435 Spider and Princess

435.

,Eueueum…”

Blade slowly opened his eyes. He was in a dark and vast space. Soon, he could confirm that the Black Armor had been removed from his body, and his limbs were tightly bound with white threads that appeared to be spiderwebs.

,Are you awake? Hehe, an elf, it’s my first time seeing one in person. I like you much more than I imagined.”

Leah was sitting right in front of the bound Blade, looking up at his tied-up body. Here and there, she could find parts that resembled her mother, Queen Stella. His features, especially his brown eyes, greatly resembled Queen Stella.

,On the surface, he gives the impression of a completely harmless girl. But…”

She has a face that seems like she would love flowers. But, incongruously, a spider the size of a puppy was frolicking near Leah’s legs. The giant spider that had dragged him here was crouching on the wall, resting.

Hairy spiders crawled on Leah’s palm, and all over the walls and floor. The place was full of spiders. It was a sight that would drive an ordinary person insane.

Blade recalled the memory just before he was attacked. His body instantly became paralyzed, and even his tongue stiffened, making it impossible to speak. Seeing the tip of Leah’s finger, Blade could understand why he had been attacked.

,A spider smaller than a fingernail… that’s what crawled into the gap in the Black Armor mk 3. But for such a small spider to have that level of toxicity…”

Blade’s eyes gradually began to adjust to the darkness of the place. It was a space that could be aptly called a spider den.

Spiders of all sizes, and the figures of humans held captive in spiderwebs like himself, could be seen. They seemed to have been dead for a long time.

Among them were corpses that had not fully maintained their human form. Perhaps they had been given as food for the spiders. It was a scene beyond cruel, a truly horrific sight.

Among them were people of Aiollea, and adventurers from foreign lands. Each of their expressions was frozen in fear and madness. Considering the sight of this place and what they had suffered, it was understandable.

Seeing Blade turning his eyes here and there, Leah said.

,You can talk now, right? Even if your body is paralyzed, you should be able to move above your neck. I changed the composition of the poison. Hurry and let me hear your voice trembling with fear. Um… Blade-ssi, was it?”

,That’s right. Where is this place? It’s disgusting.”

Contrary to Leah’s expectations, Blade was not trembling with fear. He was making a brief remark and calmly assessing the situation.

He could see his equipment placed in a corner of the wall. Including the Black Armor mk 3. It seemed that it had only been disarmed, and no other measures had been taken.

,Hehe, you’re not scared at all… As expected of one of the hero party who even defeated the Demon King. But I’m looking forward to seeing how long you can maintain that attitude.”

At Leah’s gesture, a hairy spider began to crawl on Blade’s body. The creepy sensation was conveyed intact through the thin fabric worn under the Black Armor. Even though the disgusting spider was about to climb onto his neck, Blade’s expression did not change at all.

,What’s the reason for doing this? Is it Queen Stella’s instruction?”

Pfft, Leah laughed. A cool expression, unfitting for her lovely face, appeared on the princess’s face.

,No, this is my hobby. My pure amusement, unrelated to my mother. She probably doesn’t even know that a place like this exists, right? Neither my mother nor my older brother.”

,Is that so? What a garbage-like hobby.”

At Blade’s words, which sounded like spitting, Leah’s eyebrows twitched greatly. She had never been treated like this before. Any famous adventurer, any great magician, when dragged into this spider den, begged her for mercy with a miserable face. Seeing them being torn apart by spiders and floundering in despair was Leah’s greatest pleasure.

Blade’s attitude was the complete opposite of that. His attitude, as if he didn’t care about her proud spiders, was greatly displeasing to Leah.

,Do you want to see your limbs rotting away while you’re still alive? If you see your limbs gradually rotting and shortening because of the poison, unable to die, your face won’t be able to help but be stained with despair, right? Or should I lay spider eggs inside your body and have you eaten from the inside out? So stop pretending to be brave, it’ll be exposed soon anyway. Well, it’s already too late though. I’ll make you regret provoking me so carelessly.”

