"Captain—there was a sudden fire over by the cafeteria in the teaching building. Should we go check it out?"
"…No. Absolutely not."
The exhausted Ursus man shook his head. How could he not recognize that kind of flame?
They had relied on that very blaze—the one that threw the nearby Reunion forces into chaos—to slip into Peterheim Middle School, a place they had never managed to break into before.
So their mission now was to rescue the students—especially the aristocratic ones.
At the thought, pain tightened in his chest. His daughter still hadn't been found, and yet he couldn't abandon his post; he had to go save the children of the powerful.
Those so-called nobles had already run for their lives, and after escaping, they still had the shamelessness to demand that others rescue the children they themselves had abandoned.
"Captain? Captain?"
Only when the few remaining officers called out to him did the Ursus man temporarily force down the anger in his gut. He took two or three military police and continued sweeping upward from the first floor.
It seemed they weren't the only ones making a move. Many students had taken advantage of the turmoil to flee.
That explained why they still hadn't seen a single living soul.
Of course, judging by the bodies he'd passed on the way in… those escape attempts hadn't gone well.
And now, the classroom in front of them was their last chance. If they still found no students here, they would have no choice but to withdraw—
Bang.
The door flew open.
"You're pretty capable for a man. Come on, I'll go with you—…Wait, who the hell are you?"
Sonia stood in the doorway, staring down the military police who were staring back at her. Instinctively, she raised the axe in her hand.
"You aren't here to—"
"Dad!"
Before Sonia could finish, Zoya shot out from behind her and flung herself at the only man in the squad—the captain.
Tears in her eyes, she kept reassuring the man as he buried his face into her shoulder and sobbed. Sonia watched for a moment, then realization dawned.
"So you're the military police who've been trying to break in all this time."
The moment she said it, the classroom erupted with visible relief. Even some of the noble students—ones who had been beaten black and blue by the civilians more than once—couldn't help smiling.
It meant they finally had a chance to get out.
Seeing the military police enter, Natalia slowly stood, one arm injured and held close. There was bruising on her face as well—clearly she hadn't been spared a beating either.
Someone in the squad immediately noticed her and hurried over.
"You're Miss Natalia Andreyevna Rostova, aren't you? Thank goodness you're safe. But your face—what happened—"
The cheering civilians instantly fell silent, not daring to make even a whisper.
But Natalia had no intention of retaliating over something like that. If anything, that beating wasn't nearly enough to wash away the sins she had committed earlier—
Even if she hadn't personally harmed anyone in the process.
Natalia glanced, carefully, toward Chen Mo—now fed and watered, reclining in a chair like he'd just finished a leisurely lunch—and said softly:
"I'm fine. How do we get out?"
"…That's—"
The officer hesitated, then reflexively looked to the Ursus captain who had just walked Zoya over.
The captain, just emerging from the joy of finding family again, didn't answer the question. He wiped at the corner of his eyes and instead approached Chen Mo.
"Thank you very much for saving my daughter."
"Heh. Don't mention it—just a small favor."
Chen Mo, fully recovered and in high spirits, patted his stomach with satisfaction, stood up, and waved his hand.
"Since you're here, take these students and go."
"About that…" The Ursus man turned his head away, unable to bear looking at the students' faces. "To be honest, we're the last few of the rescue unit."
"Peterheim Middle School being impossible to take has basically made headquarters give up on this place. And Reunion's pressure has only gotten worse. A lot of my colleagues have already left the city."
"If not for this sudden disturbance, we would've completed our withdrawal as well… Now we can only take these students and move one step at a time, and see whether anyone at HQ is still holding out."
"Tch. So we still have to force our way out."
Sonia spat to the side, then glanced at Natalia in the distance.
"But with this many people, I can't protect everyone."
"Don't worry, Sonia. We're not helpless."
Anna had been quietly watching Chen Mo from the very beginning. She understood that, among everyone present, the one who looked the most disadvantaged—the man—was the true pivot of the situation.
"Our numbers aren't small. Anyone who's survived until today isn't afraid of bleeding. And with the military police who know the routes, it's not hopeless."
