Chapter 25
"Hmm?"
"A spider?"
As we moved cautiously along the wall, something suddenly popped out in front of us. It was a spider the size of a medium-sized dog, its entire body covered in pure white fur.
"Hiss! Hiss!"
"It's an entity, nya! Everyone, stay close behind me, nya!"
"...Is that an entity?"
"It looks rather pathetic."
Eight sparkling emerald eyes and four pairs of thick, clustered legs.
The pure white fur covering its body was puffed up, as if it were on high alert.
If compared to a spider back in reality, it looked very much like a jumping spider.
In other words, it looked incredibly cute.
Cute enough that I wanted to catch it and keep it as a pet.
"Hiss, hiss!"
Between the soft, pure white fur, its black mandibles held something similar to the lizard my contractor had eaten earlier.
It seemed our party had somehow interrupted the little guy's mealtime.
So that's why you were angry enough to puff up your fur?
'Even when it's angry, it's cute.'
Even that sound it makes, like a hissing cat, is adorable.
However, no matter how cute and adorable the opponent is, I shouldn't let my guard down.
This is a dungeon. An unknown space that can't be judged by the common sense of reality.
I must never judge by appearances and lower my guard.
Staring at its softly twitching front legs that seemed to tempt me into catching it, I asked Shion for its information.
"Thief. Is that a dangerous one?"
If so, it would become the sacrifice for my fear vaccine clinical trial.
As I casually touched my chest, Shion spoke with a serious expression.
"That guy's name is the Rabbit Spider..."
A rabbit spider. The white front legs it raised in a threatening manner certainly resembled rabbit ears.
"It is the strongest predator on the 10th floor of the White Zone, capable of jumping more than three times its own body size, nya!"
"Oh."
"..."
The strongest in the White Zone.
I think I understand why the White Zone is called a safe zone.
By the way, didn't they say entities don't appear in the White Zone?
As if to answer my question, Shion's explanation followed right on cue.
"That guy was originally an arcane creature native to the White Zone called a White Jumping Spider, nya. Its current appearance is a mutant that changed after eating the corpse of an entity that drifted in from the entrance of the Green Zone, nya!"
"I see."
The White Zone is originally a safe zone where entities don't spawn naturally, but we are currently at the border between the White Zone and the Green Zone.
Perhaps due to the unique nature of this area, an entity appeared despite it being a safe zone.
"But don't worry, nya! The Rabbit Spider is only a 0.5-tier, making it one of the weakest entities around, nya!"
"That's a relief."
"It certainly looks like the weakest."
"Hiss!"
As if it understood our words, the Rabbit Spider expressed its anger by repeatedly raising and lowering its front legs.
"Hmm."
"Hmm..."
Seeing its threatening display, the gazes of both my contractor and I turned completely cold.
It really is pathetic.
Watching the Rabbit Spider hop excitedly in place, my contractor, who had been lost in thought, suddenly asked Shion.
"Miss Shion, by the way. Do magic stones drop from 'things like that' too?"
"...!"
I couldn't help but admire that dry gaze, strictly evaluating the material value of a living being.
As expected, such greed is fitting for my contractor, who is called the demon of materialism.
"It might drop, or it might not, nya! Even if it does, creatures that turn into entities after becoming mutants from arcane creatures usually have poor-quality magic stones, nya!"
A 50% chance. And even if it drops, it's just a trash magic stone.
"So it's just a useless guy."
"You're right. I think we can just walk past it."
"Hiss?"
Perhaps sensing that our hostility had vanished, the Rabbit Spider twitched its front legs side to side, expressing its confusion.
It was such a cute gesture that I truly wanted to catch it and make it my pet spider. Can you stop tempting me?
If you don't want to get kidnapped.
"Hiss!?"
Hop!
Sensing something at that moment, the Rabbit Spider hopped backward, distancing itself from me.
Is the title of the strongest in the White Zone not just for show? Its Crisis Detection ability is nothing short of extraordinary.
"It's a useless guy even if we catch it, but we can't just leave it alone, nya. That guy is a harmful creature designated as a White Zone ecosystem disturber. We have to kill it on sight, nya!"
"...I see."
"An ecosystem disturber of the White Zone."
Why does this city even care about the ecosystem inside a dungeon...?
'Is it because it's a dungeon city?'
Well, anyway, it means we have to dispose of this cute little guy eventually, right?
"Then, I'll take care of..."
"Wait a minute."
-Flutter!
At that moment, a black robe fluttered in the air, revealing a thin, white arm from within the slipping sleeves.
Tightly grasped at the end of it was a short club (club), a weapon that looked like it could crack a skull open in a single strike with just a moderate swing.
"...?"
My contractor, Yuri, suddenly raised one arm to stop me from conducting my fear vaccine clinical trial on our spider friend.
Why are they doing that?
Did they develop some sympathy for it?
"Contractor?"
"Lord Raven."
Speaking my name with a serious voice, he or she gently turned their head.
Determination was visible in those cold, sunken black pupils.
