"The entire NPA? Please elaborate further, what is happening there?“

The operator had no idea what was happening, or whether this was a prank call .

Meanwhile, Haruki was frozen in fear and unable to move his muscles. His eyes were completely wide open, gazing at the tarantula like it was some sort of ancient artifact. The tarantula stared back at him, with red glowing eyes. Haruki looked as if his entire body would give in any second.

Finally, the ginormous tarantula moved it's limbs. Haruki could feel the vibration coming from the sheer size of it, that's when his flight or fight activated.

He was thrown back as if an invisible force kicked him in front. But, in reality he stepped back so far that his legs did a split, and he stumbled backwards.

"Just send any kind of help..!! C'mon!!“

He got back to his feet and started running, his speed could rival Usain Bolt. He didn't dare to look behind, why would he?

“I understand. However, I still don't know what's happening or what the issue is. So please, if you'd kindly inform me-“

“Bro, can you stop yapping?! Just send someone! Anyone! And ask questions later!“

"I'm begging you!!"

He cried out, his voice was extremely loud, causing it to echo throughout the hallways. The noise antagonized the tarantula, prompting it to chase him, it shook the ground with every movement with its terrifying limbs.

“I see, it must be urgent then. Are there any armed people? What is your location?“

He replied back in a calmly manner, as if he was the host in a podcast. He waited patiently for the boy to respond, only to be taken aback.

“This is it-"

"Where- I die.“

He muttered to his phone, still in hand with the built-in flashlight turned on. His sweat was dripping profusely, and his breath came in short, rugged gasps. As if he'll pass out anytime soon.

"Is everything alright?! The authorities are on the way! Please say something!"

The arachnid was inches away from grabbing him, when the boy shoved himself to the door to his right. Entering an adjacent room to the hallway he was running a marathon on. He fell face first on the rough, wooden floor.

“Please say something! What is happening?!”

The operator on the other side was now more alarmed by the unexpected commotions, and he still doesn’t know what the problem is

Haruki who was still laying on the floor, felt a tingling feeling around his leg. He faced himself upwards and saw a disgusting sight.

"Holy-!"

Thousands of micro-sized spiders have crawled their way onto his leg, but they haven't bitten him yet. Adrenaline surges through his bloodstream once more, and he lets out an ear-piercing shriek.

“-Arghhhhh..!!-”

“-Gross!!”

He squirms uncontrollably and tries to shake off the tiny spiders. But they cling onto him tightly, more and more materialize from the holes and open cracks of the room.

“Get off me..!!”

At the same time, the large tarantula from before peaks inside. It could see Haruki rolling around the ground frantically. This caused him to jump involuntarily, and he kicked the golf ball sized eyes of the giant, with a leg covered in spiders.

The creature had to retreat back for a split second, allowing the boy to sprint out the room. He entered a neighboring room, which was still part of the same hallway. However, there was no floor upon entering and he fell straight down.

“Hahhh..?!" He yelped.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"This is gonna hurt..!!”

He closes his eyes, and braces for impact. The fall was much longer than he anticipated.

Surprisingly, he lands on water, instead of the concrete floor he was expecting. At the bottom of the room he just fell from, exists a wide, and deep pit. Filled entirely with liquid. He was completely submerged in it.

The pool wasn’t technically clean, it looked colorful, with even some trash and plastic floating around. There was a foul stench spread all across the cramped room. At least, the dirty fluid washed away all the spiders attached to him.

So when he finally emerged from his indoor swimming pool, he very much did not like any second of that. Nobody would.

“I ain’t ever had an experience as bad as this one... Now, how the hell am I supposed to get back up... This day can’t get worse can it?“

He thinks to himself, not having the courage to open his mouth, or his eyes. The boy's entire body from head to toe was covered in the slimy, sticky substance of whatever fluid he just nosedived into.

Haruki took off his polo T-shirt and attempted to rub his head using it. However, it proved to be futile since even the cloth was trashed.

"Dammit." He uttered to himself, his voice was a mix of emotions. The miserable boy was overwhelmed with the current station.

Still coated in the gross contents of the pool, he spun around and analyzed his surroundings. He couldn't find anything useful.

The area looked like a dungeon, with random tunnels branching out in all directions. Stones and concrete make up most of the walls, with glowing fluorescent rocks illuminating the dark. There were random cavities with more fluid leaking out.

