Spider Queen (2)
“Chu!”
A golden ball of fluff.
Chuchu.
His unexpected arrival lit a spark of hope in Archeron's eyes.
“Chu!”
Chuchu zipped right up to Khan like a shot and pulled out a brown herb with nine leaves from his belly pouch.
Gujijayeop Herb.
A potent antidote that dramatically boosted physical recovery rates for a short time.
If they fed this to Khan, the poison would be neutralized in no time.
“Chu!”
Chuchu thrust the Gujijayeop Herb right toward Khan's mouth.
But.
There was an unexpected problem.
“Hek... hek...”
He held it right under Khan's nose.
Yet Khan just kept staring endlessly toward where the third pup was.
He cared more about his pup's safety than his own body—that was why he reacted like this.
“Chuuu!”
Chuchu tried pressing the Gujijayeop Herb to Khan's mouth again.
He squeaked once more at the unmoving Khan.
“Chuchu!”
(Eat this, and I'll use Popo's fluids on the third pup right away!)
“Hek... hek...”
Only then did Khan finally turn to look at Chuchu.
His dilated pupils blurred his vision as he gazed at Chuchu for a moment.
And then.
Crunch!
He stuck out his snout and chomped down on the Gujijayeop Herb.
“Chu!”
Seeing that, Chuchu immediately dashed to the fallen third shadow wolf pup.
He yanked Popo's fluids from his belly pouch.
“Chuchu chu!”
“Keron. I'll assist.”
Keron joined Chuchu, slathering Popo's fluids all over the third pup's body.
Then.
Woooong!
A faint green and brown glow began to emanate.
“Awoooo—!”
“Awoooo!”
The shadow wolves howled in unison.
They could feel it.
Life force starting to fill the faint breaths of the third pup.
“Chu!”
Chuchu applied the remaining Popo fluids to Khan as well.
“Awoooo!”
Khan recovered at a rapid pace.
Thanks to the Gujijayeop Herb and Popo's fluids, his wounds healed in an instant, and he rose to his feet.
He rushed straight to the third pup and timidly licked its face.
“Kiiing...”
As if sensing the warmth, the third pup slowly opened its eyes.
The moment it did, it whined and cried out toward Khan.
“Ah...”
I watched the scene and let out a sigh of relief.
It had been really touch-and-go.
Archeron wiping out the spider insectoids was satisfying, but I had no idea how to save the fallen shadow wolves after that.
Chuchu, when did this guy even run off there?
The more I saw of Chuchu, the more he seemed like a walking lucky charm.
“Chuchu, good job! Archeron, good job too!”
Dania had even tossed aside her half-eaten Glacial Fruit to cheer them on.
“Phew. Thank goodness. Really.”
“Popo!”
Bellerin and Popo finally relaxed as well.
“Awoong! Awoooong!”
Fenril was the same.
He couldn't contain his joy, hopping around excitedly.
Of course—he must have been the most heartbroken watching his parents and siblings suffer.
“Everyone's safe, time to head b—”
I was about to order their return when.
“One more remains.”
Azkai spoke up, his face grave, as if sensing something.
And at that moment.
Shwaaaaa!
A vast spiderweb net that blanketed the entire sky.
- Kaaaaaaa!
A chilling roar echoed.
A being brimming with immense power appeared before Archeron.
That being was none other than.
The Spider Queen.
Somewhere in the eastern forest.
A damp, humid swamp.
This was the territory of the centipede legion.
“I'm sorry, Legion Commander.”
Carsera.
She knelt before Centria, the centipede legion commander.
“You lost an entire division?”
“I-I apologize.”
“Hmmm...”
Centria's brow furrowed at Carsera's words.
“What happened?”
“Well...”
Carsera continued her report.
When they arrived at the northern Glowing Canyon.
They found the Dragon's Lair barrier formation and even the living gate leading inside.
Just as they were about to deploy centipede soldiers to breach the barrier.
They encountered a subordinate of the king-grade outer god slumbering in the Glowing Canyon.
That entity was the Crystal Magistrate, one of the highest-ranking light guardians.
In the end, the entire division was annihilated by his hand.
“The Crystal Magistrate was awake?”
“Yes. That's correct.”
“Indeed. This is no ordinary Dragon's Lair.”
“I felt the same. It might be the lair of the elemental or chaos dragon that Lord Vermith seeks.”
“Not a chaos dragon. Probably not elemental either.”
Shrrrrr!
Centria's massive centipede lower body rippled like waves.
“Still, the possibility of a Genesis-grade Dragon's Lair on par with that is very high.”
She continued with a sinister grin.
“Summon the remaining division commanders. I'll head there myself.”
Centria, commander of the centipede legion.
She mobilized a massive centipede army and began marching toward the Glowing Canyon.
“Archeron. Massive mana detection. Combat ready.”
Whoooosh!
Archeron's core, which had quieted, began pulsing hotly again.
He detected an overwhelming combat power.
At least on par with that Karmarks bastard from before.
Shwaaaaa!
Suddenly, a vast spiderweb net darkened the sky, raining down from above.
The range was so immense there was no dodging or escaping it.
