The Leap of Desperation

“Your resilience truly astonishes me.”

The Youth, who had been tossed several meters by Camille, quickly picked himself up from the ground, dusting off his white-gold armor. He had been genuinely surprised by her sudden maneuver, which was why he, along with his heavy broadsword, had been thrown so effortlessly.

“Heh, heh. I told you, my path will not end here!”

Observing his unhurried expression, Camille immediately understood that continuing to fight him would yield no advantage. She was already outmatched and drained. As she pondered her next move, her gaze inadvertently fell upon the edge of the tower behind her.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed a rocky cliff face on the other side of a small oceanic strait, just beyond the edge of the prison walls.

“It’s no use bluffing. You’ve run out of road, haven’t you?” the Youth asked.

“Is that so?”

“Wait, what are you trying to do?”

Sensing something amiss in her tone, the Youth realized she might be planning something entirely unexpected.

“What I’m going to do is this…”

Camille resolutely turned and leaped from the edge, diving into the strait—a chasm deep enough to shatter a person to pieces.

“HRAAAAGH!!!”

Freefalling toward the abyss, Camille wasted no time. She forced her hands to transform into colossal, razor-sharp dragon claws!

Then, she slammed her arms outward. She used these immense claws to grasp the rocky cliff face on the opposite side of the strait, effectively slowing her descent.

“This…”

After Camille leaped, the Youth rushed to the edge in astonishment. Looking down, he witnessed a sight that defied human capabilities.

She was sliding down the sheer rock face. Her seemingly indestructible claws scraped against the stone, leaving behind deep gouges that looked like massive, bleeding wounds in the earth.

“What should I do now?”

Staring at the abyss thousands of feet below, the Youth could only watch helplessly as the girl slid down the cliff.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!”

On the other side, Camille endured excruciating, heart-wrenching pain in her hands and shoulders as she continued to brake against the rock face.

As she neared the bottom, a hook-shaped rock jutted out from the cliff. Caught off guard, she slammed into the protruding stone, tumbling several times in mid-air before crashing heavily to the ground.

“Ugh!”

She let out a pained groan as she hit the earth. Clutching her right shoulder, she struggled back to her feet.

Even as she rose, Camille didn’t forget to turn her head toward the top of the tower. Seeing the First-Class Disaster Purger standing there watching her, she promptly extended her middle finger at him. Then, she turned away and departed without a backward glance.

“That woman…”

The Youth felt insulted, and while a surge of anger rose within him, there was nothing he could do. He wasn’t insane enough to leap from such a height. Only a madwoman like the one who had just flipped him off would ever dare to jump from there.

Shaking his head slightly, he turned and walked away, a helpless expression on his face.

Following a small, rugged path along the rocky coastline, Camille reached a bend. She found a relatively flat rock and forcefully slammed her numb right shoulder against it.

Because of how she had landed earlier, her right arm had been completely devoid of sensation. With nowhere safe to stop, she had been forced to endure a dislocated shoulder until now.

“Ugh!”

After slamming her shoulder against the rock, a pained groan escaped her lips. Pop. Finally, sensation—and blinding pain—returned to her right arm.

“A First-Class Disaster Purger is truly difficult to deal with…”

She murmured the brief remark, then, without a moment’s hesitation, continued running toward the rendezvous point.

Meanwhile, within the prison, at the stairs leading to the surface…

“Reikihard, why would you betray Lord Altorias? You, of all people…”

A young man with short, chestnut hair blocked the stairwell entrance, staring at Reikihard in disbelief. His heart seemed utterly unwilling to accept that the man before him had betrayed the leader they revered.

“Move aside. I have no desire to fight you,” Reikihard said, issuing a calm warning.

“I don’t want to fight you either, Lord Reikihard! You are Lord Altorias’s right-hand man, one of the wielders of the Three Original Holy Swords! Why would you release that demon?!”

The youth knew perfectly well who was imprisoned in the lowest levels of this facility. He also understood just how terrifying that ‘demon’ truly was.

“She is not a demon…”

“She has already slaughtered many of our people!”

“This is what I owe her…”

“How could Lord Reikihard be involved with a monster?”

“In any case, move aside. If you don’t, do not blame me for what happens next.” Reikihard swept his gaze across the youth before him. He took a deep breath, then reached for the greatsword on his back.

“No! I cannot move!”

