EP.19 House of the Spider -1
EP.19 House of the Spider -1
"Yata, is it really true that a government agency was attacked by a Divine Beast?"
"Yeah, unfortunately, not only was it attacked by a Divine Beast, but it's actually been occupied."
"That's insane..."
I had definitely stopped by the agency earlier today and received a mission directly from the Director.
At least up until then, everything at the government agency had been running smoothly, no issues at all.
But now, in just a few hours, the government agency had been devoured by a Divine Beast...?
It was utterly unbelievable, but given that the Director, who always replied immediately to mission reports, had been out of contact for three hours, something was definitely going on.
"I understand it's hard to believe. But everything I said is the truth and reality. That's because the one currently occupying the government is a Divine Beast specialized in territorial control."
"A Divine Beast specialized in territorial control... Could you explain in more detail?"
"Of course, I was going to tell you even if you didn't ask."
While Miho and Alice were dealing with the terrorists, Yata and I talked about the Divine Beast that had caused this incident.
The name of the Divine Beast occupying the government was Arachne.
The Divine Beast bestiary only mentioned its name and classified it as a Spider Divine Beast, with no other information confirmed about it.
Apparently, many adventurers who tried to approach Arachne to gather information ended up being devoured, as it was such a vicious and ferocious Divine Beast.
As a result, the systematic collection of information on Arachne had become taboo among adventurers in the Great Wilds.
Because of this, the available information was extremely scarce, but I still had the ever-capable Yata, so I was able to obtain details about Arachne.
"Arachne's abilities are classified into a total of three, and all of them are equally troublesome."
"As many as three...?"
"Yeah."
Until now, I had thought that a Divine Beast's abilities maxed out at two, but to think there was a being with even more.
Just hearing about it gave me a headache.
"The first is thread-spinning, one of the main characteristics of spiders. Arachne can spin as much thread from its body as it wants."
"That's it?"
"If it were ordinary thread, I wouldn't have explained it as an ability, would I? All the threads Arachne spins have special properties."
"What kind of properties?"
"It can create thread so strong it can easily cut through steel, or thread so viscous that once it sticks, you can never escape on your own."
"What the hell? Isn't that way too tricky an ability to deal with right from the get-go?"
"You might think so, but for you, dear husband, this ability is actually the easiest to handle. All the thread Arachne creates is weak to fire."
"Ah, then that definitely makes sense."
I had Kor, the wolf who handled fire as a Companion Divine Beast, and I could also borrow her ability to create fire.
In that regard, Arachne's thread certainly wouldn't be a major threat to me.
"The second ability?"
"Venomous fangs. Arachne has two large, sharp fangs. The liquid that flows from them is a deadly poison, and if you get bitten once, there's no antidote, so you die."
"So even the slightest bite or graze means instant death?"
"Given the nature of the poison, not immediately. If you quickly cut out the wounded area, there won't be a problem. However, if you neglect it even a little, your whole body will be paralyzed before long and you'll slowly die."
"I'll have to be careful not to come into contact with it as much as possible."
"Yeah. No matter what happens, it's best to avoid fighting Arachne head-on."
The second ability was also quite formidable, but not without a countermeasure.
Nevertheless, Yata was explaining Arachne with an increasingly serious expression.
That probably meant the third ability she was about to tell me was the biggest problem.
"And now for the third one. Actually, this is the most troublesome ability and the core one for occupying the government this time."
"What is it?"
"Prolific Reproduction."
"Huh? Pro, prolific...?"
"Yeah, Arachne can lay and hatch its baby spider eggs at a rapid pace."
"Baby spiders, you mean?"
"At once, it can lay many small baby spiders, or an appropriate number of human-sized baby spiders, or even a single bear-sized baby spider individual."
"That's quite a range."
Anyway, could spiders the size of humans or bears even be called babies...?
"The problem is that even those baby spiders each possess one of Arachne's abilities."
"That gives me the creeps..."
"The smallest spiders have sticky webbing and a paralyzing venom that immobilizes you for a few seconds; the human-sized spiders have webbing as hard as steel; and the bear-sized spiders have fangs rivaling Arachne's own."
"The sheer numbers are one thing, but each having their own abilities... Can we win?"
"It'll definitely be a tough fight. But not impossible. All things considered, there's only one of the Divine Beast itself, and looking at Arachne as a single individual, it's laughably weak compared to Taotie. One-on-one, even you, dear husband, could win easily enough."
"But the enemy would know that too, so they'd never try to fight alone, right?"
"That is true. So that means we need to come up with a meticulous plan, doesn't it?"
If the fights against Taotie and Bulgasari so far had been power-versus-power confrontations, this time it was a strategic battle.
It would likely be a fierce fight where we'd have to use our abilities to the maximum and clash with the enemy.
I wasn't worried about strategic fighting, since I had Yata, a reliable strategist.
The problem was the numbers. No matter how good a strategy you had, without soldiers to actually fight in the battle, you'd lose.
And if your forces were significantly outnumbered by the enemy, the likelihood of the plan failing only increased.
Unless there were agents left to help me. Apart from the Director and the three senior agents, there was realistically no one who could help me.
