Episode 355 – Master of Aintrier (5)!!
Ssssss—
Dozens of jet-black spider threads.
These webs, infused with the aura of the Spider Queen, possessed terrifying cutting power.
The technique consud trendous ntal energy, so Azolett avoided using it unless absolutely necessary. But now, she was unleashing her full power to confront Karl.
As the glistening strands unfurled into the air, Karl’s ghost forms sank as if vanishing into the ground.
Sasasasak—
The bundles of web flew silently, as if to tear everything apart, and Karl dodged by scattering his spectral forms in all directions.
He darted across ceiling, walls, and floor at incredible speed, almost as if gravity didn’t apply, narrowly evading the attacks.
Though Azolett spread radial webs across the air, none reached Karl.
Even when caught, he slipped out of them effortlessly, like shedding old skin.
Seeing that, Azolett bit her lip and narrowed her eyes.
“So damn annoying.”
Where had soone like that co from all of a sudden?
Recalling her threads, Azolett roughly brushed her hair back and glared at her opponent.
Karl Bastain.
An obscure figure among the allied forces, she had taken him on with little concern—but he was a troubleso opponent.
No, their compatibility was the worst.
Her spider threads were hard to cut, even for aura users.
But this opponent moved freely within them. There was only one such existence among the Ortain.
‘Natasha the Giant’
Her spiritual technique clashed directly with Azolett’s power.
‘Don’t tell … spiritual technique?’
No, that couldn’t be.
Spiritual techniques were extrely rare, and only Natasha among the witches had mastered them.
And a re human had learned it?
“If it’s not spiritual technique but sothing similar…
And if that power could be used by many?”
The more they fought, the greater her sense of unease grew.
She now wanted to capture her opponent alive to study this power.
Azolett wiggled her fingers with a seductive smile.
“How long are you going to just dodge?”
“Shut it.”
“Won’t you just let capture you? I’ll show you what paradise is.”
“Then call off those friends of yours first. Let’s start by making it a fair conversation.”
“They’re cute, and you want to get rid of them? That’s rude.”
“Sh*t, that thing’s way cuter than they are.”
Having pulled his ghost forms back, Karl glanced behind.
Flash!!!
Kreeeeagh!
Kyaak!
Brilliant yellow blasts erupted nonstop, accompanied by horrifying shrieks.
A massive swarm of spiders was pouring through an opening in the wall, and Lily was desperately holding the front line.
Though the spiders were popping like fireworks, Azolett remained calm.
She clearly had many more spiders to unleash, which was bad news for Karl.
Lily didn’t seem like she could last much longer either.
“Hmph! If you think they’re cute, why not protect them!”
As Azolett tried to move toward Lily, Karl urgently blocked her path.
“Why don’t you just play with instead?”
“All you’ve done is run—”
She gave a sweet smile and pointed her fingers forward.
“No need to anymore!”
“...Damn it!”
To protect Lily, Karl would have to stop dodging and fight head-on.
He grit his teeth and unleashed his full spiritual technique.
A faint ghostly arm ford on his previously empty side.
He clenched both hands and launched into a dagger assault toward Azolett.
Kakakakakakang—!
Spectral daggers imbued with spiritual energy struck from odd angles.
Azolett’s fingers also danced in the air.
Soon, the clash of spiderwebs and daggers filled the space with sharp echoes.
But only for a mont—
Ssskuk ssskuk—
“Tch!”
The daggers were brutally severed by the webs. Karl clicked his tongue and leapt back. His daggers couldn’t withstand the webs’ cutting power.
Azolett sprang after him like a bolt of lightning.
Cursing, Karl wrapped his arm around Lily’s waist.
“Ah! What are you—!”
“We’re about to die, just stay still!”
Karl soared into the air with urgency, and the place where they had stood was instantly lashed by web like a whip.
Kwajjik—
The floor was cleanly split, as if struck by a massive claw.
Though they escaped imdiate danger, Lily’s expression grew more panicked.
With her attacks paused, the spiders began to swarm thickly behind Azolett.
“We have to stop the spiders now!”
“How the hell do we stop that?!”
“Arthur said we have to hold out no matter what! If one side collapses, it’s over!”
“Damn it!”
Karl knew it too. Arthur and Lochter were risking their lives.
He set Lily down and pulled the final dagger from his waist.
‘Getting close will probably get killed...’
His honed instincts scread. Do not step within five paces of that spider woman.
Invisible spider threads surrounded her, silent and sharp.
One misstep and his body could be torn apart without warning.
“Guess I’ve got no choice.”
He would have to perform a death-defying stunt.
Vhuuuung!
At that mont, a heavy shockwave erupted from outside the battlefield.
The structure trembled violently, staggering both Karl and Lily—and Azolett as well.
More than just staggering, Azolett actually collapsed, coughing blood.
“Kuhegh!”
Clutching her chest in pain.
Why, all of a sudden?
As Karl blinked in confusion, Lily pointed ahead, eyes wide.
“Th-the spiders!?”
The torrent of spiders pouring from the breach was suddenly dwindling. Monts later, they stopped entirely.
Lily wasn’t the only one shocked. Azolett turned to look and let out a gasp.
Sothing had happened.
‘This is the chance.’
Sensing it instinctively, Karl raised his dagger and dashed forward.
“Take down the spider woman!”
At his cry, Lily’s spell rained down on Azolett. Karl took a deep breath and cloaked himself in full spiritual technique.
He charged directly into Azolett’s domain.
