novelraw Chapter 23: Spider Silk
Chapter 23: Spider Silk
The edge of this massive underground cavern was smooth, with occasional marks that looked like they’d been scratched by something sharp. From the outside, even in the open wilderness, it was perfectly concealed. If it weren’t for the magical link between Fischer’s cane and his carriage, he probably wouldn’t have found the hidden passage leading underground.
Still, their level of alertness needed improvement—someone had entered the cave, and no one had noticed anything unusual.
Fischer walked deeper into the cave. The walls were lined with glass jars containing thunderbugs—a variant of fireflies native to the Southern Continent—providing clear visibility within the cave.
Following the path of the glowing light, he found that behind the entrance hall were several interconnected chambers. He had already suspected that demi-humans were behind the attack, but he didn’t expect to find a Spiderkin inside.
Inside one of the smaller chambers ahead, white spider silk hung down everywhere. The silk was smooth and neatly arranged, like a noblewoman’s lace-covered bed. But no living being was present in the cave.
Bang!!
Just then, a flash of light and the sound of a gunshot rang out behind Fischer.
Before the shot even fired, Fischer had already dodged. He caught the sound of the trigger being pulled with his ears and reacted in advance.
He wouldn’t have been able to react like this before studying the Dragonkin. Their physical enhancements were truly overwhelming.
But now wasn’t the time to reflect on those enhancements. Fischer pressed close to the interior of the spider silk chamber, catching a glimpse out of the corner of his eye—a massive Spiderkin girl stood in the middle of the tunnel. “Didn’t expect a lone human to come all the way here. Are you here to die?”
Fischer ducked behind the wall and raised his cane. His ears twitched, but he picked up no further sound.
He couldn’t understand this Spiderkin’s language. Demi-human languages were complex and varied; many species had their own languages, and some were regional dialects. Fischer didn’t recognize most of them.
But he had no intention of chatting anyway.
He gripped his cane, suddenly lunged out, and held his hat with his left hand to keep it from flying off. His body twisted continuously to avoid the bullets.
Sia fired a shot, but instead of reloading, she tossed the gun aside and pulled out another. She switched weapons several times, but still failed to land a hit. Meanwhile, the well-dressed gentleman was closing the distance. Just as he was about to reach her, a strange smile appeared on Sia’s face.
“Huff huff!”
Suddenly, the ground behind Fischer split open. Two massive claws burst out, and a girl wearing goggles leapt from the earth, lunging toward Fischer’s back.
Those claws, capable of breaking through rock, would easily tear through human flesh. Fischer cast her a calm glance. His cane lit up in place of any expression.
Three deep white rings of light flared to life. He’d shown this three-ring magic to Raphaëlle before, but hadn’t needed to use its full power then.
Triple-ring spell: Dance of the Bees.
The moment the rings lit up, the cavern filled with a buzzing sound like a swarm of bees. On closer inspection, it was actually the rings spinning at high speed.
Bzzzz!
The two rear rings shot toward Famasie’s neck. She instinctively tried to dodge, but the rings pierced straight into her shoulder, slipping through her Pangolinkin armor with no resistance and then blasting into the wall behind her.
“Famasie!”
Blood mist exploded from behind Famasie. Her face turned ghostly pale as she collapsed. Sia’s expression shifted drastically—pulling a gun now would be suicidal. Instead, she lunged forward with her spider legs, aiming to slash the wrist holding Fischer’s cane, trying to stop him from casting another spell.
But Fischer had no intention of casting again. His fingers flicked the cane upward with immense force, driving it into the rocky ceiling and narrowly avoiding her slash.
In the next instant, his expression darkened—just like his body, sinking low into a fighting stance.
With her spider leg raised, her full body exposed a clear opening. Fischer dropped into a Sanda pose and launched a punch straight into her stomach.
Boom!
A powerful gust followed. Sia doubled over, vomit spraying from her mouth, and her massive spider body went flying backward.
It was the same move he’d used on Raphaëlle before—only this time, he held nothing back. His gaze remained calm as water. He grabbed her flailing arm mid-flight and yanked her back, following with two or three brutal punches to her already injured abdomen.
Her pale belly immediately turned blue and purple with bruises. Beads of sweat broke across her forehead. By the time she collapsed again, she looked like she wanted to vomit again, but instead, blood gushed from her mouth onto the floor.
“Fa... Famasie... run...”
“....”
