Becoming a Monster

Chapter 483: Chapter 482: Last Ditch Prayer

With two enemies before them. Both adventurers found it hard to separate their attention between both threats when the threat in front of them alone felt more intimidating than even when they faced Arachne.

Since the royal guard wasn’t privileged to Noah’s buffs, he had no intention to overestimate himself as he transitioned to his massive giant form before confronting them directly.

His overall strength might not have matched the main fighters’, but size was a strength in itself, and when facing two opponents whose roles were not meant to deal with something of that scale, his threat level rose to one that could rival their own.

The royal guard’s legs came crashing down on them with a speed that contradicted his size.

Both the shield and dagger wielder moved in tandem.

Despite the overwhelming presence of the attack, the dagger wielder’s body reacted uncannily as he slipped past the descending strike. The strike wasn’t close to hitting him as it slammed into the ground where he had stood moments before.

As he moved, mana flowed into his dagger, the same energy he had used earlier gathering along the blade as he turned his body and struck at the leg before it could be retrieved.

The attack landed exactly as he intended.

The blade bit into the surface and cut through it, chipping into the limb before he pulled away and repositioned himself.

Feedback from the strike was registered instantly, making him realize the difficulties that they faced.

His prideful ability to disregard mana was useless against this monster. Because the monster didn’t reinforce itself at all.

And what was worse... as he analyzed the damage he caused, he could only admit that the damage he dealt was insignificant.

That single strike would need to be repeated hundreds of times if he wanted to cut through it completely.

He moved again, avoiding another descending leg as his thoughts raced, because if they intended to win this exchange, they would need Ophelia’s support, or he would have to find a way to reach the upper half of the creature where its true body rested.

He was about to call out his plan. Then he heard his partner’s cry for help.

"Ryder!"

The shout instantly made him fear the worst.

Ryder turned immediately, his focus snapping toward his partner, already expecting something to have gone wrong, yet part of him struggled to understand how, because although the shield user was not as fast as he was, the attack they were facing was not fast enough to catch him so easily.

The moment he turned, he saw it, and his expression paled at the sight.

The warrior was struggling, his body twisted as he desperately tugged at a thick strand of webbing that had latched onto the center of his lower back.

The moment he had avoided the descending leg, the web had struck him from behind, and when he felt it, his first instinct had been to tear it away.

That was his mistake.

Now his hand was stuck as well.

The webbing clung to him with unnatural strength, binding both his back and his arm as his position became unstable.

For a brief moment, heat crawled across the strands. Faint wisps of smoke rose where the web met his armor, the lingering holy field reacting to the foreign element. The light that coated his body intensified around the contact point, slowly dissolving the binding.

With time, it would break on its own. Even with a few seconds, it would dissolve enough to enable him to break free with his own strength.

But it wasn’t fast enough.

Almost as if planned, a shadow fell over him at the exact moment. Another leg descended, this one aimed entirely at him.

He abandoned any attempt to free himself and shifted his weight, preparing to move instead of focusing on freeing himself, knowing that continuing to try to do so would only get him killed.

But the moment he began to move, the web tightened. The sudden pull disrupted his balance, dragging him off-center just enough to throw off his timing.

His experience kicked in. He tried to adjust, forcing his body to follow the pull in a desperate attempt to avoid the strike.

He only needed to survive this. The webs were nearly impossible to remove on his own, but with Ryder’s help, his dagger should be able to easily free him.

That was when another strand shot down and latched onto his leg, tightening at nearly the same moment as the one on his back, and the combined pull disrupted his balance completely, leaving him unable to coordinate his movement well enough to escape.

"Ophelia!"

Ryder’s voice was even more desperate than the shield users’ own as he called for the only one who could save him in this situation.

But there was no answer.

He couldn’t stop to understand why Ophelia acted as the older sister of their group. He couldn’t see her possibly ignoring their plight for anyone else’s.

Something must’ve been wrong on her side as well. His body moved before his thoughts could catch up. He pushed himself forward with everything he had left.

There wasn’t enough time. He knew that, but he had to try.

Ryder closed the distance as fast as he could. Even as he moved, he could see it wouldn’t be enough.

The shield bearer saw it too.

In his final moments, he stopped trying to escape. He raised his shield and locked it in place, bracing himself to take the full force of the attack.

The leg came down just as the shield was raised. The impact drove him straight into the ground. The force shattered the earth beneath him and pinned his body in place.

Although his constitution, strengthened by Ophelia’s enhancements, prevented his body from being completely destroyed, it still saved him.

Surprisingly, the shield didn’t break under the impact. However, it crushed his chest along with his jaw. His bones broke with little resistance.

Ryder’s momentum faltered from the crushing scene. Disbelief flashed across his face as he tried to process what he had just seen. He just couldn’t believe that this was happening.

But as the dust settled and his friend’s disfigured face appeared in his vision, reality forced itself on him.

For a moment, something darker surfaced. Madness flickered in his eyes as the urge to avenge him rose without restraint.

The thought didn’t last.

The leg above shifted again, and thick strands of webbing shot toward him at the same time. Ryder reacted on instinct and forced his body to move as the webs struck where he had just been.

He created distance, but the pressure didn’t ease at all.

Knowing that he still had to face two difficult opponents alone. Clarity quickly took its place.

Why was he alone? Where was Opheila? If she had fallen too, he didn’t know what he would do.

After he avoided the webs and created space from the towering spider above him, Ryder quickly looked in the direction Ophelia was in last.

It wasn’t long before he found her, and his heart plummeted the moment he did.

"Oph-" The word broke as his footing slipped. He caught himself, but the tremors from the giant chasing him were only getting closer.

But none of it mattered anymore.

Ophelia was suspended in the air.

Four of Arachne’s legs had pierced through her body and held her in place. Each area of her clothing where Arachne’s legs pierced her was slowly spreading her poison mixed with her mana.

That kind of pain from Arachne’s poison would’ve caused anyone to scream in agony, especially one whose internal energy was the complete opposite.

However, there was no sound as Ophelia’s body hung lifeless, skewered like a hunted animal.

Arachne stood with one hand buried deep within Ophelia’s chest. She showed no hesitation and no emotion as she pulled her hand free.

A core rested in her grasp.

To Arachne, there was no difference between human and monster.

—

Back when Arachne had first targeted the cleric.

Her legs struck forward with the intent to kill. Each one carried enough force with the intent to pierce through the barrier and the cleric in one motion.

But in the end, she failed both.

Her attacks stopped just before making contact. There was no impact or resistance, and what stood out most was that her legs couldn’t move forward.

The sensation confused her. She had expected a powerful resistance to meet her strike, but instead it felt as if she had struck nothing at all while still being denied completely.

There should’ve been a logical reason why it happened, but she failed.

She couldn’t make sense of it. So she pulled back and attacked again.

One strike followed another, and then she unleashed a barrage. Every attempt ended the same way. Her legs halted before contact, leaving no mark and no explanation.

Failure to put down the person who was jeopardizing Noah’s battle led her to gaze in his direction.

She saw him push Ava aside and take the attack himself. At that moment, she decided to abandon the cleric and join him. If they fought togeth- if they merged together, there would be nothing they could not overcome.

Her body was already tensing the moment she was about to head in his direction.

But then, suddenly, she stopped.

Something was wrong, far too wrong.