Dotty's spleen ached as she sprinted at full speed, pumping her legs through Viscera’s streets.
A metallic wire sliced through the air where her head had been a moment before, embedding itself in the stone wall with a sharp crack. She didn't dare look back, but the clicking metal legs behind them told her everything she needed to know - the spiders were gaining.
"Left here!" Gromorlig shouted from beside her. Despite his claims of being powerless, the dwarf kept pace surprisingly well, his short legs pumping furiously.
Dotty veered left, her boots skidding on the ancient cobblestones. Above them, she caught glimpses of Heidi moving across the rooftops, providing cover where needed. The sound of metallic legs intensified - the two Corrupted Tarantulas had taken the lead in the pursuit, their larger forms visible in her peripheral vision as they scuttled along the walls.
"Ready yourself, lass!" Gromorlig called out. They were approaching another trap point. Dotty's hand went to the silver disc he'd given her.
The street ahead narrowed between two towering buildings. Perfect bottleneck. Just like they'd planned.
"Now!" Gromorlig bellowed.
Dotty pushed her Mana into the disc while running. She felt the ancient dwarven mechanisms respond, connecting to her Hunter's instincts. The cobblestones beneath their feet trembled slightly.
The moment Dotty's Mana connected with the trap, massive metal spikes erupted from the walls on both sides, shooting across the narrow passage in a deadly crosshatch pattern. She heard the satisfying crunch of metal being pierced behind her, followed by inhuman shrieks as several Corrupted Spider Constructs were caught in the ancient mechanism.
But the Corrupted Tarantulas were smarter. They leaped over their impaled brethren, using the walls to bypass the trap entirely.
"Don't slow down!" Gromorlig shouted. "Next one's bigger!"
Dotty's thighs burned from the endless running. She'd never sprinted this far in her life. Her hand still clutched the silver disc.
Something whistled in her ear—a Corrupted Tarantula had gotten within range. She heard Heidi shout something from above, followed by a blast of fire that briefly illuminated the street.
Heidi wasn’t supposed to act unless the monsters got too close.
Ahead, Dotty saw what remained of an ancient dwarven fountain - a massive stone basin with elaborate carvings, now dry and crumbling. She banked hard around it, her boots nearly sliding out from under her on the smooth stone. The Tarantulas' legs scraped and sparked against the ground as they followed, their momentum carrying them wider around the turn.
That's when Dotty saw it - thin Mana threads that were visible to her thanks to the silver disc.
"Ready!" Gromorlig shouted in excitement. "This one's my favorite!"
Dotty gripped the second disc tighter.
Dotty pushed her Mana into the silver disc. The ancient mechanisms responded instantly. The stone fountain cracked open. Liquid metal burst out in a pressurized spray, catching the closest Corrupted Tarantula mid-leap. The metal hardened instantly, freezing the monster in place.
"Keep moving!" Gromorlig called.
The second Corrupted Tarantula shot a wire at his face. Gromorlig tilted his head slightly. The wire missed by an inch. He moved with strange precision despite having no Class or Attributes.
Another wire flew at Dotty's neck. Gromorlig's hand shot up and deflected it bare-handed.
"Experience beats power any day, lass!" he shouted, winking at her.
Above them, Heidi jumped between rooftops. A Corrupted Spider Construct started climbing the wall toward her. She pointed her hands. A Fire Lance pierced its head. The construct fell and shattered on the ground.
Two more constructs tried climbing up. Heidi's flames consumed their legs with two more blasts of Obsidian Ember before they reached the top. Their metal bodies crashed down behind Dotty.
"Left!" Gromorlig grabbed Dotty's arm and pulled her down a side street.
The remaining Corrupted Tarantula followed. Its legs scraped against stone as it gained on them. Behind it, at least twenty Corrupted Spider Constructs skittered after them in a wave of metal limbs.
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"Next trap point!" Gromorlig pointed ahead.
Dotty saw more Mana threads connecting to a metal plate in the ground. She channeled Mana into the disc. The street split open. Giant metal teeth rose up like a trap door.
The Corrupted Tarantula tried to jump over them. The teeth snapped shut. The monster's body exploded into fragments. The Corrupted Spider Constructs behind it ran straight into the trap. Metal crunched and tore as the trapping mechanism chewed through them.
Heidi landed next to them from above.
"More coming from the side streets."
“Lass,” Gromorlig looked meangifully at Dotty who injected more Mana into the silver disc.
Suddenly, the entire side street went up in a ball of flames that consumed everything.
