The air in the chamber was deathly still.
Every step echoed like a drumbeat on the iron floor, muffled by the heavy drape of silk hanging from the ceiling.
Steam hissed faintly from broken pipes, coiling through the light like smoke.
No one made a sound.
Lucien tightened his grip on his sword, mana pulsing faintly along the hilt.
Kael, Grey, and Cassian flanked him in silence, faces grim.
Rook’s fingers trembled as he reached into his bag.
Even Leila — steady, sharp-eyed Leila — breathed too carefully, afraid the sound might draw attention.
The creature watched them from the edge of the shadows.
Half-woman, half-spider — her beauty and horror blended into something unnatural.
Her long silver hair clung to her shoulders, each strand gleaming faintly in the dim light.
Eight legs braced against the iron floor, muscles coiled tight like drawn wires.
Her body gleamed like glass — black and mirror-smooth — reflecting their faces back at them.
She smiled.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcaIuxXF1p
It was not a kind smile.
“So…” she said softly. “Who should I start with?”
Her voice was melodic — calm and eerily human.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LVFQq0LVm
But beneath it was a faint rasp, like claws on silk.
Lucien didn’t answer. His eyes stayed locked on her movements, his body still.
The Arachne’s many eyes blinked, a ripple of gold and green in the dark.
Rook swallowed hard. “What’s she waiting for?”
Suddenly, a strand of silk shot out from the creature’s hand — faster than sight.
Rook barely ducked in time; the thread cut clean through a steel beam behind him.
“Be careful! On me!” Kael barked.
The group spread out instantly. Bolts flew as the city guards pulled their triggers.
They struck her abdomen — clean hits — but bounced away harmlessly, the tips snapping against her armor.
“What the hell—” Rook’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Kael lunged next, his sword glowing faintly blue with mana. He aimed for the joint of her front leg — the weakest point.
Steel met chitin. Sparks flew. The blade skidded off without leaving so much as a scratch.
“Her armor’s too damn hard!” Kael shouted.
Leila fired three shots in quick succession, each bolt enchanted to pierce steel.
All three shattered on impact. The Arachne barely flinched.
She smiled — a slow, mocking curve of her lips.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNsyIGxjn0
“That tickles.”
Cassian rushed her from the side, swinging upward and slicing across with all his might.
The blade struck true — but instead of tearing through, it hit something impossibly dense.
A heavy, resonant crack echoed through the chamber like shattering bone.
The vibration tore through Cassian’s arm. His grip faltered. He staggered back, teeth gritted in pain.
For a second, he thought the Arachne’s shell had cracked. But when he looked — it hadn’t.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7utwrX4WwW
His sword had.
A jagged line split the blade down the middle, glowing faintly where the mana still burned within it.
Then, with a final metallic groan, it broke apart — fragments clattering to the floor.
Cassian froze, stunned. His breath caught in his throat.
The Arachne tilted her head, amusement flickering across her sharp, beautiful face.
She looked down at the broken weapon, then back at him.
“Was that supposed to kill me?” she asked, voice soft as silk. “You’ll need better toys.”
Her fangs glinted as she smiled wider.
Then one of her legs darted out — fast as a whip — and struck Cassian square in the chest, sending him flying backward into a wall of webbing.
The impact shook the metal frame behind it. He gasped, air ripped from his lungs.
“Cassian!” Lucien shouted, but before he could take a step, the Arachne moved again — impossibly fast, her body a blur of shadow and silver.
Eight legs cut through the air like blades, striking with the precision of a duelist and the speed of a storm.
Each step rang against the metal floor — clang, clang, clang — as one of her legs aimed straight for Lucien.
He met the first strike head-on — but just barely.
Steel clashed against chitin, sparks bursting in the dim light.
He twisted his wrist, deflecting a leg that shot for his throat, then spun away from another that tried to impale his side.
The Arachne laughed — a low, melodic sound that echoed through the chamber.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONIUP9d3FH
“Very impressive. You surprised me, human.”
Another leg stabbed toward him. Lucien parried again, his blade sliding along hers in a shower of sparks — but the next three followed immediately after.
He blocked two; the third sliced across his shoulder plate, cutting deep into the flesh beneath.
He gritted his teeth, stepping back.
She didn’t give him time to breathe.
Her movements blurred — a whirlwind of silver hair and black limbs.
Every strike was faster than the last, every feint more precise.
Her legs were longer than swords, harder than steel, and she used all eight like extensions of her will.
Lucien ducked low, pivoting beneath a leg that speared past his head, and drove his blade upward in return.
The strike connected — but only enough to spark harmlessly off her shell.
