[CHAPTER 55]
Her mind, which had drifted far away for a moment in the sudden chaos, came back to her.
“Ahā¦.”
Suspended in the air, Meyna let out a faint groan as if murmuring.
A massive centipede held her tightly with several of its unusually long legs.
She could feel the cold, disgusting texture through the fabric, and soon its sharp leg tore through her clothes and pushed inside.
“ā¦!”
Sticky fluid dripping from the tips of its legs touched her bare skin.
Every hair on her body stood on end from the horrific sensation, but Meyna forced herself to swallow the scream.
She remembered what Caliph had once told her.
“If you ever run into a monster, remember only two things.
First, donāt scream or try to run.
Youāll only provoke it.
Second, survive until I come for you.
Iāll definitely save you.”
When was that again?
Caliph looked a bit angry when he said itā¦
“Look at that, what do we do!”
“Shouldnāt we help?”
She could hear frightened pedestrians whispering.
Her mind suddenly went blank.
Beeeeepā
A ringing sound followed.
“Kyaaa! Meynaaaaa!”
Gigiās piercing scream jolted her back to her senses.
Gigi was leaning out of the carriage, crying loudly as she looked up at Meyna.
She kept shrieking and then began pounding on Adonisās back.
“Hey, what are you doing! Do something!”
“My lady.”
Adonis, who had already been about to act, jumped down from the tilted carriage.
“Please keep your voice down.
You must not provoke the monster.”
Last winter, back at the party, Adonis had done everything he could to stay in Gigiās good graces.
Marquis Beririch was one of the empireās top five richest men, and his daughter Gigi donated enormous funds to Guild 928.
But even someone used to smoothing over othersā tempers found it hard to keep his composure now.
Meyna was trapped in the grip of a horrifying monster.
And this loud woman kept shrieking and shrieking.
If the monster got agitated and swallowed Meyna whole?
Caliph would kill him later, sure, but that wasnāt even the main issue.
To the people of Renox Castle, Meyna wasā¦ a special presence.
“Please escort my lady safely back to the Beririch estate.
I will return with the advisor.”
Adonis instructed the coachman and drew a dagger from inside his coat.
He wasnāt a knight or a mage, but he was still the top secretary of a top star.
He knew enough self-defense.
“Advisor, hold on just a bit!”
He shouted to Meyna, then took a fighting stance toward the monster.
Looking down at him, Meyna steadied herself.
She didnāt have abilities, but she had learned some things secondhand.
When dealing with a monster, stay calm and find the weak spot.
That was the most basic rule.
There must be a weak point.
Meyna studied the centipedeās massive body.
It had a pair of long antennae on each side of its head, always moving like sensory whips, like sturdy leather lashes.
Its eyes were blood-red, and beneath its strong mandibles protruded long fangs.
The clear liquid dripping from them suggested poison.
“Watch its fangs, Advisor!”
“It will inject venom and paralyze your nerves.”
His warning chilled her spine, but she kept observing.
The creatureās black body looked armored like steel.
It lifted itself like a cobra ready to strike, hundreds of red legs writhing in the air.
Then she noticed the joints connecting each segmented piece.
When it twists its body, the soft flesh showsā¦
Realizing something, Meyna called out.
“Sir Hiaron!”
Adonis, who had been inching closer with his dagger, looked up.
“Yes, Advisor?”
“Whenever the monster moves its antennae, the joint connections seem to open.”
Adonis considered her words.
Then he glared at the antennae and suddenly let out a loud yell.
“Aaaaah!”
He swung the dagger at a streetlamp, smashing it repeatedly.
The sound made the antennae snap through the air, and at the same time the soft flesh of each segmented joint became exposed.
“Advisor!”
He confirmed it and called up to her.
“Sir Hiaron.
Iāll try to jump down on my own.
Donāt worry, just attack.”
Meyna had the same thought and spoke calmly.
Adonis looked up at her with concern.
He judged the height, then shook his head firmly.
“Iāll think of something.
Buy me a little time.”
He nodded reluctantly.
Meyna pushed up her crooked glasses and checked the height from the ground.
About the height of the fifth floor of a castle tower.
Falling without protection would mean broken bones at best.
If only I had a rope.
She had seen holy knights wrap ropes around their waists when hunting on cliffs or mountains.
While Adonis created noise to distract the monster, Meyna looked down at her skirt, shredded by the centipedeās claws.
ā¦This is it.
A flash of resolve struck her.
Still held tightly by the monster, she bent with difficulty and grabbed the torn hem.
Then she yanked.
Riiipā
As the fabric tore, the cotton dress split downward.
The inner white dress fluttered in the wind, and her thigh was fully exposed, but she didnāt stop.
The fabric stretched long, like a makeshift rope around her waist.
Holding the end, Meyna formed a loop.
With a quick motion, she hooked it around the centipedeās claw and pulled tight, tying it securely.
“Sir Hiaron!”
Adonis, watching from below, nodded with a determined look.
He shouted and charged at the monster with his blade.
“Kyaaaaah!”
The monster screamed as he struck its weak point, its limbs convulsing.
As its grip loosened, Meyna leapt downward.
The fabric stretched taut, catching her, and she plummeted rapidly with the force of the fall.
Adonis struck again.
The monster opened its massive jaws and lunged at its new target.
The violent movement made Meyna swing wildly like a pendulum.
“Ugh.”
Her vision spun.
Her glasses fell to the ground.
Before she could regain her senses, her body slammed into the monsterās hard armored torso.
“H-huh.”
Her breath stopped.
The impact was strong enough to make her bones feel like they might shatter.
Chiiiiikā
A bad sound followed.
The fabric, unable to withstand the weight, tore.
“Advisor!”
Adonisās distant shout reached her.
But Meyna was already falling fast.
Onlookers who had been too afraid to act screamed in despair.
Noā¦
Just before she hit the ground, unable even to screamā
“Meyna.”
A voice that sounded like a lie echoed in her ears.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist and shoulders with practiced ease.
Sounds around her, which had briefly faded, returned faintly.
“Ughā¦.”
Meyna let out a small groan and opened her tightly shut eyes.
