episode_0057

While running through the darkness, it seemed like I stepped on more spiders’ backs and heads than on the cave floor.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to keep running on the steps that were shaking and trying to bite me every time I put my foot up, but I was still lucky.

I prove my remaining luck by first sticking my spear into a spider that jumps into the air and runs towards me as if to say that its luck is running out.

Stepping on soft feet again, I pulled out my spear and swung it around, cutting down all the spiders around me at once, and then turned around for a moment to look behind me.

Then, I saw the Yongah soldiers chasing after me, tearing the path I had cleared even wider.

The spiders that had rushed at her as if they wanted to eat her instead of me, who had missed me, were broken into pieces and rolled on the floor in front of the sword she was swinging.

The sword she swung with one hand cut the spider’s tooth from its jaw, and she quickly grabbed the tooth she was about to snatch and threw it like a dagger, piercing the vital point of another spider that was running at her.

She runs after me, not paying attention to the spider’s trembling and hardening body.

As the distance gets closer and closer.

‘I must have been trapped in this cave for at least a few days without eating anything, but I still have the strength to do that…’

Maybe it was our unexpected luck that they ended up fighting the cursed rabbit before us.

So that I could continue to count it as good luck, I increased my running speed and hurled the spear with all my might.

I couldn’t say for sure since I couldn’t see through the spiders’ expressions or minds, but they seemed to be getting tired of seeing us like that.

When we see that the movement chasing us is getting slower, and the threatening screams are becoming more frequent.

‘…good. ‘Maybe soon…’

When I think about how so many spiders could suddenly appear without Luvia’s eyes, there was only one answer that immediately came to mind.

Similar to what happened in the forest at that time, they are related to the curse that the rabbit received.

Just like the monsters in the forest that appeared while we were fighting the rabbit at that time, beings that seem to inhabit an unknown space connected to the curse.

That was the only story that could explain Luvia’s failure to find them earlier.

They didn’t suddenly appear in front of us, but we suddenly appeared inside their lair.

Above all, the biggest reason for being sure of that fact was the fact that I could still keep running.

The size of the cave seen from the outside before entering was such that even after running for such a long time, it was impossible not to come to the end.

Even considering the delay in running while constantly fighting spiders, it was a path that made absolutely no sense.

‘If you think about it, it seems to be related to the curse the rabbit received from the gods of this land, so was it natural for something like this to happen in this cave where the rabbit spent hundreds of years?

I should have paid attention to this when I came in…’

I had already come out of the forest once, and it was a completely different place from where this phenomenon had occurred before, so I had no idea about it.

The good news was that, thanks to previous experience, I knew how to get out.

The dragon soldier following me also didn’t show any doubt on his face, perhaps because he remembered the forest he couldn’t escape from before.

She knows it too.

Those spiders, like the forest monsters, were not infinitely numerous, so if I kept defeating them and breaking through, I would be able to beat them and return to my normal cave.

Those monsters have already started to slow down, so if we can hold out just a little longer, we’ll be able to completely shake them off…

“Where are you both going in such a hurry?”

What cut off our run and optimism was a quiet sound that echoed in the cave, completely different from the spiders’ menacing screams.

It was a very soft voice, but there was a subtle aura sharper and more poisonous than the poisonous teeth of the spiders that flocked to it.

It was a voice that would come from a very old being who had held a grudge for a long time compared to the time it had been alive.

When that voice rings out, numerous spiders stop all at once.

Instead of flinching in embarrassment like before, the screaming and crunching movements of the legs literally disappeared, creating silence where no sound could be heard unless the voice spoke.

Eventually, even as they retreated to clear the way for her, the spiders moved quietly without making the slightest noise.

As if he was afraid that if he made a sound, he would offend her.

She also didn’t make any noise as she moved on her eight legs, so unless we looked carefully into the darkness, we couldn’t even tell that she was coming towards us.

She climbed above us in silence and looked down at us upside down from the ceiling, but without even a warning, she flipped over and fell towards us.

Both the dragon soldier and I quickly stepped back to avoid it, and the sharp claws at the end of our legs pierced the hard cave floor we had been standing on just a moment ago.

