Chapter 444: The Fall of Ushers (6)  

-Demons die under this tree-.

Vikir stood on the far bank.

[How dare these bastards use cheap provocation...!]

The moment he heard the demon's cry from the center of the lake, Vikir immediately gave the order.

"Open the floodgates."

The members of the Night Walkers and Don Quixote's knights each raised their spears, cut the ropes, and pierced the earthen wall.

Tudor and Bianca turned to face each other and let out a powerful burst of mana.

...peoeong!

The mud and wood pillars collapsed, and the waters of Lakedog burst out from the imprisonment beyond.

Even though the drought and wildfires have lowered the water level significantly, Lakedog Lake naturally holds a tremendous amount of water.

kwakwakwakwakwakwa-

The water rushing out of the breach created countless currents and rushed toward the bottom of the lake.

In the distance, we can see the demon flailing about.

Madeline has broken through the Life Gate(生門), the Enlightenment Gate(景門), and the Open Gate(開門), as per the Eightfold Formation, but that doesn't mean she'll get to the way out.

She also tried the Injury Gate(傷門), the Surprise Gate(驚門), and the Rest Gate(休門), with the same result.

However, this does not prevent her from entering Stop Gate(杜門) and the Death Gate(死門), which are obvious death routes, so there must be some information about the Eightfold Diagram Formation.

"...Certainly. It's the path that Belial and Dantalian used to wreak havoc on the Human Alliance during the Age of Destruction, so she should be familiar with it."

Vikir is giving back to the demons exactly what the Human Alliance suffered at the hands of the demons in the past.

....

Vikir's version of the Eightfold Diagram Formation was a slightly improved version of what Belial and Dantalian had used.

This was possible because....

"Pushishishi- look at that. It's better if you do as I say."

It was thanks to Marquis de Sade, smiling beside Vikir.

He shouldn't be here if he was meant to be.

He was supposed to have failed to break out of Nouvelle Vague and become fodder for deep-sea monsters 10,000 meters below.

But Vikir changed his fate and rescued him from the depths.

The result. Marquis de Sade was able to put his skills as a tactician and military strategist to good use, something the Human Alliance had been lacking during the Age of Destruction.

'An interesting plan, but I can see a few holes in it, and I think I can make it even more vicious if I combine it with the Eight Trigrams(Bagua) I used during the 47 Man Riot. Puspushishishi-'

Marquis de Sade, who has a devious, even diabolical, talent for bullying others into trouble.

'Add the elements of Jin (震), Son (巽), Lee (離), Gon (坤), Tae (兌), Geon (乾), Gam (坎), Gan (艮). Add the elements of thunder, wind, fire, earth, pond, sky, water, and mountains, and no demon can escape as long as it has two feet on the ground. I can't wait to see how the one who falls into it will struggle in agony-'

He was interrupted by a voice that was far more cunning and evil than anything the demons had ever put their heads together.

"Pushishishi! even the demons can't get out of it, scurrying away like bugs!"

"It's still a bad taste."

Marquis de Sade was delighted, and beside him, Major General Orca, who was giving him a scold, looked as if they were relieved as they collapsed the dam they had built so far.

Building the dam wasn't difficult for Vikir, who had once built a massive dam to keep out the Red Death when he was in Balak's village.

Once released, the water rushed over the ridge with unstoppable momentum.

The drought-strained ground gave way, releasing massive amounts of sediment, and the resulting earthquake shook the entire ridge.

Soon afterward, massive amounts of water from Lakedog began to sweep down the hillside and pour into the swampy area where the Usher' mansion was located.

"Aah! The mansion!"

Bianca exclaimed in surprise.

The current was already swirling around the swampy area surrounding Usher Castle.

A vortex that circled and carved away at the ground beneath the castle, eroding it. The island in the center of the swamp where the Usher family's mansion had stood was sinking lower and lower.

"Dad!"

Bianca screamed as she leapt forward, but Tudor stopped her.

"Bianca, wake up, you saw the condition of the mansion!"

"...Aaaah!"

Bianca's legs gave out and she fell to the ground.

If Tudor hadn't held her tightly, she would have tumbled down the cliff and been caught in the rushing water.

Dolores, Sinclair, Sancho, and Piggy could see now why Vikir had made the fireworks so color-coded.

"Determine whether Roderick, the patriarch of Usher Family, is alive or dead, and if he is alive and able to escape with you, set off red firecrackers, and if he is dead or unable to move even if he is alive, set off black firecrackers.

'Why are the firecrackers color-coded? What do they mean...?'

'You're better off not listening.'

He was right.

If the red firecrackers had gone off, Vikir might have considered a different plan, but once the black firecrackers went off, the choice was clear.

