"This is trouble."
Mary could not see Jiang Qiao, but he had not come to save her. Whether that was intentional or not, it meant she had to deal with the trouble before her on her own.
"Ah."
She sighed.
The grotesque hands gripping the "crab" suddenly stopped moving.
Then.
Translucent strands resembling spider silk dangled from the fingers of those hands. The moment they touched the "crab," they stuck fast to it.
Soon.
The enormous "crab" looked like a toy marionette.
Threads covered its entire body.
And its movements.
Began to slow because of those threads. Every step forward took several times more effort than before.
Snap!
Snap!
The crab refused to give in.
It raised both pincers, trying to snip through the irritating threads.
Yet.
When its bizarre pincers clamped onto the threads, they did little damage. It was like trying to cut a tough cotton thread with a pair of blunt scissors.
Repeated cuts were needed to sever it.
After several attempts.
Not only had the crab failed to escape its predicament, but the threads covering it had multiplied until they had almost bound it completely.
"Waaah—!"
A cry resembling a baby's wail came from within the crab's body.
The sound was shrill.
Filled with hysterical madness.
Amid that madness.
There also seemed to be obscure, incomprehensible whispers. They seemed to be telling some sort of story, but listening only made one's head swim, leaving the meaning impossible to discern.
A curse!
All the threads.
Immediately began to sway violently amid the waves of sound, looking as though they might snap at any moment.
Yet.
Mary remained unmoved.
Blood flowed from her nostrils, but her expression stayed calm.
Hand after hand.
Thread after thread.
Continued wrapping around the crab without the slightest hesitation. Dozens of palms pressed