The Unleashed Fury

“What a foolish woman!”

Renard shook his head slightly, a sigh escaping him as he listened to the girl’s pained wails. Then, raising his crystal blade, he swung it down toward her.

However, just as the blade was about to descend, the girl snapped her eyes open, revealing irises as crimson as fresh blood. She lunged forward, raising a scale-covered claw and snatching the descending blade mid-air.

“What?!”

Renard had initially dismissed the act of grabbing a Holy Sword as utter madness. However, he hadn’t anticipated that the blade in his hand wouldn’t budge an inch—nor that her scales would show no sign of being cut by the enchanted steel.

“Is this what you call ruthlessness? It seems rather underwhelming, wouldn’t you agree?”

Clutching the blade, the girl mocked him with a tone of utter disdain. Then, with a powerful heave, she flung him—sword and all—against a nearby wall.

“Ugh!”

Renard grunted, a flicker of pain crossing his face as his back slammed violently into the stone.

“A Second-Class Disaster Purger? Come on, then, try to stop me!”

Enveloped in a dark mist, the girl’s face was contorted in a maniacal grin, resembling a twisted rose. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, yet her entire being radiated a chilling, unsettling aura. She was the very embodiment of disaster.

“You despicable monster! I, Renard, will absolutely not allow you to leave this prison!”

“Then come and try!”

With that, the girl pushed off her back foot and swung her right hand, striking toward him. Renard dared not hesitate; he scrambled up, raising his Holy Sword to meet her assault.

The girl’s sharp claws slammed violently against the flat of his blade.

“Ugh!”

Unable to withstand the sheer force of the impact, a trickle of blood escaped the corner of Renard’s mouth. His knees buckled under the pressure, leaving him in a strained, half-bent stance.

“Is this all you’ve got? Where is your arrogant bluster from earlier? Stop me! Stop me!”

Seeing her opponent at a disadvantage, the girl seemed to go berserk, relentlessly pounding her claws against the sword’s guard, intent on shattering the weapon in his grasp.

“Lord Renard!”

Witnessing the elder caught in a defensive struggle, the soldier he had just saved cried out in alarm from the sidelines.

“Quickly, alert the others! This monster is far more powerful than I imagined!” Renard shouted back, his attention momentarily distracted.

In these few exchanges, Renard had realized that the girl was far stronger than her gaunt, delicate exterior suggested. Her body was wreathed in dark mist, covered in dark crimson scales, and a vivid scarlet glow pulsed beneath them like a beating heart. Witnessing this bizarre spectacle, Renard could no longer afford to feign strength. He desperately needed backup; he could not handle her alone.

“Trying to leave? Not so easy!”

Having overheard the instructions, the girl determined not to let anyone escape. First, she delivered a sudden, powerful kick to Renard’s abdomen. Though he wore a set of seemingly impenetrable silver armor, the girl’s kick left a massive dent in the hardened metal. Renard winced, his brows furrowed as he fell to his knees, the wind completely knocked out of him.

The girl immediately shifted her attention and darted toward the soldier.

“Stay back!”

The soldier belatedly realized he had missed his best chance to flee.

“I told you, no one is getting out today!”

The girl’s lips parted, revealing a smile filled with deranged glee. Facing that smile, the soldier instinctively recoiled. In his eyes, she was nothing short of demonic.

“Hide-and-seek is over!”

She reached out and seized his head. Then, with a sickening crunch, she crushed his skull like a ripened fruit.

“Such fragile lives. Blame yourselves for following that man!”

Casually tossing the headless corpse to the ground, the girl turned her gaze back to Renard.

“You… you truly are a demon! I’ll fight you to the death!” Renard roared in impotent fury, spitting blood.

“Am I not the demon you yourselves unleashed? If that man hadn’t taken everything from me, I wouldn’t have become this inhuman, ghoulish thing! Blame Altorias! He created this!”

The girl covered her face with one hand and let out a maniacal laugh. Then, narrowing her eyes, she leaned in.

“Lord Altorias would never do such a thing!” Renard retorted defiantly.

“Really? He wouldn’t?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Then die.”

The girl raised her foot and brought it down on Renard’s face, crushing it instantly. His body swayed in place for a few seconds before collapsing with a dull thud.

Having dealt with the Purger, she didn’t hesitate. She stepped over the corpse and began climbing the stairs. Her current location was deep underground; she had to reach the surface to escape this prison that had held her for three years. For three years, she had gnashed her teeth, thinking only of Altorias and her escape.

“It’s a demon! The demon is here!”

“You won’t escape, monster!”

“Stop her at all costs!”

The commotion below had finally alerted the guards above. A phalanx of soldiers now guarded the entrance to the stairs. Among them were several Disaster Purgers, though they appeared to be mere Third-Class rank—clearly no match for someone like Renard.

“Don’t block my way!”

The girl charged forward, claws raised. With a sharp whoosh, her sweeping talons tore through the human wall, leaving grotesque marks across the chests of several men. Blood sprayed from the gashes in their armor, and several died before they could even scream.

“I told you… don’t block my way!”

After tearing through the barricade, the girl stood at the top of the stairs, surveying the groaning figures with a cold gaze. Ignoring the fallen, she continued her advance.

As she passed a junction leading to another section of the prison, she suddenly paused. Though the exit was ahead, she took a detour down an adjacent path. After walking for a few minutes, she arrived in the center of a large, shadowed hall.

“Howl…”

After circling the hall, she confirmed her location. This was the place. To escape this prison, she needed total chaos.

“I know you are all furious,” she whispered, scanning the entities confined within the massive cages. None of them were human. “Come, I will liberate you now. Unleash your wrath!”

She raised her right hand and slammed it forcefully into the floor. A visible wave of dark crimson energy radiated outward from the impact. Within seconds, the halo of energy reached the edges of the hall.

Under the pressure of her power, the sturdy iron bars of the monster cages began to crack. The fissures widened rapidly until, with a series of heavy metallic clangs, the gates shattered.

The creatures surged out like water from a broken dam, instantly filling the hall. Devoid of reason, many turned toward the girl, baring sharp, gleaming fangs at their benefactor.

“I am not your prey!”

Sensing their killing intent, the girl sneered. She swung her hand in a wide arc, leaving massive claw marks on every monster that attempted to pounce.

“Ugh…”

Witnessing their vanguard being instantly annihilated, the monsters behind her hesitated. They cautiously retreated, realizing she was the apex predator in the room.

“Your targets are the Disaster Purgers who imprisoned you! Go! Bring chaos to this prison!”

The monsters exchanged glances, then, driven by instinct and rage, they turned and flooded out of the hall toward the upper levels.