Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Inferno Against the Spider Queen
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Karen's body was like an overheated engine.
Heat haze rose ceaselessly, distorting the space around her.
Sizzle!
Roar!
Screech!
The sulfur spiders couldn't even approach her flames, despite their ability to spew sulfur. Even if they drew near, her sword cleaved everything in bizarre, twisting motions.
Sizzle!
Screech!
No, it wasn't cleaving.
They melted before the blade could even touch them.
Screeech...
What... what power is this? Who are you... who are you?
Roar...
Unprecedented flames surged from Karen's sword, burning everything in sight.
For the first time in her life, Atarak felt fear.
Screech!
Block her! Just block that wench!
Kang Seol and Jamad were dispatching spiders without pause, but compared to Karen's speed, they were relatively slower.
Screech...
Some of the spiders surrounding Jamad and Kang Seol broke off to intercept Karen. They intended to sacrifice themselves to buy time protecting their queen.
Because of this, even after Karen drew her sword, she couldn't close in on Atarak.
"Annoying pests!"
Roar!
Karen dropped into a low-centered horse-riding stance.
No one present recognized the form. Without knowing how to counter or block it, they could only charge in to restrict her movements as much as possible.
Screeee!
In the end, the spiders succeeded in their goal. Karen couldn't unleash her ability smoothly due to their interference.
But.
Rooooaaar!
[Karen uses Fire Flower.]
[Absorbs heat within a certain radius.]
[All flame attack ranges increase by 100%.]
[All damage received while spinning is reduced by 50%.]
[Deals 360% damage per rotation.]
[Stance is unstable.]
[Rotation speed decreases.]
[Rotates 17 times.]
Kirrik...
Her pivoting foot stepped forward.
Kirrik...
She began to spin.
Shwaaaaa!
Rooooaaar!
Kang Seol couldn't hide his shock at Karen's power.
'No way...'
Overwhelming force.
Her display resembled a high-level adventurer massacring low-level foes.
Shraa!
Screeeeeee!
Scree!
Screech...
The spider horde, which seemed poised to crush her by sheer mass, was utterly consumed by the fiery storm she unleashed.
Fire Flower.
From afar, the vortex she created looked just like a flower. Kang Seol finally witnessed why she was called the Scarlet Knight.
'As expected... she held back in lich form.'
Karuna had dialed back his power to avoid killing or injuring his companions.
"Kahaha! It's been ages since I felt this."
Her scarlet blaze was the perfect vanguard for allies, but to Atarak, it was a dirge made manifest.
That was when Jamad noticed something and shouted a warning to Karen.
"Karen! Incoming!"
Screeech...
Douse her in sulfur, witch!
[Atarak uses special ability: Sulfur Barrage.]
[Projectile persists: Affected by Motion Detection.]
[Sulfur Barrage leaves proliferating residue.]
[Sulfur Barrage requires recharge before reuse.]
Atarak hadn't just watched her offspring die.
She had devised her own counter, aiming for an opening in Karen's assault.
Huuuuh...
Kwaaaaa!
A massive sulfur glob erupted from Atarak's mouth as she dangled from the ceiling webs.
"Dodge!"
The barrage's range engulfed not just Karen, but Jamad and Kang Seol too. They scrambled as far from the incoming globs as possible.
Kwaaaaa!
Shwaaa!
When the sulfur detonated, scorching heat boiled the air, and the ground under Kang Seol's group began to vanish.
Sizzzzz...
Fortunately, no one took direct hits.
"Phew... Hey, troll!"
"All good!"
"Master?"
"Me too."
"Kahaha! Hear that? What now, fat spider? Your shot missed."
The remaining spiderlings had mostly been swept up and melted in the barrage. Now, nothing guarded Atarak.
Screech...
Pitiful ignorant child. You think you can kill me?
"Why not?"
Screeech...
If you're so confident, come up here to me.
Atarak's spider face betrayed no expression, but mockery dripped from her words.
And rightly so—Kang Seol's group had no means to strike her.
'She knows her advantage.'
Atarak dangled amid the thick ceiling webs.
To attack, they'd have to climb the webs connecting wall to ceiling.
And leaping into spiderwebs to hunt spiders was sheer madness.
'At this rate, we'll just wait out her Sulfur Barrage recharge. We have to prevent that...'
The terror of Sulfur Barrage lay not just in its raw destruction, but in how it eroded their footing bit by bit.
If they kept taking hits, the group would eventually get blasted and gloriously incinerated.
'Damn it, we're out of options.'
Without ranged summons, they were sitting ducks.
As Kang Seol pondered moves, Jamad's sharp cry pierced his ears.
"Fairy! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Can't you see? That bitch is mocking us! Wait there—I'll drop down and kill her now!"
[Karen is caught in Atarak's spiderweb.]
[Karen's action speed is reduced by 80%.]
'What a hothead!'
Kang Seol grimaced. Karen had recklessly taken the bait and climbed the web.
The result? She was plastered to it in short order.
Everyone present panicked at her recklessness.
"Huh?"
Kang Seol was the most stunned, while Atarak was the most delighted.
Screeee!
Fool! Still acting so boldly!
Her tone was scolding, but Atarak crept toward her faster than anyone, fearing rescue.
"No! Karen! Get free!"
"It's... sticky... damn it... this..."
Screek...
Useless. Once caught in my web, escape is impossible. Time to end this tiresome welcome.
Atarak's foremost leg stabbed toward Karen.
Squiiiish—
At that moment, Karen let out a meaningful laugh.
