Sharp fangs dripping with poison, dozens of gleaming red eyes, and black breath spewing from its mouth, laden with venom.
One of the two children cradled in Pia’s arms fainted from shock, while the other gasped for breath as if they were about to pass out. Pia released her clasped hands from prayer and pushed the children behind her.
Suss, she pulled out a dagger secured at her thigh by her skirt.
Thud! Bang!
Meanwhile, the giant spider lazily scanned the newly freed prey.
“Ugh, ugh…”
A man, paralyzed by fear, quivered on the damp floor, which was wet from the drool. The giant spider’s gaze fixed firmly on him.
[Kruruk!]
With lightning speed that no one else could perceive, the giant spider sank its fangs into the man’s shoulder.
“AAAH!”
Szzzzzt…
A repulsive smell of melting flesh wafted through the air as the man’s shoulder began to dissolve instantaneously.
Thud.
It seemed like the giant spider was contemplating whether to finish the man off or not; it opened its jaws slightly and then shut them again. The sickening crunch of the man’s shoulder bones shattered the silence, and someone may have even soaked their pants in terror.
“AAAAH! Ugh! P-Plea—save me… Kruruk…”
The man’s face turned yellow as the shock of pain and poison struck him. Foam began to drip from his mouth, and the focus in his eyes faded.
Thud.
The giant spider didn’t bother to fully consume the man; it simply dropped him onto the floor, his shoulder a gooey mess. His body trembled uncontrollably as though electrocuted, blood gushing from the wound.
The air thickened with palpable fear in the wake of such blatant brutality. This giant spider was far smarter than your average monstrous spider. While it didn’t possess human-level intelligence, it understood that its prey had nowhere to escape and knew precisely how to toy with them for maximum despair.
“Ugh… this monster!”
A woman, so paralyzed with fear that she was almost in a trance, suddenly snapped back to reality, her eyes shining fiercely as she charged at the giant spider, swinging a longsword at its leg.
Clang!
“…?!”
The sword bounced off the spider’s leg as if it were made of steel. The look of confusion on the woman’s face quickly turned to horror as the spider’s leg lunged at her like a launched arrow.
Wham! Bang!
“Gah!”
Though she tried to dodge at the last moment, the woman was sent crashing against the glass wall. Blood splattered around her like exploded milk.
[Kiieeek!!]
“Ugh…!”
“AAAAH!”
The giant spider let out a chilling screech that ruptured everyone’s eardrums, causing blood to ooze from their ears. Those who were barely holding it together under the overwhelming shock suddenly started gushing nosebleeds and crumpled to the ground.
Pia, who was closest to the giant spider, suffered eardrum damage and a nosebleed, but somehow managed to stay on her feet.
Cling.
Yet even that was on the verge of breaking down. Her fingers trembled violently as she dropped the dagger she was holding.
‘A-ah…’
She stared blankly at the giant spider, which was now turning its body toward her, her eyes damp with desperate tears.
‘Lian…’
In facing imminent death, she sought Lian. Others who shared her sentiment were present too.
“Please! Save us! O Light!”
“Deliver us!”
They were all people who had rallied around Pia. Having become a devoted worshipper of Lian, Pia spread the word whenever she could, though she never outright preached about the ‘faith’ in Lian.
She simply helped those in distress and guided those seeking salvation.
In a world where cultish religions thrived and terrible deeds were committed in the name of the divine, Pia often faced distrustful gazes. However, as a faithful devotee of Lian, she was granted a bit of the comedic filter’s power.
Occasionally, small miracles occurred that couldn’t logically happen.
Those small miracles stirred the hearts of people tremendously. By now, Lian had gained quite a following.
It’s human instinct to turn to a god when death looms close, and they prayed earnestly for survival in this hellish place!
Even a flicker of doubt was reduced to dust in the face of death, and their sincere prayers transformed into Divine Power directed at Lian. That was when Lian’s left hand began to glow faintly, and the pattern on it deepened.
“Whoa, that’s huge.”
[ It needs to be that big for a good hunt! ]
But Lian was so mesmerized by the sight of the giant spider through the small opening that he failed to notice anything else. The Demon Sword was lost in imagining how to slice into the creature.
Swoosh.
As Lian slipped into their midst, the giant spider lunged for Pia, but quickly darted up the wall instead.
