"Holy shit, it's an Arachne! I've seen this thing a bunch of times in RPGs!"
Arachne is a hybrid spider with the torso of a humanoid, but its lower body is that of a spider. In Greek mythology, there was a weaver named Arachne who challenged the goddess Athena in a weaving contest. There are different variations on the outcome of the battle, yet they all end with Arachne being turned into a spider and is to weave for all of eternity. That mythological creature now stood seven feet tall in front of me.
"A-Arachne? The spider from the legends itself?" Myra stammered with skepticism. Her comment made me snap my head at her in confusion.
How would she know what an Arachne is? The myths and legends between Earth and Athiens should be vastly different. It shouldn't be possible that she would know Greek Mythology, specifically Arachne. Then again, there are wyverns, dragons, and ogres called demogres…
The gears in my brain turned as I thought long and hard.
"Oh? You know of this form? Hehe. That's surprising. Cardinal Nicholas has informed us archbishops that knowledge of these forms has been buried by the sands of time."
Her rows of canine teeth made me uncomfortable. Since my thoughts tend to wander, I was thinking of how it would feel to stuff an arm in there. I know it'll hurt and that it's a poor decision, but you can't help but think about it, ya know?
"Even if you're an Arachne, you're still just an oversized spider in my eyes. And like the spiders I have previously met in my house, you'll be exterminated! With a big shoe!"
I raised an arm up and pointed it at the Arachne. During my speech, I concocted two icicles behind the spider. They hurriedly flew by and collided with the human side of the spider. Alas, the ice crumbled into ice cubes upon collision. Catalina cruelly smiled at the display.
"That tickled, gnat."
Well, it looks like her body has become sturdier. This is bad. Quick Isaac! Think of a different plan!
"Uh, Myra? Got any ideas on how to kill her?"
Myra glanced at the gigantic spider and back at me. "I got one plan as of now, but you'll have to test the waters for a little. We don't know what that freak is capable of now."
…That is true. She could have an entirely new move set. Actually, does she still have that golden light magic that neutralized our mana? The Arachne made no effort to dodge, block, or defend against it. What if…
"Are you done mumbling amongst yourselves? I am currently remaining here as observing your struggle is entertaining."
Has her personality has gotten a bit more sadistic? I guess that's one effect of this new form. I should stop stalling and get moving.
Raising my sword up, I cautiously shuffled my way toward the big spider. Getting close to those pincer legs of hers isn't a wise idea, since they could probably puncture metal. Her skin is also rock solid too. No matter how I go about it, I couldn't think of anything other than attacking at close-range and just evading to the best of my abili-
My sentence was cut short when Archbishop Catalinas' facial expression had me pause momentarily. Her smile was so broad it was rather disconcerting. It was like she was expecting something to happen to me any second now…
That was when I saw it. It was faint- hard to miss if you don't have extremely good eyes that can pick up the littlest details. There was a white string that was positioned between me and the spider like a wire trap.
"Ah… you've noticed them. What a pity…"
Gripping an icicle recently formed, I used it as a sort of test subject. Once the icicle touched the string, a visible mark appeared.
This string is razor-sharp! If I rushed in blindly, I would've been minced meat! How could I have forgotten… Spiders can produce silk.
Looking around my immediate vicinity, there were tons of string planted all around like a maze. Since when has this thing produced this much silk without us knowing?
"What a pity indeed," the spider hissed. I had no intention of using any effort against those who are so insignificant. I'll have to reconsider."
The tip of her abdomen shook, and more silk was ejected out of her ass. She raised both of her hands and gestured, as if she were pulling strings like a veteran puppeteer.
"Now then, dance for me!"
With child-like glee, six of the silky tendrils raced toward me with frightening agility. The Arachne was controlling them with such proficiency that evading them was a hassle. Furthermore, there were so many of them that it would be almost impossible to leave without any harm. My outfit was getting torn, as dodging was eating up all my concentration. I had to think about what was behind me, above, left, and right while making proper adjustments while given a small window. Because of that, the cuts on my body increased all over.
If this keeps up, I'll lose a lot of blood!
"Hah! Caught a buzzing fly in my web."
"Oh, fuck…"
A string, tight and itchy, was wound around my right leg. Immediately was I hoisted up to the ceiling, dangling upside down like a piñata. The Arachne quickly scurried onto the wall, its legs making a scratching sound as it skidded closer to me, similar to a millipede marching across glass. The hybrid-spider and I were now face-to-face as she used her string and scuttled along it like a tightrope walker.
"I caught a human on my web. What a funny sight indeed," it mocked with a devilish grin.
I don't know how long it's been, but Myra should finish up soon…
As if the spider were able to read my mind, she let out a soft chuckle and said, "I can feel your thoughts. And it will not work."
More thread was released out of her abdomen, and her target was not me, but Myra, who has been watching us the entire time. In a flash of thought, I raised an arm and encircled Myra with the bright blue liquid like a protective shield. Upon contact, the string simply slid off the liquid.
