Veronica made her way to her home, panting in front of the door to enter.
She stopped.
'I.... I need to calm down. I need to think through this....'
Veronica was distressed as she stumbled inside, looking around frantically.
Her eyes met with a large pair of shears. It looked like a giant pair of scissors, 2 feet in length.
She walked over and grabbed them.
'I need to think logically.... I can't let these emotions take hold of me....'
Veronica slid the scissors into her cloak, which she slid on, and got ready to leave.
'I'm going too fast here.... but, I can't stop moving.... It's like my body is moving on it's own.... it's like it wants to go and save those children, as quickly as possible.... but what can I really do? What if it's a trap laid by Mrs. Fera, and I've fallen for it hook line and sinker? Or what if it truly is a monster? What about that hand of hers? Was that some sort of faked scheme, or was it real? I should have gotten a better look, but it's too late now. I'm already back here.'
Veronica looked around once more, and left wearing nothing more than a trenchcoat and a light gown underneath.
'I don't know what I will be able to do... this is completely illogical. I shouldn't be jumping the gun like this! Shouldn't I be the one manipulating here? Shouldn't she be the one falling into my traps? Why am I doing this?'
Veronica did not know why, but she could not stop herself.
She rushed out of the city, in the direction of the abandoned mineshaft.
The streets were mostly cleared, and she didn't encounter many others.
It irritated Veronica that all these people could sit by when the orphans might legitimately be in the clutches of a monster, and yet they all patiently waited according to the directions of Mrs. Fera, who falsely pretended to care.
'Not a single one of them....'
No wait. Didn't she see two others just earlier who seemed to be running around frantically? No, they didn't matter. Either way, she didn't see them here now.
Veronica rushed through the city, until she reached the outskirts.
The mineshaft entrance was now in sight.
For just a moment, she stopped in front of it.
'Once I enter, there is no going back. Do I really want to do this? Am I really going to just enter here and now? This could mean giving up my life. Am I willing to give up my life for these kids?'
Veronica only paused for a moment, and walked forward.
'NO! I'm not willing to give up my life for these kids!'
Her body kept moving.
'What are you doing!??! Why do you keep advancing??'
She stepped into the mineshaft.
'Stop it!! Go back!!! I said go back!!!!'
Most of the torches were missing from the walls, but she took hold of one of them that remained.
'You shouldn't need this, since you aren't going to enter this mineshaft in the first place!! Put it down, and get out of here!!'
She continued walking through the shaft. She heard the dripping of water inside the cave as she progressed, but nothing else.
'Why? Why am I doing this?'
As she walked deeper into the mineshaft, she began to see cobwebs of greater and greater density.
'Hahaha.... I suppose I'm already in here now, right? At this point, turning back wouldn't mean much....'
Veronica whipped out the shears, and cut away at some of the lighter cobwebs. She was able to cut the first few, but when she got into the thicker area, she tried to snip one away, yet....
The shears became stuck inside the sticky web.
It was extremely thick, like a string made of glue. As soon as she snipped the shears, they were embedded into the web, and she tried to pull them out, but couldn't.
'What is this??? These webs are so strong that these massive shears can't even cut them, and they're so sticky that I can't even pull them out!!! The monster.... it must be real to make something like this.... I need to get out of here!!!!'
Veronica continued down the walkway, leaving the shears behind.
It was then, that she began to hear something.
The creaking of wires as they were stretched.
The screaming of children as they seemed to be oscillating up and down.
"AAAAAaaaaa.....AAAAAaaaaa....."
And a raspy voice.
"Heh heh heh..... how do you like this? This is one of the contraptions which my masters told me about, and I put my own personal touch on it. It's meant to make it so that your brains are rattled as you are thrown about. Their minds are truly beyond comprehension to come up with something like this."
Victoria froze in place as she heard this.
The screams of the children continued as Veronica stood in the hallway. She knew that the moment she stepped out, she would likely be in sight of the monster, and she would witness whatever horrible torture he was putting the children underneath.
She was scared.
She didn't want to step out, but she had to. She had come all this way, and now was not the time to chicken out.
'Even if I run, that thing probably already knows I am here.... monsters have good senses, and I've come close enough to hear it, so there is no reason why it shouldn't have heard me.... furthermore...'
Veronica looked at her hands, which were now empty, as the shears she took with her had been caught in a sticky web which she tried to cut.
'I no longer have any weapon. I'm unarmed. Why am I even still here?? I need to run. Even if I see what is happening to the children, I can't do anything about them. I can't save them. I can't help them. The only thing I would be able to do would be to distract the monster for a single moment, maybe to let some of them escape, but if they are trapped then that wouldn't work either way. I can't do anything right now. SO WHY???'
Veronica took a step forward.
'Why do I keep moving??? Why can't I stop myself?? Don't tell me it's because of something as simple as caring for the children!! How could that be? I wasn't careless enough before to make some halfassed attempt to stop Mrs. Fera from abusing them, so why can I not seem to stop myself from moving forward now??? Maybe it would have been better for me to spend more time preparing... maybe those others were right to meet later, at 7... maybe I was the one who was wrong. Maybe by allowing themselves that time, they are able to properly think things through, instead of jumping in like I did. Maybe.... maybe Mrs. Fera actually cared more about these children than I do....'
