The air inside the cavern was damp, the kind that clung to Rin's lungs with each breath. A stagnant wetness pressed down as though the earth itself had drowned centuries ago and never quite dried. His boots scraped against uneven stone, and each step seemed too loud—far too loud for the silence that stretched on endlessly.
Lilith moved ahead of him, torchlight flickering against the walls, her silhouette sharp and deliberate. Her arm—once mangled—now restored, swung with confident rhythm. Rin couldn't help but glance at it now and again. There had been something uncanny in the way Lizandra Zera had fixed it, as though the arm had never been severed at all. No scar, no hesitation in movement. Perfect. Whole. Almost too perfect.
"Stay sharp," Lilith murmured without turning. Her voice echoed faintly, warping in the tunnel until it sounded like there were dozens of her whispering the same warning.
Rin tightened his grip on his blade. "I'm already sharp."
She snorted, a small smirk curving her lips. "You talk big for someone who nearly got eaten alive last time."
Rin frowned, irritation prickling his chest. He wanted to snap back, but the torchlight landed on something ahead—something that made the words die in his throat.
The tunnel widened into a chamber, vast and hollow, with ceilings so high they vanished into shadow. Thick strands of webbing draped across every surface, white cords crisscrossing like veins of a great beast. They pulsed faintly, as if carrying life of their own.
The torchlight glistened against them, and Rin realized with unease that the web wasn't dry. Moisture clung to it, glimmering like dew—except it smelled faintly of rot.
Lilith lowered her torch, eyes narrowing. "We found it."
Rin stepped forward, heart hammering. "The nest."
⸻
They advanced carefully. The webs thickened the deeper they went, hanging low enough that Rin had to cut through with his blade. The sound it made—a sticky, elastic twang—made his skin crawl.
"Quiet," Lilith warned again. "Vibrations carry."
Rin nodded, swallowing his unease. Every movement seemed amplified: the crunch of their boots on brittle bones littering the floor, the drip of condensation, the faint rasp of steel slicing through silk.
Then came the first sound that didn't belong to them.
A low chittering, like stone grinding on stone, reverberated through the chamber. It was distant at first, then multiplied—echoes layering atop one another until Rin couldn't tell where it was coming from.
He froze, blood running cold.
"Don't stop," Lilith hissed, pushing forward with steady steps.
Rin's instincts screamed at him to run, but he forced himself to follow. The deeper they went, the more bones they found. Some were stripped clean, pale under the torchlight. Others were fresher, with ragged flesh still clinging.
A skull, cracked down the middle. A half-digested ribcage cocooned in silk. A boot still containing a shriveled foot.
Rin tried not to gag.
⸻
The chamber narrowed again, funnelling them into a tunnel lined with webs so thick they muffled sound. It felt like walking through a throat.
And then, abruptly, they entered another open cavern—this one far larger, and alive.
Hundreds of spiders scuttled across the walls, their legs clattering like rain on metal. They varied in size—some no larger than Rin's hand, others the size of hounds—but all of them turned toward the torchlight with synchronized hunger.
Their eyes glimmered in the dark. Red pinpricks. Too many to count.
Rin's body locked up. "…Lilith."
She raised her torch higher, unfazed. "This isn't the broodmother. Just her children."
"Just?" Rin hissed, panic spiking in his throat.
"Calm yourself. If we panic, we're dead."
The spiders began to move, legs clicking against stone, bodies gliding across the walls and ceiling in grotesque synchronization. The sound was unbearable—like knives scratching glass.
Rin's knuckles whitened on his sword. "How do we—"
The swarm dropped.
⸻
They fell from the ceiling in clusters, shrieking in alien voices that scraped Rin's ears raw. Lilith's torch whooshed as she swung it wide, the fire scattering several into retreat, their bodies sizzling as flames licked their bristles.
"Fight!" she barked, voice sharp with command.
Rin's blade was already moving, slashing through the first spider that lunged. Its body split open, green ichor spraying across the stone. The smell was vile, a sour, acidic stench that burned his nostrils.
He stumbled back, nearly slipping on a web-slicked stone, but another spider was already on him. Its fangs clamped down on his shoulder, scraping against the chainmail beneath his clothes.
