48
Chapter 48
Whoosh!
"Damn it, f-"
Crash!
The moment I threw my body, the boulder that flew over my head slammed straight into the cave wall.
Clatter.
Flying stone dust, an echoing roar, the shaking ground.
This wasn't a battle; it was a literal demolition site.
At this rate, we had to worry about the cave collapsing before the monster got us.
"Riv! What do we do now?!"
Eileen asked between pants.
She was holding nothing but a single torch.
Relying on its faint light to escape was pushing our limits.
The flame was steadily shrinking in the wind and dampness.
We had spare torches, but... if we kept running like this, we'd soon lose our vision completely.
"...Wait."
I spoke shortly while catching my breath.
The bastard had been picking fights it could win from the very beginning.
It aimed precisely at us with red eyes in the dark, never coming down.
I had fired a Water Bullet or two, but this cavern was wide and complex.
Wrapping itself in spider webs, it moved as if floating, easily dodging my magic.
There was only one way left.
Just like we couldn't see properly in the dark.
We had to put it in the exact same situation.
[Sea Fog]
The groundwater seeping into the floor, and the water saved in our canteens.
I unleashed all the mana I had gathered while running.
Swoosh-
Moisture laden with cold energy began to spread through the air.
Soon, a thick fog rose from our feet and slowly began to swallow the entire cavern.
Swish.
I immediately grabbed Eileen's hand and hid in a corner of the cavern.
Bang! Crash!
Roaring explosions.
As if panicked, the monster began to swing boulders wildly.
It was just as I expected.
The bastard's attacks no longer landed near us.
Swish.
I shifted slightly to check.
I wondered if it figured out our location through vibrations or air currents, but it didn't.
It seemed the bastard really had been relying on its eyes.
'Hoo....'
My violently beating heart slowly began to calm down from running around.
Eileen looked at me silently, as if asking for a plan.
I glanced at her for a moment and gave a small nod to reassure her.
Now, it was a fair situation where neither could see the other.
In that case... it was my turn to pay it back.
I slowly closed my eyes and focused mana into them.
I slowly recalled the spell in my head.
[Blue Eye]
My vision was dyed blue, and the outlines in the dark gradually revealed themselves.
Only then did I see it.
A prominent body, eight legs extending to the sides.
The bastard was indeed a spider.
However, it wasn't the small, cute bug I knew.
Its size reached past my waist, possessing a presence that couldn't be ignored.
Hanging from the ceiling, the spider moved around as if walking a tightrope, swinging a boulder with its legs like a mace.
'Ugh, how disgustingly gross.'
I released Blue Eye and drew up my mana again.
Moisture was now overflowing all around.
The fog low on the cavern floor rippled faintly at my spell.
The fog caved in, and a round sphere condensed above my palm.
A cold chill transmitted along my fingertips.
[Water Bullet]
The Water Bullet left my hand and slipped smoothly through the gaps in the fog.
The bastard wouldn't be able to see it this time either.
It wouldn't be able to pinpoint the location beforehand and dodge like earlier.
'Go.'
The blue sphere cut through the wind and flew-
Whoosh. Thwack.
It hit something precisely.
What followed was a terrible high-frequency sound, like scratching glass.
"Kieeeek!!"
It was the bastard.
Given the situation, it was undoubtedly a scream.
The entire cavern hummed and echoed with the sound.
At that moment, the mace that had been mercilessly swinging the boulder finally stopped its pendulum motion.
The inside of the cave fell silent, and Eileen, holding her breath through the fog, looked my way.
I gave a small nod.
The first hit landed, at least.
However, it still wasn't enough.
The bastard flinched, but immediately writhed and raised its body again.
"Shaaaak!!"
As if enraged this time, its movements grew rougher.
The sound of the swinging boulder carried more force, and the air trembled.
Those disgusting legs moved, scratching the ceiling above.
"This won't end at this rate."
I caught my breath and looked up.
Above on the ceiling, a giant boulder hanging from a spider web was slowly swinging again.
'I have to make it come down.'
I didn't know how much durability the bastard had, but I didn't think I could finish it off with my remaining mana.
Even the fog I laid down was gradually settling lower due to the space not being completely sealed.
The bastard was still hanging from the spider web, using the boulder tied to the end of the spider web as a weapon.
......A boulder?
If I could just cut the thread supporting it, wouldn't the bastard, having lost its weapon, be forced to come down?
Crash!
Right on time, the sound of the bastard's boulder mace smashing nearby rang out.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
I kicked off the ground and ran, sticking to the wall where the spider web was connected.
