In the blood-spattered hallway outside the auction room, Jacob turned to Lydia and Allison, his expression serious.
"Okay, head to the basement and deal with that woman." He instructed. "Be careful. Attack her from a distance, and don't let her get close. Always remember to use your energy shields, and Leave the building as soon as you've freed the prisoners."
He then shifted his gaze to Cogman. "Keep an eye on them. Don't get so lost in the fun of maiming people that you let them get hurt."
"I won't let them come to harm, sir." Cogman assured him.
Jacob gave a nod. "Alright. I'm going up. See you outside."
He turned to leave, but Allison's voice stopped him. "Wait. Can you give me the katana? I think it will complement my wind attacks."
"Sure." Jacob said without hesitation, handing her Shusui. He then looked at Lydia. "How about you? Do you need a weapon?"
"Give me your bracelet." Lydia requested.
Jacob removed the alien energy blaster from his wrist and handed it over. "You can control it with your mind."
Lydia wore the bracelet on her wrist. A moment of concentration was all it took for her to feel the psychic connection with it. With a thought, it morphed into a dangerous-looking blaster, then seamlessly shifted back to its bracelet form. "Thanks." She said. "I'll give it back when we're done."
"Give it to Walter afterward." Jacob said. "See if he can replicate it or make something similar for you and Jeanne."
"Alright, time to go." Allison said, her grip tightening on Shusui's hilt. "Jack, be careful."
"You too." Jacob replied, before walking toward the stairs leading to the upper floors.
The group accompanying Allison and Lydia armed themselves with rifles and sidearms taken from the dead guards. Cogman then led them to the elevator, activated it, and they descended into the depths of the building.
As the elevator descended, Allison and Lydia activated their energy shields. With a synchronized effort, they combined them, forming a larger, stronger dome of shimmering energy that enveloped the entire group just as the elevator slowed to a halt.
The moment the doors slid open, a storm of gunfire erupted from the dimly lit basement hallway, hammering against the energy barrier in a futile, deafening cacophony. Dozens of rounds flattened against the shield and dropped harmlessly to the floor like metallic rain.
The armed members of their group didn't need an order. They stepped forward from behind the protective dome and returned fire with brutal efficiency, killing the surprised guards in a short, sharp exchange.
When the gunfire ceased, only one figure remained standing at the far end of the hallway. She was an Asian woman with cold, glowing red eyes. Behind her, six spider legs sprouted from her back—the very limbs she had used to effortlessly deflect the bullets meant for her.
Allison studied the woman warily. "Old man, what is she?"
Cogman's analytical voice cut through the tension. "She is a spider shapeshifter. The possibilities include an Arachne, an Anansi, a Tsuchigumo, or a Jorōgumo. Given her ethnicity, she is most likely either a Tsuchigumo or a Jorōgumo."
The woman didn't wait for further analysis. She moved with shocking speed, lunging forward to strike the energy barrier with her sharpened spider legs. The impact was immense, a powerful thrum resonating through the shield. But the barrier held firm. The rebound sent her skidding backward, but she instantly recovered, shooting a thick strand of white silk from her mouth to anchor herself to the ceiling, where she hung upside down, staring at them with predatory intensity.
"Who are you people?" She hissed.
Cogman said. "My ladies, do you have a mirror with you?"
"I have one." Lydia said. "Why?"
"Look at that woman's reflection and tell me what you see." Cogman instructed.
Both Lydia and Allison retrieved small mirrors from their spatial rings and angled them toward the inverted woman. In the glass, her beautiful human form was gone, replaced by the horrifying visage of a giant, hairy spider with glowing red eyes.
"What did you see?" Cogman asked.
"I saw a giant spider with red eyes." Lydia reported, her voice steady.
"Me too." Allison confirmed, snapping her compact mirror shut.
"Then she is a Jorōgumo." Cogman declared. "A cannibalistic creature; a spider shapeshifter from Japan. She seduces men, binds them with her silk, and devours them. She is also known as the Whore Spider. Her abilities include producing strong, sticky silk, a hypnotic voice that can mesmerize men, deadly venom, and control over other spiders. Her reflection will always reveal her true, monstrous nature."
"Okay." Allison said, her resolve hardening. "Walter, you keep watch from the side. Let me and Ariel deal with the Whore. Don't interfere unless it's necessary." She then looked at the werewolf couple. "You guys, deal with any remaining guards in this basement and release the prisoners."
