The dawn air was unusually damp.
We slipped out of the inn and headed down the narrow alleys at the very edge of the village, rather than crossing through it.
Behind the village, a rocky cliff ran long along the coast, and beneath it was a shallow channel of water about the height of a person.
“We’re going this way?”
Sailun asked in a whisper.
I nodded.
“The front is heavily watched. There are many who’d target the ships, so the coast is patrolled even at night. This is the only way out for us.”
Baldik was the first to lower himself beneath the cliff. The moment his hands touched the rough rock, the chill of the seawater seeped down to the bone.
One after another, the rest of us crouched low and slipped into the narrow gap between the cliff and the surface of the water.
Crash—
The waves struck the cliff face and scattered.
Submerged up to our waists in seawater, we held our breath and moved whenever the waves surged in.
Each time the torchlight from the checkpoint shimmered over the waves, my heart pounded like mad.
“Aren’t we going to get caught if we keep going like this…?”
Ranson whispered, trembling with unease.
I gave a brief shake of my head.
“Don’t worry. The sound of the waves will swallow our footsteps and even our breathing. If anything, this is the safest route.”
Hiding ourselves among the cracks in the rocks, we waded slowly forward through the seawater.
Crash—
When the waves pushed against us, we let them carry us, and the moment they drew back, we moved our feet.
Even a single breath had to blend into the waves.
Above our heads, torchlight swayed back and forth on the cliff.
Now and then, the metallic clatter of armor drifted down, sending cold sweat down my spine.
Every time a patrolman happened to cough, my chest clenched painfully.
“This… is really going to be all right, isn’t it?”
Ranson whispered low.
I made a short gesture, signaling him to shut his mouth.
Two patrolmen could be seen passing along the top of the cliff.
One of them leaned against the railing and glanced down below.
“…!”
We pressed ourselves flat against the rocks at the same time.
The seawater rose all the way to our faces and stole our breath, but we didn’t dare move.
The patrolman stared down for a long while, then took out something like a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
A spark flared brightly, and embers scattered in the sea breeze.
Then, without any particular suspicion, he moved on with his companion.
“Phew…”
Sailun barely let out his breath.
But I still couldn’t relax.
“We’re not there yet. We have to go farther, to the end of the checkpoint wall.”
We once again advanced along the base of the cliff.
The night wind blew cold, and the waves still crashed over us as if they meant to swallow us whole.
Even so, in my companions’ eyes, I could see a trace of hope for freedom for the first time in a long while.
We crouched in the shadow of the rocks and caught our breath for a moment.
A wave crashed against the cliff, scattering white foam.
“…Now, listen carefully.”
I whispered low and roughly drew a map in the sand with my finger.
“If we keep hugging the bottom of the cliff here, we’ll reach the eastern edge of the checkpoint. The watchtower there can’t look directly down at the sea, and the rock formation blocks the view.”
Baldik nodded.
“So we just climb up that way.”
“That’s right. As you follow the cliff, there’s a small crevice carved into the side. If we step on the rocks there and climb up, we can go straight into the forest behind the checkpoint. They say it’s an area outside the soldiers’ line of sight.”
Sailun twisted his fingers nervously and asked,
“But what if there are soldiers there too…?”
I looked Sailun straight in the eye and cut him off firmly.
“Then we turn back. We have no choice but to go as quietly as we can.”
A short silence.
The smell of the sea came rushing in, and beyond the sound of the waves, the distant voices of soldiers talking were faintly laid beneath it.
“All right, then let’s go.”
We lowered ourselves into the sea again.
The cold waves rose to our shins, and every time we set our feet against the rocks, seashells cut into the soles of our feet.
Moving with the waves, we advanced as if crawling along beneath the cliff.
Clack.
From above came the sound of a spear shaft being turned.
It seemed someone was leaning over the railing to inspect below.
In an instant, we flattened ourselves against the rocks and held our breath.
Crash—!
A large wave surged up, sending sand and spray flying, and fortunately, the view was obscured at that moment.
