Godslayer level 35 leveled up to Godslayer level 36.

It was the last monster for the day. Adira stood over the defeated beast trapped in a shadow pit. The creature resembled a human but with a very thick hide and was covered in fur from head to toe. The young huntress panted after the fight. The monster caught the girl off guard with its surprising agility combined with an air magic. Fighting without her spells drained her stamina. She gave a thumbs up to Galen, confirming that she leveled up from it. The majority of the work was still on the archer’s shoulders. Adira felt awkward to pull back and simply watch the man gracefully finish the fight with a couple of shots.

The girl wiped out sweat. She felt like she had forgotten how to use her spells after all that time under the hero’s patronage. The huntress wanted to complain that she would never learn how to be a Godslayer if they continued like this but held her tongue.

Adira trusted the man. He was training warriors longer than she lived and did this job many times. Most importantly she felt stronger. Growing more than ten levels within a week was a miracle she never hoped for. The young huntress wondered how Selene would react learning that the throwaway girl returned higher than her in levels. Adira smiled at the thought, feeling empowered. She hastened to catch up to Galen who already left.

They crossed the thicker part of the forest and walked to the old road that had connected some cities a long time ago. Walking over the road was much better than over the overgrown planes. Especially when carrying camping supplies and armor. The old hunter froze in place listening carefully to the noises.

“Something is wrong. It is a monster, but I am not sure if I can beat it.” Adira also felt the chilling sensation run over her body. A primordial fear crawled under her skin. The girl hesitated. She would never want to approach whatever it was, but her duty was to scout such threats. She was a huntress first and foremost. Monsters stumbling on the roads may reach cities. A beast roaming the roads freely might become disastrous, especially one with such palpable power.

“We have to investigate and alert the cities.” The huntress insisted on carrying out their duties, even if her knees shook in disagreement. Galen shrugged and led the girl forward. At one moment he turned away from the road, cutting the turn through the forest, and continued onwards hiding among bushes. Without words, he showed her to drop the equipment and leave only her weapons. The man also prepared the bow. Adira learned to trust Galen’s instructions. She would have to do everything he says if they wanted to win against such a powerful monster.

The creature came into sight. They did not even need to peek from the bushes to see it. A giant humanoid in black armor marched through the road. So big, that Adira would barely reach his waist standing next to the figure. It was a type of possessed living armor. Dark magic oozed through the cracks in the armor, barely contained inside. Two evil red eyes glowed from under the helmet. To make matters worse, the monster was followed by another nightmarish creature. A tall human body resided on twelve thin spider legs, with multiple appendages pointing from its back, an arachne. Adira frowned. She hated this particular kind.

“This is unusual.” Galen crawled through the grass without making any noise, his speech almost inaudible. “Arachnes are territorial and live in their nests, why this one is following another monster? This one must be an intelligent monster. He has power over her.”

Adira listened to his thoughts. Galen paused to activate his “Hunter’s Sense.” That was a big mistake. Two red eyes snapped towards him from under the black helmet. The monster reacted to a slight change in the flow of mana with an inhuman speed. The young huntress fell back jumping from the sudden motion.

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She pushed against something cold, rigid, and unusually alive. She glanced back and saw black claws made of shadows that oozed down towards the ground as if covered in liquid. Five fingers encroached over the girl forming a cage. Galen was also trapped in a similar cage, he already pulled a knife and tried to cut the shadows.

The cages moved burrowing through the ground. Adira and Galen were brought face to face with the black figure that towered over them.

“These humans are weird.” The living armor studied them, bending forward. “Wrapped in mana like in a sheath. Are all mortals like this now?” Before the arachne accompanying the black monster answered, Adira tore through the cage using “Sky Crusher.” An empty mana potion was lying under her feet. In a fight like this, every advantage was to her benefit. Right now she had the element of surprise and initiative over the monster. She only had one shot before it would react. “Odium Steps” glowed behind her.

