The dust cloud swirled, thick and grey.
"REN!" Rika screamed again, her voice cracking.
Slowly, the massive, obsidian-black leg of the Broodmother lifted from the crater. It dripped with crimson blood.
Rika stopped breathing.
But there was no body on the spike.
Down in the shattered crater, embedded in the stone like a fossil, was Ren Takashi. He wasn't dead.
The spike had missed his heart. It had torn through the left side of his waist, ripping through his leather armor and flesh, pinning him to the ground. He was coughing blood, his face pale as a sheet, but his eyes were open.
"I'm..." Ren wheezed, grabbing the edges of the crater and dragging himself out of the hole. A trail of blood followed him. "I'm... still... here."
The Broodmother hissed. She looked down at the boy who refused to die. She seemed annoyed. She raised not one, but two legs this time. The tips gleamed like guillotines.
Ren tried to stand, but his legs gave out. I can't move. It's too fast.
Then, the air shimmered.
Rika didn't think. She didn't cry.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: VEIL OF SILENCE]
She vanished from the Broodmother's senses. No sound. No smell.
Rika sprinted. She ran straight at the monster. She jumped onto the lower joint of the spider's leg, scrambling up the chitinous limb like a squirrel.
The Broodmother didn't even know she was there until it was too late.
Rika launched herself off the spider's shoulder. She was mid-air, face-to-face with the pale, weeping human torso.
"Look at me!" Rika screamed, breaking her stealth.
The human head snapped up.
SHUNK.
Rika drove both of her daggers deep into the milky-white eyes of the human face.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!
The Broodmother thrashed wildly, screaming in agony. She bucked, throwing Rika off. Rika hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop near Ren.
"Ren!" Rika gasped, scrambling up. "Get up! I bought you three seconds!"
Ren grit his teeth. He forced his body to obey. He stood up, blood soaking his side.
The Broodmother was blind, but she was furious. She flailed wildly, her massive legs stabbing the ground in a chaotic, rapid-fire rhythm. STAB. STAB. STAB. STAB. The stone floor was being turned into Swiss cheese.
She was aiming for the sound of their breathing.
Ren looked at the rain of black spikes coming for them. There was no pattern. It was pure chaos.
I can't read the lines, Ren panicked. There are too many lines.
But the System responded to his will to live.
[CONDITION MET: SURVIVAL INSTINCT CRITICAL.] [SKILL ACQUIRED: DIVINE REFLEX (PASSIVE).]
Ren's mind went blank. The fear vanished. The noise of the screaming spider faded.
His body moved on its own.
A leg stabbed down at his head. Ren didn't duck; he simply tilted his neck to the left. The spike whistled past his ear, shaving off a lock of hair.
Another leg swept low for his ankles. Ren lifted his foot, stepping over the sweep with the grace of a dancer.
Step. Tilt. Twist. Pivot.
He wasn't fighting. He was flowing. He walked through the storm of attacks, his eyes glazed over, his body reacting milliseconds before the impact occurred.
"He's... auto-dodging?" Itsuki whispered from the back, watching in awe.
Ren's body wove through the final strike. The Broodmother paused, confused why her prey wasn't dead.
"ITSUKI!" Ren roared, snapping out of the trance. "BOOST ME!"
Itsuki didn't hesitate. He slammed his staff into the ground.
[WIND BLAST]
A vortex of green air exploded under Ren's feet. It launched him upward like a rocket.
Ren flew past the thrashing spider legs. He rose above the blinded human torso.
"DIE!"
Ren gripped his sword with both hands. He flipped mid-air, bringing the blade down with every ounce of gravity and strength he had left.
CRUNCH.
The sword plunged into the chest of the human torso. It pierced the heart.
The Broodmother stiffened. She let out one final, gurgling rattle. Then, she collapsed. The massive legs curled inward, and the giant body crashed to the floor, shaking the entire cavern.
[TARGET ELIMINATED.]
Ren landed on the spider's back. He pulled his sword out, breathing heavily. He looked down at Rika and Itsuki.
They were alive.
Across the room, Daigo was just waking up.
He pushed himself out of the pile of shattered crystal eggs. His head was spinning. His chest plate was dented inward, pressing against his ribs.
He looked up just in time to see Ren standing on top of the dead boss, sword dripping black blood.
Daigo looked at his own hands. They were empty. His tower shield—his pride—was bent in half, lying uselessly in the dirt.
I did nothing, Daigo thought, a cold hollowness settling in his stomach. I got one-shot. I'm supposed to be the Vanguard. I'm supposed to be the wall.
He watched Ren stumble down from the corpse. If I stay like this... I'm just going to get them killed.
The silence was broken by a slow, sarcastic clapping.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The purple barrier at the tunnel entrance shimmered and vanished.
Grog stepped into the room, followed by his Iron Hounds. The Guild Master was smiling around his cigar.
"Bravo," Grog said, walking over the spider webs. "Honestly? I thought you'd be dead in thirty seconds. You kids got grit."
Ren turned.
He didn't say a word. He marched toward Grog. He was bleeding from his side, covered in spider guts, and exhausted. But his eyes were burning with a rage that hadn't been there before.
"Ren, wait," Itsuki warned.
Ren ignored him. He walked right up to the massive Guild Master.
Grog looked down at him, amused. "What's the matter, Hero? You want a bonus?"
Ren pulled his arm back and punched Grog in the face.
THWACK.
It was a solid hit. Ren's knuckles connected with Grog's jaw.
Grog's head turned slightly to the side. The cigar fell out of his mouth.
Silence filled the room.
Ren stood there, panting, his fist throbbing.
Grog slowly turned his head back. He tongued the inside of his cheek. He didn't look hurt. He looked... bored.
"Cute," Grog grunted.
BAM.
Grog's fist moved so fast Ren didn't even see it. It slammed into Ren's stomach like a sledgehammer.
"Gah!" Ren's eyes bugged out. He folded in half, vomiting saliva, and collapsed to his knees.
"Ren!" Rika screamed, reaching for her daggers.
CLICK. CLICK.
Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of crossbows cocking.
The other four Iron Hounds had their weapons raised, aimed directly at Rika, Itsuki, and Daigo.
"Easy now," Grog said, standing over the gasping Ren. He wiped a small speck of blood from his lip. "Don't do anything stupid. We have more levels than you have years of life."
Grog grabbed Ren by the hair and yanked his head up.
"Listen to me, boy," Grog whispered, his voice low and dangerous. "This isn't your high school. This isn't a fairy tale. You aren't the main character here. You're just a resource."
He shoved Ren back into the dirt.
"Now," Grog stood up and gestured to the crystals. "Load the wagon. We're leaving."
Ren lay in the dirt, clutching his stomach. He looked at Daigo, who was clutching his broken shield. He looked at Rika, who was trembling under the aim of a crossbow.
They had won the battle. But they had lost the war.
We are weak, Ren realized, tears of frustration mixing with the dirt on his face. We are so incredibly weak.