The Lord hissed.
The sound was like metal scraping against stone.
His massive body slowly turned toward Rilay. One of his eyes had been destroyed by her shot, and a dark, thick fluid oozed from the wound.
But that only enraged him.
He slammed his paws down on the ground.
The web around the trees twitched.
And then new spiders began to fall from above.
Small.
Fast.
Too many.
Orpheus exhaled heavily.
"Oh no…"
"More."
Scarlett understood instantly.
"Orpheus!"
"Keep the aggression on you!"
He nodded and raised his shield higher.
The golden light around him flared brighter.
"Guardian's Radiance!"
The aura expanded.
The small spiders turned their heads toward him almost in unison.
And lunged forward.
"Excellent…" he muttered. "Come to me…"
The first creatures slammed into his shield.
The second ones scrambled up his legs.
The third ones tried to bite him from the side.
But his armor glowed ever brighter.
The light slowly seared them.
"Regeneration's holding!" he shouted.
"But I can't keep this up much longer-my mana's running out!"
Scarlett stepped forward.
Her rapier rose.
She was no longer attacking haphazardly.
Now her movements were calculated.
"Oscar!"
"To the left!"
I was already moving.
Ash swirled around me.
The world turned gray for a moment.
I emerged next to Scarlett.
Her rapier was already moving.
A thrust.
I struck with my blade right after her.
Two spiders fell almost simultaneously.
She didn't even look at me.
But I understood.
We were starting to feel each other's rhythm.
Rilay shouted from above:
"The Lord is preparing to attack!"
We looked up.
The spider's enormous body rose higher.
Its abdomen swelled.
A thick green liquid oozed from its mandibles.
"Venom…" Scarlett said.
"Everyone, get out of the way!"
But Lord was faster.
He spat out a stream of poison.
The green liquid hit the ground.
The grass turned black instantly.
The ground hissed.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
"If that hits us…"
"It'll be unpleasant…" Scarlett said jokingly.
Lord struck with his paw.
It flew straight toward Orpheus.
He raised his shield.
CRASH.
The ground beneath him cracked.
He groaned.
"He's… stronger… than he looks!"
I was already running.
"Scarlett!"
She understood without words.
She stepped forward.
Gravity flared around her body.
"Gravity Press!"
Lord's paw slowed sharply.
That was enough.
Orpheus pushed off with his shield and rolled to the side.
The paw slammed into the ground.
Scarlett seized the moment.
Her rapier flashed.
A precise thrust.
The blade sank straight into the joint of the paw.
The monster let out a screeching shriek.
But at that moment, its other paw struck back.
I saw it first.
"Scarlett!"
She tried to get away.
But she didn't make it in time.
I jumped.
"Ash Step!"
I appeared next to her and grabbed her by the shoulder, then used Ash Step again.
We emerged from the cloud of ash together.
The Lord's paw passed through the spot where we had been standing a second ago.
Scarlett looked at me.
"Thank you."
"Later," I replied.
That cost me a critical amount of mana; in fact, I didn't even know if it was possible.
My head ached; I felt absolutely awful.
At that moment, Rilay's voice rang out from above.
"Hey!"
"I have an idea!"
She was already loading the cannon.
Lightning danced across her hands.
"If we break another leg…"
"He'll fall!"
Orpheus struggled to his feet.
"Then tell me where to hit!"
Her goggles flashed.
"Front right!"
"There's a crack in the armor there!"
Scarlett nodded.
"Okay."
She looked at me.
"Oscar."
"We're clearing the way."
I grinned. And nodded, clenching my teeth.
Orpheus raised his shield again.
A golden light flashed.
"Hey, you ugly creature!"
He slammed his shield into the ground.
"HERE!"
The Lord instantly turned his head.
And lunged at him.
Scarlett was already moving.
Her steps were light and quick.
I followed close behind.
We literally cut through the swarm of spiders.
Her rapier flashed with precise strikes.
My blade accompanied her movements with fire and wind.
We didn't speak.
But we moved almost in sync.
The spiders fell one after another.
When we found ourselves next to the Lord's paw, Scarlett stopped abruptly.
"Now!"
I unleashed a powerful gust of wind, squeezing out the last remnants of my mana.
It struck the joint of the paw.
The monster staggered.
Scarlett took a step.
Her rapier flashed with a cold light.
"Ice thrust!"
The blade plunged straight into the crack.
The ice shattered instantly at the joint.
The Lord let out a deafening scream.
His paw snapped.
His massive body swayed.
"Rilay!" - I shouted.
She was already smiling.
The cannon hummed with stored energy.
