Desperate Measures and a Violent Descent

“I won’t let a monster like you get away!”

As if realizing something crucial, Antiles, dragging his exhausted body, pulled his Holy Sword from the ground. Then, he roared furiously, raised his weapon, and charged toward Phini.

However, before Antiles could even reach her…

A jet-black wave of light erupted from the Chimera’s corpse, which Phini had been continuously devouring with her dark energy.

The light wave was incredibly fast. Before Antiles could react, it was already upon him!

Caught completely off guard, the First-Class Disaster Purger was instantly knocked back by the blast, sent flying through the air. He only stopped when his back slammed violently into a wall.

Once the dark wave dissipated…

Phini stood regally, like a queen, atop the massive demonic creature that had now lost all signs of life. She paid no attention to the unconscious Antiles. Instead, she turned and headed back toward the prison.

There were no vehicles left at the dock to take her away. She absolutely had to find another way to leave the island!

Once inside the facility again, Phini began searching for stairs leading to the upper levels. Beyond the four corner towers, the central part of the prison contained an airfield for airships.

How did Phini know this? Because she had been taken through that very airfield when she was first escorted to this hellhole three years ago.

After searching for a while and finding no direct route up, Phini completely lost her patience.

If she couldn’t find a way… then she would simply create one herself!

Returning to the courtyard, Phini looked up, surveying her surroundings. After assessing the terrain, a bold idea sparked in her mind. Once the idea formed, she didn’t overthink it. Whether it would actually work was no longer a concern of hers.

A chilling smile spread across her face.

She raised her right hand. The flesh churned like lava, once again transforming into a massive, sharp dragon claw. The instant it appeared, Phini conjured one fireball after another, hurling them relentlessly at the prison’s facade!

She continuously unleashed her inner magic, and within moments, the towering wall suffered catastrophic damage. The already dilapidated stone became even more ruinous under her assault, blasted into craters and jagged footholds.

Only when the destruction was sufficient did she slowly retract her hand, ceasing her assault. Due to the craters she had created in the wall, Phini could now simply climb upward through the gaps.

As for what would happen to the Disaster Purgers down at the port? That was not her concern.

After approximately ten minutes of scaling the ruined wall, Phini finally reached the top, arriving at the uppermost level of the prison.

“It’s here, just as I thought!”

In the center of this open-air platform, a gleaming white airship with a triangular nose was currently docked. Next to this Merold-class vessel, several Disaster Purgers patrolled constantly.

Phini’s arrival clearly drew their attention, and they now observed her with extreme vigilance.

“Who are you?!”

After carefully scrutinizing her appearance, the guards questioned her, weapons drawn.

“…”

Phini glanced at the men. Upon seeing their insignias, she couldn’t be bothered to answer. These were merely Third-Class Disaster Purgers; they were no match for her.

Swiftly and brutally, Phini incapacitated all the guards defending the airship. Having easily dealt with the fodder, she boarded the vessel.

Perhaps because Antiles had taken most of the combat personnel below earlier, there weren’t many guards inside the airship either. Without wasting any time, Phini located the bridge.

Staring at the heavy metal door, Phini kicked it open without a second thought!

She stepped over the fallen metal, casually tossing the severed head of a guard she had been clutching onto the floor.

“You… who are you?!”

Phini’s intrusion clearly startled the bridge crew. The severed head rolling across the floor utterly terrified everyone in the room! They had never imagined anyone could break into this secure area.

“Take me to the Royal Capital!”

Ignoring their questions, Phini walked directly to the captain’s seat. Before the man could even react through his terror, she raised her clawed right hand and seized his head.

“I… I… I…” the captain stammered.

“…”

Seeing that the captain didn’t immediately comply, Phini showed no mercy. She squeezed with full force.

Crunch.

The man’s head was crushed like a watermelon. Blood and brain matter splattered across the floor along with shards of skull.

“I’ll say it one more time: take me to the Royal Capital!”

