MTLNOVEL Chapter 60
60. End Of War 2
The torrent of magical power created by the demon stone’s blade transformed into flames and assaulted the spiders.
“””KISHAAAAAA!?”””
A roaring fireball struck the leading group of spiders head-on, instantly burning several of them to death.
The damage from the explosion didn’t stop there. The flames spread to the spiders nearby, and while not all of them died, many were engulfed in fire, screaming in agony.
The spiders writhed in pain. Those fortunate enough to have the flames extinguished survived, but those who weren’t so lucky burned to death in torment.
The surroundings were engulfed in red flames and black smoke.
Even the marshal spider, who was supposed to be leading the swarm, was not spared from the devastation.
“GUSHAAAAAA!?”
Flames clung to half of its body, and it let out a scream of pain.
What on earth is happening? The marshal spider tried to think, but the pain interrupted its thoughts, preventing it from finding an answer. It scanned the surroundings with its twenty compound eyes, but all it could see were the blazing flames and smoke consuming its fellow spiders.
Perhaps that was why. It was slow to realize.
——It’s gone!
That prey, the human, was nowhere to be seen!
At the moment when the flames and smoke parted slightly, swayed by the wind, the marshal spider’s twenty eyes clearly caught sight of the fact that the human, who should have been there just moments ago, was no longer in its rightful place.
“GUSHAAAAAAO!!”
Find it! Find that human!
While the pain of being burned by the flames clouded its mind, the marshal spider instinctively screamed. It couldn’t let that human, the one who had killed so many of its kin and invaded the queen’s palace, escape. That was what it thought.
As it pondered this, it suddenly realized.
Where had that prey gone?
Deep into the forest? Or to the dwelling of the fleeing prey?
Or perhaps somewhere else…?
“KISHAAAAA! KISHAAAAA!”
The cries came from ahead, beyond the wall of flames and smoke that surrounded them.
Be careful, the fellow spider was shouting.
What? What should I be careful of? The marshal spider, frustrated by the vague warning, began to think.
The fire? The smoke? Or… could it be!?
The marshal spider, with its keen intelligence, quickly realized.
——That prey, the human, hadn’t run away! Its aim was…!
The marshal spider finally understood the prey’s goal and was about to shout orders to the spiders.
“GUSHAAAAAA!!”
“Not… so fast!”
The moment the marshal spider raised its voice, the human leaped over the wall of flames and smoke, appearing right before its eyes.
§
(Got it! It’s wounded!)
Using the corpse of a spider as a stepping stone, the human leaped over the wall of flames, and just as calculated, there was the marshal spider. Half of its body was engulfed in flames, and it was clear that it had suffered significant damage.
The strike from the magic sword had been meant as a distraction and a clearing move.
To think it had even injured the leader—what incredible luck.
(This is the first and last chance… I’ll finish it here!)
“HAAAAAAAH!!”
Leaping over the wall of flames and into the air, the human swung its sword while descending.
A powerful strike, amplified by the speed of the fall.
“GUSHAAAAAA!?”
The blow landed squarely on the marshal spider’s face, shattering half of it.
The insectoid armor cracked, and several of its glowing red compound eyes were sliced apart and crushed.
As the marshal spider screamed and recoiled in pain, the human seized the opportunity, pressing the attack relentlessly.
Using the momentum from the landing, the human stomped the ground and delivered a reverse slash, severing the marshal spider’s palpalps. Another strike came from above, followed by a horizontal slash.
Vertical, horizontal, diagonal—sometimes even spinning—the human unleashed a barrage of powerful blows.
(I won’t let it escape… no matter what!)
Slash, cut, hack.
Knowing that stopping even for a moment would mean death, the human continued to attack, inflicting as much damage as possible while the body could still move.
But the marshal spider wasn’t going to take it lying down.
“GYAAAAOOOOH!”
“Ugh——woah!?”
A desperate strike. A mere sideways slash from its forelimb, accompanied by a gust of wind, grazed past the human’s head. Even though it was just a graze, the force was so intense that for a moment, it felt as though the human’s head had been blown off.
——If that had hit directly, it would have been over in one strike.
The human was certain of the power hidden within the marshal spider’s attack.
Instincts triggered fear, and it felt as though cold water had been poured over the human.
A thought flashed through the human’s mind—perhaps it should retreat and regroup.
(No, don’t retreat, not even a single step!)
But the human scolded itself for wanting to back down in fear.
If it didn’t press the attack now, the only thing waiting would be death, the human thought.
“UOOOOOHHHH!!”
“GUSHAAAAAA!!”
The human took another forceful step forward.
The momentum-driven emerald steel blade bit into the marshal spider’s body once more.
One more strike, one more.
The human poured every last ounce of strength into the attack, as if squeezing out the final drop.
The muscles screamed for oxygen.
The brain commanded rest.
Every joint in the body protested, unable to endure the strain.
Ignoring all of it, the human continued to attack.
And finally, the moment arrived.
“GIIIIIIIIIIH”
The marshal spider, unable to withstand the onslaught, collapsed as its legs gave out.
Its massive body sank to the ground with a heavy thud.
(This is it!)
The human didn’t let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away.
Using the marshal spider’s forelimb as a stepping stone, the human leaped with a nimbleness that belied its armored appearance, landing on the marshal spider’s back.
(I fought your kin in the summer… I learned from that.)
The spider’s heart is in its back.
Aiming for that vital spot, the human poured all its remaining strength into driving the emerald steel blade deep into the marshal spider’s body.