Mark's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward, the glowing rosebud pulsing in the center of the spider nest.
"Ash Manipulation: Smoke Screen."
All the ash insects he had sent earlier came rushing back into the room. One by one, they burst—releasing massive clouds of ash that swallowed the entire breeding chamber in a thick, swirling fog.
Mark turned to Rosemary and tapped her shoulder. "Get ready to run."
She nodded without a word, tensing her legs for a sprint.
But just as they turned to flee—
A pair of voices cut through the smoke like poisoned knives.
"Not so fast, mmhh... You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?"
"Consume—Unyielding Greed!"
Suddenly, the ash clouds were pulled inward, sucked into a violent spiral. The entire smokescreen vanished, consumed by a swirling vortex of air and hunger.
From the fading mist, two silhouettes emerged.
The first was all too familiar—the assassin from the Midnight Forest, his grotesque mouth stretching across his abdomen now wide open, tongue slithering, licking at the air.
The second figure was far more unnerving.
A tall woman in a flowing black kimono stepped forward. Her bangs covered her eyes completely. Heavy metal cuffs locked her wrists together, yet her presence radiated malice. A massive gourd was strapped to her back, leaking faint trails of pink mist.
A twisted blush crept across her cheeks as she grinned wide—far too wide.
"Gin-Kai~," she purred, "are these the cute little mice you let escape yesterday?"
The assassin licked his lips again, his grotesque mouth twitching with hunger. "Yes, yes, Sharaia... it's them."
Rosemary's eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me…"
Mark took a step back, fists clenched. "Two of them? Now?"
Sharaia's grin widened even further. "Oh, don't be like that. You wandered into our nursery... so it's only fair we show you our little pets "
"EEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!"
Sharaia let out a horrific shriek—inhuman, guttural, and warped. The entire chamber shook with her unholy scream, vibrating down to the bone. Her mouth never moved, yet the sound tore through the air like nails on steel.
The blossom spiders responded instantly.
Hundreds of them burst from their webs, rosebud abdomens pulsing with light, scurrying toward Mark and Rosemary in a relentless wave of chittering legs and clicking fangs.
"Run!" Rosemary shouted, turning on her heel and sprinting into the tunnels.
Mark followed—but the spiders were gaining.
His eyes flicked back. Too fast… We won't outrun them like this!
Then—an idea.
"Ash Transmutation: Aspect of the Dragon!"
A flash of burning ash wrapped around his legs. His thighs bulged, muscles hardened, and his feet morphed—becoming large, scaled dragon limbs, crackling with ember veins and claws made for speed.
"Hold on!" he shouted, grabbing Rosemary by the hand.
In one explosive motion, Mark surged forward—his new limbs propelling them with incredible speed. The ground cracked under the force of each step. Sewer walls blurred past them as he sprinted with supernatural agility, bounding through corridors, dodging debris and crumbled stone.
The swarm roared behind them, but they were falling behind now.
Mark glanced over his shoulder. "We've got some distance!"
Rosemary, still catching her breath, held tight to his hand. "Wherever you're taking me, make it away from the murder spiders!"
"Working on it!"
The tunnels twisted ahead—narrowing, dipping, then opening into a fork. Mark turned left, hoping instinct wouldn't fail him.
Behind them, the screech of Sharaia echoed again—but further away this time.
" find them!!! Hahaha " Sharaia screamed as she broke out into a psychotic laugh.
"Okay, the sewers aren't safe and the city's worse. Do you have any idea where we can go?" Mark asked, his voice strained as he glanced around the dark tunnels.
Rosemary clutched her head, thinking fast. "The city should have a teleportation crystal, but... there'll be too many guards. And if we go all out in the middle of the city, we'll end up killing civilians."
Mark narrowed his eyes. "How damaged is the city now?"
He summoned a small ash insect and sent it flying up through a crack in the sewer ceiling. A minute passed.
Then it returned.
What it saw made his stomach twist.
Mark's voice dropped to a whisper. "Oh… oh no."
Rosemary caught the look on his face and stepped closer. "What? What is it?"
Mark turned to her, eyes wide. "The city's gone. Everyone's... they're all dead."
Rosemary froze, her breath catching in her throat.
"No... that can't be..." she muttered.
But before either of them could say another word—
Scuttle. Scuttle. Scuttle.
The clicking of legs echoed around them.
Spiders.
Hundreds of blossom spiders poured into the tunnel from every direction—walls, ceilings, ground—blocking every path forward or back. Their rosebud abdomens glowed a soft pink in the darkness, a twisted mockery of beauty.
They were completely surrounded.
EEEEERRRRRRRRRRR!
That same inhuman screech cut through the sewer once more.
Sharaia let out her twisted cry, and instantly—the swarm of blossom spiders froze in place.
The chittering stopped. The tunnel fell into a deathly silence.
Then, slowly, the swarm began to part.
Eight-legged monsters crawled to the sides of the tunnel,
Sharaia stepped forward.
Her cuffs clinked lightly with every eerie step. Her mouth curled into a crooked, almost joyful smile. Her black kimono trailed through the muck, untouched by the filth. She tilted her head, her eyes still hidden behind that curtain of uneven bangs.
"Mmmmmm~ I really don't know how Gin-Kai ever struggled with worthless little bugs like you…" she cooed, voice like a teasing blade. "Maybe he's just going soft~ Haha… or maybe... who cares?"
She raised her cuffed hand and waved lazily.
"Kill them." Her smile widened unnaturally. "But don't eat the boy's body."
At that moment, the spiders lunged.
Thousands of limbs clicked into motion. The swarm rushed forward, filling every inch of the tunnel.
There was no way out.
No sky. No openings. No options.
Mark gritted his teeth, his hand tightening around Rosemary's.
"Guess this is it, huh?" he muttered.