Chapter 8: Escape Beneath the Blue Moon

As she looked around the room, her gaze eventually settled on the window. She hurried towards it and pushed the panels open, allowing the cold night breeze to rush into the chambers and brush against her face.

It was already nightfall, and the Blue Moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the grounds of the Cromwell Mansion with its familiar glow.

Mira's eyes remained fixed on the moon as she gazed at it with admiration, remembering how different the world had become after the Demon Dragon descended upon it.

'After the Demon Dragon appeared, the Blue Moon turned red, and the world was never the same again.'

There were so many mysteries surrounding the Great Calamity and the events that had followed it, so many things that had happened to the world that she had never fully understood in her previous life. She had spent those terrible years struggling to survive, fighting Dark Beasts and watching the remnants of humanity crumble around her, without ever discovering the full truth behind the disaster.

But now she had another chance, and as she stood by the window watching the moon, a clear goal began to form in her mind.

'I have to prevent the Great Calamity from happening. But first, I need to join Bluemoon Academy, and to do that, I have to escape from this place.'

She glanced down from the window and finally took in the height of the building, realising that her chambers were on the third floor.

Mira gripped the window panels and carefully climbed onto the ledge, peering down at the ground below. The sight made her suck in a breath of cold air as she tried to judge the distance.

'I can jump down from here. I've jumped from taller buildings before.'

Despite her confident thoughts, her hands remained tightly wrapped around the panels, and she could feel fear creeping into her heart as she looked at the ground. Her current body was not the same one she had possessed in her previous life, and although she remembered surviving far more dangerous situations, she couldn't assume that her younger self could withstand the same punishment.

'Why am I afraid? It's only fifty bricks high!'

She shook her head and carefully climbed back down from the window ledge.

'I can't risk the fall. I'll have to improvise.'

Mira rushed towards her wardrobe and began searching through its contents, hoping to find something she could use to get down safely. Fortunately, she came across a rope tucked away inside. Without wasting any more time, she grabbed it, tied one end securely to the window panel, and fastened the other around her waist.

Taking a deep breath, she climbed out of the window and began lowering herself down the wall, carefully gripping the rope as she descended. The cold air brushed against her face, and her hands tightened around the rope whenever she looked down, but she continued until her feet finally touched the ground.

She landed softly and released a breath she hadn't realised she was holding.

“Damn! I didn't bring anything to cut the rope loose.”

Mira groaned in frustration as she struggled to untie the rope from her waist. It was more difficult than she had anticipated, and she spent what felt like forever working at the knot before it finally loosened. Just as she freed herself, she heard the approaching footsteps of two patrolling guards and hurried into a nearby corner to avoid being spotted.

Her father was a Tier 3 Warrior, a respectable achievement that earned him considerable influence in the city. The Cromwell family was wealthy and powerful, so it was no surprise that their mansion had numerous guards and maids working throughout the grounds, protecting the household and carrying out their daily duties.

Fortunately, Mira already knew the guards' movements like the back of her hand. She had grown up in the mansion and was familiar with its corridors, gardens, and entrances, so she was able to avoid the patrolling guards and slip through the garden without attracting attention.

After carefully making her way past the final section of the grounds, she finally escaped the Cromwell Mansion and stepped out into the city.

Her destination was Bluemoon Academy, the place where her life as a Warrior would begin. She knew that getting there would be the easy part; whether the academy would accept her, given that she was a woman in a world where women were forbidden from becoming Warriors, remained largely unknown.

But Mira had already made her decision, and nothing was going to stop her from trying.