Chapter 41: Falling Flowers
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 41: Falling Flowers
A rain of flowers filled the sky.
It was a magnificent spectacle, truly befitting the name Sky-Filling Flower Rain.
Poison and feathers. And hidden weapons concealed within the plumage rained down relentlessly.
I had to dodge.
Somehow.
Fwoosh!
I pushed power into my legs.
But.
Thud.
I lost my balance and collapsed.
The wound from that beast was worse than I thought.
Blood streamed from my side.
The damage I’d taken when it used Death Roll.
My legs wouldn't hold my weight.
Still, I had to dodge.
Somehow…
[Warning! HP is critically low.]
There was no way I could dodge this.
Even if my body were in perfect condition, I couldn't have avoided that entire barrage. In my current state, the worst I'd ever been in, how could I possibly evade such an attack?
I looked up at the sky.
Hundreds, thousands of poisoned projectiles and hidden weapons.
Not even my All-Poison Immunity could block an attack like this.
It was a cruel, yet paradoxically beautiful assault, with no blind spots.
Sky-Filling Flower Rain.
To think I’d live to see it.
And not just any version, but one performed by a Dilophosaurus.
At least I get to see a good show before I die!
The countless weapons drew closer.
This is it.
Time seemed to slow down.
Like a revolving lantern of my life’s memories.
Strangely, I didn't feel many regrets.
It would be a lie to say I had no lingering attachment to life.
But I don't think it was a meaningless one.
I was born a gecko, became a basilisk, and eventually, a monitor lizard.
I think I did a decent job raising Tus and Pus, too.
They were just little snot-noses when I first met them, but they've grown quite a bit.
And apparently, they can wield internal energy, something I didn't even know. They'll be fine no matter where they go.
Tang Soyeong said she'd take them, so she'll probably look after them.
Tang Soyeong.
She has her odd quirks, but she’s a sharp woman.
I hope she takes Tus and Pus and raises them well.
…It bothers me a little that I couldn't give them my poison, but they'll manage.
I got to see real dinosaurs, and even eat them.
I even used martial arts in the body of a lizard.
Right, martial arts.
Baek Yeon-yeong.
My master, whom I met in the Silver Dragon Cave.
If I had followed her back then, I probably wouldn't be dying like this.
I would have lived out my days comfortably as a small lizard and died of old age.
I wanted to talk with her more, to know her better, but I'd rather be a hungry monitor lizard than a fat pig. I don't regret not following her.
Looking back, it wasn't a bad life.
A second life that began so absurdly.
I kept my promise to never run away again, so I have no regrets.
But if there is one thing I'm sad about…
Nephila Jurassica.
You're still out there.
The first bond I formed after coming to this world.
We fought each other, and we fought back-to-back.
Because of you, I almost died, and because of you, my life was saved.
If I hadn't met her, I might still be a gecko.
If I had to name the first turning point of my second life, it would be Nephila Jurassica.
Hey, spider.
I was going to apologize if I ever saw you again.
I was planning to see you one more time after this was all over.
Things… didn't quite work out.
I'm sorry.
Sshhhk!
A weapon flew toward my neck.
I guess this is the end of my goodbyes.
…
…….
“Kieeeek!”
Thwip-thwip-thwip.
The weapons soaring through the sky suddenly stopped.
What blocked them was an immense amount of spider silk.
And standing before me was…
Red eyes.
Black legs.
A form resembling a tiger spider.
“Kieeeek!”
It was Nephila Jurassica.
…How in the world?
Fwiiip!
The silk shot by Nephila Jurassica intercepted the incoming weapons.
Thud-thud-thud!
Her highly viscous silk was more than enough to block the Sky-Filling Flower Rain.
Clang!
Any weapons she missed were swiftly deflected by her steel-like legs.
“Gegek!”
I let out a cry filled with elation.
Nephila!
It’s so good to see you right now.
“Kieek!”
Yes.
There was hope.
Hope that I could somehow survive.
If it was Nephila Jurassica, even in this situation…
Splurch!
“Kieek…”
Are my eyes deceiving me?
Why can I see right through the space your body should be covering?
A large hole, one that shouldn't be there, had been punched through her.
Crack!
Her legs weren't safe either.
Thwack!
Two of her legs were shattered by the barrage of weapons.
There was no way a single spider could block the Sky-Filling Flower Rain.
She was bigger than when I last saw her, but still smaller than me now.
If I couldn't block it, how could a small spider?
“Gegegek!”
Get out of the way!
This stupid spider.
Why did you jump in just to die a dog's death?
I can still save Nephila.
I'll gather my last bit of strength, swing my tail, and send her flying far away.
Fwiiiiiip!
A strand of silk shot out.
Her web wrapped precisely around my ankle.
Pinning me, so I couldn't move for now.
To shoot a web at me, she inevitably had to turn around.
Thwack!
In that brief moment, another one of her legs was torn off.
“Geeeeek!”
Why.
Why are you doing this?
I couldn't understand.
Why go this far?
We only knew each other for a day.
Why let yourself get into this state?
I'm not afraid of my own death.
