Chapter 7
A circle of chittering, young and baby sized spiders are spread out around the sides of the room and from the roof, a glowing moss grows on the walls, bringing light to the cavern. In the center is a broken bed of marble with what can only be described as a moth woman on it. Silver and white wings crushed underneath her body lined with tufts of fur all the way down to her toes, antennae sprout above her head like that of a pure white moth that I’ve only seen in pictures online and of course from the silver jewelry hanging from Zelia’s neck. Behind the moth lady, a looming being of monstrous proportions, currently salivating and occasionally biting down and ripping parts off of the moth, staining her perfect silver body with luminescent silver blood, killing her slowly and savoring every bite, the monster’s eyes were glowing red to the point that it was lighting up what was infront of her, bathing the moth lady in an ominous glow. The creature that Keeks ran all the way in for and what Mershi had mentioned, the Arachne Queen, Her enormous humanoid body ending in a large abdomen with a stinger pointing out, 8 limbs coming off her body were that of a spider, her face disjointed and split at the mouth with razor sharp insectile endings. She had her boobs out which was cool at least, but the horrifying scene of a giant spider woman eating a large moth woman was overriding any lesbian tendencies.
I grab Keeks and motion that I'm going to throw her, she claps her hands excitedly, barely touching them together to keep some kind of stealth on and curls up into a ball as my hand clasps around her scruff. I motion to Zel to start casting as many burn at the stakes as she can, covering the room but avoiding the center so we don't outright kill the moth lady ourselves, she nods in understanding at my bizarre hand movements. I count us down to 3 with my body, 1… 2… 3! Keeks is hurled through the air as fire lights up on the right side of the room, combat starts with screams of “Sneak Attack-Burn at stake Nye-Wan!” Keeks unfurling through the air aiming straight for the head of the Arachne Queen as a screaming woman on fire at the stake lances up through a panicking pack of spiders.
I can only do what I do best, pick a spider at the back of the pack and < Running of the Bulls > Become what my race's namesake is good at, using them horns! I crush countless baby spiders under my hooves as my unknowing target, one of the larger spiders, starts dashing towards me. I pierce it through the mouth and Lift it over my head as I'm released from my charge, smashing at anything that comes near me, killing each spider in a single blow, < Battle Stance > Adds even more damage to the mix along with my newly enhanced knuckle weapons.
After a few seconds I get some notifications that I can only ignore in the heat of battle and my damage seems to get even stronger, my damage numbers lighting up on each enemy as I’m averaging 50’s if not higher, seeming to one shot those even without critical damage. My crits are now exploding the spiderlings in every way all over the place forcing back their own kin as they come from every direction.
“YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSSOLENCE!” Oh holy shit they talk! Or I mean I guess they should?! I look over and Keeks has wedged her cutlass in the Arachne Queens back, being thrown too and fro as the queen is unable to grab her off with her spider arms, not being able to reach all the way to the exact point where keeks is, instead just scratching at herself helplessly. Usually her children would help her but they are more than a little preoccupied.
Suddenly she jumps back and smashes her back into the wall, the very tip of the cutlass pushing all the way through her body from the impact causing even more damage to her as she realises she’s fucked up, blood splurting from her mouth and dripping down her poor boobs as she flops back helplessly to the ground, fuck where’s keeks?!
A gun shot fires off next to me and I yelp as Keeks appears by my side, “Keeks what the fuck, werent you behind her back moo?!” She laughs and pulls out a small tome, like one of Zel’s magic ones… wait… fucking Keeks has magic?!
“You gotta get with the game moo girl! Nothing beats a quick teleportation spell! Uses up all my mana but fuck it’s useful nyehehe!” She grins and pulls out her old cutlass, her bone one currently impaled through the spider lady making it a little bit hard to get out.
“THIS IS NOT SSUPOSED TO HAPPEN! BE EATEN BY ME MY ANGEL OF THE MOON!” The Arachne Queen lumbers towards the moth lady mouth open wide.
