Chapter 62: Spider Queen (2)

“Chu-chu!”

A fluffy ball of golden fur.

Chu-chu.

At that unexpected appearance, a light of hope spread through Arkeron’s eyes.

“Chu-chu!”

Arriving in front of Khan like an arrow, Chu-chu pulled out a brown herb with nine leaves from its belly pouch.

Gujija Leaf Herb.

A powerful antidotal herb that also explosively increases the body’s recovery rate for a short time.

If Khan ate this, the poison could be neutralized immediately.

“Chu!”

Chu-chu held the Gujija Leaf Herb up to Khan’s mouth.

However.

There was an unforeseen problem.

“Hek, hek…”

Even with the herb right in front of him,

Khan kept staring only in the direction where the Third was.

It was a reaction born from valuing the Third’s safety over his own body.

“Chuuuu!”

Chu-chu once again brought the Gujija Leaf Herb to Khan’s mouth.

Seeing Khan still unmoving, Chu-chu cried out again.

“Chu-chu!”

‘If you eat this, I’ll use Popo’s bodily fluid on the Third right away.’

“Hek, hek…”

At those words, Khan finally looked toward Chu-chu.

With unfocused pupils and blurred vision, he stared at Chu-chu for a moment.

Then—

Crunch!

He stretched out his snout and accepted the Gujija Leaf Herb.

“Chu!”

Seeing that, Chu-chu immediately headed toward the fallen Third shadow wolf.

Then it pulled out Popo’s bodily fluid from its belly pouch.

“Chu-chu-chu!”

‘I, Keron, will help.’

Keron joined Chu-chu in slathering Popo’s bodily fluid all over the Third’s body.

Then—

Wooooong!

A faint green light mixed with brown light began to flow out.

“Awooooo-!”

“Awoooo!”

The shadow wolves all cried out at once.

They felt it.

From the Third’s once-faint breathing, the vitality of life was beginning to fill again.

“Chu!”

Chu-chu applied the remaining Popo bodily fluid to Khan as well.

“Awoooo!”

Khan recovered at a rapid pace.

With the Gujija Leaf Herb and Popo’s bodily fluid, his injuries healed in an instant and he stood up.

He ran straight to the Third and timidly began licking the Third’s face.

“Whine…”

As if sensing the warmth, the Third slowly opened eyes that had been shut.

The moment the eyes opened, the Third whimpered toward Khan and burst into cries.

“Ah…”

Watching that scene, I let out a sigh of relief.

It was truly nerve-wracking.

When Arkeron wiped out the spiderkin, it had been exhilarating, but afterward I had wondered what to do about the fallen shadow wolves.

‘When did that little guy Chu-chu run over there?’

The more I saw Chu-chu, the more it felt like a walking treasure.

“Chu-chu, well done! Arkeron, well done too!”

Dania even threw aside the frozen fruit she had been eating and cheered for the two of them.

“Whew. Thank goodness. Truly.”

“Popo!”

Bellerin and Popo also finally looked relieved.

“Awoong! Awooooong!”

Fenrir was the same.

Unable to contain his joy, he kept hopping around.

Well, after seeing his parents and siblings suffer, he must have been the most anxious of all.

“Everyone, return safely—”

Just as I was about to order them to withdraw.

“There is still one left.”

At that moment, perhaps Azukai sensed something.

With a serious expression, he spoke.

And then—

Shraaaaaak!

A vast spiderweb snare covered the entire sky.

—Kaaaaaaaah!

Along with a chilling roar,

A being of immense presence appeared before Arkeron.

“Arachne”

“Vermis Third Legion Commander”

“Lv 352”

That being was—

The Spider Queen.

Somewhere in the eastern forest.

A damp, soggy swamp.

This was the territory inhabited by the centipede legion.

“I apologize, Legion Commander.”

Karsera.

She knelt before Centria, the centipede legion commander.

“You lost an entire division?”

“I-I offer my deepest apologies.”

“Hm…”

At Karsera’s words, Centria’s brow furrowed.

“What happened?”

“Well…”

Karsera continued her explanation.

When they arrived at the northern Shining Gorge,

They discovered the barrier array of a dragon lair and even found the life gate that allowed entry inside.

Just as they were about to deploy the centipede soldiers to dismantle the barrier array,

They encountered a subordinate of a king-class outer god sleeping in the Gorge of Light.

That being was one of the highest-ranking Guardians of Light—the Crystal Adjudicator.

In the end, the entire division was annihilated by his hand.

“The Crystal Adjudicator was awake?”

“Yes. That is correct.”

“Indeed. That is no ordinary dragon lair.”

“I felt the same. I wondered if it might be the lair of an elemental or chaos dragon that Lord Vermis is seeking.”

“It will not be a chaos dragon. And it is highly likely it is not an elemental dragon either.”

Shrrrsh!

The lower body of Centria, shaped like a massive centipede, rippled like waves.

“Still, there is a very high chance it is a genesis-class dragon lair comparable to those.”

She continued, letting out a sinister smile.

“Summon the remaining division commanders. I will head there personally.”

Centria.

The legion commander of the centipede legion.

She raised a massive centipede host and began marching toward the Gorge of Light.

“Arkeron. Massive mana detected. Prepare for combat.”

Gooooong!

Arkeron’s core, which had settled, began to pulse hotly again.

He sensed an existence with tremendous combat power.

At the very least, it possessed strength comparable to Karmarks, whom they had encountered before.

Shraaaaaak!

In an instant, a vast spiderweb snare spread overhead, darkening the sky.

It was so wide that dodging it was practically impossible.

At this rate, Chu-chu, the shadow wolves, and Arkeron himself would all be trapped.

