Chapter 32: This Old Man is Peeking at Me
Not long ago, having finished their training, the two returned to their beloved home in high spirits—only to find, to their absolute shock, that the nest they had worked so hard to build had been burned to cinders.
"Who did this?"
Shiro scanned the surroundings testily and quickly locked onto the targets: a group of human knights.
"Curse them! It's those damn humans again!"
She brandished her sickle-like front legs in a rage, ready to charge in and slaughter them all. Memories of her first home being destroyed by human adventurers flooded back, stoking a tower of flame in her heart that threatened to erupt.
"Shiro, calm down."
Shirazawa pressed down on her agitated body, speaking flatly. "Stay cool. Don't let your emotions dictate your will."
Lately, Shiro's mental state had been getting increasingly erratic. Whenever she saw a living creature, her first instinct was to slash it twice to see if it tasted good and to harvest the experience points. Perhaps the Ruler skills were beginning to influence her mind. Shirazawa was consciously making her exercise self-restraint to prevent her from becoming a puppet controlled by her impulses.
Hearing Shirazawa's words, Shiro reined herself in significantly, though she still shot a murderous glare at the crowd in the distance. However, the old man at the front was simply too bizarre. The sheer intensity in his eyes was terrifying. It was like...
*Does this guy have some kind of weird fetish?*
At that thought, Shiro couldn't help but shiver. A moment later, a wave of displeasure rose within her. It was the "aftertaste" left behind by the other party's
[Ruler authority exercised. Skill
"Oh~ so Ruler authority can be used like that."
The strange sensation in Shiro's heart vanished, replaced by her usual calm. At the same time, not wanting to be outdone, she used
Aside from the lead Summoner-warrior and this perverted magic geezer, the rest of the thirty-two soldiers had average attributes of only around 500.
*Hmm... so weak.*
To her, they were essentially free delivery—food that could be wiped out effortlessly without paying any price. However, since the old man's gaze was becoming increasingly manic, Shiro glanced at Shirazawa and didn't make a move yet.
"Hey, you lot! Why did you burn down my house?"
Human perspective: (*Hiss-shaaa, click-clack-shiss-shaaa...*)
The confused human soldiers assumed the spider monsters were about to launch an attack. They drew their weapons one after another, preparing to strike first, and charged toward the two.
"Unforgivable. Destroying a home, illegal trespassing, plus peeping—triple crimes, one sentence!"
"Hey, Shirazawa, I can kill them all, right? I can, right?"
Shiro asked with a straight face. It was less of a question and more of a notification to Shirazawa: *I'm moving out, don't stop me.*
Shirazawa hesitated for a moment, then finally bit out a single word: "Kill."
"Mm." Shiro nodded happily.
In the next second, all eight Evil Eyes opened at once! Her crimson pupils erupted with a bewitching bloody light, appearing like eight miniature red suns.
*Zing—!*
Accompanied by a sharp screech, a blinding red light burst forth. Instantly, the three soldiers in the lead were crushed by the gravity field of the
*Zing—!*
Another flash of red light. The four soldiers following behind were torn into pieces by the gravitational pull caused by the
*Zing—!*
As the terrifying light manifested again, some soldiers' legs began to shake so hard they stopped in their tracks. However, Shiro had no intention of showing mercy.
Wherever her gaze passed, soldiers collapsed one by one without warning, dying silently and mysteriously.
"Eek—!"
Everyone present screamed in terror at these bizarre and unpredictable killing methods.
"Terrifying! It's too terrifying! Run!"
"We've picked a fight with the wrong monsters! Run, get out of here!!"
"Help! We're going to die... Waaaah, Mama, save me...!"
"Go! Move fast!!"
The soldiers scattered in a panic, some even throwing away their armor and helmets as they scrambled to escape. However, there wasn't just one monster.
With a short
*Squeltch... Squeltch... Squeltch...*
Blood sprayed and limbs flew. The pure white spider danced under the dark shadows of the cave, blood splattering against his fearsome visage. Amidst tragic wails and groans, a path of blood unfolded, stretching into the distance. In just a few seconds, this group of small fry had been converted into experience packs for the two.
[Experience has reached the required level. Individual: Ede Saine has risen from Lv24 to Lv25.]
[Experience has reached the required level... Lv25 to Lv26.]
"Tsk, tsk. Human experience is indeed plentiful. This is much easier than hunting monsters." Shirazawa flicked the blood off his blade and smacked his lips in satisfaction.
By now, Master Ronandt had regained his composure. From the moment he saw their attribute values, he knew clearly in his heart that with the spiders' speed, escape was impossible. Their only hope for survival was to use a
"Master Ronandt, you set up the array! I'll take responsibility for holding them back!"
Buirimus finished speaking and summoned four monsters, while Ronandt didn't dare delay and began constructing the teleportation circle.
"Wind Bird! Rock Tortoise! Swift Tiger! Water Emperor!"
The four suddenly summoned creatures caught the attention of Shiro and Shirazawa.
"Hmph, foolish humans." Shiro let out a cold laugh, glaring at the Rock Tortoise.
"Wind Bird, use Tornado!"
"Chirp—!"
The Wind Bird spat out a mass of gale-force winds toward the two. However, it was greeted by an identical mass of wind—the same trajectory, the same power.
"Impossible!" Ronandt, who was still constructing the array, let out a cry of shock. "Constructing magic from scratch without relying on skills... this, this is a dream!"
*Chirp!*
The Wind Bird and the tornado collided, resulting in a violent explosion. As the winds dissipated, Shiro followed up with a
"Dammit!!"
Buirimus was frantic. What on earth were these two spiders?! Shouldn't existences like this be in the Bottom Stratum? He couldn't understand it. Now, his only remaining summon was the Rock Tortoise. Even knowing he was no match, he had to buy time for Master Ronandt.
"Rock Tortoise! Go!"
Buirimus roared, but the tortoise didn't move an inch. Wait—actually, the tortoise hadn't shown any signs of life since the start of the encounter. He looked closer. Sure enough, the tortoise's HP bar had hit zero at some unknown point; it had died silently.
*Huh? What does this mean? Dying quietly just to shock everyone later?* Buirimus's head was full of question marks.
"Die, human!" Shiro teased, pointing a claw at Buirimus.
*Shoo-shoo-shoo—!*
Three
"Arrgh!!" Buirimus, caught off guard, was instantly hit; his abdomen was pierced through on the spot.
"Buirimus!" Ronandt yelled in fury, but the man cut him off.
"Master, go! Even if it's just you, you must survive! Go!!" Buirimus struggled to a half-kneeling position, bracing himself with his sword.
"Don't be ridiculous! We leave together!"
At that moment, the teleportation array was finally complete, glowing with a blue light. The two shared a look, thinking they were about to escape, and leaped into the array.
"You can go, but he can't."
Shirazawa's low voice suddenly rang out, pronouncing Buirimus's sentence. Ronandt's heart sank. Though he couldn't understand what the spider was saying, the look in those eyes told him clearly: Buirimus had to stay.
"Impossible! You can't possibly do that!"
Ronandt roared in rage, but as the words left his mouth, Buirimus—who was inside the array—vanished from his side. The old man's vision plunged into darkness. When his sight returned, he was already outside the labyrinth.
However, he was the only one who had escaped. Ronandt stood there dazed, staring at the warm blood remaining on his hand. An indescribable grief surged through him, and he couldn't stop himself from wailing.
"Waaaaah...!"