Chapter 165 – Relics

000

Arachne opened her eyes in the cave where there was only darkness and looked at the firmly blocked wall.

She was an ordinary spider, but only a few days ago she was reincarnated by touching the holy relic of Utu buried underground.

Guided by something like a voice calling out to her, she dug and dug until she reached the place where she found a small statue of a spider and Utu, the goddess of fate.

Although it was a small, worn-out statue, it contained the same strength and memories as Utu’s sculpture.

In the past, Utu had been worshiped by the spiders that lived in this forest, and had also given blessings to the spiders that were like ancestors to Arachne.

And, she established a peaceful relationship with humans who equally believed in Utu, and built a country without borders between demon beasts and humans.

However, it was also humans who brought about the end of such a peaceful time.

A swordsman with a shining sword invaded the temple, leading humans who were once followers of Utu.

He said that he would burn the holy relic, kill Arachne, the beasts, and bring about the era of true humans on the continent.

It was said that the era of false gods was over.

Although Arachne reincarnated as one of her followers her and acquired a powerful body, the knowledge her holy relic her gave was not that great.

However, it’s just that you instinctively have to keep it.

That’s why he made his own den with the holy relics, while repeating the process of chasing out humans who approached the Forest of Virtue.

A human with red hair and horns came to visit her.

With her brown skin and her tail growing, she was a human with a somewhat different atmosphere from the humans Utu had seen in his memories of her and the humans who came to the forest.

On top of that, the aura of a slightly unpleasant feeling felt on the body of her.

But for some reason, if she looked into her eyes her, she would unknowingly listen to her words carefully.

“If you perform a specific ritual on this holy object, you can bring Utu, the spider god, back.”

She said that, adjusting her spectacles, and told Arachne what she needed.

Human and beast blood, weathered spirit stones, and blasphemous magic circles.

And a space that is completely cut off from everything else, so that not even an ant can come in.

After chanting a ritual spell, seal the holy relic inside and if you hold out for a few days, Utu will return using the relic as a medium.

Arachne did n’t fully believe her words of her, but she did n’t feel the need to say no.

Even if they repeatedly drive out the humans who flow into the forest like this, they will gradually use different means to harass themselves.

Just as humans in the past did to their gods.

And, it’s not long now.

The spider god, the forest mistress, and the weaving goddess who spins the threads of fate return to this world.

The Forest of Virtue will forever belong to the Goddess, as it did in the past.

Arachne did not doubt that.

001

“I don’t think he’s noticed even after coming here.”

Cleon was feeling a bit proud of not making a single sound with each step he took.

After sorting out her ejaculation spirits, it was necessary to go deep into the forest to find the den where Arachne was located, but thanks to Arachne’s open sensing area her, their movements would be detected more and more strongly the deeper they went inside.

So, the method taken is to spread the ‘curtain of darkness’, which is Cleon’s magic that can escape even such detection, on the body.

Of course, since this only applies to Cleon and the items he wears, he cannot walk away from Sasha.

So, what was the method taken?

“Hey, hey… How long do I have to go like this?”

Clinging to Cleon’s body.

Sasha was held up in Cleon’s arms of her as the princess, hiding her blushing face from her.

“At least until we find the oyster. Ruben, how are you?”

“Umm~ The reaction is close. It seems that the passage to the source of dark magic is forcibly blocked.”

She reacts shyly, then she hands over to Ruben and puts on a relaxed expression.

Seeing that two personalities were living in Sasha’s body her, Cleon was now completely used to talking to her as if she were experiencing emotional instability.

“I see. If I don’t hurry, the sun will set.”

After noon, when the sun started to set, the two entered the Forest of Virtue and quietly looked up at the sky.

The sun was still shining brightly, but if you were careless, the sun would begin to set over the horizon in an instant, turning the sky into an orange sky the same color as Sasha’s hair in her.

It goes without saying that a forest at night is more dangerous than a forest in daylight. If it was in a forest where the concentration of magic power was high enough for demons to be born, the risk would increase even more.

When the lunatic mana created by the moon penetrates the bodies of the beasts, those who can’t even tell the difference between the strong and the strong appear.

Despite Cleon’s intimidation, the possibility of attacking them and causing an unnecessary fight was not small.

Of course, if you use ‘Dark Curtain’ like now, you can avoid such a fight.

Considering that, above all else, Quon would cook and wait for the meal, returning later than meal time was something to be avoided.

“Ah. Mr. Cleon! There’s a spider’s web!”

Sasha raised her arm and pointed at Cleon’s feet as she walked forward, lost in other thoughts for a moment.