A firm resolve was etched onto the face cast in shadow.
Don't tell me.
"I have only shown you my shortcomings so far, so you might not find me reliable, but..."
Please.
"Could you leave this to me just this once?"
A small mouth opened, hesitating and faltering, before finally solidifying her resolve into words.
And from the cracks of her fragile will, a dark, damp fragment of emotion quietly leaked out.
'Ah.'
The addictively sweet scent and taste that had been lingering in my mouth since this morning.
Now I understand what it was.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Fear Eater]
Fear is your origin.
-Conversion.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I felt it.
The hesitation born from fear, and the instinctive avoidance stemming from terror.
Yet, despite that, the fragile will trying to push through the fear and step forward.
'Ah.'
What a sweet fear this is.
Gulp.
Every time I inhaled, the addictive scent tormented my taste buds and burned my head white.
My entire body creaked from a new kind of pleasure I hadn't felt in decades.
[MP: 31,622,213]
[MP: 31,622,220]
[MP: 31,622,280]
[MP: 31,622,300]
Just getting a slight taste of the fear that lightly leaked out is this ecstatic.
What if I chewed and swallowed the source itself.
What if I captured the sight of them writhing and howling in pain in my eyes. How...
Thrilling would that be?
Chirp.
-Click.
However, now is not the time for such unproductive thoughts.
As a senior in life, it's time to cheer on a child trying to take a step forward.
'Ugh. She is so adorable it's driving me crazy.'
Chirp chirp!
What? You agree, Magpie?
Then, let's cheer on our contractor's first adventure together.
I lightly shook my head to brush off the distracting thoughts and spoke to my contractor, who had her head bowed with a dark expression, perhaps from tension.
"I will trust and wait for you. Go wild to your heart's content!"
I'll be watching your back.
"Ah."
The contractor slowly raised her head and looked at me.
The darkness that cast over her face lifted, and light filled her black pupils.
On her normally expressionless face, a confident smile fitting for her age bloomed.
"Yes...!"
"Oh! The rookie adventurer is stepping up, nya!"
"Because I don't want to be a burden to the party."
Thud.
Saying so, the contractor slowly started walking toward the Rabbit Spider.
The Rabbit Spider watched the contractor quietly, then suddenly raised its two front legs into the air and let out a cry.
Trying to dominate the encounter? Pretty good for a mere beast.
"Hiss... Hiss!!!"
"Bring it on."
Swish, swish.
However, not backing down from the Rabbit Spider's momentum, the contractor extended her club and provoked it.
"Hiss."
Perhaps stimulated by that display, the demeanor of the Rabbit Spider, which had consistently taken a defensive stance, changed.
"S-something is about to start, nya!"
"...."
The air grew heavy.
Eight simple eyes and two human eyes met.
Four pairs of legs coiled as if ready to leap at any moment, and one pair of legs bent low.
A brief silence.
And then.
"Hiss!!!"
"...!"
The curtain rose on a small but magnificent battle.
***
It was the Rabbit Spider who made the first move.
Because it was now a hunter, no longer prey.
Even if it meant dying in a fight, it had no intention of being meekly hunted down like its foolish kin!
"Hiss!!!"
Venting its pent-up sorrow and resentment, it strongly bent its four pairs of legs.
Thump!
Soon, the four pairs of legs that had compressed to their limit instantly uncoiled, shooting it forward like a bouncing spring with strong repulsive force.
-Swoosh!
It instinctively folded its four pairs of legs back to reduce air resistance.
The cool wind seeped through its pure white fur.
Before it knew it, the target was rapidly closing in.
Now, all that remained was to grab the prey with its strong front legs, sink its jaws into the soft flesh, and inject its digestive fluid.
However, at that moment.
The survival instinct that had kept it alive and breathing until now began to sound the alarm.
Above?
-Whoosh!
Its proud fur detected an abnormal flow of air.
It urgently tried to change its trajectory in response, but it was a little too late.
Had it been too careless, overly reliant on its body that was stronger than before?
The price of carelessness was quite heavy.
"Hiyahhh!!!"
Smack!
A strong impact struck its head and chest along with the small life's bloodthirsty shout.
"Hiss!!!"
Its body slammed hard into the ground, then bounced back up, floating for a split second.
In the slowly passing time, a small figure was reflected in the eight emerald simple eyes filled with Wrath.
A black rag and hair floating toward the sky, and tightly clenched teeth.
The two hands gripping the Club so tightly that the veins bulged were bleeding, their skin peeled off, unable to withstand the strong impact.
Hands trembling slightly from pain, but there was no more hesitation in those black Pupils.
Because for the first time in her life, an Adult who believed in her was standing behind her.
They only gleamed darkly with the pure heart of a Child wanting to show results and receive praise, mixed with the anticipation of committing slaughter for the first time in her life.
Thud.
Just then, as if losing strength, the Club slipped smoothly out of Yuri's grasp.
Seeing this, doubt and twisted joy simultaneously welled up within the Rabbit Spider.
