Chapter 100: Battle of The Underground Lake Tower II

Chapter 100: Battle of The Underground Lake Tower II

TL : Cnine

ED/PF : Seshat / ImmortalZoDD

「Is this good enough, Momokawa? 」

After I entered the rooftop and we sealed the entrance, stone spears appeared in a line around it. They would've worked better in a row, but they were arranged in a phalanx formation, forming two boxes from different angles. Three meters behind them stood a majestic and robust earth wall.

「Ooh, awesome! I didn't know you could make it this sturdy.」

「Yes, I somehow finished it ahead of time. 」

So her proficiency in handling that skill had increased again... Or maybe live combat served as better experience than training.

「Do you have any way to climb the wall, Momokawa? 」

「It's okay. I can just do this――」

That wall was made to completely seal the entrance. There was no way through, so it was up to my tentacles to do the job. [ED: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ]

「――URGH. It's really hard.」[ED: that’s what she said]

Somehow, I managed to climb the wall.

It was my first time using the Black Hair Bind to climb a wall and just as I expected, it was quite difficult. I’m glad the wall was just three meters high. If it was higher, say, 5 meters, then I’d be screwed. I should save some time for climbing training.

「Hey... Isn’t that... They’re coming!」

Those Jiras slowly chipped away the wall at the bottom of the stairs. They were so close I could hear their noisy cries already. Only one of two walls remained. Could the four of us defend that final line? For how many minutes could we stand our ground?

「.... As you can see, we're at a dead end. This is what they call a "Last Stand".」

Even if we couldn’t hold our position for long, I had no regrets. I did everything I could. Most of all, Randou-san, Nonomiya-san, and Yoshizaki-kun also did their best. It was worlds apart from that time in the worst harem party of Souma Sakura.

We came so far thanks to everyone doing their best. That’s why I had no regrets.

Then, finally, those guys appeared.

「I don't want to die or see everyone die in this place. So, let’s kick their asses. We’ll fight until the end.」

「GYOAAA! 」

Everyone looked at where the Jiras were coming from. They broke through the mudwall and advanced toward us, their cold eyes glaring at me with killing intent. They were drenched in mud but they still kept a tight grip on their spears.

Don't underestimate us, you shitty fish. You’re going down!

「EAT THIS, 『Tera Sagita』!! 」

Randou-san’s fully powered earth magic pierced right through the face of the fuckers that screeched at us. The force of the spell shook the tower and created an almost deafening explosion.

DOGOOOOOOOOOON!

「UWAAAA!? 」

What the fuck? The whole tower shook with the sound of explosions like someone was trying to bring it down. I couldn’t register what was happening as the noise resounded in my head.

I could barely keep myself stable, but there was no point in bracing my feet on the mudwall. Doing so would only expose me to danger.

Suddenly, I got a bad feeling.

「Everyone, get down from the wall! 」

Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san jumped down with a roll. It looked amazing but, considering their vocation, jumping down 3 meters with flair wasn’t really that impressive.

I couldn’t do that. With my vocation I’m not that different from a person with normal physical capabilities.

「Momokawa, wait! Wait a minute! It's too high! I can't jump from this height, you kno~w!? 」

Ah, I forgot that Randou-san was a Sorcerer. She’s as physically inept as me.

It would be fine if we just sprained our feet after the fall. But if we landed head first, it would be a disaster. How can I make Randou-san and me descend safely?

I knew a spell that could help.

「Twine Around The Escapee Feet, Braid Into Hair――『Black Hair Bind』. Come here, Randou-san! 」

I worried about its durability, so I braided Black Hair Bind with a full aria. I should be able to at least do that much...

Will ya calm down already, you stupid heart?!

「Ah, sorry. Did you hate it? 」

「I-It was wonderful, but...」

「But what? Do you have a girlfriend? Could it be you love another girl? 」

「No, no, I don't have a girlfriend. It's not like I have someone I love, but still――」

「It's all good, then.」

What other option did I have when she smiled at me like that? I immediately agreed. Who in the world would complain that Randou-san was the one who took their first kiss?

Also, it wasn’t like kissing equaled dating, anyway. It was presumptuous of me to even consider it. I believed Randou-san wouldn’t even think about such an option. If she said that kiss was a token of gratitude for the help I gave her, I’d accept it with gratitude.

... Could it be that Randou-san fell in love with me? Nah, that’s impossible. As if I’d have such good luck. If it was Mei-chan, I might consider whether she truly fell for me, but in Randou-san’s case... With her personality...

Wait. Why was I getting so flustered just from thinking about it?

I forcefully stopped that train of thought.

And that concluded another page of my wonderfully dreamy moment.

Even after deciding to avoid thinking about it, I was still too embarrassed to even look at Randou-san’s face.

「Hey, Momokawa... Actually, I――」

「EH!?」

Randou-san suddenly interrupted me and, thinking that she was going to say something, I raised my head. But I couldn’t see anything. Everywhere I looked, my vision was pure white.

... Were those threads?

「――UMPF!? 」

Something caught me.

The reason I noticed the pure white adhesive lump of spider thread so quickly was because of its similarity to my 『Black Hair Bind』.

The white thread covering my entire body locked my limbs perfectly. Suddenly, my feet left the floor, and I was struck by the sensation of flying. In truth, I knew that whatever had caught me was just dragging me closer.

Fortunately, for me, my eyes were uncovered. I was able to see Randou-san’s extremely flushed face for the first time just as I was being pulled away.

「Momokawa!?」

「――GUUUH! 」

Two seconds. No, it was probably three seconds of weightlessness. I let out a pained scream when my body harshly landed on the floor. Thanks to the bundle of threads around me, the fall was somewhat cushioned.

The moment I saw the predator, I knew I looked like a fish caught on a pole.

「KISHISHI, KISHI, KISHIKISHIKISHI.」

Now that was what I considered an appropriate owner for the white threads.

It was a splendid spider.

Unlike the『Rook Spider』, whose appearance resembled a giant tarantula, it was as big as a fully grown human. Its silhouette had a greatly extended abdomen with eight long legs so thin they almost looked bizarre. It seemed related to the yellow spider, as it had an ominous yellow and black color.

However, the upper body connected to the spider abdomen resembled a deformed human. The figure covered in black tough skin faintly suggested it might be female.

[TL: Kumoko.]

Disturbingly enough, the waist was sort of thin and there was some sort of swelling on the chest area. But the head completely convinced me that I was looking at a monster. It was covered in the same tough skin, with eight red eyes and a wide slit where a mouth should be, with sharp fangs protruding from it.

Fuck. With the lower body of a spider and the upper body of a human, it was probably an Arachne. Still, I felt cheated. The human half wasn’t like those beautiful onee-sans from so many otaku dreams at all!

While I cursed in frustration inside my heart, the monster completely sealed my field of vision with a second spray of threads. I couldn’t see or move my body. Neither Rem nor my comrades were by my side when I was pulled away.

Could I have reached the end? Was it game over for me?

「...!!?」

Suddenly, a sharp pain followed by a stinging sensation ran through my whole body. It felt like I’d been struck by lightning.

... She bit me, huh.

Despite the pain, my consciousness was already...