Rin roared, twisting violently, and drove his blade through its head. The spider convulsed, legs thrashing, then stilled.
Two more replaced it instantly.
Lilith fought with terrifying efficiency. Her axe cleaved through carapace after carapace, each swing fueled by strength Rin couldn't match. She was a storm of fire and steel, her restored arm moving as though it had never known weakness.
"Don't let them surround you!" she shouted.
Rin gritted his teeth, forcing himself to move, to kill, to keep killing. The swarm pressed from all directions, their screeches bouncing endlessly off stone.
And through it all—through the chaos and blood and fire—he felt it.
A presence.
Watching.
Something far larger than the swarm. Something that had not yet revealed itself.
The broodmother.
Rin's chest heaved as he slashed another spider down, ichor spraying across his cheek. The stench burned his throat, but he didn't stop moving. The swarm was relentless, a tide of skittering bodies and glinting fangs.
Lilith fought with a kind of grim rhythm, her axe cleaving through creatures in clean arcs, fire trailing the torch she still gripped in her other hand. Her movements were practiced, efficient, almost frightening in their precision. Rin could barely keep up, stumbling to parry another lunge before slashing across its belly.
The cavern rang with shrieks, steel, and the crackle of fire.
But beneath it all, that presence only grew stronger.
Rin felt his skin prickle, his instincts screaming. Something was waiting. Something was watching. He swung his sword wildly, cutting down another spider, but his eyes kept flicking toward the shadows deeper in the chamber.
"Lilith!" he shouted over the chaos. "There's something else here!"
Her gaze darted briefly toward him, then to the darkness beyond the swarm. Her jaw tightened. "I know."
The ground trembled.
It was subtle at first, a vibration that made the webs shiver. Then it deepened, rolling through the cavern like a heartbeat. The spiders around them shrieked louder, but they weren't attacking anymore. They were retreating—skittering back toward the shadows, disappearing into cracks and crevices in the stone.
Rin froze, sweat cold on his spine.
The swarm was pulling back. Not from defeat. From reverence.
The broodmother was coming.
The air grew heavy, thick with a sour musk that made Rin's stomach churn. The torchlight flickered as the ground shook harder, dislodging stones from the ceiling above. Webbing vibrated, alive with energy, trembling as if in anticipation.
From the darkness ahead, two enormous glimmers of red appeared. Eyes.
They blinked.
Then the broodmother emerged.
Her body was monstrous, her legs longer than trees, each one stabbing into the ground with thunderous weight. Her carapace shimmered in the firelight, black and wet, covered in jagged spines. Dozens of smaller eyes clustered around the two main ones, glowing like embers. Her fangs, each the size of a sword, dripped with thick green venom that hissed where it landed on stone.
Rin couldn't breathe. His chest locked tight, his body rooted in place.
Lilith stepped forward, axe raised, her voice steady. "Stay behind me."
The broodmother let out a sound that wasn't just a screech—it was a roar, a guttural vibration that rattled Rin's bones. The walls trembled, dust raining from the cavern ceiling.
Then she lunged.
Lilith shoved Rin aside, swinging her axe upward. Steel met carapace with a sound like grinding stone, sparks exploding. The broodmother reeled back, hissing, venom spraying across the ground where Rin had been standing seconds earlier. The stone sizzled, melting into a foul-smelling sludge.
Rin scrambled to his feet, sword shaking in his grip. His whole body screamed at him to run, but he forced himself to move forward, slashing at one of the broodmother's legs. The blade barely sank in, cutting shallow across the armored surface.
She shrieked, the sound splitting Rin's ears, and swiped at him with another leg. He dove aside, the sheer force of it cracking the ground where he'd stood.
"Her joints!" Lilith roared. "Aim for the weak points!"
Rin gritted his teeth, forcing his shaking body forward. He dodged another strike, then swung at the bend of a leg. This time, the blade bit deeper, ichor spraying in a foul torrent. The broodmother screeched again, thrashing violently, her leg slamming against the cavern wall hard enough to splinter rock.
Lilith was already moving, her axe slamming into another joint, firelight gleaming in her eyes. She was fierce, unyielding, every movement calculated.
But the broodmother was massive, and for every wound they inflicted, her rage only grew. Venom sprayed wildly, burning through webs and stone alike. Her legs moved like spears, fast and brutal.
