-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Obedience
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Leaving behind the room where four villains had met their swift demise, I stepped out into the corridor.
...Had a little time passed?
The vast corridor was practically blanketed with villains, all eager to greet me.
"Oh, is everyone here to welcome me? I had no idea I was so popular. Guess you all have good taste, huh?"
"Don't get complacent! Our opponent is Arachne! Form up!"
Hah, seriously.
No sense of humor, these guys. I was hoping to chat a bit before the fight.
...Well, fine. I don't have all the time in the world either. Guess I'll have to get serious, just like they want.
"Alright. It's good to see everyone working hard, but just one thing."
"...What is it? If you're surrendering, it's useless. You won't leave here in one piece."
Ugh, guess it would've been hard to keep all my limbs if I got caught.
If I kept acting stupid and trying to infiltrate, the chances of me turning into a fire-shooting Mecha-Artemis would have exponentially increased.
Even if I stripped down to just a leotard, or even to my birthday suit, I couldn't take all of them on.
Then I'll have to scare them. A fight is all about momentum. If no one wants to fight me, that's enough.
If 500 out of 600 lose their will to fight, then I only have to deal with 100.
"I'm a bit busy, so it's hard for me to play with all of you. If you'd like to have a good time, please gather in the middle of the path."
"...Nonsense! Everyone, prepare for battle! Capture that woman! No, killing her is fine too! I'll give a bounty to whoever kills her!"
Hmm, so this level of intimidation isn't enough to scare them, huh?
Alright, fine. If this doesn't scare them, then I'll just have to show them directly.
"...You'll regret it, you know. This is your last warning. If you want to live, jump to the side now."
"Attack!"
Countless long-range attacks, imbued with magic, rained down on me, launched by the person who seemed to be the commander, ignoring my words.
Haa, alright. So you're not going to listen to anything I say, huh?
I used a portion of my stockings to weave threads, creating a shield.
But then again, they say battles are won by numbers. The shield, hit by dozens of attacks, looked precarious, on the verge of tearing.
They're not completely stupid, it seems.
This place is a narrower passage than I thought. Even if hundreds of villains came at once, the number I could handle at once would be limited.
Did they order long-range attacks precisely because they were wary of that?
In that case, I have no choice but to move too, right?
I unraveled the threads from my half-gloves, which I'd deliberately left unused, and plunged them straight into a muscular man's arm.
"A-Argh...?!"
"Threads?! H-Hold on! She means to use you as a shield! Hold on no matter what!"
Hmm, correct. So he was indeed a physical enhancement ability user. He looked exactly the type.
If he hadn't been, I would've had to find someone else, but this is perfect.
I circulated magic, gripping the threads. Then, I arched my back and began pulling the threads, as if trying to drag him towards me with all my strength.
The guys who thought I was going to subdue him and use him as a shield started using their heads.
The hulking villain braced his feet firmly against the ground, resisting being dragged towards me, and several other villains pressed down on his shoulders...?
Wait, why are villains cooperating like this? I really can't figure them out.
The web of threads above my head was on the verge of breaking.
This is an incredibly dangerous situation.
...But those guys. They're making one big mistake.
Did I ever say I'd use someone as a shield?
The moment the web above my head shattered, I instantly severed the taut tug-of-war I had been forcefully maintaining by pouring as much magic into it as possible.
The strength I had forcibly boosted with magic instantly dropped to the weak level of a high school girl, and naturally, the balance of the tug-of-war was shattered in an instant.
"W-What?!"
Alright, here's a question. If you're in a tense tug-of-war, and one person suddenly lets go, what happens?
The answer is, they get pulled towards the person who was pulling!
And since it wasn't just a little bit of force, but this much, the speed is much faster!
That's why I was looking for a physical enhancement ability user. I really am lucky, aren't I?
Faster than the attacks flying from a distance, he was flung into the mass of villains.
"Ta-da!"
"You crazy...?!"
"Hello, and goodbye."
As a token of my gratitude for bringing me here, I separated the muscular man and the villains who were trying to hold him in place from their heads.
Just as the bewildered villains regained their senses and prepared to attack, my school uniform instantly unraveled completely, freeing the threads, which then went wild.
...Right, that. That technique I sealed away.
I didn't want to use it, but I have no choice. The goal is to scare them as much as possible.
"Ptooey... Ah, damn it. It got in my mouth."
"H-Heek..."
After the threads briefly went on their flashy rampage, the smooth floor began to turn slick with blood, as if by magic.
...Wow, there are so many people. I thought 600 was a lot just hearing it, but seeing it in person, it's even more.
Even after butchering so many, there's no sign of their numbers dwindling...
I brushed off the beret of what looked like the commander's corpse and placed it on my head.