George gave a grim nod. "We will."
Allison unsheathed Shusui, the blade singing as it left the scabbard, which she then stored in her spatial ring. "Ariel." She said, her voice calm and focused. "Are you ready?"
Lydia willed her energy blaster to activate. "Yes."
They deactivated the energy shield and stepped forward to face the spider woman.
Seeing them deactivate the shield, the Jorōgumo attacked with blinding speed. But Allison was ready. With a fluid, powerful swing of Shusui, she unleashed a crescent-shaped wind slash that screamed through the air. The spider-woman leaped to avoid it, but she wasn't fast enough. The slash cleanly severed two of her spider legs, which clattered to the floor, twitching.
But the victory was short-lived. The Jorōgumo jumped away from Allison, and within seconds, the severed limbs twitched and began to regenerate from the stumps.
Enraged, the Jorōgumo opened her mouth, not to speak, but to spray a jet of murky, green venom. Allison and Lydia reopened their energy shields. The corrosive liquid splashed against their combined shield, sizzling and smoking as it tried to eat through the barrier.
"Disgusting." Allison muttered. She waved her free hand, and a powerful gust of wind swept the poison away, splattering it against the walls, which began to corrode. Then, with a series of precise flicks of Shusui, she sent multiple, smaller wind slashes slicing through the air.
The spider-woman twisted and tried to avoid the attacks, but she couldn't avoid them all. She shrieked in pain and fury as the wind slashes hit her, opening deep, bleeding wounds on her body. Yet, even as she bled, the wounds began to close.
Realizing she was at a disadvantage in her hybrid form, she decided to stop holding back. With a sickening crunch of shifting bones, her body expanded, transforming fully into a monstrous giant spider, nearly filling the width of the hallway.
She now ignored the smaller wind slashes, which bounced off her hardened carapace without causing any real damage. One of her giant, spear-like legs slammed into their combined energy shield. The impact was colossal, sending visible shockwaves through the barrier and forcing both girls a step back from the sheer force. But the shield, strained and shimmering violently, held firm.
"She's too strong in this form!" Lydia yelled, her voice strained as another thunderous blow from a spider leg made their combined shield flicker.
"Indeed." Allison agreed, her mind racing. "Ariel, keep her busy! I need a minute to concentrate!"
Lydia gave a sharp nod, her eyes narrowing with focus. As the Jorōgumo gathered herself for another charge, Lydia opened her mouth and unleashed a concussive sonic scream. The visible wave of sound hit the massive creature square in her chest, stopping her advance dead and sending her rolling backward until she slammed against the far wall.
"How do you like my voice, you ugly overgrown pest!" Lydia taunted, firing a searing blue bolt from her energy blaster that scorched a deep, black furrow across the Jorōgumo's back.
Enraged, the creature stood, with a furious chittering sound, unleashed a thick, sticky net of silk. Lydia simply teleported, the net landing harmlessly where she'd just been standing. She reappeared on the spider's flank and let loose another deafening scream, sending the monster crashing into the wall once more.
This dangerous dance continued—Lydia would disorient the beast with her screams, scorch the spider with her blaster, and teleport away before the spider could retaliate. While she couldn't inflict lasting damage due to the creature's hard carapace and rapid regeneration, she expertly held her attention, carefully avoiding her venomous sprays and silk traps.
While Lydia played her lethal game of tag, Allison closed her eyes, raising her hands. The stagnant basement air began to hum, then whine, as she gathered every gust and breeze in the stagnant basement. A vortex of emerald energy swirled into existence between her palms, spinning faster and faster as it formed a massive, two-meter-long wind arrow. With immense effort, Allison compressed it further, squeezing the chaotic energy down into a dense, lethally focused projectile less than half a meter long. It glowed with a terrifying, barely-contained power, humming like a hornet's nest.
"Ariel! Get behind me, now!" Allison shouted.
Lydia didn't hesitate. She teleported behind Allison in an instant.
Allison thrust her hands forward. The compressed wind arrow vanished from sight. It crossed the distance in a blink, far too fast for the Jorōgumo's heightened senses to track.
The moment the arrow was unleashed, both girls reactivated and combined their energy shields into a reinforced dome around themselves.
