Chapter 48.
That was the last Seedroach.
We kept our guard up for a bit longer, making sure nothing else was coming, then took time to reorganize our gear and assess the situation.
Going back to the entrance was meaningless, so in the end, we had no choice but to head toward where the boss would be.
We sent Sylph ahead to scout and decided to rest for a while.
Felicia kept glancing at Claude, and finally, unable to hold back, she asked,
“I really didn’t know Your Highness had reached the level of a Sword Master.”
Sword Master. A term for those who have reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship and can wield a special power known as “Aura.”
He had been called a sword prodigy as a child, so he must truly have had the talent.
Maybe, despite living a delinquent life, he had secretly continued his training.
Perhaps it was a realm he couldn’t give up on, no matter how much he wanted to throw everything away.
While I was lost in thought, Claude said nothing, and Felicia, flustered by the silence, quickly added,
“I-I just meant that! I’m not stupid enough to go blabbing about it anywhere, I swear.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
His reply was brief. Was it my imagination, or did his voice sound tired? I looked at him with concern.
He was sitting beside the unconscious Readmore, preparing to support him.
He wasn’t gasping for air or completely unable to move, but he was clearly not the same as before fighting the Seedroaches. His hand, resting on his thigh, was trembling.
“But now that we know how strong Your Highness is, whatever shows up next won’t be a problem, right?”
“Sorry to disappoint, Miss Oakley, but I’m not strong enough for you to relax just yet. Unfortunately, my body’s taken quite a bit of strain, and I can’t use it freely.”
He gestured toward the ceiling.
“I don’t exactly want to test whether using aura repeatedly to bring down rocks inside a cave is a good idea.”
Earlier, the whole cave had trembled ominously. The aftermath had left fallen stones and dust scattered everywhere.
“I see…”
Felicia responded with a slightly dejected look.
In the meantime, Sylph returned. Felicia received the message and relayed it to us.
“Up ahead, it senses the presence of the strongest monster in this place.”
“Did it say what kind?”
“It came back because it felt like it would be attacked if it got any closer.”
Silence fell over the group.
“When I was here last time, the boss was just a giant slime or a few goblins with forks… This doesn’t make sense.”
Claude looked like he was about to say something in response to Felicia’s murmuring but closed his mouth.
The moment I saw his expression, I understood why.
“What Your Highness is thinking… I don’t believe it’s true.”
I spoke directly to him. He raised his head, which had been bowed in distress.
“What?”
Only Felicia, who didn’t understand the situation, looked back and forth between us in confusion.
He was feeling guilty.
He believed we had been caught up in a scheme targeting him.
But the second prince—or more accurately, the empress’s faction behind him—didn’t seem capable of orchestrating something like this.
Even if she was the empress, she was still human. It was hard to imagine she had the power to turn a low-level dungeon into a living hell overrun by insane monsters.
Claude opened his mouth again.
“But…”
“Either way, now’s not the time to talk about it. Let’s focus on escaping first.”
“…Alright.”
As I cut him off and shook my head, Claude nodded in agreement.
We pushed forward slowly, leading with the spirits.
The closer we got to the boss, the more it felt like we were descending underground.
The number of magic stones embedded in the walls decreased, the light dimmed, and damp moisture seeped through the cracks.
Unfamiliar plants grew here and there.
We followed the winding path downward, until at last, we reached level ground.
A wide cavern stretched out before us.
“It’s eerie…”
Felicia’s voice echoed in the empty space.
We stayed alert and moved cautiously toward the center, scanning our surroundings.
“There’s no sign of anything…”
As we stood puzzled, Felicia suddenly pointed and shouted,
“Ah! Over there!”
Following her gaze, we saw the far wall directly in front of us.
“Behind the vines!”
She shouted again. Looking closely, indeed—there was something strange behind the vines hanging from above.
Not a rock wall, but a small tunnel. It looked like a passage.
“That must be where the teleportation formation is set up. If we go through there, we can get out!”
Felicia’s dusty, grimy face lit up with relief.
“Let’s go.”
We ran toward the exit. Felicia led the way, and behind her came the heavy sound of Claude carrying Readmore.
Just a little farther—once we reached it, we’d finally escape this cursed dungeon.
[Kalia!]
Suddenly, Undine’s voice shrieked in my mind. A jolt of instinct warned me of danger. I sensed a chilling presence above.
