TEOCH 38

Damian’s body collapsed limply.

The staff, having lost its support, rolled powerlessly across the spiderweb. Rehas raised a hand as if to wipe the blood droplets soaking his face, only to realize that his hand was also drenched in blood. He staggered and sank to the ground.

His eyes were stained with shock, and his lips trembled as they moved, but there was no longer any time to merely watch him. The queen spider’s next target had shifted to Rehas.

“Rehas, get up! Take Damian and run!”

As I urgently swung my sword, slicing off the queen spider’s left foreleg, the venomous projectile aimed at Rehas scattered in an instant. Rehas, finally snapping out of it, hurriedly stood and lifted Damian’s body into his arms.

Damian’s condition, with nearly his entire right upper body gone, was undeniably wretched. But as soon as I saw the pale white parasite burrowing into his flesh, I quickly turned my head away.

“Ugh, ah, aaagh…!”

“Hold on, Damian! Damn it, just hold on!”

The sound of bones twisting, something swelling and bursting, and flesh being crushed rang out loudly. The parasite was reconstructing Damian’s body. From a distance, Rehas seemed to be trying to calm him, but it didn’t appear to be working well.

Damian’s white-rolled eyes and his shoulders trembling in agony were as vivid as if painted before me, but I forced myself to keep my gaze fixed on the queen spider. His screams, echoing from afar, clawed at my mind, but I gritted my teeth and endured.

It’s fine. He won’t die. It’s excruciating, and the pain might be unbearable to the point of madness, but with the parasite inside him, he’ll somehow survive.

What kind of parasite had I attached to Damian’s right arm again? I was certain it had something to do with mana recovery, but I couldn’t recall the details exactly. Anxiety crept in, but for now, my priority was to keep the queen spider’s attention on me.

Without looking back, I raised my sword again. Perhaps because I hadn’t activated ‘Reverse,’ the wound on the queen spider’s foreleg wasn’t particularly severe. I swung my sword once more, stabbing deeply into the foreleg, and a vivid green ichor gushed out, coating my blade. It still wasn’t enough to sever the leg, but it was sufficient to distract the queen spider.

—Kii, kiiii!

“Rohan! Watch out!”

Just as the queen spider raised its right foreleg to attack me, Tristan’s sword pierced its side. As the startled queen spider thrashed to shake Tristan off, I pulled my deeply embedded sword free.

The queen spider’s body writhed frantically, but it no longer felt as threatening. Each time its left foreleg twitched to attack me, sticky blood foam bubbled from the wound. One more strike—just one more, and I could sever that leg!

“Take this…!”

As I deeply slashed the dangling flesh, the queen spider’s left foreleg finally broke off completely. Its thrashing in pain sent Tristan’s body tumbling, but thankfully, he didn’t seem too badly hurt.

Catching my breath, I quickly assessed the situation. Rehas had laid Damian in a corner and was standing guard by his side, while Tristan, confirming my safety, was rushing to cut the webbing to free Rikiel.

It’s okay. Everyone’s still alive, at least. I tried to reassure myself with that thought. Though the spider still had three legs left, there were limits to what it could do with just three. At the very least, I’d managed to block its ‘double strike’ attack, hadn’t I?

If I stopped targeting the legs and focused on its body, I could definitely kill it in the next phase. If only—if only my comrades could hold out until then…!

“Wait a second…”

But how could they hold out? The moment that thought crossed my mind, a chill ran down my spine.

…They can’t. With Damian’s upper body nearly a third gone, unable to cast magic, and Rikiel, who was supposed to taunt the subordinate spiders, too exhausted to even maintain minimal stamina, there was no way we could drop 300 spiders from the webbing below. Even when everyone was at full strength and in peak condition, it wasn’t an easy task. How could it be possible now?

Instinctively, I turned my gaze to the queen spider. Struggling to support itself with just three legs, it quickly raised its body as soon as it sensed its disadvantage. That spider wouldn’t last much longer on the ground. If it climbed to the ceiling and its subordinates filled the space below, our lives would truly be at risk.

“No…!”

Before the conclusion fully formed in my mind, my body moved first. I drove my sword with all my strength into the side of the queen spider, which was about to shoot webbing into the air. No, don’t climb, please just die like this!

I let out a meaningless shout, frantically thrusting my sword, and the queen spider writhed, letting out a pained scream. My grip on the sword felt precarious, but I clung desperately to the handle. I had to stop it from climbing, no matter what…!

—Kiiiiik!

