Chapter 32: Spider Bit*h
The group arrived at the last door on the second floor. They didn't have much trouble exploring the second floor, other than the room with the tied-up noble. Everything else was the same old. Mimic shadows, people in paintings, and empty rooms occupied by nothing but dust. The door in front of them looked like any other; nothing stuck out from it.
“By process of elimination, this has to be the boss's room.”
Mia said, rolling her shoulders. Risa tightens her grip on her staff, while Frenley swings his sword around.
“If you could do us the honors, darling.”
Frenley said softly, to which Mia nodded her head. She readies her shield and hammer, walking softly to the door. Her right hand grabbed the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door with all of her strength. She held her shield close to her body as she stepped in. But all they found was a painting room, multiple paintings, and empty canvases around. Cans of paint fell over, and their colorful contents spilled all over the wooden floor.
Painting supplies are scattered all around. But the most eyecatching thing is the large painting in the middle of the room. Depicting a soft, pristine green field, a simple wooden house sits on top of a hill. A calming aura washes over them as they look at the painting. A soft place where they can settle down and make dreams into reality.
They all entered the room and took a singular step closer to the painting. The soft, warm breeze of spring tickles their skin. The sound of birds and animals grazed their ears. The smell of a home-cooked meal awaits them. Risa was the first to stop, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the painting. Frenley was the second one to stop. His grip on his sword becomes tighter.
Mia was the last one to stop, as she looked at the figure waiting for her next to the house. It was a mixture of Frenley and Risa. An abomination that had all of their features but none of the charm or soul. Trying to entice her into the painting.
“Ugh, does anyone else see the fuck up figure?” The tall woman said, not looking away from the figure as she tightened her grip on her hammer.
“Yep, mine is a bad mixture of you two; you would expect that something that is basically you two mixed together will be breathtaking. But nope, horrible.” Frenley said as he brushed his hair to the side.
“It doesn't even have any of you guys' good features, poor and shitty imitation,” Risa said with some poison in her tone. “I say get ready, babes, I played enough games to know this will summon the boss.”
“Yep, love if you could do us the favor,” Mia said as she stepped back and got ready.
“Anything for you two.”
Frenley walked up to the painting, ignoring the lifelike painting in front of him as he pushed his sword into it and dragged it across. Drawing a large open wound on the painting. The room started to shake as the painting lost its magic. It was only then that Frenley realized the painting was made of skin, not paper.
The room started to shake, groaning and moaning as it expanded. The walls broke and melted into flesh. From the ceiling came the large beating of a heart. The group found themselves next to a wall of fire; the painting that had once been in the middle of the room had changed into the grotesque form of the butler who had run away. His skin was pulled apart. His eyes were gone, blood dripping out of the eye sockets.
His organs were still fresh and alive, his intestines wiggled around like snakes. His heart beat as if it were not exposed to the elements. His lungs rose and fell as he breathed in. Risa and Frenley could not hold back their stomach, as they vomited. Mia fought the nausea as hard as she could, but once the smell of vomit and the sounds that came from it hit her, she was done. She bent over and emptied the contents of her stomach on the floor.
From behind the stretched-out butler came two large spider legs. Then, more and more legs as a figure reveals itself to them. A half-human, half-spider creature. The human was a beautiful woman, her golden locks flowing from her head and down her naked body.
The spider half was black with hairs sticking out of its legs. Its abdomen was large and fat like that of a tarantula. The Arachne fully moved over the still-breathing butler. Her nails are long and bloody like the claws of a beast. Her arms were painted with red gore up to her elbows. One hand carries a knife, and the other holds a palette holding bright, distinct, and almost mythical colors.
The spider woman looked at the party as they finished vomiting. Cleaning their mouths as they got ready for a fight.
“So you three must be the ones the butler talked about.. How rude of you all to come into my house. Ruin my party, and break my paintings! Didn't your mothers teach you how to behave?”
She spoke with madness in her tone as she threw the palette and knife away. The trio stayed quiet as they looked at the arachne. She continued to talk, as the sound of things crawling around started to enter their ears.
“But fear not, I will put you three to use. I shall use your love, lust, and flesh to create my magnum opus. Something that can be spoken about for the rest of time. Life captured in paint!”
The woman said with a mad laugh as she snapped her fingers, and the room became fully illuminated. On top of the ceiling, hang a large beating heart. Made of flesh, bone, stone, and wood. Large arteries and veins grew out of the heart and penetrated the ceiling.
From the holes of the flesh and wood walls, crawled out spiders. Larger than their torsos. Risa smashed the rim of her shield with her hammer as she charged at the spider woman. The spider woman hissed at the charging woman and tried to attack Mia with one of her long spider legs.
