Chapter 37
“Ahhh!!”
As people screamed and ran in panic, Daphne moved quickly through the crowd.
“Jacquette!!”
She had never been this desperate in her life.
People bumped into her from all sides, making her stumble, but she couldn’t stop or slow down.
She pushed through the crowd and finally saw the cause of the chaos.
“That door”
It was the same kind of door she had seen at the wedding—but this one was twice as big.
The door was pulsing and spilling out black liquid.
The door wasn’t fully open yet, so monsters hadn’t come out. But the black ooze was deadly enough on its own, so everyone was running for their lives.
“Jacquette…!”
Daphne carefully avoided the black ooze as she ran through narrow streets.
But finding her daughter in this chaos was nearly impossible.
Still, she couldn’t give up.
“Jacquette!!”
She turned to look another way and suddenly collided with someone, almost falling.
If she fell now, she might be trampled.
Just then, a strong hand grabbed her arm.
She turned her head quickly and saw a man in a hood.
“My Lady! Are you alright?”
“Y-yes…”
The man helped her to her feet—and as he did, his hood fell off.
“Your Highness?!” she gasped.
“Let’s save the greetings for later. You seem to be looking for someone.”
“Yes! My daughter! Have you seen her? She has silver-gray bobbed hair, light brown eyes, and she’s about this tall—”
“Wait, My Lady. Calm down.”
“How can I calm down when my daughter is missing?!”
“You have to calm down if you want to find her.”
Daphne took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
“I have to find her before the door fully opens.”
“I’m looking for someone too. Let’s search together.”
“Alright.”
Without wasting a second, they started moving.
The crowd had thinned a little, but it was still packed.
As they walked, they kept calling out Jacquette’s name.
But there was no sign of her anywhere.
It was Daphne’s fault. She should never have let her daughter wander alone.
She should’ve watched her more closely.
Even the books said children could disappear in a blink.
“I should’ve been more careful,” she muttered, clenching her fist.
Then suddenly, she heard a voice echo in her head.
[Gyowool (Winter)!!!]
She looked up and around.
“My Lady?” the crown prince asked.
It was a voice she’d never heard before—but somehow, she knew it would lead her to Jacquette.
“I think I’ve found her.”
[Help!!! The kids will die!!!]
“Kids?”
It wasn’t just Jacquette, there were more children.
“Kids? Where are they?” the crown prince asked, his eyes lighting up.
Daphne nodded and pointed.
“This way!”
She started moving toward the voice.
The door was slowly opening.
They had to find the children before it fully opened.
Once it did, monsters would pour out, just like last time.
Even though Theophanes and his knights were probably nearby, they couldn’t stop everything.
[Ahh!! A monster! Gross!!]
Daphne flinched at the sound.
A monster?
She looked at the door. It hadn’t opened yet.
So how could there already be a monster?
“What’s going on?”
“Your Highness, have you ever fought a monster before?”
The crown prince shook his head.
“Not even once?”
“Never.”
That meant she might have to fight.
Theophanes had taught her how to use her powers, but she wasn’t experienced yet.
“Let’s keep moving.”
[Agh! Get away!!]
The screams made it easier to find the right path.
They turned a corner—and then they saw it.
A huge, pitch-black monster.
Its lower half was a spider. Its upper half was human… but something was wrong.
It had a snake’s head and sharp clawed arms.
Worried about alerting it, Daphne and the crown prince stayed quiet.
But the monster sensed them.
It twisted its upper body to face them.
[Gyowool!!!]
Someone cried out again—sounding like a child sobbing.
But there was no time to focus on that.
“I’ve never heard of a monster like this,” the crown prince said.
“What do you mean?”
“Monsters don’t usually have so many mixed forms.”
“So… are you saying it’s not a monster?”
[No! It is! That horrible feeling it’s a monster!]
Behind the monster, a transparent barrier shimmered.
Inside it, something white was floating and struggling.
Daphne looked closely and gasped.
It was the divine beast they’d met in Himonas.
“Why is it here…?”
She was sure it had returned to Himonas.
“I’ll try to buy some time. But I might not last long.”
The monster twitched its many spider legs.
It wasn’t trying to break the barrier, it wanted to eat whatever was outside.
“It has some intelligence,” the crown prince muttered, drawing his sword and aiming at it.
“When I give the signal, run to the children and get them out.”
“But Your Highness, you’ve never fought a monster—!”
“There’s no one else here who can.”
He was right.
Daphne didn’t know how to use weapons. She would just get in the way.
“Alright.”
They slowly stepped backward, trying to lure the monster out of the alley.
The monster suddenly rushed at them.
They both turned and ran.
As soon as the monster was out of the alley, the crown prince shouted:
“Now, My Lady!!”
Daphne spun around and dashed toward the transparent barrier.
Her legs were already weak from all the running, but she couldn’t stop now.
She felt the monster chasing her.
When she turned her head slightly, she saw it was following her.
“Is it after me now?”
She looked ahead.
Jacquette was there—with another boy, she didn’t recognize.
If she ran straight to them and the barrier broke…
It would be the worst-case scenario.
Making a snap decision, Daphne ducked down.
At the same moment, the monster swung its leg.
Luckily, she had dodged just in time.
“My Lady! What are you doing?!”
“That monster’s targeting me! If I run to the kids, I might put them in danger!”
She had to take the risk.
She didn’t know how long she could hold it off, but she had to try.
Daphne took a deep breath and remembered what Theophanes had told her:
“You’ll feel the energy gathering in a spot. Imagine pulling a thread from there.”
She placed her hand on the ground—and felt something flowing out from her.
“Got it.”
As she whispered, ice started to spread from where she touched the ground.
It shot toward the monster.
The spider legs touched the frozen ground and started freezing too.
The ice spread up the legs and froze the monster’s lower body.
“Kids! Run now!”
The monster stopped moving. They had to escape while they could.
At her shout, the shimmering barrier popped like a bubble—and the kids ran out.
“Mom!”
Jacquette, crying hard, ran into Daphne’s arms.
“You were so scared… Let’s go.”
She didn’t know where the strength came from, but Daphne lifted Jacquette.
The crown prince rushed past her.
“Michael!”
“Brother…!”
He also picked up the boy.
“Let’s get out of here. I don’t know how long the ice will hold.”
Daphne and the prince exchanged a glance and quickly left the alley.
“Wait for me too!!!”
The little white divine beast flapped its wings and flew after them.