Unlike her cute appearance, she was among the top-ranked villains Blade had ever met in terms of wickedness. Casually looking at the spider trying to crawl onto his face, Blade said.

,Hmm, it seems like this is the basement of the royal palace… Where is the hero? Didn’t you say he was here?”

,You believed that? Ahaha, you were fooled by me from the start. The hero-nim was never captured in the first place. Didn’t you even know that? You’re being deceived and dying a meaningless, futile, and terrible death!”

Leah was expecting that this time, the elf’s face, which had been pretending to be calm, would be filled with despair. But Blade’s reaction was, again, the opposite.

,Heh, I see.”

,You’re laughing? Are you laughing right now? Do you not understand the situation?”

Leah was starting to get annoyed. Maybe this elf’s head has gone strange from too much fear. Just the fact that there was someone who didn’t fear her was making Leah feel very upset.

,No, you’re the one who doesn’t understand the situation. Do you not know what it means for the hero Elena to be alive and well?”

,What are you talking about?”

,The strongest hero who single-handedly defeated the Black Demon King, the hero Elena, has been turned into an enemy. Do you know what that means? The country of Aiollea might disappear from the map. At the very least, these evil deeds will come to an end. Our hero is quite scary when she gets serious, you know?”

,Ha, is that all you’re relying on? That even if you die, the hero will take revenge for you? Fine, then I’ll personally give you the most painful and terrible death…”

,No, I have no intention of dying by the likes of you.”

Blade’s voice did not sound like a bluff. But it was also definitely true that he was affected by the paralysis poison. In this situation, there’s no way there could be a way to escape…

,This country’s unique magic system is certainly unique. But perhaps because of that, they seem to be clumsy when it comes to tools that operate magic power on their own. I’m talking about magic items.”

,Wait, could it be…”

Leah’s gaze turned towards the wall. Towards the side where Blade’s equipment was, carelessly stripped off and left there. They were items that had been left unattended because she wanted to torment this beautiful elf quickly.

,Armed On!”

At the same time as he shouted that, the Black Armor flew and began to be equipped on Blade’s body one after another. The spider climbing on his body hurriedly tried to escape, but was caught in the gap of the Black Armor and burst. The spiderwebs that had bound his body were also cut off by the momentum of Armed On. A look of bewilderment was evident on Leah’s face.

,T-The armor is activating on its own…! No, but he still shouldn’t be able to move his body…”

That was true. Although he had equipped the Black Armor, Blade’s body was still affected by the paralysis poison. But the Black Armor had a function that could be used in this situation.

Blade activated it.

,Blink!”

At the same time as Blade’s body disappeared along with the Black Armor, he appeared in a slightly distant place. At Leah’s urgent gesture, the spiders, including the giant spider, rushed towards Blade.

,The charge amount is three times…! If my calculations are correct, it’s enough!”

It is impossible to completely escape from this place with just a short-distance Blink. But Blade had been listening all along. To the sound of fast-flowing water coming from beyond the nearest wall.

,Blink!”

Blade disappeared again from the spot where the spiders had rushed in. Now he was leaning against a damp wall. The sound of water was becoming clearer from beyond it.

,Blink!”

Now he could only leave it to fate. Thinking that, Blade activated the last Blink. The Black Armor containing Blade leaped over the damp wall and fell into the rushing water.

Cold water that seemed to freeze his body seeped into the gaps of the Black Armor. He didn’t know where this water flowed. It was possible that it led to an underground lake with no air. If that were the case, drowning was certain.

But it was much better than facing a terrible death at the hands of Princess Leah’s spiders. Besides, he had no intention of dying easily without meeting the hero again. The Black Armor also had a function to create a little propulsion underwater. If he reached a river on the ground or shallow water, the chances of survival were high.

And so, Blade was swept away by the rapid current to an unknown place.