(EP-346.1) #3
346 – Spider #3
Aira said.
“You mustn’t defeat that thing. If you do, there will be no turning back. Everything will collapse, and everything will come rushing in. Everything… everything….”
Aira wanted us to stop fighting Bael.
Why?
I didn’t know the reason, but Aira’s eyes were clear.
I wasn’t sure if she had regained her senses or if she had remembered us, but her gaze held a firm resolve.
“But Aira-nim, if we don’t defeat it, you’ll have to live with that creature coiled in your heart forever. One day, it might strangle you.”
This could very well be our first and last chance.
If we didn’t kill that monster here and now, the wounded and enraged spider could rip Aira's heart to pieces.
But Aira shook her head.
“That’s my burden to bear. There’s no reason for me to accept your help now. If you defeat that thing, everything will collapse—the wall, the people’s safety…!”
“The wall will collapse?”
That was a troubling statement. I immediately withdrew the mana I had been gathering.
The wall Aira was referring to was most likely the Great Wall Clarice, the massive wall that stretched across the north.
Then something flashed through my mind.
The story of how, shortly after Aira’s execution, the massive wall crumbled, and the demonic army flooded the world.
If Bael was sustaining that wall with its power—
If Aira’s execution caused Ars Nova Bael within her to vanish, leading the wall to collapse—
Then many things suddenly made sense.
“It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. The world needs that thing. That is the weight of the crown I bear. One of the secrets I’ve kept hidden…”
“Secret….”
What a headache.
In the end, I found myself at a crossroads.
If we killed that monster now, the wall would collapse soon after.
But if we let it live, Aira’s life would remain in torment. Sacrificing the few for the many—on the surface, it was a rational decision.
But to me, Aira’s reasoning was flawed.
Sometimes, one was better than many.
And for me, that was Aira. The woman I’d fought to protect meant more to me than faceless masses.
Sssk.
As if sensing my resolve, Aira grabbed my hand.
“Theo….”
I, too, held her hand in return.
“I told you, didn’t I? That I would save you.”
At my words, Aira slowly closed her eyes. The chaotic battlefield around us seemed to blur and fade, leaving only the two of us in a world of stillness.
Her breath, her scent, the gentle sway of her hair.
Her damp lips, the water droplets trickling down her skin.
All of it was breathtakingly beautiful—despite knowing this was a dream, I couldn’t look away.
“… Why are you going so far for me?”
Why?
Faced with that question, I found myself momentarily speechless.
No, I knew the answer.
“Because I—”
But my reply never reached her ears.
Because in the next instant, bolts of lightning, pillars of fire, and jagged spears of ice came roaring toward us.
I quickly dodged the attack.
When I turned my head, I saw Elga and Mirna still locked in battle with the spider, their faces and bodies covered in wounds.
“This thing’s going berserk! Since when do spiders use magic?! Hey, Theo! How’s that next spell coming?!”
“A candle burns the brightest right before it goes out. The fact that it’s going berserk means it’s nearing its limit!”
Elga and Mirna’s situation looked dire. They were holding their ground well, but they lacked the decisive firepower to bring down the wounded monster.
Zuuuuung.
And then—
The spider’s nine legs moved weirdly. At the same time, a crimson magic circle formed around its body.
It was conjuring a long black spear.
The very same Rank 7 spell I used—Gungnir.
The realization sent a shiver down my spine.
It was chanting the exact same spell. If that attack landed, the exhausted Elga and Mirna would be annihilated in an instant.
I had to stop the casting.
Or at the very least, divert its trajectory.
Suppressing the chill creeping up my skin, I squeezed out my mana. But the spider’s chanting was far faster than I had anticipated.
Before I could do anything, the spear was launched—not at Elga or Mirna.
But straight at me.
Death.
The thought flashed through my mind. Even if I managed to chant in time, no defensive spell I could muster could block that power.
Was this how it ends?
As I swallowed my frustration, something shoved me hard from behind. My body, flung into the air, crashed back to the ground.
When I lifted my head again—
I saw the nymph, impaled by the massive spear, coughing up blood.
“… Huh, me, why─”
It seemed like she hadn’t even grasped what just happened. Perhaps she hadn’t meant to push me out of the way, or block the spear all on her own.
Then Elga’s sharp cry suddenly rang out.
“Leonor…!!!”
Her scream jolted me back to my senses. She hadn’t said anything all this time, but as expected, Elga knew. She knew who this was.
“Did… did I ever tell you my name? I don’t know… I don’t remember. I don’t remember, but… your voice sounds familiar… You must find the heart and get out of here....”
Her life was fading.
Although she knew this was a dream, Elga couldn’t bear to watch it unfold, as she quietly closed her eyes.