"You should consider yourself lucky for not being devoured by my children."
"They your children? They look like you."
The Goblin stared at her from the white cocoon of silk that immobilized him. He dangled in front of her while another Giant Spider felt at him with its furry pedipalps. She scoffed at the would-be thief that was caught scurrying along the hallway.
"Yes, yes. Spew it out already like the rest of the fools. Call them ugly or thing of nightmares or some other term in your tongue."
"They are very beautiful."
"What a waste of- Wait, what did you say?"
"Children look like you. Very beautiful and very healthy. Not like other Spiders near my home. These are big spiders. Have soft hair too."
The comment caught her and the spider off guard. It was the first time she heard such words come from a creature like this, and he didn't sound like he was lying. Maybe this particular Goblin hit his head on the way here, or maybe someone injected him with too much venom?
Curiously, she poked at the Goblin with her finger. He growled at her as she pinched his green cheeks. As she did, she shooed away the Giant Spider that brought him here and pulled at the web that opened and closed the main doors to her room.
"Go away. It seems I have a guest rather than an intruder."
She smiled at her guest as he struggled to free himself from the tight webs around his body. The look in his eyes as he glared at her made her shiver a little.
"You eat me? Not very tasty. Not fat like other things in dungeon."
"Ufufu~! On the contrary, maybe you'd like something to eat? Maybe I'll fatten you up before I suck up your melted insides."
"Oh, free food? Have mushrooms? I like mushrooms."
She let out a giggle as she flicked the Goblin with one of her massive legs. He screamed at her angrily while his body swung around like a fly caught mid-air in one of her webs.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, she felt as if she was no longer alone. She finally found someone to talk to in this lonely place of constant death and darkness. She called out to the spider that brought him here and asked for some mushrooms to be brought here. Well, she'd have to kill him someday, but that day could fall on some other day. For now...
"Did you really mean what you said to me?"
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The Goblin watched Arachnea warily as he struggled to keep himself steady on top of her old body. Her crimson eyes stared at him while she twirled a strand of silk between her fingers. Below them, his three friends fought the endless tide of black bodies that flooded out of the open doors of her room.
"It... It shouldn't be like this, you know? I can give you another chance to think over my offer."
"Never. It is not my way."
"It never was, was it? Even on that day, you refused to kill any of my children even when they surrounded you. Perhaps it was that simple mercy that saved you."
A long sigh left her lips as she finally stopped twirling the webs wrapped around her fingers.
"It was... It was nice knowing you, Goblin. It truly made me happy."
The Goblin's gut told him to duck immediately. He didn't know why he should do it, but he never doubted his instincts. He dropped immediately the moment he saw something glimmer near her. As he did, he felt some of the hairs on his head get snipped off by something unseen.
She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she moved up her arms like a puppeteer. The light behind her finally revealed her hand to him, and his blood ran cold at the sight of it. Thin threads ran from the tip of her fingers and around the two of them. They were thin enough to not be seen in dark spaces such as this, yet they were sharp and strong enough to slice off his head with a strong enough tug.
The blade in his hands burst into flame as he swiped around him blindly. He knew he hit something whenever he heard a loud twang or the snapping of something tense around him but it wasn't enough. He felt something wrap around his legs and then he felt it slicing through the fabric of his pants. It bit into his flesh painfully and he looked for the thread that was responsible for the sharp pain.
"Tch! You won't get away this time, Goblin!"
She forcefully pulled with her right hand, and the Goblin fell forwards with a soft thud. The skin around his leg was torn open and it looked like it had been flayed by a sharp knife. His eyes looked at the silver thread that dug into the exposed muscle, and he immediately cut it with his blade.
He rolled to the side in pain while Arachnea made more of her webs. Through the pain, he jumped backward to avoid the net Arachnea threw over him. His eyes glanced to his side as another strand of web tried to wrap around his arm. Her finger twitched and it would've cut his arm off his shoulder if he didn't cut it with the dagger he brought with him.
"A sword and a dagger? Can you really wield both of those at once?"
"Can."
With the light coming from his sword, he could finally see the threads much more clearly now. Arachnea's face looked irate as the threads on her fingers went limp with each fluid and precise strike of the Goblin.
He was about to cut the last strand of silk near him when he saw something move in the corner of his eye. His arm moved on instinct and he came face to face with Arachnea. Her arms swung down on the dagger and she managed to knock it away with the force of her hand. Her nails were now sharp razors that could easily rend skin and her fangs are now elongated and dripped with venom.