Rin barely rolled aside in time as one stabbed into the ground where he had fallen. The impact sent a shockwave up his arms. He staggered, lungs burning, blood running down his cheek from flying debris.
The broodmother's head swung toward him, her cluster of glowing eyes fixing on his trembling figure. Her fangs opened wide, dripping venom, and she lunged.
Rin froze. His body locked in place, terror rooting him to the ground. The maw of the broodmother filled his vision, death rushing toward him.
But before the fangs could pierce him, Lilith slammed into his side, shoving him out of the way. The broodmother's bite crashed into the stone, splintering it with a thunderous crack.
"Move, damn you!" Lilith roared, dragging him to his feet.
Rin's breath came ragged, panic choking him. He gripped his sword tighter, forcing his legs to obey. His blade shook as he lifted it again, stepping forward with her.
Together, they fought.
Steel and axe against carapace. Fire against venom. Their movements were frantic but determined, weaving between the broodmother's thrashing limbs. Every strike was a desperate gamble, every dodge a brush with death.
Rin's arms ached, his body bruised and battered, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. If he faltered, if he hesitated, they would both die here.
The broodmother's shrieks filled the cavern, deafening, furious. Her body crashed against the walls, tearing through her own webbing in her rage. Venom splattered, burning holes into the ground.
Rin slashed again at a joint, ichor spraying across his arms. Lilith's axe followed, cleaving deeper, sparks flying as steel bit bone. The broodmother screamed, stumbling back for the first time, her massive form shuddering with pain.
Rin's chest heaved. Sweat and blood dripped into his eyes, but a surge of hope sparked in his chest.
They could win this.
But the broodmother was far from finished.
Her eyes glowed brighter, fury radiating off her in waves. She reared back, venom pooling between her fangs, and then—she unleashed it.
A torrent of acid sprayed forward, a wave of death that filled the cavern.
Rin's heart stopped. There was nowhere to run.
Lilith threw herself in front of him, axe raised, but the torrent was too wide, too fast. The green flood roared toward them, hissing and burning everything it touched.
Rin's mind went blank.
This was it.
The venom filled his vision—
And then, something impossible happened.
The flood of venom stopped midair.
It hung suspended, droplets frozen like emerald glass, shimmering in the torchlight. The cavern went silent. Even the broodmother hesitated, her shriek cutting short in confusion.
Rin blinked, breath caught in his throat.
A voice spoke. Calm. Cold.
"How unseemly."
From the shadows at the far end of the cavern, a figure stepped forward.
The broodmother's hiss lingered long after her screech had rattled through the ruins. Every fragment of the shattered temple seemed alive now, vibrating with her pulse, dripping venom down broken pillars that gleamed faintly in the dull moonlight filtering through cracks above. Rin staggered, clutching his chest where the concussive blast of her earlier strike had slammed into him. Lilith's hand tugged his shoulder, grounding him in the chaos.
"Stay up," she whispered, though her voice wavered.
The massive spider loomed, her bloated abdomen shifting, twitching, birthing new strands of glistening silk that anchored into the broken stone. The sound of it stretching, tearing, sticking — it burrowed under the skin, an itch that couldn't be scratched. Rin's breath caught in his throat as her mandibles clattered together, dripping venom thick enough to eat holes into the marble floor.
Rin raised his blade again though his arm shook. He wasn't sure if it was from exhaustion or terror.
The broodmother lunged, eight legs moving with deceptive elegance, like a dancer gone rabid. The ground shuddered each time her claws struck, and Rin nearly fell when she barreled forward. He managed to roll aside just in time as her fangs pierced into the ground where he had stood. Stone cracked like thin glass.
Lilith's whip lashed, sparks of divine magic flaring across the black chitin of the beast's thorax. The spider screeched and twisted, flinging debris everywhere. The sound drove a spike into Rin's skull, and for a moment he felt his grip falter again. He could almost hear Liz's words mocking him from the back of his skull. Scrapped. If you can't master yourself, you'll be scrapped.
Rin bit down on the inside of his cheek until blood filled his mouth, forcing focus.