The patrolman seemed to sense something and stuck his head out, but soon withdrew his gaze.
My heart was pounding like mad.
“…That was close.”
Baldik muttered low through clenched teeth.
I pressed a finger to my lips, signaling him to be quiet.
The most dangerous point hadn’t even come yet.
How long had we gone?
By the time the freezing seawater and briny smell had completely soaked into our skin and clothes,
we finally saw it.
The crevice beneath the cliff, east of the checkpoint.
The rock, worn down by countless waves crashing violently against it, had formed a deep gouge as though it could swallow a single person whole.
The inside of the crevice was dark, and it was clear it wouldn’t be easily visible even if one looked down from above.
“This is it.”
I whispered low.
“…If we climb up, it’s the forest right away, isn’t it?”
Sailun asked in a trembling voice.
Just as Sailun said, climbing the cliff would bring us to the forest behind the checkpoint between the kingdoms.
There was a wall around the outskirts, but if one came prepared and determined, it wasn’t impossible to get over.
“That’s right. But don’t make a sound, and absolutely do not all climb at once. Wait below until the one ahead goes up and checks. Understood?”
All three nodded at the same time.
Baldik was the first to place his hands on the cliff.
His rough palms were pierced by moss and seashells, and blood welled up, but he swallowed even the slightest groan.
For someone with such a heavy build, his movements were unexpectedly careful.
“Phew…”
I caught my breath behind him and looked up.
There was still no sign of a patrolman’s shadow.
It was when Baldik had reached halfway up the cliff.
Crash—!
A huge wave surged in, striking the cliff and lifting our bodies with it.
From the impact, a piece of rock broke loose from the cliff with a grating crack.
Thud.
“…!”
A palm-sized piece of rock tumbled to the ground.
At the same time, a presence could be felt from the railing above.
“What was that just now?”
The voice of a soldier leaning on his spear shaft.
In that instant, everyone’s heart dropped.
I hurriedly reached out and kicked the rock fragment into the water.
Splash—!
With a spray of water, the rock disappeared into the waves.
The soldier glared down for a while, but he seemed to see nothing but the dark waves.
“Was it a fish? Damn it, scared me.”
With a grumbling voice, the sound of his footsteps moved away.
The three of us let out the breaths we had been holding at the same time.
“That was close.”
Sailun whispered, and I shook my head.
“It’s not over yet. Quiet.”
In the end, Baldik succeeded in climbing the cliff and signaled that it was safe.
Next, Sailun, then Ranson grabbed the rocks and slowly pulled themselves upward.
I was last.
The hem of my seawater-soaked cloak clung to the cliff, making it all the heavier to haul myself up.
But I gritted my teeth, hooked my hand over the edge of the cliff, and squeezed out the last of my strength to crawl up.
Tap.
The moment I pulled myself onto the rock, relief washed over me.
Ahead was a forest thick with trees.
When I turned back, the seawater and waves were raging in the pitch-black night.
“We made it.”
Baldik muttered low.
But our joy lasted only a moment.
“…What is that?”
Contrary to the information we had obtained, soldiers stood packed along the top of the high wall, keeping watch.
According to the information, there should have been one or two at most. And yet, in this dead hour before dawn, there were easily three or four soldiers guarding the outer post.
No matter how I looked at it…
“…Were we deceived?”
“That bastard must have leaked our information.”
A low curse slipped from Baldik’s mouth, as if he were chewing it up and spitting it out.
“Damn it, then what do we do? Aren’t we in serious trouble?”
Sailun whispered anxiously.
“What else? We go back. This route is done for. We have to find another way.”
“That means they already know we’re trying to escape.”
“Who wouldn’t know that? It’s not just us, everyone only thinks about getting out of here. Knowing that doesn’t mean they can lock us up.”
I said nothing for a moment and looked up at the wall.
“…As expected.”
I had already been suspicious.
If the person who gave us the information hadn’t truly intended to help us, I had expected a situation like this would come sooner or later.
