MTM 119

Zed couldn’t believe the sight unfolding before his eyes. The flesh that had maintained human form was torn away like a shed skin, it sprawled grotesquely across the floor. Something burst through that flesh and swelled to the size of a house in the blink of an eye.

Thud!

A long, black leg burst through the tattered flesh and slammed into the floor. The marble cracked. Another leg shot out, followed by the sound of joints snapping.

“This can’t be…”

Zed unconsciously swallowed dryly and stepped back. It wasn’t just the size of the legs. What sent chills down his spine was the sight of himself reflected in the creature’s four eyes, now fully revealed.

Four eyes, eight bent legs, massive fangs dripping venom, and a torso as hard and smooth as polished armor….

“Screech-!”

It was a spider. The ominous, pitch-black colossus roared with enough force to destroy the tower.

Magnus was no longer human. This wasn’t some illusionary transformation like the giant serpent or lizard he’d faced before. He had completely shed the shell of humanity, revealing a monstrous, hideous form. It was a form worthy of being called a demonic beast.

He had essentially abandoned his humanity for power. And it had succeeded. That bloated magical power exerted such overwhelming pressure that the tips of Zed’s fingers holding the greatsword, trembled slightly.

Whoosh!

There was no room for complacency. The giant spider shot viscous silk from the tip of its abdomen and charged at Zed.

Thud! Clang!

Zed quickly swung his greatsword, striking the web away. Sizzle! The web that touched the blade emitted a foul stench and melted away like acid. Without losing momentum, Zed leaped off the ground. He aimed to finish it with a single strike.

Just as Zed was about to strike down at his neck, a leg like a spear thrust forward, piercing toward him.

“……!”

Zed twisted and spun mid-air. Sharp claws grazed the spot where Zed had been, piercing through to the opposite wall. Crash! The sturdy castle wall collapsed.

Zed narrowly dodged through the hail of debris. Covered in white stone dust from the thick cloud of dust rising, he gasped for breath.

‘Fighting head-on in a place like this is impossible. I need to find Harto first and get out of here. Where is Harto?’

Zed scanned his surroundings. But within the dust-choked chaos, Harto’s presence was nowhere to be sensed.

‘Could it be…’

A memory flashed through his mind, Magnus, moments before transforming into a monster, greedily devouring something with a grotesque expression. The worst possibility sent a chill down his spine.

Ssssk

“…!”

While Zed focused elsewhere, thousands of spiders surged across the floor like a tidal wave, accompanied by a skin crawling sound. No sword technique alone could handle those overwhelming numbers.

Zed gripped his greatsword with both hands and concentrated the scattered holy power within his body. Veins bulged across his face. Soon, a dim glow shimmered along the trembling blade. Though insufficient compared to his original power, the wave of holy power was palpable.

Zed swung the sword toward the swarm of spiders. The light wave erupting from the blade’s tip touched them, and the spiders crumbled to ash with a crackling sound. Seeing hundreds of spiders die in a single strike, the swarm, which had been advancing recklessly, faltered.

“Grrrrrrrr…”

Magnus wasn’t just watching this spectacle. His four eyes flashed, and white foam bubbled from his hideous mouth. Viscous mucus dripped onto the floor, and without warning, poisonous stingers flew out.

Whoosh!

Zed swung his greatsword and deflected the incoming poison stingers.

The deflected stingers rained down upon the swarm of spiders. Those struck by the acidic liquid melted away, emitting white smoke.

The toxic gas released as the spider flesh burned instantly filled the air with a deep green haze.

“…Haa.”

His vision was obstructed and the acrid smoke stabbing his lungs made breathing agonizing.

Zed swung his weapon while covering his nose and mouth with one arm. But his stamina was already racing toward its limits.

Sssk

The spider swarm sensed that their prey had been cornered and changed formation. They crawled not only across the floor but also up the walls and ceiling, closing in on Zed from every direction.