Sia tried to tell her fallen comrade to escape. This human was a monster—completely unbeatable. Her face, pale as death, twisted in despair as she cried for Famasie, who lay unmoving in a pool of blood. It wasn’t clear if she was dead.
The human said nothing. He just reached out and retrieved his cane, casting a glance at the two like they were already corpses. He flipped the Pangolinkin over—blood bubbled from her mouth, but she was still breathing.
She wasn’t dead—yet.
Expressionless, Fischer grabbed the Pangolinkin’s tail with one hand, and with the other, gripped the immobilized Spiderkin’s neck and lifted her off the ground. He began walking back toward the main hall.
“Mister! Mister, save me! Save... save me...”
The gentleman in the cell lit up upon seeing Fischer return. He stuck his hand through the bars, waving wildly—until he saw the battered demi-humans.
His cries for help quickly faded into silence.
He suddenly thought... maybe this human was actually the more terrifying thug...
Being locked up might be safer than crossing paths with him.
Raphaëlle looked at the mangled Spiderkin with a complicated expression, lips pressed tight. Kachil and Fassil also looked on silently, faces conflicted.
If she hadn’t admitted her assassination attempt failed, would she have ended up like this too?
“Is my wallet with them?”
Fischer didn’t ask the two demi-humans—he couldn’t understand their language—so he asked Raphaëlle and the others.
“Yes! And she even called you a broke*ss, Fischer!”
Larr pouted and pointed her tiny finger at the ghost-white Spiderkin on the ground.
Veins popped on Fischer’s forehead. He looked down at Sia, who lay sprawled at his feet. Even knowing she couldn’t understand him, he still extended his hand and demanded she return his wallet.
She didn’t respond. In fact, she tried to spit blood-soaked saliva at him. But her body hurt too much—even spitting was impossible. The blood and spit just dribbled down her cheek.
Fischer’s gaze turned icy. For some reason, Raphaëlle trembled.
That look... he was definitely pissed off now.
“Spiderkin love to store their nesting silk. To them, spider silk is their most precious treasure...”
As he spoke—knowing full well Sia couldn’t understand—Fischer retrieved a small glass jar from his carriage.
He quietly walked around to the back of the Spiderkin, patted her massive spider abdomen, and placed the jar underneath her.
“W-wait! Human, what are you doing? Nngh...”
Sia’s compound eyes flared wide. She wanted to scream in rage, but her whole body suddenly went limp, as if shocked by electricity. Her limbs hung uselessly, and her face flushed red.
Behind her, Fischer’s hand gripped her spider tail, kneading and rubbing. Her body convulsed uncontrollably, and silk began to shoot from her tail, landing directly into the jar.
The silk seemed abundant, yet when it entered the tiny jar, it turned to barely visible threads.
The jar had been enchanted with spatial magic—just like the one on the carriage.
“No... not my silk... don’t take my silk...”
Sia’s body trembled. Having her silk forcibly taken should’ve been painful—but somehow, she felt a strange, twisted pleasure mixed in with the pain.
“Nngh... stop...”
Eventually, her upper body slumped to the floor. Her compound eyes, flushed red and wet, turned to gaze back at the human with a look of reluctant submission.
Raphaëlle’s jaw dropped. Behind her, a red-faced Mir clamped both hands over Larr’s eyes. Fassil and Cachil covered their own faces, saying nothing.
“I wanna watch! That awful spider girl pointed a gun at Larr!”
“You’re too young, Larr... this kind of thing...”
Dozens of minutes passed before Fischer finally removed the now-brimming silk jar. Looking at the soul-crushed Sia, he actually felt a trace of satisfaction.
This is what it feels like to have everything taken from you. Now you know.
“Kill me...”
Sia’s eyes went blank, though her cheeks remained flushed. The contradiction made her unable to face herself.
“Heh. Now, where’s my wallet?”
Fischer had avenged the thousands of Nary Euro in his wallet. But after just a second, he noticed something was wrong.
Why could he suddenly understand her?
Why did the Spiderkin’s words turn into Nary?
Fischer made no movement, but the cane in his hand began to glow once more, pointing at the Spiderkin lying on the ground.
The surrounding air went still.
Then, a sigh echoed from nowhere.
“Please stop. Let them go.”
A semi-transparent figure appeared in the cave, quietly watching Fischer and his cane.
Who else could it be but the Brain Demonkin—Korriri?
“Why should I?”
Fischer’s voice was cold as iron. His gaze locked on the phantom. If he wanted to, he could blow both demi-humans’ heads off in an instant.