I left behind Alex’s scream and leaped off the chimera, thrusting arondite forcefully into its chest.
Crack! However, the mighty divine sword Arondite couldn’t break through its defense.
It barely managed to pierce about a hand’s length into its flesh.
I held on to Arondite, exerting my weight downward.
Thunk! I winced as I heard my shoulder bone dislocate under the immense force.
“Ugh!”
Suppressing the pulsating pain, I clung to the sword with all my might.
And then, the motionless sword began to stir slowly.
“Just a little more… just a little!”
Pouring all my strength into it, the sword scraped against the chimera’s surface as it descended.
At that moment, the lower part of the chimera opened up, and a viscous liquid started pouring out.
As I expected, there were thousands of eggs.
I extended my arm into the wide-open cavity and pressed my fingers against the inner wall.
Unlike the chimera’s flesh, which acted as a perfect shield, the soft and squishy interior offered no resistance.
I firmly gripped the flesh and pushed Arondite all the way into the cavity.
“Boom.”
The moment I shouted my sole ultimate technique, the magic power was drained from my body.
Simultaneously, Arondite exploded from within.
Crash!
Gyaaah!
The monster’s howl pierced through my eardrums.
Simultaneously, the lifeless carcass writhed and convulsed, shedding its outer layer like a husk, crashing heavily onto the ground.
Only then did the true form of the creature, the same one I had witnessed emerging from the gate, reveal itself.
It was a horrifying sight, with a partially missing abdomen.
A viscous mixture of thick liquid and broken eggs sluggishly dripped from the torn belly.
“Whiiish!”
I emitted a piercing whistle, causing the chimera to descend in altitude.
In that fleeting moment, I had planned to leap onto the hunched back of the chimera.
But to my astonishment, Alex leaped down from the chimera and mounted the fallen carcass.
I was too stunned to grasp onto him.
“…What are you doing?”
“I’ll handle the rest! Just make sure you descend safely!”
What did he intend to handle?
The reason for his sudden and irrational action became apparent.
“Could it be that the Holy Sees informed him about the core hidden within one of the creature’s twelve eyes?”
Watching him climb the creature’s body, clutching its fur, and launching attacks from its eyes, I felt more than just suspicion—I was certain.
‘Is he out of his mind? What if he revealed something like that to a newbie?’
As one eye exploded, the creature thrashed about, opening its jaws wide.
Alex skillfully evaded the sharp pincers, popping out another eye.
However, the creature’s true weapon was not its pincers.
It possessed a lethal weapon that, once coiled around its victim’s body, would drain all bodily fluids, leaving only death.
It wasn’t limited to baby spiders alone.
I clenched my teeth.
“Damn it! Upward!”
The chimera ascended, floating in the air. Seizing the opportunity, I propelled my body forward.
Upon landing, I grabbed onto Alex’s backside.
As a consequence, the creature’s teeth scraped against my shoulder.
“Ugh!”
I clenched my teeth and swiftly used Arondite to block its path.
In that critical moment, a strand shot out from the creature’s jaw and narrowly wrapped around Arondite.
The situation was incredibly dangerous.
If we had been even slightly slower, Alex would have been drained of his bodily fluids in an instant, reduced to a lifeless shell.
Alex’s complexion grew pale with worry.
“Astel! Is your shoulder alright…?”
“Shut up! Before I kill you.”
Without hesitation, I grabbed hold of Alex and forcefully pushed him aside.
“Uwaa!”
Alex, tumbling down in a pitiful state, crashed into the chimera’s back.
No matter how skilled he was in swordplay, Alex was still a novice hunter.
Revealing such crucial information to an inexperienced individual like him was akin to a death sentence.
‘He did it intentionally. If I don’t kill the boss as the quest demands, they will kill Alex…’
Stepping on the creature’s jaw, I propelled myself upward with a leap.
As I landed on its flattened snout, the creature violently shook its head.
Grasping onto its rigid fur, I systematically burst the remaining ten eyeballs.
The creature spewed out its venomous liquid and thrashed about, but it couldn’t dislodge me from its snout.
After the last eyeball, which concealed the core, exploded, a moment later…
Thud!
The colossal body crashed to the ground.
Approaching the creature were the hunters who had been observing from below, tending to the eggs and monitoring the situation.
With its eyeballs destroyed and its abdomen torn apart, there was no chance for the monster to survive.
