Arthur endured the pain wracking his body and forced himself to stand. He looked toward the cocoon where the spider-woman resided, and through the thin strands of silk, he could see her many red eyes fixed firmly on him.
He showed his submission and said sincerely,
"Thank you for saving me."
Without giving her any further attention, he turned around, bit down on the long fungal stalks, and ripped them from his body with brute force.
Blood gushed from several deep wounds, but he immediately activated his Regeneration skill at full capacity, focusing on healing himself while fighting the fungus, trying to prevent it from spreading any further.
His actions were extreme and unbearably painful, utterly devoid of any self-care. Deep inside, rage boiled violently.
He couldn't understand why he was always the one dragged into such deadly situations, or why he had to endure more suffering than anyone else.
"Damn it… again and again. When will this torture ever end?"
He didn't try to hide his thoughts, speaking openly as if the spider-woman weren't even there.
In turn, she neither spoke nor intervened, silently watching as he desperately tore into his own flesh, struggling to rid himself of the fungus.
However, his reckless measures failed to yield real results. All he managed to do was slow the spread of the fungus; it did not disappear completely, and before long, it began growing again in the very places he had torn it out from.
This only pushed him further into madness, driving him to become even more extreme. In truth, what he was doing wasn't merely a desperate attempt to heal himself—it went beyond that.
He was punishing himself for his weakness, and at the same time, trying to earn the spider-woman's pity without ever saying it out loud.
She was the only being he knew in this world, the only one who might be able to help him in some way. She was powerful and immensely knowledgeable. And if even she didn't know how to rid him of this torment, then his fate was sealed.
Time passed agonizingly slowly. It had only been a few minutes, yet to him, it felt unbearably long. During that time, countless thoughts crossed his mind.
He realized that he might survive even if the fungus fully overtook his body—but in exchange, he would become something closer to a walking corpse. Perhaps that was exactly what had happened to the grotesque bear that had attacked him.
'No… I don't want to become a monster.'
He could no longer endure it. He lifted his head and met the spider-woman's eyes. He stripped away all pride and resistance and spoke in surrender.
"Mistress… please, help me."
The spider-woman let out a long sigh but did not answer immediately. She remained silent for several seconds, then laughed softly in mockery.
"Mistress? So you've finally begun to understand your place, have you? Is this your limit? How disappointing. I thought you'd last longer. Where is that arrogance of yours? You've let me down."
Her sharp words echoed inside his head. His expression twisted, and for a brief moment, he regretted speaking.
But his anger quickly faded, his pride didn't matter right now. He lowered his head even further, endured the humiliation, and muttered:
"Forgive me. I am nothing but an ignorant fool who does not know how vast the sky truly is. You saved my life before, and yet I was rude and ungrateful. I… I truly regret it."
The spider-woman's smile widened, and genuine pleasure rose from deep within her. She despised the defiant way he used to treat her.
Seeing him break like this—submit completely—satisfied every ounce of pride and dominance inside her, washing away all her anger and replacing it with a sense of accomplishment.
She indulged fully in this unfamiliar sensation, one she had never experienced before. In the end, when she realized he could no longer endure the pain, she regained some of her seriousness and spoke in a calm tone.
"Little pup, what you're doing is pointless. At your current Rank, you cannot overcome this fungus.
It is saturated with extremely malicious mana. However, you are fortunate—I am here, and I can suppress it for you."
Upon hearing that she could help him, Arthur felt a wave of relief. The dullness in his exhausted eyes faded, replaced by a faint glimmer.
It felt as though everything he had done had not been in vain after all. He took a deep breath, straightened his posture, lifted his head high, and said:
"Very well. Help me, and I will do anything you desire. You already control my body—and now, I will offer you my will as well.
I will no longer be just a prisoner in your grasp, but a true follower who owes you loyalty and respect."
In the end, after all the suffering he had endured, he was forced to abandon the only thing he still possessed in order to survive—his soul.
Yes, he hated the spider from the depths of his being. But that did not mean he was incapable of coexisting with her.
How many noble knights had served mad kings? And though Arthur was no knight, deep down, he still saw himself as a noble person, a human, someone with a name.
His sincere words caught the spider-woman off guard. For some reason, her sense of achievement diminished, and her pleasure faded. She furrowed her brow in confusion, feeling that things had taken a strange turn. She understood what it meant to offer loyalty, and what unsettled her was that loyalty was a human concept.
'I'm certain he's sincere and not acting… and yet, why do I feel like he's deceiving me somehow?'
She wanted to think it through more carefully, but his critical condition did not allow her to waste any more time. In the end, she made certain concessions. She sacrificed part of her vitality and mana, forming a medicinal venom within her body.
Then, she slightly opened the cocoon before her face. A red silken thread emerged from her mouth, shooting forward and piercing Arthur's back, injecting the venom into his body.
The venom immediately began killing the weaker fungal spores and healing him from the inside. Relief washed over him, and his body finally relaxed.
Then her voice echoed inside his mind:
"Listen. The fungus is a malignant parasite. In my current state, I cannot remove it completely. All I can do for now is suppress it and confine it to a single location. The rest depends on you. If you want to eradicate it entirely, you must ascend to Rank C."
Arthur nodded in understanding and replied sincerely, "Thank you."
The venom was effective to an astonishing degree. It healed all of his old internal injuries and flooded his body with a refreshing sensation.
As for the stronger, more stubborn fungal spores, the venom forced them into a single spot, compressing them into a small sphere, while the webbing inside his body wrapped tightly around it, keeping it contained.