TEOCH 36

As my comrades woke up, I distributed the pouches I had prepared. The moment they heard what was inside, their faces turned pale, but fortunately, no one voiced any complaints. It was proof they had adapted to life in the demon realm.

“From now on, you must follow my instructions precisely. Understood?”

As I carefully explained the strategy I had devised overnight, my comrades nodded solemnly. Given that a prolonged battle would put us at a disadvantage, I had crafted a plan to drive off the subordinate spiders as quickly as possible.

Of course, it involved significant risks, but if successful, it would minimize the fight with the subordinate spiders and maximize our opportunities to attack the Queen Spider.

Could we really pull it off? Anxiety gnawed at my heart, but I forced myself to keep a stoic expression, hiding any sign of doubt. Wondering whether we could or couldn’t do it was pointless now. We just had to dive in and try, succeed or fail.

“I’d prefer to proceed as safely as possible… but given the circumstances, we have to accept some level of risk. In some cases, I might not be able to protect your lives.”

“…”

“Protect your own lives. There’s a limit to how much I or the others can help you. Understood?”

My comrades nodded heavily, and I patted their shoulders to boost their morale. When I gently rubbed Tristan’s shoulder, he gave me a faint smile, and I cleared my throat lightly, striving to maintain a calm expression.

“Alright, let’s do this. Here we go.”

After a brief deep breath, we started moving toward the cave’s exit.

It was our first boss battle.

[You have entered the Guardian’s Stronghold. You cannot escape until the Guardian is defeated, and the door to the next area will not open.]

[Due to increased difficulty, the Guardian’s health has increased by 20%. The subordinate monsters’ health has increased by 10%.]

As soon as we stepped out of the cave, spider webs woven beneath our feet greeted us. The loosely tangled webs on the hemispherical ceiling weren’t much different from those in other spider nests, but the Queen Spider’s lair was exponentially larger—dozens of times bigger than any nest we had encountered.

It made sense. The nests we had infiltrated before were small, capable of housing maybe fifteen spiders at most, but this was a colossal nest that could easily accommodate three hundred.

I examined the nest’s walls. The walls of the ancient spider nest had large cracks in several places, looking so precarious that they might collapse with the slightest touch. Those cracks were one of the many traps we needed to use to deal with the subordinate spiders. Rehas glanced at me, and I nodded silently. He notched an arrow of “bombardment” and inspected the cracks in the wall.

But the other comrades, except Rehas, stared in awe at an object in the center of the nest. In the middle of the vast circular plaza, a jet-black spider, cradling countless eggs, crouched.

If the term “elegance” could be applied to a spider, it would undoubtedly describe this one. Neither the sharp spines and fur on its legs nor its grotesque face with eight eyes could diminish its elegance. As it stretched its long, curled legs and twisted its body as if stretching, rising from its position, the spider’s presence was nothing short of overwhelming.

“It’s been a while.”

Had it been about a year since I last saw it? With that thought, I slowly drew my sword. As I infused the blade with radiant purification energy, its gleaming red eyes locked onto me instantly. It seemed to recognize what I was immediately.

Taking a deep breath, I locked eyes with the spider. The moment a faint glimmer appeared in its emotionless, inorganic eyes, the spider’s form vanished.

“It’s gone?!”

“Calm down, it just went up to the ceiling!”

To reassure my startled comrades, I immediately pointed to the ceiling. The Queen Spider, which had seemed to disappear, was clinging to the ceiling, glaring at us with ferocious eyes. In less than a second, it had shot a thick web toward the ceiling and climbed up it in an instant. Knowing what would happen next, I gripped my sword tightly and shifted my gaze.

A cracking sound came from the pile of eggs the spider had been cradling. Black legs burst through the broken eggshells, followed by large heads breaking free entirely. The blood drained from my comrades’ faces.

At least a few hundred—precisely around three hundred—eggs began hatching simultaneously, spewing out spiders. These spiders, freshly hatched, should have been smaller than others, but those birthed directly by the Queen Spider boasted sizes larger than most from the moment they were born.