Now, it was its turn.
No, it definitely should have been.
Thwack!
"Hiss!!!"
Along with a pain that made its sphincter tighten on its own, Darkness suddenly fell upon one of its eight simple eyes.
Thanks to the agonizing pain that felt like its nerve ganglia were burning, its reason vanished.
Now, all that remained for the Rabbit Spider were its seven simple eyes, reduced by one, and the instinct of a Beast carved into it at the genetic level.
Murderous intent surged rapidly.
It wanted to tear apart the thing that had caused it such terrible pain!
That was all.
"Hiss!!!"
An excessive amount of murderous intent spewed from between its front fangs, from which Digestive Fluid was dripping.
'You look really angry.'
Yuri quietly observed the agonizing Rabbit Spider with a Skewer stuck in its eye, stepping backward to widen the distance.
As if she was making fun of it, her footsteps were incredibly light.
"Hiss! Hiss!!!!"
Completely losing its reason at the sight, the Rabbit Spider surrendered entirely to its instincts and bounced up powerfully.
Thump!
The distance between the Rabbit Spider and Yuri narrowed in an instant.
"Hiss!!!"
The hunting procedure it had performed its entire life proceeded sequentially through its four pairs of legs and fifty-six joints.
The four pairs of legs threateningly surrounded Yuri's upper body.
Now.
It's over.
'It's over.'
The thoughts of the two Warriors intersected.
However, there is always only one winner.
Because two suns cannot exist.
Swish!
Yuri's small hand reached toward the Rabbit Spider's eyes.
Her pinky and ring fingers folded, while her middle finger, index finger, and thumb stretched straight out.
At the same time, Yuri's small mouth opened.
And petitioned the World.
[Even someone as insignificant as me.
I hope I can shine, just a little.]
So that everyone can truly look at me.
'Father! Look at this! It's the Light I made!'
Her dark past, where she repeated futile efforts to be praised and loved, flashed before her eyes.
'I don't even want to look at it, get it away.'
'Ah.'
The light from that time had faded powerlessly in indifference.
But now, it's different.
Right now, the person who looks at me and believes in me.
No.
Because there is a Demon.
["Light."]
-Flash!
With a small murmur, a tiny sun rose from Yuri's fingertips.
"Hiss!?"
In an instant, the Rabbit Spider's vision was dyed as pure white as its fur.
The Rabbit Spider's sensory nerves, which had adapted to the soft glow of Luminous Moss its entire life, were paralyzed by the intense light bursting from Yuri's fingertips.
"Huuup!"
Not missing that brief opening, a black Knife Blade quickly shot out from Yuri's sleeve.
Gripping it tightly with both hands, Yuri immediately drove it straight into the exact center of the incapacitated Rabbit Spider's cephalothorax.
-Thwack!
The Sword Blade lodged itself into the pitch-black Exoskeleton hidden beneath the pure white fur.
In that moment, due to the pressure difference, translucent Body Fluid sprayed out from the narrow gap between the Sword Blade and the Chitin.
"Hiss!!!"
The Rabbit Spider let out a cry of pain as it felt the cold, sharp sensation inside its body and the momentary heat from the friction.
And then.
"Now, just die. You Bug."
Crackle!
Click!
The Contractor's two hands, bearing her weight, twisted forcefully, and the Obsidian Knife twisted while still lodged in the Rabbit Spider's cephalothorax, eventually snapping unable to withstand the force.
"Hi... Hiss...."
At the same time, the Rabbit Tiger's Nerve Bundle was severed, and the sharp cry that had been pounding the eardrums ceased.
The Resident Boss Rabbit Spider, which once clung to the Dungeon ceiling, avoiding Guardians and ruling the Head of the White Zone's 10th floor, was today...
'Did I... do it?'
Dead by the hands of the Novice Adventurer, Yuri.
"Haa... Haa. Uwaaah!!!"
As if simultaneously bursting with the pent-up resentment and joy she had held back, Yuri tightly clenched her bleeding fists, raised her head proudly, and let out a roar of victory.
Swoosh!!!
At that moment, as if celebrating the birth of a new powerhouse, a cluster of light shot up into the sky, leaving a pure white flash behind Yuri's back.
Perhaps this great battle would go down in the history of the Head of the White Zone's 10th floor forever.
Meanwhile.
The crazy Demon Raven and the Dungeon Sherpa Shion, who had been watching the desperate bloodbath between him or her and the Rabbit Spider from an incredibly close range.
"This is completely insane. Isn't it awesome? Was the Contractor the type to be strong in actual combat? I might have to revise the tempered Yuri plan..."
"Nya... I suddenly became scared of the Adventurer, nya. This is definitely the influence of the Crow, nya..."
Submerged in excitement and fear, they hurriedly walked toward Yuri, who was dragging the Club on the ground as if exhausted.
To celebrate his or her first adventure.
And their glorious first victory!
Read more at https://noveldex.io/series/novel/i-became-the-demon-of-terror-in-the-dungeon-city