Chapter 41
Before dawn had even broken, the island was already awake.
"Fix the beds again! If even one corner of a blanket is sticking out, that entire section gets no breakfast!"
"Training ground formation! Again! From the beginning!"
The instructors' shouts tore through the early morning air.
The trainees ran around busily under their orders, sweeping and cleaning everything from the dormitories to the outer walls of the buildings.
Today was the day Hell Island welcomed its guests.
So... the final stage of this plan is finally here.
Theron stood in front of the Section Five dormitory, watching the shadows moving busily around him.
On the surface, it looked no different from any other morning of inspection preparations.
But Theron could see it.
Most of the trainees cleaning as though nothing was wrong wore extremely tense expressions.
Out of nearly four hundred trainees...
Three hundred and nineteen.
That was how many had removed the Death Sigils buried in their hearts.
And the remaining eighty or so...
The children who still had the roots of the Sigil inside their chests were gritting their teeth for different reasons.
Fear.
Anger.
And the heat of the Red Flame Herb that had yet to fully fade.
"Hey... Do you think that rumor about people disappearing after the Inspection Delegation leaves is actually true?"
"Shut up. An instructor might hear you."
Whispers passed quietly among the boys sweeping the ground.
What had only been a ghost story until yesterday...
Would become a truth arriving at the dock today.
"Hey."
A familiar face appeared around the corner of the dormitory.
Isaac.
A sack of lime rested over his shoulder.
There he is.
Since preparations for the inspection began, the walls separating the sections had already half collapsed.
Trainees were constantly being sent to help wherever workers were lacking.
By coincidence, Section Three had been assigned to repaint the wall of Section Five today.
Of course...
The fact that the leader himself had personally brought the sack was no coincidence.
"A Section Three leader personally carrying lime."
Theron glanced at him.
"What a touching sight."
"Thanks to it, I can see your face without having to avoid the instructors."
Isaac set the sack down and pretended to stretch his back.
During that short motion, his voice dropped.
"Two more crossed the wall overnight."
"One from Section Three. One from Section Seven."
"Their condition?"
"They nearly died before coming back."
Isaac continued.
"One said his heart feels lighter now."
"The remaining heat only lasts until tonight."
Theron's voice became serious.
"Don't force it too recklessly."
"I know."
Isaac nodded.
"If someone collapses on the training ground today, that'll be even more dangerous."
His eyes briefly moved toward the sea near the dock.
"...Roud has started moving."
"Section One volunteered as a full unit for unloading work at the dock."
"Good."
"I know you won't answer even if I ask, so I won't."
Isaac looked back at Theron.
"But that 'next step' you planted inside the other leaders..."
His lips curved faintly.
"Looks like it's starting to sprout."
"You'll find out soon."
"...I'm getting sick of hearing that."
Despite his words, a faint smile passed over Isaac's lips.
He lifted the lime sack again and casually headed toward the wall.
Just as his back disappeared among the other Section Three trainees...
Two figures carrying water buckets walked past Theron.
Perka and Rodi.
"All forty-two people in Section Five are fine."
Perka spoke without slowing down.
His voice was calm.
But the tendons stood out on the hand gripping the bucket strap.
Then...
He stopped.
He looked Theron directly in the eyes.
"...We're getting out alive."
His voice was firm.
"All of us."
Theron nodded.
That was enough.
Perka started walking again.
Rodi, following behind him, bowed his head to Theron and passed.
His thin arms still looked fragile.
But his steps no longer shook.
The eyes of the boy who had crossed the Two-Star wall no longer carried that frightened wetness.
Then...
Dong. Dong. Dong.
The bell in the main building rang three times.
"All sections, gather at the training ground!"
"Inspection formation!"
The instructors shouted.
Theron's eyes slowly turned cold.
Now...
It was time to finish this plan.
Top floor of the main building.
Head Instructor's office.
Berton stood beside the window and looked toward the sea.
A huge sailing ship had crossed the horizon and was now cutting through white waves toward the dock.
They're here.
The corners of his lips slowly rose.
People on the continent called this island hell.
A place where abandoned things were imprisoned.
A place no one entered and ever left alive.
They were not wrong.
At least...
Not for the trainees.
But...
For Berton...
This island was his kingdom.
Back on the continent, Berton had been nothing more than one ordinary swordsman among countless others.
His talent was mediocre.
He had no family powerful enough to support him.
No matter how hard he climbed, he would have spent his entire life beneath someone else.
Living in another man's shadow.
But this island was different.
The lives of nearly four hundred people could be decided by a single word from his mouth.
The instructors watched his expression.
The rules came from his lips.
On this island...
Berton was the law.
And the king.
Then there were the raw gemstones sharpened under the name of Hell Island.
The price paid by important people from the central authorities for those gemstones was always sweet.
Gold.
Magic tools.
Secret favors.
And even more authority over the next generation.
Hell Island was a graveyard for the trainees.
And at the same time...
It was Berton's paradise.
And this generation...
Berton turned away from the window and opened the roster on his desk.
It was his greatest harvest yet.
More than two hundred trainees had already reached Two-Star.
And Theron, the best among them...
Had already climbed well into Three-Star.
No generation in the history of this facility had ever produced results like this.
It was practically an achievement worthy of history.
That was why nobody in the central authorities had believed the report at first.
Perhaps that was why...
The Inspection Delegation this time was much larger than usual.
Even higher-ranking officials than those from previous inspections had come personally.
Berton ran his fingers over the first page of the roster.
Theron.
Special Trainee.
Twelve years old.
Three-Star.
A child on an entirely different level from every product before him.
Raw gemstones did not belong to the person who dug them from the ground.
They belonged to the person capable of recognizing them.
Among countless children like grains of sand...
Berton had found this one.
Sharpened him.
Raised him this far.
You will become the achievement of my life.
The reward would be greater than anything he had received from previous generations.
And the throne of this kingdom would become even stronger.
A priceless gemstone.
And the king who recognized and raised it.
There could be no more perfect picture.
Knock. Knock.
The sound interrupted his thoughts.
"Head Instructor. The ship has docked."
"I'm coming down."
Berton straightened the collar of his uniform.
The man reflected in the mirror wore his most respectful expression.
Now...
It was time to harvest the ripened fruit.