‘No. At this rate…!’

He couldn’t die like this. Not because he valued his own life, but because he couldn’t die here without saving Harto.

Zed struggled to draw up the suppressed holy power within his body, but the relentless onslaught of attacks left him no respite, his mind gradually shattering.

…Rumble!

It was that instant.

A seismically jarring vibration rumbled from beneath his feet, and the ground began to shake. Above his head, stone fragments rained down like a storm, crushing the swarm of spiders and mercilessly shattering even the giant spider’s sturdy legs.

Zed barely managed to dodge the hail of falling rocks.

“This is…”

The sudden tremor wasn’t Magnus’s doing, nor was it caused by his desperate struggle. Beyond the debris, an unseen colossal presence was holding the entire tower.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

…Rumble!

“…Gah!”

The entire tower shook. Robert, who was precariously climbing the spiral staircase, was thrown to one side by the sway. His unhealed injuries nearly sent him tumbling down the steep steps. He survived only because something as solid as rock held him firmly from behind.

“Krng!”

It was Krom who caught Robert.

“Th-thank you. W-was it… Krom…?”

Robert exhaled in relief and offered his thanks. Krom, now enlarged to human height, seemed pleased and let out a proud ‘krrng!’ Though outwardly resembling a tower of stacked rocks, its solid body remained unshaken by any tremor.

“Pyut!”

“Pipipi!”

At that moment, Mir and Spi, perched on Robert’s shoulders, chirped reassuringly. The aura radiating from their tiny bodies felt more reliable than that of the elite knights of the Royal Knights.

Robert had been able to join these tiny elementals only because the tower’s entrance had collapsed. The elementals, who had quickly discerned that the thorn vines were actually deadly acid-coated spiderwebs, had safely descended to the entrance. But it was already sealed by powerful magic.

Unable to breach it with their power, they turned back and were ascending again when they discovered the wounded Robert.

The deadly sap of the spiderwebs possessed the property of hardening instantly upon contact with hot water. So Mir and Spi combined the powers of water and fire to create boiling water, solidifying the spider silk’s venom and protecting Robert.

It was a devotion mirroring the benevolent nature of their master, Harto.

‘If it weren’t for them, I’d be…’

Robert was overcome with gratitude, he realized anew that his fate depended on these tiny creatures.

But there was little time for sentimentality. The collapse had begun before they even reached the tower’s midpoint. He had no way of knowing what had happened in the upper levels, but continuing upward was impossible.

“What should I do? Something must have happened to them…”

Robert stared at the staircase, now completely blocked off, his heart heavy with despair. Though the tower’s frame had twisted, partially releasing the sealing magic, abandoning the two and escaping alone was unthinkable for a mage of the Royal Knights.

‘Ah.’

Then, Robert belatedly recalled that the elements were part of Harto’s power and asked.

“By any chance… about your master? Could you tell if Harto is safe?”

At Robert’s question, Mir and Spi blinked their round eyes and looked at each other. Then they turned back toward Robert. As if answering his question, they jumped up and down in place, their expressions were filled with joy.

“Huh…? Am I imagining things? Why do they look so happy…?”

Robert tilted his head, then turned to Krom with a hopeful look and asked the same question. Krom too let out a ‘krng!’ and showed a triumphant expression.

“Well… I can’t understand, so I have no idea…”

He couldn’t understand the language of the elementals, but judging by their reactions, this much was certain.

“It means he’s safe, right?”

If that was the case, he now had to find a way to escape this tower himself. Robert scanned the gaps between the crumbling walls, then raised his uninjured hand and began drawing a magic circle.

Swish

“…!”

But something happened immediately after. Just as he was about to finish engraving the magic circle by the sim moonlight, something enormous swept past beyond the tower’s outer wall, tracing a graceful curve. As the immense shadow cast without warning blocked his vision, Robert slowly raised his head and was stunned.

“Wh-what is that…?”