The broodmother swung one of her monstrous legs downward. Rin braced his sword, the impact rattling through his bones, nearly knocking him loose from his stance. The force carved a fissure through the stone at his feet. He shouted with the effort and twisted, slicing deep into the leg's joint. A gush of thick, ichorous fluid sprayed across him, burning his skin like acid where it touched.
He screamed, stumbling back, trying to wipe it away, but the venom hissed, leaving his forearm blistered.
"Rin!" Lilith's cry pulled him back.
The broodmother screeched louder, angrier now, thrashing. The ruin's pillars collapsed under the storm of her fury. Dust and ancient carvings crumbled, burying half the battlefield in shifting debris. Rin could barely see Lilith anymore through the cloud of rubble. His ears rang.
The broodmother lunged again, this time faster, less predictable. Rin leapt aside, but one claw raked across his ribs, ripping open cloth and skin. White-hot agony seared him, his vision dimming. He stumbled, and the beast followed, mandibles dripping venom inches from his head.
He barely raised his sword when—
A hum split the air. Not loud, not obvious, but steady, controlled, like a taut string of music cutting through chaos. The broodmother froze mid-lunge.
Rin blinked. Behind the spider, a boy stepped forward from the shadows of the ruins. He was small — no taller than Rin's shoulder, his frame deceptively slight, but there was something wrong about him. Wrong in how the world bent to his presence, how the air quieted itself to let him exist.
Cat ears twitched atop his dark-blue hair, a tail swayed lazily behind him, but his black eyes — void black with a single red dot burning inside each — made Rin's chest seize tighter than any wound. Beastmen. Extinct, he'd thought. Endangered, Lilith had whispered once in sermons. Yet here one stood, casually brushing dust from his sleeve.
"You're pitiful," the boy murmured, voice flat but echoing as though the ruin itself wanted to repeat his words. "I expected more."
The broodmother trembled, then shrieked and swung toward him. Eight legs stamped down, mandibles ready to carve him in half. He didn't flinch. He lifted one hand, claws glinting, and simply pressed.
The broodmother convulsed. Her momentum shattered into spasms, her body slamming sideways into a broken wall with bone-shaking force. Cracks webbed across her carapace, ichor spilling in rivers.
Lilith stared, whip frozen mid-air. "What… what are you?"
The boy ignored her, tilting his head toward Rin instead. His expression unreadable, his gaze piercing as though dissecting something less than human.
"So this is the thing Liz birthed," he said at last, voice dripping with disinterest. "I expected a monster. Not…" His eyes flicked to the sword trembling in Rin's grip. "…this."
Rin's chest heaved, his wounds screaming. He tried to lift the blade higher, but his body refused.
The boy sighed, stepping closer, the broodmother shrieking again in the background, dragging her broken bulk upright. She lunged once more, but the boy didn't even turn. His tail flicked, his claw extended lazily — and one of the broodmother's legs exploded into fragments.
"Stop playing," another voice rang out.
From the newly rebuilt section of the ruin, an elf stepped forward. Pale as bone, eyes veiled by shadow, every movement carrying the precision of someone who'd long discarded wasted effort. A pebble rolled across his fingers before transforming in a flash of white light into a dagger.
"V," the beastman said without looking. "Kill the boy."
Rin froze. His stomach dropped through the floor.
The elf's face betrayed nothing. He flicked the dagger casually at Rin. Reflex made Rin raise his sword, but the impact sent jolts of fire through his hand. Blood splattered down his wrist as the blade tore into his palm. He staggered.
Another pebble. Another transformation — this time into a greatsword. The elf hurled it like a spear. Rin twisted aside, but not fast enough. The weapon carved a trench across his abdomen, hot blood spilling freely.
Pain ripped a scream from him, knees buckling. His vision swam black at the edges.
Lilith darted toward him, but the beastman was suddenly there, faster than sight. His claw hooked around her throat, dragging her against him, his other hand pressing the point of a talon beneath her jaw.
"If you don't want her blood on the stones," the beastman drawled, "then fight. Survive, and maybe you're worth Liz's trouble. Fail…" He pressed his claw harder, a thin red line blooming across Lilith's skin. "…and you'll die knowing you wasted everyone's time."
Rin's chest heaved. His sword slipped in his blood-slick hand.