"Got you, queen spider!"
Scree!
What?
Kwaaaaa!
In an instant, immense heat surged from Karen.
The webs around her ignited fiercely.
"Haat!"
Karen snapped webs to drag Atarak down.
Sizzzzz!
Screeeeeee!
Wh-what are you doing?! Uwaaaaa!
Atarak's front leg caught fire from Karen.
As if she had foreseen it all, Karen declared victory.
"Now, fall and die, you damn spider."
But.
Plop.
Plop plop.
Atarak's burning legs plummeted to the ground. She had severed them herself.
"...What?"
Screek!
You underestimated me, witch. Now taste sulfur fire on the floor.
The burning webs fell with her feet, but Atarak clung to the remaining strands on the ceiling.
The key point wasn't the scant webs left or her lost legs.
It was that she still hung there.
Huuuh...
[Atarak uses special ability: Sulfur Barrage.]
[Projectile persists: Affected by Motion Detection.]
[Sulfur Barrage leaves proliferating residue.]
[Sulfur Barrage requires recharge before reuse.]
"Dodge!"
Kwaaaaa!
Sizzle...
They barely evaded this Sulfur Barrage too.
Kang Seol nearly blacked out from the dizzying heat and stench, but Jamad's quick action snapped him back.
"Ugh... damn it..."
Screech...
Your despair-twisted faces are a delight. Now then...
Desperate straits.
Karen was isolated far from Kang Seol and Jamad, now pondering escape.
Atarak's whispers fell on deaf ears.
Ruruk...
What reached his ears was an alien sound that shouldn't echo here.
Rururuk...
Screeech!
...What? No way?
Krunch!
A massive commotion erupted from the direction of the entrance tunnel.
Something collapsing.
'Did our entry path cave in?'
But why?
Kang Seol pieced it together from the earlier—and ongoing—sounds.
"Kupa!"
Kururuk!
Squawk!
A gale rushed in, fresh air flooding the cavern. Something hurtled toward them at tremendous speed.
Kang Seol realized it was Kupa.
'Smoke venting through a hole?'
Kupa despised fire.
He didn't know how the massive bird detected heat to extinguish flames, but with this much trapped in the cavern, it wasn't surprising Kupa noticed.
Jamad beside Kang Seol grabbed him urgently.
"We gotta bail! Spiders and now a bird... too much!"
"No, doesn't seem targeted at us."
"What?"
Finally, Kupa burst into the cavern.
Even escaping the cavern, they couldn't have evaded Kupa's eyes.
"Kupa!"
Kang Seol spotted the anomaly at a glance. Those eyes told it all.
Rage.
Ancient, seething rage dwelled there.
Screeeeeee!
With an eerie cry, Kupa charged Atarak.
"This... can't be. Why?!"
Jamad gaped in shock.
[Atarak uses Spiderweb Bomb.]
[Projectile persists: Affected by Motion Detection.]
Pong! Boom!
Spiderweb bombs fired at Kupa—Kang Seol assumed it'd dodge naturally.
But Kupa smashed headlong into them.
Thud...
Splat!
[Kupa is caught in Atarak's spiderweb.]
[Kupa's action speed is reduced by 80%.]
'Why? Lost reason to rage?'
Kupa plummeted.
But before hitting the sulfur lake, its wings shredded the webs and flared wide.
[Kupa uses special ability: Nutrient Frenzy.]
[Uses power absorbed from corpse eating to gain immense stats, defense, and resistance for a short time.]
Screeee!
You again! You again! Why do you torment me so?!
Kururuuuk!
Spinning, Kupa dove beak-first at Atarak's head.
Her irritated shriek revealed long years of suffering from Kupa.
Crunch!
Screeeeeee!
One of Atarak's eyes popped under Kupa's beak.
Kraaaaa!
Atarak swayed precariously on her webs.
Screech!
Screech!
Kupa's wingbeats clashed with Atarak's thrashing.
Yet Kupa's bulk paled against Atarak's.
Splat!
At last, Atarak's leg connected, smashing Kupa into the wall near Karen.
Krriiinch!
Screech...
Pesky nuisances... I'll burn you all!
Huuuh...
[Atarak uses special ability: Sulfur Barrage.]
[Projectile persists: Affected by Motion Detection.]
[Sulfur Barrage leaves proliferating residue.]
[Sulfur Barrage requires recharge before reuse.]
Kwaaaaaang!
Sulfur Barrage engulfed their position.
Screech!
Ahh... victory is sweet.
Atarak assumed they couldn't dodge.
Whooo...
Whooo...
But Kupa narrowly evaded, soaring aloft to charge her again.
Screeee!
No, stay back! Stay away!
With Karen mounted on its back.
Thwup!
Karen leaped skyward from Kupa's back.
Her stance looked precarious, and Atarak saw an opening, gaping her maw wide.
Screeech!
Come into my mouth, little one! I'll chew you up!
Thump!
Karen's form slipped effortlessly into Atarak's maw.
"Karen!"
And.
[Karen uses Crimson Lotus Slash.]
Shliiiick.
With a rending slice, Atarak's body split cleanly in two.
The unscathed Karen emerged from within, sheathing her sword.
"You're the one burning to death."
Atarak's corpse, wreathed in flames, tumbled from its cozy web nest.
As Kang Seol confirmed Karen's safety, messages appeared.
[Defeated Atarak: Last Descendant of Anakindria.]
[Achievement 'Why Did You Come to My House?' acquired.]
[Title 「Uninvited Guest」 obtained.]