Juliet kept her gaze fixed on the creature standing before her.
*Crunch.*
The head of the monster wearing Dolores's face twisted at an unnatural, sickening angle—bone grinding against bone in ways the human body was never meant to move.
*Finally, we're alone.*
The whites of its eyes bled into absolute black, swallowing iris and pupil whole. It took a deliberate step toward her.
Juliet retreated instinctively, never allowing her eyes to leave the approaching horror for even a heartbeat.
*Trust no one.*
*This is what Lennox was warning me about...*
A chill raced down her spine. The hair at the nape of her neck stood rigid with primal fear.
*Waaaaah!*
A furious roar erupted from the amphitheater behind her—the crowd's bloodlust reaching fever pitch.
*How does she always manage to survive?*
"Who are you?" Juliet asked quietly, though somewhere deep in her bones, she already knew the answer.
*This is the snake.*
She couldn't explain the certainty, but she felt it with absolute conviction: the creature before her devoured people whole and wore their skins like stolen clothing.
*A legend told by wandering mercenaries around campfires.*
"What did you do to Dolores?"
*The answer was obvious. She was gone. Dolores had been... consumed.*
"Why are you hunting me?"
*There's nothing to fear...* the creature crooned, its grin widening impossibly as it advanced.
*I merely wish to finish what I didn't have time to complete many years ago.*
"Many years ago?"
Juliet's breath caught.
"You... you *know* me?"
*How could I not know you, my child? In that life and in this one. I have always waited for you.*
The voice dripped with horrifying tenderness—the affection of a predator for its chosen prey.
Juliet backed away until her spine pressed against the flimsy wooden wall separating her from the illegal amphitheater beyond.
Behind her, crowds roared and screamed in savage delight.
But in that roar, in that chaos, no one would hear her scream.
And even if someone did...
*Would they be able to protect me?*
*What will you do now, princess? No one will come to your aid.*
The snake wearing Dolores's body grinned wider, the expression stretching the stolen face into something grotesque.
That voice...
It seemed strangely, impossibly familiar.
And then, in the midst of complete hopelessness, an unexpected calm settled over her.
As though the fog clouding her mind had lifted, and scattered fragments of the past suddenly assembled themselves into a coherent whole.
*Yellow snake...*
*She knows me. She's known me all along.*
"You didn't choose this moment by chance, did you?" Juliet said suddenly, her voice steady despite the terror clawing at her chest.
*What?*
"This isn't coincidence."
"You waited until Lennox traveled south—until he couldn't possibly be near me."
The creature stopped. Its expression went blank as stone.
And then... it smiled.
*Clever girl. So you understand this is your grave?*
At that precise moment, the earth trembled with another roar—but this wasn't the crowd's enthusiasm.
It was a scream.
"H-help me!"
Cries of terror erupted through the cracks in the wooden planks. Juliet pressed herself against the wall and peered through a gap.
Thick, acrid smoke billowed across the arena floor. For reasons she couldn't fathom, the beasts had broken their chains and were charging directly into the spectators.
The crowd descended into madness. Bodies trampled bodies in the desperate rush to escape.
The temporary structure groaned and shuddered under the onslaught of hooves and claws.
*Who will care if one girl disappears in the midst of this chaos?*
The creature approached, Dolores's stolen face twisted into a mockery of a smile.
*It's right.*
Juliet looked down at her feet.
*There's nowhere to run.*
*No one to call.*
*Only discarded ropes and planks, forgotten by careless workers.*
*What do I do...*
And suddenly—a flash of iridescent light.
Her butterflies swept past, wings shimmering with desperate urgency.
"!" Juliet flinched.
She hadn't summoned them.
They appeared on their own and descended in a furious swarm upon the creature wearing Dolores's skin.
But the snake merely laughed.
*Useless. Pathetic resistance.* It waved one hand like a whip cutting through air.
*You cannot resist me. Don't interfere. Simply watch.*
And at that very instant, the butterflies flared brilliantly—then crumbled into glittering dust of light.
Juliet didn't know what they had tried to accomplish, but she refused to waste the opportunity they'd bought her.
She threw herself bodily against the arena wall, hoping—*praying*—it would give way.
The wall held firm.
But with a dull *thud*, an oil lamp fell from the ceiling and shattered at her feet.
*Are you trying to break through the wall? Do you truly believe it's that fragile?* The snake snorted derisively and reached toward her with clawed fingers.
And then...
*Flash. Crack. Hiss.*
An invisible force stopped the creature mid-strike.
Sparks flew through the air like fireflies.
*What... did you do?!* the snake howled, recoiling as though struck.
Juliet didn't know what had protected her, but she didn't hesitate.
In one swift motion, she kicked the broken lamp at her feet.
*Clack!*
Flames licked hungrily at the oil-soaked rope scattered across the floor.
The fire caught instantly and spread with terrifying speed.
*Kiiiiiiiiii!*
The creature, suddenly engulfed in flames, released a bone-chilling shriek and writhed in frantic agony.
