"Grrrraaaa!!"
Saenathra roared as her long fangs tried to pierce the young hero's shield; her enormous size and weight pushed William backwards, who was holding the shield with both hands and was forced to retreat, his boots slipping in the mud.
Suddenly, the large silver shield blocking the spider queen's path vanished; her enormous, sharp fangs had no choice but to split the tree standing in her way in two.
(You need time to replenish your spines, forcing you to attack in close combat.)
William darted beneath the enormous spider's body and Sting's slender blade sank deep into its abdomen from below; Saenathra's enormous eye was pierced and the thick, black fluid spilled across the ground, completely staining Sting's blade.
*Fwosshhh!!!*
William shook his sword and all the sticky blood that had tried unsuccessfully to cling to the blade scattered across the floor in a crescent shape.
*Krrrr!!!*
The screams of pain and suffering from the last spider queen were now faint; exhaustion filled her guttural cries.
"It's over, isn't it? You're tired and getting slower by the minute; your blood, black as pitch, already fills this wasteland."
William raised his boot and black blood formed sticky threads as it peeled away from the ground; the traces of Saenathra's blood allowed William to find his bearings in this fog-shrouded space.
He knew where all the trees around him were and avoided being cornered by the great spider queen.
Sting's sharp blade was returned to its sheath, which expanded to accommodate the 40-inch-long blade; no longer retracted, it was now a sword at William's waist and not a small dagger.
"I've still got one trick left!!!"
A large portion of the fog that had surrounded the entire area like an impenetrable wall dissipated into the air, and the great Saenathra—badly wounded, dying, and with her eight legs a step away from the gates of death—was revealed in full.
"Have you ever heard of blood magic?!"
Saenathra laid her massive body on the ground and dirty water splashed everywhere; the heavy rain had passed and only small, fine drops continued to fall persistently, gently wetting William's skin.
"It's the first time I've heard that term."
Said William, placing his right hand on the hilt of Sting and turning his body towards Saenathra to face her.
"I don't blame you. In the centuries I've been alive – click – this is only the second time I've managed to speak to a human."
Midway through the spider's words, there was an untranslated clicking sound; the three-jawed bracelet was reaching its limit.
"I know you're stalling, but I'm interested in what you're saying. Could you speak a bit faster?"
William walked slowly, his boots sinking into the damp ground, whilst simultaneously drawing Titan from its sheath; the cold, gleaming blade unfolded smoothly.
Until it reached the length and width of a war halberd.
"I don't need time, I'm already finished!!!"
"I offer half my body and my being to my great lord Baël-zeelbu, first King of Hell and commander of 66 infernal legions; I offer half my flesh!!!"
"Half of my blood and half of what is most precious to me, my eyes, I offer them to you, my Lord of the Flies!!!"
*Crack!!!*
Two of Saenathra's four great fangs suddenly twisted until they snapped and pointed towards the ground.
The next to be taken by the demon as a sacrifice for a fragment of his power were the Spider Queen's remaining eyes; five of her eyes, situated on the right side of Saenathra's head, burst suddenly and bloodily. These were the eyes that pointed towards the east, the region ruled by Bael in Hell.
(Fantastic, Demons.!!!)
William shouted inwardly; this so-called blood magic was similar to what he had seen with the Imp King, who had sacrificed one of his three hearts in an attempt to end the lives of his attackers.
Or to the power Mr Bell had gained from sacrificing his entire dying body to harm the Silver-scaled Drake in an attempt to protect his daughter, Sophia.
The Imp King's ring vibrated so intensely it seemed as though it wanted to rip William's finger off; it was a warning of imminent death to its wearer.
*BAM!!!*
The crunching, gruesome sound that echoed throughout the area came directly from Saenathra's legs; invisible hands seemed to grasp four of Saenathra's five remaining legs and pull until they were torn from her body.
That great spider, which had been able to kill and half-devour seven hundred and fifty knights who could not even scratch its armour, was now nothing more than a sad, bleeding, half-rotten torso; the blood in its body boiled and evaporated from within.
