Level 9. The prisoners imprisoned in the abyss of the 9th floor underground have been released.
When the BDISSEM restraints, the only means of controlling Level 9 beings, lost their power, they too ascended to the upper levels of Nouvelle Vague.
Each and every one of them was imprisoned here after serving more than a thousand consecutive life sentences while on land.
They are monsters whose very existence is a threat to the security of the Empire.
Not only do they possess great strength, but they also have diabolical brains.
When the prisoners of Level 9 joined the riot, the tide quickly turned.
"These guys are too strong!"
"Even the other prisoners are affected!"
"Damn it, those scums are in formation!"
"Don't get pushed back! If you get pushed back even once, it's over!"
"Focus on killing summoners and black mages!"
The guards gritted their teeth and fought back, but it was impossible to even hold their positions.
Aside from being strong, Level 9 also included many who were skilled in mercenary arts and military tactics, so the guards' siege was crumbling in real time.
Lt. Colonel Bastille shouted.
"Orca-nim! Where is Orca-nim!"
"He hasn't returned yet!"
At his subordinate's report, Lt. Colonel Bastille bit his lip so hard it bled.
His only hope at this point was with the two wardens, Colonel D'Ordume and Colonel Souare.
Kwagigik-
D'Ordume, who had just killed a prisoner in front of him with the blade of his axe, strode forward, tearing up the battlefield.
"Don't be intimidated, they're nothing more than a bunch of weak and decaying cronies...!?"
But D'Ordume's words did not reach the end.
…teog!
The axe blade that was slaughtering and crushing everything around it stopped spinning.
The face of the prisoner was visible, holding the scorching blade with his bare hands.
Seeing that face, D'Ordume also groaned softly.
"...Megidio. Level 9."
The red-haired female prisoner smirked, fire blazing from her eyes.
As if she owed D'Ordume a favor.
kwaang- hududug-
D'Ordume's face jerked to the side from the punch, spraying blood.
"Damn it. The troublesome bitches have escaped. What the hell happened to BDISSEM...!"
Taking a few steps backward, D'Ordume spat out a mouthful of blood and broken teeth and snarled.
Souare, watching from the side, clicked her tongue.
"You're getting your ass kicked by a prisoner, you suck."
But she couldn't bring herself to laugh at D'Ordume.
A girl with snow-white skin raised her fingernails and scratched at her cheeks fiercely.
"Oh, my- it's Snow White of the Killing Clan, yes, I knew you'd be the first to jump out. Of course, you'd be the first to come for me."
Souare lifted her bloodied face and gave a slow laugh.
A thick cigar burned brightly in her mouth, puffing out a thick cloud of smoke.
One by one, the prisoners of Level 9 gathered around the two wardens.
Each one was a villain who had gained a fearsome notoriety during their time on land.
Monsters who could have single-handedly destroyed a small country during the Warring States Period.
D'Ordume and Souare's expressions grew more and more grim as they watched the scene unfold.
They stood with their backs to each other in the center of the encirclement and opened their mouths.
"...This is where I'm going to die."
"It's not too bad. Nice weather. If only I could leave a nice corpse, and I did shave today."
"Still, I'll die later than you. I'd like to see your ugly face crushed."
"Hohoho – a moodless man. After nearly 30 years of fighting back and forth since we were junior guards as youths, this is the last thing you say to each other?"
"Hmph, did you expect a confession then?"
"I might have expected a little?"
"...?"
"Hohoho- joke~"
After finishing their conversation, D'Ordume and Souare summoned all their strength.
udeudeug! udeudeug! udeug!
D'Ordume's entire body was covered in dark iron scales.
Blade-like teeth hang beneath the elongated snout.
D'Ordume's already large size increases several times over, revealing his true form as a fierce saltwater crocodile.
Suoare, too, manifests both dwarven and elven blood coursing through her veins.
Her ears pricked up and her senses sharpened.
At the same time, her body temperature began to rise to a temperature that could melt metal.
Level 9's demons began to flee like fish out of water.
"Oooh, D'Ordume, I've been waiting for this day to kill you!"
"Souare, I will cut off your legs for trampling on me!"
"Orca! Bring me Orca, you rascals!"
The guards desperately covered D'Ordume and Souare, the key to winning or losing the battle.
