The world was falling apart.
That was what Veronica thought as she watched her father die. His lifeless body was being torn apart in the monster’s jaws.
The Bahamut that had descended upon the city was more than twice the size of a large man.
It had a humanoid form but no head, as if it had been torn off. Its hunched back had bones protruding at each joint, giving the impression of a massive skeleton with only a thin layer of skin stretched over it.
The red eye embedded near its heart turned toward her.
She knew she was next in line to be stuffed into that toothed gullet.
Her body froze completely. A shiver ran from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes.
I need to run, she thought, desperately begging her frozen legs to start moving.
With each step the Bahamut took, viscous liquid dripped onto the floorboards with a squelching sound.
It was coming. Getting closer and closer.
But why am I still standing here like an idiot?
“Veronica!”
Just then, someone shouted her name, and a hand shot out and yanked her arm sideways. As they pulled her through the open doorway, dragging her into a run, Veronica recognized them by the familiar back of their head.
“Benjamin…?”
It was Benjamin, the blacksmith’s apprentice. He was known for following Veronica around like a stalker.
But to come running at a moment like this? What about his family?
“I came running as soon as the church bells rang,” Benjamin told her. “Let’s hide somewhere safe and then escape the city together.”
With her mind completely blank, her body was dragged along like a rag doll stuffed with cotton. Reflexively moving her legs in the confusion, Veronica managed to utter a confused question.
“Benjamin… What about your siblings…?”
“The church will send knights soon. Just hold on a little longer. Bayern is a fairly large city, right? It’s impossible for it to be completely destroyed like this.”
That didn’t answer her question about his family’s whereabouts at all.
It probably meant Benjamin didn’t know either. Veronica guessed that he had abandoned even his own family to come straight here.
When they were both nearly out of breath, Benjamin forcefully pulled her between some collapsed ruins.
“Let’s hide here for a moment,” he said, huffing.
Veronica followed like someone missing a screw. Something acrid rose in her throat, but she felt no pain.
Perhaps it wasn’t just one or two screws that had come loose, but dozens. She was broken. Her family was dead, and she was broken. Thinking this way cleared up her vision a little more.
“Take this,” Benjamin said, handing her something.
Veronica looked down at the cool touch of metal against her head. She saw a dagger sheath beautifully engraved with camellia branches. It was something she had always wanted, unable to take her eyes off it whenever she visited the blacksmith’s shop.
“Why are you giving me…”
“I know it’s late, but happy birthday.”
“…Birthday?” Veronica echoed, as if she couldn’t possibly believe it.
“Yes. I really like you, you know. I know you don’t like me back, but I saved you, so give me a chance. Now that your family is gone, it’s just the two of us. We’ll leave Bayern and get married.”
His words went in one ear and out the other.
What was he saying? Get married?
Could he be serious?
Even in her dazed state, his words only filled her with horror. There was nothing romantic about them.
The city had been reduced to ashes. How could he even talk about love when he didn’t even know if his family was alive?
She didn’t know how to explain this strange feeling. Being loved was supposed to be a good thing, yet somehow she felt a nauseating revulsion rising within her. It was disgusting.
Veronica unconsciously took a step back.
“First, I plan to go to Karta and get help from my uncle, who sells warhorses. Once we settle there…”
“Ben.”
Veronica, pale as a sheet, barely managed to cut off his rambling. Then she continued in a clearer voice, “Thank you, truly, for saving me. I’ll repay this debt over my lifetime if I have to. But not by following you. So please… leave me alone. Even if I die here, it’s no longer your responsibility. Go to your family. Your siblings must be worried.”
She wasn’t sure how her tone came across. She didn’t have the presence of mind to tell.
After speaking her mind honestly, she darted out from behind the wall where they had been hiding. As soon as she emerged onto the open street, a black and red hell unfolded before her.
A building collapsed with a loud crash just a few steps ahead, startling her.
Looking around frantically, she moved her feet as if in a trance. Everything seemed to be in chaos, but she had a destination in mind.
Her broken mind, with all its screws fallen out, was telling her that she should head to the church at the edge of the city—to a place protected by God, a sacred place where Bahamuts would not dare approach.
The city was an inferno as far as the eye could see. Screams and cries echoed through the collapsed ruins. The desperate cries of people searching for their separated families no longer drew anyone’s attention.
She walked unsteadily like a drunk person for a long while, until someone grabbed her shoulder firmly from behind.
It was Benjamin again.
His eyes were wide open, and he gave her a twisted smile.
“Veni, I-I understand how shocked you must have been. O-Of course I do. But I’d like you to change from now on. There are only so many rejections I can take. I get hurt too, all right? If you keep this up, I might just move on to a nice, obedient girl.”
Veronica could almost see screws coming loose from Ben’s temples. One, two, dozens of screws falling out all at once.
Perhaps she wasn’t the only one who was broken.
Veronica’s lips began to tremble.
“Step back, Benjamin. You’re scaring me.”
“Scaring you? Me? How can you say that? I risked my life to save you, even while that huge monster was chewing up your father’s brain! I saved your life!”
Her shoulder hurt as he shook her violently. She struggled to break free, but her small frame was no match for a man who worked with iron for a living.
“Ah! It hurts, Benjamin, let go!” she cried out, her face pale.
After wrestling for a while, she finally managed to push him away with all her might.
“You little wench…!”
Benjamin raised his hand high as if to strike her. She squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating the coming pain.
And then she felt blood spraying onto her cheek.
Blood?
She slowly opened her eyes, closed them again, then finally opened them wide.
The warm liquid that had splashed on her cheek streaked down to her chin like tears.
Veronica opened her mouth and held her breath. Her eyes grew impossibly big at the sight before her.
Her pupils dilated, and she took several stumbling steps backward. With no one gripping her shoulder anymore, it wasn’t difficult to do so.
“Urgh!”
Before he could finish speaking, Benjamin was suddenly snatched upward by the back of his head, his mouth pierced through. There wasn’t even a scream that followed; only the sound of flesh being pierced and crushed to bits served as Benjamin’s last words.
Veronica let out a scream that felt like it would tear her apart. She had been scrambling backward, but then she lost her balance.