"Who Lied?!"

  Lucian's desperate shout startled the group, snapping every head toward him. The braided beauty and Sketchy had their attention on him, though their expressions mirrored apprehension. The others were confused—some annoyed by his rudeness—but only the braided beauty and Sketchy knew lies might be drawing the monster. And Lucian's fearful expression didn't help one bit.

  One of the participants angrily walked over to Lucian and grabbed him by the collar. "What the fuck do you mean who lied? How is it your concern if we..." His sentence was cut short when a strong arm grabbed his and squeezed lightly, forcing him to drop Lucian. The attacker was strong enough that Lucian couldn't immediately break free— but this huge person was far stronger.

  Lucian turned instinctively to see the big one gripping the man's wrist, but his mind was too consumed to thank him.

  "The hellspawn—it's coming!' Lucian blurted, igniting full panic. Everyone was suddenly in a frenzy, one that increased when more people identified the abomination's speeding figure in the distance.

  Seeing the situation spiral, Smooth Talker stepped forward before panic turned lethal.

  "Stop!"

  His voice cut through the chaos like steel.

  Feet slowed. Heads turned.

  He inhaled sharply and pointed toward the black gates.

  "North ridge! Spread five meters apart! No straight lines—"

  "No!" Lucian cut in. "We should split up and run. That thing is coming for someone, and if we stay together, it'll kill us all."

  He didn't wait for a response before sprinting.

  "You—" Smooth Talker started, ready to tear into him, but froze.

  The braided beauty was already running.

  Before he could react, the big one and the old soldier broke in different directions. Even Sketchy turned tail.

  That was all it took.

  The rest scattered.

  "Shit."

  This idiot just fractured the group.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  With no one left to command, he cursed under his breath and ran.

  Lucian, meanwhile, was running with all his might, speeding across the empty desert... only, of course, with as much speed as the sand could let him muster, and it wasn't enough for him. He was the one who deduced the monster was after lies, and he was certain he hadn't told a single one. So technically, he should be safe... but that was the problem. He considered himself safe from a deduction, not an observation. He could be wrong. He couldn't risk it.

  Eventually, he decided to turn his head and check the situation behind him. Everyone was already in a full-blown sprint, quite a few people behind him. Mainly because he was the first to run, and their fight-or-flight response was to follow the guy who warned them about danger. Despite his advice to split up...

  'Curses, you stubborn bastards! I said split up!' Lucian snarled inwardly. 'I swear if that thing comes...' His thoughts froze when he noticed the hellspawn finally leaping into view. It adjusted. It veered… neither he nor anyone behind him was the target.

  Lucian breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down a bit as fatigue suddenly invaded his body. His gaze went back to the creature, and he could vaguely make out who its target was. His eyes widened as he saw the braided beauty was more or less the only person before the hellspawn.

  "When did she even find the time to lie? Curses!" Lucian muttered, dumbfounded. She was the first person he had told about the dangers of lies... technically, one of the first two people if you counted Sketchy, who happened to be there. Eventually, though, he could only sigh. There was nothing he could do... well, nothing he was absolutely sure would work.

  'Not to mention, even if it did work, how would I pull it off? That thing is too fast. I'd need a way to slow it down to test my...' His thoughts came to a halt when he noticed something. His brows twitched, and he suddenly felt enlightened.

  "This could work," he muttered thoughtfully.

  ...

  The hellspawn was barreling toward its target with inhuman speed—the braided beauty. She had noticed a few moments ago and had already begun considering her options. She couldn't outrun the bastard, and she was slowly running out of steam.

  Her heart rate quickened as her eyes darted around, searching for any possible routes of escape or a way to turn things around. But alas, nothing seemed able to prevent her inevitable end.

  Her lungs burned.

  Her body trembled.

  She could already feel claws on her spine.

  She wasn't ready to die yet. She didn't want to. Unfortunately, the hellspawn had no care for her wants, only for the lie on her tongue.

  The hellspawn inched even closer and was no more than a few meters away. She knew this only because she had been paying attention to its every move, catching glimpses of its harrowing figure with her peripheral vision, which was strangely the only way to sense its eerie presence. It made no sound... none she at least could register. Even its seemingly heavy steps produced no sound. It was strange... but not important. It was about to grab her.

  In a moment of desperation, she did the only thing she thought could prolong her life for even one more second.

  She reached out and grabbed the person ahead. In a smooth motion, she yanked his arm and ducked. His momentum carried him over her shoulder.

  Using the force and momentum still present, she ground her teeth, feeling the weight upon herself as she pivoted, dropped her weight, and flung him forward—

  straight into the hellspawn's path.

  It happened in a heartbeat. Before he could react, the big one—the unlucky victim of her desperate gambit—was in the hellspawn's path. His eyes widened in an instant, but it still didn't prevent the horror from swatting him to the ground.

  Thud!

  The fall knocked the wind out of him. His sight became hazy, and he immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood. He couldn't be entirely sure right now, but he could swear he heard his ribs crack. The hellspawn was about to continue onward, most probably squashing the big one's chest in the process, but it came to a strange stop. This stop, though, saved the lives of both the braided beauty and the big one.

  The braided beauty observed from her peripheral vision once more and noticed the nightmare of a creature had actually stopped chasing her. This confused her but did not slow her sprint, all the while chanting the mantra, "I'm not gonna die. I'm not gonna die."

  The tongue eater itself seemed to regard her escape, but before it could take another step, something else drew its attention, forcing it to change its focus toward another direction. Its sword-like claws arched, and its two horrid pairs of tongues began twitching even more frequently, slithering around as though they tasted something in the air. Something intoxicating, something they would kill for… they couldn't get enough of it, causing a rise in its toxic habit of eating tongues.

  Lies!

  Lucian—its most prized prey—gulped, fingers twitching, heart hammering, eyes constricting in fear and doubt. What he was doing was insane, pure and utter madness... but it was much too late to to turn back.

  "Curses!" he thought, forcing out his fifth lie. "And finally—yes, that exotic beauty and I are a couple..."

  That was the deal-breaker. The tongue eater surged forward, sand exploding beneath it, locked on Lucian.

  Destination: Lucian's tongue.