Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Chapter 6 - The Big Catch
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Five minutes before the spider silk reached Juho.
Or, more accurately,
The moment the spiders attacked Isaac.
Bang-!
Isaac didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger.
The roar of the rifle echoed through the forest, the bullet ripping through the air, piercing the tough hide of one of the spiders.
“Kee aagh!”
The spider stumbled backward, falling to the ground,
But Isaac, not satisfied, immediately turned his attention to the others.
He was a clever man.
I believe he had shown as much courage as Juho.
Ratatat-!
But the spiders were more formidable than Isaac had anticipated. Unlike the crude flesh-lumps created by the moon, they were natural-born hunters.
They employed their hunting strategies.
When their prey attacked,
They scattered, evading his line of fire.
Even the most powerful weapon had its limitations. While they had been caught off guard by the first shot, they could easily avoid the subsequent attacks.
“Gah…!”
Several spiders spun webs, throwing them like lassos. The incredibly sticky silk hampered his movements.
Isaac struggled against the clinging webs, continuing to fire his rifle,
But he could only injure a few of them.
Having been ambushed, his defeat was inevitable. The spiders quickly overwhelmed him, binding him in their webs.
“Let go of me, you monsters…!”
Isaac had fought bravely,
Resisting until the very end.
But defying the females of this planet with mere human strength wasn’t wise. The difference between species was too great.
“Был нимә, ул? (What is this?)”
An elegant spider approached Isaac, and we all knew her name.
The new Queen,
The sole remaining heir,
Arachne…
“Juho шул кешегә оҡшаған. Тик башҡасараҡ. Һинең ҡулыңда мин быға тиклем күрмәгән ҡорал бар. (He’s the same species as Juho. But different. You have a weapon I’ve never seen before.)”
Arachne studied Isaac carefully, then noticed the makeshift rope he had been holding.
She wondered what he had intended to use it for,
Why the scent of Juho’s pheromones lingered in the air…
“…”
Then, she saw the small opening in the ground,
Looked back at Isaac,
At the rope, and-
“Juho түбәндә тора. Әйҙәгеҙ, сығарайыҡ. (Juho is down there. Let’s retrieve him.)”
She lowered a thick rope of spider silk into the opening.
That was what had happened five minutes ago.
Now, let us return to Juho, still struggling to survive.
***
Seeing the spider silk,
A torrent of thoughts and memories flooded my mind.
My parting with the spiders, with Arachne, hadn't been pleasant.
I knew what would happen if I grabbed that web.
“I brought Grandma’s skull!”
The mermaids were starting to doubt my story. They gathered around the skull, examining it closely, but they couldn't find the crack I had mentioned.
“Huh?”
They tilted their heads, confusion clouding their faces.
The flames of dissent, which had been spreading like wildfire, began to die down.
“It’s not there?”
They realized they had been tricked,
But it was too late. My rifle was aimed at them, and my hand was already gripping the spider silk.
It wasn't a clean escape.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
But I had to climb.
I had provoked the mermaids,
And if I stayed, I would face a fate worse than death.
And even if the spiders and Arachne were waiting for me above, I had to rescue Isaac.
He should have been waiting for me with a rope, but the fact that it was spider silk…
Meant that,
Isaac was in danger.
“Juho, it’s not there?”
“…He tricked us.”
The mermaids realized I had lied, but I was already climbing.
“Really? Well, there’s nothing I can do about it… so…”
Tears blurred my vision as I thought about the challenges that awaited me above,
But escape was my priority.
“Juho, you…!”
But Aria, who had been watching me, grabbed my leg.
The other mermaids simply yelled and waved the skull, but Aria wasn't letting me go so easily.
“Pull me up! Quickly! Just get me up here…!”
“You’re not going anywhere! Never!”
Our bodies ascended simultaneously.
A sharp pain shot through my arm as the single strand of spider silk supported both our weight.
Fortunately, it didn't break.
My arm, however, was in danger.
I had wrapped the silk around my hand for a better grip,
But the unexpected weight was cutting into my flesh.
Aria climbed up my body, her voice a venomous whisper in my ear.
“I’ll never forgive you. You’ll pay for this. I swear…!”
Her arm, wrapped around my neck, trembled with rage. I thought she might break my neck.
“J-just pull me up! Please!”
Crunch-
Aria started biting the spider silk.
It was thick, woven from multiple strands, and I didn't think she could break it, but
Snap-!
An ominous sound. This wasn't good.
“Just let me go…! Just give up! Find another male! Please!”
“Ugh-”
Panic surged through me, and I pushed Aria away, but her teeth were locked onto the silk.
The strands were breaking.
I had only one option.
I grabbed a section of the web above Aria’s bite and wrapped it around my hand.
“Groan…!”
Seeing this, Aria released the silk.
And then,
She chose a more direct approach.
Crack-
“Aaaaagh!”
Aria bit my arm.
Just like she had bitten my ankle before,
She was trying to sever my arm with her teeth.
“Stop! Stop it!”
We struggled, suspended in the air.
I punched her beautiful face, and she endured it, her teeth sinking deeper into my flesh.
But there was one thing Aria didn't know.
I wasn't alone anymore.
“Mmm…?”
New flesh bloomed where she had bitten me.
Alraune, understanding human physiology,
Used her stored nutrients to rebuild my arm.
“What is-”
It was too late for her.
We reached the top, and a familiar hand reached out, grabbing mine.
Arachne.
Her touch.
“Juho?”
A familiar voice from above. And then, I saw Arachne’s beautiful, seductive face.
“Arachne! Help me get out…!”
“You’re not going anywhere! Never! Just die here! I’ll make sure you-!”
Before, I had barely managed to squeeze through the opening on my own,
But now, Aria was clinging to me.
The three of us struggled, wedged in the narrow opening. And I was the one being crushed.
Aria, slowly losing her grip on my shoulder, slid downwards, but her hands clamped around my legs and waist, holding me tight.
She wasn't letting me go.
Her sharp nails dug into my flesh, and drops of blood fell into the lake below.
“Aria! No! It’s dangerous…!”
The other mermaids, finally realizing the danger, cried out,
But our fates were no longer tied to the lake below.
“I won’t let you go. Never…! You’re mine! Mine! You’re not going anywhereeeeeeee!”
“Aaaaaaaargh…!”
With a tearing sensation in my leg,
We were pulled upwards, through the opening.
The earth crumbled around us, unable to withstand our combined strength.
“No! Never! You’re not leaving!”
Three beings, whose paths should never have crossed.
A human, traveling through space,
A mermaid, dwelling in the depths of the lake,
And a spider, weaving her webs through the forest.
We tumbled out of the opening, rolling across the ground.
“Cough-”
Amidst the pain,
I saw Isaac, wrapped tightly in spider silk.
But it was a fleeting glimpse.
Arachne lifted me up, forcing me to meet her gaze.
“…Well, this is a surprise. Isn’t it?”
I couldn't tell if she was angry,
Or amused.
Arachne’s seductive eyes and beautiful face always had a disarming effect on me.