The next floor feels different—colder, darker. The air is thick, laced with a damp stench of decay and something far worse. My body aches from the relentless battles below, but I've pushed through the pain. The last fight with the human soldiers left me bruised and bloodied, but my healing factor, though strained, is doing its job. Yet, as I step into the new chamber, my senses go on high alert. I can feel something lurking here—something far more deadly.
The chamber is massive, larger than any of the rooms I've encountered so far. The ceiling disappears into shadows, and the walls glisten with strange, sticky webs that shimmer under the dim light. As I move deeper, my foot sinks into something soft, and I look down to find the floor covered in a thick, sticky web that pulls at my legs with each step.
This place is a trap. A giant, living web.
And then I hear it—the soft, scuttling sound of legs moving in the darkness. My eyes snap to the far end of the chamber, where something begins to move.
The Spider Fusion.
It emerges from the shadows, its grotesque form illuminated by the faint glow of the webs. The creature is a fusion of human and spider, its body twisted into something that should never exist. Eight long, jagged legs sprout from its torso, each one tipped with a razor-sharp blade. Its human half is horribly deformed, the torso stretched unnaturally long, its arms fused with mechanical appendages that ooze thick, acidic webs. Its face—once human—is now a twisted mask of agony, its eyes replaced by dark, soulless pits.
It scuttles toward me, moving with terrifying speed, its bladed legs clicking against the sticky web as it advances. Acid drips from its fangs, sizzling as it hits the floor, and the air fills with the sharp, acrid stench of burning metal.
I can feel the pressure mounting. This is no ordinary fusion. This thing is fast. Deadly.
And it's coming for me.
The Spider Fusion wastes no time. The moment it locks eyes on me, it launches itself forward, its bladed legs slicing through the air with deadly precision. I barely manage to throw myself to the side as one of the blades slams into the floor where I stood moments ago, cutting through the webbing like butter.
I land on my feet, my wolf-like reflexes kicking in, but I can feel the web pulling at me, slowing me down with every step. The room itself is a trap, designed to immobilize anything that dares enter. The creature knows this, and it's using the environment to its advantage, controlling the battlefield with terrifying ease.
It swings at me again, another leg slicing through the air, but I duck low, my body moving in sync with the creature's strikes. Its speed is insane, each attack coming faster than the last, and for a moment, I'm on the defensive, dodging and weaving through the deadly onslaught of blades and acid webs.
A web shoots out from one of its mechanical arms, aimed directly at my chest. I twist, narrowly avoiding the sticky projectile as it splatters against the wall, sizzling as the acid burns through the metal. The smell of it is nauseating, and I know that if it touches me, I'm as good as dead.
The creature lets out a high-pitched screech, its voice an unnatural mix of human agony and mechanical distortion, and charges again. I leap to the side, my claws digging into the webbed floor as I push off, moving faster now, adapting to the terrain. My muscles burn with every movement, but I can't afford to slow down. Not now.
I dodge another strike, then another, but the creature is relentless. One of its legs slashes across my arm, and pain explodes through me as the blade slices deep into my flesh. Blood spills onto the web, and I can feel the burning sting of the acid from the creature's webs seeping into the wound.
I grit my teeth, ignoring the pain as best I can. I need to focus. I need to find a way to bring this thing down.
The creature is too fast, too strong. Its bladed legs slash through the air, cutting through the webbing and the walls alike, leaving deep scars in the steel. I can't match it in strength. But speed—speed is my advantage. The Wolf King's power flows through me, and though I'm battered and bloodied, I'm still fast. I need to use that.
I dart to the side, grabbing a chunk of debris from the last battle. It's a piece of broken steel, jagged and sharp. I hurl it at the Spider Fusion, aiming for one of its legs. The projectile strikes true, hitting the creature in its midsection and momentarily disrupting its movements.
It screeches again, more in fury than pain, but I use the momentary distraction to close the distance. I leap onto one of the walls, my claws digging into the sticky webbing as I pull myself up and over the creature. The moment I'm airborne, I slam down onto its back, driving my claws into the soft, fleshy part between its mechanical appendages.
The Spider Fusion lets out a deafening scream, its entire body thrashing as I tear into its flesh. But the webs—sticky and acidic—are all around me, and I can feel them burning through my skin as I struggle to hold on. Every movement sends a fresh wave of pain through my body, but I don't let go. I can't let go.
I rip through one of its legs, severing it from the body with a sickening crunch. The creature stumbles, its balance momentarily thrown off, but it recovers quickly, lashing out with another web. The sticky acid hits my leg, and the pain is immediate, burning through my skin like fire.
I scream, my body convulsing as the acid eats through my flesh. But I can't stop. I won't stop.
With one last burst of strength, I tear myself free from the webs and grab hold of a broken metal beam lying nearby. It's heavy, almost too heavy for me to lift in my current state, but I force my body to move. The Spider Fusion lunges at me, its bladed legs ready to slice me apart.
I wait for the right moment.
As it strikes, I swing the metal beam upward with all the strength I have left. The jagged steel connects with the creature's chest, driving deep into its torso. The impact sends a shockwave through the chamber, and the Spider Fusion lets out one final, agonizing scream before collapsing to the ground.
I fall to my knees, my breath ragged, my body screaming in pain. The acid burns through my skin, and blood drips from my wounds, pooling on the sticky floor. But the creature is dead. I've won.
Barely.