The Prisoner’s Vengeance

“Let’s go.”

Reikihard didn’t say anything further after the girl nodded. He reached for the lowered ladder and swiftly climbed up, the sounds of his ascent echoing through the shaft.

Seeing Reikihard move, the girl wasted no time, immediately following him up the rusted ladder.

The distance between the dungeon floor and the ceiling was considerable. Climbing all the way from the dark depths to the top took approximately twenty minutes.

“Hmm?”

Upon exiting the dungeon, the girl’s eyes struggled to adjust to the light. She instinctively raised a hand to shield them.

Once her vision had acclimated to the renewed brightness, she slowly lowered her hand and surveyed her surroundings.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Noticing her reaction, Reikihard turned to face her and inquired.

“No, it’s nothing. I just haven’t seen light in so long… it’s taking a moment to adjust.”

“How about now?”

“Much better. Let’s go.”

The girl nodded at Reikihard, clearly unwilling to spend another second in this place. Having finally regained her freedom, she absolutely refused to be locked away in that dark, sunless hole ever again.

She had to exact her revenge on that man.

She yearned, morning and night, to press a blade against his throat, to slowly carve into his flesh while listening to his agonizing, piercing screams.

This was the obsession that fueled her very existence.

“Alright… wait…”

Reikihard, who had been about to lead the way, suddenly paused. He stopped in his tracks, his expression wary as he scanned the surroundings, sensing something amiss.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“Someone’s coming. It seems we’ll need to find another way out…”

“Lord Reikihard, how could you…”

“So, the Lord’s warning wasn’t an exaggeration after all…”

“We truly never imagined, Lord Reikihard, that you would betray us.”

Just as Reikihard was about to seek an alternative escape route, several figures clad in white armor and armed to the teeth appeared before them. They spoke to him in tones of deep disappointment.

It was as if Reikihard had committed an unforgivable sacrilege.

“Did I betray you? Yes, I suppose I did,” Reikihard replied flatly.

“Reikihard, hand over the woman behind you, and we’ll pretend we saw nothing!”

“Otherwise…”

“Otherwise, you won’t be lenient with me?”

“Precisely!”

The girl stepped out from behind Reikihard. Her hands were already covered once more in black scales, her fists resembling lethal gauntlets. She glared with revulsion at the white-armored figures.

“While I’m grateful he saved me, that doesn’t mean I can forgive what your kind has done,” she spat.

“Are you sure you’re alright to fight?” Reikihard asked.

“Are you kidding? Who do you think I am?”

The girl found Reikihard’s concern almost insulting. She shot him a sharp glare, then, casting aside all hesitation, she lunged forward. Her hands, covered in black scales, revealed sharp, gleaming claws that slashed toward the white-armored men.

The claws were incredibly sharp and utterly uncompromising. Wherever they passed, they left behind deep, jagged gashes in the air.

Seeing the girl unleash her claws in a sweeping attack, the white-armored men quickly raised their shields—mirror-like, white-edged shields adorned with intricate patterns.

They attempted to block the girl’s cold, gleaming claws with their defense.

However, the shields were as fragile as thin paper beneath her grip. In the very instant of impact, the shields shattered into fragments with a resounding crash!

“How is this possible?!”

“A demon?!”

“Don’t panic! Quickly, use your Holy Swords!”

“It’s too late for you!” the girl roared.

The shattering of the shields had stunned the men for a brief moment, and that momentary distraction proved fatal. Without the slightest hesitation, she seized one of them and crushed his head and helmet together with a sickening pop.

Casually tossing the remains to the ground, the girl turned a smile as chilling as an abyss demon toward the remaining soldiers.

“A… monster!”

“A demon!”

Watching their comrade die so brutally, the white-armored men were unable to accept the reality. They stood frozen in terror, raising trembling fingers at her.

“Go on, keep talking!”

Their words did nothing to halt her slaughter. One by one, she continued to explode heads until she stood before the very last man.

