"Huh...?"
I stepped away from the catapult and took the binoculars Ethan handed me, scanning the village.
Just as Ethan said, I could see a shadow moving behind the large tree in the plaza.
The problem was that the plaza was completely overrun with monsters. The man was trapped, unable to escape beyond the square.
"Why would he be there...?"
"He probably tried to get out of the village."
Ethan clicked his tongue in frustration, staring at the village with a look that said he wasn’t sure what to do.
There was no other choice. I steadied myself in front of the catapult again, firming my resolve.
"I’ll cover him."
"What? Cover who?"
"Dr. Ludfisher. We need to clear a path if we’re going to get him out of there. We need to divert the monsters’ attention. With this."
The original plan was to destroy the statue of the girl in the center of the plaza. But since we had to save Nox, we’d need to modify the plan a little.
It looked like Nox was trying to escape through the left side of the square, so I decided to target the building on the right.
If the noise of a collapsing structure drew the monsters to the right, it would leave the left side open for him to make his escape.
"We don’t have enough stones for that. If you miss even once, it’s over. Are you sure you can do it?"
Ethan’s voice carried a hint of concern, but I nodded confidently.
"We were planning to draw their attention anyway, weren’t we?"
Even if we destroyed some buildings, the goal was to avoid damaging anything too useful.
If a grocery store or general store packed with supplies got destroyed, we’d be screwed later.
"The first shot should hit that stall."
There was a large market stall on the right side of the square.
It wasn’t inside a permanent structure but set up like a temporary stand—more of a container for street vendors that only opened on market days.
If it collapsed, it wouldn’t be a big loss.
"It’s a miracle that thing’s still standing."
Ethan mumbled while peering through the binoculars and then gave me the signal.
"I’ll count to three. Fire on my mark."
So Ethan would keep watch while I handled the heavy lifting...
I didn’t know why I was always the one tanking hits when there was a huge guy like Ethan around, but, well—
I guess I was just better at this sort of thing.
It was a depressing thought, really.
"One. Two..."
Ethan gave the signal, and I pulled the catapult’s arm down with all my strength.
"Three."
At his cue, I released the lever—
Whizz!
The rock flew high and wide, arcing beautifully across the clear sky before slamming directly into the stall.
Boom—!
The loud crash drew every monster’s attention to the market stall.
“Bullseye!”
The thrill of a perfect hit was undeniable. Unable to hide my excitement, I let out a small outburst, momentarily getting carried away.
Ethan glanced at me, a faint smile tugging at his lips, but his voice quickly turned firm.
“Don’t let your guard down yet.”
He had already shifted his focus back to the village, scanning the area through the binoculars. I quickly calmed myself and followed his gaze.
Looking more closely, I could see the monsters converging on the plaza. While it was good that we’d diverted the attention of those nearby, the loud impact had attracted even more monsters from further away.
Behind the tree in the plaza, a dark figure hesitated, inching forward and then pulling back.
Nox had been timing his escape, but seeing the sheer number of monsters pouring in, he seemed to abandon the idea and crouched back down behind the tree.
“See that building to the right of the market stall? We should target that one next.”
Ethan spoke while still peering through the binoculars. I nodded and began preparing another shot, loading a new rock into the catapult.
I adjusted the angle as best as I could in the general direction Ethan pointed out. The catapult wasn’t exactly built for precision aiming, so it wasn’t possible to fine-tune its direction perfectly.
‘We’ll just have to force it.’
I gritted my teeth. Once the frame was roughly in place, brute force would have to make up the rest.
‘Whatever. I’m strong! They’re all dead anyway!’
I yanked the lever back with all my strength, locking it into place.
“One. Two...”
Ethan calmly counted down again.
“Three!”
At his cue, I released the lever.
Whizz—!
The rock arced high into the sky once more, hurtling toward the building.
Boom—!
The impact shattered a section of the wall completely.
“Did you see that? Perfect shot!”