Veronica let out an audible laugh as she thought this.
"HAHA! AS IF!!"
The laugh echoed down the hallway of the tunnel.
Now she had done it.
Without a doubt, whatever monster that lie waiting at the end of this tunnel was now aware that she was here, but she couldn't help it.
The very thought that Mrs. Fera cared even a bit about the children was so outrageous that Veronica could not help but laugh.
Veronica had watched and kept her mouth shut as Mrs. Fera established all her 'policies'.
Did she regret that?
No. She was merely lying in wait, knowing that she was the only person who had the power to do anything about them, and as such she couldn't afford to mess it up.
But she had messed it up.
Was this her desperate attempt to make up for that error of sending that letter to the Senator?
She still had an opportunity to take down Mrs. Fera using other methods, if she stayed alive, so why was she here, risking her life?
She felt as if she was a puppet.
Her mind was not controlling her body. Her emotions were. She was not in control, and completely split with what she did, and what she wanted to do.
"Hahaha!! Well, I suppose you've heard me now, monster! No point hiding now!! Better watch out, because I'm coming to get you!!!", Veronica shouted.
She continued walking down the tunnel, unarmed and prepared to be caught, and perhaps even killed.
As she walked through the tunnel, she reached a place that looked like an opening.
When she reached this opening, she walked out.
The moment she walked out however, she heard the sound of something mechanical clicking.
A net came from above, and the ends stuck to the ground, Trapping Veronica.
The inner wiring of the net was not sticky, but the edges of the net were, and they formed a circle which connected to the cave floor, making it so she was unable to escape or move.
"Ah, it looks like I've been caught!! Haha!! What am I doing???", she shouted with a tinge of madness.
She looked up in front of her, to see a large web, connected to stalagmites along the ground.
It was thickly woven, so that it looked more like a piece of cloth than a spider web, connected to the formations in a circular fashion.
On it, there were many children, and they seemed to be bouncing up and down while shouting.
"AAAAAAaaaaa...."
Looking over to the side, she saw a fireplace.
Sitting around the fireplace, were a number of children.
There was a creature which looked like a combination of a wasp and a human, and in her arms and lap sat six young children. Next to this woman sat the spider abomination which a drawing had been made of.
Around these two, many more children sat quietly. Some were eating, others drinking water from small cups, which seemed to be made from a strange hardened cloth material.
However, the spiderlike abomination took notice of the commotion she had caused after springing the trap at the door.
It stood up, and began walking towards Veronica with vicious eyes. The wasp stared at her suspiciously, but stayed put, cradling the children and rocking them back and forth.
"Oh? It looks like our first guest has arrived. Welcome to our nest, human. So? Let's hear it. Why have you come here? Let me guess. To eliminate the monsters which have taken the children hostage?"
----
One of the strange attractions which were made by Coran's masters in the village was something which they called a trampoline.
Coran's sister had been instructed to create one before, for the slime and goblin children to play on.
He witnessed the children bouncing up and down on this creation, and smiled.
'Yes, my masters truly must understand how to please many people. This is an interesting way to do so.... it must be very concerning for the children on it, as they are falling in midair for a good amount of time while they use it. There is also the risk of hitting another child, and of course...'
As Coran was thinking this, one child hit the trampoline with that double bounce, launching another child very high into the air. Fortunately, the cave ceiling was high, so there were no bloody messes to clean up after just yet.
'This is certainly a dangerous entertainment tool. As expected of my masters. They seem to take an interest to these devilish contraptions, which seem innocent at first, yet hide the most devious intentions.'
As Coran was thinking this, he picked up on some noises coming from the entrance.
It seemed like somebody was laughing.
'Hm? Are my senses mistaking me? It seems like a single person has come here, unharmed. Surely, nobody would be dumb enough to do something like that. Is this person mere bait? Could it be that I cannot sense it, but an army is lurking in wait? This could be trouble.'
Coran did his best to inspect the area, but could not find even a trace of any other people.
'If there are more people, then they must have found a way to completely hide themselves from me. This could be very dangerous if I take them lightly...'
However, the person who Coran heard seemed to stumble right into the trap he set at the entrance to the cavern, where the mineshaft ended, and their little hideout was.
A woman who was young, with long black hair stood in front of Coran. She wore a black leather trenchcoat down to her knees, and she seemed to be slightly... off.
"Ah, it looks like I've been caught!! Haha!! What am I doing???"
'Ah, just a crazy woman. She probably either got lost, or wanted to go exploring and happened to stumble upon me.'
Coran approached the woman.
'Or maybe, she has something planned, and this is an act to get me to slip up....'
Coran became suspicious of the woman, and approached her carefully.
"Oh? It looks like our first guest has arrived. Welcome to our nest, human. So? Let's hear it. Why have you come here? Let me guess. To eliminate the monsters which have taken the children hostage?"
The woman looked back and forth between Coran, the children on the trampoline, and the campfire where Alicia sat, taking care of the young ones.