Thud!
Now stuck to the wall, the spider rolled its eyes to face Lian. It reacted to the ominous energy radiating from the Demon Sword.
“L-Lian…?! A-aah!”
Seeing Lian stride confidently forward, Pia’s face transformed into that of a fervent devotee rescued by her god, tears streaming down.
“L-Lian?!”
“It’s really, really me!”
Emerging amidst the terror was Lian—the very savior Pia had professed. Sensing the shift in atmosphere, the Demon Sword was quick to act—not out of pity, but for the sake of basking in the adoration of the people.
[A savior! Not such a bad title at all!]
The Demon Sword, eager to earn both fear and respect, began to orchestrate the scene to suit the moment. Its magic surged through Lian’s hands, lighting up the area.
The magic aimed toward Lian resonated delightfully as golden eyes shone like molten treasure, and the magic permeating his hair controlled every strand to sway with grace.
Under this control, Lian moved with an elegance reminiscent of a noble who had received proper upbringing from a young age.
His lips, which had been tightly sealed, curved into a smooth smile. The magic, spreading colorless and odorless through the air, started to dominate the surroundings.
Groans of pain, the sound of flying robots, the upsetting screeches of the spider, and cries of those searching for Lian all fell under the dominion of Gargandoa.
As if someone pressed the mute button, the chaos faded into silence, allowing Lian’s footsteps to echo like thunder.
Click.
But a problem arose here. The Humans whose eardrums should have been praising the Demon Sword’s work were all but ruptured.
[Damn! This is a sound-related situation!]
While visual cues are the most stimulating, auditory sensations cannot be overlooked. Just as the Demon Sword was fuming over its failure to create the perfect scene…
Rumble—
Responding to the believers’ prayers, Lian’s left hand began to glow brilliantly.
[Whoa! What is this! It hurts! It’s hot!]
Startled by the sudden touch of Divine Power, the Demon Sword sprung Lian’s hand up as if throwing a ticking bomb into the air.
Boom!
Simultaneously, the back of Lian’s hand began to shine brightly. The cascading light resembled stars falling from the sky, or the warm spring sunshine caressing a child’s cheek.
Beneath that glow, Lian’s snowy white hair danced beautifully, the extravagant gold in his eyes shimmering as if not from this world.
His ruptured eardrums healed, internal injuries restored, and shredded shoulders mended. The wounds that had been festering from poison swiftly regenerated, and those who had fainted from shock began to wake up, their eyes filling with the miraculous sights.
Even the most oblivious among them knelt before Lian in awe. It was only natural for living beings to do so.
Nobody even thought to sprint for the open door behind Lian. They simply wept in front of this legendary moment.
Szzzzt—
The magic-infused giant spider writhed in apparent agony as if it were being burned alive.
[Kiieeek! Kyaaaak!]
Crack, crack, crack!
Simultaneously, the spider’s eggs hung from the ceiling popped like balloons, some even melting away.
The giant spider, overwhelmed and battered by its prey, unleashed a torrent of magic from fury.
[Kiieeeek!]
Its back markings darkened, and half its eyes burst open. Simultaneously, it emitted an aura of increased intimidation.
Swoosh…
At that very moment, the divine light emanating from Lian’s hand began to wane. As immense miracles come with short durations.
The expressions of the people, once filled with joy and hope, turned dark with fear in an instant as the wondrous light receded, causing the raging magic to stir chaos within the room.
Fortunately, they remained unharmed thanks to the residual Divine Power, but it did nothing to ease their terror.
“P-please… save me… please, save me!”
“Ah, salvation… please, salvation!”
The only words they could muster were desperate pleas to their sole savior.
Whoosh!
Whether it was dissatisfaction with their prayers or just an opportunistic move to capitalize on Lian’s weakness, the giant spider shot up into the air and began spewing strands toward him.
The blackened threads, imbued with rampaging magic, began to envelop Lian.
Rrriiip!
The web, sharper than polished blades and stronger than iron, constricted tightly, seemingly intent on tearing him apart.
“A-agh…”
“No!”
A suffocating sense of dread settled in.
Thud!
The giant spider landed right in front of Lian and lunged at him with its jaws. At that moment…
Szzzzzzt.
Lian tore through the threads like paper, freezing everyone who had been seeking their god in disbelief.
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