Chapter 29

Leaving Alex’s scream behind me, I leaped from the chimera and forcefully plunged Arondight into the cocoon.

*Crack!* But not even Arondight, the strongest of divine swords, could pierce its defenses.

The blade had only sunk in about a hand’s breadth.

I hung from Arondight, putting all my weight into it.

*Crrrack.* I heard the sound of my shoulder bone dislocating from the immense strain on my grip.

“Ugh!”

Gritting my teeth against the throbbing pain, I clung to the sword with all my might.

The sword, which had been unmoving, began to shift little by little.

“Just a little more… Just a little!”

With a final, desperate effort, the blade scraped down the cocoon’s surface.

The moment it reached the bottom, the cocoon split open, and something came pouring out along with a pale fluid.

Just as I expected—thousands of eggs.

I shoved my arm as deep as I could into the wide-open hole and dug my fingers into the inner wall.

Unlike the cocoon, which had been a perfect shield, the soft flesh offered no resistance.

I gripped the flesh and thrust Arondight all the way into the opening.

“Explode.”

The moment I uttered the name of my only ultimate skill, mana was violently drained from my body.

At the same time, Arondight detonated from within.

*BOOM!*

*SKREEEEEE!*

The monster’s roar erupted, feeling like it would shatter my eardrums.

The cocoon writhed violently before sloughing off like shed skin and falling to the ground in pieces.

Only then was the mother’s true form—the one I had seen emerge from the gate—revealed.

It was a gruesome sight, its abdomen half-gone.

A thick fluid, mixed with the shattered remains of its eggs, dripped sluggishly from its mangled belly.

“*Whistle!*”

I let out a sharp whistle, and the chimera lowered its altitude.

I was just about to climb onto the chimera’s bulging back.

When, absurdly, Alex leaped down and landed on the mother.

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even stop him.

“…What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’ll take care of the rest! You get down to safety!”

*Take care of it? What’s he going to take care of?*

The reason for his sudden, reckless action was obvious.

*’Did the Constellations tell him the core is one of the mother’s twelve eyes?’*

Seeing him grab onto the fur of its torso and scramble up to attack the eyes first, my suspicion turned to certainty.

*’Are they insane? Why would they tell a complete novice something like that!’*

As one of its eyes burst, the mother thrashed and snapped its jaws wide open.

Alex casually dodged the sharp pincer-like jaws and burst another eye.

But the mother’s true weapon wasn’t its pincers.

It was a weapon that, once it wrapped around you, would drain all your bodily fluids, leaving you dead.

And it wasn’t something only the spiderlings possessed.

I ground my teeth.

“Dammit! Up!”

The chimera floated upward. As soon as it was in position, I launched myself through the air.

I landed and immediately grabbed Alex by the scruff of his neck.

The mother’s fangs scraped past my shoulder.

“Ngh!”

Enduring the pain, I blocked diagonally in front of me with Arondight.

A thread shot from the mother’s jaws wrapped around Arondight, missing us by a hair’s breadth.

It was an incredibly close call.

If I’d been even a fraction of a second later, Alex would have been reduced to a dried husk, his fluids drained in an instant.

Alex’s face turned pale.

“Astell! Your shoulder, is it—”

“Shut up! Before I kill you myself.”

I seized Alex and shoved him without hesitation.

“Whoa—ack!”

Alex fell ungracefully, landing hard on the chimera’s back.

No matter how skilled he was with a sword, Alex was still a novice Hunter.

Giving such crucial information to a greenhorn like him was as good as sending him to his death.

*’They did it on purpose. If I didn’t kill the boss as the quest demanded, they were going to have Alex killed…’*

I leaped off the mother’s jaw.

As I landed on its flat head, the beast shook its head wildly.

I grabbed onto its stiff bristles and burst the ten remaining eyes one by one.

The mother spat threads everywhere and thrashed about, but it couldn’t shake me from its head.

The final eye, the one hiding the core, burst. A moment later…

*Thud!*

Its massive body crashed to the ground.

The giant monster slammed into the earth, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The Hunters below, who had been dealing with the eggs and watching the situation, approached the beast.

With all its eyes destroyed and its abdomen blown away, not even a monster could survive.