And now that had finally been confirmed.
“Let’s go back.”
I said briefly.
“Now? What if they notice us—”
Sailun asked anxiously, but I cut him off firmly.
“We need to get out before they notice. If we try to force our way over, we’re finished.”
Baldik gave a small snort and muttered,
“Hah, I got my hopes up for nothing. It’s the same as always.”
We lowered ourselves back down beneath the cliff.
The black, surging waves struck the rocks and scattered spray.
“…Now we’re running out of time and options.”
And so, our first escape attempt ended in failure.
***
The next day.
After barely managing to fend off the wave that came as usual, we returned to the inn and sprawled over the dining room table.
“We’re already the only ones left at the inn.”
“Most of them were merchants, after all. The moment the ships departed, they all fled. As for the ones left…”
Many had died.
Those who had been dragged into battle and sacrificed, or those who had tried to flee only to be caught in tentacles and vanish.
In this place, people simply disappeared as if it were part of daily life.
“This is the reality of this world.”
If you let your guard down even a little, you were used, or things like law were mercilessly trampled beneath the reality unfolding before your eyes.
“So… how far have you gotten with secretly making the raft?”
“Ahem. Well, that’s—”
“Brother! You wouldn’t believe how atrocious Brother Baldik’s handiwork is—ow!”
Sailun, who had been chattering away, only shut his mouth after Baldik rapped him on the head.
“It’ll take a little longer. Well… this is my first time making something like this.”
“Really?”
“Puhah. You said that because you’re a dwarf, you’d be good at anything—w-wait, put your hand down!”
Watching Sailun flee from his seat, I sank briefly into thought.
“The raft… really won’t work.”
In truth, what we had attempted the previous day had already been a dangerous gamble.
If we were caught crossing the border illegally, we would immediately become wanted men, and it would be all too easy for our heads to fly.
Even so, we had tried because our current situation was that much of a dead end.
In other words, under normal circumstances, it was something we should absolutely never have done.
Whether we got our heads cut off while running away or slowly withered to death here,
in the end, it amounted to the same thing.
As for the remaining plans, if anything, they were even worse; not a single one was without danger.
“But there may be problems even if we do get across.”
At Ranson’s words, everyone’s gaze focused on him.
“Why?”
Baldik frowned.
“There’s a rumor going around among the residents.”
“A rumor?”
Ranson’s expression darkened slightly.
“They say that on the other side, in the Kingdom of Gradran, which occupies the other half of Kron Island… the same thing is happening there too.”
Sailun’s eyes widened.
“What? Then that side is already under control too?”
“I’m not certain. The source of the information is vague, and who would be going around in the midst of all this chaos? It’s most likely just a groundless rumor.”
Ranson lowered his voice at the end, but his hand resting on the table had gone stiff.
Even so, the reason he had spoken was because that rumor was not something we could simply dismiss.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
In this incident, the monsters had not actually come up from a single specific point. Except for the high cliffs, they had crawled up from the sea on all sides.
If not for the walls, the entire island would have been swallowed in an instant.
In that sense, the claim that the other side was experiencing the same thing had a certain logic to it.
“Damn it. Then even if we cross over, we might end up going through the same thing all over again.”
Baldik ground his teeth and muttered.
“There is that possibility. But…”
Ranson chose his words for a moment, then continued,
“If the people of that kingdom, unlike Ruendel, have actually sent support, the story could change.”
“Hmm…”
In truth, no matter what the case was, we had to try.
Rather than rot away trapped here, we had to grasp even a slim possibility.
At this rate, we were in a situation where we could more or less feel death approaching at any moment.
And so, while we continued eating and talked with our companions for quite some time,
bang—
The inn door, which had been quiet for a while, suddenly opened.
At the unusual situation, all of us turned our heads and looked toward the door.
“So this is where you were gathered.”
Click, military boots pressed down on the wooden floor.
Standing in the doorway was the checkpoint commander, accompanied by several soldiers.