually taking on Kirko's appearance.
Perhaps if it had been a little later, the leech would have grown to look exactly like Kirko.
"A secret weapon as good as the Blood Daylily."
Vikir opened Andromalius's barrier and stored the leech eggs inside.
It would come in handy later.
'Now it is time to capture BDISSEM.'
The finale has entered the countdown.
Vikir left without hesitation.
To bring about the complete collapse of all of Nouvelle Vague's systems.
* * *
jjeoeoeoeoeog-
The symbol of Nouvelle Vague, the Gate of Good and Evil, opened.
…kung! …kung! …kung! …kung! …kung! …kung! …kung!
A huge amount of seawater poured down like a waterfall from above, causing countless Iron Maidens to fall to the ground on the first floor.
And the gulper eels that had departed from the ground had just arrived through the deep sea dock on the 5th floor.
"Open the coffins!"
Lieutenant Colonel Bastille ordered, and the guards stepped forward and pulled the Iron Maidens open with a twist.
Inside, the prisoners were pulled out.
Prisoners who had traveled a journey through the depths of the sea.
Most of them lay in their coffins, dazed and drooling, or already dead.
Some prisoners were left in the form of a stew mixed with thick meat porridge and blood.
"Ugh, I guess this one will have to be fed to Brigadier General Flubber."
"Oh, but he's alive, send him straight to the front lines! Ew, he just died."
"Keep the bodies in one place. Send them to Brigadier General Flubber!"
"For crazy people, a whip is medicine! Bring them back to their senses!"
The sound of clubs and whips echoed around the room.
Then the surviving prisoners scrambled to their feet and made their way to the entrance.
This time, the number of new arrivals was quite large, so the guards were also busy.
Just then.
…thud!
The last of the coffins fell.
The guards were about to approach it.
"Wait! Don't touch it!"
"We will escort it ourselves!"
A gravelly voice came from behind them.
All the guards, including Lt. Colonel Bastille, turned around in alarm.
There were Colonel D'Ordume and Colonel Souare, who had just returned to Nouvelle Vague.
Colonel D'Ordume and Colonel Souare grabbed the last Iron Maiden from either side and descended into the lower levels.
"She is an prisoner of Level 9 and will be transferred directly to Level 10 for her crimes."
At those words, all the guards swallowed nervously.
There was no telling how dangerous this monster could be, and why the two wardens were so wary.
Meanwhile, Colonel D'Ordume spoke to Lieutenant Colonel Bastille.
"Warden Orca will be returning soon. Prepare a welcoming ceremony."
"Yes!"
Lt. Colonel Bastille quickly turned his head.
At times like this, a good subordinate must be quick on his feet.
"Garm, where is Major Garm?"
Lt. Colonel Bastille searched for the bright young officer he had recently added to his entourage.
But Major Garm is nowhere to be seen.
There were too many new prisoners and the guards were too busy moving about to find him.
Then.
Lt. Colonel Bastille spotted a guard retreating backwards.
It was Captain Kirko Grimm, a young officer he'd heard of in his entourage.
"Hey! Captain Kirko!"
Kirko looked up at Bastille's call.
"Get Major Garm in here now! The Warden will be back soon, and we need to get ready for the welcome party, and while you're at it, make sure you have your eyes fixed on him!"
"Yes, I'll get him right away!"
Kirko nodded, knowing it was right.
It was just as well, since Garm had suddenly given her an order to go to the 5th floor and she was looking for an excuse to fulfill it.
She quickly broke away from the entrance and ran downstairs.
The road to the 5th floor. She had to pass through several corridors and bridges to get to the gulper eel kennel that Garm had told her about.
TICK-TICK-TICK
A dripping corridor.
As she passed through the empty corridors and over the arched bridge connecting spire to spire, she saw familiar faces.
She recognized them from her days as a junior guard.
"Aah! Captain Kirko! Salute!"
Old comrades saluting Kirko, who has now become their distant superior.
Then, one of the guards asked Kirko.
"Captain Kirko, are you also going to the 5th floor?"
"Um, what do you mean?"
"Well, Major Garm passed by here just now, too, and what did he say? He told me to hurry up and go near the kennels because I don't have to stand guard anymore...."
"...!"
For a moment, Kirko's expression hardened.
Something had really happened.
"Don't take the Major's word for it."
With that, Kirko sprinted forward.
The two junior guards on guard duty quickly tried to stop Kirko.
"Now, wait a minute, Captain!"
"From here onwards is the area where people with the rank of major can enter autonomously...!"
But the guards didn't finish their sentence.
kwakwang! uleuleung-
A black corona rising out of the window in the distance.
A tremendous roar and shockwave shook the entire 5th floor.