Pincer Attack

Clementine swallowed hard. Her throat was dry and painful, and fear coiled up from her ankles like an icy snake, making her whole body tremble.

Ignoring the fact that she was soaked through, she scrambled onto the bank on all fours and staggered deeper into the forest.

Not far behind her, a branch extending over the stream suddenly bent downward with an overloaded creak.

Splash!

Water sprayed everywhere as the lizard crashed heavily into the stream. It shook its head and crawled forward, its entire body submerging beneath the water, leaving only ripples on the surface.

A few minutes later, a figure appeared silently in the clearing where the two had rested earlier.

Hope dusted herself off, bent down to pick up her canteen and backpack, then retrieved the backpack Clementine had left behind. From it, she found a sword-shaped needle and combined it with the Compass and bearing in her hand.

Click!

At the soft sound, the girl's lips curled slightly.

"Quick, quick! Pull up that footage—the footage from just now!"

The person in charge of the Streaming Mirror broadcast keenly noticed a change in one corner of the image and immediately shouted instructions to his subordinates.

"Hurry! We can't miss a single crucial scene!"

Seconds later, the image on the Streaming Mirror flickered before the spectators in the stands. No one knew whether Clementine would be caught by the lizard, but Hope emerged from the woods instead.

After a brief stunned silence, the audience seats erupted—

"What? That girl wasn't taken away by the Golem?"

"When did she disappear? How did I not notice?"

"Merlin's beard! I thought she'd already been eliminated. I didn't expect there to be more!"

"Who bet on this champion?"

"Which institute is she from?"

When they saw Hope assemble a complete compass, the