1.
Hae Eung-eung’s sincerity lted Arachne's frozen heart.
"Did you succeed?"
[It was quite a struggle, but yes, I succeeded.]
Even after abandoning the Blood Ranger’s curse,
she had achieved her long-awaited goal.
The emperor's assassination.
A dream shared by countless martial artists,
a dream of the oppressed citizens suffering under the emperor's tyranny,
sothing that everyone believed was impossible,
yet she had succeeded in the end.
‘It’s a sha that the martial arts leader finished before I could make my move, though.’
If we had to count, it was half a success.
However, the downfall of both the emperor and the martial arts alliance had been accomplished.
"I envy you. I wish I could do that too."
[It might not be too late.]
Hae Eung-eung gently stroked Arachne’s massive leg segnts and quietly moved her brush.
[I'll help you find a way to break free of the gods' curse.]
"It’s impossible."
[I've already done the impossible before.]
Arachne had to admit that.
Killing the emperor, who wielded god-like absolute power and was the ruler of an entire world, was nothing short of overcoming the impossible.
[That’s true for you too. If a human can defeat a god, why can’t they break a curse from one?]
"If it wasn’t for you, I’d have decapitated that arrogant head by now."
Slap
Arachne blinked her eyes in surprise as Hae Eung-eung slapped the huge leg with her palm.
[Don’t speak such words. Words corrupt the body, and the body corrupts the mind. If the mind is corrupted, the soul becos ill.]
"Are you stupid? I’m a monster. What do you expect? Do you want to act sweet in front of a man?"
[Don’t forget who you were when you were human. If you recall your mories and feelings from then, the things you need to say will co to you naturally.]
It wasn’t difficult.
After hearing Hae Eung-eung's words and receiving comfort, many mories and emotions had already resurfaced.
"I never act sweet."
[Neither do I.]
"I can’t admit when soone is better than ."
[Neither can I.]
"If I’m not the best, I’ll destroy everything."
[Maybe I’ll do the sa…?]
"Fool. I was just kidding."
It wasn’t fair to joke like that with a body of her size.
Hae Eung-eung made a slightly sulky face, and Arachne chuckled at her unexpected cuteness.
‘Just a mont ago, you acted like a mother, and now you’re puffing up your cheeks like a younger sister. You’re really lacking a few heads in age.’
Such cuteness should be illegal.
With a softened expression, Arachne gently moved her leg and playfully tapped Hae Eung-eung’s puffed cheeks.
The tension that had once existed between them vanished like it had never been there.
"If I were to spare your life and let you go, how would you help then?"
[Arachne, based on your example, the gate also creates monsters from human history, legends, and myths.]
This hinted at a significant truth.
[Eventually, the gods of Olympus will appear as well.]
Arachne’s mood shifted dramatically.
Her once calm deanor abruptly changed, and an aura of hostility that could send shivers down one’s spine began to rise.
The humans below trembled in fear.
Hae Eung-eung looked down at them, concerned.
Arachne, seeing this, naturally withdrew her malice.
"Why? Why are you helping a monster like ?"
[Because when I needed help, I wanted soone to reach out to .]
Now she understood.
How desperately she had longed for a helping hand.
How deeply she had yearned for it.
Even without speaking or asking, sotis you realize it after receiving help.
That was the sa for Arachne now.
In reality, Arachne didn’t push away the tiny hand that stroked her massive front leg.
‘She may not know, but her heart must already know.’
It was the truthful touch Arachne had long desired.
When her talents shone the brightest, when she recounted that brilliance,
unlike the cowardly humans who had abandoned her after she fell into the deepest darkness,
Hae Eung-eung had always been there, acknowledging her, even if she was not the best, staying by her side as a true companion.
This longing had been fulfilled like a miracle, and Arachne had grown emotionally.
‘I see now. I’ve longed for this for so long.’
In her past,
Arachne never t soone like Hae Eung-eung.
That’s why, instinctively, she understood.
This void in her heart could never be filled among humans.
Only the goddess of craftsmanship, Athena, with her great skills, could understand her efforts, her loneliness.
That’s why she challenged the gods.
She sought a competition beyond status and hoped for friendship, bonds, and emotional exchanges after overcoming that challenge.
‘Athena must have wanted a god like this.’
That wish had been betrayed in the worst possible way.
Athena, unable to forgive the human who had defeated her,
couldn’t tolerate soone who had mocked the gods.
She had ridiculed, mocked, and cursed the human who surpassed her.
Arachne was not sad about becoming a monster.