It was a suicidal stunt—but things had changed. They had to hold her down.
Arthur’s reinforcents had clearly arrived. And the one who realized it first wasn’t Arthur or Karl, but—
“Azonne!!!!”
It was Azolett herself.
Her panicked scream. The nest had begun to collapse.
“Damn it!”
Swallowing the hot blood rising in her throat, Azolett sent the remaining spiders all at Lily.
As Lily pulled back from the onslaught, Azolett redirected her full focus to Karl.
Ssskuk—
A flash of Karl’s dagger sliced a clump of her hair.
“You little—!”
Scowling, she yanked her hidden threads. Invisible blades aid to shred Karl’s body—But the mont they brushed his spiritual energy, Karl twisted his body unnaturally and dodged them.
He didn’t escape unscathed, though—blood splattered from his afterimages, leaving shallow wounds.
“Tch!”
As Karl stepped back, Azolett rapidly scanned the battlefield.
Rengua’s side, Richard’s side—both were in their favor.
Lochter and Arthur were barely hanging on, bloodied and beaten.
So far, Azolett had been calmly enjoying the advantage.
But not anymore.
She quickly snatched a web thread from midair.
Now that the nest was fully ford, she could transmit her voice wherever she wanted.
“Azonne, what are you doing?!”
The nest was being destroyed rapidly. Whoever arrived was clearly not normal. If they made it inside, everything would change.
But Azolett hadn’t alerted the others yet.
She had waited to hear Azonne’s response—but sothing was wrong.
There was no reply.
Her expression stiffened.
“Sh*t, there’s a limit to jokes. You promised you had a way to wipe them out in one go. This is that mont!”
Still no answer. She turned her gaze toward Azonne.
He was standing still inside the golden barrier, for so reason.
The confidence was gone. His face was full of confusion.
He kept pointing at others and shouting sothing, over and over.
He looked like… a fool.
Azolett made a quick decision.
‘It’s over.’
Just a little more ti, and everything would turn against them.
In Pri Root, a mont’s hesitation ant death.
She shoved Karl aside and turned toward the breach.
“Where are you going all of a sudden?”
“...You leech. I’m sick of looking at you. Get lost.”
“You’re the one who said to co play.”
Azolett retreated using her webs and whispered to Rengua, secretly passing on the situation.
—Code 3.
A prearranged signal.
At that, Rengua paused and looked her way, then toward the Cleaners.
She shook her head.
“To escape safely, you always need a sacrifice...”
Azolett kept the truth from the Cleaners and began preparing her escape.
Kkraang!
Lightning crashed down from all sides. Richard’s first sword, Sutherer.
Lochter deflected it with his dual swords, Reyna and Belin, but a massive shadow greatsword barreled in.
Spectral Sword Oras.
Kwaang!
“Kuugh!”
Lochter blocked it with crossed swords and barely pushed it back.
In that brief clash, ghostly arms swung at him from behind Richard.
Wood Blade Indra and Illusion Blade Karoru danced toward his neck.
A critical mont—
“Kraaaaagh!”
Flash!
A crimson burst exploded. Reyna and Belin countered simultaneously. The built-up shockwave blasted the ghost blades away.
“Tch!”
Richard stepped back, clicking his tongue.
His wrist throbbed with pain. As it pulsed, his eyes turned fiercer.
Chachachachang—!
Sparks erupted wildly in the air. He unleashed Sutherer, Indra, Oras, and Karoru in unpredictable patterns.
Lochter defended with counters at each dangerous turn.
“Your skills have improved.”
Lowering his stance, Lochter spread his swords wide.
He was panting hard.
Blood flowed down his wrist, dripping—
drip, drip, drip
down the edge of the blade.
Each clash wounded him more. It was a miracle he was still standing. Under the armor, he had to be torn and broken.
‘And yet, he endures…’
Richard’s gaze settled.
The more he wounded Lochter, the stronger he seed to beco.
“I thought four blades were enough.”
He had fought with everything, but couldn’t break through.
Richard’s swordsmanship relied on manipulating multiple unique swords—but it didn’t work on Lochter.
A master of brutally polished fundantals.
Solid as iron.
Like…
‘Sword Demon Karvas.’
Richard almost felt as though Karvas was standing before him.
“No, he’s just a fledgling compared to Karvas.”
What reminded him of Karvas was the unshakable fundantals. In actual strength, Lochter couldn’t compare.
Karvas… was a genius.
The wall of talent Richard could never overco.
He started relying on unique swords after being crushed by Karvas.
He could never win with technique alone.
That’s why he sought the blade to kill Karvas—and when he obtained his fifth sword, the Invisible Sword Greese, he thought he could win.
[It was fun. A sha to kill you.]
But he lost. Completely.
He still rembered Karvas’s smiling face, saying the collection was amusing.
Grit—
Richard bit down on his lip. Filthy mories surged.
“This ends here.”
Richard dropped the other swords. The four blades fell to the floor.
Srrrng—
A cold tallic sound rang as a single sword erged.
It looked simple, even crude.
He gripped it tightly and lowered his stance. Lochter did the sa, tightening his grip on the dual blades.
Tension crackled between them.
Boom—!
A red mist suddenly filled the room.
Vision was tinted crimson.
A wall collapsed with a crash—new chaos. But neither moved.
Ten paces apart.
Not a twitch.
Then suddenly—
“Kraaaaagh!”
“Haaah!”
Both lunged through the mist, swords drawn.
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