Certainly, I could see that there was a complicated tangled spider web hanging between two short trees.

“This is fine. I won’t trip or fall.”

Saying that, Cleon tried to avoid the spider’s web, but he suddenly looked at it as if he was bothered by the strangely shaped web.

And, when he lifted his foot and gently pushed through the cobweb, he felt a firm texture without breaking easily.

“…Is it Arachne’s web?”

A high-strength thread pulled taut like the strings of a musical instrument.

It was thin and hard enough to cut through the skin if you hit it hard without paying attention.

“Is it a trap? It must have been made by Arachne to repel intruders.”

Even the small trees were naturally camouflaged, but if you looked closely you could see that they had been pruned with something sharp.

“Kufufu. It was dangerous Cleon-sama. If I did something wrong, I might have cut my ankle.”

“It’s not like that, but… Even if a witch beast is a witch beast, it’s Arachne.”

When Cleon turned his head, he could see that several similar traps had been set up around him.

“If you’re dealing with multiple enemies alone, nothing is as effective as a trap. Besides, attacking the bridge restricts your movement, so you can stop the advance.”

While muttering that, Cleon figured out the location of all the traps, avoided them and carefully followed the path where the traps were set.

“I-I see. Having a trap means there’s something to protect on this side, right?”

“Yes. If you follow this road, you will find its den.”

Both Cleon and Sasha nodded and tried to move forward, but in the next moment, Sasha’s tail her moved and wrapped around Cleon’s arm her.

“Wait. Cleon-sama. It’s the other side.”

“…What?”

When Cleon responds to Ruben’s words, Ruben’s gaze turns around and sees the path of the trap set in the ground.

“As expected, he’s not Utu himself, but he’s part of his family. When it comes to defensive warfare, he shows natural talent.”

“Rather than that, what about the opposite?”

When Cleon asks a question, Ruben quietly smiles and answers Cleon.

“If this trap is discovered even once, it is a trap whose effectiveness is significantly reduced after that. It’s natural to be careful about the same trap if you step on it even once.”

So. This trap only works on first contact. After that, it’s just an annoying decoration that hinders your career a little bit.

Placing such things on several roads would not have much effect.

However, setting traps makes humans think that they have something to protect.

Using that psychology, it was to hide the true path by pointing in the wrong direction.

Cleon nodded as if he understood Ruben’s explanation.

“Certainly, there’s a point… But, can you read that much?”

“I only know because I’ve been beaten in similar ways in the past… If not, did you fall in love with my insight? Cleon-sama♡ Kufufu♡”

When her tail her tickles Cleon’s nose, Cleon quietly grabs it and talks.

“If I do a little more in the future, I think I’ll fall in love with you, so please guide me.”

At that, Ruben opened her eyes wide and pricked up her ears, then smiled brightly and pointed in the direction with the tip of her tail.

“Okay. I think I know the exact location of the cave from what I just did, so I’ll guide you!”

The direction she pointed to was the opposite of the direction Cleon and Sasha were trying to go a moment ago.

Hidden behind a curtain, Cleon and Sasha followed Ruben’s navigation, paying attention to another trap.

002

In conclusion, Ruben’s words were true.

In a completely different, opposite direction from where the trap was, various invisible traps attacked Cleon and Sasha.

Pit traps, spike traps, traps that make a loud noise when touched…

“Kuh… It’s more annoying than exploring most dungeons or ruins… !”

In order to move forward without touching each of those things, Cleon was looking at the front of her with all his concentration her along with Sasha.

“We’re almost there ♪ The sound of the wind has changed.”

But Ruben borrowed Sasha’s body from her and she was talking like that happily while clinging to Cleon.

Since Cleon is the only one who can actually move his body her, it might be comfortable for Ruben, who only chatters while being held in Cleon’s arms her.

And indeed, when Sasha’s tail her, which was spinning around, pointed in one direction-

There, I saw a hole where a path sloped down from the ground like a giant ant hole.

“…Because it’s called a den, I imagined something like bears and wolves living there.”

“There are no mountains like that in this forest… Since it’s a spider, it would be rather strange to live in such a place. If you go inside, it’s better to block the entrance with a barrier. Cleon-sama.”

After Cleon nodded at Ruben’s words, he met Sasha’s gaze at her.

Sasha, too, nodded at Cleon’s signal her, reaffirming her resolve her.

Soon after, when Cleon stepped into the cave, it was clear that the energy of black magic was clearly strengthened inside.

At this level, the concentration was enough to contaminate weak creatures, but Cleon and Sasha also wrapped their bodies in magic to block it.

