Chapter 43
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The Walls Close In
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Psssssh…!
The sound of crackling lightning came from Rireu's small staff.
From Rex's prosthetic arm and axe handle came the clang of steel on steel, while from Trian's longbow came the sound of the bowstring being drawn to its limit.
Thud!
With a massive tremor, a spider's leg shattered the door, breaking into the room we occupied.
“Ogiar de Astellaaaa!”
The barbarian, a man of devout faith, paid homage to his god as he swung his massive axe.
A powerful war cry was followed by the sound of air tearing apart in all directions.
Rex's axe sliced off the foreleg of a wolf spider covered in fur, but the monster didn't even scream, simply shoving the severed limb into the room.
Bright blue blood stained Rex's body as the severed leg rolled to where Rireu and I stood. The wolf spider rubbed the stump of its leg against the floor and forced its enormous head through the doorway.
Whoosh!
Trian's arrow struck the wolf spider squarely in the eye. The grievously wounded creature faltered, but the force of the other spiders pressing from behind drove it forward, forcing its body further into the room.
Before the wolf spider's body could even get through the small doorway, another spider's leg pierced through the gap.
The wolf spider, wedged in the doorway, thrashed its legs, which were dripping with blue blood. The viscous blue liquid covered everything.
The hairy wolf spider writhed, trying to free itself from the doorway, and as a result, cracks began to form along the entire wall connected to the doorframe.
Whoosh!
Once again, Rex's axe sliced through the air. The wolf spider's head split in two, and life began to drain from the fur-covered monster's body.
The wolf spider's corpse became a barricade of sorts, firmly blocking the doorway and cutting off the path for the other spiders.
Thud!
Thud!
Like a horde of zombies, the giant spiders rammed their bodies against the wolf spider's corpse blocking the doorway. Before long, the dead spider's body began to swell like a balloon.
I aimed the red crystal at the entrance and took a deep breath.
Moments later, the wolf spider's corpse blocking the path burst, spraying viscera and chunks of flesh into the room.
“Bolt.”
A brilliant white flash shot forward from the tip of Rireu's staff. Two small spiders, covered in the remains of the giant wolf spider, squeezed through the doorway.
One of the two small spiders was struck by Rireu's white lightning and began to stagger. She had held back its power to avoid making a thunderous noise, so she hadn't managed to kill the monster in one shot.
Trian fired several arrows at the small spider staggering from the lightning strike.
Five arrows struck the joint between the spider's thorax and abdomen, and soon, the second spider collapsed helplessly, spilling its blood on the floor.
I fired a beam of light from the red crystal at the other of the two spiders that had entered the room.
“Dammit…”
My vision was blurry.
It felt like my brain wasn't getting enough air. My head was foggy, and the sensation in my fingertips and toes was fading.
The aftereffects of being caught in the explosion hadn't subsided.
It felt as if my body was screaming at my brain, protesting why it had to keep moving when it was already struggling just to heal its torn wounds.
That damn hyperventilation was about to start again.
Any other time, maybe, but not now.
Clinging to that thought alone, I tried my best to control my breathing and hold on.
A crimson flash traced a straight line, grazing the spider's body.
The distance was considerable, and the target was small.
I was already unfamiliar with the sensation of controlling the artifact, and now the symptoms of hyperventilation were setting in.
Under these circumstances, accurately aiming at the small spider scuttling about on its fast-moving legs was no easy task.
The crimson flash only managed to tear off two of the small spider's legs. As expected, the monster didn't scream. It lunged, using its exposed stumps to push off the floor, aiming to sink its venomous fangs into Rex's neck.
Crunch!
Rex shoved his prosthetic arm into the mouth of the monster that had leaped for his throat.
He immediately swung his prosthetic arm, still inside the spider's mouth, and slammed it against the dungeon wall. The small spider, half Rex's size, was instantly turned to pulp.
Rex dragged his prosthetic arm along the dungeon wall. The spider's body disintegrated as if ground in a shredder, and his prosthetic was stained a brilliant blue.
“Bin, Sir Bin…!”
Seeing my ragged breathing, Rireu wore a worried expression.
“Hahh…! Focus, Rireu, focus!”
It's just hyperventilation. My head is a little dizzy, and my vision is dark, that's all.
Compared to Rex, who took the full force of the explosion and is now holding the front line, this is nothing.