It was the complete and utter death of a creature that had seemed invincible.

I leaped down from the mother’s head.

As soon as I landed, I wiped my face, which was covered in the monster’s fluids.

“Fuck, it stinks…”

The Hunters whispered among themselves in shock.

“I can’t believe the Princess would use such vulgar language.”

“Even commoners don’t talk like that.”

“Did you see her stick her hand into the monster’s… rear orifice?”

“Ugh, so disgusting. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

“She really is… the Mad Princess herself.”

I heard their hushed whispers but ignored them.

It wasn’t the first time, and I’d heard it all in my past life, so it didn’t faze me.

No one dared to approach or speak to me.

The count’s daughter who had accused me of hiding in fear couldn’t even meet my gaze.

I couldn’t tell if they were speechless because of the overwhelming difference in our power or because I seemed like a lunatic.

I trudged past the silent crowd and suddenly turned my head.

There was no trace of the gate in the empty air where it had opened.

Kaiel asked, puzzled.

“Princess, is something wrong?”

“Are you sure all the spiderlings have been dealt with?”

“Yes. The gate has closed as well.”

“I told you, the gate closes on its own once the boss is dead.”

“…Are you saying it’s not over?”

“If it were over, a message would have appeared. The one saying the level assessment is complete.”

Only after I spoke did the Hunters freeze in shock. It seemed they had just realized there was no message.

It was a foolish mistake, but these were newly awakened Hunters.

Ignorant, clumsy novices who didn’t even know how to use their newfound powers.

They were no match for me, who had experienced the apocalypse from beginning to end.

*’No wonder the Constellations are all flocking to my channel.’*

My pity for them vanished as my expression hardened.

The chat window, which I’d been too busy to check while fighting the mother, was in an uproar.

— Anonymous Constellation: Astell! Get to the carriage, quick!

— Anonymous Constellation: Your maid is going to die!

— Anonymous Constellation: She and her brother are about to get themselves killed!!!

— Anonymous Constellation: We warned you. Don’t blame us later.

I started to run.

* * *

*Skitter, skitter.*

Two spiders were crawling over the top of the carriage.

Their sight had degenerated, but their sense of touch told them there was prey inside the carriage.

The carriage groaned under the spiders’ weight.

“S-Sister… I’m scared.”

“I-It’s okay, Kun. Just keep your head down and hold on tight to me.”

“…Shouldn’t we run away?”

“No. The Princess told us to stay here.”

“Really?”

“Of course! I told you our Princess is incredibly strong, didn’t I? Monsters like that are no match for her. If we just wait a little longer, she’ll come save us.”

“How much longer?”

“…”

Zenia pressed her trembling lips together.

She couldn’t be sure if Astell would really come for them.

“I’m not your master. I’ll abandon you the moment you’re no longer useful, and you should do the same to me. That’s our relationship. Never forget it.”

Astell was a terribly cold person.

When she hurt her leg while kneeling, Astell didn’t even glance her way.

When she stumbled, about to fall, Astell never once offered a hand.

No, she had pulled her up once, but only because she was in the way.

She was always telling her to prove her worth or threatening to abandon her.

She spewed heartless words until Zenia was sick of them and acted without a shred of mercy.

It didn’t seem likely that someone like that would come all this way to save a single, replaceable maid.

But she was also the one who had given her a chance.

She had allowed Zenia, a sinner, to stay by her side. She had protected her in the carriage when it was about to tip over and from Mrs. Herot’s attack.

Without any regard for her own safety.

*’I have to believe!’*

Right now, she had to trust Astell.

Even if she died at the hands of a monster for trusting her, that would be on her.

Zenia tightened her arms, hugging Kun close.

“She’ll be here soon. So let’s just hold on a little longer.”

“Okay, Sister.”

*Crack, crack.*

The spider began to break through the carriage roof with its powerful pincers.

The carriage swayed back and forth, making terrifying noises.

“S-S-Sister, w-what do we do? I think the roof is going to break…”

Kun stammered in terror, his thin body trembling uncontrollably.

Zenia glared at the ceiling and clenched her jaw.

The hole, once small enough for just a finger, was steadily growing larger.