"You seriously expect us to feel bad for a giant killer bug?"
"Who cares if she thinks that kid is her baby? She's a Void beast!"
"She's a threat. He's a threat. Burn the whole nest!"
End them both!"
The crowd's shrill, hate-laced jeering echoed across the devastated plaza like poison riding on wind.
Hermes stood motionless at first, hovering just above the battlefield as the Cloud Nine Squad stared up at him, waiting for his next move. Below him, the makeshift iron cage around the Megamantis shimmered in the morning light. Inside, the Void creature shuddered and trembled, clicking her limbs as if searching for a path toward the trembling little boy.
And that little boy—still clutching his ragged plush mantis—was huddled on the broken asphalt, not even flinching at the cruel words thrown at him like stones.
Hermes could hear it all.
Every thought. Every whisper. Every accusation dancing in the minds of the mob.
["He's dangerous."]
["He brought this thing here."]