“Overload Discharge.”

Kwagagagagaga!

The core surged, releasing overwhelming energy.

When output increases,

Mobility increases as well.

Therefore—

Swaaaaaaash!

He moved through the air so fast that afterimages lingered.

As a result, he succeeded in slicing apart every spiderweb snare that fell around him.

“Chu-chu!”

Chu-chu, who had nearly been caught, let out a cry of relief.

“Chu-chu. Retreat with the shadow wolves.”

Arkeron’s follow-up order.

“Chu!”

Chu-chu was quick to understand.

Swaaaash!

Moving like a flash of lightning among the shadow wolves, Chu-chu cut away every spiderweb binding their bodies.

That was not all.

Fragments scattered across the ground.

Chu-chu neatly collected every single one into its belly pouch.

“Go!”

“Chu-chu!”

“Awooooo!”

Chu-chu and the shadow wolves tried to leave immediately.

But—

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Ssssshaaaaa!

Descending from the sky along a spider thread was Arachne.

Her upper body resembled a human woman, but her lower body was that of a gigantic spider.

“Celestial Net.”

The moment she appeared, she stretched her hand toward the sky.

Then something astonishing happened.

Kwaaaaaa!

Spiderwebs surged up from the ground.

Centered on her, a dome of spiderwebs with a radius of fifty meters formed.

“Without my permission, no one leaves this place.”

Murderous intent glittered in her eight eyes.

“Keron.”

Arkeron realized that combat could not be avoided.

In that case—

Striking first was the best option.

“Activate ultra-high-speed mobility.”

Kwaaang!

Radiant wings unfolded from his back,

And he charged toward Arachne at a speed close to teleportation.

Swaaaaaash!!

The Terra Blade cut through the air.

Kwaaang!

Arachne’s arm transformed into something like a black spine and blocked the attack.

However, Arkeron’s assault did not end there.

“Keron.”

Light flared in Arkeron’s eyes as he began swinging the Terra Blade like rays of light.

Bang, bang, kwaaaang!

Each strike was like a flash of lightning.

But Arachne was no easy opponent.

Infusing mana into the ten spider legs rising from her back, she blocked every one of Arkeron’s attacks.

She did not stop there and counterattacked.

Swaaaash, bang!!!!

The two clashed fiercely.

“Kaaah-!”

Then, poisonous mist spewed from Arachne’s mouth.

Sssss!

Even slight contact corroded the surface of Arkeron’s outer armor.

Along with that—

Stretch.

The tips of the ten spider legs behind her split open, and she fired spiderweb traps like a machine gun.

Ratatatatatat!

Spiderweb traps sprayed in all directions.

The ground gradually became impossible to stand on.

Fortunately, Arkeron could maneuver in the air.

“Ah! That legion commander is trickier than expected.”

“Yeah. Not easy at all.”

Bellerin and I watched the scene in silence.

The ten legs rising from Arachne’s back made close combat difficult, and the constant poison mist and spiderweb traps steadily narrowed Arkeron’s maneuvering space.

Honestly, at first I thought Arkeron might win.

But as things progressed, it became increasingly uncertain.

The level gap was not that large compared to the vice legion commander who had been level three hundred thirty, so I had hoped Arkeron might overwhelm her.

But that was not the case.

Arachne possessed something beyond level.

Perhaps it was the difference in the number of stars she held.

‘The blocked retreat is the biggest problem.’

Withdrawing now seemed the wisest choice.

However, with Chu-chu and the shadow wolves trapped inside the spiderweb dome, retreat was difficult.

If this dragged into a war of attrition, Arkeron would be at a decisive disadvantage.

The duration of Combat Stance Lv 5 was not very long.

“Arkeron. Precision strike stance.”

Ziiiiing!

Arkeron rose into the air and deployed gun barrels from across his body.

He felt it too.

Dragging this out would lead nowhere.

“Annihilation Beam, lock on.”

Click, clack.

“Fire.”

Kwaaaaaaaah!!

Flames burst from the barrels as the Annihilation Beam rained down on Arachne.

It was not just one shot.

They were fired in succession.

But—

Tat tat tat tat tat!

Arachne’s mobility was formidable.

The eight legs extending from her massive lower body displayed movement beyond Arkeron’s expectations, evading the beam’s impact points.

“Whirrrrrrik-!”

At the same time, she emitted an unidentified high-frequency sound.

Then—

Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch.

From all around, the sound of spiders crawling echoed.

Its source was—

“Damn…”

“A swarm of spiderlings…”

An overwhelming number of spiderlings, easily in the thousands, surged forward like a tidal wave.

“Keron…”

Arkeron was left speechless.

The same was true for everyone watching, myself included.

“Arkeron! Get out of there no matter what!”

At my shout, Arkeron turned his barrels to break the spiderweb dome wall.

But—

“Chu-chu!”

“Awooooo!”

“Awoooo!”

Chu-chu and the shadow wolves were about to be overrun by the advancing spiderlings.

“Annihilation Beam, fire.”

Kwaaaaaaaah!!

With no other choice, Arkeron had to use the Annihilation Beam to erase the spiderlings.

And in that moment, a small opening appeared.

Swaaaaaash!

Thud!

“Keron—”

Spiderwebs tangled around Arkeron’s thrusters and wings of light, and Arkeron, who had been maneuvering in the air, fell to the ground.

“No!”

“Ah…”

At this rate, he would not last long.

Then—

In that critical moment.

An unexpected sound rang out.

Riiiiiip!

It was the sound of Azukai successfully imitating Arkeron’s Dimensional Sever.

“Got it.”

As he looked beyond the torn space of the dimension,

A blaze-like energy surged in Azukai’s eyes.