Chapter 44
DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!
The emergency bell tore through the silence of the night.
"F-Fire!"
"The supply warehouse is on fire!"
At someone's desperate shout...
The instructors' dormitory doors burst open one after another.
Some ran outside in sleepwear.
Others stumbled while holding up their pants.
Nobody cared how they looked.
The supply warehouse in the distance was already swallowed by crimson flames.
"Everyone carry water!"
"To the well!"
"Empty the powder storage beside it first!"
"If the fire reaches that building, the entire island goes up!"
Shouts exploded everywhere.
Even the Executioners were no exception.
Those who normally guarded the dormitories grabbed buckets and ran toward the warehouse.
Security?
Nobody had time to care.
That warehouse held enough supplies for the island to survive for half a year.
Food.
Medicine.
Materials for repairing weapons.
Countless goods that had been difficult to obtain from the mainland.
Even if they requested another shipment...
It would take months.
"W-What the hell is happening?!"
Kren ran out from the guest building.
Red flames reflected across his face.
"What are all of you doing?!"
"Put that fire out immediately!"
"We'll deploy the Inspection Delegation's troops too!"
"Are you an idiot?!"
Kren shouted.
"The Inspection Delegation gathers here and protects this area!"
"The instructors can put out their own fire!"
"Y-Yes!"
The soldiers hurriedly moved.
Then Kren's eyes scanned the surroundings.
"This is ridiculous..."
He frowned.
"Where is the Head Instructor?"
"We can't locate him."
Normally...
Berton would have appeared immediately and taken control.
So where was he in all this chaos?
Then...
Valtz, standing beside Kren like a shadow, quietly asked,
"Should I find him?"
"No."
"..."
Kren's answer was firm.
"You stay beside me."
Something about the fire...
Did not feel like an accident.
Something is wrong...
A cold sensation suddenly ran along Kren's spine.
Then he asked,
"How many soldiers are still guarding the ship?"
Rustle.
At the exact moment everyone turned toward the flames...
Another movement began on the opposite side.
Creak.
Old dormitory windows and rear doors slowly opened.
One shadow after another slipped into the darkness.
"Quickly!"
"Move!"
In Section Five...
Perka rapidly led his comrades out.
They followed in silence.
Moving in the exact order they had planned.
Their eyes stayed on the back of the person ahead.
They followed routes memorized again and again.
There was no confusion.
FWOOSH!
Another burst of flame shook their shadows.
But they lowered their bodies...
Stayed inside the darkness...
And ran toward the ship waiting at the dock.
Then...
Perka stopped.
He glanced elsewhere.
Trainees emerging from the other dormitories had already taken their positions.
Their eyes met in the darkness.
Now...
"Wait for the signal."
The section leaders had already moved.
The instant the signal came...
We take the ship.
Suffocating tension pressed over everyone.
Entrance to the dock.
Two soldiers on watch stared toward the flames painting the inner island red.
"Isn't that the supply warehouse?"
"Looks like it."
One soldier laughed.
"Head Instructor's probably losing his head over this."
"He just burned through the Master's supplies."
"Heh."
The other laughed.
"He'll be lucky if losing his head is all that happens."
At that moment...
Tap!
A shadow beneath the breakwater suddenly rose.
"W-What?!"
Both soldiers spun around.
Too late.
The figure was already directly in front of them.
Isaac.
"I-Intru—!"
The shout never finished.
THUD!
Isaac's wooden sword struck the first soldier in the back of the neck.
His eyes rolled back and his body collapsed.
Almost at the same time...
The wooden sword reversed and smashed upward into the second soldier's jaw.
CRACK!
His knees buckled.
Thud. Crash.
Both hit the ground almost together.
Neither had managed a proper scream.
Isaac lowered his wooden sword.
"Other side..."
He looked up.
THUD!
Behind the dock warehouse...
A guard collapsed after a fist struck his neck.
CRACK!
On the hill path leading toward the dock...
Another soldier holding a lamp fell.
The other section leaders...
Who had been waiting in position...
Had all moved at the same time.
Exactly according to the formation they had rehearsed in their minds for days.
Who handled which guard post.
Where they emerged.
How many soldiers they faced.
One after another...
The lamps around the dock disappeared.
Darkness swallowed the area.
Isaac dragged the two unconscious soldiers beneath the breakwater.
Then he closed his eyes and sensed the surroundings.
No more moving presences.
Only one thing remained.
Isaac lifted two fingers to his lips.
Fweeeet!
A short, sharp whistle cut through the night.
To anyone unaware...
It might have sounded like some bird calling in the distance.
But to nearly four hundred children waiting for this exact moment...
It meant something completely different.
The road is open.
Run.
The instant the signal fell...
The children hiding in darkness moved.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Nearly four hundred boys began running toward the dock.
At the same time...
Theron ran in the opposite direction.
The flames and shouting faded behind him.
"Haaaah."
He carried his steps upon his exhale.
The principle of Wandering Wind flowed through his feet.
His body seemed to slide through the darkness.
No one.
Theron sharpened his senses through mana control.
Everyone had rushed toward the burning supply warehouse.
The path toward the main building...
Where the Head Instructor's office stood...
Was completely empty.
Tap!
Theron kicked off the ground and shot forward.
Then he entered the main building.
He moved upstairs with familiar speed.
The Head Instructor's office.
In a way...
The heart of Hell Island.
Since becoming a Special Trainee...
Theron had entered it countless times.
Yet his heart had never beaten like this.
Still...
He forced himself to remain calm.
Then slowly opened the office door.
Creeeak.
The old door opened with a quiet scrape.
The instant Theron stepped inside...
"..."
He stopped.
Behind the Head Instructor's desk...
Was a familiar back.
