Akatsuki Translations

The 【Hexlord Spider】

Classified as sixth rank, its thirteen legs, each several meters long, writhe freely. Despite its enormous body, it can crawl effortlessly on walls and ceilings. Its jaws, capable of crushing prey, are vicious and sharp enough to bisect any victim they pierce. Moreover, it spits out digestive fluids that can dissolve even armor.

But most terrifying of all is the spider’s silk it uses. The web spread throughout its territory is imbued with cursed magic. Merely touching it drains one’s magical power, weakening them until they can’t even move a finger before being captured.

If one can drag it out of its nest, its large size and sluggish movements make it less of a threat. However, if you step into its territory where it lies in wait, even silver-rank adventurers can be caught off guard.

If you’re inexperienced and few in number, never set foot there.

Unless, of course, you wish to volunteer as breakfast for the queen’s adorable children.

                  — Excerpt from the【Collection of Maxims by Nameless Adventurers】

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Eckstein instantly understood from his experience, intuition, and the situation at hand.

『ZYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!』

They were going to die.

“Run!!!” Eckstein, as the vanguard, immediately gave the order. It was an instruction that completely ignored his superior Greylei’s command, but he wasn’t so blindly loyal to his superior as to stay in a deadly situation knowing they would die. Especially since Greylei wasn’t the type to necessarily guarantee their lives in these “tests.”

He knew of cases where “unfortunate accidents” had occurred. He had to protect himself.

But,

“Gah!?”

“Don’t try anything foolish, Eckstein,” Greylei’s voice warned.

Just as he tried to return, he was “repelled at the exit.”

Looking closer, he saw a barrier had been erected. Of course, there was no need to consider who was responsible.

“Greylei!! This joke has gone too far!!!” Eckstein shouted.

“I dislike jokes. They’re a waste of time,” Greylei’s laughter echoed.

But they couldn’t tell where he was. Even with his magic eyes of transcendent sight, his location couldn’t be pinpointed. Whether it was invisibility magic or something more advanced, if he seriously tried to hide, even among the 【Seven Heavens】, there weren’t many who could find him.

In other words, they had no choice but to fight.

『ZIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAA!!』

“【Guldin of Stone】!!” Kalkara invoked.

As the Hexlord Spider spewed venom, Kalkara simultaneously created a rock wall. The stone wall caught the venom, becoming a shield to protect Eckstein and the others. However,

“I-It’s melting…!?”

“What kind of gastric juice is this?!”

Echelle was speechless as the stone wall crumbled and melted, while Kalkara screamed and retreated from the spot.

“Watch your feet! If you step on the spider web, your magical power will be drained!!” Eckstein warned while scorching the ground with lightning magic. But it was unclear how effective this would be. They were already considerably exhausted from getting here, and if they continued to pour out magic like this, their magical power would certainly be depleted.

“We don’t have the luxury of stamina! Let’s go for a quick decisive battle!!”

Or rather, that was their only option.

The time they could move at full strength was running out. If they didn’t aim for a quick victory, they wouldn’t have even a one-in-a-million chance of winning. Eckstein looked up at the ceiling.

『ZIIIIII…』

The queen was still writhing on the ceiling. She showed no signs of moving. Of course not. Her prey was merely crawling on the ground. If they had no means to reach her up on the ceiling, there was no reason for her to come down.

She would scatter venom and cursed threads from above, weaken them until they couldn’t do anything, and then finish them off. There was no reason to change her winning strategy.

If so, they could catch her off guard.

“Kalkara-san! Please, on my signal!! Echelle, provide a shield!!”

Eckstein gripped his sword tightly and lowered his stance deeply. Seeming to understand his intention, Kalkara pressed her clenched fist to her forehead, praying as if squeezing out the last of her strength.

“…This is our limit too. Please end it with this,” Kalkara said.

“I-It’s okay! We can do this!!” Echelle encouraged.

Eckstein nodded and fixed his gaze on the 【Hexlord Spider】. Was it observing them as well? It had stopped moving, like a stone statue, with all ten eyes steadily fixed on them.

In that strange moment of silence, the next instant, the spider turned its abdomen downward and shot out cursed threads towards Eckstein.

“Now!!” Eckstein shouted.

“【Guldin of Stone】!” Kalkara invoked.

“【Mirror Spirit Miralphyne】!!” Echelle cried out.

In that moment, the ground beneath Eckstein’s feet moved, and a stone pillar lifted him upward in one swift motion. Simultaneously, a mirror appeared in front of the expelled spider silk, reflecting the threads.

『ZYI!?』

The Hexlord Spider couldn’t have its magical power drained by its own cursed threads. But just being able to block the attack was enough. Eckstein readied his sword, aiming for the narrow point between the spider’s front body and abdomen.