Then, it began to crumble away beneath them. The massive legs that supported her massive frame buckled and fell apart into large pieces. Empty chitin fell off the head-like structure of her body and yellow insides oozed out of the holes in the abdomen. The Goblin nearly fell over the side but his claws dug deep into the flesh underneath him while Arachnea simply held onto the thick strands of web sticking out of the ceiling.
Beneath them were Stefan, Semilia, and Riel. The bodies of numerous spiders were piled all around them while the flesh of the thing's large body fell around them. They could see the Goblin hanging on for dear life yet they couldn't do anything to help him.
"Shit! I'm on my last five arrows!"
Semilia yelled out as she pulled the small knife she kept sheathed on her waist. A Giant Spider reared up on her, its fangs flared out as it prepared to bite down on her. She immediately thrust into its side and something wet splattered all over her as she twisted it deeper into its black abdomen.
"I-I'm out of mana..."
Semilia looked over at Riel while she bashed a Giant Spider's head open with her staff.
"Stay behind us then!"
"Stefan! Above you!"
His arms moved quickly as he hacked apart a large segment of the massive leg that nearly fell over them. Black bits of hard skin was thrown around them as he placed himself in front of Riel. Semilia stood beside him as well with her hand firmly grasping the knife she had in her hands.
"I-I don't we can win like-"
"Shut it, Riel! I don't want to hear that kind of shit right now!"
Stefan barked loudly, his eyes still glued on the monsters that swarmed their small circle. They could hear the battle above them raging furiously while they saw that the flood of monsters that spewed out of the doors had no end to them.
Semilia looked up at the Goblin for a moment. He dangled over them from the ceiling, grasping at the large strand of webs as the thing's body fell apart around them. She hovered over him, her feet firmly planted on the ceiling, and a wide smile plastered on her pale face.
"Are you sure he'll be- Get the fuck off me!"
Semilia buried an arrow into a Giant Spider's eye with her hands. The tip broke inside as she pulled it away. She clicked her tongue before she threw the shaft of the arrow at the monsters.
"We're fucked anyways, so just focus on staying alive."
Stefan swung his sword around him, a blur of silver and white streaked all around him with each quick stroke. Legs and yellow gore rained down around him as he fought desperately to drive back the spiders.
He let out a groan as he twisted the sword in his hands. With a graceful flick of his wrist, the sword cleanly sliced off the fangs of an opportunistic spider that managed to sneak over to his side. He was relying more and more on the strength of his arms now as well as the small ground of dry floor beneath him. The wetness and slippery nature of the gore-filled floor prevented him from fighting in his preferred style of swordsmanship. The sloppiness of his footwork made him frustrated and it made dodging harder for him. This was not the kind of fighting he was used to.
One of the monsters managed to sneak up on him. He let out a cuss as he thrusted his sword deep into its head, but another managed to tackle him from the side. Its legs knocked away the sword in his hand and another climbed on top of him with its fangs bared at him. Its four pairs of glowing, red eyes stared down at him as the one under it began to bite on his armor. He immediately grabbed the fangs of the spider on top of him as it brought its dagger-like fangs down on his face.
To his right, he could see Semilia panting heavily as she held up the knife between her and the three Giant Spiders that crawled towards them. Venom and saliva dripped on his cloak and the sound of his steel chest plate as it slowly dented under the relentless biting of the spider filled his ears. He looked back at the white fangs that were now inches away from his face, and he began to pray.
It was a simple prayer to the Goddess. One that asked for peace rather than salvation in the face of death. Stefan already knew he would die someday, but he never really thought he would die like this. The idea of making peace with himself and his fate in a situation like this made him scoff for a moment, but he knew that he lost the moment his sword slipped from his grasp.
Yes, it was always like that. One wrong move and it all comes crashing down. The fangs slowly approached his face as his strength faded out from his arms. He thought about her, someone that used to travel with them in the past. Then he began to see glimpses and flashes of his time with her and the memories he made along the way.
"Hey, hey! N-Now is not the time for my life to flash before my eyes! I don't want to see something so boring in my final moments!"
He muttered out loudly, his hands and cheeks sweating profusely as he struggled to push back the fangs near his face. They were close now, he could even feel them grazing his cheek from time to time.
"[Ice Shard]!"
The fangs stopped just as they were about to dig into his cheek. Immediately, he shoved the dead bodies of the spiders on top of him away from them. They were riddled with large spikes of ice that came from above them.
