Iron Blooded Hound

Chapter 172: The Dark Figure Among Us

Vikir received the item from Piggy.

[Exclusive] The birth of the unprecedented villain "Nighthound," who roams the imperial capital!

The nighthound has reappeared. The nature of the threat remained unknown until recently, when a horror like no other struck the Imperial City. Nothing is known about the Nighthounds, either individuals or organizations, nor their purpose, nor even their families or even the imperial family. All eyes now turn to who can be the first to reveal the true identity of this evil villain and bring him justice.

The seven great houses of the empire—Baskerville the Iron-Blooded, Morgue the Magician, Don Quixote the Spearman, Usher the Archer, Leviathan the Violent, the Big Bourgeois, and the Loyal Kwavadis—organize a hunt to capture the terrorists. . The Imperial Capital has placed a 1 billion gold bounty on Nighthound's head.

And below the newspaper, you'll see some pictures that are magically animated.

This newspaper was published in a major newspaper on the outskirts of the capital, with images showing locations of Night Hound raids and only selected branches of House Quovadis, specifically the Old Order.

Of course, the orphanage downstairs run by the Indurgentia family was also in the picture, and Vikir was also in it.

Of course, Vikiel is just a small figure in the corner of the picture, sandwiched between Tudor and Sancho. Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclair were also in the picture, so there wasn't much room for error.

"Look, Vikir, it's in the paper!

Piggy was excited to be seen in this little photo as a passerby.

But it was only for a moment, and soon Piggy was in a bad mood.

``Well, come to think of it, this is the worst disaster scene photo ever, but I don't think you'll like it. I'm the devil...''

``Calm down; it's the bad guy who caused the disaster, not you.''

Vikil patted Piggy on the shoulder and started reading the newspaper.

``...Hmm, there's no story about a saint declaring a holy war.''

``Hmm, it wasn't in the newspaper. Also missing is the part attacking the Quobadis of the old order and all the sins they inflicted on the leaders of society and the sins they forgave. Why isn't it there?"

Vikir smiled dryly at Piggy's question.

That's what news organizations are for.

A powerful trumpet player.

The dog barks for more delicious meat.

It's the law of the wild to bite off more than you can chew.

"Cardinal Humbert's breath must be very strong." Or maybe it was "on him."

No matter where you look in the newspapers, you won't find anything about the scandalous actions of the old order.

However, in order to cover up this situation, they are trying their best to cover up the "dogs of the night" by making them enemies of the state.

Vikiel nodded at Piggy's next words.

"Oh, by the way. Have you heard about this week's club challenge? Our advisor is asking each of us to write a column condemning Nighthound's acts of terrorism. About current events. It should be a simple article, and if it's good, even if it's for a freshman class, we'll publish it in the academy's newspaper.

It seems that the academy has also decided to join in the search for Nighthound.

``For the avoidance of doubt, I think it's best to go with the flow for now.''

Vikir could blame Night Hound more than anyone.

He knew his iniquities better than anyone else.

"Is this a column where I write down the most outrageous things I've heard?"

Vikir took out a pen.

And he began a harsh (?) battle with himself.

* * *

A voice of anger echoed through the school's newspaper club.

"Why was my column killed?"

Dolores, Academy Colosseum student council president and newspaper club manager.

She now quietly protested to Professor Morgue Banshee, the newspaper's advisor.

"You don't know...?"

Professor Banshee's sinister eyes flashed among his dark hair.

A pair of glasses hung precariously on the end of his hawk-like nose.

Professor Banshee hurled Dolores' column onto the desk.

What is the opposite of a nighthound?

No less than six branches of House Quovadis have come under attack by the Nighthound.

Professor Banshee said it bluntly.

"The Academy is politically neutral. We cannot publish such biased commentary on current events."

"I didn't say it was biased; I stated the facts!"

"Facts? Didn't Cardinal Humbert of the Old Order deny the whole thing and say that the leaders of the society on the Indulgences List said it wasn't true?"

"That's a lie!"

"It may be true. Ten people should not be treated unfairly just because one thief gets away with it. I thought that was what you always thought?''

``...''

Dolores gritted her teeth so hard that his throat drew blood.

Professor Banshee continued.

"It is also well known that you are the student council president of the academy and the head of the newspaper club, and that you are the saint of Quovadis, the religious saint at the center of this controversy; "Most of them are members of New Order."

"..."

"Then do you think it's okay to arrange it yourself and write such a biased article?"

Then there was a line of blood on Dolores' forehead.

She turned to Professor Banshee.

"The Academy's rules state that ``all students admitted to the Academy have equal rights,'' and that ``their status outside the Academy does not affect their status.''

"..."

Quobadis: I'm family, and I belong to the New Order, so that's just my status outside of the academy. Although I am a student at the academy, Dolores is a normal person and a student at the academy. I am also free to express my opinion about Quobadis.''

Professor Banshee was silent this time.

"..."

"..."

Dolores and Professor Banshee's eyes met.

Finally, Professor Banshee sighed.

``Okay. ``I'll admit that.''

``...?''

Professor Banshee frowned as Dolores tilted his head.

``There is a letter from the Quobadi family to the academy.''

``A letter?''

``Yes. This is a press release about this story.''

``...!''

This is a press release. This is a great way to determine the direction of your story.