“Mine Guardian Spirit Fynellian, I pray Thee, Watch Over Mine Unbridled Valor…!!”

Clinging to hope like a drowning man to a straw, he offered a prayer to his spirit. Then, with all his might, he leapt from the rising stone pillar and swung his sword.

“Haaaah!”

『ZYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAA!!??』

The sword tore through the 【Hexlord Spider’s】 flesh, causing blue-purple blood to gush out. Caught completely off guard by this counterattack, the 【Hexlord Spider】 writhed in pain, its many legs flailing as it lost balance.

“It’s falling…!”

For a moment, he thought they had won. He believed that if that massive body fell from such a height while severely injured, it would surely be destroyed.

『ZYAAAA!!!!』

That is, until the Hexlord Spider abruptly halted its enormous body in mid-air.

“What…!!”

He realized the obvious before even having to think about it. It was clear what was supporting the Hexlord Spider. It was her own threads, spread throughout the room.

The cursed spider silk, while hiding terrifying effects, was also surprisingly strong. Strong enough to support even that massive body when thrown off balance. Moreover,

“Even the wound… is closing!?”

The bleeding from the gash Eckstein had inflicted on its body was stopping. Translucent threads were overlapping the wound, beginning to staunch the flow. Eckstein’s desperate strike had been mercilessly nullified.

Furthermore, the fact that there was enough spider silk in the air to support her meant…

“Me too… huh…”

He felt his strength leaving him all at once. He could feel his magical power rapidly depleting. Looking down, he saw translucent threads clinging all over his body. It was only natural, having cut straight through the room. Eckstein fell to his knees.

He couldn’t move his body. The stone pillar beneath his feet began to crumble, perhaps because Kalkara’s power had also run out. But Eckstein didn’t fall. His body was already caught in the spider’s web.

『ZIIIIII…』

The 【Hexlord Spider】 had been writhing in pain from its wound for a while. Then it turned its body towards the accursed prey that had injured it. But upon confirming that the prey was already immobilized and caught in its web, it immediately shifted its aim to the two remaining prey below.

The queen was not careless. Though she had the urge to immediately devour the hateful enemy that had wounded her, she wouldn’t make the mistake of pouncing on an incapacitated prey while leaving an unpredictable enemy behind.

Surprisingly wise and vigilant. Eckstein desperately cried out with his still-movable tongue.

“…! Greylei-sama! Please!! We’ll really die if this goes on any longer!! Help us!”

There was no response. He knew it. As Greylei had said at the start of the battle, he disliked jokes. That’s the kind of man he was.

“You two, please run…!!”

Shouting that final desperate plea, Eckstein lost consciousness.

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Kalkara and Echelle on the ground were also in dire straits.

“K-Kalkara! A-Are you alright?!” Echelle cried out, worried.

“…Echelle-sama,” Kalkara could barely hear Echelle’s concerned voice. Her magical power was depleted. Her body felt incredibly heavy. Perhaps she had unknowingly touched the spider’s threads, or maybe she had simply overused the spirit’s power. Her body refused to move at all.

But the threat was gradually approaching. There was no time to spare.

“I’ll… create an escape route now. Please… hide somewhere safe. Ur and the others… should find us,” Kalkara said, suppressing her trembling hands and joining them once again to begin praying. If she were to offer any more magical power in prayer and invoke the spirit’s blessing, it would likely endanger her life. However, she had to protect Echelle at least—

“Stop it, Kalkara!! You can’t do any more!!” Echelle interrupted her prayer. Just that was enough to make Kalkara lose her balance and fall. She had indeed reached her limit.

“I’ll do it!!” Echelle declared.

Supporting Kalkara’s body, Echelle glared at the Hexlord Spider that was baring its fangs and taking aim at them from above. She clasped her hands together, as if gripping tightly, and offered a prayer.

“E-Echelle-sama…!” Kalkara gasped.

Magical power swirled around Echelle. It wasn’t like any ordinary magic. The power residing within her resonated with her prayer. Just that was causing a stir in the surroundings, even though she hadn’t yet unleashed any power.

It was indeed strange. Such a thing shouldn’t be possible!

But Kalkara didn’t have the strength left to stop her.

『ZYAAAAAAAAAA!!!』

The Hexlord Spider must have noticed this anomaly too. It turned its swollen abdomen towards them and spewed out cursed threads. A rain of threads that could end them with a single touch poured down in vast quantities. There was nowhere left to escape.

But by then, Echelle had also completed her preparations.

“【Miralphyne!!】” she cried out.

The sound of something cracking echoed throughout the room.

Just before Kalkara lost consciousness, what she saw was the Mirror Spirit clad in a black dress – the same one she had witnessed on that plain – enveloping Echelle.