Iron Blooded Hound

On a forceful moonless night,

Vikir visited the detainment facilities beneath the city passage. The practically unfilled cell was filled with the smell of decay. Confinement offices are inherently terrifying, yet it's even creepier to see them so dark and empty. The guards had all left early, oddly, without a single call. The prisoners had either been executed, pardoned, or moved, leaving the area completely deserted.

Vikir approached one of the most significant cells. The darkest and most foul. Solitary. It was the most isolated of the detention cells, with the main securely locked doorway. And in this cell was the last prisoner left.

She was a secretary to Aristocrat Gambino, a central figure in the underground economy. A woman with a short greenish-fair hairstyle, wearing a prisoner's uniform and with deep sleeves, she slouched down in the corner of the cell.

Vikir found a spot to sit and sat down before the bars. The iron chair legs scraping against the stone floor echoed loudly in the empty prison.

"Your name is... Sen Rose Sindhiwendi. Yeah?" Vikir asked, but she didn't answer. Instead, she looked down at the floor with empty eyes.

"Why did you keep me alive?" Xindiwendi's question was hollow.

The oddity show. And the Pit Bull Knights. That night, when all was dying, Cindy Wendy gritted her teeth and escaped. She would never die like this. Even if she died, her wrists and ankles would be cut off. She had something important to do, and she would never die in a place like this and be a waste because of it. Who among the dying was not, or perhaps Xindiwendi thought she was, even more wild and destitute than the others.

But the teeth of the fighting dog before her were cold. One of the Pit Bull Knights stepped forward, and it was a death sentence. She gritted her teeth as the pointed blade sank into her throat. But... Earth! The sound the blade made as it plunged into her throat was a bit unexpected.

That's because the Pitbull Knight's blade didn't manage to penetrate her throat. Vikir, the new deputy judge, had used a stack of chains to block the Pit Bull Knight's blade.

The Pitbull Knight looked incredibly shocked that Vikir had managed to block his blade, but his next words were brief. "This woman is an exception. Take her alive without harming a single finger."

Things had been like this in the jail from then on. Vikir looked at her calmly for a long time. Finally, he asked, "If you answer my questions truthfully, I will let you out of here."

That sparked a glimmer of hope in Xin Diwendi's eyes. But soon, she shook her head and muttered to herself. "I've already lost the will to escape since I was kept here, and I have no good reason to do so now."

Regardless, Vikir's questions had already begun. "Is it true or not that you are the reason Noble Gambino, who was once a mere pauper, has been able to increase his power so significantly recently?"

"I've investigated you, and you have a talent for making money. Assuming that talent had flourished in a place other than the underworld, you would have made a fine merchant or banker."

Xin Diwendi laughed bitterly. It was a mocking laugh that seemed to say, "What good is all that now?"

Vikir looked into her eyes and kept them steady. Then he spoke in a charming voice. "I promise you."

"What?" Xin Diwendi's ears perked up.

"If you answer my question, I'll let you out of here, but..." Vikir trailed off and inclined his head toward the bars, staring at Xindiwendi.

Burning red light penetrated her green retinas. "If you don't answer, you will regret this day."

There was a rare, dark power in Vikir's voice that instilled a different kind of dread besides fear. Xin Diwendi opened her mouth to speak, not fully understanding what she was feeling. "If it's something I can answer, I'll answer it."

"Good." Vikir asked, relentlessly.

"How did it come to this?" "Your question could be a bit more specific."

"Do you believe I'm doing justice?" Xin Diwendi replied in a nonchalant tone. "Who often ponders the opinion of a petty criminal bitch like me?"

"I'm asking a petty convict bitch like you." "Then I will go ahead and say it: I believe you're handling it poorly."

At that, Vikir gestured. "Why?" "Justice is the paramount virtue of a ruler in all theories of government. A strong rule of law and peace may work adequately for now, but over time, well..."

"What is justice?" "It's not getting in a cart when you're tired, not putting on a blanket on a cart when you're hot, and not having armed officials in parade. It is his ethics that when a ruler dies, all the inhabitants shed tears, even the children stop singing, and, sadly, the bells don't toll."

"Is it a great flaw that I am not just?" "If it is a great flaw, it is a great flaw, for you will not live long because of it. You could have built your Majesty by beating on petty criminals with the Whip Furun Code, but in the long run, you will kill and harm countless, which will breed hatred and resentment."

"Could I fear the hatred and resentment of the common people?" "The common people may not always care for it, but neither will the Baskervilles, and even though it's a surprisingly strong contender city, the inhabitants will be more afraid of you, the deputy, than they are of the Baskervilles."

"Hmm. That's valid." "The same will be true when your boss arrives, or when your successor does, and the reason you changed the law is to assert your power and hasten your achievements, which will have many local factions grinding their teeth. There are plenty of underworlders in other cities, too, and I don't think you'll have long to live, considering their views."

"So what could I do?" "You are just as fragile as dew now. If you wish to live to see another day, you must step down as Deputy Justice, return all your powers to House Baskerville, return the balls here to the Gazoo and the Supreme House, and go to a place befitting your age, like Yazi in the Red and Black Mountains, or a monastery in the heart of the kingdom, and contemplate the future."

"And?" "Keep yourself as inconspicuous as possible, conceal your strength and develop your knowledge, and recommend to your superiors that you seek out and promote hidden talent, respect the elders, care for migrants, honor the unjust, and respect the wise."

