The Black Widow jumped at Monica. She dodged the bite attack by a hair's width. The monster was much faster than its previous form.

Monica tried to hit back like she had against the Matriarch. The Black Widow dodged each attack with precise movements. This wasn't the overwhelming force of before. This was pure speed and accuracy.

A metal wire shot at Monica. It cut through her Nightshade Battle Wear and grazed her arm. The cut went deep.

More wires came at her. The Black Widow fired them in complex patterns. Monica couldn't track them all. Three wires crossed in front of her. Two more came from above. Another from the side.

She used Phoenix Step to escape. The Black Widow was already waiting at her landing spot. Its leg struck her golden bracer. The impact sent Monica flying into the wall.

She rolled away just as another leg smashed the stone where she had been. Chunks of rock flew everywhere. Monica couldn't find a chance to attack back.

The wires grew thinner. Monica could barely see them now. She had to sense their movement through the air.

A wire came at her face. She blocked with her bracer. The Divine item stopped the wire, but Monica saw a thin crack appear in the golden metal.

Her eyes went wide.

No monster before had dealt her this much damage.

But she was forced to use the bracers again—they were the only thing that was keeping her alive at the moment.

The Black Widow moved again. Its legs blurred with speed. Once again, Monica raised her bracers to block. The impact made her arms shake.

She tried to counter with Obsidian Impact. The Black Widow was gone before her fist connected. It reappeared behind her.

Pain shot through Monica's back. A leg had caught her. The force threw her across the nest. She crashed into debris.

She stood up slowly. Blood ran down her arms. Her ribs were broken again. The Golden Flame couldn't heal her fast enough.

The Black Widow watched her with all its eighty nasty eyes and clicked its mandibles at her.

"I can't hit it," Monica said through gritted teeth.

Monica activated Meditation. She tried to steady her Mana flow. She needed perfect control to have any chance.

The Black Widow moved again. Monica saw eight wires coming at her. She couldn't dodge them all. She raised her bracers and prepared for pain.

The wires sliced through the air. Monica blocked most of them with her bracers, but two got through. They cut deep into her leg and shoulder. She tried to ignore the pain and launched Obsidian Impact at the Black Widow.

The monster flowed around her punch like water. Its leg swept toward her head. Monica barely ducked in time. The attack would have taken her head clean off.

Nothing she tried worked. Her usual aggressive style left her open to counter-attacks. Even with three Phoenix Feathers burning and Fury of the Phoenix active, she couldn't match the Black Widow's speed.

The monster moved between her attacks as if she was standing still. Each time she threw a punch, it was already gone. Each time she tried to create distance, it was there waiting.

The Golden Flame kept healing her cuts and breaks, but she was losing ground. More and more wounds appeared faster than she could heal them. The Black Widow fought like liquid metal given form.

Monica could only defend now. She had no chance to attack. The few times she tried, the counter-attacks nearly killed her.

She couldn't hold Meditation through the endless assault. The Black Widow gave her no time to focus. Without Meditation, she couldn't improve her Skills. That would have been her only path to victory.

The environment worked against her too. The Black Widow's webs cut off her escape routes. The metal strands crisscrossed the nest, limiting her movement options.

Each second the fight continued brought another close call. A wire missed her throat by an inch. A leg almost crushed her skull. A bite attack barely missed her arm.

For the first time since arriving in Viscera, Monica felt truly overwhelmed. Nothing in her previous fights had prepared her for this.

The Crystal Wolf Boss had been strong but predictable.

The Corrupted Tarantulas had been dangerous but manageable.

This was different.

The Black Widow moved with perfect precision. It anticipated her attacks. It countered her strategies. It pushed her further back with each exchange.

As Monica's back hit a wall, more wires shot at her.

She raised her bracers one more time, hearing the cracks in the Divine metal spread further.

* * *

Ted watched helplessly as all he could do was to keep playing and praying Monica could somehow turn this around.

He felt utterly useless. His song wasn't helping enough. Monica kept getting pushed back toward the wall. The Black Widow moved so fast he could barely keep track of the Boss. The only thing he couldn’t help but notice were the sounds of the fight.

The clanks, the thuds, the hits, and the slicing of the wind when the metal wires flew against Monica.

Then Ted noticed something. Each time Monica stepped, her feet hit the stone in a pattern. Left foot, right foot, dodge, block. The rhythm caught his attention.

His fingers adjusted on the strings without him thinking. The tempo changed slightly to match Monica's footwork.

