Chapter 25: I’ll Jump First, Then You Jump
Hiltina’s figure paused in front of the towering lookout tower. Although she was in a port city, it was her first time being so close to the sea since entering the Night World.
At the same time, Hiltina heard the sound of maniacal laughter mingled with the sound of the waves.
The Iron Cross were coming after them again. The beam of starlight that pierced the earth could only hold them at bay for a short time, it couldn’t last long.
Those Iron Cross possessed intelligence, and once they recovered from the shock, quickly deduced that the cataclysmic starlight must have drained Hiltina significantly, leaving her at her limit.
In fact, Hiltina could no longer use the “True Name Liberation” of the Night Blade; her silver sword was already covered in fine cracks and was at risk of shattering even with a simple swing.
Hiltina listened to the tremors of the earth. She knew that in a matter of seconds, those fervent Iron Cross would transform into a dark tide, surrounding them just as they had surrounded Rast earlier.
But looking around, Hiltina did not find any other paths to make an escape.
She slowly adjusted her breathing: “What do we do next?”
Rast pointed to the straight tower nearby: “We go up.”
…
Bang bang bang—
Hiltina and Rast rushed into the lookout tower, quickly ascending the spiral staircase.
This lookout tower had clearly not been used for a long time; the spiral stairs were covered in rust and moss, and with each step they took, the accumulated dust fell away.
“I’m actually quite surprised to be recognized as your companion,” Hiltina remarked.
Rast chuckled: “I thought that a noble young lady like you, raised in the comforts of the academy, would instinctively reject or even resent me after seeing how I detonated half a city to stop the Evil God from descending.”
“From the perspective of an ordinary person, such an act of slaughtering a city is no different from genocide. Maybe some would even say that the lives of the Iron Cross are still lives…”
“Are you not worried that you’ve released an uncontrollable lunatic from the Night World?”
“Looks like I’ve indeed been underestimated.”
Hiltina looked at the shortening steps above, her voice echoing in the enclosed tower: “Let’s not mention that this is merely the historical remnants of the Night World, and not a real city.”
“Even if everything in Deep Blue Harbor is real, the actions you took are still the measures that Starry University would adopt—by any means necessary, at any cost and sacrifice, to eliminate disaster in its cradle.”
Rast raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: “It seems you all are even more extreme than I had imagined.”
“That’s only natural. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have awakened the Night Blade, nor become a Night Traveler.”
“Not just you.”
Hiltina’s footsteps halted at the end of the spiral stairs, then she reached out to push open the iron door at the top.
“Every Night Traveler who has abandoned their glamorous identity, walking in the lawless and moral-free realm of the Night World, accompanied by the remnants of history, madness, and pollution…”
“Are seen by others as complete outcasts, obsessives, and madmen.”
…
The iron door swung open, and Hiltina stepped onto the lookout platform at the top of the tower.
The heavy rain had stopped, leaving only the misty remnants of rain in the air.
The sunset poured into her view like a tide; in the distance, the massive sun disk had already touched the sea surface.
Below the tower lay steep cliffs, where thousands of tons of seawater churned beneath the precipice. Waves occasionally crashed against the black rocks, breaking into white foam.
Hiltina walked to the edge of the lookout platform, gazing down at the sea tinged red by the afterglow of the sunset. The wind lifted the hem of her knight’s garb, rustling in the high altitude.
It was only at this moment she understood what Rast meant by a backup plan.
The spiral staircase behind them shook again; their pursuers had arrived. From a distance, they resembled the sea—a dark ocean formed from countless Iron Cross—while the lookout tower where Rast and Hiltina sat was an island in that vast ocean.
At that moment, those sadistic beings were climbing the spiral staircase of the tower, and in a few minutes, they would appear on the lookout platform, while Rast and Hiltina would have nowhere to escape.
This was truly a place without heaven or earth, with no way up to the skies or down to the earth; their only way out was the roaring sea beneath the cliffs.
“Is the backup plan you mentioned to jump into the sea?”
Hiltina glided her gaze over the jagged cliffs, estimating the height of the lookout tower and the drop to the sea level, which was at least over 60 meters, very likely exceeding 70 meters.
“You should know that falling into the water from this height is not much better than crashing onto concrete.”
“I know, but aren’t you the Chariot? This height should be no problem for you.”
“And what about you? What will you do?”
Hiltina slightly turned her body, looking at Rast, the sunset’s bl**d-red light reflecting in her light brown eyes.
At that moment, the effects of the serum had worn off, and the horrifying dark cross was continuously withdrawing from Rast’s body, revealing his original pale skin. Clearly, the powerful physique and self-healing ability of the Iron Cross had disappeared from Rast, and he had reverted to being the boy no different from an ordinary person.
“Don’t tell me you plan to sacrifice your life again.”
A hint of a smile appeared on Rast’s pale, bloodless face: “Since I owe Miss Hiltina 1600 Kerl from before, I don’t plan on dying easily until I repay my debt.”
“So you practiced high diving?”
“Not really, but my parkour skills are expert level; it’s one of the skills I honed through countless survival games, similar to my marksmanship,” Rast said lightly. “The techniques for cushioning landings in high-rise parkour have commonalities with high diving.”
Hiltina stared intensely into Rast’s eyes, and once she confirmed that he was not lying, she continued: “In that case, I will jump first, and you can catch me from below, then you jump after.”
“Is that okay?”
The moment she saw Rast nod, she leaped over the lookout platform’s railing, disappearing into the tumultuous waves below the lighthouse.
“I feel like the order of our jumps into the sea isn’t quite in line with how it would be written in a movie script,” Rast said with a wry smile.
He listened to the approaching footsteps behind him, and took a step forward.
Moments later, the Iron Cross burst through the door, searching the lookout platform in confusion, but all they found in response were the steep cliffs and the roaring waves, unable to find a trace of Rast and Hiltina.
(End of chapter)