The huntress flashed forward, with an almost blinding gleamer. A section of earth exploded where she stood. Adira ran the little distance separating her and the figure in black armor. She jumped, aiming for his neck. Galen caught all of that while his eyes were closing from a sudden flash. He blinked, but when he opened his eyes Adira was struggling in the iron grip of the black figure. He held her by the neck, but his palm was big enough to restrain her arms as well.

“Odium steps? I was told a mortal would be incinerated at the attempt to activate it. How did you do it?”

“That’s my skill.” Adira struggled defiantly. The red glow from the eyes of a monster intensified and the grip strengthened.

“I doubt it. What God oversees you?” The girl did not know what she should answer to that. She wished she knew herself. Of course, Gods were giving some mortals power, but not to come and oversee the mortals directly. Seeing her hesitation the living armor sighed almost like a human, but with an otherworldly resonance in his voice. “No matter. I will find out how you do it later.”

He pulled a set of shackles right from his body. The monster pointed at Galen.

“Kill the other one.”

“Stop!” Adira cried in vain. The old hunter collected himself and perked up as much as his restraints allowed him. He blasted the cage from the inside with shadow magic. The moment later he already ducked to the side. An almost invisible spiderweb fell where he stood. Whatever he did, he must not be caught in it.

Arachne charged forward, two of her front legs raised for a strike. Galen prepared his bow and kept circling away from the monster. The spider creature shoots threads from her back. Each landed on the ground right behind his foot, missing it by a heartbeat. He shot an arrow but it was deflected with a simple swipe of the arachne’s leg.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The man jumped dodging the webs and shot three more arrows in different directions. One fell shortly from the top at the arachne’s head. The monster caught it with her human arm playfully. Her ugly insectoid face spread in a smile. Then it paused to block two other arrows flying from the sides. The monster reeled in pain. A fourth arrow pierced the soft underbelly of the beast and wiped the grin out of its face. The last shot was hidden under the third one. Galen had not used all the tricks up his sleeves yet.

However, it meant nothing to the arachne. Frowning in pain she finally stopped playing with her food. The archer suddenly tripped. His face planted in the dusty road. The bow got torn away from his hands and flew in the air. A spiderweb pulled him by the torso towards the monster.

The old hunter struggled in panic. He was sure to dodge all the threads he saw coming his way. Looking down Galen realized where the deceit was. A much thinner thread was wrapped around his leg. A similar one was attached to his bow. Multiple webs clang to his arms in different places. This whole time he was only dodging the threads that arachne allowed him to see.

Dragged on the ground the man made the final attempt at freeing himself with the magic. He created a shadow wall under the monster to make her lose balance and fly in the air, but it did not work. His magic was denied. Blocked with the shooting glance of the arachne’s eyes. Mind magic. Galen checked her level again.

Arachne level 100.

Being so focused on the living armor he completely overlooked this powerful creature. A fabled level 100 arachne famous for its trickery and mind magic. The later reports from fighting her were all filled with descriptions of this ability and how she prevented magic. Galen felt helpless. He was completely defeated and overpowered. Left only himself to blame for this oversight.

The monster in black armor watched silently without interfering. As if testing his accomplice's abilities. Even from the distance the hunter heard its satisfied buzzing or whatever the noise the energy around him produced. More and more spiderwebs wrapped around Galen’s body as he was dragged through the ground, paralyzing the man. He tried to shoot magic in vain but he was completely powerless. Multiple legs, like rows of teeth in a deadly maw, greeted him, ready to bite into his body. The arachne savored the moment.

“Any last words?” Her voice sang sweetly with the pride of a victor. She brought the man next to her face, exposing the rows of needle-like teeth, almost licking him for a taste. Galen collected himself in a last attempt to survive.

“If you are looking for something you will need me.” He shouted towards the black figure, ignoring the monster’s jaws in front of him. “Monsters like you do not go around the world with no purpose. I know everything about this region. I can guide you!”

The figure in black armor approached. With a gesture, it stopped the arachne.

“Do you know where the witch Celesia resides?” Unfortunately for Galen, he never heard of that woman. The man shook his head, palling that his bluff was falling apart. To his surprise, the monster nodded. “At least you are not lying. She was captured by the Gods and hidden somewhere. Tell me, what is the most dangerous and protected place in the world?”