Professor Banshee shook his head.

``We would like to focus primarily on the horrific Night Hound terrorist attack and interviews with its victims, and to keep keywords like ``Quobadis,'' ``Old Order,'' and ``New Order'' to a minimum. ``Everyone''

``This is ridiculous! This is an attempt to control the neutrality of the Academy!''

``Well, the Dean is quite worried about this.''

``Cardinal Humbert is not so much. Is it powerful?" Is it so bad that even the school principal is in trouble?"

"If it was just Cardinal Humbert, you wouldn't have listened to me, right?"

Dolores' expression hardened at those words.

Above, Cardinal Humbert. He is the only such being in Quobadis.

Pope. The oldest and most noble of the classical saints.

"Why would he?"

He is a person who does not lose his integrity, even when others fall.

Why does this happen?

"Recently, there has been a lot of talk about how the Pope's judgments are becoming a little cloudy due to his age... Cardinal Humbert may be using this to obscure the Pope's eyes and ears."

Dolores I have new cause for concern.

When she was silent, Professor Banshee tapped his finger on the article on her desk.

``So... aside from that, your column doesn't appear in the newspaper at all. I can't help but get the impression that he's so politically biased that he secretly likes Night Hounds."

"What do you think you'll put in that empty room? The drama club's new release. , participation in the sports club's important competition, and the surprising behind-the-scenes story of the academy's cover girl?''

``Don't be sarcastic, Dolores. I'm the professor, and you're the student.''

Professor Banshee said that. He opened the drawer and pulled out a piece of paper.

It was a pillar.

"..."

Dolores' eyes narrowed.

"Night Hound" of uncontrollable evil.

The night dog has crossed the border. Your crimes against the Imperial Family and the Seven Houses have reached heaven... Hear the cries of the countless unjustly harmed people... And then the fearsome spears, swords, arrows, and magic... It will be mace. I will show you justice and bring you to the judgment seat... After seeing the Nighthound in full force that tragic night at the Indulgentia Orphanage, I can confidently say... Now that he has turned himself in, waiting to be hanged may be his last chance for a peaceful ending!

Professor Banshee said.

``This column will be published in the newspaper instead of yours.''

``This is a vulgar, unsubstantiated, unobjective, unwarranted, merely emotional appeal." ... The language is vague and overly emotional.

Dolores said it in unusually strong words.

That was probably the worst word she could come up with.

But Professor Banshee shook his head, a wry smile on the corner of his mouth.

"I don't think it was very well written either. But it's really damning, it's really fascinating, and it's really uplifting, so that's the best thing to say at this point. And an eyewitness account. That's why it's believable.''

``...''

``Anyway, your mid-term internship is coming up soon, so do your best to study.''

Professor Banshee gets up from his seat and walks beside Dolores. I passed and left the room.

Dolores bit her lip.

Her mishap at Indulgentia House the other day was enough to make her angry, especially after spending the night with Nighthound.

"Nighthounds are not evil; they are Quobadis and the demons that lurk within them!"

How many such demons are there in the world?

How hard has Nighthound had to fight in the past, and how much more will he have to fight in the future?

"You cannot help him, but you are trying to hinder and oppress him."

But the devil, his collaborators, and those who are unwittingly exploited There is no way to expose them all at once.

Even if there was, it would take too long.

A night dog I once met told me that he was running out of time.

The frustrating conversation I had with Professor Banshee today suddenly made sense.

Why did he become a vigilante, and why did he risk his life to kill demons one after another?

"We can't do that. We have to help him."

No matter how much you write for Nighthound, it won't help much.

It's time to take up the sword instead of the pen to help him who has come down from above.

"I want to find Night Dog alone. I need to know his face and name in order to help him.

St. Dolores is under investigation." She went to see the dog herself at night.

To do that, we needed to gather as much information as possible.

As much information as possible about the identity of the nighthound.

"..."

Dolores' gaze fell on the paper on the desk.

That was the pillar that Professor Banshee chose, not his own.

An article full of criticism strongly criticizes night dogs.

Dolores frowned at him as he read it.

It was ugly and of low quality, but one sentence caught her eye.

"Nighthound, ferocity beyond measure."

The nighthound has crossed the line. Your crimes against the Imperial Family and the Seven Houses have reached the heavens... Hear the cries of the countless unjustly harmed people... And then the terrible spears, swords, arrows, and magic... It will be mace. I will guide you to justice and bring you to the judgment seat. On that tragic night at Indulgentia Orphanage, I witnessed the full power of the Night Hound with my own eyes, and turning myself in and awaiting hanging could be my last chance for a peaceful ending. I can say this with confidence.

``You mean you saw it with your own eyes?''

By the way, when the author of this column saw the Night Hounds, it was apparently right after the whole apocalypse was over.

That means he's seen the Night Hound more recently than Dolores.

``Maybe I saw the face behind the Night Hound's mask.''

Dolores' heart was racing.

If this column were published in a newspaper, there would be a rush of reporters trying to interview the author.

Fortunately, Professor Banshee had anonymized column authors to prevent this, and Dolores was able to identify contributors to columns that had not yet appeared in the newspaper.

"It's an abuse of power, but it was necessary!"

It was necessary for justice.

Dolores turns over the column and finds the name of the person who wrote it.

Suddenly, she recognized her familiar name.

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