"It was one of you little brats who broke in while I was gone."
Most of the children froze in fear on hearing this.
The ones who realized where the conversation was going were hoping and praying that it wouldn't take this turn, but it did.
They were now the ones who the blame had been shifted onto.
Mrs. Fera seemed furious, and she started pacing back and forth with a disgusting glare as she investigated the facial reactions of each and every child- looking for the slightest flinch or reaction.
The children held their breath as she inspected them, and she then began to speak.
"So, there are 3 ways in which this could play out. Now that we know that it was one of you little brats, I have a few options for you all. The first option, is that the person who committed this heinous act steps forward, and I will let them go with a LIGHT punishment."
Of course, all the children knew that this 'light' punishment would be anything but light. Even if someone decided to be a saint and admit that they were the one who did it, when in reality they didn't, their punishment would be far greater than anything which Mrs. Fera currently implied.
"Now.... based on the evidence, it seems that there is only one child who performed this criminal act, but it is possible that another one was working with them. Unless you used the tools from the shop to break in, there is no way that a small child could have broken the doors like this, however that is seeming like the most likely case. That being said, whether or not there was an accomplice doesn't matter to me right now. What matters is that there are one or two people here who left the shop at some point today. And I am sure that at least a few of you must have noticed these people leaving. Therefore, if you tell me who did it, I will ensure that only the culprits are punished. It doesn't matter who tells me, but they will get rewarded with an extra piece of bread today."
The children still didn't budge an inch. Of course, this was the obvious answer, as nobody actually left the warehouse. While technically one of them could have falsely accused someone else, this would only breed resentment from all the other children towards that child, and they couldn't afford to anger the only allies they had in this hell.
"I seee... nobody knows??? Nobody saw anything??? Nobody witnessed anyone leaving the warehouse???? Nobody noticed that anyone was missing from their post at some point??? Hmm??? Is that it??? Everyone is just clueless???? Not a single person was paying attention to their surroundings, out of the 30 here????"
Mrs. Fera brought down her fist on the wall, smashing the plaster.
"Are you all fucking with me!?!??!?!"
Some of the smaller children were holding in their tears, and began to sniffle.
"Oh??? Is there something wrong??? Is there something to cry about!?!? I haven't even done anything!!!! If you're gonna cry, then I should give you something to cry about!!!!"
Mrs. Fera stormed out of the room, and the children made way quickly. She went into her own room, and came out with a whip.
"Halie!! I see that you're crying for no reason at all!!! Does this mean that you know who it is, but for some reason you aren't willing to tell me!?!", Mrs. Fera shouted while grabbing hold of one of the crying children- a girl who was only 6 years old.
"N-no ma'am!! I don't know!! I'm sorry!!! I won't.... I won't cry anymore!!!"
"I don't believe you Haley. Didn't I teach you that lying is bad!?! Lying is bad!!!! Only bad children will lie!!!! You need to be punished for lying!!!!"
Mrs. Fera grabbed Halie by the neck, turned her around and ripped open the back of the ragged gown which she wore, revealing her back- which was covered in lashes.
Mrs. Fera brought back the whip, and held the young girl down so that she was kneeling on the ground, and began furiously whipping her.
"AGH!!! EEK!!!! UGH!!!"
She whipped the young girl 10 times, and her screams would have been heard by the neighbors if the orphanage was not removed from the town.
"Are you still not going to tell me!?! Are you going to keep lying, Halie?!?! Well???"
"I.... sniff.... I'm not lying.... I don't know... Please stop...."
"I see.... so you don't know.... or perhaps you are simply being resistant. Get back in line."
The girl stumbled up, shivering furiously. She could barely even stand, and she was crying and sniffing but trying as hard as she could to keep quiet.
She didn't want to be yelled at again and potentially whipped for being loud, so she held in her shouts and bore with the pain. Her back was covered in lashes, and blood was running down it at this point.
"Then.... it must be all of you. It must be that every single one of you little shits are in on this, right!?!?!?!? It's impossible that not a single person knows, which means that you rebellious little shits have decided to collectively go against me like this, and you are all hiding the true culprit!!! That's it! This is your final chance!! If the person who did this doesn't admit it this instant, then I am instead going to punish every single person here!!! 10 lashes each, and no food or bedding for anyone tonight!!! What will it be!?!?!?! Huh!?!? If nobody comes out and says they did it, then everyone will be punished!!! That's the way things are!!! Whoever did it, you are going to make everyone else suffer!!!!! It's going to be YOUR fault that everyone else is whipped and starved!!! Can you live with that!?!? Can you live with yourself, knowing that you caused this??? And to everyone else, don't blame me!!! This isn't my fault at all. This is completely the fault of the sinner who has done this, and by choosing not to admit to their crimes, they are causing you all to be whipped like this, not me!!! Well!?!?!?! NOBODY!???!?!!? IS NOBODY GOING TO ADMIT THAT THEY DID IT!?!??!!?"
