Chapter 573-Challenging Me Now?
Clementine:
Now we were all standing on the ground.
Chaos unfolded around us, and a monster was on the loose.
It hit me at once that the danger was not over yet, and that we had a long way to go before we could even take a breather in peace.
"She has a point," someone muttered. "How could you sit comfortably and watch them on screens? Why did no one intervene?"
The questions kept coming."Because I am an old woman, and I could not go there to fight them," Lady Sylvia snapped, sounding arrogant, before she sucked in a breath and forced a smile onto her lips.
"Listen, they were already going to go there, so we decided to raise money and give it to poor people. In that way, we were also trying our best to keep an eye on our kids. Watching them do well made us feel proud and helped us stay connected with them," she continued, speaking cleverly, making me roll my eyes.
"And do you think it helped the families to watch them die? Because most of them did. All the previous groups died too."
As soon as someone said that, I watched Lady Sylvia’s face turn dark.
"Fine," another man challenged. "Let’s say you were right about everything. Now save us from this monster."
I smirked.
"Yeah, that is what I am here for. I will call for the warriors and bring back the crusaders who have gone home to come and fight the monster," she said, sounding clueless.
I began to look at everyone, hoping they would not agree to this, and thankfully, they all seemed disappointed.
"No, why won’t you do it? You are a council leader. You have a brother with you. Pick up a sword and do it. If kids can do it, why can’t older people do it?" another man yelled, making me feel relieved.
"You claim our safety is your priority. You sent our young people to the North for that reason. So will you fight this monster for us?"
Lady Sylvia scanned the crowd once more. Then she turned toward her brother.
A slow smile spread across her face.
"Go to hell," she said coldly. "Why should we give our lives for you?"
Gasps were all I heard. People began to chatter in disbelief, pointing at the council leaders.
The crowd erupted.
"No, you cannot do this to us. We will not let you get away with this," one man yelled, trying to get closer as Lady Sylvia straightened her posture, almost as if showing him that she was still the authority.
"Anyone who tries to approach us, shoot them," Lady Sylvia ordered.
Her warriors raised their guns and aimed at the people.
Chaos broke out.
"You are such a vicious woman. All this time, you had everyone fooled, sending innocent children, but when it came down to you, you showed your true colors," a woman cried.
But Lady Sylvia gave a look that showed she did not care.
She was okay with whatever was going on.
My eyes lifted to the sky.
"Attention!" I shouted. "Run toward safety. That thing is coming back."
As my voice carried through the air, everyone turned toward me.
The loudest gasp came from Lady Sylvia.
"Isn’t that the same girl?" someone commented, pointing at me.
"Yes. I am the same girl you called a monster and cast out," I said as I stepped forward. "I grew up among these wolves despite being different and never hurt a single innocent person, and I still fought the monsters."
My voice carried through the crowd.
"I was called a monster because I brought their truth into the open."
The crowd watched me in silence.
My eyes returned to the council leader. I could see it now. She regretted letting her true face slip in front of everyone.
If she had noticed me earlier in the crowd, she would have reacted carefully. But it was too late.
Her truth was already exposed.
"I knew it," she continued. "Monsters do not just appear out of nowhere. And what we feared has happened."
Suddenly, Sylvia pointed at me.
"This is her doing," she accused, her tone shifting as she tried to regain control of the crowd.
"Oh, be quiet," an old man shouted at her. "We remember everything you just said."
Lady Sylvia’s face turned pale.
"You cannot speak to me that way," she warned, pointing at him through the crowd.
"Who are you to command us?" a young woman snapped. "You never stop talking, but when it mattered, what did you tell your warriors? To shoot us?"
Lady Sylvia looked deeply offended.
All attention shifted back to me.
"This monster is here because the towers have fallen," I said as I moved through the crowd. People stepped aside, clearing a path.
I climbed onto the stage and stood in front of the warriors. Their guns were pointed at me.
My friends moved up beside me.
"Do not let her come up here," Lady Sylvia warned as she retreated, gripping her brother’s hand and moving toward the back of the stage where escape was easy.
The warriors studied me for a moment.
Then they lowered their guns.
"Have you all lost your minds?" Lady Sylvia screamed before her brother grabbed her arm.
I stepped forward and held her gaze for a long second before turning to face the crowd.
All my friends stood with me. Ian remained close at my side.
"The North is gone," I announced.
Sadness settled in my chest as murmurs spread through the crowd.
"If the North is gone, does that mean the monster will stay here?" a woman asked softly, raising her hand like a child seeking permission to speak.
I nodded.
Whispers turned into fearful conversations.
"What will happen to us?" another woman asked, her lips trembling.
I turned my head and saw the monster in the distance. I knew it would charge at any moment.
And there were too many people, so even if it started stomping around aimlessly, it would create many victims. It was not good.
"We made the North disappear temporarily," I explained. "So when it returns, whether next year, in ten years, or in twenty, it will be clean." I mumbled.
"In the process, this monster escaped."
As I finished speaking, I noticed Lady Sylvia and her brother were gone.
Their car stood in a distant clearing. I knew they were heading for it.
"What do we do now?" a man asked, his expression heavy. "Can you fight it?"
"Yes," I replied.
Before I could say more, I felt movement behind me.
I turned and saw Lady Sylvia returning with her brother. That surprised me.
I thought they had fled.
But perhaps they realized that running would trap them forever. They would eventually be hunted.
"This creature is nothing," Lady Sylvia declared suddenly. "It is a minor monster."
I scrunched my nose.
"She survived in the North only because we educated her about monsters. Her task was never to fight the darkest ones."
She spoke quickly, as if she had experienced a change of heart.
Roberto stood beside her. From his expression, I could tell he had coached her.
Instead of appearing as the villain, she was trying to become the hero again.
"I know you’re all angry with my sister," Roberto said, finally stepping forward. "She is afraid. But I am not."
I knew he would speak.
The crowd watched us in silence.
"I will call my warriors," Roberto continued. "They will fight this monster for all of you."
Some of them forced small smiles. I looked at the crowd, half expecting them to cheer.
Instead, they began shaking their heads.
"Your warriors can’t fight that thing," a woman shouted. "It’s too big. Their guns won’t work on it."
"Then why were you upset when we said you should have given weapons to others?" someone challenged.
Lady Sylvia tried to argue again, but her brother pinched her arm sharply. I saw it myself.
"My sister only means that you shouldn’t lose faith in your council," Roberto said quickly. "Trust your warriors."
"No," a woman yelled. "We only trust Clementine, Ian, and their friends. The crusaders were right."
Others nodded in agreement.
Every time they praised us, I noticed Lady Sylvia clench her jaw so tightly I could hear her teeth grind.
Hearing that made everyone beside me smile, because we had waited so long for someone to understand us and not blindly follow the council, which was feeding them lies and viciousness against everyone who did not fit their plans.
"You’ve all lost your minds," she snapped. "They’ve never even gone to the Dark Side. And if they did, they ran back because they were scared. That’s when they started complaining that they didn’t want to return. You think they’ll save you?"
We remained silent.
Crusaders fought with actions, not words.
"If that’s the case," Lady Sylvia continued, "then give Clementine a chance. Let her prove she can fight."
As soon as she said it, my friends, even Ian, began shaking their heads.