“BONE SHOT BONE SHOT BONE SHOT!!!! WAAANNN!!! LEAVE THAT POOR CREATURE ALONE!!” Zel really likes moths! Each bone pierces through the Queen's mouth as she yells out in anger, no cute moth lady is dying today!
I feel each of the attacks of the spiders against my armor, some missing and hitting furred skin. Thankfully the damage reductions and my Title passive is making combat pretty damn easy with all these tiny hits, mostly taking 2-5 with every smack against me, especially when I explode each of these spiders in a single hit. Keeks is finishing off what I couldn’t and eventually all that was left was us, the moth lady and an extremely pissed off Arachne Queen with bones all up in her brain. Zel had easily cleared her side with her burning witchery.
“YoU DONT knoOW WHattsss COMMING Foorr YOUUUuu!!! YOUuuR WORlldd WILL BURRNN!!! AnD BE DEVourED!” Leaping over the sleeping beauty I unleash one final punch on the crazy assed Spider lady, My right fist impacting her face knocking one of the bone needles, driving it further into her brain, the rest of my fist follows through as the rest of her head disconnects from her body.
< Slugfest is now level 2 >
< Slugfest level 2 >
30% additional damage when attacking unarmed or with fist weapons.
< 117 Critical Weak Spot Damage (20 BD x 2.5 CD x 1.5 Weak x 1.3 < Slugfest > x 1.2 < Avenger >)
< Arachne Queen has been defeated >
< 3500 Shared Exp gained >
< 4895/9000 Until Next Level >
Wait, did I already level up at some point during the fight?! I check back and see that I hit level 13 just after we started the fight. I was too distracted being ‘in the zone’ . I think it happened as I was charging? Zelia's burn at the stake must have done enough damage to get me over the line, awesome! Also good time for an increase in my normal damage from Slugfest means just any old swing will do me good. I'm very pleased with myself at this point.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
I look at the Arachne Queen, ugh frigging spiders, I kind of get it but also don't get why Keeks is into them, must be a non-Australian thing, from the side she looks over and sighs deeply at the thing, “Just wanted to be a spiders plaything nyee…” Yes yes poor Keeks, I go over and pat her on the head ruffling her fluffy ears.
“Maybe you can find one in the red light district? I'm sure every city has one moo!” Her eyes light up as she seems to make a mental memo to check the city later, make all her dreams come true!
Zel has approached the Moth lady and starts talking to her in hushed whispers of comfort, oh shit she’s still breathing! I see her trying to make her drink a potion but the lady refuses, turning her head instead. Zel looks on the verge of crying. “Please… child of the wolf, it would do me no such favors to drink of the blood of humanity… as a celestial being it would only curse my form… I thank you regardless…” Her voice is soft and angelic, whispering but still clear, she looks to be in pain and barely alive.
She reaches out and touches Zel’s face, catching a tear with her silver finger,looking closer her body looks see through but also fluffy, like a wind could come and send her off flying like a cloud. “Thank you for crying for me, I have been here for some time and seen the world, it is truly a beautiful place, and you have made it even more so child…” She breathes in and out laboring with every breath but trying so hard to make each word count, and it does, at least for Zelia.
“Is there anything we can do for you wan?...” The Moth lady smiles weakly and waves her head no.
“I was already dying before the Queen tried to devour me, this cave was to be my final resting place, under the glow of the beautiful moss… she found me and desired me, at least not in a way to eat me at first… but she was afflicted with the cursed hatred of her people, the true Arachne has become what she despaired to be the most… and as such her children will follow in her footsteps. Alas as we may all become.” She closes her eyes, “Blessing on you child of the wolf goddess, I will watch over you from the true moon, I can only hope the devourer will not succeed…” her hand falls down gently and Zel moves to put her hand through her hair, she starts disintegrating into silvery dust and after a few seconds all that is left is a pure white crystal at the center of where she lay…
“She said so herself Zel… there was nothing we could do… at least we got to be here for her in the end…” She nods slowly… picking up the crystal, putting it against her chest.