"What a neat little trick you got there," the spider chuckled. The Arachne bundled both of my arms together with her string. A few moments later, I was now hanging upside down, not able to move a single inch of my body. However, the water veil was still up and running. The spider, still confused about why it was still surrounding Myra, circled around me.
"If you falter in your concentration for even a moment, the shield around your little girlfriend will be released. Just how long will you last?"
Without warning, the spider stabbed one of my legs with her own. Black spots clouded my vision because of the white-hot pain enveloping my leg.
"Not… my girlfriend," I panted through the throbbing pain.
"Aren't you strong-willed? How about this!"
Another stab to the leg and this time, I howled. A stream of blood from both holes in my legs poured over me, staining my clothes. The shield around Myra was quivering as the solid mass of liquid dripped like ice melting. The lightheadedness from being hung upside down wasn't helping it in the slightest.
"This situation sucks balls," I mumbled. This bitchy spider is lucky I don't have a flamethrower on me right now. Settings this string on fire would solve a lot of my problems. Wait…
Miraculously, on the brink of passing out from blood loss, a saving grace finally hit me.
"Heh… I cannot believe I forgot I could do that. I guess Myra's right. I am an idiot…" I weakly chuckled. The Arachne was baffled as to why I was laughing to myself when I'm dripping with my blood.
"What are you mumbling about? You're on the verge of death, mongrel!"
A quick snap of my finger later, a small flame lit up on the tip of my finger. Wagging it across the string, it quickly caught on fire in a matter of seconds. The flames danced along the thread, burning anything that touches it.
The Arachne screamed out in a fit of rage. "What!? I thought you controlled mana! Not bend it to your will!"
She lifted one of her legs and aimed it toward the middle of my chest, intent on piercing my heart. The thread wrapped around me burned just in time for me to fall to the ground. Looking up above, the string that was placed all around the vicinity was aflame alongside Arachne. The scene playing out in front of me was like a witch burning in a fire, and I was the townsfolk who tossed the torch. Archbishop Catalina squirmed around like a cockroach that was just stomped on, unyielding to her inevitable death.
"Isaac, get your ass out the way!" A weary voice yelled. Not questioning who or where it came from, I stumbled away and hid behind a half-broken tube, grimacing from the exertion. After I was out of the way, I heard a loud whistling noise, like a missile soaring through the air. A big bright flash of blue in the form of an arrow zipped by; its target being the Arachne. In the middle of dousing the flames with the liquid on the ground, she tilted her body up in time to see an arrow coming straight at her.
"This feeble thing won't kill me at all!" She hissed. Her spider ass excreted a large bundle of thread and weaved it into a sort of shield. Surprisingly, it was holding up well.
As if I'll let Myra's effort go to waste!
With the bit of mana I had left, I gave this next attack my all. [Energy Manipulation] is only limited by the user's imagination and mana capacity. With that in mind, I envisioned a greater power than just mere fireballs.
Imagine a fire burning acres among acres of fertile land. The fire shan't be put out easily, it will possess the destructive force of nature itself, and only I will control it…
That was when a blue message I hadn't seen in a while appeared right in front of my eyes.
[Second Mana Formation completed]
"…Huh? Second Mana Formation completed?"
Instead of debating what this could mean, I focused all my attention on the spider first and thought of the archbishop dying in an ocean of boiling flames. Not even a second later, a wave of fiery flames was projected out of my palm and instantly engulfed the Arachne and her shield, burning away the makeshift shield. For the first time, fear was etched on her face.
The mana arrow impaled the torso of the Arachne with ease, effectively separating her body in two. Black blood spurted out of the spider half, and the other toppled over. On the human side, the body was half submerged in the blue liquid. As Myra and I dashed over to her side to finish the job, archbishop Catalina uttered her dying words.
"Don't think this is over… The Church of Pillars will avenge me…"
The life in her eyes went away like a torch exposed to harsh winds. Moments later, the temperature in the room dropped at least fifty degrees, and both of the severed corpses had frost surrounding their bodies.
"For fucks sake! Is it not over yet!?" Myra cried out. I picked my crystal sword off the ground and was about to cast it down on the Arachne's head before a voice I have never heard of rang out.
"Oh? This body has yielded to death? Very unfortunate…"
It was a calm but powerful voice that induced chills in one's body. It was as if I was walking through the tundra butt-naked…
The voice wasn't finished, however. It was now addressing us personally.
"Do not think of yourselves as powerful foes. You are nothing but dust to us. Feel free to struggle, but do not forget who you're against. We Pillars are not to be trifled with…"
The frost then swallowed archbishop Catalina whole, and in a blink of an eye, shattered into a shower of crystals, leaving nothing behind. Myra and I glanced at each other confused.
"The hell did we just witness?" I asked. Myra scratched her head and shrugged her shoulders.
"I have no idea. What I do know right now is that Airon isn't here, and that we got no information out of her."
If Airon's not here, does that mean he's in Jahla? That's the place Zelke and my sister are at currently.
"Myra… we gotta head to Jahla pronto!"
With one step forward, my body was overcome with exhaustion and my knees buckled. I tumbled face forward onto the wet floor as Myra tried her best to suppress a snicker.
"Let's get you patched up first…"