In fact, a large number of the Giant Spiders met their demise with that attack. He looked up at the source of the magic, and saw the Goblin sweating profusely and with labored breathing. His sword was covered in a thick layer of frost while he dangled from one of the massive legs still stuck on the webs above them.
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"Your fight is with me, Goblin!"
He had no time to rest as he immediately jumped onto the large piece of chitin near him. The spot he was crouching at a few moments before exploded into small fragments of exoskeleton after Arachnea swiped at it with her sharp claws. Webs let out a snap as the spider leg fell to the floor with a thunderous crash. It crushed a large number of Giant Spiders but more came out of the open doors and swarmed over it.
The spot he was standing on was unsteady, but he could hang onto the numerous webs around him if need be. The problem is Arachnea, who could easily walk on the walls and on the webs she shot out of her hands. She let out a scream as she leapt at him, arms wide open as if she was about to give him an embrace.
Something cut his shoulder as he crawled upwards as fast as he can. She landed on the wall below him, her hands and feet firmly glued on the wall like a spider. They both began to crawl upwards, each taking swipes at the other as they climbed. The woman was nimble and easily avoided the kicks he threw at her and he was quick and light enough to not get entangled in her webs.
Webs clung onto the sleeve of his shirt. He snapped his head back at the woman behind him, her lips curled into a predatory smile as she clutched a thick strand of white web in her hand. Her hand flicked quickly the instant he tried to cut it away, and he lost his balance and his grip. He fell backward, sharp webs cut into him as Arachnea threw web after web at him.
Soon, he found himself lying on his back on a web of sharp yet sticky silk. His sword and his arm were heavily wrapped in silk and his legs were now bound tightly with webs coated in searing poison. Arachnea laughed as she stood before him, licking the tips of her claws as she approached.
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"It is time we end this little game. I've grown tired of chasing after you."
His eyes widened as she knelt beside him. Her fingers were now coated with poison and she was staring at his chest intently.
"A merciful death. I shall bestow that upon you, old friend."
Her hands were cold as she placed the tip of her sharp fingernail on top of his chest. The Goblin growled and struggled, but it was in vain. The web did its job well, making it impossible for him to get unstuck from the glue-like substance that coats the silk.
He knew the poison she wielded was terrifyingly deadly, but it needs to be injected directly into his bloodstream. If she were to pierce his heart, death would surely be instant due to the poison's quick effect. So he began to struggle even more against the web even if felt impossible. But the more he writhed and pulled against the web, the more he found himself unable to move.
Something pricked his chest, and he looked down to see a small trickle of blood oozing out from the point where Arachnea's finger pressed down on him. It was not deep enough to leave a scar, but he could feel something else from the wound. A burning sensation that made him want to scratch at his chest furiously. He could see the hesitation in her eyes as she shakily pushed down her finger deeper into his chest.
"Goodbye, Go-"
"[Flame]!"
The spell immediately made her look at his empty hand. She hissed and immediately shot out webs to stifle the magic that would come out of it.
But she felt the heat of the spell come from some other direction. She snapped her head to the side-
Too late! A blade that burned with intense flame cut into her shoulder like fangs that bit into digested shells of insects. The heat made the skin, muscles, and fat underneath boil away and melt while she howled in mind numbing-pain. Her hand slipped and tore at his chest and made a large gash that made the Goblin scream in pain. It didn't pierce deeply, but the pain and the venom made him light-headed and dizzy as he pulled away his sword from Arachnea.
Silk burned around them as he freed himself from his wrappings. The sword burned some of the webs that held up the net, making it unsteady and dangerous to be on. Arachnea stumbled backward, clutching at the mess that was her left shoulder as she fought against the feeling of fainting. The Goblin himself looked worse for wear as he fumbled for something to keep himself steady.
"You and your... tricks... Urghh..."
Arachnea's knees buckled as the webs around her snapped violently from the flames. The Goblin raised his sword at his opponent, only to fall backwards as well. Not because of the unsteady webs beneath him, but because he could feel his limbs and body going numb.
He could feel the life drain away from his body as he struggled to keep his eyes open. The poison was finally kicking in, leaving him motionless and cold. His hands clutched at the last bottle of the Healing Potions he brought with him, it was the only thing that will save him now. Then he felt something snap under him and he felt the sensation of weightlessness as he began to fall.
The walls around him moved upward and the ceiling grew more distant with each passing second. He couldn't even move his head or close his eyes now due to the poison. So he watched everything reluctantly, his yellow eyes glued on the pale figure that looked down on him from above. She wanted him dead. Really, really, dead. So dead that he had no chance to rise up as an Undead. He was sure of that.