"I'll take you with me... 'snap' 'snap' 'snap' 'snap'!!!"
Saenathra's voice was now nothing more than the meaningless clicking of her two remaining fangs
(I shouldn't have played around with this beast so much!!)
William hurriedly opened his leather jacket after his Mithril armour had vanished and placed his hand over his heart.
The Stone family called this 'Gestus'—the bodily movement that helps a family member transform their human form into that of one of their Principalis at the fastest possible speed.
Saenathra's long legs, torn from her flesh, floated through the air until they plunged deep into the earth; the long, thin needles growing all over her surface rapidly increased in thickness and size.
Thousands of the needles turned into what were practically large metal spears pointing in all directions; it was an area-of-effect attack, its aim to pierce and impale any living being within a two-mile radius.
* Trrrr-trrrr!!!*
*Pufff!!!"
The thousands of spears broke free from Saenathra's legs and shot off in all directions, accompanied by a new wave of mist that seemed to engulf all existence.
- Outside the Fog-Shrouded Zone -
'Are you sure this is the place? All I can see are ruins and dust.'
Said a tall man with white hair, aged around forty-five, to the girl standing beside him. The man was wearing a waist-length jacket made of a type of leather that looked both soft and durable.
The eight gleaming silver buttons were fastened; the curious thing about the outfit was the collar and shoulders, where a beautiful, ornate armour completely protected the man's neck and shoulders.
"According to Vivian's coordinates, we're in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania."
Nort Spencer took out his mobile and confirmed their location, atop a hill, still a couple of miles from the town of Mifflinburg.
"Your mission should be inside this church."
"You mean inside these church ruins. Let's go in and have a look, though I doubt that thing is still here."
Clement Laurent, an A-rank Fang, member of the Fangs' Hydra Squad.
"If you say so!"
Nort shoved his hands into the pockets of his baseball jacket; the rain had dampened his hair a little and his trainers were splattered with mud.
"Though bringing your armour for this occasion seems a bit excessive, doesn't it?"
They both entered the ruined church; the rain was now just a misty drizzle in the night.
They surveyed the area: the large holes in the roof, the deep gashes in the pews, the walls and the floor.
Nothing was left intact, not even that great cross; the statue of Jesus had been cut clean in two with a single, precise stroke.
"Most of the unusual insect-like beasts possess natural armour that makes them invulnerable to bullets, even high-calibre ones."
"They're fast, strong and large; I reckon it's worth bringing my uniform for this occasion."
The Fangs' combat uniform differed from the uniforms of soldiers, marines or the British Royal Guard; it was made from the hides of beasts highly resistant to piercing and cutting. Worn under the jacket and over the shirt, a waistcoat with Stellar silver plates stitched between the layers of fabric protected the operatives' internal organs.
The silver armour over the jacket kept Clement's shoulders and neck intact; the shoes and gloves were made of the same material. The whole ensemble gave an elegant, steely, light and beautiful air.
"It makes sense, though when I left Benett a month ago on Mount Hood, wasn't he wearing it?"
Nort crouched down and ran his fingers along a long gash in the concrete floor of the church.
(A clean, deep and long cut made in a single stroke, without the blade pausing.)
Nort thought, his gaze sweeping over the area where dozens of such cuts were visible.
"Benett is careless by nature; honestly, I thought he'd scout the area and then call for reinforcements. Anything that comes out of a 'Stone Gate' is ancient and dangerous."
Clement stroked one of his long, white horns, curved backwards, which protruded from his white hair—a trait typical of an Outcast.
"He had some help; he told me he met Will."
"Who is Will?"
Clement shone his torch at Nort.
"A member of the Stone family"
(A Stone!!!)
Nort immediately pictured a handsome young man with golden hair carrying a spear made of Mithril, capable of cutting through concrete as if it were butter.
"Hey Clement, I know who caused all this mess, and your beast is probably dead or on the verge of dying."
Nort smiled and stood up, hurrying out of the church through the huge hole on the side of the building.
"That's it, that area is Unusual!!"
Nort pointed in the direction of a clearing in the distance where the mist formed a high wall of fog.