Okay, I’m not scared. I’m pretty sure I’m faster than this guy, and, furthermore, I’m not alone! For once! It’s weaker than Mr King, and if it inherited the weaknesses of its, uh, children? Then, it should be weak to fire. 

And, even more damning, Mr King became king because he battled his way up there, and this guy (gal?) just, well, fucked their way to the top. 

-No, the only reason I have to be afraid of this thing is because they look, objectively speaking, terrifying. Long, coarse black hair seems to be winded up around her legs and body and everything, making her seem less so hairy and more so just… 

I’m not even sure how to describe it. Her hair is so long that, if it wasn’t wrapped around her legs and carapace and everything, she might just have tripped and died from it. It just… didn’t look right. To have a woman’s hair on a big ass spider. 

Oh, that’s another part of it. I’ve never been much afraid of spiders or anything, but a spider the size of a small horse is sure to spook any rational human.

At least she isn’t moving much. No, her gaze, the gaze of a dozen deep blue eyes, fall on the crispy burnt corpses of her children. 

...When I put it like that, I sure do seem like the bad guy, huh?... 

Well, they did attack me first, so it’s okay. Also, spiders have no emotions. Probably. 

“KIIIIIIIIIII”

(Hair-Weave Queen Spider “Venus” has used skill (Queen’s Rallying Cry))

My whole body tenses up in anticipation for yet another tsunami of spiders, and I can see the hunters getting ready in much the same way, but…

Nothing. There is a distinct lack of anything that could inform us that an army of spiders was on the way. No, all we could see was the spider, Venus, staring at us, seemingly too nervous to turn around and take a look behind her. 

It was empty down there. 

Well, we thought it was. It almost seemed like it was, with the darkness and silence. 

The queen, Venus, was the first one to notice something was very, very wrong. She must have known the spiders we killed weren’t all of them. That there had been more in waiting, waiting for her orders. 

As a sergeant-type monster, she must have known that she, alone, could not defeat any enemy her children could not. Unlike what the SRI had said, I doubt she would, in such a situation, go to meet the threat herself. 

She could always just spawn more children in a different location. Losses of pawns were one thing, but losing a queen was not to be overlooked.

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Her eyes told the whole story. Every detail and every twist. 

I took my eyes off of her without the slightest fear that she might attack. Something was wrong, and she was not the culprit. 

As with the spiders, I heard it before I saw it. 

Not scuttling, not clicking, not any noise a spider could make. 

No, it was slithering.

Like a cobra, scales scratching against the walls, a tiny echo following it. 

Along with it, we soon became aware of a crunching noise. Crunch crunch crunch. 

She was white. Pale and ivory skin. She was too pale, really. No blood coursed through the veins you could imagine were only just beneath her snowy white skin. There was no life in her, but she moved. One thin arm held the half-eaten corpse of a paper spider. She took a bite of it, and chewed. Crunch crunch crunch.

She smiled at us. 

Lady of the Depths, Lv. 87, (C)

A rarely seen creature, this is often believed in folklore to be a lady who inhabits the depths of caverns, a white witch who makes familiars of cave-dwelling dragons and hoards gold and treasures with them. However, this is not the case. In reality, the humanoid visage many adventurers see at the very bottom of the deepest, darkest caves are but the lure of a long and dangerous serpent, capable of haunting black magic and curses that spell the doom of any unprepared warrior. 

Despite not being too high ranked, this creature is often seen as the grim reaper of the cave, due to its entirely battle-focused skills, with magic at the forefront. 

The queen spider ran. 

They were the same rank, these two creatures, but one was clearly superior to the other. 

"R-, run!" 

The warrior shouted, and nobody, not a single soul in that room, defied his orders, not even myself. 

Behind us, the slithering and the crunching only got louder. I could have flown faster, definitively, but if I did, I might not be able to help the hunters if something happened. 

Curiously enough, the queen spider, Venus, ran right beside us. When faced with a monster beyond the both of us, it was only right to make friends with a former enemy. 

Even so, the slithering only came closer. If we did nothing, we would surely succumb. So, I made a split-second decision to focus behind us without losing my footing. In other words, I landed on the shoulder of one of the hunters, if the robe is anything to go by, it was the mini-wizard. I still have no idea what separates an elf from a huma-,

Oh, long ear. What the fuck?

Shit, no time to lose focus! I need to deal with this fucking serpent!

-----

It landed on me. Is this trust? Have I earned it? How? I have no time to care. My knees are aching, my legs trembling not out of exhaustion, but out of fear. I have never been more terrified in my life. Never should I have balled with fate, not in this dastardly manner. 

Mister Brobdingnag, if I survive this, I hope you will forgive my foolishness. 

...Upon closer inspection, unlike my previous conclusion, this creature is not a pure ball of mana, after all. Instead, it is a small insect, with large wings and a small main body. Auburn eyes that gleam with great intellect. It reminds me of a monster I've read about in a book once, but no such creature should inhabit these woods. 

Furthermore, there is no possible way that a D rank monster, despite being a problem even for an experienced group of hunters such as, could use intermediate magic of any kind. I do not doubt that this creature is beyond that. Perhaps a previously undiscovered creature? Unlikely, but plausible.

As I sink into deeper thoughts, I nearly fail to notice the creature readying a spell. His ball of mana, impressive in size and concentration, turns a pure white colour, and the very next second, a small ball of white light is shot away from us and into the darkness, illuminating the way as it goes. 

Light magic? Knowing two schools of magic isn't entirely out of the question, but a dual-mage is still quite uncommon. This creature, my former enemy, is just full of surprises. 

As the light illuminates the path we've previously passed, we catch a glimpse of what exactly we're running from with such vigour. 

It seems the Lady has discarded any pretence of being an actual woman. The lure, as I know it to be, no hangs at the side of the massive black serpent, a pair of black eyes peering out from the darkness, lit up by the ball of light. 

"KRAAAAAARRR" 

The serpent roars in rage, no longer hiding in the dark. It picks up the pace, slithering even faster at us. Its body is easily large enough to make up the entire path, and it's a miracle it even fits in the cave at all. But that doesn't matter. 

But it seems my former enemy isn't done quite yet. No, the ball of mana shifts colour once more, turning red and fiery as it was before. The heat on my shoulder increases to unbelievable levels, and for a moment, I believe it might just burn my shoulder into a crisp. But the very next second, the ball of fire is shot out, leaving my former enemy with only a little mana, but it will have to do. 

The Fireball, as I recognize the spell to be, flies like a shooting star, and once it hits the serpent square in the face, it exploded into a wall of flame, masking the cries of the creature with the sound of crackling flames. 

We don't have time to admire the spectacle, as we soon emerge from the dungeon and into the light, puffing and panting as many of us fall to the floor, myself pathetically included. My chest heaves, and I stare at the entrance, preparing magic just in case the queen spider decides to attack. She does not. As a matter of fact, she is nowhere to be seen. Leaving us with only one monster among us. 

I turn to the creature on my shoulder. 

-----

Um. The mini-wizard is staring at me. 

Should I just steal his mana and run?...