Hellhound (1)

The years of bloodshed had finally ended

The war between the humans and the demons that lasted for decades left a terrifying record in the history books as the ‘Age of Destruction’.

And the day when the victory of the humans has been written down in the books.

A neck was hung at the front gate of the Baskevilles, famous for their iron-blooded swordsmen.

Vikir. ‘Vikir Van Baskeville’.

The illegitimate son of Hugo Le Baskeville, the head of the Baskeville family.

The shadow that has been covered with countless blood on the back of the family.

It was the hound of the Baskevilles.

Vikir struggled

He had always struggled.

A bastard. Son of a Concubine.

So ‘Van’ middle name.

He was not born with a surname such as ‘Le’ or ‘Re’, which his half-siblings in the main family received, and because of that, he had to work hundreds of times more than others.

But in the end it was all for nothing.

Spying, assassination, kidnapping, blackmail, smuggling… … For the sake of his family, he crossed over 500 dangerous missions but in the end, they forsook him.

The moment when he is accused of being a spy for the demons and executed along with an unfair false charge.

He gritted his teeth.

He wanted to live

Aye- Aye- Aye-

A baby’s cry echoed throughout the large room.

The iron-blooded swordsman, the Baskeville family, had dozens of layers of slopes.

The head of the house, the Marquis Hugo Baskeville, raised a nonchalant eye and scanned the children born this year.

“There aren’t any guys that look useful.”

It was quite harsh for a father’s first evaluation of children born this year.

… … at that time.

Hugo, passing through the cribs in the nursery, stopped at one point.

Vikir. Vikir van Baskeville.

Originally, an illegitimate child who did not even deserve to be here.

Unlike the other siblings who are almost 6 to 8 months old, a being who has just entered this room after having just completed 100 days.

The baby wasn’t crying.

He just lay still with his eyes closed, as if he were dead.

“… … .”

Hugo looked at Vikir and relaxed his complexion a little.

It’s not that he was happy that Vikir’s qualities seem superior to those of his other offspring.

However, it was from the thought that if it was a place where only garbage was lined up anyway, it would be better to have garbage that was a little less noisy.

Eventually, Hugo spoke to dozens of nannies in the city behind him.

“Move the children to the ‘Cradle of the swords’.”

The children of the Baskevilles are put to the test from the moment they are born.

from cradle to the grave.

The first of these tests began right away.

… … What is the cradle of swords?

It is a unique rite of passage for the Baskevilles.

Countless knives are planted like a maze on a round hill and a baby is dropped in the middle.

The baby is trapped in the maze created by the blade and wandered through it.

Even if it moves, he get cut by the blades all over his body.

In this environment, babies have to crawl on the floor and through a labyrinth of needles.

It is only when you immerse yourself in the river ‘Styx’ outside of the labyrinth that you become a Baskeville in its true sense.

‘The Styx water is only effective for children under one year of age. If you soak your body in this river, your whole body becomes as hard as steel.’

Of course, the power of this river is not infinite.

If one baby sucks up most of her power, the other sucks in relatively less since the power remaining is lesser.

It’s like her mother’s lifeline.

The children of the Baskevilles were now thrown into the cradle of the sword.

Who is the first to get out of this labyrinth and jump into the river first? That will determine the future of these children.

Thirty-two children born this year, including all of the family’s rightful sons, bastards, and cousins, compete with each other in the middle of the cradle of swords.

The blades, densely packed with tracks for the children to the go through and become the sharpest of thorns.

Aye- Aye- Aye-

A baby who cried looking for a babysitter, while another was already crawling, he was bleeding from being cut by the blades, and another one who sat down and sucking his finger as he had no intention of escaping yet… … Babies are usually like that.

In fact, since these babies are less than a year old, it is a natural result.

however.

“Useless.”

Hugo Baskeville’s assessment was terribly cold.

A small, fragile creature. A creature that cannot survive without the help of others.

There was contempt in Hugo’s gaze at the human body.

Even if it is your own child, there is no exception.

Being one of the seven best swordsmen on the continent, he was famous for being an iron man from birth.

“Only like this can we fight the demons. The strong will survive and leave the weak behind”

Hugo stood high and looked at the waters of the Styx, which flowed around the cradle of the sword, and lamented.

The secret river, which flows only in the Holy Land of the Baskeville family, has the effect of increasing mana, purifying one’s aura, and making one’s body as tough and hard as steel just by soaking one’s body.

If it hadn’t been for something that only worked for children under the age of 1, Hugo would have soaked himself right away.

When Hugo is looking at the river with a sad expression.

“… … hey, over there!”

“Ah, how can it be!”

“Nonsense!”

Arguments erupted from everywhere.

What was there to be astonished at by the family’s guardian knights, who were not shaken by anything?

Hugo raised his head with a puzzled expression.

and that moment.

“… … !”

His eyes, which had been filled with bitter boredom, contempt, impatience, and disappointment, lit up.

The cradle of the sword.

For through this thick forest of blades a child was heading straight for the River Styx.

Jjoeok- Jjeook- Fit-

The child’s body is already covered in blood.

Surprisingly, the child was going straight through the cradle of needles, which were spiraled like a snail’s shell.

Instead of going round and round on a relatively safe road, he directly squeezes into the small gap between the blades.

There was a knife mark on his white, soft cheek.

His soft waist and forearms were cut and torn all over.

His knees were all bruised and the soft palms were already bloody.

A child crawling forward, making a bloody path by squeezing between the countless needles.

Everyone in the family was overwhelmed by the spirit of this child who was less than 100 days old.

It was the same with Hugo Les Baskeville, the head of Baskeville, the iron-blooded swordsman.

Before long, the child was completely out of the maze.

His siblings were still trapped in the center of the cradle of the sword and could not get out.

… with a plop!

Soon the child came out of the cradle, he threw himself into the River Styx.

The river water started turning red.

Hugo moved forward in an unusual way, clutching the railing with both hands.

Seeing the cracks in the marble railing, the attendants widened their eyes.

It was because it was the first time I had seen him, who usually showed an emotionless attitude in everything, be so agitated.

“What happened to him?”

Hugo raised his voice.

The child who fell into the River Styx still did not come up.

Before long, several of the family’s guardian knights approached the River Styx and peered into it.

and. The knights were frightened at once.

“Sir, he is drinking the river water!”

It was an answer that would make Hugo’s mouth turn into a grin.