The lower decks of the skyport stretched like a forgotten maze beneath the city.
Iron beams crisscrossed overhead, dripping with condensation.
The air was thick and damp, filled with the sour stench of rust, oil, and something older — a faint metallic tang that clung to the back of the throat.
Steam hissed from ruptured pipes, coiling lazily through the narrow walkways like ghostly serpents.
Shadows pooled in the corners, shifting when no one moved.
Somewhere deeper in the dark, a chain rattled, followed by a sound that might have been dripping water… or something else.
Lucien moved ahead. His boots struck the grating in steady rhythm — measured, calm.
Behind him, Cassian and the Silver Fangs followed close, weapons drawn but low.
Rook muttered under his breath, “If this place gets any creepier, I’m turning back.”
Leila shot him a look. “No, you won’t.”
He sighed. “Yeah. I won’t.”
Grey paused at an intersection, crouching low. “Tracks,” he said quietly. “Multiple.”
Cassian knelt beside him, tracing the marks with a gloved hand. The metal floor was smeared with dark streaks — something half-dried, half-fresh.
“Blood,” he murmured.
Lucien narrowed his eyes, then pushed on.
They followed the trail deeper into the underdeck.
The path opened into a wide service bay — a cavern of iron and shadow. Empty crates lay overturned. A single overhead fan turned lazily, squealing with each rotation.
Then Kael stopped. “There,” he said.
Hanging from one of the support beams was an eight-legged creature, large as a cow but lifeless, swaying gently in the draft.
“That’s a big-ass spider,” Rook whispered.
Two more dead spiders lay nearby, their bodies pierced by arrows and sword cuts.
Rook took a hesitant step forward. “Looks like Dimitri started the party without us.”
A sound cut him off.
A low scrape. Then another.
From the darkness beyond the bay, something moved — fast and quiet, metal claws scraping faintly against the floor.
Lucien straightened, his voice calm but sharp. “Positions.”
The group spread out, weapons drawn. For a heartbeat, the world held still — only the hiss of steam and the slow spin of the fan above.
Then a shadow peeled itself from the wall. And another.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCRcHEUyVW
And another.
Eight-legged figures crept forward, their movements fluid and silent, eyes glowing faintly green in the half-light.
Rook’s voice came out as a whisper. “Why are there so many giant spiders down here?”
The question barely left his lips before a shrill, chittering hiss echoed from the dark.
Grey’s lantern flickered once — then the ceiling moved.
Dozens of pale shapes crawled along the beams above, their long legs clicking against iron.
Thread-thin strands of silk hung down like pale roots, glistening faintly in the light.
“Incoming!” Kael shouted.
The first spider dropped, landing hard enough to rattle the floor.
Kael’s blade was already moving — a clean arc of steel that split the creature down the middle.
Black ichor hissed as it struck the ground, smoking where it touched metal.
“Acidic — maybe even poisonous,” Leila warned as another lunged.
Cassian met it mid-leap, driving his sword through its eye.
The creature shrieked — a sound so sharp it made Rook flinch — before collapsing in a twitching heap.
Leila fired a bolt, striking another as it crawled along the wall. It thrashed, legs spasming, before falling into the shadows below.
Lucien raised his hand, golden light flaring between his fingers.
A sphere of heat burst outward — not fire, but pure radiance — lighting the entire bay in a blinding flash.
For a moment, they all saw.
The ceiling, the walls, the air — covered in webbing.
Dozens of bloated shapes clung to the far end of the chamber, half hidden in silk. Some were spider corpses. Others… hard to tell.
“Holy Mother of Gods…” Rook muttered.
Then—footsteps. Figures emerged from the dark.
“Your Highness!”
It was Dimitri and the city guards — battered, covered in grime, but alive.
Lucien’s expression softened with relief. “Is everyone all right?”
Dimitri staggered forward, panting. “They came out of nowhere, my prince. But we managed to fight them off. No casualties.”
Lucien nodded once. “Good work. Fall back with us — we’re clearing the nest.”
Dimitri glanced toward the far end of the chamber, where the webbing was thickest.
“It’s worse down there,” he warned. “Whole sections collapsed under the weight of it.”
Lucien drew in a slow breath, the glow from his hand fading. “Then we’ll start there.”
He turned to Kael. “Take the left flank with Rook. Leila, cover them. Cassian, with me. Grey — eyes sharp.”
“Understood,” Kael said.
The group advanced, boots crunching over layers of dried silk and scattered shells. The air grew heavier, the stench of decay clinging to every breath.
The fan above gave one last creak and stopped. The silence that followed was suffocating.
Then the web shifted.
Something moved inside it — slow, deliberate. The threads trembled as if breathing.
“Cut it down,” Lucien ordered.
Kael swung first. His blade sliced through the nearest sheet of silk, tearing it away. Behind it — more bodies, wrapped tight. Some human, some not.
Leila grimaced. “Looks like there are more victims than the mayor thought.”
Rook’s voice dropped. “Let’s hope we don’t end up like them.”
The next moment, the web exploded outward.
A spider burst through, larger than any before — armored in black chitin, its fangs slick with venom. It lunged straight for Lucien.
But Lucien was faster — a flash of gold. His sword cleaved through the spider’s head, splitting it cleanly in two. The body hit the floor with a wet crack.
“Keep moving,” he said coldly. “Eyes open.”
The group pressed deeper.
Two more spiders dropped from the ceiling — one impaled by Leila’s bolt midair, the other tackled by Kael and Grey together.
Black ichor splattered across the floor, sizzling as it hit the metal.
Leila reloaded, eyes darting toward the far wall. “Your Highness — movement, twelve o’clock!”
From the shadows, a much larger mass stirred. The web trembled violently this time — and then, with a horrible ripping sound, it emerged.
A shape stepped out from the shadows.
She was part woman, part monster.
Her upper body looked human — pale skin, long silver hair hanging in tangled strands, eyes glowing green like fire.
But below her waist, she was a spider — huge, black, and armored, her eight legs clicking against the iron floor as she moved.
Her body was glossy like glass, each joint sharp enough to cut steel.
The air smelled of silk and blood. She held long threads between her hands, spinning them slowly, almost playfully.
When she spoke, her voice was soft — almost gentle, but laced with mockery.
“Tell me,” she said, tilting her head slightly, “is it normal for your kind to barge into another’s home uninvited?”
The group froze.
Rook’s mouth fell open. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Leila drew in a sharp breath, crossbow trembling slightly in her grip. “That’s—an Arachne.”
The creature tilted her head slightly, studying them with a strange, almost human curiosity.
Her many eyes blinked in slow succession, each glinting faintly in the dim light. Then her gaze fixed on Lucien.
“Hmm…” she murmured, a faint smile curving her lips. “You smell… different.”
At once, Cassian, Grey, and Kael stepped forward, placing themselves between Lucien and the creature.
None said a word, but the tension in their movements spoke volumes — shoulders tight, hands clenched around their weapons, every muscle ready to strike.
“Arrows!” Dimitri shouted, his voice echoing through the metal chamber.
The city guards raised their crossbows in unison, aiming toward the Arachne. Bolts clicked into place, the sound sharp in the thick, heavy air.
The creature’s eyes narrowed. Her lips curled into a thin, amused smile.
“Humans…” she whispered. “Always so eager to die.”139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdEbArQkujf
She spread her arms slightly. “Very well. Let us dance.”
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