Episode 32: The Most Beautiful in the World

My plan was as follows.

Arachne had just gone through her spawning season and hatched her young.

The instinct to raise her young should still be there.

The hatchery, which is the spider’s nest, is right in front of us.

And just in time, the moss is almost completely dry.

Using Babiyeon’s fire magic, it will burn very well.

If a fire breaks out in the hatchery, Arachne will rush back to put it out.

In the meantime, we’ll use Horizon’s shadow to escape.

“What do you think?”

After explaining the plan that came to mind, I checked Kallen’s reaction.

Kallen was pressing his chin, his face lost in thought.

“Even so, isn’t the risk too great?”

Bandal revealed a face that wasn’t very happy.

As he said, this plan was very risky.

If we’re not careful, the entire Moss Flower Cave could be in danger.

“I think it’s better than all of us dying to Arachne, you know?”

Surprisingly, Babiyeon supported my opinion.

She was the one who had been killed by the Lord of the Crimson Flame not long ago.

She knew very well how dangerous a Phantasmal Species that the Lord of the Crimson Flame had to deal with was.

“Let’s say we tie up Arachne. But what about the criminals?”

This time, Miren threw out a question.

Even if my plan ties up Arachne, it’s all for naught if the criminals have blocked the exit.

“The fact that the criminals induced Arachne’s spawning season means that they can’t kill Arachne, even if they use her.”

If they were skilled enough to kill Arachne in the first place, they wouldn’t have taken such a dangerous gamble as the spawning season.

“I don’t know how those bastards predicted that the Moss Flower Cave would be connected to the 1st and 2nd Worlds today, but it’s clear that they can’t handle Arachne.”

Since we can indirectly know their level, the solution is simple.

“If Arachne comes to the exit, they won’t have a way to stop her either. You and I will jump out of the exit.”

“Wait, Holy Magic User-naeu-ri, how are you going to take Arachne to the exit? Weren’t we supposed to tie her up here?”

This time, Pingle raised a question.

His face said that the situation didn’t make sense.

“Everyone knows that Phantasmal Species react sensitively to Holy Magic.”

Phantasmal Species show a particularly sensitive reaction to Holy Magic.

This is a common trait of all Phantasmal Species.

The higher the grade of the Phantasmal Species, the more severe the tendency becomes.

And I have the highest grade of Holy Magic.

Resurrection Magic.

I won’t let them know about the existence of that magic, but it’s the strongest magic to lure Phantasmal Species.

“I have a special Holy Magic. With that, I can definitely lure Arachne.”

Arachne will be so eager that she’ll chase after me.

“So, after luring Arachne in as planned, I’ll use Holy Magic to lure her and jump out of the exit with the criminals.”

The Regular Army is always on standby outside the exit.

They will immediately catch the criminals.

“Arachne, having lost me as a target, will return to the hatchery to finish putting out the fire.

Since Arachne is tied to one place, the Pioneers who remain in the cave will be able to escape to the exit.”

The caves are all connected.

If smoke spreads throughout the cave, the Pioneers will notice the unusual situation and flock to the exit.

So, we can save their lives as well.

I don’t care if the uncivilized Otherworlders die, but it’s not good for the number of Pioneers to decrease.

They are the primary resource producers in each region.

If they are lost, it will soon cause inflation.

I need money as it is.

It’s a headache if inflation increases the places where I have to spend money.

“It’s a plan where safety is not guaranteed at all.”

Kallen spat out honest words.

As he said, safety is not guaranteed at all in this plan.

Even I am burdened by this plan.

If I get caught by Arachne, I’ll be swallowed into his stomach.

Even if I’m dissolved in the stomach and excreted as waste, I’ll be resurrected on top of the excrement.

And I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to escape to the 1st World even from that excrement.

I’ll be lucky if I don’t get killed by the spider bastards on the way.

But it’s more troublesome to be played by those criminal bastards as it is.

We can only speculate, and we don’t know their real purpose.

Originally, I would have thought that they were trying to take the Pioneers hostage.

But now that they have induced Arachne’s spawning season and made her run wild, and even predicted that the Moss Flower Cave would be connected to the 1st World.

I could see that those bastards had planned and prepared for this for a long time.

Would such bastards just want to return safely to the 1st World or receive a value equivalent to that?

No.

It was clear that there was some other reason.

Even if the reason was unclear, I couldn’t deny the possibility that it was a greater danger than Arachne.

“Horizon-ssi, can you do it?”

I had already confirmed Babiyeon’s intention.

When I asked Horizon’s intention for the last time, her eyes shook.

But soon, she clenched her fists tightly.

“I, I have to do it! Harua-ssi is thinking of saving the other Pioneers too, right!”

Not really.

The reason I specifically mentioned the other Pioneers was to increase the participation rate in the operation.

If I reduce their guilt and increase their sense of justice, they will participate in the operation even better.

Horizon was completely taken in by my intentions.

She was an easy woman.

“Indeed.”

And for some reason, Babiyeon also agreed with Horizon’s words and glanced at me.