As soon as the veil of darkness disappeared, Cleon waved his hand and opened a barrier blocking entry and exit at the entrance of the cave.

Because I didn’t have enough time to pursue her again, who ran away without listening to her story of her.

“This will make her know we’re here… Whether she’ll come out and fight, or there might be more traps in here.”

As Cleon says, he pulls out a piece of paper and a pencil from his bag.

“Mae, if it’s mapping, then I…”

“It’s okay. Sasha overworked her ears and eyes while coming here. I’ll have to do this.”

Sasha tells Cleon to let him do her job her, but Cleon pats Sasha on the shoulder and refuses.

“Hmm, but Cleon-sama, I don’t think that’s necessary. If you’ve come this far, you just have to go in a straight line to the place where the reaction of dark magic is strong.”

“…What?”

“Girl. Give yourself up. I’ll open the way.”

When Ruben said that, Sasha tilted her head but gave her complete control over her body.

Then, as Ruben had done in her first affair with Cleon before, she infuses enough of her magical energy her into her body her to strengthen her body her.

The muscles of the limbs, the sharpness of the eyes. And, the growth of the whole body too.

“… This way”

She looks around her with a bow and arrow of magic in her hand, looks at the sloping ground, points her bow at it, and sets her string her.

“What-“

“Stay away, Mr. Cleon. It will be a bit dusty.”

After replying to Cleon’s words, Ruben opened her eyes and gathered her mana and muscle strength her to create a huge magical arrow and launch it.

“Dalbi that can pierce steel”

Soon, the magical main gun in the shape of a huge wolf pierces the ground and flies in a straight line.

Like an excavator, it makes a big hole and moves forward and forward again and then cuts a straight path to the basement where there is a large cavity.

“Whoa~”

When Ruben sees her creation her, she sighs heavily and turns her body her back to Sasha.

“Ugh…”

However, thanks to her gigantic technique her, which showed output beyond her imagination her, she too felt her magic power her suddenly drop and her body her staggered.

“I’d say I went too hard, but…”

Cleon gulped down his saliva and looked at the passageway that opened to the basement. Beyond, they could see Arachne, staring at them in surprise from the darkness.

“…Let’s go, Sasha!”

“Yes, yes!”

Cleon leads such Sasha and jumps down the hole to the place where Arachne is.

Using mana as a cushion to catch the rapidly falling body of her, and swinging his hand of her to use light source magic.

Arachne, who was alone in the dark room, glared at Cleon and Sasha.

“You guys… Why. How. Until here.”

“I came to talk. I said earlier.”

Arachne looked up at Cleon’s words and looked at the hole they had made.

“The guy who talks. This kind of thing. I don’t do it.”

“…I can’t deny that, but I wanted to save some time.”

“…”

When Arachne is quiet, Cleon talks to her with a shrug.

“I can’t go anywhere anymore. I don’t think it would be bad to talk a little bit.”

“…Okay. When the story is over. You. Go back.”

“Okay.”

Arachne, too, answered Cleon as if she couldn’t help it, and Cleon nodded her head as if satisfied.

“Dagger Jik-“

“Don’t even speak directly, Arachne. Utu’s attendant. What you are trying to do now is completely useless, so stop it.”

Cleon tried to ask about black magic, but Ruben was the first to speak up.

Hearing Ruben’s words, Arachne, who barely spoke, glared at Ruben.

“…You…”

“This body is Ruben. I was an enemy of the ‘Utu’ whom you believed in and loved. At the same time, I am a sister, and I am also a loser.”

“Ruben… In Utu’s memory. It is. The invader. The child. And, the younger brother.”

When Arachne talks like that, Ruben makes a ‘no’ sound as if he is dissatisfied with the title of younger brother, but continues talking.

“I can feel the dark magic flowing out of the closed space behind your back. And, even if it’s weak, Utu’s energy. What are you doing to the holy relic? It’s not knowledge you can get. What the hell is it?”

At Ruben’s words, Arachne flinched and reacted to him, and glanced behind her. To Cleon and Sasha, it was just a wall covered with dirt and stones, but Ruben felt something.

“…Ruben. Why do you take the side of humans. Utu-sama wants you to…”

“You are. What are you going to do by bringing back the dead guy?

Ruben cut off Arachne once more and opened his mouth.

“…Utu is killed by the hero?”

When Cleon repeated her words as if he was worried, Ruben nodded her head and continued the conversation.