In other words, soldiers who could serve as my hands and feet like Arachne's baby spiders...
"You don't need to worry that much. This time you're not fighting alone! The other Divine Beasts besides Tia, and even the rabbit, are all planning to come along."
"That's a relief."
There were no soldiers, but there were commanders far stronger than me.
My heart felt at ease. My companion Divine Beasts, each capable of fighting a hundred. With several commanders of the same rank as the enemy commander Arachne coming along, what was there to fear?
Yet continuing to tremble in fear despite that was no different from distrusting my companion Divine Beasts.
"It's good to shake off the anxiety, but don't underestimate them too much. Either way, that place is now Arachne's nest, fully prepared. We're at a disadvantage as the ones who have to attack and take it."
"Got it."
"Alright, then I'll give you the detailed strategy briefing when we arrive in front of the agency. Before that, take this call."
"Huh...?"
-Buzz! Buzz!
The moment Yata finished speaking, the phone terminal in my hand began to vibrate noisily.
The caller was Director Edwiner. When I looked at Yata to see if it was really okay to answer, she briefly nodded, signaling it was fine.
Trusting Yata, I slid the green call button on the phone and moved the terminal to my ear.
"Hello?"
[Ah! I finally got through!]
A familiar, rich voice came from the other end. It was Director Edwiner. Though a hint of urgency was mixed in his voice, it was unmistakably him.
I already knew the government's current situation, but since I hadn't told anyone about the existence of my informant, I asked him shamelessly.
"Director? What's the matter at this hour?"
[I sincerely apologize for contacting you this late at night, at a time when you've finished your mission and are resting! But please understand that I'm contacting you like this because of the current emergency.]
"An emergency?"
[Ah, yes. Currently, the government agency is in a state of crisis after being attacked by a being presumed to be a Spider Divine Beast.]
"A, a Divine Beast?!"
[That's right. The reason I'm contacting you so late now is because I was delayed responding to it.]
"How is the current situation?"
[I'm currently at a shelter inside the agency with a few agents and staff, locked in a standoff with the spiders. It's infuriating, but we couldn't save some of them; they were captured and dragged away by the spiders.]
"They were dragged away, not killed on the spot?"
[Ah, I witnessed them being tightly bound with the endlessly emerging spider threads and taken somewhere.]
This was a disaster.
If things were this bad, I might have to not only fight but also rescue hostages.
Just paying attention to Arachne itself already seemed like a difficult fight, and now hostages...
[Please don't worry too much about the hostages.]
"Pardon? But...!"
[The reason I called is, as you know, to ask for your help. It would be far too shameless of me, in the position of needing help, to ask you to also worry about the hostages.]
"That might be true, but..."
[Besides, we don't intend to just sit and watch. We who remain will do our best to handle the hostage rescue, timed to when you enter the building. So you just focus on the fight with the Divine Beast.]
"Understood."
[Again, I know it's a shameless request, but I'm asking you this. I will repay the debt for this matter, even if it means using all my authority.]
"Ah, yes..."
The call ended, and silence set in.
Yata was quietly watching me. It meant she was gauging my thoughts and waiting to hear my decision.
Thankful for her deep consideration, I thought it over carefully regarding this matter.
The government agency. Although unofficial, it was my workplace.
But if you really thought about it, it was also a place I was practically forced into working.
Did I have any attachment to it? Of course not. It was a job where it didn't matter if I had it or not.
But what was merely a job to me was different for others. To other people, the government was a necessary place.
It had protected my family from the terrorists who made my life difficult at all hours.
In fact, I'd heard that an agent had previously died in the line of duty fighting a terrorist who targeted my younger sister.
Overcome with sincere gratitude, I went to pay my respects at the fallen agent's funeral and saw his family.
Not a single one of them was lamenting the reason the agent died. They said he had done the natural thing as an agent. That dying while saving my sister was a brave thing to do, and they praised him instead.
At his funeral, which should have been filled with sorrow, no less. Honestly, it was surprising. My heart had been heavy, not knowing what I should say to apologize.
Thanks to his bereaved family, the weight in my chest had been lifted at once.
Because they told me that apologizing to them would instead be belittling the agent's brave achievements.
So I didn't apologize to them separately... But still, repaying the debt to the agent who protected my precious family would be the proper thing to do.
"Looks like you've made up your mind?"
"Yeah, I've decided to go and fight."
"Won't you regret it?"
"I won't. I don't even intend to."
"I see."
Yata smiled with satisfaction, as if confirming my resolve.
In the future Yata had seen, had this decision been the right future? Was that why she was smiling?
I didn't know the meaning of that smile.
But I wasn't going to reverse my current decision going forward.
"Fox, I took down fewer than you. Incompetent."
"Don't talk nonsense. You just got a head start, didn't you?"
A scuffle between the two Divine Beasts could be heard from a distance.
The cleanup of the surrounding terrorists must have been finished.
If so, it meant we just had to take them and go fight now.
"Hey, Yata."
"What?"
"Me, when this is all over, I'm going to go see my family for the first time in a while..."
"Dear husband."
"Hm?"
"Shut up. That's a death flag."
"Okay..."