Chapter 26: No One Is Born a Hero (12):
From the cave halfway up the cliff, even the full body of the Gigantic Arachne wasn’t fully visible. That’s how massive it was.
Monsters in the “Gigantic” category rarely appeared, even in later times. And thank goodness for that. Even when I had reached the peak of my strength, dealing with Gigantic-class monsters was no easy task.
So now? It went without saying.
‘Could we possibly take it down if I joined forces with Ethan Behemoth?’
I glanced at him, then quietly turned my head back.
Even Ethan Behemoth, as he was now, wouldn’t be able to handle that thing. He needed to become stronger. Not to mention, we had no experience working together yet.
‘Still… the terrain is in our favor.’
But would any tactic work in front of overwhelming power?
Watching the Gigantic Arachne topple the grand canyon walls with just a few kicks, I clicked my tongue.
‘This is absurd.’
Instead of planning to face that thing, it would be far more realistic to figure out how to escape with the surviving students.
Hadn’t I already given up on the idea of subjugating it in the first place? Why was I hesitating now?
The howling wind whistling through the collapsed canyon sounded like layers of eerie screams. Actual screams could be heard all around as well.
I stuck my head out of the shattered cliff and saw the corpses of the scouting party scattered gruesomely throughout the canyon.
Some of the faces were vaguely familiar.
‘If they got hit by legs strong enough to shatter cliffs… they wouldn’t have stood a chance.’
After checking the bodies, I quickly turned to Ethan.
If he recognized familiar faces, it might shake his composure.
Ethan bit his lip and drew his sword.
Instead of screaming, he rasped out in a voice like it was being torn by rage.
“Get ready, Edith Crowell.”
‘He wants to fight it?’
Even though running is our only shot at survival?
CLANG!
…A metallic crash rang out not far away.
On a pile of rubble left in the wake of the rampaging Arachne, a knight who had also been swallowed by the mimic was desperately protecting someone behind them.
A familiar face.
Camilla and Jan.
Camilla was lying on the rubble with blood streaming from her head, and Jan was fighting off the smaller spider monsters that were swarming them.
“…They’re in danger.”
It was clearly too much for Jan alone—an incredibly precarious scene.
Though small by comparison, the spider monsters were still half the size of an adult.
At this rate…
“Soon…”
It felt like watching a moment from the past replayed.
Jan Godwin had died here protecting Camilla Guinevere.
And this time, Camilla might not make it either.
“We have to help them.”
I blurted it out reflexively, and the moment I turned to Ethan—
I saw Ethan Behemoth looking up.
He was staring at the highest point of the collapsing canyon wall.
Why there?
I followed his gaze.
And then I saw it—a figure who couldn’t and shouldn’t be standing there.
A normal human would never be able to stand alone up there.
His hood blew back in the wind, revealing delicate white hair fluttering in the breeze.
Rimos Therion was smiling.
He, too, looked down on us from atop the canyon.
I could barely make out the shape of his lips:
“I said we’d meet again soon, didn’t I?”
Therion slowly raised his arm.
SHRIEEEEK!
And from behind him, a winged monster took flight at his command.
The shrill cry tore through the air like a blade, stabbing into my ears.
It wasn’t a Gigantic-class, but still large enough to be dangerous.
Its target—
“Edith.”
Was me.
Without even trying to hide its intent, the monster dive-bombed toward Ethan and me.
Ethan bent his knees, ready to leap, and quietly called my name.
At the same time, the monster let out an eerie cry that rattled my skull.
“Yes.”
We didn’t even make eye contact. And yet… I could tell what kind of expression he was making.
“Take care of Jan and Camilla.”
“Understood.”
And then Ethan swung his sword with all his might.
The blade sliced through the air with a deafening roar, drowning out the monster’s scream.
Even though he was clearly exhausted, the killing intent in this strike was far beyond anything I’d seen during our sparring.
The beast’s thick hide tore, flesh bursting as his sword struck true.
I turned away after witnessing that.
Ethan Behemoth was a hero. He would succeed. He wouldn’t die here.
I had never even imagined a future where he would die.
…And he had entrusted something to me.
‘Damn it. I wasn’t planning to get involved in this kind of thing…’
I slid down the broken slope made of shattered rocks, dashing to stand between the spider monsters and the surrounded Camilla and Jan.
“Jan! Fall back toward Camilla and guard her!”
“…! Edith Crowell!”
“SKREEE!!”
As Jan quickly retreated, I shot flames at the onrushing spiders.
“KKEEEKK…!!”
They flinched back, then hesitated and reformed their encirclement.
They feared fire. That was enough for now.
I glanced up and through the flickering flames, I could still see Rimos Therion standing atop the canyon.
His silhouette overlapped with the firelight, making it seem as though he were laughing from within the flames.
Just then, he raised his hand and swung it toward me.
And as if they had received a signal, the spiders shrieked and lunged at me—despite the flames.
“SKKRRIIEEEK!!”
“…!”
…So Therion had done something after all? But how?
No. That’s not important now.
I adjusted my stance and looked away from the faint silhouette of Rimos Therion, turning my focus to the swarm of spiders rushing toward me.
With my current mana, I couldn’t unleash a large-scale spell to wipe them all out.
‘But instead…’
I linked one spider to the next with mana, creating a chain reaction of fire.
As one burst into flames, the one next to it was engulfed in an instant.
Because they were all bunched together, the flames spread rapidly.
Unquenchable fire lit up one corner of the canyon.
“…Huff.”
I used my mana to grab the flaming spiders that kept charging at us and hurled them into the unburnt parts of the swarm.
Then I looked back at Jan.
“Are you alright?”
He stared at me blankly, dropped his sword with a clang, and grabbed my shoulders with trembling hands, shaking me violently.
“…Are you alright? What the hell is this madness?!”
I immediately kicked his shin.
“Ack.”
“I’m dizzy. Don’t shake me. Didn’t I warn you last time too?”
“…You little…”
Jan made a strange face—somewhere between a laugh and a cry. He didn’t even reach for his shin.
So last time really was just an act, huh?
“……”
Sensing my gaze on his shin, Jan belatedly faked being in pain.
“Oww…”
“Too late.”
“No fooling you, huh. Are you the only survivor? What about Ethan…?”
“He’s up there. …What happened to the others who were with you?”
‘I already saw Rimos Therion earlier.’
I didn’t say that aloud and instead walked past him to check on Camilla.
“The cave suddenly collapsed in a chain reaction. We got separated from Betil and Therion. I managed to grab Camilla, but… she’s alive, right?”
Camilla was lying limply on the pile of rocks, not moving at all. But her spirit, the bluebird, was still hovering near Jan’s shoulder.
So she wasn’t dead.
“…Yes. Thanks to you, she’s alive.”
‘Without the bluebird’s help, they’d have been finished long ago.’
It was probably because they were together that both of them had survived.
The flamboyant swordsmanship of the Godwin family wasn’t very practical against mindless monsters.
Even from afar, I’d seen how close they were to falling.
Without Camilla’s unconscious spirit, they would’ve been done for before I even arrived.
I turned again to face forward—beyond the blue flames consuming the spider monsters, the broken canyon shimmered in the heat.
The smaller monsters that Jan and Camilla had struggled against—along with countless grotesque creatures of every shape—were now crawling past the canyon.
Next to me, Jan muttered a groan.
“What the hell is this…? …Wait, that direction is—”
