— « One last charge! »
Kenzo's shout cracked through the chamber like an order to survive, leaving no room for argument. It was no longer a strategy. It was a tipping point, a line they had crossed. Seconds or minutes had passed—he no longer knew. All he knew was that they had been standing inside this hell of silk, blood, screams, and impacts, enduring a creature that belonged to a rank above anything they had faced before, a rank that made everything else seem insignificant. And now they had to force an ending. Fast. Right now. Before Madame collapsed. Before Lucian broke. Before Kenzo himself lost control of his body under the pain, exhaustion, and constant strain of [Serpent], which gnawed at his mind like an invisible poison.
Madame understood first. Even mutilated, even with four legs torn away, she moved in front of the two boys, her massive body sagging slightly, her remaining limbs trembling but ready to strike. She breathed badly, each inhale sounding as though it cut through her from the inside, as though the air itself had become too heavy for her lungs. Yet she did not retreat. The Unstable spider, black with a white back and golden-tipped legs, almost seemed to savor the sight. It had no reason to rush. It knew. It knew they were close to breaking. Its presence alone weighed on the entire chamber, as though the webbed floor tightened beneath its authority, as though even the air belonged to it.
Kenzo pushed [Serpent] harder without restraint. The deeper he drew on it, the faster his reactions became, but the more violently his head spun, as if his brain could no longer keep pace with the speed he was forcing upon his body. Pressure built behind his eyes, accompanied by a sick heat inside his skull, and he knew he was approaching a dangerous limit. He needed this to end. He had to finish it, then run to help Ophelia, because with Naty battered against the wall of webbing, Ophelia was probably facing Sir James alone now. Kenzo tightened his grip around White Fang, his fingers slick with blood, and stared at the Unstable spider with cold hatred.
Lucian was crying. Not quietly. Tears streamed down his cheeks, trembling before falling onto his white tunic, mixing with sweat and the countless shallow cuts carved into his skin by the force of the attacks. He was hurt. He was terrified. And yet he kept moving forward. Every time he dodged, he shouted as though forcing something out of his own body, as though tearing the fear from his throat. And whenever an opening appeared, he struck. Not randomly. Wherever his power showed him weakness. Wherever Madame had already damaged the shell. Wherever a joint trembled. Wherever the creature's balance could be broken. He was not as fluid as Kenzo, nor as instinctive, but his dodges worked and his blade found the right places. It was as though his mind had finally awakened in the middle of the nightmare, accepting that he would never leave this chamber alive if all he did was run.
The Unstable spider lunged at Kenzo. He felt it before he saw it. The floor trembled beneath the push of its legs, the webbing tightened, the air seemed to freeze for a fraction of a second, and then one golden limb came down on him like a guillotine. Kenzo was about to dodge when he immediately understood that even with [Serpent], the space was too narrow, the angle too cruel, and the shockwave too powerful.
Madame stepped in front of him.
Head-on.
The impact was brutal. A sharp, almost metallic crack rang through the chamber as the entire room trembled and the webbed floor split into long streaks. Madame was driven half a meter backward, digging her remaining limbs into the silk to keep herself from collapsing.
She took the hit.
Again.
Even though she should not have been able to.
Even though every impact brought her closer to the end.
That interception gave Kenzo exactly what he needed.
An opening.
He slipped beneath the spider, using the angle created by its leg being caught against Madame. His body nearly glided over the silk, his footing light, his sword drawing a white line through the darkness. He struck the creature's abdomen, searching for softer tissue, trying to open it, make it bleed, create a wound too painful to ignore.
White Fang bit into it.
But not enough.
Not deep enough.
A black gash opened and dark fluid began to flow, but the shell did not give way the way Kenzo had hoped. The spider screamed, a piercing sound that shook the ceiling of webbing, and its whole body contracted violently.
Lucian saw the opening.
He did not hesitate.
He screamed as he struck, pouring everything he had into a single blow. Where Kenzo's cut had failed to go deep enough, Lucian chose a leg—one where his power showed him a glaring flaw, a weakness begging to be exploited.
His blade came down.
A clean crack followed.
Horrible.
Satisfying.
The leg was severed.
It dropped onto the webbed floor with a dull thud, like a branch torn from a tree. The Unstable spider lurched to the side, losing its balance for a fraction of a second.
Only an instant.
But in a fight like this, an instant was a miracle.
Kenzo found himself behind it. His temples throbbed and his balance wavered, but [Serpent] compensated, forcing his body to remain precise despite the exhaustion and pain. He saw the spider lower itself to recover its footing, and the idea struck him instantly.
Climb.
Just like Madame.
He had done it dozens of times without thinking, out of habit. This creature was larger, more violent, more dangerous, but the principle was the same.
Kenzo jumped.
His boots landed on the black carapace.
It vibrated beneath him, alive and slick. The spider was already thrashing to throw him off, but Kenzo ran. He sprinted across its back as though running along a branch in the middle of a storm, focused entirely on balance, angle, and trajectory. A violent jolt tried to shake him loose, but [Serpent] corrected his footing almost instantly.
Then he jumped.
And drove White Fang into the spider's head.
The blade went in.
Not shallowly.
Deep.
He felt the resistance of the shell, then the breakthrough, then something softer underneath.
The spider went wild.
It twisted.
Convulsed.
Thrashed in impossible directions.
Kenzo nearly lost his grip. His shoulder screamed. His fingers burned. His skull spun so violently that the world blurred around him.
But he held on.
He planted his legs against the carapace, locked both hands around the hilt, and pushed.
Madame drove her remaining limbs into the creature as well, almost as if supporting him, pinning the spider against the floor. She struck again and again despite her ragged breathing, despite her wounds, despite the legs she had lost.
Lucian approached too.
Shaking.
Crying.
But determined.
He drove his own sword into the spider's head, exactly where his power showed him the weakness, exactly where he knew the fight had to end.
Both boys screamed.
Not heroic cries.
Cries of pain.
Rage.
Fear.
The screams of two teenagers refusing to die.
— « Die! » Lucian screamed, his voice broken and desperate.
— « DIE! » Kenzo roared, barely recognizing his own voice.
Kenzo felt White Fang sink deeper until there was no resistance left.
The spider convulsed.
Its scream choked off.
Its massive body trembled one final time.
Then it collapsed.
For a moment, it felt as though the entire chamber finally exhaled.
Silence fell all at once, so sudden it almost felt wrong.
Kenzo slid to the floor, his breathing ragged, his body barely responding. His vision blurred. His head spun so violently that he had to brace one hand against the webbing just to keep himself upright.
He did not even have time to feel relieved.
He could not afford to.
He forced himself back to his feet and immediately looked toward the other side of the chamber.
Ophelia.
Naty.
Sir James.
He had to move.
Fast.
Before...
And that was when something appeared.