Arachne's Web in the Fox's Den
Crash! The window shattered mercilessly, sending glittering fragments scattering into the room. Before the dust could settle, the wall itself collapsed in a thunderous roar. My vision was already fading from the brink of unconsciousness, so I couldn't make out the details clearly, but the intruder who had burst in so violently must have been far too large to pass through the window without destroying it.
I instinctively curled up, bracing for the rain of glass and debris, but the shards halted midair as if yanked back by an invisible hand, then fell neatly to the floor in unison. Only a faint cloud of dust and grit reached me. The sensation felt eerily familiar, like something I'd experienced before.
"You...! Are you okay?"
That familiar voice reached my ears—slightly irritated, yet laced with genuine concern. At the same time, my body was pulled upward and settled into someone's warm embrace. The feeling of being lifted so forcefully, the way I was held... it wasn't entirely unfamiliar, though I still couldn't tell exactly who had come to my rescue. The Team Leader...? The President? If they were calling me "you," then...
"Who the hell are you?"
The next voice to cut through the chaos was the Field Team Leader's—icy enough to send a chill down my spine. Just moments ago she'd been lazily pinning me down with that empty sense of duty, savoring every second. Now, even though she'd seemed to have passed out from the alcohol, her beast-like instincts had jolted her awake the instant danger registered.
Only then did my blurry vision and muffled hearing begin to clear.
"Arachne...?"
Through the swirling dust floated ash-gray hair, pale skin with an unusual blue undertone, and crimson eyes that made me flinch involuntarily. When I called her name, the familiar face looking down at me was unmistakably Arachne's—the same Arachne who should have been locked deep underground in the facility. How she had reached the surface, let alone found this exact room at the perfect moment, was a mystery, but this wasn't the time to ask.
"That... is mine."
She glanced at her now-empty inner arm, furrowed her brows, and declared that I belonged to her. For someone with no memory of ever becoming her possession, the statement was more than a little bewildering. Ah, maybe she was still half-asleep and simply claiming the "food" she'd been eating. That would actually make sense.
"..."
Clearly annoyed, she swept her black hair back in one smooth motion. The strands shimmered and turned snow-white, while her golden eyes flushed crimson, revealing the true form of the nine-tailed fox. Nine tails swayed behind her, fox ears perked atop her head, and sharp fangs glinted. The atmosphere shifted instantly toward violence, yet I had barely enough strength left to whisper Arachne's name. I couldn't intervene.
As far as I knew, the Field Team Leader ranked among the facility's top combatants. Seeing her reveal her full beast form made Arachne's safety my immediate concern. The moment the thought crossed my mind, the Team Leader dropped onto all fours atop the bed, lowering her stance as if ready to pounce. I forced my voice out.
".. Arachne, danger..."
"It's all right, you."
Instead of heeding my warning, she smiled softly and tightened her arms around me, holding me even more securely.
"Hand him over...!"
The Field Team Leader lunged in the blink of an eye. Arachne met her gaze without the slightest tremor. What happened next left me speechless.
Twip-twip-twip-twip...!
A rapid succession of snapping threads echoed, and the Team Leader's movements visibly slowed. Before her fist could connect, her entire body froze in midair.
"I didn't expect someone with such a keen nose to charge in so recklessly. Is it because of that awful alcohol smell?"
"...Where do you... get off acting so smug?"
Twip-twip-twip...! Rip...! Thud!
Arachne's webs were apparently sturdy enough that even the Field Team Leader couldn't tear them apart easily. Still, the Team Leader ripped the anchored sections from the walls and floor, freeing herself with brute force. Arachne watched the display with calm amusement.
"Don't waste your energy. You're already in the palm of my hand."
And it wasn't empty bravado. From the moment she'd entered, Arachne had been working. The threads she'd used to halt the Team Leader's charge were merely a stalling tactic. Stronger, looser strands had already been positioned to ensnare her completely. The instant the Team Leader stopped moving, she handed Arachne the final piece needed to finish the trap.
"Ngh, they won't... break?"
"My condition is at its peak right now. Do you really think you can tear through five strands of my webbing with raw strength?"
"So those were the real ones, huh?"
Sharp claws flashed. The Team Leader's arms and wrists, wrapped especially tightly, were so densely bound that not a single joint could move. Arachne continued spinning more silk over her body, clearly intending to cocoon her.