Phini, her face devoid of mercy and filled with chilling ruthlessness, turned to the surrounding personnel and reiterated her demand.

Having just witnessed their captain being brutally murdered, everyone in the room was petrified. Driven by their instinct for survival, not a single person protested. They frantically nodded their heads, their faces etched with absolute terror.

The airship slowly ascended, then accelerated at full speed toward the northwest.

Once the vessel was in motion, Phini settled into the seat previously occupied by the dead captain. She rested her chin in her hand, gazing intently at the crew operating the controls ahead.

Perhaps feeling her deadly gaze, coupled with the gruesome scene they had just witnessed, every employee in the room harbored an intense fear of this harbinger of death. Consequently, the entire bridge fell into a profound, suffocating silence.

As silence dragged on, the exhaustion of the day caught up to Phini. Unbeknownst to herself, she slowly closed her eyes…

After an unknown duration of flight…

BANG!

A loud boom echoed, followed by a violent tremor that shook the entire airship.

This fierce jolt awakened Phini, who had fallen asleep at some point. Her eyes snapped open, and she scanned her surroundings with a hint of alarm.

“What happened?” she demanded, questioning the operating personnel below.

“We flew into a thunderstorm!”

Fearing they might meet the same fate as their captain, the crew dared not leave her question unanswered. Who knew if this madwoman would suddenly snap and kill them all? To save their own lives, they had no choice but to obey.

“A thunderstorm?”

“Yes, we are currently inside a massive storm cell!” an operator responded in an anxious tone.

Just as they finished speaking…

BANG!

The airship violently shuddered once more. Immediately after, a thick bolt of lightning flashed across the main display screen, illuminating the terrifying clouds outside!

“Oh no, the thrusters are damaged!” a crew member cried out in alarm, observing the status monitors.

“Ahhhhhh!”

The crew member’s words had barely faded when the airship began shaking violently again. Panic set in, and the people on the bridge screamed in terror.

“…”

Feeling the violent turbulence, Phini did not panic like ants on a hot pan. Instead, she remained remarkably calm, observing her surroundings.

Rumble! CRACK!

Deafening thunder, loud enough to almost pierce her eardrums, continued to roar outside. This time, the shaking did not subside after a few jolts.

A few seconds later, a massive BOOM! echoed throughout the vessel—a sound that indicated a catastrophic explosion.

“The power core… the power core exploded?!” A girl suddenly stood up from her seat, shouting in a terrified voice.

“Oh my god!”

Startled by the girl’s cry, everyone at the control panels revealed expressions of utter despair.

“What happens if the power core explodes?” Phini asked. Knowing nothing about airships, she did not grasp the severity of the situation. To her, an airship was just a flying boat; she had absolutely no concept of its mechanical principles.

“It will—”

Upon hearing Phini’s voice, a young crewman turned his head, intending to answer. However, before he could finish speaking…

The airship suddenly plummeted, having lost all power!

During its rapid descent, a tremendous rumble of thunder sounded from within the clouds, followed by a blinding flash of lightning. The hull erupted with unsettling crackling and groaning noises as metal warped under the stress.

Listening to these sounds, Phini felt the danger approaching step by step. Realizing she couldn’t just sit there, she immediately grabbed onto a railing to steady herself.

Unfortunately, before she could make her next move, the airship jolted violently.

Something suddenly tore loose from the ceiling above, striking Phini hard on the head.

Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

As Phini slumped over, the rapidly plummeting airship was unable to regain flight. Within seconds, the vessel crashed into a mountainside with a deafening rumble.

Perhaps because the sound of the crash was incredibly loud, a girl arrived at the wreckage site a short time later.

She wore a typical rural dress, full of patches, and carried a woven basket—the perfect image of a country lass.

“Is this a Holy Flame Light airship?”

Although the girl lived in the countryside, she had heard of certain things from the outside world. Even though the entire hull was shattered beyond recognition, upon seeing its distinctive white, triangular nose, she could still vaguely identify the crashed vessel as belonging to the Holy Flame Light faction.