Not a single soul stepped forward.
Every single child was on the verge of tears, desperately trying to hold them back with every aspect of their being.
They were filled with far greater terror than anything a normal person should ever have to undergo.
This woman in front of them was nothing less than a monster.
A demon.
A grim reaper, who had come to slice away at their very souls.
Even though Nathan had the vague thoughts of simply admitting that he was the one who did it, he was scared.
He wanted to save everyone by taking the blame.
He wanted to step up, and be that hero.
If he didn't, then he would be whipped anyways, and everyone else would be whipped as well.
Logically, it was the right move.
But fear stopped him.
He had the fear that his punishment would be 10 times greater if he admitted that he was the one who did it.
The fear that she would turn things around on him, and say that he would instead receive all 300 lashes which were supposed to be evenly distributed to all 30 students.
This was the type of woman Mrs. Fera was.
She was a beast, who took pleasure in the agony of these children.
She used brute force to brainwash them into machines.
And it was working.
It was working very well.
Not a single child here made a move, for this same reason.
Even though Mrs. Fera said that the punishment would be the same, regardless of whether they admitted it or not, they knew that this was not the case.
Something like this had happened previously.
It was nothing of this level, but the person who admitted that they did something wrong was punished 5 times more than what Mrs. Fera claimed their punishment would be, before they admitted it.
She couldn't be trusted.
She was a snake, who would use threats and coercion to get what she wanted, and then she would go back on her word and do what she wanted as soon as she got what she needed.
And so, all the children stayed silent. Tears flowed from every single child's eyes, and they could barely stand in the thick tension.
"I see.... nobody here wants to admit that they did it. Not a single person, eh? NOBODY!?!? FINE THEN!!!! LINE UP, BACKS TO ME!!!! NOW!!!!!!!!"
The children began lining up, the ones in the front first, and they kneeled down, preparing themselves to receive the whips.
Mrs. Fera went from child to child, ripping off the cloth from their backs, revealing that there were lashes and scars that completely covered the backs of each and every child.
Every single one of them was already scarred beyond belief from her abuse.
She began to furiously whip them one by one, and their screams filled the halls.
However, when she got to the third child, there was a large thump which came from the back room- the room which was previously Veronica's.
This caught the attention of Mrs. Fera, who stopped whipping the children and turned back quickly.
The door to Mrs. Fera's room cracked, and wooden chips fell off from the broken handle as it slowly creaked open.
A rough and slimy voice was heard from the entrance way.
"I've seen enough of this. I've been sitting here worrying about whether it would be fine for a monster to live in human society, but it seems that there has been one here this entire time."
----
Coran watched the scene from the attic as Mrs. Fera blew her top on the children.
'Eh? She thinks they did it?'
He watched as she screamed, shouted, and gave them many options and opportunities to confess to the sin which they did not commit.
'What the hell is wrong with this woman? She's insane. She doesn't even know for sure that it was them who broke into the home, and yet she is acting as if that is some sort of concrete fact which could never have been false. What an idiot. She clearly is not cautious or suspicious at all, and she only looks at things on the surface. She is far removed from my masters, who never take anything as absolutely certain, and always continuously question the truth.'
Mrs. Fera berated the children, and offered them the options. The first option being that the person who did it offer themselves up.
'Of course they aren't going to step forward. None of them are guilty, after all. This is what happens when you arrive at a false conclusion. Everything else becomes messed up.'
She then offered an opportunity for the other students to point out which ones were not present in the warehouse.
'This is just unbearable.... well, I wonder though.... will any of the children take the bait and lay the blame on another? Even though it was I who actually did this, I suppose it isn't unthinkable to blame someone else and reap the rewards. Is anyone here willing to do that?'
However, none of the children budged.
'I suppose not. Is that a good thing? I think so. I wonder what my masters would think of this.'
Mrs. Fera then started yelling, and after seeing one of the young girls crying, called her out for it.
At this point, Alicia had scooted up next to Coran, and their heads were close to each other as they tried to look into the same peekhole.
"This woman is an idiot...", Coran murmured, under his breath. Alicia nodded in reply.
It was then that Mrs. Fera revealed the back of the child, which was covered in scars and lacerations, and she started whipping the girl.
Coran couldn't believe his eyes.
He stood there watching, speechless.
Coran grabbed his own heart, which felt like it had been rattled around within his chest.
'What.... what is this.... this coldness.... this insane feeling inside me.... is this what my master, Ally feels all the time?'
It felt as if he was falling, unable to catch himself.
Like his heart was about to burst.
He watched with hateful eyes as the woman whipped the child.
"This bitch.... what is she doing to this girl??", he whispered, glancing over to Alicia. She too seemed to be filled with fury and disgust for the scene she was witnessing, but she looked to Coran for comfort. She didn't want to do or say anything that would compromise their mission, so she merely looked to him for advice.