The elf called V stepped forward, calm, unhurried. His shadow stretched unnaturally long across the ruin, as though even the moonlight bent in respect. Another pebble, another sword in his grip, this one gleaming like silver fire. He didn't rush. He didn't need to. Every step screamed inevitability.
Rin forced himself upright, blood dripping from his torn abdomen. His left eye blurred, black liquid leaking from it, staining his cheek. He realized with a shudder that it wasn't just blood — it was something wrong, something alien to him.
V tilted his head slightly. "Pathetic," he said, his tone smooth, almost courteous. "You stand here drenched in weakness, yet expect the world to yield?"
And then he was upon Rin.
The sword came down in a line so perfect, so elegant, it looked less like violence and more like choreography — the cut of royalty in a ballroom, not the strike of a killer. Rin barely raised his blade in time. The impact rattled his bones, forced him to his knees.
Pain screamed through him. He wanted to fall. He wanted to close his eyes. But Lilith's choked gasp, the beastman's claw pressing harder to her throat — that kept him standing.
Rin staggered, swung blindly, his strike clumsy and weak. V slipped aside, expression unchanged, then drove his knee into Rin's face. The crack of cartilage snapped through the ruins. Blood gushed from Rin's nose, teeth scattering across the dirt.
The world tilted. Rin coughed, tasting iron and dust. His fingers brushed one of his broken teeth in the dirt. Desperation made him clutch it. He hurled it at V with the last of his strength.
The tooth shimmered mid-air, twisting unnaturally, taking form as an arrow of bone.
V's hand snapped up. He caught it without effort. Expressionless. Cold. His grip crushed it back to nothing.
Rin collapsed, consciousness tearing at the seams. His last sight was V's calm, unreadable face, eyes still closed, as if Rin wasn't even worth opening them for.
Then darkness.
Rin's arm trembled as he gripped his sword tighter, every muscle in his body screaming to just keep swinging, keep cutting until there was nothing left of the monster. But no matter how deep his blade sank into those bristling black legs, the spider never stopped. It was like stabbing into a fortress of living steel—each strike chipped away, but the beast was too vast, too relentless.
The church stones beneath his boots cracked as the spider shoved forward. Its bulk filled the ruined hall like a moving shadow, legs stabbing in arcs that rattled the air. Rin dodged one strike by the width of a hair, stone exploding beside him where the limb punched through the floor.
Dust filled his lungs. His chest burned.
Another limb came down, but this time Rin didn't dodge. He leapt into it, sprinting along the jagged bristles of the spider's leg like it was a bridge. The creature screeched—an ear-splitting sound that set Rin's teeth on edge—before thrashing violently to shake him off.
He sprinted faster, his sword dragging sparks against the hardened carapace as he climbed toward the body.
"COME ON!" Rin shouted, voice cracking with exhaustion and defiance.
The spider slammed itself against the wall, trying to crush him flat, but Rin hurled himself off the limb at the last instant. His sword flared silver as he brought it down in a full-bodied swing. The blade struck the joint where the monstrous leg met the thorax, biting deep.
A geyser of black ichor burst out, splattering his face and soaking his tunic. The spider shrieked, the wounded limb collapsing uselessly against the ground.
It worked. He could hurt it.
Rin hit the ground hard, rolling through debris, lungs rattling as he forced himself back up. His head spun, but he refused to stop. He wiped the gore from his eyes with the back of his hand and staggered into position, sword raised again.
The spider thrashed in fury, slamming its body against the walls, ceiling, anything it could hit. The entire church quaked, loose stones raining down like hail. Every slam drove home the reality—this building wasn't going to hold much longer.
"Rin!" Lilith's voice snapped through the chaos.
She was pressed against a pillar, half-buried under fallen rubble. Blood streaked down her temple, but her eyes still burned sharp. She struggled against the stone pinning her leg, teeth clenched in pain.
"Don't you dare die here!" she snarled.
Rin's chest tightened. He wanted to shout back something witty, something cocky. But all that came out was a ragged laugh. "Not… planning to."
The spider lunged.
Rin barely ducked as its fangs pierced the ground where he had been standing. Splinters of stone rocketed past his face. One grazed his cheek, carving a thin red line.
He countered, slashing upward with everything left in his arm. His blade screeched against the monster's fangs, carving a line that made sparks rain. The spider recoiled slightly, but only for a breath.
