Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Ant Nest! (8)
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Holding their breath as much as possible, they waited quietly for the situation to pass.
"Shh! Stay still...!"
An ironic situation—his face pressed against her stomach, his hand wrapped around her waist.
Seemingly oblivious to her presence, he remained perfectly still, eyes scanning the surroundings.
Feeling the warmth from his hand, Hedi grimaced.
...Because it was the first time her body had touched a man's like this.
She had some complaints, but she had to admit it.
The Queen of the Spiders was prowling right outside the cave, and he had thrown them both into this blind spot while holding her.
It had been a split-second decision. If the spider had spotted them, it would've been a desperate fight for survival.
Hedi held her breath and peered out of the cave alongside him.
...The Queen of the Spiders was moving somewhere, her massive eight legs stepping in perfect sequence.
Looking closer, she realized it was heading straight for their cave.
"...!"
What now?
If it entered the cave, they were done for—they'd be discovered no matter what.
Hedi's focus wavered.
"Follow me!"
At that moment, the thug boss grabbed Hedi's hand and pulled her along.
"W-What are you doing...? Trying to get us caught?"
"Quiet and follow!"
The two whispered as they slipped behind the pile of corpses.
Soon, the thug boss flattened himself behind the corpses.
He let his arms and legs dangle limply.
Not hiding, but pretending to be a corpse.
Hedi's mind couldn't keep up with his actions for a moment.
"...?"
"What are you waiting for? Hurry and do the same!"
Caught off guard, Hedi awkwardly lay down beside the thug boss in an equally limp pose.
"Kikikikik..."
The Queen of the Spiders entered the cave mouth.
She sent her pack of Big Spiders to the rear, rummaged through the corpse pile, then began devouring her meal with her long chelicerae.
"Kachak... Kazak..."
Even though they were already dead bodies, they had been human until moments ago.
Watching them being gnawed on right in front of her eyes brought a wave of shock and nausea.
Hedi steadied her breathing with effort.
The Queen of the Spiders seemed focused entirely on her meal, ignoring their spot.
"...When I give the signal, get up and run."
"...?"
In the midst of it all, the thug boss whispered.
Hedi doubted her ears for a second.
Run in this situation?
Was he crazy enough to want to end up as spider food right now?
But there wasn't a hint of hesitation on his face.
Did he know some way to escape this massive monster?
For some reason, Hedi felt drawn into his eyes and nodded amid the chaos.
He lowered his head again and immersed himself in playing dead.
That's when the Queen of the Spiders, having devoured nearly half the corpses, approached Hedi's side and thrust her chelicerae forward.
'Gasp-!'
Hedi jolted in surprise.
The thug boss had suddenly sprung to his feet.
"...?!"
Sensing movement from the corpses, the Queen of the Spiders hesitated in shock.
The thug boss seized that brief opening and darted forward.
He pulled out the longsword he'd hidden in the corpse pile and slashed at the spider queen's massive chelicerae.
"Hup-!"
-Stab!
The longsword pierced the Queen of the Spiders' jaw sharply.
"Kigeek, kikikikikikikigik!"
The Queen of the Spiders let out a pained screech and reared up swiftly.
"Now! Run!!"
"...?!"
He grabbed Hedi's hand once more and pulled her along.
Caught off guard, Hedi ran too.
They burst out of the cave, and she felt the Queen of the Spiders, now fully alert, shaking the ground as she pursued them.
-Thud thud thud thud thud!
The frantic footsteps of the two echoed through the cave.
It was while they were running like mad.
"Susususu!"
"Su, sususu!"
A swarm of Big Spiders armed with daggers blocked their path ahead.
"...! So they figured it out from hearing the queen's cry?!"
"...!"
The leader up front panicked.
Even in this chaos, the Queen of the Spiders was closing in at tremendous speed.
Hedi panicked too but urgently drew her sheathed sword and slashed through the Big Spider swarm.
They couldn't afford to waste time here, or the one behind would catch up.
One by one, she cut them down.
The Big Spiders blocking the way were cleared.
The path was fully open, and just as they thought to flee again...
"Kikikikikikigik!"
"...!"
Had they wasted too much time?
The Queen of the Spiders, her jaw pierced and furious from head to toe, was already right upon them.
One step of her eight long legs, and she'd reach them.
'Too late...!'
An overwhelming pressure emanated from her massive body and aura.
Hedi's animal instincts screamed.
...There's no way to beat this thing.
She hadn't even broken through the 3-star realm—how could she face the monster before her?
If she'd known it would come to this, she should've trained more secretly at home.
'Is this the end...?'
The first time she'd spotted the Queen of the Spiders, terror had frozen her in place.
In her panic, she'd thought the thug boss's quick judgment had given them a momentary chance to live.
But it was impossible. Even giving it their all, escape was out of reach.
No helping it.
Hedi steeled her resolve inwardly.
"Hey, thug boss."
"Yeah?"
Hedi stepped forward toward the Queen of the Spiders.