But even in that state, the queen spider shot webbing toward the ceiling. I knew I had to cut it immediately, but my sword, buried deep in its side, wouldn’t budge. All I could do was cling to the handle. Fortunately, I didn’t lose my grip, but the queen spider began climbing toward the ceiling, and my body was pulled upward along with it.

As if in a relay, subordinate spiders poured down from the countless holes in the ceiling. The queen spider clung to the web tangled across the ceiling, and I held onto the sword handle lodged in its side, struggling to hang on. The sword was deeply embedded, so as long as I didn’t let go, I wouldn’t fall. But that wasn’t the real issue.

Dizzy, I looked down. My comrades were all staring up at me in a panic. This wasn’t the time for them to be gawking—they needed to figure out how to deal with the incoming spiders! The frustration choked me, but unfortunately, the situation didn’t give me time to lament.

—Kii, kiiii!

The queen spider was desperately trying to shake me off. With only three legs left to cling to the web, it shook its body wildly, and I dangled precariously like a leaf barely hanging onto a branch. My vision flipped, my balance wavered repeatedly, and nausea churned in my stomach.

But I couldn’t let go. Falling now could mean serious injury, and losing my sword would mean losing my only weapon. Without a proper weapon, I’d have no way to block the spider’s venomous projectiles.

Yet hanging onto the ceiling didn’t give me any clever solutions either. I had no means to attack the queen spider. The sword stuck in its side wouldn’t budge, and no matter how hard I kicked its belly with my boots, the tough exoskeleton absorbed the impact.

“Now what?”

With anxious eyes, I looked down again. My comrades were fighting a defensive battle at a hole in the wall caused by falling rocks. It seemed Rikiel had managed to get them there.

Exhausted, Rikiel was panting with his wings folded, and Damian, foaming at the mouth, convulsed weakly. His shoulder had regenerated normally, but where his right arm should have been, red flesh swelled and twisted grotesquely. It didn’t look normal.

Tristan and Rehas, in relatively better shape, were struggling to fend off the subordinate spiders. But even that was precarious. There was no way just the two of them could handle hundreds of spiders.

Rehas was using arrows like ‘Paralysis’ or ‘Poison Gas’ to slow the spiders’ movements, and Tristan was diligently killing the ones that climbed up, but their limits were clear. From what I could tell, Tristan had only taken down eight spiders, yet both he and Rehas looked on the verge of collapse. Expecting them to drive off the spiders in that state was clearly unreasonable.

I desperately racked my brain for a solution. Should I try to pull out the sword and jump down? But even if I helped, it wouldn’t solve the situation. To survive, we had to kill the queen spider. If the leader died, the remaining subordinates would scatter…!

“Since it’s come to this, I have to take down the queen spider here somehow!”

How could I deal even a little damage to this thing? I steadied my shaking body and thought hard, but no clear solution came to mind. If only I’d brought one more proper weapon!

I hadn’t anticipated a boss fight, so I’d brought only the bare minimum equipment, and I couldn’t regret it more now. I needed something—anything—that could tear into this creature’s flesh. Even an auxiliary weapon like a bomb!

“Wait a second…!”

A bomb? I suddenly remembered the sensation of the parasite wriggling under my wrist guard. A flash of dizzying realization hit me, and I immediately let go with my left hand and tore off my glove with my teeth. Holding the sword handle with just my right arm felt like I’d fall any moment, but thankfully, I managed to discard the glove without falling.

—Kiiii!

I pulled my sleeve up slightly with my mouth and bit down hard on the bare skin of my forearm. A metallic taste flooded my mouth, but it wasn’t enough. I’d tied the pouch tightly to prevent the parasite from activating with minor wounds. To make the parasite smell enough blood to break through, I needed a much worse injury.

“Hnng…!”

With a crunch, a blinding pain seared through my head as soft flesh gave way between my teeth. Squeezing every ounce of strength into my jaw, I tore the flesh completely off with a sickening sound.

I spat out the chunk of flesh in my mouth. Feeling the parasite stir at the scent of blood, I bit my forearm again. Physiological tears streamed from the pain, and my jaw trembled, but I couldn’t hesitate. Any delay would put my comrades below in danger!

With a ripping sound, I pulled my mouth away from the wound. As if to fill the gap, the parasite burst out from under the wrist guard, crawling into the wound. The revolting sensation of it burrowing into my muscles came with the transformation of my arm. A burning agony, as if my entire left arm were on fire, drew a scream from deep in my throat.

“Gah, aaaaah!”

Fortunately, the transformation didn’t take long. The wound itself wasn’t that large, and using ‘Bombardment’ and ‘Luck’ didn’t require extensive bodily changes.

