Nero watched with bubbling excitement as the spiders roared in panic and anger, their crystalline bodies slamming against the barrier, hoping to break it. However, even their combined efforts did not send a ripple through the barrier.
The energy barrier shined brighter by the moment, the rune glistering with flowing power. It stopped once it fully materialized, a dome of smooth white energy, appearing ethereal yet very much physical.
A mere moment had passed before small patches of white mist began to manifest out of thin air, thin layers of the same haze growing atop the armor carapaces of the spiders and even the ground.
It took less than ten seconds for the sky, ground, and every spider in the barrier to be engulfed in the infestation of white haze, spreading out to everything like wildfire.
The roars of anger and panic quickly turned to miserable cries as spiders jumped and twisted, their bodies going through extreme pain as they felt their innards getting stabbed by countless needles, their painful cries drowning every other noise.
It was a sight of complete and utter horror as spiders began to drop dead in numbers that were growing by the moment. Those still safe from the white haze began to run toward the mountain, entering its tunnels as they screamed their lungs out in horror.
Nothing inside the barrier was safe, as everything was swiftly getting covered by a blanket of bone white that, on the surface, looked so pure, yet its effect would send chills down even the hardened spines.
Nero was both terrified and impressed, but he knew the final test of the array had yet to begin. Before it could stand its ground against the true horror inside the mountain, it was just an amazing array and a great experience for him.
Nero was itching to ask whether the dome was good enough to stand against the spider queen or if the frost effect was working as Draven wanted, but he was too focused on the mountain peak, waiting for the queen to make her move, fearing the worst if he switched focus for even a single moment.
Nero felt the noise from the spiders fade into silence, his eyes locked on the mouth of the mountain as he held his breath, though he wasn't even aware of it.
Seconds ticked by, and the frost spread more and more, inching across the ground and sky. In thirty seconds, it reached near the mouth of the mountain, and just as it did, a change finally occurred.
"HHHSSSZZZZIIIIRRRRRRRRRR"
A deafening, high-pitched roar erupted from within the crystal mountain, a sound both beastly and unnatural, filled with raw, furious anger.
The sheer force of the Spider Queen's roar pushed the white mist in the air reeling back, turning into a thick blanket as it violently crashed against the barrier with a dull, resonating thud, completely blocking the view.
The entire mountain quaked under the force, and even the ground beneath Draven's feet shook as if struck by an earthquake.
"CRRRAAAAACCCCKKKKKK"
Nero felt his heart drop as he heard the sound of shattering glass, thinking it might be the barrier, but Draven's face did not betray any emotion because he already knew the end of this ordeal.
The thick wall of the frozen mana burst open as dozens of crystals made an impact on the barrier. Each one transformed into massive circles of icy white energy that completely erased the frozen mana mist, only for the energy itself to be frozen into the same bone-white mist.
The few empty holes in the haze revealed the inside of the barrier, a sight of utter destruction, as dozens of spiders lay dead, with hundreds struggling to take their last few breaths, and atop the mountain stood their queen.
She appeared far more massive and deadlier now that she stood beneath the crimson shades of the setting sun. Her more than a dozen pale white eyes, each tinged with a faint hint of crimson, glowed menacingly as they swept across her surroundings, scanning with a cold, predatory focus.
A massive magic circle hung above her head, and a quick look confirmed it to be a sixth-rank magic circle as intricate lines and runes took form, nearly completing it.
But before it could complete, the shimmering circle began to freeze, drowning in the embrace of the white mist that plagued the inside of the dome in its entirety,
"HHHSSSZZZZIIIIRRRRRRRRRR"
The Spider Queen roared in fury, her disbelief palpable as the realization that her spell had been frozen and turned useless before it could take effect made even her heart tremble with fear.
With a furious howl, she tried again, her desperation fueling her speed as she wove a new spell. The circles took shape in mere moments, their intricate patterns etched with precision, while runes materialized simultaneously, filling the gaps with arcane brilliance.
She did not stop there, as this time, she first pushed away the thin haze surrounding her before creating a sphere of snow-white energy that completely covered the circle. However, to her dismay, this spell and the sphere that she created suffered the same fate.
A low growl of anger rumbled from the Spider Queen as she lowered her stance, her maw opening unnaturally wide. Her legs dug deep into the mountain, anchoring her massive form, and within the darkness of her open mouth, a swirling point of energy began to manifest, growing in intensity.
It barely increased in size, yet its effects were immediate. A thick layer of frost began to rapidly spread across her surroundings, creeping over the ground and up the jagged rocks. The air itself seemed to crystallize as icy tendrils curled outward, freezing everything in their path.
A minute quickly passed since the barrier had taken form and hundreds of spiders that had roamed the mountain before were already dead. With their queen roaring in anger, those who were left outside also entered, walking straight to their death.
The queen charged her attack for nearly thirty seconds, vanishing in the thick haze of her own creation. The icy silence was broken by the sound that began as a low, eerie howl before gradually intensifying into a high-pitched, piercing shriek, like metal grinding against stone.
"KRRRIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZ"
A beam of pure white tore through the haze, bridging the distance in less than a second before it met with the barrier, sending twisting ripples through its surface and swiftly covering a third of it in a thick layer of frost.
'It survived. THE BARRIER SURVIVED THE ATTACK,' Nero roared in pure delight as he watched the barrier return to normal without a scratch left on it.
'It must be created by some great genius, maybe an evil genius,' Nero murmured, impressed beyond measure, as he watched the frost from the attack break down, turning into the same thin white haze that permeated the entirety of the barrier.
Draven just smiled at the comment, deciding to keep the truth of how he modified a higher-rank array that was meant to save lives into a deadly weapon.
The Queen stood atop the mountain, her eyes wide with disbelief, unable to comprehend how even her strongest attack had failed to breach the barrier.
She did not even need to look around to sense merely a few of her kin were alive, the rest having died with every ounce of mana in their bodies frozen.
She could feel the same fate awaiting her, so without another moment wasted, she moved forward as she bent the space around her, trying to escape into the void of space, but all she did was disappear and appear before the barrier crashing face-first into it.
She looked confused, followed by utter horror, as she realized why she had failed to enter the void.
The relentless cold crept deeper into her flesh, each frigid bite gnawing at her, and for the first time in decades, she felt the sting of helplessness as the realization that she could do nothing to defend herself against her enemy gripped her with an unfamiliar dread.
She tried to escape into the void once more, but she failed miserably, and not being able to accept her reality, she began to slam her legs into the barrier, as she roared at the top of her lungs.
The pointed legs that could carve through the hard crystals like wet mud were crushed after a few slams, the blood and fluids inside leaking out, her cries turning desperate by the moment.
"DON'T KILL ME,"
"DON'T KILL ME,"
"DON'T KILL ME,"
"I Will do anything. I am a chosen, an Apex grade system holder," The Spider Queen roared, her voice thick with panic. Her eyes roamed wildly, seeking escape, her arrogance reduced to pleading as she felt the weight of her impending doom.
"I have a great secret that has allowed me to progress so quickly, reaching the Void ascendant Rank in a mere forty-one years, and I promise I can reach the World ascendant Rank in less than a decade,"
"I am useful. I will be your slave, so please don't kill me," The Spider Queen roared in desperation, hoping to strike a bargain for her life.