Meanwhile, there was no sound again, to the point where even I got goosebumps for a moment.

She seemed to have sensed the emotions I briefly showed and stretched her body with a satisfied smile.

She showed off her beautiful appearance and voluptuous upper body, and approached me with her black hair flowing long enough to cover her breasts.

If the spider’s lower body wasn’t shaking its legs as if it was about to pounce at any moment, it would have been a mesmerizing sight.

‘It’s a leg with the power to pierce the hard cave floor in one go without making a sound… If it gets caught even once, it will be torn to pieces.’

As my guard grows, I reflexively tighten my grip on the spear.

That alone would be a difficult enemy to deal with, but if it was an entity that commanded all other spiders in a space connected to the curse, there was a high possibility that it had some kind of mystical or magical power.

Yong A-byeong was also aware of this, so at this moment, his mind was completely focused not on me but on the newly appeared threat in front of him.

She also knows that, no matter what happens, they have to fight together.

However, the reason for waiting without raising the weapon and aiming it is probably the same as mine.

Because I couldn’t help but wonder why that spider and the human-shaped monster started a conversation instead of ambushing me.

If it had eight legs that could move without making the slightest noise despite its enormous power, why did it bother to speak out and reveal its location?

If they had jumped and attacked us while we were busy running, at least one of us might have failed to react in time.

‘If you want something special from us or have something to ask…’

The reasoning behind the answer to that question was the reason we had not started the battle yet.

Of course, there was also the worst possibility.

This is a case where the logical assumption and reasoning itself is meaningless.

We couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that she was just talking to us and wasting time just to get more twisted pleasure out of the hunt.

As to which one it would be, we were waiting for an answer with our weapons raised at an angle.

Should I take it down or lift it and aim it?

The smile of the woman on top of the spider grew bigger and bigger… until she bowed her head and gave a light greeting.

“Nice to meet you. Strangers who have entered our home. My name is Alaadih, the owner of this place.”

“…Nice to meet you. Alladih.”

When I greeted her face to face, the spider nodded in satisfaction and continued talking.

“My children seem to have been a bit excited to see guests who haven’t seen them in a long time… Thank you for still being so polite.

It was a good thing I came out to greet them myself. Please rest in peace for a long time.”

If you’re talking about children, are you talking about those spiders?

I think we’ve killed too many of them for this friendly conversation, but she didn’t seem to care.

Whether we can consider that a good thing for us… I’m not sure.

“Thank you for your kindness, but we also have work to finish urgently.

So, if you don’t mind, please tell the kids to step back so we can get out of here-”

“You mean the rabbit you are trying to hunt? This is an empire that was cursed by the gods of this land a long time ago.”

She seemed glad that I had mentioned the topic, so she naturally interrupted me and continued her story.

“Her curse… is truly amazing.

The results of the curse are completely different from what the gods intended, and the curse, which has been left unresolved for so long, is gradually slipping out of their control.

That doesn’t mean the curse has weakened. It’s interesting because it’s the opposite.

Even the gods who gave the power to cast that curse on their beloved Druid a long time ago never expected this, so this was a truly rare opportunity.”

“…an opportunity?”

Her expression changes subtly at my question.

She was still smiling, but there was a twisted satisfaction in that smile.

Even for a creature no matter how long ago, it seemed difficult to suppress the emotion she felt about the opportunity to achieve something she and her clan had longed for for so long.

“This home we stay in… we didn’t choose it.

They banished us into this darkness and imprisoned us never to see the light of day again. In a way, this could also be said to be a curse from the gods.

But now… there is a passage to their world that even they didn’t expect.”

The desire for freedom and revenge emanating from her voice had such a powerful venom within it.

So much so that it is not that difficult to guess what would happen if the request was denied or rejected.

“So we?…”

“If the guests catch that rabbit and bring it back, we will finally, finally be able to get out of here.

In return, we will be able to reward you…”

“For example?”

In response to my question, she covered her mouth with her hand for a moment and laughed, then answered in a voice that was nothing short of happy.

“I think we can start by saving the customers.”