So why did she look so sad?
"Not on my watch, Mister Goblin!"
He felt something crush his body as a pair of arms wrapped around him mid-air. Then the two of them rolled forward on the cold, hard ground while the person held him tightly. He was sure he broke some of the bones on his body, he might've even broken his back but that didn't matter. He looked up at the person who saved him from the unsavory fate of being turned into a green splatter on the floor.
"Shit! Pop a potion in his mouth, Stefan!"
"What the fuck do you think I'm doing right now?! Cover me!"
Stefan bit off the cork of the Healing Potion her had on him and immediately dumped some of the liquid on the open wound on his chest. The Goblin looked up at Stefan as he opened another bottle and forcefully made him drink the potion.
"This is thanks for earlier, buddy!"
The wound on his chest and his body were closing now. Even the flayed part of his leg began to heal as well but he still couldn't move his body.
"P-Poison. Got... poisoned."
He managed to mumble out weakly to Stefan while Semilia stabbed a Giant Spider that tried to drag him away. The Elf looked at the Goblin on the floor and scowled.
"You just shut up and rest! You brought us this far, it's time for us to repay the favor!"
But before she could stab at another Giant Spider, webs rained down on them and wrapped her arms together. The two of them looked up as Arachnea descended upon them, eyes wide with fury.
The Giant Spiders that were spewing out of the open doors halted. They could see the angry glare of their progenitor as she cast her gaze on them all. She said no words to them as she bared her fangs at her own children. Even they shivered at the sight of their mother looking so frighteningly furious that they scurried away into the shadows outside of her room.
Bodies and various parts surrounded the five of them while Arachnea glared at the three adventurers. The Elf's hands are bound tightly with webs, she would pose no threat to her for now. The mage at the back is exhausted and clearly drained of mana. She will be the last to die in this damned place. She snarled as she approached them with a wobbly gait, her shoulder now wrapped in silk bandages of her own making.
"I always hated adventurers... Your kind has always been meddlesome."
Stefan raised the sword in anticipation of an attack. But before he could properly raise it, she was already in front of him with a sadistic smile on her face.
Riel and Semilia watched as Stefan was lifted into the air with her right hand. Immediately, he was wrapped in silk with a flick of her left hand before being slammed down onto the floor with great force. An audible crack rang out from him and he was immediately knocked out from the pain of having several of his ribs broken in an instant.
Semilia dashed towards her, finally free from the silk binds around her wrist. Arachnea didn't even glance at her as she flung a long thread of silk around her neck. It wrapped around her like a tight noose and Arachnea pulled at it like a leash. She choked for a moment before being yanked to the floor by the rope around her neck. The impact broke her nose and made her lips burst as Arachnea looked down on her with a blank face while her face was firmly planted on the dirty floor.
"Stay there, Low-Elf."
Arachnea hissed as she turned her attention to the crying mage at the back of the room. She smirked at her and took a step forward. Her red lips curled into a similar smile as she thought up ways on how to torture this young girl.
The thought of breaking this poor mage with her webs made her excited. She relished the look of fear the child gave her as she approached. She wondered if she could use her as a seedbed as a way to break her mind, or if she could use her as a test subject for the various poisons she concocted. The scent of her soiled garments grew stronger as she got closer to her.
"I promised to make your death as painful as possible, right?"
Her tone was dark as she loomed over the shivering girl. Her crimson eyes glowed with malicious intent as she smiled at her. A pool of yellow liquid leaked out from under the terrified mage as she spoke.
"Now, now, no need to piss-"
"Away from her!"
Their heads snapped to the source of the voice as a pair of green hands wrapped around Arachnea's neck.
"T-The poison wore off already?!"
"Get away from friend Riel!"
The Goblin wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could, but the poison still circulated in his system. He was still weak, but he hoped that his effort would be enough for them.
So he turned to the mage in front of them while Arachnea clawed at his arms furiously. The poison made it both hard and painful for him to move, but he held on despite the intense pain he felt.
"Go! Go through door! Under treasure pile!"
He yelled out just as his grip faltered. At that moment, Riel dashed forwards and past the struggling Arachnea. She looked back as the Goblin clung onto Arachnea's back, then she turned towards the treasure pile and made a run for it.
Arachnea yelled loudly as she grabbed him by his arms and threw him off of her back. Her vice tore the skin on his wrists as she swung him over her head. He saw the ceiling once again, then he felt the entire weight of his body shift violently as she slammed him down onto the floor with a mighty swing.
