His sword-energy carved through the densely packed Honey Shadow Spiders and Honey Guardian Spiders like slicing through melons and vegetables. With no ranged means of attack, Pecorine could only stand off to the side gripping her greatsword and glaring helplessly, while Kyaru now and then loosed off a [Guren Burst] or two to wipe out the stray survivors that charged through the sword-energy's defense by clambering over their comrades' corpses.
This one-sided, effortless slaughter made Jhin realize that his current strength far surpassed what it had been back when he first encountered the Sand Scorpion King—the boost that [Elemental Armament] gave him was even greater than he had imagined.
When the last wave of Honey Shadow Spiders also collapsed into the heaps of their fallen kin, the Magic Crystal Pit, like the digestive tract of some colossal creature, absorbed the monsters' flesh and blood into the soil, leaving behind only the special materials they had dropped.
Witnessing this eerie scene with her own eyes, Megumin swallowed her saliva in fear and said in a trembling voice: "We won't get digested like that too, will we?"
Kokkoro reassured her: "Please don't worry, this is a special mechanism of the Magic Crystal Pit. Let's just collect the special materials and keep moving."
"Then why didn't the earlier Honey Spiders turn out like this?"
"Perhaps it's because... their level didn't meet the requirement."
"That... that makes sense."
Everyone soon finished gathering the materials and pressed on. With Jhin present in the seemingly endless, profound pit, the girls didn't feel quite so oppressed—after all, he constantly radiated an aura that brought calm and healing.
Having gone through roughly half an hour of continuous fighting just now, Jhin finally discovered just how powerful the [Life Spring Lv.1] skill truly was. The sword-energy that had originally cost stamina to release was, with the skill's support, essentially close to zero consumption. In other words, if he could find a way to level this skill up, then a Getsuga Tenshō with every single stroke wouldn't be a dream.
The deeper they ventured into the pit, the fewer Honey Spiders appeared. This special situation, which defied common sense, made everyone all the more cautious.
They walked on for who knew how long, when a soft, mocking chuckle echoed through the pit.
"Hehe~"
"Who's there!?" Jhin's gaze sharpened, and wind element spread out radially with the group at its center, pushing away every object that drew near.
Yet when they carefully scanned their surroundings, they found nothing at all.
The voice drifted faintly from the void once more: "Adventurers, keep moving forward. I'll be waiting for you at the center of the labyrinth."
"Hey, hey, hey, isn't the center of the labyrinth where the Honey Spider Empress is?"
"This kind of monster can even speak human language?"
"Kokkoro, has anything like this ever happened before?"
"Such a thing is unheard of!" Kokkoro knitted her brows tightly. A possibility occurred to her, and she called out to Jhin at the very front: "Master, this Honey Spider Empress might be a Mutated Monster!"
"A Mutated Monster... that would be troublesome. How strong is the Honey Spider Empress in combat herself?"
"The Empress herself isn't skilled at fighting. Her strength lies in her ability to rapidly breed all kinds of elite spiders."
"By the theory that mutation reverses traits, then judging by appearances this Empress has very strong single-target combat ability—which is why there are fewer and fewer spiders the deeper we go into the pit."
"Then... then let's hurry up and leave."
"I'd like nothing more than to just leave, but Megumin, have you considered—since that Honey Spider Empress can notify us in this manner, she's certainly not going to casually let us walk away."
"In other words, the only option left is a head-on showdown..." Kyaru lightly rubbed her forehead, looking somewhat resigned.
"Exactly. If we want to leave, we have to defeat the Empress."
"My partner-in-crime, when the time comes I'll have you use that. When I say so, you use it—understand?"
Megumin didn't respond. She knew Jhin said it this way to keep the Empress from understanding his plan.
The group cautiously continued onward, not letting their guard down because of the Honey Spider Empress's words—who knew whether she had deliberately set traps for them along the way.
When an aura brimming with crushing pressure came from ahead, everyone understood clearly that they had already arrived just before the center of the labyrinth.
Slowly walking into the suddenly wide-open central area, the Honey Spider Empress—half-human, half-spider—hung from thick spider silk, clapping those snow-white little hands of hers: "As expected of the adventurers I've taken a fancy to. You refuse to relax your vigilance in the slightest."
Megumin stared with a grave expression at her utterly unconcealed upper body. The tender, delicate, oversized pudding rippled wave after wave in time with the clapping, making Megumin's eyes burn green with envy.
Damn it, why is even a Mutated Monster bigger than me!?
"The Honey Spider Empress?"
"Oh? So that's the name I go by in the mouths of adventurers. Mm... a little... lacking in aesthetic beauty." The Spider Empress descended to the ground on her silk threads, her bearing and speech more like those of an elegant noblewoman.
"I have no interest in a monster's sense of aesthetics. I'm more curious why you've called us to the center of the labyrinth." Jhin gripped the [Resplendent Blade] and his void greatsword, on guard against a sudden assault from his opponent.
The Honey Spider Empress's violet, alluring eyes fixed on him intently, and a few words slowly slipped from between her crimson lips: "Because I want you."
"Get lost!"
"Oh my~ how heartless..." Far from being angered, she covered her mouth and laughed coquettishly: "But I rather like that personality of yours. Such a rich breath of life—when the time comes to eat you, you'll surely be utterly delicious."
"Dark-Corrosive Thunder!"
Jhin had no desire to be toyed with by this kind of monster. He sent an ancient spell at her with a backhand to test the waters—no matter how enticing her human portion might be, he could still sense the bizarre life-aura between the spider body and the human body.
The Honey Spider Empress's human body was blasted apart for the most part by the black lightning, yet she still wore an unhurried, composed smile: "You can't hurt me this way. Why not honestly surrender instead?"
No sooner had she spoken than her human body restored itself to its original state, the bewitching aura it gave off even stronger than before.
Just as I thought... the upper body is like an anglerfish's lure—not an important part at all.
Jhin ignored her ceaseless prattle and turned to tell the girls: "Prepare for battle. The spider body is the main one. Don't bother with the human one on top for now."
"Yes!" ×4
"Refraction Blinding!"
"Light's Protection!"
Jhin confined the dazzling, glaring light to the area in front of him, catching the Honey Spider Empress off guard. Amid her wails, her tail reared up and sprayed several webs of spider silk forward—had the people of the Gourmet Edifice not left their original positions in time, they would certainly have been captured by these webs.
"Dark-Corrosive Thunder!"
"Prismatic Javelin!"
The two utterly different attacks of light and dark collided, yet produced no explosion. The [Dark-Corrosive Thunder] transformed into a solid black prison, strands of pitch-black lightning forming iron bars that locked the Honey Spider Empress within, while the [Prismatic Javelin] became the lightning inside the cell, striking her body again and again.
This was the unique nature of ancient magic: the spell was no longer fixed in its form, but instead became whatever shape its user willed according to their intent.
Seizing the opportunity, Kyaru expended half the mana within her to release [Guren Burst], precisely striking the eyes on the Honey Spider Empress's spider body.
"Aaaah!! You damnable, lowly ants!!!"
____
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