Fray :

 

We walked in this dim dungeon...

 

...walked,

 

 

 

 

and walked.

Everywhere my eyes see...

 

...The same faintly glowing stones on the wall.

 

 

 

And on the floor, there are only rocks, rocks and rocks.

The anxiety of getting lost forever in this dungeon doesn't leave my chest.... but, there is also a hope of getting out of this dungeon burning in the heart.

My mouth feels dry, asking for water.

 

 

My legs feel tired.

But still..... I move my legs.

Turns after turns, we wandered in this dungeon. Hoping to see the outside light.

.

.

.

*screeeeeech*

*kheeeechhhh*

*slam!*

"I heard some noises coming from that way, Akane-san!"

"Yeah, there is no point in checking what there is, we should quickly get away from here."

!!!!

A Trio of Arachnes came running from our behind.

Maybe, they heard the noises too.

 

*SLAAMMMM*

*BOOM!*

 

Ahead of us, from where the noise was coming, two of them are slamming and smashing each other, quarrelling in the most brutal way I've ever seen. One Arachne grabbed the other and slammed it on the wall, debris flew and a cloud of dust covered the area. And then the one which got slammed on the wall punched the first one, it got blown into the wall on the other side.

'I doubt I can survive a punch like that.'

What are they fighting among themselves for?

'A territorial dispute?'

Or for a Prey?

Anyway.....

I nodded to Akane as the trio approached us while licking their tongues and swaying their hands in the joy of getting a "meal".

"exhale........."

 

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

Seeing its mates drop on the ground lifelessly, the third Arachne turned its head left and right and tilted its head in confusion.

It glared at us.

'Ah, so it dawned on it that it was due to us, huh.'

In the next instant, it attached webs to both the walls and slingshotted itself towards us like a catapult, at a speed that I could only make out a blur of its motion.

'This..... I didn't expect.'

 

I can't aim at it, it's too fast!

It will kill us the moment it reaches here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

!!??

 

But...

It stopped mid-air.

Akane stepped forward.

She raised her hands and motioned her arms forward.

As she moved her hands in that way, the Arachne, floating in mid-air was slammed on the wall with a loud crash.

"Hoh, nice one Akane-san.... but you slammed it too far away, it's out of my range now-"

"It's okay, I will hold it down as much as I can, I have greater range than y-you."

'but for that, she will need to "overexert" herself -----!!!'

 

I noticed that due to the loud crash, the Arachnes that were fighting each other, have turned their attention towards us as they stopped their battle and now are charging at us with a nasty grin plastered on their faces.

They hit and push each other as they move closer to us.

Are they now competing to get the prey first?

'fuck them'

 

"<DISINTEGRATE> ....."

Seeing its competitor drop on the floor lifelessly, the other one's grin widened as it charged at us.

"<DIS...INTEGRATE> !"

*kheeeechhhh*

Shit!

I missed it! My skill connected to its Head.

It climbed the wall a moment earlier I invoked the skill!

Its face is wincing in pain, and it is touching its head in pain.

'So my skill does cause pain, huh...'

But what now? It is still not dead yet... will it die when its whole brain matter is gone? I doubt it.

Akane is busy holding down the other one...

And I can't shoot my skill twice on the same target.

'quick my skill reach, its chest as fast as you can!'

It's going to lunge at me.

'Fuck!!'

*srrkheeeechhhh*

I stepped backwards.

!!??

*boom* *crash*

 

"??? Akane---san..."

As that Arachne lunged at me, she caught it mid-air and crashed it on the wall.

'Damn! love you, Akane-san!!!'

!!

But...

Her hold on the previous Arachne has decreased, seeing as it's slowly raising while trembling and glaring.

'Then again...'

 

 

 

 

I walked towards it.

 

 

'...I haven't shot this one yet.'

And since Akane's hold has slowed it down, I won't miss again.

 

 

 

"<DIS.....INTE.....GRATE> "

I turned around to see what happened to the one that I missed my aim of.

"Itsuki-san, I am trying to l-lift it and throw it a-awayy, but its hold on the ground is t-too strong!"

Akane is still overexerting herself. Well, she has to push this Arachne with everything she got or else we'll die.

'But why can't she lift it? Earlier she could lift the dead one just fine...?'

My eyes went near my palm, to my finger's wound.... and it dawned on me.

'Yeah, the tip of their legs is sharply toothed it's kind of like a saw. Of course, she can't lift them up, they're basically rooted in the ground. Pulling them outside will be tough.' 

 Its whole forehead has been disintegrated, after a few moments, its eyes will be gone too. I am a bit surprised to see their tenacity, it's moving without its brain that too consciously, how is that even possible?

It glared at us, grimacing in pain.

 

'No worries, we just need to wait for a bit. In a few moments that hole will expand to the soul core and it will die as soon as it reaches there.'

*khrrre*

'Hah! don't glare at me like that, it was you and your "friends" who attacked first.'

*ssSSCCHHRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCcchhh*

It screeched in pain........... Or?............................ Was it a call for help?

More Arachnes joined the fray.

Six of them...

...appearing from the way this one came from.

They glare at us.

There is anger in their eyes..... or is it bloodlust?

'So, they want REVENGE for their dead and a soon to be a dead friend?'

I won't let them have it.'

"Akane-san, don't try to lift or push these. Just hold them enough so that their motion is restricted, and yeah, if any of them jumps, then you're free to slam them on the farthest wall as hard as you can."

"I was going to do exactly the same."

Akane nodded her head and raised her arms to get ready for the second wave.

"fuuu......................."