"With pleasure."
"Maximum charge!"
Lightning struck the ground around her.
She took aim.
The moment the Lord lost his balance…
She fired.
BOOM.
The shot was so powerful that the air literally exploded.
A cluster of mana pierced the spider's chest armor.
The monster collapsed to the ground.
The earth shook.
The forest fell silent.
The small spiders froze.
And then…
they began to scatter.
Silence descended upon the clearing.
For a few seconds, no one moved.
Then Orpheus slowly lowered his shield.
"Tell me…"
He was breathing heavily.
"This was just a simple reconnaissance mission, right?"
"Then what the hell was that?"
Rilay climbed down from the rock.
"If this is easy…"
She gave a nervous smile.
"I'm afraid to think what counts as difficult."
"Is fighting powerful creatures really new to you?" I asked.
They nodded in unison. And apparently Orpheus decided to answer for both of them.
"We're loners; usually on our missions we haven't encountered anyone stronger than nightmarish minions. So fighting a lord is truly a first for us…"
Scarlett slowly sheathed her rapier.
She looked at the Lord's massive body.
"We're still alive."
Then she turned her gaze to the team.
"So we made it."
I exhaled.
My heart was still pounding.
The ash mask was still on my face, but I could feel my mana was almost completely depleted.
And yet I couldn't shake the strange feeling inside me.
The forest had grown quiet again.
Too quiet.
The Lord's body lay on the ground, its massive paws twitching slowly in their final convulsions. Torn spiders, charred patches of grass, and bits of web lay scattered around.
I exhaled heavily.
Orpheus leaned on his shield.
"I… can't hold the glow anymore."
The golden light around him faded.
Scarlett stood a little way off, leaning on her rapier.
"I'm almost out of mana, too."
Rilay was sitting on a rock.
The gun had vanished.
She was breathing heavily.
"I… think… I went a bit overboard with the shots."
"With shots?" Orpheus chuckled.
She gave a nervous smile. And rolled her eyes.
"Very funny…"
I looked around.
The battle was over.
But an uneasy feeling crept over me.
The Ash Mask smoldered quietly.
And suddenly…
I sensed a direction.
The Ashen Wanderer's intuition stirred again.
Not back.
Deeper into the forest.
I frowned.
"We need to keep going."
All three looked at me at once.
Orpheus frowned.
"What?"
"Why?"
I couldn't explain it myself.
"I… don't know."
I looked toward the thick web of branches between the trees.
"But there's something there."
Scarlett looked at me for a few seconds.
Then she said calmly:
"If your ability tells you to go there…"
She raised her rapier.
"So let's go. But first we need to retrieve Lord Core."
Rilay sighed.
"Of course."
"Why not?"
"We just killed a giant spider."
"What could be worse?"
Orpheus said quietly:
"Please, don't ask."
Scarlett carefully cut a small pearl out of the spider's abdomen, and we moved on.
We walked slowly.
The web grew thicker and thicker.
Huge cocoons appeared among the trees.
Dozens.
No.
Hundreds.
White, thick, wrapped in sticky web.
Rilay turned pale.
"Oh…"
"I don't like this."
I walked up to one of the cocoons.
Something was moving inside.
Scarlett said:
"Cut it open."
I summoned my sword.
The blade cut through the sticky threads.
The cocoon opened.
And a person fell out of it.
A man.
He was pale, emaciated, but breathing.
"He's alive!" Rilay said.
Orpheus immediately picked him up.
"Damn… he's ice cold."
Scarlett was already opening the second cocoon.
Another person.
Alive.
But the third…
When I cut through the web, the cocoon opened differently.
Inside lay an empty shell.
Skin.
Bones.
But everything had been eaten away from the inside.
And in the next second, tiny spiders began crawling out of the body.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
They poured onto the ground and scattered in all directions.
"Ugh…" Rilay exhaled.
"God…" I exclaimed.
I felt my stomach churn.
I raised my hand.
"Fuck.
The last remnants of my mana flared up.
Fire.
The flames swept across the ground, burning some of the spiders.
But most of them scattered anyway.
I lowered my hand heavily.
"You can't kill them all; save your strength," Orpheus said.
Scarlett continued to open the cocoons in silence.
Some were alive.
Some were not.
Sometimes spiders poured out from inside.
Sometimes a person would simply fall unconscious.
After a while, six survivors lay before them.
Orpheus said heavily:
"There might be more here, but we can't carry any more. The rest will be taken by more experienced Awakened ones."
Scarlett nodded.
"That's enough."
I looked at the cocoons around us.
And said quietly:
"Let's go home."