Ugh, the blood's all sticky, it's gross... But I guess I have no choice, I need this so I don't end up naked...
"It's a shame. I told them to get lost if they didn't want to fight, but they wouldn't listen."
"M-Monster...!"
"Monster? That's a bit too impersonal. Don't I have a cool name like Arachne?"
It's not like I named myself, the author did, but still. Author, you've got pretty good naming sense, you know. I like it more than I thought I would. Arachne.
"So, then. ...Are you going to fight, or get lost? Decide quickly."
Get scared, get scared, get scared, get scared...!
Was it because I used a technique I didn't want to, or because I kept wishing for it in my heart?
Fortunately, the thoroughly terrified villains began to slowly retreat.
It seemed they were all profoundly shocked by the process of making cube steak.
They must have been flustered, worried they'd end up like that too.
Haha. My bluffing strategy, a huge success!
...Well, it's not like I plan to let them live just because I sent them away. I've already blocked all the exits, you idiots. They'll regret not fighting now after all the executives are dead, but by then it'll be too late.
***
"Ahaha... What a surprise. A sudden ambush, how unexpected."
"S-Save me... Spira. I, my body won't move...!"
We're screwed.
Spira, the Snake of the Twelve Zodiacs, an executive of the Ubermensch, whose lower body had transformed into a snake.
Spira instantly sensed defeat.
The ambush they thought was perfect had been shattered. And spectacularly so.
"W-Why...? Why did it fail? No, how...?!"
"Hm?"
"Obis, how did you kill her...!"
"Oh, this?"
To have a colleague who was perfectly alive just moments ago referred to as 'this' while limp and lifeless. Those who haven't experienced it wouldn't understand. I didn't want to know either.
"Obis's fur should have instantly absorbed slashes like that...!"
Obis, with her sheep's wool, lacked offensive power, but could boast incredible defensive capabilities in certain situations.
Blunt force couldn't penetrate her fur, and slashes would cut a few strands before gradually losing their force, unable to harm her.
She had been confident that she wouldn't be seriously harmed unless she was burned by fire or scorched by electricity, so why?
"Ah, no wonder the fur didn't cut well. Is it like physical nullification?"
"How did you do it...!"
"Oh, it was nothing much. If once doesn't work, you just do it many times, right? I was startled when she suddenly hugged me, though."
"If I could cut even one or two strands, then slashing the exact same spot hundreds of times would be enough!"
The sight of that woman saying such things sent shivers down his spine.
"She slashed the same spot that many times in such a short period...?"
Thanks to that, I used up all my clothes. Ah, damn it. Good thing I still had the sheep's wool, or I would've ended up a pervert.
Spira, who hadn't heard Arachne's subsequent mumble, now looked at her controlled colleague.
Cris, the pig beastman. He also had some resistance to slashes, and his attacks, which fully utilized his weight, were enough to turn a person into pulp.
...And such a man was trembling at the sight of a single, tiny thread.
"The method was good, you know? Someone resistant to blunt force hugging me, and attacking with powerful impacts, like hitting a punching bag. The person inside would take the hits, and the person hugging would be fine, right?"
"A-Are you mocking me...?"
"It was also good that you were preparing to ambush me, in case of failure."
"The only problem is that it wasn't *me* who got hit!"
Reeking of blood from head to toe, she grinned broadly and manipulated Cris. No, perhaps it wasn't manipulation, but mockery.
...Because she was moving him around, with her venom spreading throughout his body, looking at him as if curious.
The second ambush, launched the moment they realized the first had failed. She used Cris as a shield to instantly escape it.
"Stop, stop...! Th-The poison's spreading! What do you want?! Information?! Or money?! Tell me what you want! I'll give you anything!"
"Oh, you'll really give me anything?"
"Yes! Anything! Hurry! Tell me what you want!"
"Your life."
"...Cough?!"
It was Cris's end, the one who had feared the tiny thread placed before his ear.
He had proudly claimed that his thick layers of fat would make him immune to such threads.
In an instant, the tiny thread burrowed into his ear, and Cris collapsed, bleeding from his eyes and nose.
Did she scramble his brain with that thread?
His face instinctively paled at the horrific thought.
"Your money or information means nothing. What I want is your death."
Instantly.
Truly instantly, both executives who had launched the ambush were dead.
And they were people with considerable experience fighting others.
"Now, only you are left. ...What should I do with you?"
His mind went blank.
What should I do?
How can I survive?
...The deliberation didn't take long.
Because he didn't think he could survive no matter what he did.
So, he decided to follow his instincts.
"Please, spare me!"
Like a snake, he decided to crawl on the ground.
No, perhaps it wouldn't have been any different even if he wasn't a snake.
If he had been a dog beastman, he would have rolled over and exposed his belly.