Chapter 63
Successful Escape
As expected, I hadn’t been mistaken.
The plants that had at first looked like mere weeds were actually full of delicious-looking red berries.
Raspberries.
After confirming what they were, I quickly began picking them. At the moment, I couldn’t hunt animals or make fire, so even small berries were as precious as gold.
Fortunately, there were plenty nearby, and soon both of my hands were full of berries.
I picked a plump raspberry and put it in my mouth. I expected the sweet and tart juice to fill my mouth.
“…Tch.”
Contrary to my expectation, the berry was bitter.
It wasn’t sour because it was unripe; it was bitter—plain and harsh.
The meaning was clear.
Corruption.
The poisonous energy seeping from the rift had begun to taint the surroundings. Normally, when an area around a rift starts to corrode, all the plants and animals there are affected.
Animals die, the land turns barren, and fruit that should be sweet takes on a bitter, toxic taste.
The unnaturally bitter taste of the raspberry I had just eaten—it was unmistakable. A berry from a corrupted area.
Could there be a rift nearby?
Willich’s warning suddenly came to mind: the west coast is dangerous, never go there.
I continued walking, half in disbelief, and soon realized that my doubt had been justified.
“A rift…”
Finally reaching the western shore, I found a small rift.
I slumped against a nearby tree, feeling utterly defeated.
Was this why I was told not to come here…? Not because of ships…?
Of course, the presence of a rift on this tiny island was interesting. But this wasn’t what I had hoped for.
I needed a ship to escape from here.
The only lifeline out of this desperate situation had been severed.
Yet misfortune didn’t wait—it struck.
“I’ve found you!!”
A soldier’s shout came from behind.
It seemed they had anticipated I would come here and waited nearby.
With no strength left to run, I slowly turned around.
Willich glared at me, his face tight with rage.
“You should have steeled yourself before trying to escape. I warned you: if you attempt to flee, you might lose limbs.”
Hearing this, I could immediately predict what would happen if I were caught. They would cut off my limbs.
If that’s the case…
“Catch her.”
While my thoughts raced, Willich coldly commanded his subordinates.
They began approaching me slowly, cornering me as if to taunt me.
Thump. Thump.
Suddenly, my heart began pounding violently.
It had raced during physical exertion before, but this was different.
It was as if it would burst from my chest.
What…?
I was puzzled, but now wasn’t the time to focus on my heartbeat.
I had to make a decision.
“You always seem to underestimate my resolve.”
Willich frowned at my words.
I smiled and explained, as if to someone who couldn’t comprehend me.
“I’m not worried about my limbs right now. I’m risking my life to escape.”
Yes, only half a day ago, I had willingly thrown myself into a fierce river to escape Ernant. I had known I might die, and yet I did it.
I had always been willing to risk my life, and that hadn’t changed. I was ready to leap into death.
“Farewell.”
With that, I turned my body toward the rift, its gaping maw waiting behind me.
Willich seemed to realize what I was about to do and shouted urgently:
“The rift! She’s going to jump into the rift!! Stop her!!”
But the soldiers hesitated.
Only those with magical power could survive the poisonous energy beyond the rift. Ordinary people would die from even a whiff of it. So the soldiers, valuing their own lives, just stood there.
No one would stop me from leaping into the rift.
From behind, Willich’s scream reached my ears:
“No!!”
With my powers sealed, I was entering a rift teeming with monsters, possibly risking my life, maybe even being torn apart by their claws.
But even then, I had no regrets.
There are many ways to commit suicide, but if asked to choose the most horrific, I would say without hesitation:
Throwing oneself into a rift without weapons or powers is the most terrible and stupid method of all.
Maybe biting my tongue would have been better.
As I jumped into the rift, the first thought that came to mind was that. Biting my tongue would hurt, but likely wouldn’t kill me. Even so, it seemed like the safer option compared to the situation I faced.
Beyond the rift stretched dark tunnels.
No sunlight, winding like a labyrinth.
They seemed to be dug by insect-like monsters, perhaps with habits similar to ants.
I forced myself to shake off the growing sense of regret.
Yes, now was not the time to regret.
Wandering through the tunnels was better than being caught.
Before jumping into the rift, I had promised myself I would not regret it. My resolve must not waver.
Besides, the situation wasn’t completely hopeless.
Rocks embedded in the walls emitted light, allowing me to see ahead.
The tunnels were fairly wide, making movement possible.
Alright, I would move forward. Perhaps I could find another rift and return to the real world.
Thinking this, I stared straight ahead.
Fortunately, the world beyond the rift was, literally, a “world.”
It wasn’t a closed space. Like the human world, it stretched endlessly, and eventually, I could find another rift.
Through that rift, I could return to my original world.
Finding another rift wouldn’t be easy—but for now, there was no alternative.
If I tried to leave through the rift I came through, I’d just run into Willich again.
Step by step, I moved my heavy legs and walked into the mysterious tunnels before me.
“Say it again. Did Julia really disappear beyond the rift?”
At Ernant’s cold command, Willich swallowed hard.
An hour ago, when Ernant arrived on the island, he had been told that Julia had vanished into the rift.
But he didn’t believe it.
How could Julia, with her powers sealed and without a sword, have thrown herself into a rift?
Had she really committed an act tantamount to suicide just to avoid coming to him?
Despite the protests of his subordinates, he had come to inspect the rift himself.
Now, Julia’s absence left no room for doubt. She had truly disappeared beyond it.
Ernant, having lost what he had briefly held, now stood near the rift and asked Willich:
“Did she… really leap into the rift? Did you witness it with your own eyes?”
“…Yes. Everyone saw it clearly. I apologize for not preventing it sooner.”
Ernant exhaled deeply after hearing Willich’s confirmation.
When he spoke again, the dense silence around him seemed to suffocate everything.
“I will enter the rift myself.”
“Your Majesty!”
The advisor stepped forward immediately.
“That is impossible! Only those with magical power can withstand the poison beyond the rift. Ordinary people who step inside—”
“—will die?”
Ernant’s question was accompanied by a faint, grim smile.
“Julia will also die. Her powers are sealed, and she will be mercilessly torn apart by the monsters beyond the rift.”
“……”
“I will not allow that. She is my knight, my sword. Without my permission, she cannot die.”
At Ernant’s words, his advisors and knights all bowed deeply.
They could not even breathe.
It was rare to see the emperor express desire so clearly.
But they could not allow Ernant to enter the rift either. The advisor finally spoke with difficulty:
“However, Your Majesty, a sword is ultimately just a tool.”