The road back was hard.
We walked slowly.
Orpheus was carrying two.
Scarlett was supporting another.
Rilay was leading the last one, practically dragging him along.
I walked ahead.
My intuition was silent.
But when the forest began to thin out…
one of the rescued ones stirred.
A girl.
She was lying on Orpheus's shoulders.
Her long chestnut hair fell down.
Her face was pale.
But suddenly she moaned softly.
"Mm…"
Orpheus looked down in surprise.
"Hey."
"She's awake."
Scarlett stopped.
"Careful."
Orpheus gently set her down on the ground.
The girl slowly opened her eyes.
Blue.
Clear as the sky.
She just stared at us for a few seconds.
Then she asked quietly:
"Where… am I?"
Rilay breathed a sigh of relief.
"In a safe place."
"We pulled you out of the spiders' lair."
The girl slowly sat up.
She looked around.
Then she looked at us.
And said quietly:
"You… are wounded…"
She raised her hand.
A soft blue light flared in her palm.
Scarlett understood immediately.
"Healer."
Orpheus smiled broadly.
"Seriously?!"
The light spread around us.
It gently touched our bodies, like a warm breeze.
The wounds began to heal.
The pain slowly faded.
Even the exhaustion receded.
Rilay exhaled quietly.
"Oh…"
"I can feel my legs again."
Orpheus laughed.
"That was very timely…"
The light slowly faded.
The girl let her hand drop wearily.
I looked at her.
"Thank you."
She smiled slightly.
"You're welcome."
Then she said quietly:
"My name is Karina."
"I'm… a healer."
Scarlett exchanged a glance with me.
And then she said:
"It seems…"
"Fate has just given us a very generous gift."
Karina just looked at us in confusion.
We just walked for a few minutes.
The forest gradually thinned out, the cobwebs became fewer and fewer, and the air felt freer. After Karina's healing, our steps became lighter, but the fatigue still lingered in our bones.
Karina walked beside us, occasionally glancing at each of us.
Finally, she said quietly:
"Thank you… for pulling me out. But… how did you do it? You don't seem that strong…"
Orpheus shrugged.
"Come on. We just… did what we had to do."
Karina laughed softly.
But a second later, her expression grew serious.
"What do we have to do?"
Scarlett nodded.
"The spiders' lair. A big one."
"We killed their Lord."
Karina stopped abruptly.
"Their Lord?"
"Yes," I said. "A huge spider. He commanded the whole pack."
Karina frowned.
"That's strange…"
She looked back toward the forest.
"Very strange."
Orpheus frowned.
"Why?"
Karina fell silent for a second.
Then she said quietly:
"Because my group and I encountered the Spider King."
Silence.
Rilay blinked.
"Wait… what?"
Karina continued slowly:
"We were on a mission."
"A difficult one."
"Very far from the Citadel."
She raised her hand and pointed toward the horizon.
"At least five hundred kilometers from here."
Scarlett narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Go on."
Karina nodded.
"There were five of us."
"A strong team."
"We've already been on several expeditions."
Her voice grew quieter.
"But then… he appeared."
She closed her eyes for a moment.
"The Spider King."
"It was hard to gauge his mana level, but he's most likely… a Relic."
Orpheus whistled softly.
"Oh…"
Karina continued:
"We couldn't even fight back."
"It was… a beating."
"One by one…"
She paused.
"They died."
The forest fell silent again.
No one interrupted.
Karina said calmly:
"I tried to heal them."
"But it was pointless."
"The king was too strong."
"I tried to escape using my ability, but he had ways of detecting me."
She lowered her gaze.
"In the end, I was bitten."
"But not with ordinary poison."
"A special kind."
Rilay said quietly:
"The way spiders put their prey to sleep…"
Karina nodded.
"Yes."
"So they can feed it to their young later."
She looked at her hands.
"After that… I lost consciousness."
Scarlett asked quietly:
"And you woke up already inside a cocoon?"
"Yes."
Karina nodded.
"But here's what's strange…"
She looked at the forest around them.
"We were very far from here."
"And now I'm near the Citadel."
She frowned.
"That's impossible."
I stopped.
My intuition gave me another unpleasant twinge.
Scarlett felt the tension too.
"So…"
She said slowly.
"The lair we found…"
"Isn't the main one."
Karina nodded.
"Most likely."
"It's just one of the locations."
Orpheus muttered quietly:
"I don't like this at all."
Rilay snorted.
"Great."
"So there's an even bigger spider somewhere nearby."
"Just wonderful."
I looked at the forest.
The ash mask was smoldering slightly.
