episode_0024

He held his breath, waiting for the situation to pass quietly.

“Hush! Stay still…!”

An ironic situation where his face was against his own stomach, and his hand wrapped around her waist.

Unaware of his own predicament, he remained motionless, only assessing the situation.

As warmth emanated from his hand, Hedy grimaced.

…It was the first time her body had touched a man.

Although there was some discontent, she had to acknowledge it.

The queen of spiders was patrolling outside the cave, so he grabbed her and threw them both into the blind spot.

It was a matter of moments. If they were discovered by the spider, a life-and-death battle would have ensued.

Hedy held her breath and looked outside the cave with him.

…The queen of spiders was moving her eight massive legs in sequence, heading somewhere.

Upon closer inspection, they realized it was their own cave.

“……!”

What should they do?

If they entered the cave, they would be exposed without a doubt.

Hedy’s focus wavered.

“Follow me!”

At that moment, the rogue leader grabbed Hedy’s hand and led her.

“What, what are you doing…! To get caught?”

“Quietly, follow me!”

The two whispered as they moved behind a pile of corpses.

Soon, the rogue leader lay down behind the pile of corpses.

Then, he stretched out his arms and legs.

Not hiding but rather pretending to be a corpse,

Hedy’s mind momentarily couldn’t keep up with his actions.

“…?”

“What are you doing! Quickly, follow suit!”

In a moment of surprise, Hedy awkwardly lay down beside the rogue leader.

“Giggle…”

The queen of spiders entered the cave entrance.

After sending the pack of big spiders back, she rummaged through the pile of corpses and then began to move her long pincer-like jaws to start eating.

“Crunch… crack…”

Even though they were just recently human bodies, seeing them being devoured right before their eyes brought shock and nausea.

Hedy struggled to control her breathing.

The queen of spiders seemed too focused on her meal to notice anything else.

“When I give the signal, get up and run.”

“…?”

Amidst this, the rogue leader whispered.

For a moment, Hedy doubted her ears.

Run in this situation?

Was he so desperate to become spider food right away?

However, there was no hint of hesitation in his expression.

Did he know a way to escape from that huge maw?

For some reason, Hedy felt drawn to his eyes and nodded absentmindedly amidst the chaos.

Subsequently, he lowered his head again and began to feign death.

Before they knew it, the queen of spiders, having consumed nearly half of the corpses, approached Hedy, her pincers reaching out.

‘Gasp-!’

Hedy was taken aback.

Suddenly, the rogue leader sprang to his feet.

“…?!”

Sensing movement from the corpses, the queen of spiders also recoiled in surprise.

Ignoring the brief opening, the rogue leader swiftly moved his body.

Then, he pulled out the longsword hidden in the pile of corpses and thrust it into the queen spider’s large pincer-like jaw.

“Gah-!”

-Thud!

The longsword pierced sharply into the queen spider’s jaw.

“Giggle, giggle, giggle, giggle, giggle!”

The queen of spiders writhed in pain, emitting a rapid groan.

“Now! Run!!”

“…?!”

Once again, he grabbed Hedy’s hand and led her.

In a moment of surprise, Hedy ran as well.

They escaped the cave, feeling the queen of spiders regaining her senses and vibrating as she chased after them.

-Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap!

The urgent sound of their footsteps echoed through the cave.

They were running like mad.

“Sss!”

“Sss, sss!”

As they fled, a large group of big spiders blocked their path.

“…! Did they realize it after hearing the queen’s groan?!”

“…!”

The one leading them hesitated.

Meanwhile, the queen of spiders was rapidly closing in on them.

Hedy was taken aback but quickly drew the sword from his waist and cut through the Big Spider horde in a hurry.

I have to hurry because that guy will come after me.

One by one, he cut them down.

With that, the Big Spiders blocking the way disappeared.

As the path cleared completely, he was about to think of fleeing again.

“Kikikikikikik!”

“……!”

Have I wasted too much time?

The queen of the angry spiders, with a hole in her chin and furious all the way to the tips of her hair, was already approaching right in front of him.

It was within reach if she took a step with one of her eight long legs.

‘I’m too late…!’

He felt the pressure from the massive body and atmosphere.

Hedy’s animal instinct was telling him. …There was no way to win against this presence.

How could he face the monster in front of him when he couldn’t even break through the realm of 3 stars?

If he had known this would happen, he would have practiced more secretly at home.

‘Is this the end….’

When he first witnessed the queen of the spiders, he was paralyzed with fear and couldn’t do anything.

In that moment of confusion, Hedy thought he could survive thanks to the quick judgment of the gang leader.

But it was futile. Despite doing his best, he couldn’t escape.

There was no other choice.

Hedy made up his mind silently.

“…Hey, gang leader.”

“Yeah?”

Hedy approached the queen of the spiders.

With a determined look in his eyes, aiming the sword.

There was no plan.

“Go.”

“What?”

“I said go. Do you have a problem with bleeding?”

“……”

There was no need for two corpses.