I calmed my beating chest and locked my arms, aiming towards the closest ones.

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

*screech*

*screech*

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

*screech**khhaacccckkk**screech**Rrrrwwwrrr*

These screeches aren't of those that I kill with my skill, but they are the screeches of their friends as they see their kin dropping on the floor lifelessly.

I raise my arm further up to aim at the Arachne which was agilely coming closer from the ceiling.

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

I lifted my left hand to aim at those who were charging from the ground.

Some of the Arachnes stumble and fall because of the dead one's sudden fall on the ground.

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

*screeeeeech* *screeeeeech*

'I missed again... twice'

"Pant Pant"

My breathing is becoming rough because of the tension and unease.

'h-huh??'

Two.. three.... five... a dozen or even more Arachnes appeared out from that path.

Now...

There is no doubt about it......

'Is this really the end?'

.......I and her definitely can't handle this number...

 

"still.... haaahhh I WON'T DIE YOU MONSTEEERRS <DISINTEGRATE>"

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

"Keep calm you moron!! You'll miss more if get worked UP!!!", Akane reprimanded me.

"sigh... HAAAAAA <DISINTEGRATE>"

*crash* *boom* *boom* *bhwuuwwsh*

Akane redirected and slammed the ones that leapt at us to the furthest back at the wall to gain even a little bit of time. She stepped a few steps backwards and I, a few steps forward.

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

 

 

"Hmm?"

'Why have all of these Arachnes become slower? It looks like one of their legs is stuck into a puddle of mud or something-----'

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

'-- I still haven't gained level-ups yet, so why--- oh!'

 

They haven't become slow nor have I levelled up. It's just Akane. She is using their advantage against them.... as she can't lift them up due to them being "rooted", maybe she pushing them more into the ground? She is applying her force such that those Arachne's legs get stuck in the ground more than needed... causing them disturbance in movement. An effective Pseudo Debuff.

 

 

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

..... maybe she just holds one of their legs along with the ground. Effectively making a bog, a sticky puddle of mud. Making one of their legs stuck in the ground for a second, at least causing their movements to be disturbed.

They have become slower... they're getting annoyed by that disturbance in their movement... they're getting distracted.

This time............. a grin......

"<DISINTEGRATE>"

...... curls up in my lips.

Because now....

"< D I S I N T E G R A T E >".

.... It's Easy.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"Haaah~ we survived..."

"Yeah, huff... huff haha... thank goodness!"

"Do you have MP left, Akane-san?"

"Only a few hundred MP remains. Huff huff... it's good that MP gets filled up whenever there is a level up.

"Yeah, it sure is."

.

.

.

*Ting*

Finally the last of them vanished into thin air. There is one other thing I noticed, the walls that were damaged were already looking anew as if the debris lying on the ground came from somewhere else.

I looked at Akane. She is not panting now and she looks a bit less exhausted than before. Same is with me too. The exhaustion has gone down quite a bit due to level up but not whole.

'She really did everything this time and might be tired too but... no time to rest. This area looks more prone to monster's attack, we need to move from here as quickly as we could.'

"Just check for any significant upgrade in status, let's move from here first."

"Yeah, let's go, Itsuki-san."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It has been more than two days since we were thrown here.

After that fray, we fought a few more of them.

They were handled rather easily. Because when they attacked us, Akane used her psychokinesis to stop them, but they were still overpowered enough to wade through more than 25,000N force stopping them, but at least it was enough to slow them down, enough for me to aim accurately.

I simply invoked my <DISINTEGRATE> on them and, they were removed from existence.

We have only 1 slice of sandwich and a few more gulps of water left. 

We haven't even crossed one floor, and all our food supplies are nearly exhausted. Hunger and thirst can dull our minds which could be fatal in this dungeon, but this much is still bearable.

I don't know when we could get out of this shitty dungeon.

The only thing we are assured of is that we aren't circling around a single spot because if we were, then there won't be a change of view every few turns or so.

It has been more than 11 hours since the last encounter with Arachnes.

This has been the longest interval without any fight.

There are three things that I can think of as the reason that why they aren't popping out.

First, this dungeon has extremely large floors that's why their density is too low.

Second, they saw what I did to their kin and are now hiding from us. If this is the real reason then it could be dangerous, because if they use stealth attacks on us to kill us for their defence, then our chances to survive will decrease even more than it already is.

Or third, their population was too low, to begin with. I mean they are Arachnes, they were known to be among the strongest fictitious creatures back in my old world, so that might be plausible.

.

.

After walking for two more hours in a not so wide path or simply a tunnel, we finally reached an open area or a big room like area.

"Hm, this place has a dome-shaped ceiling with various glowing colours of gems and stones. Reminds me quite a bit of a clear night's sky."

"It is relatively brighter than all of the dungeon that we have travelled till now, isn't it Akane-san?"

At the very opposite to the direction from where we entered, a majestic gate is present. It has various carvings and jewels embedded in it. Above the gate, a particularly large emerald stone is ingrained on the wall.

"That large gate is probably the entrance to the Boss room, I think."

"This door gives me ominous feeling, Itsuki-kun!" Akane-san whispers in my ear.

It gave me shivers. I shudder, then whisper back in her ear and tell her to not whisper in my ear.

She giggled and then smiled quietly.

"Honestly, I never thought you will be this lively as you were the quietest kid in our class, you know."

"Ahaha~ is that so?... huh!? What are those Itsuki-kun?" frowning, she pointed towards a pair of skeletons sitting in the farther left from us.

They were placed side by side with the wall supporting their back.

So, we found them, huh.

Humans.

Well, Human skeletons, to be exact.