Rulu carried Shari in his arms and brought her onto the carriage. When Shari saw Nana, Kallen, and the others inside, she said with a touch of awkwardness, "Hey everyone… sorry to impose on you again."

  "Shari, what happened st time was a misunderstanding — please don't take it to heart," Nana said apologetically. Then, her expression shifting to one of concern, she asked, "Shari, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

  "Just a twisted ankle," Shari said. "I can't walk."

  Nana asked, "Do you have any family or friends still out there?"

  Shari shook her head. "My mom and dad failed the physical screening, so they didn't come to the Sanctuary. Thank goodness they didn't — otherwise…"

  Kallen compined, "What is going on with this Sanctuary? Why are there so many monsters? This is absolutely terrifying. How do people even survive here?!"

  "Generally speaking, a monster as powerful as the Hydra is still quite rare in the Sanctuary," Rulu said. "I have no idea where this one came from. Something about this feels off to me."

  "Do we even have a chance of escaping?" Nana said. "That monster is so enormous — it doesn't seem like we can outrun it. I feel like sooner or ter it's going to catch up and eat us."

  "No — we are not getting eaten!" Shari was startled by Nana's words. She grabbed Rulu's hand tightly and said, "Rulu, do you really think that thing is going to eat us?"

  Rulu gnced back at the Hydra, still relentlessly pursuing the crowd from behind, and said after a moment's thought, "If we keep fleeing together as a group, then yes — the monster will catch up. But if people scatter and run separately, there's a real chance some of us make it."

  "Then let's stop staying with the crowd and break off on our own," Shari said quickly.

  "We can't," Rulu said. "If we leave the group right now, we'll become the Hydra's primary target. Let's hold on for the moment and see what Euphemia decides to do."

  At the same time, in another carriage nearby, Lord Euphemia watched the Hydra closing in relentlessly on the fleeing crowd, her expression tight with anxiety. "What do we do? We've been running for a while now and we still can't shake this creature."

  The Suzaku Guard Captain's expression was tense. "At this rate, it will catch up to us sooner or ter. The only way to buy ourselves a chance to escape is to lure it away somehow, or find a way to hold it in pce."

  Lord Euphemia's eyes lit up. "That might actually work — but who do we send to lure it?"

  The Suzaku Guard Captain did not answer her. Instead he turned to the soldiers nearby and said, "Keep escorting Lord Euphemia to safety. Do not stop no matter what happens. Understood?"

  The soldiers voiced their agreement. The Suzaku Guard Captain pced his hand on the hilt of the longsword at his hip and fixed his gaze on the Hydra, his expression resolute. Seeing this, Lord Euphemia understood at once. "Suzaku Guard Captain — what are you pnning?" she cried out. "Are you going to lure it away yourself?"

  The Suzaku Guard Captain nodded. "Yes. It's the only way to save you, my lord."

  "No — it's too dangerous, there must be another way," Lord Euphemia said urgently. "What if we scatter the crowd? The monster won't know which group to chase, and we'll have a chance to slip away."

  The Suzaku Guard Captain shook his head. "It won't work. Our formation has completely colpsed — there's no way to organize something like that now. The only option is for me to draw the monster away. Otherwise, Lord Euphemia and everyone here will be killed."

  Lord Euphemia fell silent. As much as she hated to let the Suzaku Guard Captain take such a risk, she knew it was the only viable pn. "Then let me send more people with you," she said.

  "It would be useless — sending others would only mean more deaths. Please don't worry, Lord Euphemia. Once you've all gotten away, I'll find a way to shake the monster off immediately. I'll be fine."

  "Then… then be careful. You have to come back safe."

  The Suzaku Guard Captain gave a single nod, then leapt from the carriage in one bound. He grabbed a wide shield and a bow and quiver from a nearby soldier, then shield in hand and bow across his back, pushed through the crowd and ran straight toward the Hydra.

  The moment the Hydra noticed the Suzaku Guard Captain approaching, it attacked. One of its massive heads lunged at him, jaws spread wide.

  The Suzaku Guard Captain leapt aside with extraordinary agility, dodging the strike. He drew back his powerful bow, aimed at the Hydra's head, and released — the arrow flew true with a sharp whistle and buried itself directly in the Hydra's eye socket. The searing pain sent that head thrashing wildly through the air.

  The Suzaku Guard Captain's actions had enraged the Hydra. It abandoned its pursuit of the fleeing crowd and turned toward him.

  Seeing the Hydra bearing down on him, the Suzaku Guard Captain immediately turned and ran in the opposite direction from the crowd. The Hydra gave chase without relenting — one of its heads opened wide and spewed a massive torrent of fire at him. The Suzaku Guard Captain swiftly raised his shield, positioning it between himself and the Hydra to deflect the fmes.

  The fire spread over an enormous area. Although the shield blocked most of the bze, part of his body was still caught by the fmes, and his clothing began to burn.

  With no time to beat out the fire, the Suzaku Guard Captain kept running at full speed away from the crowd. The Hydra followed close behind, unleashing wave after wave of fire in a relentless assault.

  Under the repeated volleys of fme, the Suzaku Guard Captain's entire body was engulfed. The fire grew so intense that he had no choice but to abandon his escape, throwing himself onto the grass and rolling to smother the fmes.

  That brief dey was all the Hydra needed. It closed the distance rapidly, and the Suzaku Guard Captain found himself within range of every one of its nine heads.