The spider's leg punched through Hajin's block and threw him sideways across the pit.
He hit the floor rolling, came up onto one knee, and felt the chain humming at the edge of his grip. His ribs were already in pain, telling him two had gone at the very least but even so, he kept his weight forward, eyes locked on the thing in front of him.
She filled the pit in a way the gate's rating had no business allowing. Eight long black legs held up a body the size of a house, with a row of red eyes above too steady for the violence about to land.
"You move well," she said, her voice dragging slow and amused, "for something this small."
He spat blood onto the floor instead of answering, then pushed off and went at her again.
The chain lashed in a tight arc, gold whip-cracking around her front leg, and he yanked hard to throw her off balance. The leg did not budge, not even a finger's width, the pull ripping back through his arms and dragging him in toward her instead.