Sword raised, eyes filled with determination.
No plan whatsoever.
"Go."
"What?"
"I said go. You trying to get yourself killed?"
"..."
There was no need for two corpses.
And... without him, she'd have died back in that corpse cave long ago.
For that brief time, he was her lifesaver.
"Kikikikigik..."
"..."
Facing the monster up close, she felt it.
No chance of winning at all.
Suddenly, Hedi felt her life had been truly unlucky.
She'd finally clawed her way out of that hellish pit of a life.
Only to face death now.
What a cruel sky.
...But she didn't want to die.
She'd survive by any means and become a Sword Master.
She wanted to fulfill that dream.
Not to become a woman bound to a man, helpless without one.
To stand proudly before the world as herself until the end.
So she couldn't die.
Hedi slowly walked toward the Queen of the Spiders.
Raising her sword, bracing for the attack.
But then.
"Hey."
"...?"
"I said run. Did you not hear me?"
It was strange.
He hadn't run away.
As she approached the Queen of the Spiders, he walked beside her.
Even raising his chipped, pathetic-looking longsword as if ready to fight.
"This isn't a monster you can handle. So don't worry about me and just run."
He said it calmly.
But his expression held some dissatisfaction.
"Why should I?"
"...What?"
"Leave you behind and run in a situation like this? That's not what a man does."
"..."
Hedi was stunned for a moment.
Then, despite herself, a chuckle escaped.
She'd seen countless guys invoke "manhood" up to now.
But wasn't this one the best of them?
She'd always thought guys who brought up manhood were just bluffing.
How many men would stand their ground, claiming to be men, even with death staring them down?
He'd often met her eyes at the academy too.
Was he interested in her?
If she'd known he was such a decent guy, she would've paid more attention to him, Hedi thought.
He faced forward and assumed his stance.
Hedi stopped thinking and entered combat readiness too.
And right then.
As if refusing to give them more time, the Queen of the Spiders charged at full speed.
"Kikikikikigik!"
Her path was straight at Hedi.
Tremendous speed. Fueled by rage, it was an all-out emotional charge.
"Hup!"
Hedi twisted her body largely to dodge the Queen of the Spiders' rush nimbly.
-Boom!
The Queen of the Spiders smashed into the cave wall with a miss.
Seizing the moment, Hedi capitalized on the creature's exaggerated motion.
'Water Sword Arts, Second Form: Waterwheel...!'
Hedi's body bent fluidly backward.
The technique was swordsmanship she'd learned in Laura's class—her idol's lesson.
Unlike a standard vertical slash, it traced a highly precise arc to maximize sharpness.
-Whoosh!
-Slash!
"Kigeek!"
She landed a precise strike on its side.
But.
"Kikikikigik!"
"Ngh!"
It was just a graze.
She'd cut cleanly, but the body was so huge it amounted to no more than a scratch.
The Queen of the Spiders turned her head toward Hedi, lowered her chelicerae-tipped head, then whipped it upward in a rapid headbutt.
-Clang!
Hedi, who had blocked it with her sword, was flung into the air by the recoil.
"Hah-!"
"Kikikigik!"
And that wasn't all.
A white liquid shot straight at her.
Spewed from the Queen of the Spiders' body.
A massive amount of spider silk. Airborne and defenseless, Hedi couldn't block it.
-Splurt!
The silk enveloped her upper body.
Luckily, it missed her face. Otherwise, her airways would've been sealed.
No, was it luck...?
The Queen of the Spiders slowly approached the now-defenseless Hedi.
"Ngh!"
Hedi struggled, wriggling her limbs every which way, but the powerful adhesive made it impossible.
'Is this... the end?'
Terror began to color Hedi's emotions.
"No! I said no—get away!!"
She thrashed with all her might.
But the silk didn't budge.
"Kikikikikigik..."
Seeing the terrified Hedi, the Queen of the Spiders clacked her chelicerae gleefully, making a chilling sound.
One step, two steps.
The monster drew close enough to touch Hedi.
With each approach, the hope in Hedi's eyes faded bit by bit.
She thought it was truly over now.
-Kwarung!
"Kikikikiki-!!"
But then.
In an instant, the area lit up blue, flickered, and a deafening roar echoed as the Queen of the Spiders writhed.
Baflled Hedi.
She turned her head back to see what happened.
And was shocked once more.
"...!"
Blood was pouring from the Queen of the Spiders' side—the spot she hadn't been able to cut.
And profusely.
A straight gash across its body, a major wound.
"H-How...?!"
To inflict this kind of damage on this monster, there was only one answer.
Aura.
No Sword Expert could wound it like this without drawing mana at the 3-star realm or higher.
The shocked Hedi turned to the thug boss, facing the Queen of the Spiders.
There, she saw.
A swordsman gripping his sword tightly with both hands, blue aura raging wildly around the blade.
It was the thug boss.
His entire body glowed with blue light.
Yet he looked utterly nonchalant, as if he had no idea what he'd just done.