Then he felt her cold hands wrap around his own neck. She lifted him up from the floor, ignoring the pain in her shoulder as she did. She glared at him as he struggled for air, his hands desperately clawed at her wrists as she tightened her grip. Weakly, he gave her a kick on the chest in an effort to buy Riel and the others some more time.
"I know you're just distracting me. Just know this, Goblin! They will never escape this room! Never!"
He groaned and let out a gurgle as she tightened her fingers.
"Even if she did, she will never be able to drag out the bodies of the other two with her. The guilt of leaving them behind will surely eat away at her as time passes! It is the greatest poison and trap known to this world, and only the most vile of people can escape its clutches."
She began to cackle as the life was squeezed out of the Goblin. His eyes teared up as he stared into her bright, crimson gaze as she fought to through the pain in her shoulder.
"The girl is probably almost there. No matter, she will never get through those webs. But just in case, I'll finish this right now."
Her grip changed and her eyes became even more serious. She was about to snap his neck as swiftly as she could when she heard the sounds of running footsteps towards her.
"Get away from him!"
Riel's staff swung down on her back. It didn't do much, in fact, it barely fazed Arachnea at all. But it did buy the Goblin enough time to do what he needed to do.
As her head turned towards the trembling girl behind her, he mustered all of the strength he had in his body as he pulled out the dagger under his cloak. With a final groan of both pain and desperation, he grabbed it with both of his hands and buried it deep into Arachnea's chest. She let out a gasp of surprise as she threw him away like a ragdoll, but it was already done.
The entire length of the blade was buried deep into her chest and blood began to spurt out from the wound. She took a single step forward, then she fell on her knees as she grabbed the blade's handle. She weakly tried to pull it out, and she managed to succeed in doing so. She tossed aside the dagger and groaned as she looked for him, for the Goblin she tossed earlier. Blood flowed out of the large gash in a torrent as she began to die on the floor.
She wouldn't die just yet, but she knew she wouldn't live to see the next day as well. Her gaze fell upon the yellow eyes that stared at her. He was drinking another potion while he stared at her. His face was a mix of different emotions, and the girl beside him finally fainted from both mana and physical exhaustion.
"G-Guess you finally managed to kill me! Ahaha... ha..."
"Don't talk. Losing blood. I have pot-"
"Save it. I'm not keen on living on with the fact that I nearly died to a Goblin."
Her sharp tone silenced him. She didn't mean it, but she couldn't really hold it in.
Then she heard him limping towards her. She looked up at him as he stood over her, dagger in hand. She let out as a sigh as she closed her eyes and waited for him to finish it. But instead, he hid the dagger under his cloak and sat beside her. She looked at his face and saw the blank expression he had as he stared emptily into the distance.
"Tired. Don't want to do it."
"I... I see."
They both lay there in silence. Both of them are tired and one was bleeding out on the floor. She let out a groan of pain as she struggled to move to a more comfortable position.
"Lend me your lap, Gobby. I don't want to die with an aching head."
"Don't call me that. Told you before. Don't like it."
"Oh shut up! Just get over here and lend me a hand!"
The Goblin let out a reluctant groan as he helped Arachnea onto his lap. She let out a weak smile before coughing up blood on his face.
"Sorry..."
They sat there in silence for a long time, broken only by the occasional fits of coughing that came from Arachnea. Finally, she broke the silence between them with a strange question.
"Hey, did... Did you ever feel lonely in this place?"
The Goblin scoffed and looked up at the ceiling. Loneliness... it was a word he made peace with a long time ago. A word that meant little to him now.
"Always been lonely. Even before dungeon."
"Oh."
"Hm. You? You lonely even with many children around?"
"They're not really that intelligent. I call them my children but they're more of like servants born to do my bidding. They were the tools I used to dirty my hands with blood, after all, a princess shouldn't be participating in an act such as killing."
That made him feel bad for the Giant Spiders that prowled this floor. But Arachnea didn't mind it at all, so she continued to talk.
"They make great company and servants, but you just can't have a conversation with them! Do you know how annoying it is to hold a conversation with something that just talks about patrol reports?! Sure, it's great when you're taking over a new floor but when you're bored, it's a huge pain in the head!"
She let out a heavy sigh as she looked at the deep wound on her chest. She poked at it with her finger and she winced right after she did so.
"I... I don't want to die here. I want to see those lavender fields one last time."
