Chapter 46
The dock of Hell Island was still burning fiercely.
Kren stared coldly at the instructors lined up before him.
"...You lost every single one of them?"
His voice was low.
That one sentence was enough to drain the color from the surviving instructors' faces.
Every one of the nearly four hundred trainees on the island had escaped.
All they had found scattered around the island were unconscious Executioners and the corpses of instructors.
Even those who had survived could barely explain what had happened.
"I-It was... the supply warehouse suddenly caught fire, and all the trainees moved at the same time..."
SLAP!
"Ghk!"
The instructor's head snapped sideways.
Kren lowered his hand and stared at him expressionlessly.
"So?"
"..."
"A fire broke out, so you somehow lost four hundred people?"
SLAP!
This time, the blow struck the other cheek.
The instructor staggered and fell to the ground.
"Useless bastards."
Kren ground his teeth.
"They're only twelve or thirteen years old."
His eyes burned with rage.
"And you're telling me you couldn't stop a bunch of children and let every last one escape?!"
Nobody answered.
How could they?
Head Instructor Berton was dead.
A large number of Executioners had been killed.
The trainees had seized the ship and already left the island.
And all of it...
Had happened in only a few hours.
"Haa..."
A hollow laugh escaped Kren.
When he first arrived leading the Inspection Delegation, everything had been proceeding smoothly.
Now...
All that remained was the humiliation of every trainee on Hell Island escaping while he was personally here.
"Send a carrier pigeon."
One instructor hurriedly raised his head.
"Sir?"
Kren's eyes flashed viciously.
"I said send a carrier pigeon to the central authorities."
"Y-Yes!"
"Write down the type of ship they stole and every likely route they could take."
"Contact all nearby ports and coastal cities."
"Block every possible place they might land."
"Yes, sir!"
"We'll organize pursuit teams immediately."
"Bring me every document containing the trainees' personal information."
"Y-Yes!"
The instructors scattered in a hurry.
Kren slowly walked toward the sea.
The ship that had escaped was already so far away that it could no longer be seen.
His fist slowly clenched.
"How dare you..."
His face twisted.
"How dare you humiliate me like this?"
Of all times...
This had happened while he was serving as the leader of the Inspection Delegation.
Still...
It did not matter.
No matter where on the continent they ran...
He would catch every single one.
"I'll make all of you beg me to kill you."
"Hahahaha!"
"It's true!"
"We really escaped!"
"Nobody can catch us anymore!"
Even after the burning Hell Island had completely disappeared from sight...
The excitement aboard the ship refused to settle.
Some children ran around the deck.
Others laughed while holding each other.
Some simply burst into tears.
Freedom.
Something many of them had never possessed since childhood.
They did not even properly understand what freedom meant.
But knowing they had escaped the hell that imprisoned them...
Was enough.
However...
"Everyone, gather."
Theron's voice gradually quieted the noise.
The children scattered around the deck slowly came together.
Isaac, Perka, and the other section leaders moved near Theron.
"What's wrong?"
Isaac asked.
Theron looked around at them.
Faces that had been laughing only moments earlier.
Then he spoke.
"The pursuers will start coming after us now."
"..."
The mood immediately sank.
"It didn't end when we left the island."
"They've probably already contacted the central authorities."
"They also know the direction we escaped in."
Theron continued calmly.
"No matter where we go, they'll chase us relentlessly."
Someone swallowed dryly.
Until a moment ago...
They had been too happy about escaping Hell Island to think that far ahead.
But Theron was right.
They were not truly free yet.
They were fugitives.
Hundreds of them.
"Then... what do we do?"
One boy asked.
Theron's answer was simple.
"We survive."
"..."
"That's why we came this far."
Theron slowly looked across the children gathered around him.
"Because we wanted to live."
Nobody denied it.
They had removed the Death Sigils because they wanted to live.
They had risked their lives escaping Hell Island because they wanted to live.
Now...
They wanted a life different from that miserable hell.
A life like everyone else.
"So what's the plan after this?"
Isaac asked.
Until now...
They had only discussed getting off the island.
They had never talked about what came afterward.
Theron answered.
"We move toward the mainland as quickly as possible."
"But we won't bring the ship close to shore."
"Then what?"
"When we can see land, we'll stop far offshore."
Theron looked toward the dark sea.
"From there, we'll swim in."
Isaac narrowed his eyes.
He immediately understood.
"We sneak onto the mainland."
"Exactly."
Theron looked back at the others.
"And once we're on land..."
He paused.
"We split up."
"...What?"
"Split up?"
Confused voices erupted everywhere.
"We're not staying together?"
"Why do we have to split up?"
"We've come this far together!"
Confusion spread across their faces.
It was natural.
They had risked their lives helping one another.
They had only just escaped hell together.
And now...
Theron wanted them to separate the moment they reached the continent.
But his expression remained firm.
"What do you think will happen if four hundred of us move together?"
"..."
"We'll stand out wherever we go."
"It'll be difficult just to pass through a village."
"Finding food will be even harder."