—Kieeee!

With a deafening screech, the newly born spiders began charging toward us. I immediately hoisted Damian onto my back. Thanks to our prior coordination, instead of panicking, Damian hurriedly wrapped his arms around my neck.

It was time to begin. Confirming that all my comrades were ready to move, I shouted.

“Let’s go!”

The moment I yelled, Rikiel and Tristan dashed toward the right wall, clinging to it and running counterclockwise. Rehas, with an arrow notched, clung to the left wall and ran, and I followed him with Damian on my back.

The three hundred spiders split evenly to pursue us. That is, until Rikiel let out a tremendous shout.

“–––!!”

It was a meaningless sound, but it was enough for the spiders. The spiders that had been chasing us instantly turned to pursue Rikiel and Tristan, giving us a chance to secure a safe position.

Rehas balanced himself steadily, raising his bow to aim, while Damian, dismounting from my back, struggled to find his footing. Fortunately, he managed to hold onto the wall and stand upright.

Confirming that both were secure and wouldn’t fall, I rushed forward, swinging my sword to deflect a venomous projectile flying from afar.

The Queen Spider, hanging from the ceiling, relentlessly attacked me. As a “Guardian,” it wasn’t affected by taunt skills and focused solely on me. It was a relief that I didn’t need to worry about my comrades’ safety, but the situation was still undeniably tough…!

“Damian, hurry!”

Having precariously found his footing, Damian raised his staff with all his might, and a reddish-yellow aura began to form around it. Just as the three hundred spiders were about to overwhelm Tristan and Rikiel, flames erupted.

—Kiiii!

The smell of burning flesh filled the air, accompanied by screams of agony. Most of the spiders were incapacitated without even putting up a fight. Meanwhile, Rikiel and Tristan desperately ran to the opposite side, directly beneath the crack.

Boom! As I deflected another venomous projectile far away, I observed the spiders’ movements. After briefly writhing in their incapacitated state, their bodies quickly regenerated. Infuriated by the sudden flame attack, the spiders turned and began charging toward us.

“Nice!”

Confirming that the attack priority had successfully shifted, I cheered and dodged the Queen Spider’s attacks. What Damian and Rikiel were doing was similar to a strategy we used in the wasp nest before.

Of course, there was a significant difference. Back then, we used the strategy to escape from monsters, but now, the goal was to manipulate the spiders into moving as we wanted. Damian and Rikiel’s role was to buy time for the others to “prepare.”

Damian, perhaps due to the immense power of the magic he used, was panting heavily. He had probably used about a fifth of his mana with that large-scale spell. It was a shame his mana was limited, but fortunately, I had some confidence.

By my calculations, Damian could use large-scale magic at least ten more times. That is, assuming my calculations were correct.

Most of the spiders were coming toward us, but Tristan and Rikiel were still dealing with a few—three or four—that were attacking them. They seemed to be struggling, likely because some enhanced monsters were mixed in.

Still, they were fighting better than I expected. As I faced the Queen Spider while monitoring their battle, Rehas’s shout came from behind.

“Rohan! Is it okay to shoot?”

“Yes, but only two arrows! Don’t shoot the third until I give the signal!”

Nodding, Rehas began pulling back his bowstring. His target was the large crack above Tristan and Rikiel’s heads. It looked precarious, as if it might collapse at any moment, but a single arrow didn’t seem likely to bring it down. Confirming that Rehas had drawn the string to its limit, I shouted loudly.

“You two, watch your heads!”

At the same time, the arrow left the bowstring, tearing through the air with tremendous force. Rikiel immediately hugged Tristan’s head and crouched to the ground. The moment the arrow hit the crack, a massive explosion ripped through the air.

Dust and debris poured down from the blast, but fortunately, it wasn’t enough to harm Tristan or Rikiel. Confirming their safety, I shouted to Rehas.

“Rehas, now!”