“Enough, stop the killing. Let him go,” Reikihard intervened. He had been standing by, seemingly unable to watch the carnage any longer. He hoped she would cease her rampage.

“Fine. You’ve earned yourself a life,” she said, retracting her claws. “Leave the prison keys and get out. Don’t let me see you again!”

“Y-yes! Thank you, Lord Reikihard!”

The soldier, tears streaming down his face, unfastened the keys from his waist and threw them on the ground. He fled, crawling and scrambling away as if he feared the girl might change her mind.

“We should release all the prisoners here,” the girl said, picking up the keys and jingling them in front of Reikihard. “Creating chaos will increase our chances of escaping.”

“You’re right. Then let’s split up. We’ll meet at the prison gate.”

“The prison gate it is.”

After handing half the keys to Reikihard, the girl nodded and quickly found a staircase to the upper floors. She didn’t know how many levels this facility had, but she understood one thing: anyone who dared to obstruct her path to revenge would receive no mercy.

Everything was for the sake of avenging the world they had destroyed.

She ascended the stairs, arriving at the next floor. There, she was met by rows upon rows of white-armored figures. As they all wore full helmets, it was impossible to see their expressions, but their tight formation indicated they were taking this prison break very seriously.

“Monster, why are you alone? Where is the traitor?”

A knight at the front raised a rapier toward her. He questioned her in a hoarse voice, clearly aware that someone had helped her escape.

“I have no obligation to answer you.”

The girl scoffed. Black scales crawled up her arms, transforming her hands into sharp talons once more. She immediately lunged at the nearest guard.

The armored knight instinctively raised his sword to block. However, the girl’s claws sliced through the knight’s blade as easily as cutting tofu. The sword’s hilt offered no protection as her claws swept forward.

Just as she was about to claim the life of the stunned guard, a sword emanating a chilling aura flashed from the side, deflecting her claws with a heavy metallic ring.

“A monster indeed. Only the desire to kill remains. Releasing you would only bring disaster upon the world!”

A man stepped forward. He wore white armor emblazoned with a lion biting a sword on the chest piece. He wielded a single-edged longsword made of what looked like crystal, shimmering with a swirling blue mist.

This man wore no helmet. He had short, pale hair, eyes as sharp as a hawk’s, and a square, resolute face.

The girl’s eyes flashed with surprise as she looked at the elderly man.

“A Second-Class Disaster Purger?”

They had deployed a high-ranking officer to intercept her. She knew the situation had just become dire; dealing with a Disaster Purger would be far more challenging than dispatching the mere soldiers behind him. Even a slight misstep could lead to her recapture.

“Sinner, if you do not wish to die, return obediently to your cell,” the elder said, exuding an overwhelming aura of authority. “If not for Lord Altorias’s instructions to keep you alive, my blade would have already severed your carotid artery!”

The crystal blade in his hand hummed with a thirst for blood.

“What if I say no?”

“Then don’t blame this old man’s Holy Sword for being merciless!”

“Don’t speak too soon,” she replied, her voice dropping an octave. “Until the very end, no one knows who will have the last laugh!”

“I will escape from here,” she continued, “and then… I will kill every last one of you!”

A fire burned within her heart—a fiercely blazing black flame.

“Such arrogance. Very well, let this old man test your mettle! Today, I shall make you understand how foolish it is to oppose a Disaster Purger!”

With those words, the elder’s sword burst into light. Deep blue specks of energy converged on the blade, transforming into a cold glow that wreathed the steel.

“Foolish? Aren’t humans inherently foolish creatures?” the girl responded with a self-deprecating sneer. “Knowing that only despair awaits them, yet always unable to stop themselves from pressing forward. I am just such an ignorant person!”

Suddenly, the girl’s entire body, excluding her head, became encased in black scales. Beneath the scales, a faint red glow pulsed like a beating heart, flickering rhythmically.

“AAAAHHHHHHH!”

As her body completed its agonizing transformation, the girl threw back her head and let out a piercing, draconic scream!