What is she agreeing with when she was used as a hostage by me in the past?

“Tch, that’s why Holy Magic User-naeu-ri are like this.”

“Hahaha, it’s for the greater good!”

“You’re such a kind person.”

My stock rose significantly in Kallen’s team as well.

I’m surprised that my intentions worked so well.

“Let’s do it.”

Finally, even Kallen agreed.

He wasn’t as determined as the others to save someone.

He probably just judged that being played by the criminals’ intentions was more dangerous, given the situation.

“Harua-ssi, we’ll clear the path first.”

The path to the exit.

There will be spiderlings on that path as well.

Or there may be other Pioneers or even criminals.

In order to lure Arachne and escape, we need to clear the path as much as possible.

Otherwise, we’re likely to get caught by Arachne while dealing with something else.

Kallen’s team’s role was important.

“The rest will all depend on Harua-ssi’s judgment. Are you okay with that?”

Our team has to carry out most of the operation.

But conversely, the lives of Kallen’s team also depend on us.

The criminals and Arachne at the exit.

If we fail, Kallen’s party will be caught in between and die.

“Yes.”

So, it was something we had to succeed in no matter what.

Kallen simplified his luggage and only took his weapons.

The same was true for us.

Unnecessary luggage was meaningless since we had to run for a long time.

“Then, we’ll go around the path and clear the way from the nest to the exit. Pingle, coordinate the path with Horizon-ssi.”

“Hoo, my hands and feet are tingling.”

While Pingle was coordinating the path with Horizon, Kallen took out a small marble from his pocket.

“It’s a signal marble. When the marble lights up, execute the operation.”

It’s a simple type of magic tool.

It was necessary in this situation, so I took good care of it.

Kallen completing the task of clearing the path was the execution of the breakthrough operation.

“Good luck.”

“Yes, good luck.”

Kallen finished the conversation and hurried away.

After they left, I turned to look at Babiyeon and Horizon.

Both of them had made up their minds.

“Let’s both start.”

It’s time to burn the hatchery to a crisp.

* * *

Weekly Phantasmal Species.

Arachne.

Eight legs and a huge belly.

The upper body rising above the belly was a terrifying appearance that mixed humans and spiders.

She was hungrier than ever now.

She had entered an earlier-than-usual spawning season and had to lay her eggs in a hurry.

Before the spawning season, it is normal to fill the belly completely.

But this time, she couldn’t do that, so she was more intensely hungry than ever.

Delicious smells are felt from all directions.

Normally, she would have to go outside the Moss Flower Cave to hunt, but today is different.

With such delicious smells coming from all over the place, she couldn’t stand it.

Kung kung kung kung kung kung-

Arachne began to move through the cave at a rapid pace.

The cave shook as if there was an earthquake just from her footsteps.

While moving forward, foaming at the mouth with venom mixed in her saliva.

Arachne, who was running, suddenly stopped.

What is the most fundamentally repulsive smell to a living thing?

It is the smell of burning.

Fire can occur anywhere.

It is common for an area to become a sea of fire just from lightning falling from the sky.

So, living things fear fire.

The acrid smell of burning that rises from fire is a danger imprinted on the instincts of living things.

Right now, Arachne smelled a stronger smell of burning than ever before.

And it was in the direction of the hatchery where she lays her eggs.

Arachne hurriedly moved her huge body and started running.

The moment she arrived at the hatchery with hurried steps.

Hwareureureureuk!

The flames of hell were raging wildly there.

Thick black smoke spread throughout the cave.

Below that, the young that should have been born and the young that had just been born were rolling around in the fire.

The dry moss was the perfect firewood.

Thanks to that, the fire burned even more fiercely without any intention of stopping.

Arachne let out a roar.

At the same time, she moved her legs and began to trample on the place where the fire broke out.

The sight of her newly born young burning set fire to the mother’s heart as well.

In fact, every time Arachne rampaged, the young that were barely alive were dying, but there were many young anyway.

Arachne was not a kind mother who would even take care of her dying young.

Arachne fired spider webs in the direction of the fire and somehow suppressed the fire.

But for some reason, the fire kept increasing no matter how much she put it out.

Something unusual is happening.

The moment Arachne, who had guessed this, tried to find the cause.

Uduk-

Arachne’s body stopped, and only her head slowly turned.

The direction she turned her head.

A man was standing there.

A man wearing moderate armor and a dagger stuck in his waist.

He was holding a finger in his hand.

The moment the man clenched his finger tightly, a pure white light enveloped this place.

It is the most powerful Holy Magic in the world.

Arachne’s eyes turned red.

She fell into a frenzy and let out a roar.

The man, Harua, canceled the magic he had used on his finger and shouted.

“Horizon!”

The shadow swallowed Harua and revealed him in a slightly distant place at the same time.

Arachne forgot about putting out the fire and turned her huge body to chase after Harua.

The lure was successful.

All that remains is to arrive safely at the exit.

So.

“Run!”

If you stop, you die.