Chapter 118

Chapter 118

Missionary Activities

The sharp fangs dripping with poison, the dozens of glaring red eyes, and the black breath exhaled from its mouth were all laced with venom.

Of the two children cradled in Pia’s arms, one fainted from the shock, while the other was gasping for breath as if about to pass out. Pia unclasped her praying hands and pushed the children behind her.

Swish, she lifted her skirt and drew a dagger strapped to her thigh.

Thud! Thump!

In the meantime, the giant spider slowly scanned the prey that had been freed.

“Ugh, ugh…”

A man, terrified to the point of his mind going blank, sat on the wet floor, trembling. The giant spider’s gaze stopped on him.

[ Clack! ]

The giant spider sank its fangs into the man’s shoulder with such speed that no one else could perceive it.

“Aaaaah!”

Sizzle -…

A nauseating smell of melting flesh spread, and the man’s shoulder began to dissolve rapidly.

Crunch.

The giant spider opened its mouth as if to chew and swallow the man whole but then closed it again. The crunching sound of the man’s shoulder bone caused someone to wet their pants.

“Aaaah! Ugh, h-help… gurgle…”

The man’s face turned pale yellow from pain and venom shock. Foam bubbled at his mouth, and his eyes started to lose focus.

Thud.

The giant spider dropped the man, whose shoulder was dissolving, onto the ground without swallowing him completely. His body, paralyzed by venom, trembled as if electrocuted, and blood gushed from his shoulder.

The air turned thick with fear due to the blatant cruelty. The giant spider was far more intelligent than an average spider monster. Though it didn’t possess human-level intelligence, it knew well enough that its prey had nowhere to escape, and how to play with them to maximize despair.

“Ugh, you monster!”

A woman, terrified beyond reason into a frenzied state, rushed at the giant spider with wide eyes. She swung a longsword at the spider’s leg.

Clang!

“…?!”

The spider’s leg deflected the sword as if made of steel. As her face contorted with surprise, the giant leg, thicker than a human body, shot toward her like an arrow.

Thud! Crash!

“Ugh!”

She twisted her body at the last moment, but the spider’s leg brushed her aside, sending her crashing into a glass wall. Blood pooled around her like spilled milk.

[ Screeeeech!! ]

“Guh…!”

“Aaaaah!”

The giant spider emitted a chilling scream, causing people’s eardrums to rupture and blood to trickle down their ears. The shock was so intense that those barely maintaining their sanity collapsed, bleeding from their noses.

Pia, who was close to the giant spider, suffered not only a ruptured eardrum but also a nosebleed, yet managed to barely remain standing.

Clatter.

However, holding onto her senses had its limits. Her fingers trembled as she dropped the dagger she was holding.

‘Ah, ah…’

She stared blankly at the giant spider turning its body towards her with eyes soaked in despair.

‘Lian…’

In the face of impending death, she sought Lian. There were others who shared her sentiments.

‘Please! Save us! Oh, Light!’

‘Deliver us!’

They were all those who had accompanied Pia. As a devout follower of Lian, Pia had spread her faith whenever possible—not by aggressively proclaiming belief in the Lian faith(?)—but by helping those troubled and pointing the way to those seeking salvation.

In a world where cults ran rampant and temples committed countless atrocities in the name of gods, some viewed Pia negatively. However, being a disciple of Lian, Pia could use a bit of the power of the gag filter.

Occasional, miraculous events that should never occur would sometimes happen.

Even a small miracle could greatly move people’s hearts. By now, those who believed in Lian had increased significantly.

Seeking a deity in the face of death was human instinct, so they prayed earnestly to be saved from this hellish place!

Even a sliver of doubt vanished like ash before death, and their sincere prayers turned into divine power directed at Lian. The faint glow on the back of Lian’s left hand intensified at that moment.

“It’s huge.”

[ That size makes it worth hunting! ]

However, Lian was too busy admiring the size of the giant spider visible through the slightly open door to notice. The demon sword, preoccupied with envisioning how to slay it, also failed to notice.

Swoosh.

As Lian stepped into the enclosure, the giant spider, which had been lunging at Pia with its mouth open, leaped onto the wall.

Thud!