Juliet stumbled backward, pressing herself instinctively against the wall.
*Boom!*
At that moment, smoke seeping through cracks in the half-destroyed wall ignited in a violent explosion.
The concussive force hurled Juliet off her feet.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
---
"Terrible news!"
At that very moment, the palace gates burst open and a servant came sprinting through. He served in the household of the Second Prince, Kloff.
"Your Highness! Something catastrophic is unfolding in the square right now!"
The servant gasped for breath, then quickly explained the situation.
"The arena structure has collapsed, and the magical beasts inside are attacking citizens!"
"Is this true?" Second Prince Kloff sprang from his seat and strode toward the terrace, which offered a sweeping view of the capital below.
And indeed, just as the servant had reported, strange plumes of smoke rose from the square. The acrid smell of burning wood drifted on the wind, accompanied by distant screams.
It appeared the magical beasts had been maddened by some unknown substance released into the air.
"Exactly as planned."
"What?!" The servant stared at the prince in bewilderment.
But instead of appearing troubled or regretful, Kloff grinned—his expression radiating dark, sinister satisfaction.
His assistant quickly ushered the confused servant away.
"You may go now."
"Ah... yes, Your Highness..."
The moment the door closed behind the servant, Kloff began rubbing his hands together in barely contained anticipation.
"Now all that remains is to frame the Duke of Carlisle for this entire disaster."
With smug confidence, Kloff retrieved a small metal sphere from a hidden drawer in his desk.
It was one of the smoke bombs that *woman* had provided him.
It contained a specially formulated herbal compound designed to amplify the aggression of magical beasts beyond reason.
"Isn't this too obvious?" The assistant standing nearby looked uneasy. "Who would be foolish enough to leave their own coat of arms at the scene of a crime?"
Indeed, the Duke's distinctive emblem was clearly engraved on the smoke bomb's casing.
"Ignorance." Kloff waved dismissively. "People see only what they wish to see."
That woman's plan had been elegantly simple and devastatingly effective: magical beasts would rampage through the capital, sowing terror and destruction.
*The citizens will grow furious and demand justice. And then I will present them with irrefutable evidence.*
*The Duke of Carlisle will be finished.*
Kloff's grin widened with malicious glee.
---
"Aaaaah!"
A sudden scream from outside jolted Juliet from unconsciousness. She quickly gathered her senses and struggled unsteadily to her feet.
Her gaze swept across the chaos erupting throughout the square. Magical beasts, freed from their restraints, stampeded in mindless panic while people fled for their lives.
She found herself lying amid the rubble of the collapsed arena structure.
"I'm... fortunate to be alive."
Juliet wiped blood from her forehead and assessed the devastation surrounding her.
*The beasts appear to have been driven mad by some unknown smoke that filled the arena.*
*And what happened before...*
*What was that?*
She took a deep, steadying breath.
*Where did the snake go?*
*With any luck, it was consumed by the flames and fled. A small mercy.*
Juliet took shelter within the remains of the crumbling building and tried to collect herself.
"What in the world is happening?"
She watched the freed magical beasts rampage through the square—and then felt a pang of worry for the butterflies, who had remained eerily silent since the explosion.
"Are you alright?" Juliet whispered to the few butterflies that hadn't yet vanished. A handful of weakened wings fluttered faintly beside her.
*We are... managing.*
Juliet studied them with growing concern.
Their powers had clearly produced no effect whatsoever on that mysterious creature.
"I've never encountered anything like it."
She bit her lip, but couldn't stop her body from trembling.
"What *was* that thing?"
*We cannot say.*
*We made a promise.*
*We're sorry.*
The butterflies responded in hushed, regretful whispers.
"Can't you explain *anything* to me?"
Juliet grumbled, though deep down she understood this was the limit of what her butterflies were permitted to reveal.
After checking that her belongings remained intact, she found a clean handkerchief tucked in her pocket.
Covering her mouth and nose against the acrid smoke, Juliet surveyed the smoldering arena once more. Small metal spheres lay scattered across the scorched floor.
"Smoke bombs?"
She frowned deeply.
She had seen devices like these before, during hunts for magical beasts in the northern territories.
*It seems the gray smoke released by these spheres is what drove the creatures into violent frenzy.*
People who had inhaled the smoke hadn't collapsed, but the situation remained dire.
Many had been injured—trampled or gored—in their desperate attempts to escape the enraged beasts.
Juliet realized that venturing out carelessly could draw unwanted attention or worse. She stood frozen in indecision, clutching the torn fabric of the tent wall.
"Think. *Think.*"
*What should I do now?*
*Contractor...*
*Contractor...*
At that moment, faint voices—barely more than whispers—called to her weakly.
"What is it?"
Two butterflies fluttered their wings with visible effort, their light dimming.
*We're sorry.*
"Sorry? For what?"
*The snake. Still here. Dangerous.*
*We are... tired.*
*It's time for us... to go.*
"Go? Go *where*?"
The butterflies began to fade, their forms dissolving like mist beneath morning sun—wings flickering one final time before vanishing entirely.