It was still far from beaten.
Rin's knees buckled as he staggered back, but his resolve didn't falter. Every second he held its attention was another second Lilith might free herself. Another second they might survive this.
The monster raised its remaining legs, towering over him, and brought them crashing down like guillotines.
Rin moved before he even thought—sliding, rolling, leaping between those stabbing limbs in a blur of instinct. His body screamed in protest, but his focus was razor-sharp. He could see the rhythm in its strikes now. The timing. The gaps between each blow.
A plan began to form, reckless but desperate.
If he could bait the spider into one more overextended strike… he could end this.
Rin steadied his breathing, the taste of blood thick in his mouth. Every instinct screamed at him to keep moving, to never stop, but he forced himself still, standing square in the spider's path. He raised his sword with both hands, planting his feet as if daring the monster to strike.
The spider noticed. It froze for a split second, all eight of its glistening eyes locking onto him. Then it lunged, every limb driving forward in a killing frenzy.
"NOW!" Rin roared, hurling himself forward instead of back.
The monster's legs stabbed down like spears, but Rin twisted through them, weaving closer, closer, until the air itself seemed to slice against his skin from the force. One bristling limb grazed his shoulder, tearing flesh, but he ignored the pain. He dove beneath another strike, rolling through rubble, until he found what he was searching for—
The injured leg.
It still dangled half-uselessly from the wound he'd carved earlier, ichor dripping in slow, steady rivers. The spider favored its other limbs now, leaving that side exposed. Vulnerable.
Rin surged toward it, teeth bared.
The spider tried to shift, but its wounded limb dragged against the stone, slowing it just enough. Rin swung upward with a cry that ripped from the bottom of his lungs. His sword cleaved through chitin, through sinew, through the joint already cracked and battered.
The limb severed completely.
It hit the ground with a thunderous crash, twitching violently as black ichor sprayed across the church floor. The spider shrieked, stumbling in pain, its massive body tilting as balance faltered.
"YES!" Rin shouted, staggering back as triumph surged through his veins. "You're not untouchable after all!"
But victory was fleeting.
The spider slammed its body against the wall again, this time not in blind rage but with purpose. Stone fractured, beams cracked, and with a terrible groan, part of the ceiling caved in.
Dust and debris poured down in a suffocating wave.
Rin shielded his head with his arm, coughing as the world disappeared in a haze of smoke. Through the dust, he glimpsed Lilith still pinned under rubble, desperately clawing at the stones trapping her. Her voice rang hoarse through the chaos:
"RIN—MOVE!"
A shadow fell over him.
The spider, even crippled, was still fast—its fangs descended like twin scythes aimed to split him in half. Rin dove sideways, feeling the rush of air as those fangs split the floor where he'd been standing. The ground cracked wide open, black ichor mixing with stone dust.
Rin rolled onto his back, gasping, sword barely clutched in his shaking hands. He tried to push himself up—his legs screamed with the effort—but before he could rise, the spider turned, one remaining limb lashing toward him like a battering ram.
The blow hit square across his chest.
Pain exploded through his ribs as he was hurled across the church, smashing into a half-broken pillar. The impact drove the air from his lungs, leaving him wheezing, ears ringing. His sword slipped from his fingers, clattering uselessly to the ground.
For a heartbeat, Rin couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. His body felt like it had been broken into pieces.
The spider dragged itself closer, uneven now with one less leg, but no less lethal. It loomed above him, ichor dripping from its wounds, mandibles clicking with rage.
Rin's blurry vision caught Lilith still trapped, still fighting. Her eyes locked onto his, wide with fury, fear, and something else.
"GET UP!" she screamed, her voice raw.
Her words cut deeper than any blade.
Rin's hand twitched. Then his fingers curled. Slowly, he forced his body upright, every muscle rebelling. His chest burned, his vision wavered, but he didn't let go of the fire driving him forward.
He staggered toward his sword, snatching it from the rubble just as the spider reared back for the killing strike.
This was it. One last chance.
He braced himself, sword raised in trembling hands, and whispered under his breath:
"Don't… let it end here."
The monster lunged.