The Black Widow's legs tapped against the stone too. Click-click-click. Strike, retreat, advance. Ted started breaking down the timing in his head like he would for a song.

Monica step back, spider strike. Monica block, spider advance. It was like a complicated beat. Attack and counter-attack created a rhythm.

Ted's foot started tapping along. His musician's brain picked up the pattern.

The fight wasn't random - it followed a beat.

He matched the rhythm perfectly now. His fingers moved in time with their steps. The Phoenix Song flowed with their movements.

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The Black Widow struck again. Eight legs hit stone in sequence. Ted counted the beats. One-two-three-four, then pause. Attack pattern. He could predict it.

Monica dodged but got caught by wires. Blood dripped onto stone. The sound of impact matched Ted's tempo exactly.

This was a dance. A deadly one, but still a dance. Ted understood dances. He played in inns all the time and he coludn’t count the times he had to adjust the tempo to match the crowd that couldn’t keep the rhythm.

But Ted saw the pattern now. His music flowed with their fight. Each note matched a step or strike.

He needed to help somehow. Understanding the rhythm wasn't enough. Monica was still losing ground.

The Black Widow had Monica against the wall now. Wires crisscrossed the air around her. Her arms shook as she raised her bracers again.

Ted kept playing, desperately trying to think of how to use this knowledge. There had to be a way to help.

His fingers moved faster. The song's tempo increased with the fight. But it wasn't enough. Monica needed more than just musical accompaniment.

The Black Widow raised its front legs for another strike. Monica braced herself, golden bracers held high. Blood ran down her arms.

Suddenly, instead of just following the rhythm, Ted abruptly changed the tempo, imagining what it would have been like if Monica had dodged. It was a split-second decision, an impulse not he fully understood.

Monica, on her end, felt something shift, as if her body was suddenly pulled forward by invisible threads. It wasn’t strong, though—it was more like an invite.

She dodged a set of wires. The Black Widow’s leg slashed at her. She twisted her body. Somehow, the music made it clear when to move. She raised her arm and guided her fist forward. For the first time since the monster’s transformation, her attack landed. She felt her fist connect with the Black Widow’s body. It was not a powerful hit, but it was clean. The spider skittered back a step.

Ted’s eyes went wide. He saw Monica strike the Black Widow without missing. His heart pounded. He felt a surge of energy and clarity, as if he had done something important. In that moment, he heard a sound in his mind.

*Ding*

You have learned a new Skill - Battle Conductor

Ted froze. He had never learned a new Skill this way. His fingers slowed. He realized he was playing something new, a Skill that affected the fight. Could he control it? Did he know what to do next? Fear rose in him. He did not want to mess this up. He did not want Monica to get hurt because he made a mistake.

As soon as his confidence wavered, his music lost its stable pattern. The rhythm broke. Monica, who had started to sync with the music, stumbled mid-step. Her flow broke. She could not dodge the next attack. The Black Widow took advantage of this moment. A thin metal leg lashed out and caught Monica as she tried to twist away. The leg tore through her shoulder.

Blood sprayed everywhere and Monica cried out in pain.

“What are you doing?” Monica yelled. She had to shout between desperate dodges. She was pinned against a web of wires. Her wounded arm barely moved. The Black Widow advanced again. Monica had no chance to recover if Ted did not do something.

“I-I got a new Skill but I can’t control it!” Ted shouted back. His voice broke as he spoke. He felt panic in his chest. He had no idea how to handle a Skill like this. He was not a fighter. He was just a Bard. He played songs. He never had to direct a battle with music before.

Monica had no time to argue. She dodged another strike at the last second. The Black Widow almost tore her apart.

She tried to strike back, but her timing was off. Another leg slammed into her ribs, cracking them.

Monica gasped and glared at Ted. She was furious and scared. She was outmatched. The only moment she had gained ground was when Ted played that strange tune. She needed that tune again. Without it, she would die here. She had no patience left.

“Try again!” Monica shouted.

Ted trembled. He lowered his head. He looked at his mandolin and then at Monica. She was in pain. She was bleeding. She could come back from death as many times as she needed, but if they lost now, who knew what would happen to everyone else, to all the others who couldn’t come back from death?

Monica needed his help but he was afraid. What if he caused her death and therefore killed everyone else in the process?

“You’ll get hurt!” Ted said. His voice cracked again. He did not want to lead her into a trap. He did not want to be responsible if she failed.

Monica gritted her teeth. The Black Widow struck again. She blocked with her bracers. The force drove her back into the wall. She coughed blood. She was in agony. She had no time for Ted’s doubts. They would both die if Ted did not help. She was angry, but more than angry, she was desperate.