"Well.... something like that. To be honest, I don't even know myself why I came here. I knew I shouldn't have. I knew something like this would happen...", the woman said while grabbing the net with a hopeless look. "But for some reason, I came! Why did I come?? I knew that there was nothing I could do to help the children, but here I am! So, what are you going to do with me, now that you've caught me, monster??"
"What am I going to do with you.... a good question. I suppose I should give you a chance to explain yourselves. After all, according to my masters, you should never kill someone without reason. You should always listen to their story first, and determine if killing them would benefit you more than keeping them alive."
The woman sat up straight and seemed to come to her senses at hearing this.
It was as if she had gone nuts for just a moment, but the mention of benefits and negotiation had allowed her to realize her own position.
"Ah, well in that case, you are a monster who values trade and equivalent exchange, no? You do not value needless killing unless it benefits you, right? In that case, I believe I can make a proposition for you."
"A proposition?", Coran asked. He was interested now. This woman was able to speak with him, without screaming and shouting for help, and even considered bargaining with him.
It could be some sort of trap to distract him, but was this not the exact reason why he was sent here?
To find the humans who would be willing to look past his appearance, and work with him?
"I'm listening."
"Well, first let me ask you this. Why have you kidnapped those children? Have you done that to eat them?"
"That is the story which I have spun."
"Implying that it was only a story, and not the truth?"
"Hmm.... I can't allow you to leave easily with that information. Are you sure you want me to tell you?"
"Am I going to leave this place either way? Go ahead."
"Fine then. But if you tell a single soul, I will hunt you down and slice you up myself.", Coran said while holding up one of his skewers.
"I have decided to adopt these children, forcefully. I have stolen them from their previous owner, because I felt that their care was insufficient. But for the record- all I have done is kidnap them to consume them."
"Why is that?"
"Why else? To drag people like you here to 'save the children from the monster.'"
"Why? Do you wish to consume the people who come in order to save the children?"
"On the contrary. I simply wish to see whether they have value as people or whether they are merely insects to be squashed. But, for simplicity I suppose I'll go with that. I would like to eat as many people as I deem are worth nothing more than livestock. Let me as once more. Why did you come here?"
"I.... I'm not sure myself. As soon as I heard of the kidnapping of the children, my body moved on its own. I think that I wanted to save them, or something like that. But look at me now. Trapped, and speaking with you like a merchant, negotiating a price- except we're negotiating my own life here. And yet, we seem to have gone off on a tangent."
"Indeed we have. Then, let me ask you another thing. If I were to kill one of these children in front of you, what would you do?"
Veronica stopped speaking there, and looked to be shocked as the monster made this statement.
'Why am I shocked? Isn't it obvious that this monster should make such a threat? But... why did I feel that he wouldn't? Why do I feel like he's bluffing?'
"I.... I'm trapped in here, so there isn't much I could do about it.", she responded coldly, with a fact that could not be more true. Even if she wanted to do something about it, she could not.
"But what if I offered you the opportunity to trade in your life for the life of the child?"
"I...."
Veronica seemed troubled.
"I don't know what I would do."
"I see...."
Coran was thinking to himself, stroking his chin with his human hand.
"Then, what if I actually make that offer? You offer me your life, and in exchange, I won't eat any of these children. If you are not willing to give your life, then I could instead just eat them all in front of you, and let you free."
"How do I know you wouldn't just eat them after you killed me?"
"Well, there would be no point to even speaking with you if I were to do that. Think about it. You are captured. Trapped. If I wanted to eat all of you, there would be no reason for me to strike such a deal, no?"
"I suppose you have a point...."
Veronica seemed to be troubled further.
'Is he actually expecting me to make such a decision?? Does he think I am some sort of martyr, who will give her life for these children??? Or maybe he wants to toy with me, and have me watch in guilt as he consumes the children.... agh!!! I don't know what to do!!!'
"You seem awfully troubled. That's fine. Take your time and think about it."
Coran smiled inwardly.
'This woman is actually thinking hard about this. This is wonderful. She is exactly the type of person I want to work with. She isn't selfish, and is seriously considering giving her own life for these children, and so she is not heartless, yet she is also intelligent enough, and does not hold so much prejudice as to not be able to negotiate with monsters. She fits the description of those I want in on my operation perfectly.'
Before Veronica had answered, Coran held up a hand.
"That's enough. The fact that you thought about it is enough for me. I suppose it will be the children who die."
"W-wait!!! Don't be so hasty!!! Please give me more time to think before you decide something like that!!!"
Coran smiled further.
Even if she had not abruptly decided to give her own life, she was legitimately and seriously considering it, to the point where she needed a great amount of time to consider it.
She wasn't some saint who would immediately give her life off for the sake of others. Of course not. Those people did not exist.
But she also wasn't some heartless woman who would kill off 30 children in the blink of an eye just to survive.
Of course she wouldn't be able to come up with an answer. That was the best answer that a decent person could legitimately come up with.
Coran smiled at Veronica.
"How about this then. You said that you were willing to offer me a proposition earlier. I am curious. Let's hear it. Or were you just bluffing, trying to get information out of me, stalling for time?"