"Support our two wardens!"
Lieutenant Colonel Bastille led the senior guards forward.
He wielded a large two-handed greatsword and herded the Level 9 prisoners into a circle.
"Well done, Bastille! Buy us a little time!"
D'Ordume exclaimed through gritted teeth, having just decapitated a prisoner from Level 9.
Covered in prisoners' blood, he was like one giant demon.
kwakwakwakwakwakwang!
D'Ordume swung his tail, and the stalactites around him shattered.
Heavy chunks of stone flew in all directions, slamming into the prisoners.
"Ooooooooh!"
D'Ordume extended the axe blades on his forearms to their limits.
A black saltwater crocodile whose entire body is armed with an ax blade.
The hard, razor-sharp scales that covered its entire body tightened, transforming its appearance into something like an Evil God that had descended to earth to kill.
"Die, scum!"
With a thunderous roar, D'Ordume began to spin.
Death Roll.
A crocodile's signature hunting move.
A technique that involves biting down on an opponent and rotating their entire body to tear off chunks of flesh.
But when it was used by D'Ordume, its destructive power was extraordinary.
kwa-kwakwakwakwakwakwakwang!
Scales sprouted from D'Ordume's entire body, along with six massive pairs of axe blades.
The aura that coated the tips of those blades also elongated, forming a guillotine-like shape.
A black vortex engulfed everything.
Everything sucked in was shattered and crushed.
The huge slashing whirlwind lay horizontally and swept the ground, swaying back and forth like a snake thrown onto a grill.
A glancing blow would dismember them, and a solid hit would kill them.
"Aaaahhhhh! Colonel D'Ordume has used a Death Roll!"
"Dodge! He can't even recognize his allies in that state!"
"Push the prisoners in! Just hold the line!"
"Stay in position and you won't be dragged!"
D'Ordume's special move was a threat not only to the prisoners, but also to the guards.
Even the vicious Level 9 prisoners ducked to the side to avoid the whirlwind of strikes that D'Ordume unleashed.
kwa-deudeudeudeudeug!
The black vortex shears away and crushes any stalactites or boulders that stand in its way, turning them into a flat surface.
The stalactites that took the brunt of the aura storm are shattered and turned to sand, and the large, chunky boulders have gaping gouges in their sides.
All the prisoners stepped back and sideways at the sheer power of the blow, which altered the interior terrain so drastically.
...But.
Among the prisoners stampeding on both sides, there was a person standing still and alone.
A man in a tattered guard's uniform.
A silver Rose of Sharon, symbolizing Major, can be seen pinned to his chest.
The unidentified Major wears his hat brim deeply pressed down.
He stood still, unmoved by the Death Roll of D'Ordume coming straight at him.
"Hey! Are you out of your mind! Major, what the hell are you doing, get out of here!"
"Haha! You're killing your own guards, D'Ordume!"
The shouts of prisoners and guards rained down on him from the ebbing crowd.
But he stood still, his eyes fixed on the storm of charges that was closing in on him.
ttang-geulang-
Eventually, a silver Rose of Sharon flower fell off and rolled on the floor.
He was about to rip off his chestplate.
…Screech!
From top to bottom. He brought his arm down vertically.
kwa-kwang!
An arm that had only moved once. And a small blade sprouted from his wrist.
But it came down like a bolt of lightning, slicing through the body of D'Ordume, who had been flying straight at it.
ujijijig!
D'Ordume's head, which had smashed into the ground, bounced off the ground once more.
Kung...
That was the end.
A single strike. With a single swipe, D'Ordume lay on the ground, covered in blood.
A moment of silence descended upon the abysmal Nouvelle Vague.
ppodeug- ppodeug- ppodeug-
Amidst the eerily cold and eerie silence, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of the man wiping the blood from his sword with the lapel of his uniform.
Overwhelming.
The aura emanating from him seemed to consume everything on the battlefield.
Every living thing in Nouvelle Vague held its breath in horror at the sight of this crimson charisma, shaped like a large, monstrous dog.
With that, the man stepped forward with a military booted step and stomped on the head of the defeated D'Ordume.
" ...I'm the kind of person who makes sure I pay my debts."
And with that, Night Hound was once again in Nouvelle Vague.