I shouted at Rireu, urging her on. She was several years older than me, but in the heat of battle, there was no time for formalities.
“They keep coming! Mages, stop messing around and focus!”
Rireu quickly turned her head away from me and refocused her gaze on the tip of her staff.
The red crystal above my shoulder was about to disperse. As the colors of my surroundings faded, I concentrated on the foreign sensation near my heart and barely managed to maintain the crystal.
I refuse to be any more of a burden.
Thud!
The fight raged on.
A giant spider with blazing red eyes began to force its legs and body inside, just as the wolf spider had done.
Rex raised his axe to sever its legs.
At that moment, an immense, inexplicable pressure emanated from behind the cracked wall.
“This is insane…!”
Sensing the change, Rex hastily brought the axe he had raised high back to his chest and ducked his head.
A spider leg, sharp as a blade, sliced through the space where Rex's head had been. Immediately after, the wall he had been leaning against crumbled, revealing the head of the red-eyed spider on the other side.
The spider intended to swallow Rex whole, along with the crumbling bricks. Seeing its mouth full of venomous fangs, Rex hurriedly rolled away, leaving a smear of his own melted flesh on the floor.
“Hngh…!”
It must have been quite painful, as Rex let out a rare groan. But his body didn't slow down for a second due to the pain.
“Bolt!”
Rireu's second flash of light pierced the red-eyed giant spider's mouth and fried its insides. The red spider froze for an instant.
I didn't miss the opening and aimed the red crystal at it. Since it was stunned and its body was so large, I wouldn't miss this time.
Concentration.
Even as my breathing faltered and my vision blurred, I somehow maintained my focus through sheer force of will.
It was a desperate struggle not to be a burden to the party.
The crimson flash shot out again in a straight line, striking the red-eyed spider directly in the head.
The attack was a perfect hit.
But the monster didn't die.
With half its head blown off, the spider kept moving. Rex quickly swung his axe, climbed up the dying giant spider's leg, and brought his axe down on its head.
The red-eyed giant spider's hide was incredibly tough. Rex had to swing his axe at the creature's head four times before the massive monster's body slowly collapsed to the floor.
Another giant monster was dead.
But the battle wasn't over.
As the red-eyed spider fell, it completely demolished the damaged wall. This created another path connecting the room where the anxious spiders waited to the one we were defending.
Over the giant spider's corpse, new legs appeared once again.
Powerful magic created loud noises, so it couldn't be used in this situation. To effectively hold off so many enemies with limited firepower, we needed to restrict their approach.
Therefore, the wall collapsing and creating a second path for the monsters was the worst possible scenario.
“Damn it, Rex, fall back! We're retreating one room to reform our lines! Mages, cover Rex with me so he can get back!”
We had to fight on the most advantageous terrain possible. The monsters were powerful, yet we mages had to intentionally reduce the power of our spells to avoid making any thunderous sounds.
Rex began to back away, fending off the legs of the spiders lunging at him with his axe and prosthetic arm.
If he turned his back now, he would be impaled on the spiders' legs. The mages and the archer had to somehow create an opening for him.
“Ngh…!”
A volley of Trian's arrows rained down. His quiver was growing lighter. The lighter Trian's quiver became, the colder the chill grew.
I aimed the crystal at the spiders that were starting to climb over the red spider's back into our room, slowly taking one step back at a time.
A chill.
Watching the spiders charge at us relentlessly with their eerie eyes, I couldn't help but feel it.
It wasn't just because they were more ferocious and horrifying than I had imagined.
The number.
That's right, the numbers didn't add up.
Before the battle, Trian had clearly said there were seven spiders following us.
One wolf spider, two small spiders, and one giant, red-eyed spider.
A total of four had lost their lives, which meant there should have been three spiders left in front of us.
But strangely, only two spiders had shown themselves.
“…One.”
I don't know how I managed to sense this anomaly. I lacked battle experience, and my brain wasn't getting enough oxygen, causing my vision to white out.
It was probably thanks to the [Composure] trait.
“Wait.”
A chill seized the back of my neck.
Driven by instinct, I scanned my eyes from side to side.
Was it coming through the door, not the collapsed wall?
No, there was nothing but spider guts in the doorway.
Then where was the last one…
Patter.
Before I could finish the thought, cold debris fell and tapped against my shoulder.
