The night deepened.
There was no moon in the sky, and the world outside was swallowed in absolute darkness.
Arthur, Yako, and Liza stood together in the main hall, the air between them heavy with tension.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Only today did Liza truly grasp how terrifying Blank's personal inventory was. In mere moments, he had taken out more than twenty barrels of gasoline, moving through the dormitory as he poured it across hallways, staircases, and even inside several rooms.
This wasn't reinforced concrete.
The entire building was wooden—floorboards, walls, beams.
Once ignited, the flames wouldn't simply spread. They would erupt. The fire would surge upward in an instant, devouring everything. There might not even be ashes left behind.
"There's no turning back now, is there?"
Arthur opened his hand. Resting on his palm was a heap of tiny chip-like devices.
Over the past few days, during forest playtime, the transmitters hidden inside the children's ears had been quietly removed.
Now they were all here.
He scattered them across the floor.
To the trackers, each of those signals represented a child. When the fire broke out, the confusion and interference would buy them precious time.
"Isabella should've already led the children into the forest by now," Arthur said calmly. "In about five more minutes, they'll reach the outer perimeter wall."
From his pocket, he produced an exquisitely crafted Zippo lighter. The metallic click sounded unnaturally sharp in the silence.
"We can't wait any longer. Get ready to move."
He still hadn't told Isabella, or the others, what lay beyond that wall.
Beyond the wall was not freedom.
It was a bottomless cliff, a massive rift valley that encircled the entire farm.
The only official exit was a bridge that connected directly to the demons' headquarters, the central facility of the farm. And that place was unquestionably the most heavily guarded location of all. Even if the fire drew some attention away, the security on that route would never weaken enough for children to slip through.
So if they wanted to escape, they needed another path.
Emma's strategy in the original story had been worth studying. But Arthur had no intention of recreating it step by step. He hadn't trained the children in throwing techniques or improvised rope tactics.
For him, many problems could be solved with resources.
If money could simplify something, then simplify it.
He valued a flawless outcome more than dramatic accuracy.
"Fire."
Arthur flicked his wrist and tossed the lit, windproof lighter.
The moment it hit the gasoline-soaked floor, flames erupted outward in violent streaks, racing along the liquid trails. In seconds, fire surged up the wooden walls and stairways, devouring the structure from within.
As he turned away, Arthur felt a brief flicker of regret.
Lighting a cigarette right now would have made the scene far more cinematic.
Then he remembered he was still an eleven-year-old child.
…Probably not the right timing.
He shut the door behind him.
"The keys?"
Liza immediately produced a ring of keys with a proud expression. She had "openly borrowed" them from Mama's pocket earlier, using her skill while Mama was away.
After locking the door, Arthur took the keys and, on their way through the forest, buried them at a random spot.
Every second of delay they could force upon their pursuers was valuable.
The only inconvenience was Liza's current physical state. With her attributes suppressed, her stamina was pitiful. Arthur ultimately had no choice but to carry her on his back in order to catch up with the main group, who had just reached the wall.
Fortunately, Isabella had already taken Sophia ahead earlier. Any more dependents would have been troublesome.
"How are we supposed to get up there?"
Isabella stared at the towering wall, at least three or four meters high. For children barely over a meter tall, it was an insurmountable barrier.
Arthur didn't answer.
He stepped briefly into a nearby bush, then reemerged carrying a retractable ladder.
Liza's eye twitched.
Blank… you're absurdly prepared.
You even packed a ladder?
Did you predict the wall height before entering the dungeon?
At this rate, nothing would surprise her anymore.
With Arthur and Isabella assisting, the children climbed one by one until everyone stood atop the wall.
And then reality struck.
On the other side stretched a vast abyss. A gaping cliff that cut through the land like a wound.
Far across the rift, dense jungle could be seen in the darkness.
But the distance, dozens of meters, might as well have been infinity.
They couldn't possibly jump across.
Before Isabella could voice the despair forming in her throat, Arthur, who had climbed up last, calmly pulled out another strange device from his inventory.
When Liza saw what Arthur pulled out, she nearly choked.
A grappling hook launcher?!
Wasn't that the kind of tool used for extreme mountaineering and professional rock climbing? Who would casually stock something like that in their inventory?
Are you some kind of phantom thief?!
Arthur ignored her inner screams. Calmly, he raised the launcher and aimed at a thick tree trunk on the opposite side of the rift.
Click.
"Whoosh—"
The hook shot across the abyss, dragging a rope behind it. It sliced cleanly through the cold night air and wrapped around a sturdy branch. With the remaining momentum, it circled the trunk several times before biting deep into the wood.
Arthur gave it a firm tug to confirm the hold. Satisfied, he secured the launcher's end to a large tree inside the wall, climbing down briefly to wrap the rope around the trunk several times before fastening it tightly.
"Alright."
He tested the tension again. The climbing rope was rated to support a full-grown adult weighing over three hundred pounds. A group of ten-year-old children posed no issue at all.
Under everyone's stunned gazes, Arthur then pulled several compact cable pulleys from his backpack.
There was nearly a forty-degree height difference between the wall and the tree across the cliff. With the pulleys attached, they wouldn't need to climb—they could slide directly down to the opposite side.
"Who's going first?"
Arthur would remain last. With the slope working in one direction, returning would be nearly impossible. The strongest combatant had to stay behind until the end.
"I'll go."
Saeko Busujima was about to volunteer, but Isabella stepped forward first and took the pulley from Arthur's hand.
She didn't resent him for keeping certain things from her. From the very beginning, he had only said one thing:
Leave everything to me.
And he had done exactly that.
She didn't know what price he had paid to gather so many tools and prepare so thoroughly. But standing beside him now, she understood something else.
This was what it felt like to be protected.
As long as he was there, even facing an abyss, she felt safe.
"I'll go ahead and receive the children."
"Be careful."
Arthur secured the safety rope around her waist himself. The pulley had a handle to grip, but no full harness. If something slipped, the rope would serve as a backup.
Modern industrial equipment rarely failed.
And it didn't fail tonight.
One by one, the children slid down the line, small figures gliding across the darkness toward the forest beyond. Soon, everyone except Arthur remained on the wall.
When it was finally his turn, he paused.
In the distance, the dormitory burned fiercely. Flames clawed toward the sky, staining half the night crimson.
He didn't whisper sentimental farewells like Emma had in the original story.
To him, this had never been home. It was merely a beautifully decorated cage he had occupied for less than two months. Mama wouldn't be chasing after them tonight, whether she had even realized the fire in time was uncertain.
"Goodbye."
It was more courtesy than emotion.
Without another glance back, Arthur grasped the pulley and stepped onto the line—
Sliding into the darkness, toward the unknown beyond.