Chapter 43

*Swish…!*

The sound of electricity crackling emanated from Lir’s small staff.

From Rex’s prosthetic arm and axe handle came the sounds of steel colliding, and from Trian’s longbow, the sound of the bowstring stretching to its limit.

Thump!

With a massive tremor, the spider’s leg shattered the door, tearing it open and invading the room we were in.

“Ogiard de Astellaaa!”

The barbarian, filled with devout faith, worshipped his god as he swung his gigantic axe.

A vibrant shout and a crackling rupture of the air spread throughout the room.

Rex’s axe sliced through the front leg of the wolf spider, whose body was entirely covered in fur, but the monster didn’t even scream, instead shoving the severed leg into the room.

Azure blood painted Rex’s form, and the severed leg rolled to where Lir and I stood. The wolf spider rubbed the cross-section of the leg against the floor, forcing its enormous head through the doorway.

*Whoosh!*

Trian’s arrow found its mark, piercing the wolf spider’s eye. Though grievously wounded, the spider faltered only momentarily, pushed forward by the relentless surge of the remaining arachnids. It continued to force its bulk into the room.

Before the wolf spider’s thorax could even clear the cramped opening, the legs of another spider stabbed through the gap.

Trapped in the doorway, the wolf spider flailed its blue-blooded limbs in the air. A viscous blue drenched everything.

The hairy wolf spider twisted and contorted, desperate to break free, and the wall connected to the doorway began to crack under the strain.

*Whoosh!*

Again, Rex’s axe cleaved the air. The wolf spider’s head split asunder, and the life drained from the fur-covered monster.

The wolf spider’s corpse, a barricade of sorts, now blocked the doorway, hindering the advance of the other spiders.

*Thump!*

*Thump!*

Like a horde of the undead, the colossal spiders slammed their bodies against the wolf spider’s cadaver. Before long, the carcass bloated grotesquely, like a distended balloon.

I aimed the red crystal at the entrance and drew a deep breath.

Then, with a wet, sickening burst, the wolf spider’s corpse exploded, scattering viscera and flesh across the room.

“Bolt.”

A blinding white flash erupted from the tip of Lir’s staff, streaking forward. Two smaller spiders, coated in the gore of their fallen kin, squeezed through the doorway.

One of the spiders staggered, struck by Lir’s white lightning. It seemed she had tempered the bolt’s power to avoid summoning thunder, preventing an instant kill.

Trian unleashed a flurry of arrows at the reeling spider.

Five shafts found their mark, striking the juncture between the spider’s thorax and abdomen. The second spider, too, succumbed, collapsing in a splatter of ichor.

I unleashed the red crystal’s light upon the remaining intruder.

“Damn it…”

My vision blurs.

It feels like my brain isn’t getting enough air. My head is heavy, and the sensation in my hands and feet is fading, fading.

The aftereffects of the explosion still cling to me.

It’s all my body can manage to knit back together these ripped wounds, and it feels like it’s screaming at my brain for making it move.

This wretched hyperventilation is trying to take hold again.

Not now, of all times.

With that single thought, I fought to regulate my breathing, to endure.

A crimson flash carved a straight line, grazing the spider’s abdomen.

The distance was significant, and the target so small.

Already unaccustomed to controlling the artifact, now this hyperventilation on top of it all.

To precisely target the scurrying spider while moving my own legs with haste was no simple feat.

The crimson flash only managed to tear off two of the small spider’s legs. As expected, the monster didn’t scream, and with its exposed, ruined limb, it lunged, aiming its fangs at Lex’s neck.

Crack!

Lex jammed his prosthetic hand into the mouth of the monster that leaped for his throat.

He swung the prosthetic inside the spider’s maw, slamming it against the dungeon wall, pulverizing the small spider, barely half his size, into a mangled mess.

Lex scraped the prosthetic against the dungeon wall, grinding the spider’s body away as if through a meat grinder until his prosthetic hand was stained an unnatural, vibrant blue.

“Bin, Mister Bin…!”

Lir, watching my ragged breaths, looked at me with concern.

“Hiss… Focus, Lir! Focus!”

It’s just hyperventilation, is all. A little dizzy, vision a bit dark.

Compared to Rex, who’s taking the brunt of the explosions head-on, holding the front lines, this is nothing.

I yelled at Lir, urging her on. She was older than me by several years, but this was a battle; there was no time for formalities.

“They keep coming! Mages, stop dawdling and focus!”

