Chapter 28
Clutching my blood-stained palm, I dragged myself to the top of the canyon and forced my trembling legs to hold me upright.
This is where it begins.
“Over here!”
Boom!
It probably couldn’t hear me, but I shouted with all my might toward the Gigantic Arachne and cast the same spell I had used on the smaller spider monsters to draw its attention.
With a thunderous blast, the silver carapace on one of its legs blackened and charred.
So that’s all it does, huh.
As expected, magic alone couldn’t cause any meaningful damage.
But even this much was enough to serve my purpose.
“Kyaaaaaaah!!”
The Gigantic Arachne roared at me.
Even from this distance, it recognized me instantly. Considering the spell left barely a mark on its hide, that was already a big accomplishment.
Or maybe…
Perhaps it was under the control of Limos Therion.
I remembered the winged monsters that had flown up behind him.
And how he had stood tall among the creatures, strangely untouched.
No, none of that mattered right now.
I must survive. I cannot die here.
Forcing my senses sharp despite the nausea churning inside me, I leapt with magic.
I wedged myself between the narrow cracks of the cliffside, luring the Gigantic Arachne after me.
Rumble!
Every time the monster’s massive legs lashed out, solid rock crumbled and collapsed in chunks.
A little more, just a little more.
I pushed my body to its limits, racing across the canyon’s rim, using both hands to vault over jagged outcrops.
Even breathing through both mouth and nose, my throat screamed as if there wasn’t enough air.
When was the last time I’d run like this?
Ah, I remember. Just days ago.
That day I returned even after dying to the curse.
Back then, I had wandered aimlessly, running through the halls without knowing where I was headed… surviving simply because I couldn’t die.
“Urgh.”
Squelch!
The rock beneath my foot was slick with some unknown fluid. My step slipped badly.
My ankle twisted, my knee scraped against the stone—
“Ha…!”
—but I couldn’t afford to stay down.
Biting my lip hard, I stood again, smashed the neck of my last elixir bottle, and poured its contents into my mouth. Even the second it would take to pull out the wax stopper was too precious.
I had to keep running.
The moment I pushed off again, a leg the size of a house smashed down where I had just been, the gust from it chilling my back.
I nearly pitched forward.
“Huff…!”
My knees threatened to buckle, but I forced them upright and kept running.
Close. Too close.
Bathed in glaring light, I ran, feeling the Gigantic Arachne’s entire focus locked solely onto me.
I had doubted if I alone could provoke it—but it was chasing me, without hesitation, without distraction.
“Huff, hah… haah.”
Finally, I reached the spot I had planned.
Here, the canyon walls narrowed too much for the Gigantic Arachne to enter freely.
Had it carefully broken its way inward from the outside, it might have managed. But in its haste to pursue me, it now found the gap too tight.
“Screeeech!!”
Still, it forced its way forward, grotesquely folding its long legs and ramming its torso into the gap.
Exactly what I wanted.
Yes, that’s it…!
With its pursuit slowed drastically, I crawled toward the narrowest end of the canyon, catching my breath.
From here, I could faintly see Ethan battling the remaining monsters in the sky. I had run far, but the distance wasn’t that great.
Most of the swarming creatures were already plummeting to the ground.
He really is a monster…
Coming from me, who was luring a giant spider, that was saying something.
I gave a dry laugh, only to cough when air caught wrong in my lungs.
All around, smaller monsters still swarmed. Scattered among them were belongings of the scouts who had fallen victim here.
The sight unsettled me—but I had no time to dwell on it. The Gigantic Arachne had forced its way almost to my heels.
“Huff… this is it.”
Crash!!
I drove a longsword I had picked up deep into the canyon with magic and unleashed a shockwave through it, triggering the collapse.
The chain of explosive spells I had planted along the canyon walls ignited in succession.
BOOOOM!!!
It was a tactic I had only half-considered: burying the Gigantic Arachne wedged in the canyon under tons of falling rock.
“Kh—!”
Forcing out so much mana, my throat convulsed and spewed dark blood.
I spat it to the ground, wiping my mouth on my sleeve as I watched the canyon collapse.
CRASH.
It’s getting buried!
The canyon walls surged inward, collapsing simultaneously.
“SKREEEEEEE!!”
The Gigantic Arachne let out a ghastly, boiling shriek as it was crushed under the avalanche of stone.
“Yes!”
Success!
I clenched my fist and shouted hoarsely, throat burning.
No matter how strong it was, it couldn’t escape from under that.
No matter how much it struggled…
Thud.
“…?!”
Rumble.
The collapse didn’t stop.
My magic had been stronger than I anticipated.
The canyon had already been riddled with cracks. Now, even the ground I had believed safe was splitting beneath me.
“Ha—”
I tried to turn and run, but my knees gave out first.
Exhausted, I no longer had the strength to escape.
The fissures spread rapidly, rocks shattering under every step.
What do I do? Should I call for Ethan Behemoth’s help…?
Then, faintly, from below, a voice cried out.
“Please, help me!!”
Half-collapsed against the canyon wall, a scout had been hiding in a small cave, desperately staring at me.
But atop him, baring its fangs toward his face, was a small spider monster.
He clung to its legs with both hands, trembling violently, barely keeping it from tearing his skin apart. He wouldn’t last long without help.
“…Ah.”
I knew that face.
I couldn’t recall his name, but I knew his future. That knight would one day become the hero who saved a kingdom on the brink of ruin.
Tens of thousands of lives depended on him.
Compared to that… my own life was nothing.
Over the roar of collapsing stone, I saw Ethan charging toward me, his face grim as death.
His entire body was stained black and red with blood—his own and the monsters’.
I screamed at him, tearing my throat.
“Ethan, save that knight!!”
Yes. Even if I die, it’s fine.
Ethan glanced toward the knight.
Then back at me.
No. Don’t save me. Save him.
He matters more—!
Without hesitation, Ethan drew his sword and hurled it.
Thunk!
The blade pierced the spider monster’s head cleanly.
Then Ethan hurled himself forward, wrapping his arms around me, shielding me as rocks rained down.
Just like in that cave, when he had saved me before.
Rumble!!
The cliff gave way completely.
As we plummeted into the abyss, he spun, forcing himself beneath me. Shards pummeled his back as we fell endlessly downward.
I scraped together the last of my mana, forming a barrier between his body and mine.
“Kh—!”
“…Haa. Edith Crowell…”
“I told you to save him! Why didn’t you—!”
I struck his chest with a weak fist. His bloodied face pressed into my shoulder, hiding his expression.
“To choose who to save…”
His voice was faint, almost unconscious, weakened by the monster cores he had devoured.
He didn’t sound like the warmonger Ethan Behemoth I knew.
“…such a thing is impossible.”
And with those words, his head drooped.
