New Day

Outskirts

Ella opened her eyes and found herself lying on the ground in the same location where her journey had begun. To her horror, there were now far more webs than before, thicker and denser that coating the alleyway like a suffocating veil. She rubbed her eyes, hoping it was just a hallucination. But nothing changed—the webbing remained as real and ominous as ever. Her pulse quickened. This was the place where she'd nearly died from terror. The monstrous spider.

"... Hell nah...! Why am I here again??"

Suddenly, the alley turned pitch black, as if something immense loomed overhead. She glanced up and felt her blood run cold because above her was a spider, far larger than before, its enormous hairy body descending. Its malformed chest heaved with each breath, sending tremors through the thick webs around her. Desperate, she began tearing at the sticky strands, trying to flee, but they stuck to her like glue, binding her in place.

"No no no it can't be!"

The webs wrapped tighter around her arms and legs, restricting her movement. The sticky threads held fast, trapping her like a fly. The spider queen, which was unexpectedly huge, enough to swallow a human being, was coming toward her as if it had discovered food in its den.

"Don't come closer!! Somebody out there! Help me!"

The spider queen hissed, her legs straining the webs as she drew nearer in just a few strides. Her grotesque mouth opened wide, ready to swallow Ella whole. Paralyzed by fear, she couldn’t even scream anymore. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the end.

But the bite never came.

Instead, she heard a sickening hiss of pain. Hesitant, she cracked her eyes open and was met with an unbelievable sight. The spider queen’s body collapsed mere inches from her, and standing above its dead form was the same guy who had once held a sword to her throat back in the tunnel. His blade was embedded deep in the creature’s hide.

"Y-You! Did you bring me here after I passed out??"

He yanked his sword free from the spider queen's corpse, his eyes cold as they met hers. Without lowering his weapon, he spoke in a harsh, accusing tone.

“Tell me,” he demanded. “Did you kill my master? Or shall I leave you to rot in this place?”

"No! I didn't kill anyone!"

“Lies!” A voice interrupted from behind him. It was the Captain, flanked by his knights.

“She’s the witch!” Another voice snarled. It was Vargo, his face covered in mud but still wearing that perverse grin.

A look of confusion on her face while she was looking at everyone infront of her. Even with an armour mask covering half of those knights' faces, they had a hint of a villainous smirk in their eyes. They were all here, against her.

The guy glanced at her one last time with straight face. Then, turning away, he uttered the words.

“Then embrace this place.”

"Noooo!"

A tide of tiny spiders began swarming from the dark corners of the alley to crawle over her, wrap around her limbs, her torso, until her entire body was engulfed. She screamed.

"NOOOOOO!!

The pressure built, suffocating her, until her body went still.

Her final breath slipped from her lips, her world fading to black.

She died.

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She woke up with a start.

The first thing that caught her attention was a leaf being held close to her face by someone sitting nearby. It had a guava-like scent, which made her nose twitch.

"She finally awake."

"Summon Igner at once."

Two voices drifted into her ears, but the relaxed tone of one of them was unmistakable. Felix. Ella's eyes snapped to him in surprise. She hadn’t expected to see anything remarkable, but there he was, sitting calmly in front of her. Her eyes widened, and her brows shot up as if she was seeing something enchanted.

"I thought you had no intention of waking up." He stored the leaf, then sat down on the wooden chair.

Where am I? she wondered, sitting up despite a lingering dizziness. That was when she noticed bandages wrapped around both her neck and her right hand.

She took a moment to observe her surroundings. She was in a small tent, and it was the middle of the night. Outside, the sounds of hushed voices and the glow of a campfire filtered through the open tent flap. Through the entrance, she could see a group of women warming themselves by the fire, one of whom she recognized—red-haired, one of the victims from the auction. It hit her then that they were all finally free from the clutches of those vile abductors.

Her stomach growled suddenly, the mouthwatering scent of food pulling her attention to the small table in front of Felix. Her eyes locked on the plate of grilled meat and soup. Felix noticed her gaze but remained expressionless. Ella licked her lips and swallowed hard. Her empty stomach twisted painfully which reminded her just how long it had been since she’d eaten. The hunger was unbearable, but so was the awkward silence with Felix, who, despite his calm demeanor, still unnerved her.

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"Eat," said Felix to her but it sounded more like a command.

Without thinking, she scrambled out of bed and sat in the vacant wooden chair next to him. Her hunger overrode her embarrassment, and she dug into the food without hesitation. She grabbed a piece of grilled rabbit with her unbandaged left hand and took a big bite.

"This is heaven..." she said between bites, stuffing the meat and soup into her mouth like someone who hadn’t eaten in days.

It had been nearly 24 hours since her last meal—at least in Earth’s time. Her focus was entirely on the food, unaware of how Felix was watching her. Then, he broke the silence.

"It seems that you've encountered the tarantula."

"You mean that gigantic spider?" she responded while struggling to peel a banana, eventually giving up. "You have no idea what I went through in that alley. That was the first time in my life I’ve seen something so huge and terrifying."

She took another sip of soup.

The banana that she had given up on peeling, was now peeled, and Felix placed it nearer to her. "How did you manage to get exposed to its poisonous fur?"

"Self-defense," she replied. "I had no choice but to touch that ugly creature."

"Is that so?"

Suddenly, Ella stopped mid-bite. A vivid image of Felix’s face from her earlier nightmare flashed through her mind. Why was she sitting here, talking casually to the same guy who had once held a sword to her throat? She narrowed her eyes, her guard going up again.

"State your intentions, if you have any, with your gaze," he said.