I couldn’t help myself. My voice came out louder than intended, brimming with excitement.
Ethan’s hand shot up, covering my mouth before I could say anything else.
“Shh.”
His large, calloused palm pressed firmly against my lips.
I scowled at him, annoyance written all over my face. But then I remembered how sensitive the monsters were to sound and let out a resigned sigh.
‘Okay, fine. My bad.’
The heat of my breath lingered against his palm, and Ethan quickly pulled his hand away.
Regardless, the monsters lingering near the market stall had started shifting toward the noise from the collapsed building on the right.
Finally, a gap had opened up on the left side of the plaza.
We’d created a path for escape.
Nox darted out from behind the tree, scanning his surroundings quickly without missing a beat.
"What’s he doing? Why isn’t he running already?"
Ethan muttered under his breath, sounding frustrated.
At that moment, Nox glanced in our direction.
Without thinking, I raised my hand and waved.
Ethan turned to me with a look that practically screamed, What the hell are you doing?
"He’s probably trying to figure out who launched the rocks," I said defensively.
I couldn’t make out Nox’s expression, but he stood there for a brief moment, looking our way.
With the monsters closing in from a distance, however, he had no choice but to move.
I watched as Nox slipped safely through the gap on the left side of the plaza and disappeared into the alley.
Once he was out of sight, obscured by the surrounding buildings, I rolled my shoulders to loosen up and started massaging my sore arms.
"Alright. Now it’s time for the main event."
Ethan gave me a look—the kind you give someone when you’re questioning all of their life choices.
But hey, as long as I did my job right, who cared?
I hoisted another rock onto the catapult with a confident swing.
This time, it was finally the statue’s turn to get smashed.
*****
One hour before Cherry fired the catapult—
Nox had been wandering the streets, avoiding monsters, only to end up trapped in the plaza.
The sheer number of creatures surrounding the square made it impossible to find the right moment to escape.
For two days, he hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep, constantly hiding and running. Yet no matter how far he searched, there seemed to be no way out of the small village of Brunel.
The streets were overflowing with those grotesque monsters.
Nox thought back to the moment this nightmare began.
It happened right after he and Cherry had shared a meaningless conversation in the village square.
She’d left for Kintney, saying she had errands to run, and then all hell broke loose.
A monstrous creature had burst out of the carriage rental shop, devouring people on sight.
It was as if the entire world had been drowned in blood.
Those bitten by the monsters turned into more monsters, spreading chaos and destruction. The few survivors fled, hiding whenever they could.
It was hell.
Yes, Nox had seen hell. And even now, he hadn’t managed to crawl out of it.
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‘What the hell is this? Damn it!’
For now, he hid behind the large tree, but he knew this couldn’t last. It was far too exposed, too vulnerable.
And then—
Out of nowhere, massive rocks came flying through the air.
The first rock smashed the market stall on the right side of the plaza. The second one struck further ahead, collapsing the wall of a bookstore.
“Bullseye...! Perfect...!”
A faint voice—a woman shouting—reached his ears. Or at least, it seemed like it did. The distance made it hard to tell whether he’d actually heard it.
Nox spun around, looking back from behind the statue.
In the distance, he spotted a mansion on top of a hill.
It was partially obscured by trees and thick brush, leaving only parts of the roof visible.
But there were people on top of it. Two of them.
One of them, the smaller figure, was jumping up and down with her arms raised.
Honestly, she looked kind of insane.
‘That’s Cherry Sinclair’s Happy House...’
The realization hit him like a punch.
Could it be her?
He turned back and saw a gap open up on the left side of the plaza.
The flying rocks had distracted the monsters, pulling their attention to the opposite side.
The first time, he hadn’t noticed much.
But the second shot? He saw it clearly.
That small, wild figure—the one practically dancing—was loading another rock into what looked like a catapult.
Nox darted out of the plaza and slipped into the alley, his heart pounding.
If that really was Cherry Sinclair...
‘What the hell is that woman’s deal?’