"This is the power of the Queen of Spiders," the Spider Queen declared as she charged at us for an attack.
Tenshi braced herself as the Spider Queen relentlessly used her legs to pierce and tear through the barrier. It was evident that Tenshi was struggling to maintain the barrier under the relentless assault.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The sounds of the Spider Queen's attacks reverberated throughout the cavern. Tenshi, her hands clasped tightly, fought to keep the barrier intact, but it was a losing battle. One of the Spider Queen's legs crashed through, shattering the barrier and piercing Tenshi, pulling her away. Tenshi let out a scream as she lost consciousness, a white light enveloping her.
"It'd be no fun if she died," the Spider Queen taunted.
With no barriers to protect us, we became easy prey. The Spider Queen wrapped Tenshi in her webs and pinned her to the wall like a trophy, leaving us vulnerable and at her mercy.
The Spider Queen snatched Viri with her web, and Seraphina's desperate attempt to grab her was in vain. The Spider Queen wrapped Viri against the wall with the same cruel efficiency she had used on Tenshi.
A demonic laugh echoed through the cavern. "Two down, four to go," the Spider Queen taunted.
Reyna and Sera exchanged determined glances, preparing for the next attack. The Spider Queen sprang forward with a burst of speed, launching herself toward us.
Seraphina extended her arm, sending a wave of ice shards slicing through the air with deadly precision. The Spider Queen's legs blurred as she deftly dodged the attack, her shrill screech reverberating through the cavern.
"Careful, Sera!" Reyna yelled, her voice laced with urgency.
Reyna raised her hands, summoning a torrent of force that erupted beneath the Spider Queen. The cavern glowed a fierce, bright orange as the Spider Queen leaped out of the attack's path. In retaliation, she launched a volley of venomous webs, aiming to ensnare us.
"Pierce through, Fire_Dragon_Infernia!" Reyna commanded.
From her revolver, she fired bullets of pure fire at the webs, incinerating them mid-air. The remaining webs were blocked by a wall of ice Seraphina created. As the ice wall fell, the Spider Queen could be seen charging straight at us.
Seraphina focused her magic, her eyes narrowing in concentration as she summoned an ice spear and hurled it at the Spider Queen. The spear seemed to strike.
However, with a roar, the Spider Queen summoned a protective barrier of small spiders that swarmed in front of her, their tiny bodies creating a shield. The ice spear shattered upon impact, causing the swarm to scatter in a frenzy.
Seizing the opportunity, Reyna prepared for another Featherstorm.
"Eli, I'm going to use all my mana," she commanded. "Make sure it stays still."
"Paralyze_!" Eli shouted.
The Spider Queen seemed to freeze in place, bound by an invisible force.
"Phoenix_Featherstorm(Mana: Remaining)!" Reyna yelled.
Blazing feathers burst from Reyna's right arm, swirling around her in a fiery vortex before converging on the Spider Queen. After Reyna cast the skill, she collapsed and lost consciousness. With no barrier to protect us from the onslaught, Seraphina quickly raised a small wall in front of us, but it shattered instantly.
This Featherstorm was unlike the previous ones; it was relentless. The number of feathers surged from hundreds to hundreds of thousands. Surprisingly, none of them hit us, as if an unknown force was protecting us.
Hundreds of explosions echoed through the cave. As the blasts subsided, we saw the Spider Queen, now marked with miniature craters that seemed to completely cover her exoskeleton. She began to collapse. The intense heat from the explosions had evaporated the poison lake surrounding us.
However, because the Spider Queen wasn't defeated in one go, the white rune reappeared above her, healing her once more. The healing also cured her of paralysis, and the Spider Queen unleashed webs from her mouth, ensnaring Reyna and Seraphina. She bit into them as she attached them to the wall, just as she had done previously. With Reyna unconscious, the lights that had been illuminating the cavern flickered and then went out. My night-vision goggles activated, leaving me and Eli alone in the dark.
The Spider Queen leaped in front of us, her presence imposing as she spoke with a demonic smile, "Which of you will live?"
Eli's face showed anger, but it seemed to calm momentarily. As neither of us responded, the Spider Queen grabbed Eli with her webs. Her final words before being bitten were, "Save us"
The Spider Queen let out a demonic laugh.
"You have no stake in this. You're not in their guild," she mocked.
"How do you know about guilds?" I asked, my voice steady.
"I know a lot about high humans," she sneered. "As I said before, I've seen them kill in this very room."
"You have no stake in this. Leave," she commanded coldly.
"Is this some kind of act of revenge? Why do you want to kill them?"
"The actions of a queen don't matter to those of a pawn," she spat.
"Leave," she ordered again, her voice dripping with malice.
Fear.
Fear was a common occurrence in this world. With their deaths, I could earn five platinum, live comfortably, and never worry again. Yet, I cared. I cared about them, if they survived.
"I might not be the strongest, but I will do what I must." I yelled, unwilling to let them fall.