Lillian also realized something was wrong. Her skin shell returned to human form, and she reached for Maeve, intending to leave.
But then her eyes widened.
Her hand caught nothing!
Although the Maeve pulp had gathered into a heap, it was still a mass of minced flesh, not truly joined into a single body. She could not pick it up in one grasp.
And when Victoria lifted the web she had extended, it scooped up pitifully little of Maeve's flesh.
At this point, Maeve could only be scooped up with a shovel.
Lillian anxiously turned back into a skin shell, trying to scoop Maeve into herself, but something tightened around her waist, and Victoria abruptly dragged her upward!
"There's no time!" Victoria shouted.
That great maw was about to close. If they did not leave now, none of them would escape!
Spider silk wound around Lillian's waist, dragging her rapidly upward.
Braving the Ascent Curse, Victoria forced herself to ascend faster. Blood streamed from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, staining her long golden hair red.
"No!" Lillian desperately reached for Maeve, but Maeve slipped through her fingers, leaving not even a strand of flesh behind.
Struggling, Lillian reached out again, her face twisted with unwillingness to give up.
She had been so close. Just a little longer, and Maeve could have formed a single body for her to carry away!
A face faintly emerged on the gathered flesh, roughly piecing together Maeve's features.
She opened her mouth, and a halting voice came out:
"Hurry... run! Don't... worry about me..."
Before she could say more, the Primordial Blood's great maw snapped shut!
Maeve, who had only just come back to life, was instantly ground to dust along with the entire seabed!
Lillian's eyes widened, and she froze.
She had not