“Then forgive me. I’ll try to be gentle.”

Seeing the youth was determined not to yield the stairway, Reikihard sighed.

Then, before the youth could even react, Reikihard vanished.

“What—”

The boy only felt a gust of wind flash past. In an instant, Reikihard was no longer in his line of sight.

Just as he was about to voice his surprise, the heavy pommel of Reikihard’s sword struck the back of his neck. Immediately, the youth collapsed without a chance to resist.

“Please forgive what I’ve done, for I truly cannot forgive myself for what I did to her…”

Reikihard offered a silent apology to the unconscious boy, then resolutely turned away.

A flicker of profound sadness crossed Reikihard’s masked face—regret for his past actions. It wasn’t the release of Camille he regretted, but rather the things he had done to her during a period when he lacked his memories.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Reikihard stepped around the fallen boy and sprinted toward the surface exit.

After traversing the last long corridor, Reikihard arrived at the docks where he had arranged to meet Camille.

“You’re too slow, aren’t you?”

No sooner had Reikihard emerged than Camille’s displeased voice echoed from a nearby alley.

“I ran into some trouble and was delayed. Are you alright?”

“Can’t you see for yourself?”

“Fair enough. You look terrible.”

“So, where’s the boat?”

“The boat is right over…”

Just as Reikihard was about to point toward the dock…

“ROOOOAAAARRR!!!”

A shriek, powerful enough to shake the very earth, resonated from the distant sea! The surface of the water seemed to react to the colossal roar, churning up a massive wave that rapidly surged toward the docks.

“A Calamity Scar? Why would one appear now?”

Hearing that terrifying, ear-splitting sound, Reikihard felt an incredibly formidable, oppressive force emanating from afar. Following the sound with his gaze, a massive creature entered his vision.

It was a three-headed monster, approximately twenty meters long. Each of its heads bore a distinct mark on its forehead, radiating an ominous, ink-purple glow. Furthermore, the heads were entirely different. Starting from the left, the first was a goat, the middle a lion, and finally, a venomous snake’s head grew from the end of its tail.

Its appearance perfectly matched the legendary Chimera.

Within moments, the Chimera, flying low over the sea, swiftly arrived near the docks.

“You get on first—”

Before Reikihard could finish speaking, the snake head on the Chimera’s tail spat a stream of green, viscous liquid toward the docked boat.

Immediately after, the boat, struck by the acid, rapidly melted away at a visible, horrifying pace.

“…”

Watching their only escape dissolve, Reikihard was stunned. He had not anticipated a Calamity Scar appearing at this critical moment!

“It seems we have no way to leave now.” Witnessing the Chimera melt the ship, Camille spread her hands, a hint of dark amusement on her face.

“How can you look so relaxed when we’re stranded?”

“That boat was yours, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“If that’s the case, I imagine there must be other ways to leave this place.”

“?”

“I encountered a First-Class Disaster Purger earlier.”

“A First-Class Disaster Purger?”

“That’s right.”

“Even a First-Class has arrived? Did Altorias truly anticipate…”

“That’s not important,” Camille interrupted. “If a First-Class Disaster Purger has come, then they must have a means of reaching here. This island is completely isolated, after all.”

Camille was acutely aware of her location. How could she not know the geography of a place where she had been imprisoned for three full years?

“Is that so? It’s certainly possible. If my memory serves me correctly, First-Class Disaster Purgers all possess an airship called a ‘Merold’…”

Reikihard, of course, also owned a Merold airship. However, to keep his movements secret, he hadn’t used it, opting instead for a regular, untraceable boat. But it seemed his arrival here had been anticipated by Altorias. Otherwise, a First-Class wouldn’t have been dispatched to the prison.

“All this talk is useless right now,” Camille said, her eyes locked on the three-headed Chimera that was about to make landfall. “Instead of pondering about Purger transport, we should focus on how to deal with this Calamity Scar.”

She was very clear about the priorities. If they wanted to escape and steal an airship, they would inevitably have to find a way to deal with this monster, which was clearly heading straight for them.

Her intuition told her… this Chimera had likely been drawn here by the dark energy she had released.

“Indeed, as you said.” Watching the Chimera alongside her, Reikihard nodded, calculating the creature’s power. “Judging by the concentration of defilement emanating from its body, I believe this monster’s rank is at least a Disaster-Grade Calamity Scar.”