"Are you lost, mister? You look scared."

A squeaky, feminine voice behind him spoke. This startled him since it was complete silence.

"Eehh..?"

He turned around and had to look down, he saw a relatively petite, short child. She was offering him a clean white towel and he was grateful.

"Obviously I’m lost. What are you doing here? Where are your parents and why do you look so relaxed?“

He replied back, curious about her whereabouts. At the same time, he gently reaches for the white towel from her hand, and wipes his face with it. She smiles at him contently.

"I can ask you the same thing too, mister."

"Why are you asking me that anyway? Are you underestimating me? hmpff.“ She adds.

She crosses her arms and pouts at him annoyingly. But it came off as more adorable than menacing to Haruki.

“No, I’m not underestimating you. You’re a child that’s why I’m asking for your parents, nevermind.” He sighs, will he have to babysit a kid while trying to escape this mess?

"Long story, but I got chased by a huge damn spider!...I’m not lying, it was probably bigger than your average car.”

He exclaimed, remembering the horror he faced while narrowly avoiding death.

She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head, staring up at him with a face that said, 'Are you serious?'

"Um... Well obviously, what were you expecting, mister?"

"What the hell do you mean by 'obviously', you wouldn't see shit like that on a normal basis!"

He replied back in disbelief, raising his voice at her.

"..Please calm down, mister...” She brought her hands together, palms facing inward, just below eye level, as if she was trying to block a punch from him.

He suddenly felt a weird feeling, he felt bad for getting mad at a kid. He looked at the sweet, innocent girl and concluded that she wouldn't hurt a soul.

Haruki controlled his temper and relaxed his body. He muttered a 'sorry' to her.

“It’s okay.” She slowly lowered her hands.

“If I were to actually hit you, your hands wouldn’t last a second.” He chukles

“Eep..” This promptly caused her to raise her hands upward again, this time she even hid her face.

“I’m joking, calm down. Let’s get out of this shitty place.” He patted her delicate, soft, and dark hair, while looking at her reassuringly.

“Mhm..!” She look’s up at him and nods repeatedly.

“Wait... Did you...Noticed it’s eyes we’re red..?”

"The spider? Yeah, it's eyes were glowing bright red, is something up with that?”

He answered truthfully, but he didn’t like to think about that spider too much.

"Ooh!" Something clicks inside the girl's head.

"I think it was one of Katsumi's minions, she's the only Jorōgumo here.“

"A what now..?!-"

He exclaimed.

"I see her sometimes so I could probably talk to her, she doesn't usually attack people... Did you make her mad?"

She continues talking, meanwhile. Haruki tries his best to process this information.

"-Hahh..?! Who the hell is Katsumi?! And what do you mean a Jorōgumo?!“

He was suspicious that this child was just messing with him, while another side of him genuinely trusted her.

When he finished shouting, the girl stared at him with a concerned look. Then, she showed a face of seriousness.

"You're... A human aren't you? Cuz if that's the case..."

She says slowly.

"What do you mean by that? You’re not making any sense right now, you’re messing with me aren’t you? You know what, nevermind.”

He turns around and enters a tunnel at random, ready to explore every inch of the dungeon and get out of there. Not wanting to wait for the girls response, it was probably nothing vital.

"Wait, mister..!" She exclaims.

"Please come back, you want an exit? I can lead you to one."

He immediately turns back around, like he was ordered around by a high ranking officer.

"Alright, show me. I'll just follow you."

The girl is thrilled and hops around the chamber playfully.

"Yay! Oh, by the way my names Junko!"

"Cool. Just show me the way, you knew an exit this entire time and didn’t tell me?”

She pulls down one of her lower eyelids and sticks her tongue out teasingly. “That’s ’cause you never asked!” she exclaims, spreading her arms like a bird flapping its wings. Then, she leaves the area and runs toward the tunnel. Haruki is forced to catch up, or he risks losing her.

He had some doubts, but if he doesn’t follow along, who knows what will happen to the girl.

"Can you slow down? I want to get out here quickly, but I also want to save some energy just in case we get ambushe-"

When he took a turn in the tunnel, he saw Junko on the other side, in front of her was an ever bigger tarantula