The heat blast reached them at the same time as the terrifying screeches of the melting creatures caught in the attack.
They peeked into the side street when the flames subsided after their initial roar, seeing only orange-hot shells of the creatures, including one Corrupted Tarantula that had come out of nowhere, which was now in its death throes as all of its legs were melted down.
Through the waves of distorted air, Dotty could barely make out the rest of the silhouettes of the constructs collapsing into molten puddles.
“You like some Dwarven flames, don’t you?” Gromorlig teased the spiders.
Then, they all heard more clicking sounds and the Dwarf pushed Dotty.
“Come on, lass, we’re not done.”
* * *
Monica landed another combination of hits on the Matriarch. Her fists crackled with Obsidian Flames as she struck the same spot repeatedly. Silver liquid poured from the wounds she had made in the creature's metal hide.
The Matriarch's legs trembled. It seemed to be weakening under Monica's relentless assault. Ted's song filled the air behind her while Sir Tristan fought the two Corrupted Tarantulas.
Monica jumped back and studied her opponent. Something felt wrong. The silver liquid wasn't spraying outward like normal blood would. Instead, it moved and pooled beneath the Matriarch's massive form.
"Die already," Monica growled, channeling Obsidian Impact into another three-hit combination. The Matriarch's body shuddered under the assault, more silver streaming from its injuries. Yet the creature had stopped fighting back entirely, its giant form unnaturally still.
Monica's battle instincts screamed a warning. She hesitated for a split second, Meditation allowing her to sense something shifting in the Mana patterns around them. The Matriarch's eight glowing eyes dimmed, and its massive silver form began to collapse inward like mercury being drawn into a vortex.
She jumped back as the silver liquid suddenly surged upward, forming into razor-sharp spikes that forced her to take a few wounds to avoid dying impaled on the spot.
The Matriarch's body continued to melt and flow, but now Monica could see it wasn't dying – it was transforming. The liquid metal rippled and reformed into a smaller and smaller cocoon.
The silver liquid began to levitate upward in defiance of gravity. The Matriarch's crushed body disappeared completely into the rising cocoon of metal.
Then, the cocoon started changing color, going from a pure white silver to a darker and darker grey, until it became fully black.
"What's happening?" Ted shouted from afar.
“It’s transforming!” Monica shouted back, keeping her arms raised. The last time this had happened with the Crystal Wolf Boss, the evolution had been much, much stronger.
The cocoon cracked. Blue light leaked through the cracks. Monica kept her guard up as more fractures spread across the surface.
The dark liquid of the cocoon peeled back like curtains. A sleek body emerged, dripping silvery residue. Unlike the bulky matriarch, this was a much smaller spider, much sleeker. Its carapace was pure obsidian black
The shell broke apart. A new form dropped to the ground. It was smaller than the Matriarch but denser. Its body was pure black except for a red hourglass mark on its abdomen.
[Black Widow - Level 165]
Eight eyes burned with cold blue fire. Its legs were thinner than the Matriarch's but the metal looked denser, each limb tapering to a razor point. Its body was compact, perhaps a tenth of the Matriarch's size, but it looked ten times as dangerous.
Monica could feel through Mana Sense that all the Mana contained in the body of the Metallic Arachnid Matriarch had been compressed into this new, much more deadly form.
"Ted, don't stop playing!" Monica shouted. She needed the song's boost more than ever now.
The Black Widow moved. Saying that it was faster than the Matriarch would have been an understatement.
Monica barely dodged its first strike. Its leg left a deep gouge in the rocky floor.
Behind her, Sir Tristan was still fighting the two Corrupted Tarantulas. "I can't help!" he called. "These ones won't die!"
Monica activated Phoenix Step. The Black Widow matched her speed. Its legs were a blur as they struck. She blocked with her bracers but the impacts made her bones shake.
She tried to hit it with Obsidian Impact. The Black Widow's hide was harder than the Matriarch's. Her flames barely scratched it.
Monica panted heavily, feeling the sharp pain of broken bones. Her right arm hung useless, shattered in three places from blocking the Black Widow's strikes. Her ribs were cracked and breathing hurt.
She activated the Golden Flame, letting its healing power wash over her. Bones knitted back together. Pain faded. But her Mana reserves were dropping fast.
The Black Widow watched her with its eight glowing eyes. It seemed to be studying her.
"Ted, don't let that song stop!" she called out.
Ted's fingers moved across his mandolin strings, but his voice was barely a whisper as he watched the Black Widow advance.
"This is bad."