The arrow struck the giant spider directly between its cluster of glistening red eyes. There was a wet, punching sound as it pierced straight through the hardened carapace and buried itself deep within the creature's body.
The moment it was inside, Allison made a sharp, clenching motion with her fist.
The arrow detonated.
The massively compressed wind energy was released, expanding with the force of a bomb inside the Jorōgumo's body. There was a horrific, wet, tearing sound, and then the creature simply came apart. Her body was shredded from the inside out, chunks of internal organs and fragment of the spider's body blown in all directions, splattering against the energy shield with a series of sickening thuds.
The fight was over, but the explosion didn't stop there. The concussive force ripped a massive crater in the concrete floor and the wall behind where the spider had stood. A deep, web-like crack shot up through the ceiling with a sound like rolling thunder. The entire building gave a violent, groaning shudder, and a rain of dust, and chunks of concrete poured down from above.
"Are you trying to kill us?!" Lydia shrieked, ducking instinctively as a large piece of ceiling smashed against their shield.
Allison, feeling the building tremble and seeing the cracks spreading across the ceiling like lightning, scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I didn't even use my full strength! I was trying not to bring the whole place down!"
Lydia grabbed Allison by the collar, her eyes wide with a mixture of fury and panic. "You call this holding back? I swear, you and that idiot husband of yours are trying to get me killed!"
Allison rolled her eyes, prying Lydia's hands off. "He's your husband too! And I didn't try to kill you, I just... miscalculated my strength a little."
"A little?!" Lydia's voice hit a hysterical pitch. "That's exactly what he said before his lightning storm tried to barbecue me! Now this deathtrap is going to be our tomb!"
"Then we better not be in it when it falls!" Allison shot back.
Just then, Jacob's voice cut through their argument, echoing in their minds. [Girls! What was that explosion? The whole building is trembling! Are you okay?]
Allison answered telepathically. [We're fine. We already dealt with that woman; she was a Jorōgumo, a spider shapeshifter. And... I'm the one who caused the explosion.]
[You need to leave the building, now.] Jacob's thought was urgent.
[Alright, we're leaving now.] Allison confirmed.
She turned to Lydia, who was still glaring daggers at her. "Stop looking at me like that and let's get out of here before your prediction comes true!"
Just then, George and his group emerged from a side corridor, leading a stream of dazed and frightened prisoners. George himself had a gash on his forehead that was already knitting closed, while several others nursed bleeding wounds from falling debris.
"What happened to you guys?" Allison asked, feigning innocence. "Did the guards do that?"
George wiped blood from his eye. "It was the shockwave from the explosion. It threw us into the walls like ragdolls, and the ceiling started coming down on us. What was that explosion, anyway?"
Allison looked away, her cheeks flushing slightly. "That... that was the spider woman. She, uh... exploded. Violently." She clapped her hands together, changing the subject. "Anyway, let's get out of here!"
Lydia folded her arms and gave Allison a profoundly unamused look. Allison responded by sticking her tongue out, then grabbing Lydia's arm and dragging her towards the elevator. "Walter, let's go!"
Cogman followed, and luckily, the elevator was still operational, though it groaned ominously under the strain. Once everyone had reached the first floor, they fled the shuddering building, not stopping until they were safely hidden in the shadowy alley behind a warehouse a block away.
Allison reached out with her mind. [Jay, we're out. Hurry up and finish so you can follow us.]
[I'll be out soon.] Jacob replied. [I already cleared the second through fifth floors. There were only about thirty hostiles total, with only five beta werewolves posing any challenge. I'm heading to the sixth floor now to deal with the woman and man in charge.]
[Be careful.] Allison urged. [Don't play with them. Use your full strength from the start.]
[Alright. I'll see you soon.]
Lydia looked at Allison, her expression having softened from anger to weary concern. "Did you tell him we're out?"
"Yeah." Allison said, turning to face the group. "He's dealing with the leaders on the top floor. He'll be out soon."
George, who was tightly hugging his wife and newly-rescued daughter, looked up with genuine concern. "Aren't you worried about him fighting those people alone? Should we go back to help him?"
Lydia let out a short, humorless laugh, her gaze fixed on the cracked and groaning building in the distance. "He doesn't need our help. If we go back in there, we'll just be liabilities he has to protect." She met George's eyes. "The best thing we can do for him now is stay out of the way and let him handle those monsters."
To be continued... 😊