Rin planted his feet, sword held high, every ounce of pain forgotten in the surge of adrenaline. The spider descended, its mandibles wide, fangs glistening with black ichor, dripping like molten shadows in the dim light of the ruined church. Time slowed, every heartbeat echoing like a drum in his ears.
He pivoted at the last second, letting the monster's strike graze his shoulder. Pain flared, but he turned it into momentum, spinning beneath its reach. He slashed upward, the blade connecting with one of the exposed joints. Sparks of shattered chitin sprayed into the air, a hiss of victory mingling with the creature's shriek.
Rin rolled back, landing heavily, chest heaving. The spider stumbled, its bulk toppling sideways, leaving its vulnerable underbelly exposed. He didn't hesitate.
"Now… or never!"
He surged forward, sword swinging in a wide arc, the edge slicing through the spongy membrane beneath the spider's exoskeleton. The creature howled, a bone-chilling sound that rattled the walls. Limbs flailed, mandibles snapping, but Rin pressed on, dancing around its attacks as if in a twisted, deadly ballet.
His body moved on instinct. Every dodge, every strike, was precise, efficient, elegant in its brutality. Blood and ichor coated his armor and arms, but he didn't care. Every movement brought him closer, inch by inch, to the spider's core.
Lilith finally freed herself, crawling to his side, her staff in hand. "Rin, be careful!" she cried, but her voice carried a note of awe—he moved like a force of nature, each swing measured, deliberate, and devastating.
The spider lunged again, aiming for both of them. Rin spun, ducking under a snapping limb, then drove his sword deep into the soft tissue of its underbelly. The monster shrieked, thrashing violently, sending rubble and dust flying. He held on, teeth gritted, and twisted, feeling the joint tear beneath his hands. The smell of burning chitin and blood filled his nostrils, almost intoxicating.
Another strike, another twist, and a third limb fell. The spider staggered, its movements slowing, each strike becoming less precise, less coordinated. Its rage was palpable, but Rin was relentless, his focus absolute.
"Almost… there…" he muttered, voice strained.
With a final burst of strength, he leapt, driving the tip of his sword straight into the monster's throat. It let out a final, gurgling shriek as its mandibles twitched one last time before going still. The church was eerily silent, the only sound Rin's ragged breathing and the distant dripping of ichor onto the cracked stone floor.
He collapsed to his knees, sword clattering beside him, arms trembling. The adrenaline faded, leaving exhaustion and a deep ache that ran through every fiber of his being. Lilith knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You did it…" she whispered, voice barely audible.
Rin closed his eyes, letting himself slump completely. "I… I couldn't have done it without you," he admitted hoarsely.
Lilith's hand lingered on his shoulder, a brief warmth amid the chaos. "You've come a long way, Rin. Liz was right… you're stronger than I thought."
He opened his eyes, meeting hers. There was a moment, a fleeting second, where everything else fell away—the battle, the pain, the blood—and all that remained was the connection between them. Not words, not promises, just an understanding, fragile and tentative, yet undeniable.
Rin pushed himself upright slowly, every movement sending sharp pains through his muscles. "We should keep moving," he said, voice still strained. "Liz's dungeon… we don't know what's waiting ahead."
Lilith nodded, stepping close to help him. "Right. But… we survived this together."
For the first time since the mission began, Rin allowed himself a small, fleeting sense of victory. Not just over the spider, but over the fear, the uncertainty, the self-doubt that had haunted him for weeks.
The ruined church lay in silence around them, the remnants of the spider scattered across the floor. Dust settled, and the air grew still, almost reverent, as if acknowledging the brutal ballet that had just unfolded.
Rin finally sheathed his sword, standing taller despite the ache in his body. He looked at Lilith, who mirrored his movements, and for a fleeting moment, the weight of their journey seemed lighter.
"Let's go," he said, voice steadier now. "We have a long way to reach the dungeon. And I… I want to be ready for whatever comes next."
Lilith smirked, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Then we'll make sure you are."
Side by side, they stepped forward, leaving the fallen spider and the shattered church behind. The path to the dungeon stretched ahead, unknown and dangerous, but for the first time, Rin felt the faintest spark of hope.
He didn't know what awaited them in Liz's dungeon, but one thing was certain: he would survive. He would learn. And he would become the weapon Liz had forged him to be.
Even if it meant dancing on the edge of death to do so.