But my intuition remained silent for now.
Scarlett finally said:
"We'll report this to the Citadel."
"Let the guild handle it."
Karina nodded.
"That's sensible."
They kept walking.
After a while, the conversation became lighter.
Rilay suddenly asked:
"By the way…"
"How old are you?"
Karina blinked in surprise.
"Twenty-three."
Rilay stopped abruptly.
- HOW OLD?!
Orpheus laughed.
"Wait… seriously?"
Karina looked flustered.
"Why?"
Rilay looked at the others.
"We're… seventeen. Well, I'm… Scarlett, and Orpheus and Oscar are sixteen."
Karina blinked.
"Oh."
"I thought you were around twenty…"
Orpheus stood up straight with pride.
"Thank you."
Scarlett said calmly:
"We arrived in Spire recently."
"Actually, I was born here," Orpheus interjected, though everyone ignored him.
Karina nodded.
"I see."
She added quietly:
"I've been here for seven years."
Rilay whistled.
"Seven?!"
Karina shrugged.
"Yes."
"I arrived here when I was sixteen."
I said thoughtfully:
"So you're the most experienced among us."
Karina smiled sadly.
"If experience is measured by the number of times you've seen people die…"
She exhaled quietly.
"Then yes."
Orpheus said cautiously:
"I feel for… your squad."
Karina was silent for a few seconds.
And then… she suddenly smiled.
"Really?"
"I'm not really that sad."
Everyone looked at her in surprise.
Rilay blinked.
"Huh?"
Karina awkwardly scratched the back of her head.
"It's just… the truth."
She sighed.
"I'm such a coward."
Orpheus said in surprise:
"What?"
Karina calmly continued:
"I've seen dozens of squads die."
"Battles."
"Disasters."
She looked at the forest.
"And almost every time… I ran away."
Rilay blinked.
"Are you serious? You're saying this so calmly?"
Karina shrugged.
"My essence is perfect for escaping."
"I heal people."
"And when things get too bad…"
She spread her arms.
"I just run away."
Scarlett looked at her intently.
Karina added quietly:
"And you know what?"
"I can't hate myself for it. Every time, I can only be glad that I'm alive."
She looked at them.
"Because there's nothing more precious…"
"...than your own life."
Silence.
But Scarlett suddenly said calmly:
"That's not cowardice."
Karina looked at her in surprise.
Scarlett continued:
"It's just common sense."
Orpheus nodded.
"I agree."
I smiled.
"Living cowards are always more useful than dead heroes."
I thought for a moment and added.
"Well, I guess that sounded a bit harsh… But I don't think there's any point in giving up your own life if you're not sure it'll do a lot of good. I'd trade my life, at best, for a billion others… Or two…"
Karina suddenly laughed.
I looked at her.
Then I said:
"We have an offer for you."
She blinked.
"Huh?"
I pointed at the team.
"We're a ready squad."
"And we need a healer."
Karina stared at us for a few seconds.
As if she didn't understand.
Rilay smiled.
"Join the Ash Storm."
Orpheus nodded.
"We'd be happy to."
Scarlett added calmly:
"You have experience."
"We could use that."
Karina just stood there.
Silent.
Her eyes wide open.
"Are… you serious?"
She looked at each of them.
"You just heard…"
"I'm a coward. I'm not going to risk my life until the very end."
Rilay shrugged.
"So what?"
Orpheus smiled.
"But you're alive. And no one here is going to die needlessly; we'll just try not to get into a situation where someone has to fight to the death."
Karina froze.
It seemed…
she hadn't expected that answer at all.
Karina stood there for a few seconds, as if trying to figure out if we were joking.
She looked at each of us in turn.
First at Rilay.
Then at Orpheus.
Then at Scarlett.
And finally at me.
"Are… you really serious?" she asked quietly.
Rilay crossed her arms.
"Do we look like the kind of people who joke around after fighting a giant spider?"
Orpheus smirked.
"Sometimes we do."
"But not right now."
Karina lowered her gaze.
She looked confused.
"I… don't think you understand."
She sighed.
"I really did run away."
"Many times."
"People were dying while I was saving myself."
Scarlett said calmly:
"But that's normal… many would have done the same in your place. Even while running away, you were still in the thick of the fighting and helping everyone until the situation became a stalemate."
Karina raised her head.
Scarlett continued:
"And because you're alive, you have the chance to save many more people."
Silence hung between them for a moment.
Karina exhaled slowly.
"You guys are weird…"
Rilay gave a forced smile.
"Thanks…"
Orpheus added:
"Besides… we have an almost perfect team."