And… if he hadn’t been there, she would have died in the pile of corpses in the cave long ago.

Even though it was brief, he was her savior.

“Kikikikikik!”

“……”

Facing the monster up close, he felt no possibility of winning.

Suddenly, Hedy felt that her life was unlucky.

Just when she thought she had finally gained freedom in her pitiful life.

Now she was facing death.

It was cruel fate.

…But she didn’t want to die.

She wanted to somehow live on and become a Sword Master.

She wanted to fulfill her wish.

She didn’t want to become a woman who couldn’t do anything without a man, tied to a man.

She wanted to remain herself until the end and stand proudly in front of the world.

So she couldn’t die.

Hedy slowly walked towards the queen of the spiders.

Maintaining composure, she prepared for the queen’s attack.

However.

“Hey.”

“…?”

“You’re running away? Where did you hear me say that?”

It was strange.

He didn’t run away.

As he approached the queen of the spiders, someone followed him from the side.

It seemed like he was ready to fight, swinging a rather worn longsword.

“You’re not capable of dealing with someone like me. So don’t worry and run away quickly.”

He said calmly.

But there was a somewhat dissatisfied expression on his face.

“Why me?”

“…What?”

“Leaving you behind in this situation to run away? That’s not what a man should do.”

“……”

Hedy was momentarily stunned.

Then, almost involuntarily, a small laugh escaped her.

She had seen countless men boasting about being ‘men’ until now.

But among them, wasn’t he the most decent one?

She thought that those who boasted about being men were all show-offs.

How many men would actually face impending death while proudly declaring themselves as men?

She had often met his gaze at the academy.

Was he interested in her?

If she had known he was such a decent man, she would have paid more attention to him, Hedy thought.

He faced her head-on and adjusted his stance.

Hedy also stopped her thoughts and entered a combat stance.

And it was just before that moment.

As if not giving any more time, the queen of the spiders rushed forward at full speed.

“Kikikikikikik!”

The target was Hedy.

An incredibly fast speed. It was a charge filled with emotions, as if anger was driving all the force towards her.

“Hup!”

Hedy moved his body greatly to swiftly dodge the queen of the spiders’ charge.

-Clang!

The queen of spiders shoots a false step on the cave wall.

At that moment, Hedi, seizing the opportunity, exaggerated the opponent’s movements.

“Water Sword Technique, 2nd Form, Waterwheel Slash…!”

Hedi’s body gracefully arched backward.

The technique she cast was a swordsmanship learned from Laura’s class, focusing on precision in the trajectory of the blade, unlike the typical vertical slashes, maximizing sharpness.

-Whoosh!

-Shyaaah!

“Kikigik!”

She precisely struck the opponent’s side with her blade.

However…

“Kikigigik!”

“Argh!”

It only amounted to a scratch.

Although it was a good hit, due to the opponent’s immense size, it only reached a superficial level.

The spider queen turned her head towards Hedi, lowering her pincer-adorned head before swiftly raising it and lunging downward.

-Kraang!

Blocking it with her sword, Hedi was propelled into the air by the recoil.

“Ugh-!”

“Kikigigik!”

But that wasn’t all.

A white liquid flew straight at her.

It was emitted by the spider queen’s body—a massive amount of spider silk. Hedi, defenseless in mid-air, couldn’t evade it.

-Shyaaaa!

The spider silk enveloped her upper body.

Fortunately, it didn’t hit her face; otherwise, her airways would have been blocked.

Or maybe that wouldn’t have been fortunate…

Approaching the defenseless Hedi, the spider queen advanced slowly.

“Argh!”

Hedi attempted to move her limbs but was hindered by the strong adhesive force.

‘Is this the end…?’

Fear began to grip Hedi’s emotions.

“I hate this! Go away!!”

She struggled with all her might.

Yet, the spider silk showed no signs of loosening.

“Kikigigigik…”

Seeing the terrified Hedi, the spider queen seemed pleased, clicking her pincers together, emitting a chilling sound.

One step, then another.

Maksu and Hedi drew closer until they were almost touching.

With each step, the hope in Hedi’s eyes gradually faded.

She thought it was all over now.

-Kwagwagwagwagwa!

“Kikigigigigik-!!”

But then, in an instant, a bluish light illuminated the area, accompanied by a deafening noise as the spider queen convulsed.

Perplexed, Hedi turned her head back to see what had happened.

And once again, she was astonished.

“….!”

There was a significant bleeding from the spider queen’s side, where she hadn’t managed to strike earlier.

A substantial wound had split her body in a straight line.

“How…?!”

To inflict such a wound, there was only one answer.

Aura.

Unless a Sword Expert-level swordsman with magic power exceeding the 3rd rank raised their power, such an injury could not have been inflicted.

Surprised, Hedi shifted her gaze from the spider queen towards the rogue leader facing her.

There, a blue aura emanated from the rogue leader, who wielded a sword fiercely with both hands.

He had struck the rogue leader.

His entire body was bathed in a blue glow.

In contrast, he appeared nonchalant, as if unaware of his actions.