She immediately swallowed what was in her mouth and replied, "I had a nightmare." You're the fucking villain.

At that moment, the tent flap rustled, and three knights entered. Leading them was the Captain, then he commanded.

"Take her."

Ella’s heart dropped. This nightmare wasn’t over—it had followed her into reality.

Once everyone was ready, a knight with tanned skin and brunette hair approached to check her swollen hand. She remembered overhearing someone call him Igner. It seemed he had treated her hand while she was unconscious.

"Thank you."

Igner didn’t say a word, only offering her a small, before stepping back.

"Everyone, get ready!" The Captain barked.

It was still night, though dawn was just around the corner. The injustice of her situation weighed heavily on Ella. She had been a victim too, abducted just like the other women. Yet here she was, hands bound with rope, while the other women boarded a carriage for freedom. She, on the other hand, was being forced to walk alongside the horses with the rope at her wrists.

The campfire was extinguished, and they began moving through the vast forest. The path they followed wasn’t the same one where the goblins had ambushed the abductors. As they marched on, the sky gradually lightened, with slivers of sunlight piercing through the gaps between the trees. The knights extinguished their torches as the new day broke.

Haken's world was not what she had imagined. It was nothing like the stories she had read about 'another worlds thingy'. Maybe cruelty and hardship genres were meant for her.

"How cruel they are," she said almost with a normal volume of her voice. She immediately shut her mouth and darted her eyes to the right, hoping no one heard her. But she wasn’t that lucky. The Captain was already looking her way.

O-ouh. Let's avoid this guy for a while.

Though her swollen hand had been treated, it still itched terribly. The rope tied around her wrists didn’t help either. She tried scratching her hand discreetly as her teeth gritting in irritation.

The horse she was tied to picked up its pace, forcing her to walk faster to keep up. But her bare feet were raw, and each step became more painful.

This is so cruel. How can they treat me like this?

She could feel the tears building. Her lower lip curved up, and she suddenly stopped walking.

"Wait!" she cried out as tears spilled over. The entire group halted, and now everyone’s attention was on her. Even the horses had stopped.

Her chest heaving with frustration and exhaustion caused her tears to stream on her face. The knights watched her but she didn’t care anymore.

“This—this is ridiculous!” she sputtered. “I was kidnapped, nearly eaten by a giant spider, and now you’re dragging me through the forest like some criminal?!”

Her arms flailed as she tugged at the rope binding her wrists, but it only caused the horse to shift impatiently.

“I don’t even have shoes! My feet are killing me! And do you even realize how heavy this rope is? I mean, look at me! Do I look like someone who could burn down a city? I can barely make it through a forest without collapsing!”

She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself but ended up sobbing harder. “I didn’t even ask to be here! One minute I’m minding my own business, the next I’m—" she paused for dramatic effect, "—falling into spider pits and getting accused of being a witch! A witch, for crying out loud!”

She threw her hands up in exasperation, the rope jerking again as the horse flicked its ears. "I've never even done magic! Unless you count tripping over my own feet as some kind of curse!"

One of the knights, the one she thought was named Igner, changed uncomfortably, as though unsure whether to help or just keep watching the spectacle.

“I’m tired,” she whimpered, her voice small now as she looked up at Felix. “Please. Can’t we take a break? Can’t you at least give me a ride?"

Then, Felix, who had been silent up until now, leaned back on his saddle.

“Well, she does make a compelling point.”

The Captain, however, was not amused. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to maintain his patience.

“Get a hold of yourself, woman."

Damn you, man. Ella bit her lip.

“We’ve no time for theatrics. You will walk, or we will drag you.”

Just as the Captain turned to move forward, an arrow whizzed past and embedded itself into the trunk of a tree. The horses neighed in startled, rearing back on their hind legs, hooves pounding the dirt as the knights struggled to steady them.

"Form up!" The Captain drew his sword.

The knights moved into position, shields raised, swords drawn, forming a protective circle around the carriage and the women. Felix, who had been perched on his horse, leapt down with surprising agility.

A second arrow came, this time embedding itself in the dirt near the Captain’s feet. His head snapped toward the direction it had come from, and a muscle in his jaw clenched.

"Ambush!" he hissed. "Eyes up, archers in the trees!"

Archers? In the trees?

Ella's breath was shallow as her thoughts spun out of control. Was this the end? Another attack on her life? Or were these people after the knights? Either way, it didn’t look good for her.

Suddenly another figure emerged from the dense foliage—cloaked and silent, moving with purpose. While, Ella stood still there behind Felix.

The cloaked stranger tossed something at Felix’s feet.

Her heart leaped.

It was her baseball bat. The same one she had carried with her when she first arrived in this world, the same one that had been taken from her during the abduction. Her fingers itched to grab it.

"You," Felix gripped his sword. He took a step forward, his eyes never leaving the stranger. It was the same person—the one who had killed that man in the Capital, right in front of him.

The cloaked stranger's face remained hidden, but for a brief moment, his gazed at Felix. Then, Felix tensed, ready to charge, but something in the stranger’s eyes stopped him. It wasn’t a look of challenge. It was something far more cryptic.

Then, those eyes turned to Ella, lingering on her for just a heartbeat. Ella confused as her fingers finally wrapping around the handle of her bat as if it were her lifeline. The stranger didn’t speak, didn’t give any indication of why he had appeared.

Without a word, the cloaked stranger turned and started to walk away.

"After him!" Felix ordered.

Igner and some of the knights took off after the stranger.

Ella, on the other hand, her mind kept racing back to the man who had just slipped away, the one she now realized knew far more about her fate than she did herself.

Who are you really?