episode_0033

Was it the sight of me pulling up my sword, glaring at the spirit spider, that was so astonishing?

“Do you intend to fight… with that?”

Rautte turned to me with a vacant expression and spoke those words.

Intend to fight? Is that what you call it?

“…I have to fight. Of course.”

I replied without even turning my head.

Of course I have to fight. Otherwise, what, just die without resistance?

It’s not like it can cleanly kill me, and I’d likely end up bound in its spider silk, becoming spider food or part of its web, right?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that.

So—

“Rautte, get yourself together. If you don’t want to meet a gruesome end.”

Perhaps my last piece of advice, I put all my strength into the gripped longsword and shot towards the spirit spider like an arrow.

“Kikikikikik!”

The spirit spider clicked its fangs, brandishing its sharp forelegs.

The legs, covered in fur, protruded through the gaps in its armor, each leg reaching several meters in length, with razor-sharp claws at their tips.

“Come on, little one!”

The spirit spider swung its foreleg like a blade.

Its speed surpassed my thrust. By the time I blinked, its claw was already upon me.

“Kk…!”

Desperately, I bent my upper body, diverting its foreleg over my head.

Huuung!

A fierce cutting sound brushed past my ear. If it had hit directly, it would have been enough to burst my head inside the helmet.

“Kkieeek!”

Acid spewed from its gaping maw. I grabbed the ground with my left hand and rolled aside, narrowly avoiding it.

An astonishingly swift reflex.

Was it the instinct for survival, or perhaps heightened reflexes due to extreme sensitivity, that pushed my physical abilities beyond normal?

I felt a slightly increased chance of victory.

Chiiii…!

The missed acid sizzled the earth and rocks, emitting smoke.

“Haaat!”

I rose like a released spring, swinging the gripped sword diagonally.

Clang!

The sound of metal scraping, sparks flying between the blade and armor. It felt like wielding the sword towards a shield. My grip tingled slightly.

“Damn, it’s tough…!”

“This noooise!”

It didn’t seem like the damage had really taken effect. Still, perhaps I couldn’t contain my anger at being attacked.

The spirit spider lifted two of its legs that were clinging to its side and, like driving a stake into the ground, brought them down towards me.

“Tsk…!”

I halted my swinging sword and leaped backward, evading the creature’s legs.

Kwaaaang!

A thunderous roar echoed through the air. The missed spider claw struck the ground, carving deep furrows.

Shattered rock shrapnel reached me, striking my armor and bouncing off in all directions.

“Phew….”

Exhaling a breath mixed with heat, I calmed my overheated brain and lungs from the strenuous movement.

Could I have deflected that force head-on? Honestly, I wasn’t sure.

“Still….”

Yet, it was strangely slower and weaker than anticipated.

Was it because it was the soul of an ordinary old man, not that of a warrior?

Its movements seemed somewhat clumsy; if I were to rank the spirit spider among its kind, it would probably be at the bottom.

“Ke-e-e-ek!”

Of course, there was no room for complacency.

While it wasn’t a full-force thrust, the scratch my swinging sword left on the creature’s exoskeleton was all I managed.

“You run so well… just like back then…!”

The spirit spider’s attacks carried such lethal power that even a single direct hit could decide life or death!

“I won’t let you escape!”

Bowing as if in prostration, the spirit spider exposed its nape and back. Countless thorns protruded from its entire carapace, reflecting the torchlight on the ground.

Thorn wave.

An attack that shoots a dozen or so thorns containing paralyzing venom to immobilize the enemy.

As the description from the novel flashed through my mind, I urgently rolled my foot, throwing my body to the side.

Pababababak!

Just before, where I had been standing, a cascade of black thorns poured down. It was like a shotgun blast hitting the ground.

“There you are!”

As if anticipating my dodge, the spirit spider shot out another volley of black thorns toward the spot where I had thrown myself.

There was no way to avoid it. My foot had yet to touch the ground.

“Ugh…!”

I bit my lip and threw off my cloak, hoping its tough fabric would at least slightly deflect the direction of the thorn wave.

And then…

“Haaaah!”

Short, gray hair blocked my view.

It was Laute.

She extended her left-hand shield straight ahead, perfectly intercepting the black thorns flying towards me.