I realized my left forearm had been completely consumed by the parasite. It was no longer part of my body but closer to a new nest for the parasite. It was a sensation I’d grown familiar with after experiencing it multiple times.

—Ki, kiiiiik?!

Perhaps sensing something ominous in my sudden action, the queen spider’s movements grew far more violent. I felt like I’d be flung off any second, but I gripped the sword handle tightly with my right hand and pressed my body closer to the spider. My target was clear: the wound on its side, where the flesh was exposed after its leg was torn off. That was the spot I was aiming for.

Please, please work properly! I muttered to myself, raising my left arm with all my strength. From what I remembered, the spider that used this parasite triggered a bombardment about half the time. I didn’t even hope for that kind of probability—just a few successful hits would do…!

—Boom!

As I drove my fist deep into the wound, a tremendous shock jolted my left arm. A deafening scream tore through my eardrums, the queen spider’s body shook as if it would crash to the ground, and shredded flesh wrapped stickily around my left hand.

It seemed I’d dealt considerable damage. I didn’t know how much health the queen spider had left, but I had no time to calculate. I pulled my left hand out with all my strength and delivered another blow with everything I had.

—Kieee, kyaaaa!

Another loud explosion rang out. The flesh, which had been twitching as if it would regenerate, turned to mush like pudding the moment I infused my left hand with purifying energy. Elated that the probability was working better than expected, I drove my hand even deeper.

As soon as I felt something slick, I gripped it with all my might. The queen spider, writhing in agony as its insides burst, could no longer hold on and fell from the ceiling.

With a crash, I lost my grip on the sword and tumbled onto the webbing. A sharp pain, like broken ribs, struck my body, but I could still move somewhat. Fortunately, I hadn’t gotten stuck on a horizontal web, so I managed to cough, regain my posture, and stand.

My sword was still lodged in the queen spider’s side, so my only weapon now was the parasite in my left hand. But against that battered creature, this would be enough. However…

—Kiiii!

As a dying scream erupted from the queen spider, the subordinate spiders attacking Tristan and Rehas suddenly turned their heads. A bad feeling hit me, and my eyes widened. The subordinate spiders immediately changed direction and began crawling toward me. Damn it, were they now gathering all the remaining minions to take me down?!

Realizing the queen spider’s strategy, I moved to finish it off, but it staggered away with faltering steps. Its body was too damaged to climb the ceiling, but it still had enough strength to flee.

No, if it got away now, it would be over! If it put its minions between us and attacked with webbing or venomous projectiles, I’d have no chance without my sword. I couldn’t deal with the subordinates or deflect the projectiles!

I chased the queen spider desperately, but the subordinates were closing in on me much faster than I could reach it. While pursuing the queen spider, I anxiously glanced at the approaching minions. At this rate, they’d catch me before I could reach the queen.

No, they were already catching up. The queen spider was still far off, but the subordinates were already right in front of me…!

“Rohan, Rohan-nim!”

But at that moment, a massive wall of fire blocked the subordinate spiders’ path. Instinctively, I turned my head… and met Damian’s pained eyes as he raised his staff with his still-unhealed right arm. He managed a weak smile despite his condition. I couldn’t smile back, though.

Confused about how Damian had recovered his mana so quickly, I finally remembered what parasite I’d given him. In a way, it was perfectly suited for this situation, wasn’t it? It must have been agonizing for Damian, but in hindsight, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Regardless, I couldn’t waste the time Damian had bought me.

The enraged queen spider roared and shot a venomous projectile at Damian, but its power was noticeably weaker than before. And this time, my comrades didn’t go down so easily. Tristan stepped in front of Damian, deflecting the projectile with all his strength, and it crashed into the nest’s wall with a loud noise, bringing it down. The furious queen spider kept generating more venomous projectiles, and I seized the opportunity to charge at it.

—Ki, kiik?!

Before the startled queen spider could retreat, I yanked my sword from its side. The wound had already widened from the fall, making the sword come out almost laughably easily. Gripping the ichor-soaked blade tightly, I raised it with all my strength toward the staggering queen spider.

“Just die already, you damned spider…!”

Squeezing out the last of my mana to cast ‘Severance,’ I drove the sword into the queen spider’s lower jaw without hesitation.

Two consecutive strikes split the queen spider’s head in half, and blood tears gushed from its eight gem-like red eyes. A wretched scream from its throat echoed through the entire cave. And then, and then…

With a crunch, the sensation of something breaking at the tip of my sword came with a clear message in front of my eyes.

[Guardian defeated. The door to the next area is now open.]

I let out a hollow laugh and collapsed on the spot.

A wave of nausea and dizzying vertigo hit me belatedly.