But because she didn't know Chen Mo's temperament—and because even Zoya, who had spent the most time with him, hadn't asked for his help—Anna didn't dare speak to him lightly.
For now, they could only do as the captain said: take it one step at a time.
The Ursus man sighed deeply.
"Sigh… At least those Rhodes Island people are drawing Reunion's firepower. Otherwise…"
"Wait—Rhodes Island? Hurry. Tell me everything."
Chen Mo suddenly lit up, so abruptly that even Zoya looked at him strangely.
Was Rhodes Island really that important?
The captain blinked at Chen Mo's reaction, but he answered honestly and in detail.
"After Reunion crushed Chernobog's official military police forces, they turned their attention to other armed factions."
"And Rhodes Island is among the strongest. Their situation probably isn't much better than ours."
"According to the information from the top, Reunion's leader has already set out—personally—to stop Rhodes Island and the others from escaping."
Tallulah going in person… Isn't that the point in the original story where Rhodes Island is about to break out?
The more Chen Mo thought about it, the more delighted he became. Ignoring everyone's confusion, he pressed on:
"Is it just Reunion's leader alone? Where's Patriot—Patriot!?"
The Ursus man frowned and searched his memory, recalling the leadership assessments and intelligence he'd seen at headquarters before the withdrawal.
"You mean that extremely tall Infected…? He didn't go with her. It seems there's been some kind of conflict among Reunion's upper ranks. Wait—are you trying to—"
Of course he was trying to test a boss fight. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
And if it went badly, he could always run. As a Draco himself, as long as Tallulah didn't charge in for a straight melee, her flames wouldn't do much to him.
At the same time, he wanted to see what his system would do when facing Tallulah.
In high spirits, Chen Mo waved a hand grandly and pointed the wide-eyed crowd toward what he clearly thought was a "solution."
"I have a way to help you escape this city."
…
Chernobog Central District — Inside the High Tower
Tallulah, dressed in ornate finery, gazed down at the ruined city below. The black sword at her waist was now drawn.
Thud.
Heavy footsteps rang out, sudden and oppressive. Black smoke spread through the room like a stain.
"Hiss… haa…"
A low, chilling breath sounded behind her.
"…Buldrokkas'tee is angry. Why did you refuse to tell the Wendigo the truth about that Draco—Chen Mo?"
"I told you: do not speak that man's name in front of me."
Tallulah's brow snapped into a deep frown. She pressed a hand to her chest—every time that man was mentioned, this body's heart began to race violently.
Never quiet… So eager to meet your own blood? Hmph. Pathetic weakness.
A faint, disdainful smile touched Tallulah's lips, then vanished as she forced her expression back into cold calm.
"Because of that Draco who appeared out of nowhere, the Wendigo acted recklessly and came to question me—pointing the spear that should face our enemies at me instead."
"And now, because he can't get the answer he wants, he and his daughter have both grown suspicious. They've chosen to stand aside and observe, refusing to involve themselves in the war for now."
"Ridiculous."
Crack—
Tallulah slashed her sword through the massive floor-to-ceiling window. Glass burst outward, countless shards falling like snow.
Her voice followed—flat, emotionless, suppressing something turbulent beneath.
"I need you to hold that Draco back and kill him. Do not let him appear before me."
That dreadful breathing paused for the briefest instant—then asked, voice dragging like iron through ash:
"Hiss… haa… Then where do you intend to go now?"
"To stop Rhodes Island from escaping."
As soon as the words landed, the terrifying breath and filthy black fog vanished without a trace.
Tallulah acted as though nothing had happened. After waiting a moment, she called softly:
"Come in, Talen. I need you to accompany me."
Bang!
"As you wish, Your Highness!"
Talen shoved the door open and dropped to one knee, unable to hide his excitement. At last—he could act alongside the woman who had kept him at arm's length for so long.
How could he not be elated?
Tallulah looked past him, toward that Victoria noble who—just recently—had used a crude provocation and ended up telling FrostNova everything about the pure-blood Draco.
Tallulah let out an unreadable, quiet laugh.
Then she strode forward and leapt from the tower, dozens of meters above the ground.
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