< Received Title ‘Those who witnessed the end of a celestial being >
Effects: ????
Why does everything we do have to hit so hard for each of us, this isn't anything I've ever seen in any game… it's like watching the end of an era, everything is dying or falling to bits… I move behind Zel and pull her into a deep hug, she whines and cries a bit more, letting it out, she hasn't seen much death so this is a little much for her.
I pick up the corpse of the arachne queen and take it with us, they will need some kind of proof I’m guessing. The entire trip back is in silence, Zel cradling the crystal to her chest, Keeks looking over every so often to the Arachne queen and sighing and me just dealing with hauling her corpse on my back, just the usual field work for a cow girl I guess.
Finally the light of the day emerges, the sun has started to go down and the pink glow comes over the horizon, it's absolutely stunning. I look over and don't see Cali by the fire, instead a bundle of animals has become one with the hammock. Mershi has become the mech, her face is popping out from the blanket of bodies and sweating like crazy, she’s still asleep and looks to be having nightmares… maybe about being smothered! I know I would.
I put down the Arachne corpse and instead pick up Cali from the pile, she rouses slowly and then puts her arms around my neck. The rest of the pile seems to realize I'm back and sleepily make their way up my body like a furry slime conglomeration. Mershi breathes deep in peace now that she's not being smothered.
“Mershi we’re back, finished our task moo…” She opens her eyes and looks at me, they go wide before opening her mouth to scream again, but instead just shakes her head to get rid of the building headache.
“You won’t get me twice with that! fuck... Welcome back, I feel like I’ve been in the sauna for 8 hours gods damn!” She gets up and cracks her body, we hear thousands of bones snapping as her body bends in ways I didn't think were possible, maybe it's all that cartilage…
“We uhh found some things as well as killed the Arachne Queen, she seems to have gone crazy moo…” Mershi gets over and checks over the Arachne Queen, I'm glad she didn't disappear… maybe cause it was our task she won't?... I have no idea on the rules in this goddamn game!
We tell her everything we saw in the cave, she looks baffled at the mention of the Moth Lady, and then horrified, she shakes her head in her own kind of refusal, “This is bad, this is really bad… the fucking arachne are gone and now a fucking celestial is dead!? We need to get back and report to the guild, they need to know what happened, shit is about to get a lot fucking worse! I'm going to take the corpse, but don't worry you’ll still get your spoils!” She pulls out a bag and it just… sucks up the corpse of the spider lady, it wasn't a frigging small corpse or anything! I gotta get me one of those… She puts it away and starts packing up camp and motions for us to get ready to head back.
I put down Cali and she gets on her hooves and rubs her eyes, “Hey cutie we gotta get ready to go, we can't take all the animals with us so you're going to have to say goodbye for now yeah?...” I move my body over and make noises at all the babies, they obediently mush into a pile of fur, I pat them and tell them to protect each other, they seem to mostly understand, Zel did say that the creatures in this game were supposed to be pretty smart… Cali bends over and kisses them all one by one and starts crying, I know… I’ll miss the bundle of fur too… They move off into the distance looking back at us every few steps, I really hope they will survive. I pick up Cali and put her around my neck, once again making Keeks give her an envious look. Feeling bad I pick up keeks as well and put her behind Cali, my neck hurts but instantly Keeks starts playing Pirate ships.
“And this is how you steer the mighty moo ship Cali nyehehe!” I’m thrown sideways, which quickly ends the double pirate ship saga. Keeks instead having to mutter as she walks next to me, Zel on one side holding my hand and cradling her white crystal in sadness still. Keeks holding my hand swinging it back and forth like a swing, telling me all about the fanfics of spider girls she loves the most. Mershi ahead of us telling us to hurry our asses up! As we trudge towards the town, It's going to be dark before we get back, but we have a laser shark to guide the way.
Weird but happy times.