"This is nothing...!"
Crack...!
"..!!"
The Field Team Leader suddenly arched her back, using the momentum to bite through the threads around her wrist with her teeth. Once one hand was free, she extended her claws and began shredding the remaining bindings one by one.
"Hmph. You should have stayed still while you had the chance."
Arachne didn't remain idle. She moved her own body, bringing together a pair of spider forelegs clad in dark-blue chitin.
Thud...!
The impact was so loud I was surprised nothing audibly broke. The Team Leader's body jolted violently as Arachne's strike landed squarely on her unguarded abdomen, tearing the fabric of her clothes at the point of contact. With that massive frame charging forward and concentrating all force into one spot, the sound made perfect sense.
"Kuh...! Cough...!"
The blow clearly stunned the Field Team Leader. She faltered for a moment, then tried to resume struggling free, but—
"You might not want to watch this."
"..?"
Taking a direct hit to the stomach while heavily intoxicated proved more devastating than expected.
"Ugh...? Ghh."
A dangerous gurgle rose in her throat as she clenched her teeth, desperately trying to hold it back.
"You... held it in?"
For a second it seemed she would lose the battle, yet both Arachne and I had underestimated the nine-tailed fox. Hiss...!
She focused, and a thick, alcohol-laced white vapor poured from her skin, dissipating into the air. It looked as though she had forcibly expelled every drop of liquor from her body.
So a nine-tailed fox can even do that...?
"Haa... Now I can finally see straight."
She muttered, her eyes now ice-cold as she calmly scanned the surroundings. I couldn't see them, but she was referring to Arachne's nearly invisible threads.
"Oh? You can see them now. What exactly do you think you can do?"
".. Looks like I was underestimated."
The Field Team Leader's fighting spirit remained unbroken, and Arachne's unexpected strength was equally formidable. Neither seemed ready to concede.
.. I had to stop them.
".. Cough. Both of you, that's enough. Arachne only came to save me from the Team Leader."
"Save you...? From me?"
"Don't you remember? You suddenly fell asleep, Team Leader..."
"Fell asleep? I...?"
She had no recollection of dozing off at all? I really had been on the verge of dying in the most pathetic way possible. Drunk and unconscious, held in her arms... Well, if the last thing I saw was the embrace of a woman as captivating as the Field Team Leader, maybe it wouldn't have been the worst way to go.
"Ugh... My head hurts."
'Did I... suck on him while I was asleep? I've been so stressed lately that I was hungry... and I drank a lot...'
".. So you do have some idea what happened."
"I see... So that's what happened."
'While I was drunk... I think I said something like a confession... And before I could hear the answer, that spider woman showed up. Actually, I must have fallen asleep in between...'
"W-well, that can happen. But why did you have to charge in like that? You could've just talked first."
Now I understood why the Founder called her a troublemaker. That shamelessness was straight out of a child's playbook. Technically, she had been the one to lunge first, and talking wouldn't have worked in her intoxicated state anyway, but I decided to keep it short.
"... Arachne was only trying to save me."
".. Even though she trashed my house."
Of all things, she was fixating on that now. To be fair, seeing the bedroom half-destroyed did look pretty bad.
"Half of it was your doing, though."
Twitch. The Team Leader's eyebrow rose sharply—clearly annoyed by the remark. She didn't argue, because Arachne was stating the obvious truth. If it had been me or any other staff member, we would have backed down at the sight of that displeased expression. Surprisingly, Arachne showed no sign of stopping.
"And besides... Wait."
'That's...'
Arachne had been about to needle the Team Leader further when her gaze suddenly stopped on something. Her words trailed off.
"... Never mind. I was a little worked up too. As long as the Counselor is safe, that's all that matters."
"??"
She backed off surprisingly easily. The Field Team Leader, looking even more confused than I was, followed Arachne's line of sight.
There, half-buried in the dust from the collapsed wall, lay a single teddy bear, looking rather forlorn.
".. No woman who gets lonely at night can be a bad person."
"Ah, no! Wait, that doll is just...!"
The Team Leader's voice deflated as she swayed on her feet. Only now had the awkward teddy bear entered her awareness. These two... They stop fighting and suddenly... a teddy bear alliance?