At this rate, Archeron, Chuchu, and the shadow wolves would all be ensnared helplessly.
“Overlord Discharge.”
Kraka ka ka ka!
His core boiled over, unleashing supercharged energy.
Higher output meant higher mobility.
Thus.
Whiiiiiish!
He shot through the air so fast he left afterimages.
As a result, he sliced through every web net descending around him.
“Chuchu!”
Chuchu, who had nearly been caught, let out a relieved squeak.
“Chuchu. Shadow wolves, retreat.”
Archeron issued the next order.
“Chu!”
Chuchu was quick on the uptake.
Whiiish!
He darted like lightning through the shadow wolves.
Severing every web binding their bodies.
And not just that.
The ▲ shards scattered on the ground.
He scooped every last one into his belly pouch without fail.
“Go!”
“Chuchu!”
“Awoooo!”
Chuchu and the shadow wolves were about to flee when.
“Where do you think you're going?”
Sshwaaaaa!
Arachne descended from the sky on her webs.
Her upper body resembled a human woman, but her lower half was a massive spider's form.
“Heavenly Net of No Escape.”
The moment she appeared, she reached toward the sky.
Then, something astonishing happened.
Kwaaaaa!
Spiderwebs erupted from the ground.
A 50-meter dome of spiderwebs formed around her.
“No one leaves this place without my permission.”
Murderous intent gleamed in her eight eyes.
“Keron.”
Archeron realized retreat was impossible.
In that case.
Strike first.
“Ultra-High-Speed Maneuver activated.”
Kwa boom!
Glowing wings unfurled from his back.
He charged at Arachne with near-teleport speed.
Whiiiiiish!!
Tera Blade slashed across the air.
Kwa boom!
Arachne's arm morphed into a black spine, blocking the attack.
But Archeron's assault didn't end there.
“Keron.”
Flames flickered in Archeron's eyes as he swung Tera Blade like a beam of light.
Bam! Bam! Kwaaaaang!
Each strike like a bolt of lightning.
But Arachne was no pushover.
She blocked every assault with mana-infused spider legs sprouting from her back.
And she counterattacked.
Whiiish, boom!!!!
The two clashed evenly.
“Kaaaaht—!”
Suddenly, toxic mist spewed from Arachne's mouth.
Sizzle!
Even a graze corroded Archeron's outer armor.
And with that.
Stretch.
The tips of her ten spider legs split open, firing web traps like machine guns.
Ploploploplop!
Webs sprayed everywhere.
The ground became impossible to stand on.
Fortunately, Archeron could maneuver in the air.
“Ah! That legion commander's tougher than she looks.”
“Yeah. No joke.”
Bellerin and I clicked our tongues, watching the fight.
Arachne's ten legs made close combat tricky, and her constant poison mist and web traps were shrinking Archeron's maneuverability.
Honestly, at first I thought Archeron had it in the bag.
But things were getting dicey.
The vice-commander was level 330, not much lower, so I hoped Archeron could overwhelm her too.
But no.
Arachne had more than levels.
Maybe it was the difference in ★ stars.
No escape route is the big problem.
Retreat looked wise now.
But with Chuchu and the shadow wolves trapped in the web dome, it was tough.
If this dragged into a war of attrition, Archeron would be at a severe disadvantage.
Combat Stance Lv5 wouldn't last forever.
“Archeron. Precision Strike Mode.”
Ziiing!
Archeron soared into the air, deploying cannons across his body.
He felt it too.
Dragging this out was hopeless.
“Annihilation Beam lock-on.”
Kiriririt.
Click.
“Fire.”
Kwaaaaaaaa!!
Annihilation Beam poured from the cannons toward Arachne.
Not just one.
Continuous fire.
But.
Ploploploploplop!
Arachne's mobility was insane.
Her eight legs on her massive lower body dodged the beams with agility beyond Archeron's expectations.
“Whiriririririk—!”
She unleashed a bizarre high-frequency screech.
Then.
Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click.
The sound of spiders crawling echoed from all directions.
The source was.
“Crazy...”
“A swarm of baby spiders...”
Thousands of spiderlings surged like a tidal wave.
“Keron...”
Archeron was speechless at the sight.
So were the rest of us watching.
“Archeron! Break out somehow!”
Archeron turned his cannons to blast the web dome wall at my shout.
But.
“Chuchu!”
“Awoooo!”
“Awoooo!”
Chuchu and the shadow wolves.
They were about to be overwhelmed by the incoming spiderlings.
“Annihilation Beam fire.”
Kwaaaaa!
Archeron had no choice but to use it on the spiderlings.
And in that brief opening.
Whiiiiiish!
Thwack!
“Keron—”
Webs tangled Archeron's thrusters and light wings, sending him crashing to the ground.
“No!”
“Ah.”
At this rate, he wouldn't last.
That's when.
In the dire situation.
An unexpected sound rang out.
Craaaaaack.
It was.
Azkai successfully mimicking Archeron's Dimension Slash.
“Got it.”
Gazing beyond the torn dimensional rift.
Flames of fury boiled in Azkai's eyes.