*Splash!*

Water shot upwards as a slim body fell into the man-made pond below. This pond had always been on Miyumi’s radar since she saw it. Since the day Shizuku left, she had always made an escape plan. While she felt bad for the other girls. Her own safety came first. She had to escape and try to make it to Shizuku. This was her only thought process at this time. She quickly swam to the far edge of the pond and made a break across the cathedral grounds towards the large tree by the wall.

“Stop! How dare you run!” Helen's eyes narrowed as she took something from her pocket and held it up toward the sky. A flash of yellow light could be seen that rose up into the air, growing brighter and brighter. This was the world equivalent of a signal flare. Yellow meant escapee or, more precisely, a girl who was supposed to undergo baptism.

A normal baptism for a priestess of this world was not something shared among the rest of the masses. But these people were normally indoctrinated from a young age and would always say yes to whatever was asked of them. Only those who joined the Holy Knights did not have to undergo the priestess style of baptism. The reason why the supposed heroes summoned from Earth had to undergo this baptism was that it was a surefire way of breaking their minds to make them follow the will of the church no matter what was asked of them. Helen was no different. She had been doing these things since an early age, so she was used to it and was considered normal in her life. But she was also a devout follower, and anyone who went against the creed of the church was considered blasphemous.

Such people did not have a good end….

Due to the signal flare, everyone was notified of what was happening. This also meant the mobilization of the holy knights as well. Miyumi ran with everything she had. She did not wish to be caught. When she saw the yellow flare, she knew it was not a good sign. She ran all the way to the tree and slung her bag over the wall before climbing up the tree to the limb that overhung the wall. The height from the ground to the tree limb was, at last, the equivalent of a second floor of a house. But this did not stop Miyumi from gritting her teeth and jumping off toward the hard ground below.

“Ouch!” Miyumi cried out. Her ankle bent in a way it should not bend, but she still bit her lip. She knew if she let this pain slow her down now, she would never escape. 

 With no other choice, she climbed to her feet, grabbed her bag, and dragged her twisted ankle as she made her way to the back alleys of the city. When the guards and holy knights made their way over, the only trace of her was a small dig in the dirt from where she had been dragging her foot. 

In the back alley, Miyumi had tears in her eyes as she pulled herself along. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see her parents. She wanted to go to school. But this was no longer allowed. These people kidnapped her and her classmates from her world and were making them do such horrific acts. The scene she witnessed played back in her mind over and over.

She hated this place. She hated this world. She wanted to do something to get some kind of revenge for what those people were doing. But she was too weak. Her only solace was hopefully to find Shizuku. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she began to sob softly. “Shizu…. Where are you… Help…. Me….”

Two days later, in one of the back alleys, Miyumi sat huddled behind some wooden crates. She had been on the run for two days with no food or water. Her ankle was swollen and had already throbbed to the point that she no longer felt the pain.

“Hey, look. A girl.” A man’s voice rang in Miyumi’s ears. She lifted her head to see two men walking over. They were dressed in dirty rags. Even the smell from their bodies had already flowed into Miyumi’s nose, causing her to frown.

Miyumi unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the two men. “Stay away.”

“Heh… pretty lady, you do not need to be afraid. We will help you, so just put the sword down.” One of the men smiled, revealing rows of green teeth. 

“I do not care who you are. You need to stay away.” Miyumi gripped her sword tightly. She was so sick of this world. She wanted to return to Japan! 

“Heh. Girl, don’t fuck with us. Now behave and come with us, or you will regret it.” One of the men said as he glanced at his friend. They began to circle the girl. They were not scared of her sword at all. 

Miyumi watched both men carefully. Right now, she no longer cared about killing anyone. She would protect herself no matter what. Her first time could only be with the girl she had long fallen in love with.

One of the men could not hold back anymore and charged forward. Miyumi gritted her teeth and prepared herself. As the man reached out to grab her, she swung her sword down!