The moment Vikir saw the black firecrackers, he made his decision.

To wipe out the Usher family mansion, completely eroded by the Red Death.

"...Dad."

Bianca looked down at the rushing torrent below the cliff.

The Fall of the House of Usher.

Bianca's tears filled her eyes as the mansion collapsed into the center of the swamp.

The stately home she had lived in all her life, the proud family name, was disappearing in real time, buried in the shifting sands of history.

Just then.

[Kuaaaaaaaggghhhh!]

A tearing scream rose from the maelstrom of crumbling earth and swirling mud.

Vikir and everyone else looked up to see several shadowy shapes breaking through the torrent and emerging into the water.

Hands disappeared, and in their place were giant wings.

Razor-sharp teeth bared from snouts that jutted out like beaks.

Claws that looked like a mix of blades and hooks, and grotesquely bulging chest muscles.

Giant face birds break through the water current and crawl out onto the ground.

Bianca immediately recognized one of them, the largest and broadest of the monstrosities, with the longest body and wings.

"Isolde!"

How could she forget, the one who betrayed her family and joined the demons.

The one who not only unleashed the poison into the swamp and left Roderick for dead, but also relentlessly chased Bianca and scratched her body and mind.

As a demon, Isolde raised his blood-red eyes to look at Bianca.

[You planned this well. I almost drowned during the chase.]

"Die!"

Bianca immediately drew her arrow.

A thunderbolt of a shot!

peoeong!

But Isolde, who had turned into a demon, stretched out his huge wings and knocked the arrow away.

[Kkkkk... You're going to take on a demon with the mere strength of a human? You still have no sense of reality at all.]

The wound healed quickly.

Isolde smirked, showing off his newfound bulk and muscle.

Just then.

"...It's been a long time."

Vikir took a step forward.

Vikir had met Isolde once before, when he was a convoy escort on the way to Nouvelle Vague.

[...!]

Bianca's anger hadn't fazed him, but Vikir's call had made him flinch.

He had been punished for mutiny on board a ship before. But then a genuine smile appeared on his face.

[I was alone then, but not now, and with my minions with me, I have no reason to fear you!]

True to Isolde's words, the demons that had crawled out of the vortex were gathering behind him, one after another.

"Pushishishi- what is it? Why are there so many birds? He doesn't seem that serious, but it strangely bothers me."

"Don't let your guard down, prison escapee. They self-destruct when cornered."

The minions were fierce enough to make Marquis de Sade and Major General Orca wary.

Camus, who was demolishing the steel frame inside the dam, clicked her tongue as if it was a waste.

"Alas, the drought has lowered the water level. If it wasn't for that, I could have wiped them clean."

The prolonged drought and wildfires had reduced the water in Lakedog.

Despite the powerful mudflows, currents, and landslides, many of the minions managed to survive, and the Usher family's mansion foundation was halfway eroded away.

Isolde chuckled.

[This is Madeline. Not like a fool like Passamonte. While Passamonte was preoccupied with some random Hell Tree he picked up, Madeline trained an army of demons as usual. Look! The result!]

Among the knights of the House of Usher, those who had become the demon's servants not through brainwashing but through their own will shook off the water from their feathers and roared fiercely.

[Since we are alive, Madeline must be as well, and now you are doomed!]

Even now, the number of demons crawling up from the water continued to grow.

Isolde's confidence was well founded.

However.

"Well. In terms of the number of sides, I'm guessing we're on top?"

Isolde's eyes widened at Vikir's casual remark.

[W-what nonsense are you talking about...?]

As far as he can see, there are no other troops around.

There are only the Night Walkers and a few knights from Don Quixote's house.

[Cut the bluff! Attack!]

Ishred shouted, and the minions behind him spread their wings in unison.

Bats, eagles, owls, hawks, and other birds of prey... soared into the air in unison.

...but.

They soon realized what Vikir meant.

Shurororororock-

It leapt to the surface and grabbed the minions by the ankles.

No, it had been hanging on to their ankles since they first came out of the water.

Vines. Long and tough.

As they flew through the air, they felt a powerful force pulling at their ankles.

[What, what is this?]

Isolde looked at the vines wrapped around his ankles.

A vine with a terrifying power. The source of that power was desire, or rather, appetite.

[...?]

Desperate for something, he followed the tip of the vine and soon saw water at the end of his gaze.

The vine went all the way down to the water.

Then, a giant face emerged from beneath the surface, connected to the vine.

Chwaaaaag-

A giant circular face emerges from the churning water.

jjeo-eog!

The face is bare, with no eyes, nose, or ears, except for its gaping maw and the teeth that fill it.

The Daylily of Blood Tree.

Countless demonic beast seeds were germinating beneath the water.