Chapter 81: Old Friend.

*Ria’s POV*

Celia’s unfortunate circumstances aside, this dungeon wasn’t any better. It was fine at first, but the spiders kept getting bigger, and bigger. We even ended up getting trapped by them. Granted, Nia and I could easily deal with them all, but we shouldn’t reveal ourselves unless it is absolutely necessary to do so.

Student, after student, got kidnapped by the spiders. I say kidnapped, as they clearly didn’t kill them, for some reason. Nia and I had an unspoken idea to let them all get kidnapped, so that we could stop pretending to be useless against the spiders.

Lia and Hadi got taken at the same time, which was good for us, as we could just blame this terrible timing as the reason why we let Hadi get taken. With only the core members of our group remaining, Nia and I could finally use as much of our power as we wished.

Cutting our way through the spiders, I am sure that Lia felt a little weak when compared to us. She didn’t seem to be ruined by it, and I am sure that she will take this as a sign that she must get stronger. We did have to go slower, so that Lia wouldn’t get left behind, after all.

Trying to compare yourself to a God, Goddess, or any other type of higher being, is a very pointless thing to do. Mortal bodies have a limit on how far they can go, and a mortal will have to go to great lengths to get passed such limits. Beings like Nia and I, do not have such limits.

Back to the matter at hand, I had just killed the largest spider that we’ve come across so far. After I slew it, I felt an odd connection to someone I haven’t seen in a very long time. If it is who I think it is, all of these spiders would make sense. She was supposed to be dead, but beings like us are never truly gone.

The only problem is, I just hope that she doesn’t hold a grudge over me. While it is true that I wasn’t the one to kill her, I also didn’t save her when I had the chance. Hm… I guess that is another regret of mine. How funny…

*Some Time Later.*

After killing well over a few hundred spiders, all of varying sizes, we came across a very interesting sight. Only one being could make something like this…

Lia: “That is the largest web that I have ever seen…” She said with a shocked expression.

Nia: “That is is…” She said with a shocked expression as well.

What? Never seen something like this before? And you call yourself a Goddess… Anyway, this was clearly done by my old friend. Looking at the web, there were around a hundred people trapped on it. All of them are still alive.

There weren’t just students, it seems. This dungeon opened up not that long ago, how did they already kidnap people? Ah, I see, now I understand. Nia slashed her scythe behind Lia. It looked as if she cut just air, but soon, blood spurted out, and revealed a spider that was cut in half.

Right… I forgot that she could do that… So, she sent her stealth troops to kidnap people. Why they’re still alive, is because she needs more souls to fully awaken. If you look under the web, there is a huge spider egg.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Ephina, was, or rather, is the Goddess of Spiders. The battle that Celia experienced between the higher beings, wasn’t the only war. There was another, I didn’t fight in that war, but Ephina did. She ended up dying in that war, though. Before she did, she had asked me to fight with her. I decided to stick to my original plan, and didn’t agree to join her.

If I did, perhaps she could have survived. Regardless, here she is once again. I could feel her soul within the egg, so it is certainly her. Nia and Hadi… If just one more deceased God or Goddess shows up, I would have to assume that another war will happen again…

But that is for later, for now, we should focus on dealing with the spiders. Which will be somewhat of a problem, as there are thousands of them in this chamber… I do not wish to prevent Ephina from coming back to life, but this method isn’t the best way to do it.

Ria: “Lady Nia, how much of your power have you regained in this life?” I ask with a serious tone.

Nia: “I died in the last great war, so I haven’t been able to regain much of it.” She answered.

Ria: “Alright then, please watch over Lady Lia, I shall deal with the spiders. Do you disagree with this plan?” I propose.

Nia: “No, I do not. Now go on, cute Goddess maid. Go do all of the work for us, like the good maid that you’re.” She said with a cheeky tone.

Ria: “Your sass will be remembered. Please do look forward to your next breakfast.” I say with a slightly serious but joking tone.

Ha! Nia now has a scared look on her face. That’s right! You should respect your elders! Anyway, with the plan in place, I went ahead to fight the spiders. We’ll leave the captives for now, as they will be safe until Ephina is ready to take their souls.

*Hours Later.*

It is a shame that Celia wasn’t here for this. She could have really used the Experience from killing all of these spider monsters. Though, I am pretty sure that girl has a fear of spiders. Either way, it would have been good for her, and for me. Since I could have seen her reactions.

As such, I vented my frustrations onto the spiders. By killing them all without mercy. They might be my friend’s offspring, but I killed them nonetheless. Luckily, all of the captives were put to sleep, somehow. Which is good for Nia, and I, as no one will know about our actual strength.

Ria: “With all of the spiders dead, Lady Nia, could you perhaps free the captives?” I ask.

Nia: “I can do that with ease!” She exclaimed.

She then cut all of the captives down from the huge web, and freed them from the web prison around their bodies, one at a time. It was Lia’s and Nia’s job to wake them all up, meanwhile, I had to deal with Ephina. Walking up to her egg, I placed my hand on to it.

She might not be awake at the moment, but I could still talk to her, if I can reach her soul. After trying for a minute, I was able to speak to her. It was weird hearing an old friend after all this time.

Ria: “Ephina? It’s me, Ria. Ah, that is a new name, I guess. But you surely remember me by my soul, right?” I ask with a warm tone.

Ephina: “Ria?… I think that it has been… a very long time, hasn’t it?” She asked with an unsure tone.

Ria: “Yes, it has been... I am sorry that I wasn’t there to save you, but your current method of coming back to life, will not work out well for you.” I reply with a remorseful tone.

Ephina: “This method, will turn me into a human. But I will not be a Goddess any longer. If you have another option, I am willing to hear it.” She asked.

Ria: “Becoming my Bond Sister, should give you enough power to come back as a Goddess. Although, not with your full power, as you will be a reborn Goddess.” I explain.

Ephina: “Then I beseech you to do so. Do not worry if I hold a grudge for you not helping me out, that was far too long ago to hold onto something that petty.” She said with a laugh.

The ritual was similar to what Nia and I did with Celia. Once it was over, the egg cracked, and a big breasted woman with long raven hair emerged from it. This was the Ephina that I knew long ago. Just as beautiful as always. I have to keep her away from Celia at all costs…

Regardless, I handed her some clothes, and she thanked me. Ephina then helped us guide the awakened captives out of the dungeon. With that over, I can now worry about Celia. I wonder if she is having as much trouble as we did? Knowing her, she is probably somehow finding the situation to be fun…