"Also, what will I gain in return?" "Your mind will be at peace, for one thing, and then the patriarch of House Baskerville will have taken on all the trouble you deserve; also, even if he revokes your temporary credit, you are only fifteen years old after all. Isn't that old enough to have a reputation that has spread to the ecliptic, even if it's just

a joke?"

At Xin Diwendi's lengthy counsel, Vikir smiled a wry smile. Her advice was much in line with Vikir's own plans for the future.

"Good." Vikir signaled. At the same time... Clang! The iron door opened. Vikir had torn the lock off with the force of his grip, then removed Xindiwendi's restraints. "As promised, you are now free."

Xin Diwendi raised her head and looked at the iron door before her. Then she turned to look at Vikir. "Are you really letting me go?"

"I am. I remain true to my word."

"You'll regret it, you know?" A glimmer of life returned to Xin Diwendi's eyes. Seeing it, Vikir smiled wryly. "I hope not."

Sindhiwendi moved toward the door of the cell but hesitated. With her back to him, Vikir spoke. "There were seven prominent local families in Longshot City. The Montblancs, the Pierres, the Louisvilles, the Channels, the Ferragamos, the Hermèses, and the Pradas."

However, a few years ago, their number was eight, not seven." At that, Vikir didn't miss the slight shiver that ran down Xin Diwendi's spine.

"At first, there was an eighth family called the Messinadna family, the wealthiest of the merchant families." "However, they were wiped out, all of their members tragically killed. Do you know why?"

"They had acquired the Baskervilles' sword manual, and their eight-year-old son had one day claimed to have learned how to be a skilled swordsman." "The patriarch of the Messinadnaro family threw a grand party for his son's birthday and requested that he demonstrate his newly discovered sword skills."

"With everyone gathered, the boy displayed his swordsmanship, but everyone there was in for a shock, for what he displayed was the Baskerville style of swordsmanship, which is only taught in private among the Baskervilles."

"That... stop." "The Baskervilles are extremely protective of their family's swordsmanship. Believing that a highly classified military secret had been exposed, the Baskerville patriarch unleashed the hounds, and from that day forward, House Messinadnaro would vanish from the face of the earth."

"Stop it, you villain!" Xin Diwendi shouted vehemently. But Vikir didn't stop. "But miraculously, House Messinadnaro was not obliterated. It was the children of the other seven houses who tricked their son with the responsibility of a noble blade book, and they bribed a young man from Baskerville to steal it from them and teach it to the children of House Messinadnaro, and the boy demonstrated it before a gathering of adults to prove that it was genuine. It was all planned."

"However, there was one survivor of the Messinadnaro family, all of whom were said to have been wiped out, a young girl of one year old Turl, and the Seven Blackguards managed to smuggle her out of that massacre."

"Eww!" Xin Diwendi recoiled, then leaned back against the wall. Her eyes were red and swollen.

Vikir concluded. "That girl must have been subjected to all kinds of cruel, vile, and despicable tortures since she was intelligent and innocent, and the details of those tortures... I couldn't begin to tell you."

"I don't want to hear any more. Goodbye." An involuntary tear spilled from one of Xin Diwendi's eyes. She pushed herself away from the wall and staggered toward the exit. Then, "I told you, if you don't listen, you'll regret this day for the rest of your life." Vikir remained in place, unmoving, and continued. "There's more to this story."

Xin Diwendi stopped abruptly. Vikir shrugged once. "And a lot of time has passed, and another deputy justice has come to the city."

She turned her head to look at Vikir. Vikir looked at her directly without flinching and spoke. "He exposed all the old enemies within the city and drove them out."

"And the catalyst for the event was the seven villains who led House Messinadnaro to destruction."

Cindywendy turned her head to look at Vikir. Vikir took a step closer to her.

"The new deputy justice tortured those seven villains to death."

It was such horrific torture that a torturer who had been working at the palace for years vomited what he had eaten.

"And as they lay dying, the seven rats confessed all the crimes they had committed, including those against House Messinadnaro. They confessed and begged for forgiveness for all their sins."

Then, Xin Diwendi shouted out loudly. "Forgiveness! How dare they apologize to anyone!"

"To... the sole survivor of House Messinadnaro. To that girl. To the girl who now goes by the pseudonym 'Rose Cindywendy' and whose real name is 'Messinadnaro Sen Cindywendy.'"

Hearing this, Cindy Wendy recoiled with a horrified look on her face. "Eww!" She vomited on the floor. Her vision blurred. The darkness of the prison was utterly black. The foul smell that had been lingering in the cell from before seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.

Xin Diwendi braced herself against the wall with one hand and held her head with the other. She spat on the floor and asked, "How can I trust your words?"

Vikir made no response. Instead, he... snarled! Vikir conjured fire from the bar with his hand and lit a torch. Suddenly, the prison cell was brightly lit. And then... "Eww!" Tears began to fall from Xin Diwendi's eyes and land on the stone floor.

"... ... "

The two looked at each other for a long time, unmoving. Then, Cindy Wendy spoke. "Since you're also a Baskerville... why would you say you're helping me?"

Vikir made no response. And the sharp-eyed Sindhiwendi understood the meaning of his silence. The intense hatred and resentment of Baskerville are internal and external, but they are one and the same.

In that way, Vikir and Cindy Wendy understood each other well. And then... Sindhiwendi left the prison.

She approached Vikir, who was still inside, and said in a remarkably calm voice. "Whatever you do in life, I'll make sure you never hit rock bottom financially."

Vikir had gained another ally.

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