Clinging to the wall, the giant spider rolled its eyes toward Lian. It was reacting to the ominous aura of the demon sword.

“Li… Lian? Ah, ahhhh… ah!”

Seeing Lian striding in, Pia wept tears of joy, as if saved by a divine being.

“Li, Lian?”

“It’s really him!”

Appearing amid horrific despair, Lian was the savior Pia had claimed he was. The one who keenly sensed this atmosphere was the demon sword, who lived to be praised by people.

[ Savior! That’s not a bad title! ]

Wanting both fear and reverence, the demon sword began orchestrating a scene fitting the situation. The demon sword’s aura coursed through Lian’s hand and surged through his body.

The aura flowing into his eyes made the once subdued golden pupils shimmer like melting gold, and the magic that spread to the tips of his hair controlled each strand like a painting.

Lian, under the control of the demon sword, moved with the grace of a young noble who had received a proper education since childhood.

His lips, previously pressed into a line, curved into a graceful smile. The aura, spreading colorlessly and odorlessly through the air, soon came to dominate the space.

The groans of those writhing in pain, the sound of the flying robots, the creepy noise of the spider, the cries seeking Lian—all were under Gargandoa’s control. As the sound faded, as if someone had pressed a mute button, Lian’s footsteps thundered in the silence.

Click.

Here arose a problem. The humans meant to praise the demon sword’s masterpiece had their eardrums ruptured.

[ ‘Damn it! Sound is crucial right now!’ ]

Visual stimuli were the most provocative, but auditory stimuli couldn’t be disregarded. As the demon sword fumed at failing to create a perfect scene.

Vroom -…

Reacting to the prayers of the devotees, Lian’s left hand began to glow brightly.

[ Ah! What’s happening! It burns! ]

Startled by the sudden attack of divine power, the demon sword, like a time bomb about to explode, flung Lian’s hand upward.

Flash!

Simultaneously, the back of his hand began to shine dazzlingly. The pouring light resembled stars descending from the sky or sunlight gently caressing a child’s cheek on a warm spring day.

Under such light, his white hair swayed beautifully, and his splendid golden eyes sparkled with benevolence, seemingly inhuman.

Torn eardrums regenerated, internal injuries healed, and mutilated shoulders mended. The venom-decaying wounds regenerated, and those fainted from fear and shock opened their eyes one by one, imprinting the wondrous scene in their memory.

Even the ignorant knelt in reverence to Lian. As if it was only right for any living being to do so.

No one even thought to rush to the wide-open door behind Lian. They simply wept before the legendary spectacle.

Sizzle -…

The giant spider, made of demonic energy, writhed in agony as if burning alive.

[ Screeech! Kyaaa! ]

Crack, crack, crack!

Simultaneously, the giant spider’s eggs attached to the ceiling burst like balloons, some even melting.

Enraged beyond measure at losing its offspring to mere prey, the giant spider unleashed its demonic energy in a frenzy.

[ Gyaaaaa! ]

The pattern on its back turned pitch black, and half of its eyes burst. Simultaneously, its oppressive aura intensified severalfold.

Sssss…

At that moment, the light emitting from Lian’s hand began to dim. The enormous miracle had a short activation time.

The faces of those soaked in joy and hope quickly turned dark with fear. As the mesmerizing light faded, the frenzied demonic energy began to ravage the room.

The only consolation was that the divine power left no internal injuries. But it didn’t erase the fear.

“P-please save us… Please save us!”

“Oh, salvation… Please, salvation!”

The only words they could utter were pleas to the sole savior.

Swoosh!

Whether displeased by their prayers or simply wanting to seize the opportunity of Lian’s weakened state, the giant spider leaped into the air, shooting threads at Lian as the light dimmed.

The threads, darkened by the rampant demonic energy, began to wrap around Lian.

Squeeze!

More rigid than steel and sharper than a freshly forged blade, the spiderwebs wrapped tightly around Lian, threatening to slice him apart.

“Ah, ah…”

“No!”

A suffocating fear descended.

Thud!

The giant spider landed in front of Lian and immediately bared its fangs, lunging at him. At that moment.

Rip.

Lian tore the threads apart as if ripping thin paper. Those who had been seeking the god (Lian) were all frozen by the surreal scene.

End of Chapter.