“I TRUST YOU – NOW PLAY!” Monica screamed.

She knew how weak trust could be, but right now it was all they had. Her trust in Ted was genuine. She saw what he had done before: his music had given her one clean hit. That was something. If he could do it again, they had a chance.

Ted’s heart pounded. Monica’s words hit him harder than any strike. She trusted him. That was more frightening than anything else. He had no choice now. He had to try. If she trusted him, he had to live up to that trust. He forced his trembling fingers back to the strings. He had to calm down. He had to focus on the sounds of the fight.

Monica took two more bad hits as Ted tried to find the right rhythm again. She was almost knocked to the ground. One leg tore into her thigh. Another scraped against her hip. She cried out, but refused to die. She pushed off the wall, kept moving, kept dodging. She gave Ted the time he needed.

Ted blocked out his fear. He let the sounds of metal on stone guide him. He let the beat of the spider’s legs and Monica’s breaths form a pattern. He started playing again. This time, he did not think about the Skill or the fear. He just matched the pace of the fight. He listened and played. The notes became steady. They matched the Black Widow’s steps and Monica’s movements.

Monica felt the shift again. The pattern returned. The notes guided her. She tried to align her steps with the music. Soon, she noticed the spider’s attacks had a pattern too. The Black Widow repeated certain movements. The notes helped her see this. She could predict where the legs would strike. She started to move a split second before the spider attacked. She dodged more easily now.

Ted kept playing. He found that if he changed the tempo slightly, Monica moved faster. If he slowed down, she had time to catch her breath. If he sped up, her movements became sharper. He did not know how he knew this. His new Skill must have given him this sense. He could tell that his music influenced Monica’s combat flow.

The Black Widow hissed. Its attacks struck empty air more often now. Monica followed the invisible path painted by Ted’s music. She still took hits from time to time, but fewer. Each near-miss taught her something. Each wound pushed her closer to a strange state. She recalled what the Twin Phoenix had told her: near-death fights were needed to master her Skills.

Monica let her mind go blank. She surrendered to the music and the fight. She tried to keep Meditation active. It was easier now with Ted’s help. The music stabilized her breathing. It gave her focus. She felt her Mana flow more clearly than before.

The Black Widow grew frustrated. It increased its speed. The wires came closer to taking her head. One wire passed so close that Monica could smell blood in the air. Another near-miss made her heart pound. In that moment, time seemed to slow. She saw the Mana in her body. She felt it move with each step. She used Phoenix Step again and it felt different as she infused it with the Golden Flame for flexibility and easily manouvered around the creature.

*Ding*

Phoenix Step has reached Bronze Rank

The Black Widow lashed out again, but Monica found an opening. She had been waiting for the right moment. Ted’s music built up to a peak. She felt the notes rise. She guided her Mana into her arm. Obsidian Impact flared in her muscles. The Mana flowed like liquid fire as she gazed at it through Meditation. She struck the Black Widow at the exact instant the music peaked.

*Ding*

Obsidian Impact has reached Bronze Rank

This hit was different. It cracked the Black Widow’s shell. It staggered back. Monica had landed a hit that mattered. The spider screeched, trying to recover. Monica smiled through the pain. This was progress.

Ted kept playing. He noticed Monica’s strikes had more force now. He saw that the Skill messages were showing up for Monica as well, though he could not see her interface. He guessed she was improving her Skills. He played on, trusting that this would help them win.

Monica closed her eyes for a moment.

She did not need to watch the spider now.

She solely relied on Ted’s music and her Mana Sense.

She tried to use Meditation more deeply. If she gave up her normal sense and used Mana Sense, maybe she could see something new. The pain no longer mattered.

As she focused, the Golden Flame and Mana Sense merged. She felt something strange. Before, Mana Sense only let her see Mana around her. Now, she saw echoes. Each movement of the Black Widow left a faint trail of energy. The same for her own attacks. The world had another layer now.

*Ding*

Mana Sense has reached Bronze Rank

Even with her eyes closed, the echoes showed everything around her on a 360-degree map. The Black Widow's legs and wires became fully visible from all directions. And even though she wasn’t as fast as the monster, she now started dodging effortlessly around them.

With her eyes blazing like golden flames, Monica finally opened them, narrowly avoiding another attack by tilting her neck slightly, which halted the Black Widow in its tracks.

The evolved Boss clearly felt the change in the battle and now looked warily at Monica.