But I don't want this innocent spider to get caught up in it.
Please.
“Gegegegegegek!”
Th-th-th-thud!
As if it would never tire, the Dilophosaurus continued its fierce assault.
Thwack!
Another leg was blown away.
She could no longer shoot webs.
She had no limbs left to deflect the weapons, and she had lost her other abilities.
Please, while you still have a few legs left, just run.
Nothing will change even if you stay here.
“Kieeeek!”
Nephila Jurassica shrieked, just as she had when I first met her.
After that cry, she dragged her body, with its few remaining legs, and slowly approached me.
More and more wounds appeared on her battered body, and of her eight jewel-like eyes, only two remained.
Yet, she didn't give up.
The barrage of weapons continued to rain down.
In her condition, it was a miracle she could even move.
No matter how much she struggled, there was no way to block this.
Scrabble, scrabble!
Nephila Jurassica laboriously dragged her remaining legs and climbed on top of me.
Her body, which had seemed larger than anything when I first saw her, now felt so small.
“Gegegegek!”
“Kioong…”
She no longer had the strength to cry out, yet she foolishly took the full brunt of the enemy's attack with her back.
I don't care what happens to me.
So please.
I just want you to live.
If there is such a thing as a miracle, please give me the strength to send this spider to a safe place.
A light began to emanate from Nephila Jurassica's body.
‘When emotions reach their peak.’
In that instant, Tang Soyeong's words flashed through my mind.
‘When it reaches an extreme in any direction.’
A true metamorphosis.
‘And the greatest of these is the will to protect something.’
A glimmer of hope appeared.
She could become a spider with a hard exoskeleton, or one immune to poison.
Yes.
With this, she could survive.
Sshaaaaa!
A brilliant light enveloped the entire swamp.
Nephila Jurassica's form changed.
*
Nephila Jurassica's emotions had reached their peak.
It was the desire to protect the lizard she loved.
She knew instinctively.
That she could advance to the next stage.
That the form she took depended on her choice.
Countless options appeared before her.
A spider with incredible speed, a spider with a poisonous stinger like a scorpion, a spider with an exoskeleton as hard as iron armor.
All of them were powerful species.
This was the evolution she had so desperately longed for.
But none of them could protect the one she loved.
The small lizard had grown large, and she was small in comparison.
No matter how much stronger she became, she couldn't protect him as he was now.
To save him, her body had to become bigger.
She needed a body that could completely shield the lizard.
That option certainly existed.
It was an inefficient and foolish choice that no living creature would ever make.
A spider without emotions does not act inefficiently.
An inefficient and foolish act.
Nephila Jurassica had learned that this was love.
She didn't know much about love.
She had only seen the cruel truth that those who coveted love were devoured by the female.
That was why she had always hesitated.
When they parted on that tree branch, if she hadn't hesitated, could she have caught the lizard?
As she circled this place time and again, if she hadn't hesitated, could she have met him?
When he found out she was watching him, if she had stepped forward without hesitation, would this have ever happened?
Nephila Jurassica looked at the giant lizard.
A lizard that had grown so large her current body could not hope to cover it all.
Blood flowed from his side, and one of his eyes was completely crushed.
If only she had acted sooner, this wouldn't have happened.
She had hesitated again.
She made a vow.
She would not hesitate anymore.
Yes.
To Nephila Jurassica, love was…
No longer hesitating.
*
Was this the price for carelessly speaking of miracles?
Nephila Jurassica's form had changed into something completely different from what I had imagined.
There was no hard exoskeleton. Seeing her cough up blood, she had no immunity to poison either.
Why, why did you change into this?
All she had were two red eyes. And short, golden hair.
Nephila Jurassica's upper body had transformed into that of a fragile, delicate human.
In this situation, it might be more accurate to call her evolution a devolution.
Her body had become weaker, and her larger size only made her an easier target for the flying weapons.
P-p-p-pat!
The number of weapons embedding themselves in her back increased.
The frail flesh of a human could not block the Dilophosaurus's attack.
Her body was being torn apart everywhere.
Drip.
Blood trickled from the corner of Nephila Jurassica's mouth.
It was the wrong choice.
A foolish, idiotic choice.
A stupid choice that only hastened her death.
And yet.
And yet.
Nephila Jurassica was smiling.
Even though she couldn't say a word.
Even though she had evolved into such a foolish form.
Even though her body was a wreck.
What could she possibly be so happy about?
She was just… smiling.
Brightly.
The spider silk binding me was gradually loosening.
That could only mean one thing.
Nephila Jurassica's body began to tilt.
Thump.
Like a small petal falling, her upper body collapsed onto my chest.
Don't spiders lack a heart?
Thump-thump.
No, spiders have hearts too.
Thump-thump.
It was faint, but I could clearly feel a heartbeat.
Yes.
Nephila Jurassica was still alive.
Her arm rose.
A cold hand caressed the area around my eye.
Was she worried about a single injured eye?
When she herself was in such a state.
No.
She is still alive.
So.
So…
Thud.
Nephila Jurassica's arm fell.
Utterly limp.
There was no sound at all.