Galen’s heart raced, but his mind was surprisingly clear. His first instinct was to call out a Greenland stronghold, the most protected castle in the West. However, he quickly realized the living armor did not care about human castles. He needed a place that was protected by the Gods. There were none, to his knowledge, but just one place was close enough to fit the description.

“You must be talking about Flying Island. It is a level one hundred monster zone. Simply entering it requires the cooperation of many hunters. But there is something inside, guarded by the Demigod of Blood.”

“Ravage, Chaos’s pet. Where should we go to find that place?” The armored giant nodded approvingly, seeming to recognize the Demigod. The fact that the monster in front of Galen knew the Demigod by name shook the old hunter. This was no simple monster regardless of the strength. Knowing Demigods meant that whatever this creature is, it must be something divine. He had to be honest in order to survive. The Flying Island was not easy to find.

“I don’t know.” Arachne shook him, hissing dangerously, ready to dispose of him for being useless. The man ignored her, keeping eye contact with the red eyes staring at him. “It can be anywhere in the world. But I know how to track the place.”

“I see you are honest with me.” He released Adira, she fell on the ground rattling with her armor. “Guide me there and you both get to live. My name is Salgos the Demigod of Darkness. And you both are my servants now.”

The chains around the girl disappeared. Instead, the Demigod turned to the arachne.

“Skreetha, make sure they will not run.”

The arachne frowned. She was forced to release Galen and strip him of her webs. The man double-checked that there were no threads attached to him anywhere. He turned to Adira. The girl was still coughing on the ground. But he was not the first to reach her. The spider monster approached the girl while she collected herself.

“Stand up.” It commanded. Adira raised her head and met the eyes with arachne. Terror grasped her soul. Only now did the girl realize this was the same monster that attacked her village.

Arachne named Skreetha brought her face closer, sensing the girl’s fear. A setting sun painted a different image than the girl remembered. Not a monster made of pure darkness, ugly and dreadful. She had grayish-green human eyes, and multiple red eyes sparkled all around her head reflecting the sun. Chitin horns protruded from her skull like a parody of a haircut. The only inhumane feature was her mouth with little to no lips. Just a crack spread from ear to ear. Behind it hid rows of teeth that reminded Adira of a deep-water trophy fish she saw in one of the capital’s markets. Still, unmistakably, the arachne wore the same face as the terror that destroyed Adira’s village.

“What a nice prey.” The monster reveled over the girl frozen in horror. She inched closer to the girl's face, covering the sun. The horrors of the huntress’s childhood returned as she looked at the monster up close again. Adira woke up to this face many nights over the years. Yet this time she knew she could not. The anger boiled inside the girl screaming to take the glaive and strike. The fear though was in command. It held her limbs tighter than lovers' embrace. Skreetha leaned even closer, savoring the terror of the huntress. The young huntress never expected to be so helpless. Just moments before she had all the confidence in the world. Looking at the monster’s face, she felt like she was again a helpless little girl.

“Your kid in panic.” Having had enough, arachne turned to Galen. “Make her walk and don’t fall behind or I assume you running away.”

Skreetha walked past the hunter and added in whispers.

“There is nothing I enjoy more than hunting running prey.” The monster moved to join the Demigod of Darkness.

Galen approached the girl, leaning closer to her. He reached out, bringing her attention back. Adira briefly focused on him and then looked back at the arachne.

“It’s… her.” The man nodded. There were no other arachnes in these regions, especially ones of level 100. He figured it was her. The old hunter tried his most reassuring voice.

“We will get out of this. I promise. And we will find a way to kill this monster.” The girl seemed not to listen to the man. She frowned and shook her head.

“Let’s just move.” Seeing Adira trying to stand up, Galen offered her a hand, but she harshly pushed it away. “Leave me.”

Her panic wore off. Now she grew agitated. Galen knew it was her usual response to fear and frustration. The girl was prone to anger. Sooner or later it would not serve her well.