He began counting on his fingers.
"Tank-check."
He pointed his thumb at himself.
"Melee-check."
He nodded toward Scarlett.
"A versatile psycho with a mask-check."
He looked at me. Why am I the psycho?
I raised an eyebrow.
Rilay raised her hand.
"Ranged combat, incredible coolness, and style-check on those too."
Orpheus sighed.
"Yeah, yeah."
"We've got all that."
He looked at Karina again.
"There's just one thing missing."
Karina said quietly:
"A healer."
Orpheus nodded.
"Exactly."
Rilay leaned in a little closer.
"And, to be honest…"
She pointed to the forest behind them.
"After today, I really want someone on our team who knows how to fix people."
Karina smiled involuntarily.
She fell silent again.
Then she asked quietly:
"What if I run away again?"
Scarlett answered instantly.
"Then we'll run away together."
Karina blinked.
Rilay snorted.
"Yeah, we're not the kind of heroes who stand their ground to the bitter end just for the sake of it."
Orpheus nodded.
"If the situation becomes hopeless, we'll retreat."
He looked at her seriously.
"But as long as there's a chance…"
"...we'll fight together."
Karina stared at us for a few seconds.
Something strange flashed in her eyes.
A mixture of hope and fear.
"Seven years…" she said quietly.
"For seven years, I've been roaming the Spire with different squads."
She gave a bitter smile.
"And no one ever told me, 'If things get bad, just run with us.'"
Rilay smiled.
"Well… congratulations."
"You've found the strangest team in the Citadel."
Karina laughed softly.
Then she took a deep breath.
And finally said:
"All right."
Everyone froze.
"I'll join your team. I'd have to look for a new team anyway…"
Rilay instantly raised her fist.
"YES!"
Orpheus exhaled in relief.
"Finally."
"Now we have someone who'll fix me after they try to eat me again."
Karina smiled awkwardly.
"I'll do my best."
Scarlett nodded.
"Then it's settled."
She held out her hand.
"Welcome to the team."
Karina looked at her hand.
She hesitated for a moment.
Then she shook her hand.
"Thank you."
I watched in silence.
But inside, I had a strange feeling.
The ash mask glowed faintly.
My intuition whispered softly.
This is important.
Rilay clapped her hands.
"Great!"
"Now there are five of us!"
Orpheus raised an eyebrow.
"And now that we have a healer…"
He looked at everyone.
"Maybe the next mission won't end with us almost getting eaten?"
Rilay thought for a moment.
"Honestly?"
"I wouldn't count on it."
Karina smirked.
"Judging by how you found the spiders' lair…"
She looked at me.
"Interesting things clearly happen to you."
Why is she looking at me?!
"That's putting it mildly," I replied awkwardly.
Scarlett looked ahead.
The walls of the Citadel of Hope were already visible through the trees.
Tall towers rose above the horizon.
She said calmly:
"First, we go back."
"We report on the spiders."
"We get our reward."
Rilay raised her finger.
"And food."
"Lots of food."
Orpheus nodded.
"I agree."
Karina chuckled softly.
She looked at the city walls.
And a genuine sense of relief appeared in her eyes.
When the walls of the Citadel of Hope finally came into view ahead, the whole group felt an almost identical sense of relief.
The tall stone walls, the watchtowers, the guild flags fluttering in the wind-all of it suddenly felt incredibly familiar.
Rilay was the first to breathe a sigh of relief:
"I never thought I'd be so happy to see these boring walls."
Orpheus smiled.
"After the Spider Forest, I'd even hug the city gates."
Karina said quietly:
"You got off easy."
She looked at the walls intently.
"Many don't even return from simple reconnaissance missions."
Scarlett replied calmly:
"We're back today."
She looked at the people they were carrying.
"And we're not alone."
When they approached the gates, the guards immediately noticed the group's condition.
One of the guards stepped forward.
"Halt."
He quickly inspected them.
Blood. Exhausted Awakened. Unconscious people.
His expression immediately turned serious.
"What happened?"
Scarlett replied briefly:
"The arachnids' lair."
"Many casualties."
"There are survivors."
The guard spun around instantly.
"Healers, come here!"
"Quickly!"
A minute later, several healers and stretcher-bearers were already running toward the gate.
They carefully carried away the wounded people.
Karina said quietly:
"I've stabilized them."
"They'll survive."
One of the healers nodded gratefully at her.
"Good job."
Once the wounded had been carried away, the guard turned back to the group.
"You need to file an official report."
"The Guild needs to know what's going on."
Scarlett nodded.
"We were just about to head there."