“Get down!”
I shouted, not at anyone in particular, just for everyone to move. I ran to get as far from the center as possible.
BOOM!
“Ugh, cough!”
A massive crash and shockwave erupted behind me. It felt like something enormous had fallen.
I tumbled across the ground and got up. Dust clouded my vision.
Through the haze, a silhouette emerged between my arms as I shielded my face.
‘A spider…?’
“Aaagh!”
I turned toward the scream—and cried out in horror.
“Felicia!”
Just moments ago, she’d been running and laughing. Now, she was plastered against the wall.
Webs had wrapped around her body and pinned her there.
A smooth, silvery thread had sealed her mouth mid-scream.
She struggled, shaking her head and making muffled noises, but soon slumped down.
Her unconscious face was deathly pale.
There was no time to be shocked.
“Be careful, it’s coming again.”
Claude had propped Readmore in a corner and returned with a calm voice.
‘Again…’
Now it really felt like we were doomed.
First Readmore, then Claude, and now Felicia.
Everyone who had come into this cave with me had faced death. And all I could do was stand by and watch.
If there was a hell prepared for me, surely this was it.
“You know you have to stay focused.”
Claude spoke softly. His voice gave strength to my legs, which had almost given out.
Tears welled up. I was so thankful he was here at this moment.
I pushed aside the weakness and regained my composure.
The giant spider that had attacked us with its silk turned toward us.
It was about the size of a horse or a cow. Its sharp jaws clicked menacingly.
Just as it aimed its face toward me to attack, Undine shot a powerful jet of water from beneath it, like a cannon.
“KREEEE!”
The spider flipped onto its back and was thrown away, its eight legs flailing grotesquely.
Claude dashed in like a bolt of lightning. At that moment, another web shot from the spider’s rear and stuck to the ceiling.
It rode the thread and vanished above in an instant.
Looking up, I saw the ceiling was much higher than expected.
Pillars formed over countless years and bizarre icicle-like rocks created a structure resembling a cathedral’s corridor.
Long and short webs drifted like curtains.
“I think it’s using poison too.”
Claude muttered, observing the ground. Suspicious fluids and a foul smell rose from the floor.
“Lovely.”
Not exactly good news. Claude let out a brief laugh.
“Your mouth still works just fine, I see.”
A faint smile barely hung on his tired face.
“Good. That’s better.”
He stood with his back to mine, guarding me, and murmured.
A rush of camaraderie swelled in my chest.
In a life-or-death situation, who would’ve thought he and I would stand back-to-back, protecting each other?
“Let’s make it out alive.”
“We will.”
He answered my quiet vow.
KREEEEE. A strange cry echoed from above.
I looked up. Baby spiders began popping out atop the pillars and rocky ledges.
“Ugh…”
A sight so disgusting it could haunt my dreams. Poison began to rain down like a storm from both the big and little spiders.
I cast a dome-shaped water shield over Claude and me—and didn’t forget our fallen friends.
When the poison proved ineffective, the baby spiders began dropping down. Even “baby” meant the size of a large dog.
They raised their front legs threateningly, then lunged with surprising speed.
A blood-soaked battle followed. My whole body felt soaked in their various fluids and blood.
Claude slashed through them, and when too many swarmed, he enveloped his sword in aura or blasted them away entirely.
I defended us from poison and used spirits to wipe out the spiders.
We must have killed dozens.
“KREEEE!”
With the adult spider’s cry, the poison rain stopped. I dispelled the watery veil, and the furious creature shot web at us again.
It came flying like an arrow—Claude sliced it down, and I launched a stream of water at the boss spider.
It hurled its huge body at us. A massive shadow rushed toward us like a nightmare.
Claude swiftly grabbed me and rolled out of the way. As we scrambled up, the boss spider leapt again.
Beside us, a blinding light burst forth. The strongest and brightest aura yet. Claude grit his teeth.
His sword cleaved straight through the spider’s center as it came down.
SPLAAASH! Blood sprayed across my arms, hair, and body.
The bisected corpse dropped to either side. Organs, blood, and sticky fluids gushed endlessly. Its legs twitched upward—then stopped.
“Ugh…”
I gasped for breath. Claude stabbed his sword into the ground, leaning on it, panting heavily. Like me, he was soaked in blood.
But we were alive.