Before I even finished speaking, Rehas was already pulling back the string with the next arrow notched. I anxiously watched the spiders’ movements. If my calculations were correct, Rehas needed to shoot the second arrow before the spiders reached us.

The spider swarm was already at the center of the plaza, and if we delayed even slightly, they’d attack us in an instant. Thankfully, Rehas was on time. Pulling the string with all his strength, he fired the second arrow.

Boom!

The arrow, leaving the bowstring, caused an even larger explosion, collapsing the crack. Rikiel and Tristan, clinging to the nest’s wall to avoid the massive falling rocks, narrowly escaped.

I stared anxiously at the approaching spider swarm and shouted to the two. The timing had to be perfect. I hoped they’d regain their balance soon…!

“Rikiel! Your Majesty!”

“–––!!”

Hearing my shout, Rikiel hurriedly used “taunt.” The skill activated at a critical moment, but its effect was clear—the spiders instantly turned to swarm toward them. Rehas, aiming his third arrow, awaited my signal. While steadily deflecting the Queen Spider’s venomous projectiles, I closely monitored Tristan’s movements.

Having dealt with all nearby spiders, Tristan regained his composure and sprang into action. Infusing his sword with ample “purification” energy, he began slashing the surrounding webs.

What Tristan was doing was, in fact, the most critical part of our strategy. Normally, these webs couldn’t be cut by conventional means, but infusing them with purification energy neutralized their resilience, making them brittle and easy to sever.

Even in that state, the webs could support the weight of Tristan and Rikiel, but if hundreds of spiders and falling rocks piled on, that was a different story.

“Hurry, Tristan! Faster…!”

The spiders were crawling toward them at tremendous speed. Tristan was cutting the webs as quickly as he could, but the spiders were just as fast, making the situation precarious. As planned, Rikiel needed to act the moment the spiders reached the center of the plaza. Right now…!

“It’s done! Rikiel, now!”

Having finally slashed all the nearby webs, Tristan shouted at the top of his lungs. With the sound of bones shifting, large wings sprouted from Rikiel’s back. Spreading his wings, Rikiel used “taunt” again to draw the spiders’ attention, then immediately grabbed Tristan and soared into the air.

I checked on Rehas and Damian. Rehas was ready to fire an arrow at any moment, and a purple aura swirled around the tip of Damian’s staff. All preparations were complete. If Rikiel could fly high enough, then…!

“Now, Rehas!”

The final arrow was released from Rehas’s fingertips. Boom! As the third arrow hit, the crack collapsed with a tremor that shook the entire nest.

Since Rikiel and Tristan had flown above the crack, they took no damage, but the spiders that had chased them to the crack weren’t so lucky. As the wall collapsed, a massive amount of rocks rained down on the spiders. They screamed and tried to retreat, but it was too late.

“Damian!”

As a flash burst from Damian’s staff, the spiders’ movements became erratic. It was a confusion spell. In normal circumstances, most spiders could have clung to the webs and climbed back up, but with Damian’s “confusion” spell active, they couldn’t even balance, thrashing their legs helplessly.

Rip! Starting from the slashed sections, the webs tore apart instantly. The spiders, along with the falling rocks, plummeted below the webs, accompanied by the gruesome sound of flesh bursting from the bottom.

They wouldn’t be moving for a while. Given enough time, they might regenerate their wounds, but at least for the duration of our battle, those spiders wouldn’t climb back up.

Rikiel and Tristan flew toward us at high speed, landing safely in an area where the webs were intact. The first phase of the plan was a success, but that didn’t mean our safety was guaranteed.

The Queen Spider’s attacks had stopped. We had only completed the first phase of a long battle, and the real fight with the Queen Spider was just beginning.

—Kiiii!

The massive creature, which had been clinging to the ceiling, dropped to the center of the nest. The webs shook, and a tremendous shockwave hit us. We struggled to stay upright. As I regained my balance and stood, I shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Dodge, now!”

Eight red eyes, filled with rage, glinted in the darkness. At the same time, the Queen Spider’s massive foreleg came hurtling toward us.