That sticky, thick thread connected the boulder and the ceiling.
I immediately pulled out my mace and struck down on the spider web.
Whoosh. Clang!
"...What?"
The mace bounced off, and a stinging pain spread through my wrist.
The spider web was as hard as metal; it wasn't a weapon, but almost at the level of ore.
"How is this a spider web...!"
I gritted my teeth and gripped the mace again, but the pain rising in my wrist told me this wasn't it.
Beside me, Eileen also tried scratching the thread with a dagger, but it only made a scraping sound without a single scratch.
"This won't work. It shows no sign of breaking at all...."
Eileen said while breathing heavily.
At that moment, the boulder stuck in the wall slowly shook and began to pull out.
It was a sign it would soon be retrieved.
'Damn it... what do I do?'
The moment I stood there blankly, as if my body had frozen.
Whoosh.
Right next to me, with a wind-mixed sound, a single spark popped.
The tip of the torch Eileen was holding. That flame brushed past a strand of spider web drooping on the floor.
Sizzle-
The white spider web began to burn in an instant.
'...No way!'
I immediately took the torch, snatching it from her.
And without hesitation, I brought the flame to the spider web.
Whoosh.
The fire caught on faster than expected.
Like a dry tree, the spider web began to burn.
Surprisingly, as if it had some kind of oil mixed inside, the flame spread quickly along the thread.
"Kishaaaak!!!"
The bastard must have noticed it too, letting out a sharp screech from the ceiling and thrashing around.
But it was already too late.
The spider web burned quickly, and soon the bastard's only weapon would disappear.
I readjusted my grip on the mace and took a step back.
The preparations were complete.
'Come down.'
The bastard struggled to hold on until the end.
It stirred the spider web with its rough legs to shake off the flames, but the sparks rushed along the thread like a starving beast.
The burning speed was faster than any of its thrashing.
Eventually, the bastard had to make a decision too.
Thud.
First, it abandoned the boulder it was swinging like a weapon.
Soon after, it curled its eight legs and rolled its body into a ball.
In an instant, the bastard's massive body fell through the darkness.
Thud!
The entire floor shook.
Dust and stone fragments flew, and I reflexively shielded Eileen and lowered my body.
'It's here.'
We were finally at eye level.
The bastard was now on the same ground as us.
In the fog, the shape of a giant spider shimmered.
A body much more massive than expected.
Thick, stiff gray hairs were studded sparsely on each leg.
It was to the point of giving the illusion of looking at a gray wolf rather than a spider.
"Kishaaaak!"
A high-frequency scream, like shattering glass, pierced my ears.
My heart sank.
But at the same time, I clearly heard the bastard's location.
'So you're there.'
I gulped down my saliva and carefully loaded a Water Bullet.
Moisture condensed at my fingertips, forming into a small, heavy sphere.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of eight hard legs climbing over the boulder grew closer.
It meant the bastard had noticed me too.
Swish.
Red eyes flashed in the thinning fog.
"Kishiiik!"
Tap tap tap tap-
As soon as it spotted me, it charged without hesitation.
Swoosh. Thwack!
I fired a Water Bullet at the bastard rushing head-on and immediately threw my body backward.
However, the Water Bullet bounced off its hard front legs, and it approached me, perfectly maintaining its speed.
'The legs won't work.'
A wall born from the difference in weight class.
A head-on fight was impossible.
At that moment, a sharp metallic ring echoed.
A silhouette brushed past through the fog.
It was Eileen.
"Hup!"
She aimed for the opening of the spider focused on me and stabbed its side.
As the tip of the blade pierced its body, green fluid splattered, and the spider let out a shriek.
"Kieeeek-!"
Unlike its legs, its body didn't seem to be covered by a shell.
The spider swung its leg reflexively, and Eileen was knocked back, flying into the fog.
"Gah-!"
Eileen disappeared from sight with a short scream.
The spider changed direction to chase her.
"Damn it, this ruins everything...."
I ran over there belatedly, but unbelievably, Eileen was alive.
Her face was contorted in pain, but thankfully, there didn't seem to be any major external injuries.
"Kishik...."
And the spider was looking around elsewhere, completely missing her.
It seemed the guy couldn't perceive a target right below it.
'Could it be... it can't see below?'
Its high stature, the position of its eyes, and the fog.
Perhaps because all those conditions overlapped, a blind spot had formed in its vision.
......This is it!
"You bug bastard, over here!"
I shouted to draw the bastard's attention and sprinted in the opposite direction again.