“Unlike me, who was an aggression god, she was a god who had already established a base there and protected her followers of her. However, the hero of the holy sword appeared and took away her followers, burned the sanctuary of the territory, and cut her body her with the holy sword. To them, Utu was something to be conquered.”

At Ruben’s words, Arachne’s face her became gloomy, because in her memories of the pale light passed over from her relic her, there was a similar scene.

“I… Was able to escape. This land where the hero appeared wasn’t originally my land. I just had to hide as if I were dead and run to a place where I could live… But, Utu couldn’ t do that. For her, a place to escape. There was no such thing. Because her estate was a battlefield.”

How much does it trample on her pride to say that she “Run away” Herself?

While Ruben spoke like that with resentment, she showed a sad face like never before.

But perhaps Arachne thought that Ruben’s words were over, so she glared at Ruben again and spoke.

“And, Utu-nim. He was knocked down by humans. He left his followers behind and fell into a deep sleep.”

“No! … She’s dead.”

Ruben denied Arachne’s words.

“The holy sword has the power to make impossible things possible for humans. For example, the part that becomes the core of the god that can never be touched. In other words, the power to attack the divine core. The hero cuts Utu’s divine core, and she was completely annihilated from this world. It is best for only scattered fragments to dwell in various sacred objects… The god Utu disappeared from the world that day.”

“…”

At Ruben’s words her, Arachne opened her eyes wide, then shut her mouth.

“Like reviving a dead human being. It is impossible to recreate a disappeared god. It may be possible to create a similar god with a great amount of faith. You may continue to use the name Utu. However, that is by no means the former Utu. Not to mention, what kind of evil god the new god created from the holy relic mixed with dark magic will become. I don’t even want to imagine.”

“…Dark magic…?”

At Ruben’s words, Arachne tilts her head. Seeing that, Ruben let out a sigh.

“I see, you don’t know the concept of dark magic. …Well, it’s okay. I’ll destroy the holy relic and free you from Utu’s spell.”

When Ruben said that and closed his eyes, the initiative of his body he returned to Sasha.

However, Sasha, like Ruben told her a little while ago, puts an arrow of magic on her bow her and aims it at Arachne.

“…”

Arachne just quietly glared at Sasha.

Eventually, her hand holding her string she was released, and an arrow shot from her hand her at high speed flew towards Arachne.

Arachne saw it, and she effortlessly twisted her body to avoid it, but her magical arrows were lodged in the wall behind her.

And—the crack that arose there destroyed the wall behind her.

“That, like that…!”

Arachne looked behind her in bewilderment.

And, there.

As Ruben expected, Utu’s holy relic in the shape of a spider had absorbed a large amount of dark magic, and he could see that it was expanding as if something was about to be born.

“Kuh… What a concentration… To be so concentrated in an enclosed space…!”

Cleon is embarrassed by the flowing black magic, but soon draws out his sword and looks at the holy relic.

“The relic… Has changed…!”

As Arachne said that in surprise, the moment her eyes met those of the holy relic.

Arachne’s faith and respect for the holy relic reacted with the black magic and the fragments of Utu remaining in it.

Before long, something happened as the relic rose to the sky.

[My blood. My body. In the providence of the three thousand worlds made by my shell. With a new name, a new deity, I create myself.]

At the voice heard from somewhere, the party—even Arachne—knew that something was wrong.

[Let there be darkness.]

In the next instant, a new demon god was born with the holy relic as its core.

A gigantic spider with a ferocious, dissolving body forms its body around the holy relic.

Its speed was much faster than the speed at which Sasha’s arrows struck it, creating a body with eight legs and ferocious fangs.

[Grrrraaaaa!]

Soon, she cried out.

It wasn’t Utu.

It’s just a simple demon created by copying the shape and soul of Utu.

Ruben clicks his tongue, but Sasha clenches her fists, reinforcing her resolve to fight.

“Cleon-sama. The source of the dark magic is the holy relic, the core of that demon. And… The leyline also has the dark magic connected to it.”

“In the leyline…? The leyline here should be connected to the leyline in the royal capital… First of all, blocking that would be the priority.”

Cleon also drew her Galatea and stood in front of her Sasha as if guarding her her.

“Utu…Sama…”

Arachne let out a devastated voice as she looked at the holy relic that had become a demon.

But within. Realizing that she has been tricked, she opens her eyes, pulls out her thread, and confronts the false Utu.

“…Utu. I never thought the day would come when I would take care of you.”

Ruben muttered that and put his hand on Sasha’s gripping hand her.

“God girl. This time, move your body with your will and end the ‘age of the gods’.”

“…Yes!”

That was also the origin of rest for Utu.