The Arachne’s smile widened. “My turn.”
A leg lashed out, slamming into Lucien’s chest.
He barely crossed his sword in time to block, the impact hurling him several paces back.
The iron floor groaned beneath his boots.
Kael moved in, blocking the creature’s path. “You’ll have to get through me!”
He dashed forward, his blade blazing with mana. A second later, Grey followed — silent, focused, his twin daggers gleaming like ghostlight.
They moved in perfect sync.
Kael met her frontal assault, parrying one of the spider legs as Grey slipped around to flank her.
He slashed across one of the joints — quick, precise — but his blade rebounded with a metallic screech.
The Arachne turned, her movements fluid and terrifyingly fast.
Four of her legs struck at once — two deflecting Kael’s blade, two snapping toward Grey.
Grey leapt back just in time, his coat sliced open at the waist.
“Her armor’s unbreakable!” Kael shouted, blocking another strike that nearly crushed him. “We can’t pierce it!”
Lucien straightened, eyes sharp, mana surging through his veins as he rejoined the fight.
“Then aim for the gaps!” he called out. “The joints — the underside!”
The Arachne shifted her weight, her greenish eyes gleaming with amusement.
She chuckled softly. “You humans are so cute when you’re desperate.”
Her eyes glinted in the dim light as she turned her gaze to Lucien.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgXLQMYYxV
“But you… you’re different. I can smell it.”
Her voice lowered to a whisper, like silk sliding over steel. “You’d make a fine meal.”
Lucien said nothing. His stance tightened, mana pulsing faintly along his sword.
Then — a glass vial came spinning through the air, tumbling end over end — its surface gleaming crimson.
It hit the creature square on the head.
The vial shattered, splashing a strange, viscous liquid across her hair.
The Arachne’s smile faltered. Her head tilted slightly, one eye narrowing.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqjw2w8OOM
“What—”
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then a burst of orange and blue flames roared to life, crawling up her spider legs and spreading fast — engulfing the creature in fire.
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She shrieked — the sound sharp enough to rattle the walls — as her silk ignited, burning in streaks of light.
“Burn, you eight-legged freak!”
Rook dropped from the upper beams, landing hard beside Kael, his coat smoking from the jump.
The Arachne thrashed violently, slamming her legs against the metal floor.
The flames clung to her body, eating through the silk and scorching her chitin.
The air filled with the smell of burning web and smoke as she screamed in pain.
Lucien saw the opening. “Now!”
He, Kael, and Grey charged at once — blades flashing through the haze.
Kael struck first, his mana-infused sword arcing toward her side.
The blow connected with a ringing clang, sparks scattering in all directions.
Grey followed up, his twin daggers flashing like silver streaks, aiming for the joints beneath her abdomen.
The blades hit — but didn’t cut. The Arachne’s shell barely dented, her armor gleaming through the flame.
Lucien joined in, his sword glowing gold with radiant mana.
He swung hard, the strike landing square across her chest. The impact made her stagger — but even then, Lucien couldn’t pierce her hide.
The Arachne let out a furious shriek, thrashing wildly. Her legs slammed into the floor, tearing up steel plates and sending debris flying.
But the three pressed on, driving her back with blow after blow — not breaking through, but not relenting either.
Kael roared, slamming his boot into her torso, forcing her to stumble.
Grey darted in low, cutting at her legs to trip her balance.
Lucien brought his sword down with a burst of light — the force shaking the whole platform.
The Arachne screeched again, her footing slipping on the scorched metal beneath her.
She tried to anchor herself with silk — but the burned strands failed to hold.
Then, with a metallic groan, the platform edge gave way.
The creature slipped — her claws scraping across the floor — and fell backward into the abyss below.
For a moment, all they could hear was the sound of her body crashing through the layers of web and iron beneath, echoing deeper and deeper… until it faded into silence.
Smoke drifted across the bay.
Rook wiped the sweat from his brow, still clutching his last vial. “There’s no way she’s surviving that fall… right, guys?”
No one answered.
Lucien stood at the edge of the platform, his blade still glowing faintly in his hand.
He stared into the darkness below, where the flames had vanished into black. The silence stretched, heavy and uncertain.
Cassian limped over, one hand pressed against his bruised chest. “Let’s hope,” he said quietly, his voice rough, “that was the last time we ever see her.”
No one disagreed.
Far below, the dark waited — deep, endless, and still.
Lucien turned away first. “Come on,” he said, voice low but firm. “Let’s clear the place. There are still little spiders to kill.”
The others followed, their footsteps echoing through the iron maze as the last wisps of smoke curled upward — and the abyss behind them whispered faintly, as though something down there still breathed...
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