Dazzling Crimson

Thump, thump!

My heart beat with an irregular rhythm.

My chest heaved violently.

In a vision stained red with blood, the Captain—suddenly appearing at the far end—looked exceptionally piercing, even distorted.

She shouldn’t have been here.

And yet, here she was.

Leading that giant beast, lying in wait at the final stop of our escape route.

Why?

How did she do it?

It’s impossible. She couldn’t have known my last-minute plan, because escaping from this direction was a decision born from that encounter with the Sirens! If I hadn’t noticed the Battalion Commander still guarding the ship, I never would have come this way! I—!

It was futile.

Like a drowning person desperately reaching for a straw.

I was merely trying to use logic to claw back a final shred of solace. Because it felt like as long as this was “illogical,” as long as I refused to acknowledge it, I could reject this reality. It would be as if she…

Didn’t have to die to protect me.

Thump, thump!

But how could I?

Cruel reality cannot be cast aside simply by turning one’s head away.

—Leni-chan, run!

That final cry of hers was so jarring.

The moment she heard movement behind that door, in order to save me… she didn’t hesitate for a second.

She is dead.

To save me, to let me live, she sacrificed herself.

“Growl…”

That giant beast was right behind me.

Its terrifying low growl sent shivers down my spine, forcibly dragging me back to reality.

Staying alive was the priority.

Escape…

I must find a way to escape… or I’ll be next!

Pressing my palms against the floor, I forced strength into my legs and shakily climbed to my feet.

“Honestly, I guarded against everything else and forgot to guard against you. Ship repairs are going to cost me a chunk of change; at this rate, there won’t be a damn bit of profit left to make.”

As the Captain approached, she muttered to herself with an air of indifference, breaking the deathly silence.

There were only two ways out of this corridor: forward and backward.

Enemies in front, an ambush behind… the paths were blocked. How could I escape?

Think. Is there anything left that can help me… get out of this place—

“You’re going to have to compensate me well, human.”

Ugh!?

My thoughts came to a grinding halt.

The Captain’s pupils emitted a terrifying purple light that instantly pierced my eyes. My body felt as if it had been filled with lead; my limbs refused to obey. Forget my fingers, even my chest couldn’t rise or fall. Breathing immediately became agonizingly difficult.

Bad… this is bad…

I remembered this feeling. This was the Captain’s strange eye, a special ability that could completely control a person.

I can’t… move…

If this continues, I’ll go under… just like the first time…

“Hm? I was wondering how you managed to get this far.”

At that moment, the approaching Captain noticed the remains of the girl behind me. She flicked her tongue, her face twisting into a look of disgusted disdain.

“So it was a Nako s*ave. Tsk! Trash goods that are only good for being nimble. To ruin my business at a time like this, she got what she deserved.”

Thump, thump!

Despite the difficulty in breathing, my heart gave a violent jolt the instant I heard those words.

‘What… did you… say?’

‘What did you call her? The one who died to protect me?’

“Damn it, I should have let this thing eat her in one bite. Leaving half behind is disgusting.”

Thump, thump!

The Captain’s next words were like a bolt of lightning striking the crown of my head.

Everything was her doing.

I was the only one who had released the beast and angered it.

If the Captain’s Magic Eye didn’t just restrict movement but also possessed brainwashing capabilities… then using the beast to track my scent would allow it to find this place.

When possibility aligns so closely with reality, it is no longer a hypothesis.

Yes, this was no accident.

Thump, thump!

The moment everything became clear, I plummeted into the abyss.

Boundless darkness swallowed me instantly. A pitch-black, bottomless vortex swept away all my emotions; joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness ceased to exist.

Only one heavy fact repeated in my mind over and over.

She is dead.

She was murdered.

Murdered by the monster standing before me.

After confirming it once, twice, three times—confirming her death and confirming that her killer… was the monster in front of me.

Vrrr—!

A faint light ignited in my hollow eyes.

Like the silence before a volcanic eruption, that tiny spark was the omen of an explosion.

I…

Her smiling face flashed through my mind, so innocent, so pure.

—Leni-chan!

That familiar auditory hallucination became the final trigger.

Because she was kind to me, she wanted to save me.

Regardless of her tribesmen’s objections, she came to my side without looking back.

She hacked through the brambles with me, believing every word I said without a doubt.

And yet, I didn’t even know her name… no, before I could even learn her name…

She was killed by a piece of trash like you—!

Tears overflowed before my emotions did.

“Ah…”

Then, a low growl escaped from the depths of my throat.

Immediately following, under the wash of bitter and furious tears, my eyes became bloodshot.

Then, almost in an instant, every muscle in my body trembled from tension. Even under the restriction of the Magic Eye, I had no intention of stopping.

Move. Move for me! You damn body, move for me! Aaaaaah!

The fury in my heart surged like a flood, incinerating everything within me. At this moment, everything before me was blurred; my sanity had long been destroyed by pain and rage. I clenched my fists until my nails pierced my palms, blood sliding down my fingers. I couldn’t feel the pain, only the overwhelming anger, despair, and thirst for revenge.

Looking at the enemy’s increasingly clear silhouette, only one command remained in my mind.

Kill.

Kill you.

Kill you, kill you, kill you, kill you!

No matter what, even if I lose my life, I will kill you. I’ll cut you into a thousand pieces, into ten thousand fragments—!

“Hm?”

As if noticing something strange, the Captain tilted her head.

Perhaps to her, it was impossible for an enemy to move while the Magic Eye’s restriction was active. Seeing me struggle with all my might to move, she likely thought it was nothing more than a futile effort.

However, while a person might not be able to move, it doesn’t mean they can’t lose their balance.

Thump!

With every muscle in my body tensed, I fell forward and slammed heavily onto the floor.

“What’s this…”

The Captain witnessing this naturally didn’t pay it any mind. After all, what threat could a paralyzed person pose?

Yes, I could pose no threat.

Rumble…

But the things that rolled out of my pocket were a different story.

‘Smoke bomb, blow!’

Boom!

That was the last usable smoke bomb I had kept to save my life. After a loud explosion, pitch-black smoke rapidly expanded in the narrow corridor, swallowing everything in an instant.

“This—! Cough, cough! You brat!”

The Captain’s complaining voice drifted over, and simultaneously, the heavy pressure on my body vanished.

As expected, as long as she can’t see me, the effect of the Magic Eye cannot trigger.

Confirming this fact, I scrambled up from the floor.

“Roar!”

At the same time, the beast behind me, which had been obedient until now, let out a massive roar.

First, you.

I pulled the fire oil from my clothes—the oil I had snatched when leaving the maintenance room.

I twisted the cap off and, without reservation, splashed the oil toward the beast and across the floor. The oil droplets spread over the wooden planks and walls, and the air was instantly filled with a choking scent.

‘Go to hell, you animal.’

Fumbling a match from my shirt, I struck it without a moment’s hesitation.

The tiny flame instantly transformed into a beast of red flame within the smoke.

Kaboom—!

The leaping tongues of fire ignited the dust, and in an instant, the flames soared.

Fueled by the fire oil, the entire corridor turned into a sea of fire.