What truly saddened her was the belief that to achieve the highest, she must beco the best.
But that dream was shattered when Athena directly rejected it, humiliating Arachne in such a miserable way.
Pat-pat
Stroking Arachne’s legs, Hae Eung-eung remained by her side.
‘My wish has already co true.’
Arachne realized.
Just like Hae Eung-eung had once been deceived by the leader of the Blood Cult,
exercising her power recklessly,
Arachne could have destroyed her own desire for a true companion with her own hands.
If she had gone astray, she would have ruined the very wish she had carried for so long.
‘Don’t let yourself be swayed by power.’
As Arachne cald her aggression and completely stopped viewing humans as enemies,
[The tier boss’s aggression significantly decreases.]
The gate responded with violent backlash.
"What’s this?"
"The temperature dropped suddenly."
"Guildmaster, are you okay? Do you need help?"
The sudden and dangerous shift in the situation was palpable, even to the ascended beings below.
[Urgent repairs are required.]
[The tier boss retrieval magic circle is being generated.]
A massive magic circle suddenly appeared at Arachne’s feet.
"Ugh, no! I don’t want to return to the darkness anymore. Human, help !"
From the magic circle, black hands reached out.
They grabbed Arachne’s legs and began pulling her into the darkness below the circle.
Hae Eung-eung felt an eerie sense of déjà vu from those hands.
Such unusual hands...
She couldn’t forget them.
A thought quickly erged.
‘Boogeyman. Could it really be that monster?’
The hands resembled those of the boogeyman, but these sinister hands were not companions of the hybrid.
They were dangerous, not allied with her.
Clang! Clang!
When Hae Eung-eung struck with her sword, the hands recoiled, and the ascendants rushed to help, desperately putting all their strength into stopping the pull.
[Due to excessive mana usage, power is running low.]
[The ergency system is switching to energy-saving mode.]
The magic circle that should have pulled Arachne inside imdiately had been delayed by the extended operation.
The hands withdrew, and the magic circle disappeared as well.
[What was that just now?]
If Hae Eung-eung and Arachne had fought with all their power, exhausted, they wouldn’t have been able to resist the ominous retrieval magic.
But now that the situation had settled, there was an unsettling feeling that lingered, an uneasy sense that sothing wasn’t right.
"I don’t know. But I think I understand. If we had been dragged in there, we’d never have co out again."
Hae Eung-eung realized the truth.
Arachne could not stay in this gate forever.
[We’ll make sure to prepare safety asures as soon as possible.]
"Can’t I go out too?"
Like a pet watching its owner leave,
Arachne’s sorrowful look was unmistakable.
"Sorry to interrupt while you're deep in conversation, but there’s a problem."
Min Woo-seong pointed toward the entrance of the boss room.
"The Asan Guild’s people are outside the boss room."
[So what?]
"They’ve blocked the door outside, performing a ritual for our deaths. I can hear them interviewing us as if we’re dying."
Such demonic actions were unbelievable.
It really seed like they were determined to have everyone inside killed.
"I even heard the voices of Kim Chang-sik and the entertainers from Myungho Entertainnt. It looks like the Asan Guild is planning a dia play now."
"Do you think so too?"
"Been through this kind of thing more than once."
Shinseonggak coldly stared at the boss room entrance, his voice darkened.
"If things get difficult in the boss room, block the escape route, co out first, and tell them everyone inside is dead. Then, you take all the credit."
"Does that still happen?!"
"Looks like Han Chae-rin has raised the entertainers well. It’s a frequent occurrence these days. Even Myungho Guild’s Guildmaster Lee Myungho fell victim to the sa sche."
Nana-se collapsed helplessly, sitting down in despair.
"We’re all going to die…" "Pathetic. This human fight is so foolish."
"Arachne. Are you going to help us? You look pretty exhausted yourself."
Arachne arrogantly lifted her head.
"Who do you think I am? I am Lydia's greatest craftsman and the ruler of this gate."
She raised one of her claws and sliced through the cocoon that trapped dusa beneath her.
"Breaking through walls is her specialty."
Released from her cage by Arachne’s hand, dusa, whose eyes had been glaring at Arachne, now turned her gaze to Hae Eung-eung.
Yet, neither Arachne nor Hae Eung-eung attacked her.
The huge living armor, which had bound dusa’s body entirely, held her back from moving.
"Oh, this again."
"Another hidden phase? Here?"
If they had gone all the way with Arachne, they would all have been dead.
Everyone nodded in agreent, acknowledging the danger.
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