The tentacles had covered the entire town. At that point, nothing the townspeople could do would hurt the monster. Their only option was to hide in their homes or in evacuation areas and pile up furniture in front of the doors and windows.
Nobody believed that such a flimsy method of defense would last long.
“If only we had some powerful… magic,” someone else whispered.
All at once, the townspeople suggested the same person.
“Raquel.”
“Yes, that girl! I saw her using attack magic.”
“She’s a powerful sorcerer, isn’t she?”
The speakers looked at each other, a faint glimmer of hope shining on their faces.
“Raquel and her siblings are gone,” a quiet voice interrupted them. Winia shook in the corner, her face strangely contorted. She wrapped her arms around her waist and took a step forward.
“We made them leave,” she said flatly. “Don’t you remember? We talked about them behind their backs, avoided them, and never gave them a chance to prove their innocence.”
Next to Winia was her grandmother, who grabbed her arm to try to quiet her. Winia just shook off the old woman’s hand.
“All of you! You were so eager to think the worst of them, you just believed whatever you heard! And now you want them to save us?”
For a moment, the room went completely silent. Most of the people present had never heard Winia raise her voice before. Being chided by Winia was like being savagely attacked by a kitten—they probably weren’t sure what to make of it.
“B-but, Winia,” one member of the citizen’s patrol stammered, “we all know Raquel used attack magic in the middle of town. And they fought with assassins!”
Several voices chimed in with agreements.
“Aren’t those attack spells illegal?”
“And you were kidnapped because you got involved with them!”
“We all wanted to go save you, but Shannon stopped us. That sounds like they were trying to cover something up to me.”
“Hey! Maybe they created that monster as revenge for being driven out of town!”
Winia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Tears of frustration welled in her eyes.
Raquel had told her that the weaknesses in human nature made people humble enough to admit their mistakes. But the citizens of Taurus were still trying to spread the blame, even after everything they’d done.
Was such a sickness in the human spirit a fact she would have to accept?
Something heavy hit the front door with a thud. The townspeople immediately fell silent, every set of eyes locked on the door, in terror.
The door began to rattle, like someone or something had a grip on the handle and was trying to jiggle it open. When the door didn’t budge, it became still again.
“I think it’s gone,” a townsperson breathed at last.
“With this much stuff piled up, it would take an incredible force to get through—”
An incredible force ripped through the door and sent the pile of furniture flying into the far wall.
The people gripped whatever paltry weapons they had and prepared for the inevitable rush of tentacles. It never came. Instead, after the dust settled, a single stick poked in through the ruined doorway.
“Well, it’s certainly open now.” A wonderfully normal voice spoke from the other side of the ruined door. A moment later, two young men peeked their heads inside the room.
“Everyone okay in here?” one of them called out.
Winia squinted through the dust at the taller of the two figures. Her heart leapt when she realized who it was.
“Shannon?” she called out to him.
Shannon walked into the room with Chris in tow. Behind him, Winia could see that their carriage was parked so that it blocked the doorway, and a shimmering defensive spell surrounding it closed off all gaps a tentacle could pass through.
None of the townspeople moved. They still had weapons gripped in their hands, and their faces wore expressions of hate and fear one would expect to be reserved for the monster.
“You know what?” Chris commented as he looked around. “I don’t think they’re happy to see us.”
“Shut up.” Shannon took a sideways swing at his head, which the boy dodged easily.
Shannon turned to the people of Taurus. “We’ll secure your route of escape,” he said evenly. “You should get out of here as fast as you can.”
The townspeople stood in silence for a moment, then everyone began stammering all at once.
“What’s going on?”
“Why would you show up here all of a sudden?”
“Isn’t that boy the kidnapper?!”
Shannon brushed off the comments. “There’s no time for explanations. I don’t know what that monster wants or where it came from, but if you want to escape from here, we can get you out of town.”
The citizens quieted, but couldn’t stop muttering among themselves. None of them made a move to leave.
Shannon opened his mouth, but before he could say anything a voice chimed in from the back of the room.
“Okay—just tell us what to do. Everyone get your things ready.”
Safir Colt emerged holding an old long sword with a practiced grip.
Shannon studied him a moment. “I knew you weren’t an ordinary civilian,” he murmured.
Safir tapped his sheath lightly and gave a wry smile.
“I’m no fighter. I quit being a mercenary twenty years ago—I just lend my expertise to the citizen’s patrol now and then.”
“Safir…” A member of the patrol started to voice an objection, but Safir glared at him. The man trailed off into silence.
Safir transferred his glare to the rest of the townspeople. “You ought to be ashamed of yourselves,” he snapped. “I’ve never seen a bunch of adults act like such children. Wasting our time, trying to pass the blame around? If you want to stay here and argue, be my guest. I’m going with Shannon.”
Nobody seemed willing—or able—to argue with him. The people scurried to gather their belongings. Mothers held their children. An old man staggered and was caught by his son. The members of the citizen’s patrol ran back and forth, assisting anyone who needed it.
Suddenly, a low, loud roar shook the room. It was the unmistakable sound of many people speaking in unison, but it was so deep and thunderous that it was as if the world itself were rumbling.
“People of Taurus!” the voice boomed. “All of you, listen carefully!”
Something strange was happening to the creature.
All over the town, countless lumps of various sizes grew all over the tentacles. They swelled up like monstrous pimples, then burst to reveal a new face in each one.
The faces were identical—that of a beautiful man with chiseled features and a dignified air. Despite the grotesque monster from which it had been formed, the faces looked like exquisite works of art. No human face could reach such a level of perfection.
Shannon and Chris stared in utter astonishment. Identical faces of all different sizes stared back.
Pacifica and Raquel climbed off the carriage, their movements slowed by bewilderment. Several townspeople had followed Shannon outside, their mouths agape from shock.
Slowly, the main body of the creature appeared from behind a building. In the middle of the mangled mass of flesh was a much larger face.
Countless lips moved in unison, speaking in a single grave voice.
“In the name of the divine law, I order thee! Destroy the seed of disaster, Pacifica Casull!”
Pacifica’s blood went cold. She couldn’t believe what the monster had said.
He just told everyone I’m the Scrapped Princess! she thought in a panic.
After everything she and her siblings had done to hide her identity, a multifaceted mountain of flesh had gone and spilled the secret. She felt eyes boring into the back of her neck. She waited for the inevitable reaction— would they scream at her? Throw things? Attack her from behind?
Strangely, she heard nothing from the people of Taurus. She turned back to look at them.
The townspeople’s gazes were blank. Chris, Safir, and even Winia all bore the same empty expression.
What? The way the citizens stared sent a chill that ran down Pacifica’s spine. She looked to her brother and sister, hoping for an explanation, but she realized in horror that their faces wore the same terrible blankness.
Every pair of empty eyes focused on her.
“Shannon?” Pacifica whispered plaintively. “Raquel? What’s going on?”
Pacifica watched, her heart caught in her throat, as her sister’s hands reached out for her neck.
“R-Raquel?! Shannon?!”
Beside Raquel, Shannon drew his sword. Safir and Chris pointed their weapons at her. Even Winia reached out.