"We.... we have to stay calm. We can't move from here, or our mission will be compromised...", Coran said while rejecting the pain he felt in his chest as he heard the screams of the young girl.
What was this?
Did he want to save her?
Did he want to stop this from happening?
Ah...
He knew what it was.
That look in Mrs. Fera's eyes right now.
It was the same look that his own mother gave him.
The look of 'You are no child of mine.'
The look of 'I am only keeping you around because you are of use, but I will throw you aside the moment you become useless.'
The look of 'You are nothing more than a plaything for me.'
Coran wanted to rush out this moment, but with all he could stood still, and continued watching.
Alicia too seemed distressed at seeing this scene, but more than anything she wanted to assist Coran, and she would not disobey his orders as his slave.
However, it was then that the woman made the evil statement which his masters would never make.
It was a statement which his masters, who cared so deeply for their subordinates and those underneath them, would have despised with the very entirety of their beings.
He knew as soon as she made this statement that he could not allow this to go any further.
"If nobody comes out and says they did it, then everyone will be punished!!! That's the way things are!!! Whoever did it, you are going to make everyone else suffer!!!!! It's going to be YOUR fault that everyone else is whipped and starved!!! Can you live with that!?!? Can you live with yourself, knowing that you caused this??? And to everyone else, don't blame me!!! This isn't my fault at all. This is completely the fault of the sinner who has done this, and by choosing not to admit to their crimes, they are causing you all to be whipped like this, not me!!!"
This went against everything his masters had shown him.
Whenever his masters did something, they would never claim to be the 'good guys'.
They would never pretend like something which they did was not their responsibility.
They would never shift the blame onto others.
With those goblins, when Garett gave them 3 choices, he admitted that it was because they weren't willing to spare the mana on a bunch of slaves when there might be danger lurking around the corner.
With the birdmen and lizardmen who attacked, they made sure that their subordinates who had been harmed were taken care of, and that the men who did so were punished.
With the birdmen who came to the village, they offered them a chance for redemption, and accepted them within the fold as soon as they determined that they were not selfish people.
Yet here stood a woman, who was shifting the blame onto the innocent, and claiming that it was THEIR fault that she was going to whip all of them- not hers.
She made her own, unfair conditions, and then told the children to blame the one who performed the action- the one who broke in- and not the one who made these harsh conditions in the first place while acting off a false assumption.
Disgusting.
It was completely her wrongdoing, by establishing such conditions. Not the person who didn't admit to doing something they didn't do out of fear.
By saying 'I will punish everyone if nobody admits it', you create a situation where it is impossible to admit it- regardless of whether you have done it or not. Doing so would only ensure that one's punishment is increase many times over, despite what one may claim before they know the culprit.
And therefore, by doing so, you are punishing many innocent people for the wrongdoings of 1 person, without even being sure that the person is within the group who you are punishing.
Coran could not stand for this.
It was not that he felt guilty, due to the fact that he was the one who broke in.
But his heart could not stand by idly as he watched this mess.
And, as if in response for his suppressed desire to save these children from this fate, an idea sprung in his head after he heard these words.
One which was logical, and allowed him to do so without compromising his mission.
What was his entire purpose here again?
To get the humans to accept the fact that he is a monster.
He wasn't here to pretend like he was some sort of kind hearted, innocent little spider who happened to lose his way.
As a matter of fact, wouldn't doing exactly that just be counterproductive to his true objective?
His masters were benevolent, but for one reason or another, they made it very clear that they didn't want to be seen in the public eye as 'good people'.
As heroes.
Rather, they wanted everyone to see with full view that they were monsters.
That they were beings of terror.
That they would haunt your nightmares, and invade your mind.
Yet, people still came to accept them at that.
Coran, and all the people of the dictatorship understood this about their masters, and yet still accepted them due to their magnificence.
Due to their lack of care for how they were seen by others.
Coran too, wanted to take a similar route.
So he decided.
Tonight, Mrs. Fera would not be the only monster in this town.
Coran too, would become a monster- for the sake of his mission, and for the sake of what he believed was right.
"Alicia."
"Yes, Coran?"
"Get in my bag. We're going on a little journey."
"Is this.... is this part of the mission?"
"Yes, it is."
"Ok. I understand."
Alicia hopped inside the bag quietly, and Coran equipped it, opening the trapdoor and dropping to the ground after disarming his trap. He left all the webs as they were, and did not even bother to clean them up.
Why?
Because he wanted to be caught.
He wanted all the people in this town to know that a monster had arrived, and needed to be eradicated.
And he knew the perfect way to do this.
Coran exited through the trapdoor, went from Veronica's room into Mrs. Fera's room, and slowly cracked open the door. He could see Mrs. Fera, who had just been ferociously beating the children as they were lined up to receive their lashes.
"I've seen enough of this. I've been sitting here worrying about whether it would be fine for a monster to live in human society, but it seems that there has been one here this entire time."