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she began to sob gently on his lap. The dam behind her eyes finally broke and all of her emotions finally burst out in the form of the tears she shed on his lap.
"I want to go back... I want to go back to those grand balls and those happy banquets! I hate this place, I hate those things I have given birth to, and I hate living here in fear! But most of all... I hate what I have become."
"Then live. Drink... Drink potion and live. Live and be better! Live and stop fearing! You could live and... and live better life than this!"
He pulled the Health Potion he grabbed from Riel and opened it. His hand was shaking as he did so, but he felt her soft hands hold his own just as he was about to pour it on her wound.
"I-If I live, Goblin, I don't think I'll be able to hold on to what's left of my humanity. I don't want to die... but I don't want to live as a monster."
She gently pushed away the bottle with a somber smile on her face. The Goblin was also crying, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.
"You and I both ran here to hide from it. I could tell, you know? It just so happens we took different paths to deal with it."
"I... I'm scared of things down there. Very scared."
"I know. I know. I'm scared of them too, Goblin. But it was wrong of me to try and force you to help me."
She wiped away the tears and snot from the Goblin's face. Arachnea smiled weakly at him as she continued to bleed out on the floor.
"I find it amazing that you could live so close to the surface. It must be deafening for you up there."
"Mhm. V-Very hard. Whispers everywhere b-but I ignore."
"Well, you're doing a good job then. Most monsters up there are pushing downwards into the depths. The walls are thicker there and the song barely reaches those depths but the things guarding those floors are more monstrous than even I."
She coughed once more. It was much more violently this time and the Goblin could see that her end was near.
"I'm weak, Goblin. I could hear the song calling out to me and it gets stronger and stronger each passing day. I wanted to crawl deeper into the dungeon, to hide from it. I don't want to answer it, Goblin. I'm afraid of what will happen to me if I do. I'm scared, I'm really scared."
He had no reply to her calls for help as she lay in his arms. He could only offer her the tears he shed as he listened to her words and frustration.
"I-I'm sorry for what I did to you and your friends, Goblin. I guess my jealousy flared up there, hehe... But I think the more time I spend in this dungeon, the more I start to become a part of it as well. I-I don't really know, Goblin. I don't really know what to choose in this place. Do I lose myself to the strange song above or do I lose myself here in the darkness of this hole?"
Her hand caressed his cheek softly while he avoided her gaze. She smiled at the Goblin's attempt to hide his anguish, but she paid it no heed as she felt the softness of his skin.
"So promise me this, Goblin. Don't you dare lose yourself to anything in this world, okay? This damned place already has enough horrors in it, so just be yourself. I want you to stay as the nice, caring, and mushroom obsessed Goblin that you are."
"O-Okay... I won't... I won't be a monster."
"You better keep that promise... I won't forgive you if you break it."
Her voice was weaker now, much softer and lighter than the furious one she had earlier. She gave him a smile as she continued to caress his cheek.
"Oh right... Y-You still have that promise with that person, right? The one that gave you that strange pen, what's her name again?"
The light in her eyes was gone now. He clutched the hand on his cheek tightly as he muttered a name through his heavy sobs.
"Maria."
"Maria... What a nice name. I wonder what kind of person she was... to turn a Goblin... into such... nice... per... son."
The soft and cold hand that he held finally went limp as the creature known as Arachnea closed her eyes at last. He looked at her chest and saw that it was no longer rising and falling. He let out a cry of anguish as he clutched her hand tightly.
"Stupid spider! Stupid!"
He yelled out as he cried over the body of the strange woman. A gentle smile can be seen on her lips and he could even see the venom leaking out of her fangs. It was hard to believe that she was dead since she looked like she was just sleeping.
But what he was seeing was the truth. Not an illusion or tricks of the dark, but the unfiltered and purest truth that was always present in the dungeon. She was dead, killed in the dungeon by a Goblin. The beautiful woman with the jet-black hair that stretched over her shoulders and a crimson gaze that ensnared all those who stare at it lay dead in his arms. Arachnea, Mother of Spiders and Princess of the long dead kingdom of Arluk, lay in his arms while her vanquisher cried out in anguish over her death.
Only four people will remember the guardian of that labyrinth. The children that she bore grieved in their own way within the dark halls of the labyrinth as they felt the presence within her room disappear. Inside her room, the Goblin hugged her tightly while he cried. For him, it felt as if the labyrinth became a smaller place that day.
On that day, the scent of lavender disappeared from that room. And the light from her webs dimmed as well and left this part of the dungeon a tiny bit darker.