Kwagwagwag!

Wood splinters scattered on the asphalt like raindrops.

Holes pierced through the sturdy round shield as the thorns protruded through, jutting out.

“Urgh…!”

Her trembling back. Laute, grimacing from the impact, was pushed back, leaving a long mark on the gangway floor.

“Haa… haa….”

Breathless, she lowered her shield with effort, resembling more of a wreck than a shield, riddled with holes.

“Are you okay, Hilde?”

Laute turned to me, asking haltingly, her face a mix of urgency and determination.

Shaking from shock or fear, she at least hadn’t let go of her sword and shield.

At least she was back in the game. Thank goodness.

“…Thanks to you.”

I straightened up, expressing gratitude.

Thanks to her, I narrowly escaped a major disaster.

While the thorn wave might not pierce through steel armor, if it hit an unprotected area, I’d have been paralyzed without a doubt.

“Kiiieeek…!”

The spectral spider, annoyed, spat out a frustrated growl, akin to losing a caught fish.

His wrinkled face contorted eerily, reminiscent of a dirty rag soaked in muddy water.

“Ugh….”

Laute shuddered slightly, emitting a disgusted groan.

“Calm down and listen. I’ll draw attention head-on, so you watch for openings on the opposite side. Can you manage that much?”

I spoke to her reassuringly.

I’ll draw aggro, so you just do your thing from behind. Aggro-drawing sword warrior and a rear-guard katana wielder. Roles seemed a bit reversed, but for now, it was our best shot.

Placing the rapier directly in front of that creature would have turned me into a human kebab in less than five minutes.

“Oh, yes. I’ll give it a try…!”

Lautte nodded.

“Alright. Then, here I go!”

I nodded back at him and charged toward the spirit spider as if slinging my longsword over my shoulder.

“Aaaah!”

Suppressing my sense of danger and unease with a fierce shout.

“Skkkrrrk! That’s right! Come on! To meeee, you father!”

The spirit spider spread its front legs as if welcoming me.

I thought another wave of thorns would come flying at me, but instead, it lunged at me with a clear momentum, perhaps needing to recharge.

“Mockery…!”

I accelerated even more and plunged straight at it, allowing Lautte to find an opening behind it.

Whooooosh!

Claw-like talons swooped in with a cutting sound.

One, no, three. It was using an extra leg.

I widened my eyes, focusing intensely, anticipating and responding to its every move.

“Kiiiiiiick!”

The first claw aimed diagonally at my shoulder. I rotated my body and deflected it with the blade, letting the armor absorb the impact.

Thud!

A heavy impact landed on my shoulder.

Its claw left a deep gash in the armor and slid off to crash into the ground.

One down.

Thud-thud-thud…

The recoil from deflecting the first claw pushed my body to the side.

I kicked off the ground to increase the speed of my movement, evading the trajectory of the spirit spider’s second claw.

Then came the final claw.

Whoosh!

Its third claw reached around my lower back like a child embracing its parent from the outside.

Simultaneously, its fangs extended, aiming for my neck.

“Hug your fatherrrr!”

From the front, back, and sides, it was a perfectly executed encirclement attack, sealing off all my possible movements.

However, there was one spot. A completely empty gap.

“You talk like a father!”

Thwack!

Following my instincts and intuition, I leaped toward the only opening they pointed to.

“Kiiiick?!”

The spirit spider jerked its head urgently.

Yes, I leapt off the ground and threw myself over its head.

Barely skimming the top of his thick skull, I had to avoid soaring too high, lest I be unable to counter the incoming retaliation.

“Calling yourself a father while looking like that? Unbelievable.”

I gripped my longsword in reverse and shouted down at the clumsy, armored spider.

The truth that might shock him.

The reason he cannot be my father.

“You’re a female! You’re the queen spider!”

“Eeeek!”

The spirit spider, finally realizing the truth, was struck with horror. The tip of the reversed sword was lodged into one of its bulging eye sockets.

And then,

“Ugh… Aaargh!”

At that moment, Lautte, who had turned behind him, thrust his blade through the spirit spider’s dorsal hump like a stake.

“Eeek!”

Pierced from front to back, the spirit spider let out a strangled cry.