From behind, an enraged cry, along with the sound of hard legs striking the ground, followed me.
The moment I judged I had gained enough distance, I lay flat on the ground.
Scraping together my remaining mana, I prayed with a desperate heart.
'Please... please...'
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Did my prayer work?
Parting the fog, a chitinous leg brushed past right in front of my eyes.
The smell of dirt on the floor touching the tip of my nose, the spider's leg sweeping over the back of my hand that jutted out above it.
The bastard's massive body covered right over me as it passed.
"Kishiik?"
As if feeling something was wrong, the bastard let out a cry full of question.
That meant I had completely disappeared from its sight.
Now is the time.
[Water Bullet]
A final blow drawing on all my remaining mana.
The Water Bullet hit directly toward its exposed abdomen.
Kwaaang!!
As the Water Bullet struck its body, the spider screamed so loudly its spine seemed to reel.
A transparent current of water dug into its body, and the spider's bodily fluids splashed everywhere.
"Kishaaaak!!"
The bastard flailed its legs toward the empty air.
The more its body shook, the more thick fluid flowed down.
It seemed I hit something inside properly.
I instinctively curled up and rolled away while still prone.
Bang!
A spider leg stomped on the spot where I just was.
The boulder shattered, sending a stone fragment flying, and I thought my breath would stop from a fragment flying up to my chest.
"Ugh, urgh! Ptooey!"
I barely stood up, spitting out the fluid that splashed into my mouth.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The spider thrashed wildly everywhere, as if it felt its life was threatened.
It was fast and rough, unbefitting of its size.
"Eileen!"
I saw a silhouette breathing heavily in the fog behind me.
It was definitely Eileen who had been collapsed just a moment ago, but she was standing now.
Even while stumbling, she was gripping her sword.
And... she moved before I did.
Swoosh-
A shadow flew in, parting the fog with a short sound.
The blade reached straight toward the bastard's face.
One of the spider's numerous eyes.
The single weakness not covered by its outer shell.
Thwack.
The blade accurately pierced that eye.
A bizarre shriek that seemed to tear the eardrums rang out.
"Kieeeeeeek!"
The bastard spewed a sharp scream.
At that moment, its balance clearly collapsed.
Its center of gravity tilted toward its lower abdomen, and several legs flailed haphazardly.
The following counterattack.
Eileen barely blocked the swung leg with her sword this time as well.
However, faced with overwhelming power, she was thrown backward.
Crash!
She barely stood up by leaning on her sword, but her legs were staggering.
The injury she suffered earlier seemed quite deep.
...I couldn't stay still either.
That opening Eileen had created for me.
I dug right into the bastard's side.
Right under its body, the blind spot between its legs.
The very spot where I smashed the Water Bullet earlier.
"Haa...!"
I pierced through the gaps of its massive legs and raised my mace toward its lower abdomen.
Clang!
The first strike bounced off its leg.
But I expected that.
I had no intention of ending it in one strike anyway.
I gritted my teeth.
Gathering all my remaining strength, I gripped the mace again.
Deeper this time. Stronger.
Bang!
The mace tore into the giant body of the spider and lodged itself inside.
Sticky bodily fluid splattered like an explosion.
That foul stench pierced my nose and flowed down my cheeks.
"Haaaaa!"
I twisted the embedded mace as it was.
I stirred it like whipping dough.
Crunch. Cruuunch.
The sound of internal organs tearing and crushing.
The sensation of mucus tearing could be felt beyond my fingertips.
The bastard's body twisted.
A cry like a scream burst out, vibrating its throat.
At that moment, one of the swinging legs flew in, parting the fog.
It brushed past my cheek, cutting my flesh.
Slash-
Blood splattered.
A warm, sticky liquid flowed down my cheek.
However, I didn't stop.
"Ugh-"
Legs that tried to brush, scratch, and crush various parts of my body.
Even as my whole body became covered in scratches, I didn't let go of the mace.
Its internal organs squished, and my mace continued to swirl and swirl inside them.
"Ki, kishiik...."
The bastard's cry wasn't even a scream anymore.
Pain, confusion, and fear.
Its massive body staggered and tilted in the air.
Its silhouette swayed, and soon.
Thump.
The spider collapsed as if pouring down over my head, raising dust in the fog.
An ensuing silence.
"Pant, pant, pant."
I rolled out from my twisted posture and dropped to my knees.
My heart pounded in my throat, both arms trembled, and my whole body was damp.
But I felt it clearly.
......It was over.
The bastard had fallen.
It was truly over.