Lir quickly turned her head from me, refocusing her gaze on the tip of her staff.

The crimson crystal above my shoulder threatened to shatter. Even as the colors around me faded, I focused my senses on the foreign sensation near my heart, barely managing to keep the crystal intact.

I refuse to cause any more trouble than this.

Thump!

The fight continues, relentless.

The colossal spider, boasting crimson eyes, began to pull its legs and torso inward, just as the wolf spider had done before.

Rex raised his axe, ready to sever its legs.

At that moment, an immense, inexplicable pressure emanated from behind the cracked wall.

“You, crazy…!”

Sensing the anomaly, Rex hastily pulled the raised axe to his chest and ducked.

The spider’s leg, sharp as a blade, grazed the spot where Rex’s head had been. Then, the wall Rex leaned against crumbled, revealing the spider’s head with its boastful red eyes.

The spider intended to swallow Rex whole with the collapsing bricks. Seeing the mouth full of venomous fangs, Rex rolled away frantically, leaving behind traces of his melted flesh on the floor.

“Hff…!”

Rex groaned, a rare occurrence, indicating considerable pain. But his body wouldn’t allow itself to be dulled by agony.

“Bolt!”

The second flash unleashed by Lir pierced the crimson-eyed giant spider’s mouth, splattering its innards. For a brief moment, the red spider froze.

I seized the moment, aiming the crimson crystal at the gap. Stiffened as it was, and with its massive bulk, this time I wouldn’t miss.

Concentration.

Even as my breath faltered and my vision blurred, I somehow maintained my focus through sheer force of will.

A desperate struggle to not be a nuisance to the party.

A dark crimson flash once again shot out in a straight line, striking the red-eyed spider squarely in the head.

The attack landed perfectly.

But the monster did not die.

With half its head blown away, the spider continued its advance. Rex, in haste, swung his axe, scrambling up the legs of the near-death giant spider and bringing the axe down upon its head.

The skin of the red-eyed giant spider was disgustingly tough. Rex swung the axe at the thing’s head four times, only after which did the huge monster’s body slowly collapse to the floor.

Another giant monster had been slain.

But the battle was not over.

As the red-eyed spider died and fell, it completely demolished the breached wall. Another path had been created, connecting the frantic room on the other side with the room where we were making our stand.

Over the giant spider’s corpse, another new set of legs appeared.

Powerful magic comes with equally powerful noise, so it could not be used in this situation. To effectively hold back many enemies with limited firepower, it was necessary to restrict the paths through which they could enter.

That was why this situation, where the wall had collapsed and created two paths for the monsters to use, was the worst possible scenario.

“Damn it, Rex, fall back! Retreat one room and re-establish the formation! Mages, cover Rex so he can get back here!”

We had to fight on the most advantageous terrain possible. The monsters were highly capable, while we mages had to intentionally reduce the power of our magic, lest it cause a thunderous roar.

Rex, blocking the legs of spiders lunging at him with his axe and prosthetic hand, began to backpedal.

If he turned his back now, his body would be impaled by spider legs. Our mages and archers had to somehow create an opening for him.

“This…!”

Trian’s arrows rained down like a baptism. His quiver grew lighter with each shot. The lighter his back felt, the deeper the chill that settled within him.

I aimed my crystal at the spiders that began to crawl into our room atop the backs of the crimson spiders, slowly stepping backward.

A coldness.

Facing the relentless charge of those spiders, with their unnerving gazes fixed on us, I couldn’t help but feel it.

It wasn’t just that they were more ferocious and horrific than I could have imagined.

Numbers.

Yes, the numbers weren’t adding up.

Before the fight, Trian had clearly stated there were seven spiders that had followed us.

A wolf spider, two smaller spiders, and one massive spider boasting crimson eyes.

A total of four had perished, which meant there should now be three spiders left before us.

But, strangely, only two spiders were revealing themselves.

“…One.”

I have no idea how I could perceive such an anomaly. My experience on the battlefield was lacking, and my vision was bleached white from the lack of oxygen in my brain.

Perhaps it was thanks to my [Composure] trait.

“Wait.”

A chill tugs at the nape of my neck.

Led by instinct, I swept my gaze left and right.

Was it entering through the door rather than the collapsed wall?

No, only the spider’s entrails remained in the doorway.

Just where is the last one…?

Drip.

Before I could even finish the thought, cold fragments fell, tapping my shoulder.