It was a flawless death for a seemingly invincible creature.
I jumped off the creature’s head.
As soon as I landed on the ground, I wiped my face, which was drenched in the creature’s bodily fluids.
“Fuck, the stench…”
The hunters whispered in astonishment.
“I can’t believe the lady used such vulgar language.”
“Even commoners don’t use curses like that.”
“Did you see her put her hand in the monster’s lower opening?”
“Ugh, it’s disgusting. I should have doubted my own eyes.”
“Seriously… She’s truly insane.”
I heard the hushed voices, but I paid them no mind.
It was a sound I had heard not for a day or two, but throughout my entire past life. It didn’t affect me in the slightest.
No one approached me or spoke to me.
Even the youngster of the count family, who had tried to provoke me, couldn’t meet my gaze.
I wasn’t sure if it was because the difference in strength was too overwhelming or if I seemed deranged. It was difficult to say.
Walking confidently past the silent individuals, I suddenly turned my head.
There was no trace left in the empty space where the gate had opened.
Curiously, Kael asked, “Lady, why are you acting like this?”
“You took care of all the baby spiders, right?”
“Yes, we also closed the gate.”
“I told you the gate would automatically close once we killed the boss.”
“Is… it not over?”
“If it were over, we would have received a message. It would have said that the level measurement was complete.”
Only after I spoke did the hunters startle and freeze, finally realizing that there was no message.
It was a foolish mistake, but they were newly minted hunters.
Inexperienced and awkward novices who didn’t know how to wield the sudden power they had acquired.
They couldn’t be compared to someone like me who had experienced the apocalypse from beginning to end.
“I didn’t gather all these individuals in my room without reason.”
I tightened my expression, overwhelmed by a sense of worthlessness.
The reason was that I had momentarily neglected the conversation window because of attending to the main matter.
– Anonymous Holy See: Astel! Let’s quickly go by carriage!
– Anonymous Holy See: Your maid will die!
– Anonymous Holy See: She seems to be getting along well with his younger brother now!!!
– Anonymous Holy See: We warned you. Don’t blame us later.
I began to run.
* * *
Thud, thud.
Two spiders crawled along the top of the carriage.
They detected the presence of prey inside the carriage through their deteriorated vision and relied on their senses.
The carriage emitted creaking noises under the weight of the spiders.
“Sis, I’m… scared.”
“It’s… alright. Shh. Just hold onto me tightly and don’t look up.”
“Sh-shouldn’t we escape?”
“No. Lady instructed us to stay here.”
“Really?”
“Yes! Sis mentioned that our lady is incredibly strong, right? That monster doesn’t stand a chance against her. If we wait a little longer, she will come to rescue us.”
“How much longer do we have to wait?”
“….”
Genia pressed her quivering lips together.
She couldn’t be certain if Astel would truly come.
‘I am not your master. I will discard you whenever I no longer need you, and the same goes for you. That’s the kind of relationship we have. Never forget that.’
Astel was an exceedingly cold-hearted person.
She wouldn’t even spare a glance if she stumbled and injured her leg.
She never once held her hand, well, except for that one time when she lifted her up, but it was solely due to her clumsiness.
She always demanded proof of her worth, constantly threatening to abandon her.
She unleashed harsh words and acted without mercy.
It didn’t appear likely that she would come all the way here to find a maid who could be replaced at any moment.
However, she was also the one who granted her an opportunity.
She allowed her to remain by her side despite her sins and protected her even when the carriage was on the verge of overturning or during Lady Harot’s attack.
She didn’t care about her own body being injured.
“I must trust her!”
In the current situation, Genia had no choice but to place her trust in Astel.
Even if she relied solely on her and ended up meeting her demise at the hands of the monster, she acknowledged it would be her own responsibility.
Genia embraced Koon tightly, exerting her strength.
“She will arrive soon. So let’s endure a little longer.”
“Okay, sis.”
Thud, thud.
The spider started to forcefully pierce through the carriage’s roof with its robust pincers.
The carriage emitted alarming sounds, swaying back and forth.
“S-Sis, w-what should we do? It feels like the roof is about to collapse…”
Koon quivered in fear, his fragile body trembling uncontrollably.
Genia stared intently at the roof, clenching her teeth.
The hole, which initially had been small enough for a finger to fit through, was gradually enlarging.