Mia settles her feet in the ground and tanks the shot, groaning as she's pushed back a few inches. From behind a moonlight shard, an attack lands on the human torso of the spider woman. A small icy wound was left on her pale skin. The spiders finally got close to them, and Frenley pressed his left hand on his chest as he cast his new spell.
Inside him, a fire was lit; his muscles filled with energy. His breath became the smoke of a coal engine. Frenley swings his sword around him as two spiders jump at him. His sword cut through them like they were butter. The corpses fell down next to him as he charged at the spider woman.
“Try to ignore the spiders! Focus on the big bitch!” Frenley said as he arrived next to Mia, he swung his sword at one of the spider's legs. His sword bounces right off, leaving behind but a small cut in the chitin armor.
“WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BITCH!?”
The spider woman screamed in rage as she moved her hands; soon, a large shadow hand emerged from beneath her. The hand tries to slash Frenley in half, but the man was quick on his feet, dodging the attack and causing it to miss. Mia takes a step in as she delivers an attack to the same spot Frenley hit. Her hammer shook the spider's leg.
From behind them, Risa dodges an attack from the large spiders as she spins her staff around and places the butt of it against the floor. Her eyes focus on the large shadow cast by the spider woman. Soon, from beneath the arachne, three shadow tentacles attacked the same leg.
The shadow tentacles open the wound that Frenley did even more. Weakening the armor and letting a drop of red blood spill out. The spider woman rages at the party as she summons more spiders from the walls. The new spiders all rushed in towards Risa, the kitsune not fast enough to dodge all the attacks, and one of them landed on her back. Its fangs pierce Risa's shoulder and draw blood.
Mia teleported next to Risa as she hit the spider off her female lover. The spider hits one of the walls, splatting into guts, chitin, and blood. The tall woman protected Risa as she got up. That left Frenley all alone with the spider woman. He dodges her spider legs' attacks, sometimes blocking them. The spider woman's face became redder and redder as she moved her hands once more. She took a couple of steps back as she let the shadow spears grow from the ground.
Frenley tries to dodge all of the magical shadow spears, but he miscalculated the range of the spears. As two of them get impaled into his left arm and stomach. Frenley coughs up blood as the shadow spears disappear after a few seconds. Frenley aimed his left hand at the wounded spider leg.
Casting his season bolt, the bolt exploded on the same small wound the party had been working towards. The chitin armor exploded, revealing soft tissue, with red blood spilling out. The leg grew weaker as the spider woman tried not to put as much weight on it. Frenley rushed in, not caring for his wounds as he cut the open wound. His sword passed through the soft flesh and severed the leg of the spider.
The fallen leg hits the floor. Causing the woman to scream in pain as she tries to slam her spider body into Frenley. But before he could be sent flying, Mia teleports back in. Her shield blocked the attack. Her arm broke under the force of the attack.
“Dear!!”
Frenley pushed Mia out of the way so she could dodge the following spider leg attack. But all he did was take her place, as the spider leg pierced his stomach. Blood flowed out of his mouth and from the newly opened wound. Fren felt blood not reaching his brain as his body slowly became cold. The spider removed its leg from its body, as Risa attacked it with another shadow attack.
Weakening the joint of the spider leg. Mia stood in front of Frenley, her arm slowly healing as the potion took effect. Frenley falls to the ground, his hands reaching for his pouch and taking out a healing potion. He was able to place the healing potion in his mouth before he blacked out.
Energy enters his brain once more as light returns to his eyes. His wounds heal in record time as he stands up and goes invisible. He rushed to the new wounded leg as Mia tanks the attacks, both magical and mundane. But each attack pushed a couple of inches. With new spiders occupying the room for each one they killed.
Frenley steps on one of the spiders, killing it as he aims his sword down with speed and strength of the sinful fire on the weakened spider joint. The sword digs deep, cutting more of the joint and allowing red blood to flow. His invisibility drops as he aims his left hand at the leg; the season bolt hits the weakened joint, causing it to explode. The spider's leg falls down as more red blood leaves the spider woman.
The spider woman rages as she jumps away from the party, her hands gathering the shadows around them. The party tries to keep an eye out for the spider woman's attack, but the smaller spiders are taking up their attention. As they smash them or dodge their attacks.
The spider woman finishes charging up and claps her hands. Soon, spiderwebs made of shadows appear all over the room, limiting their range of movement even more. Risa clicks her tongue as she gets trapped in one of the spider webs, her left hand not budging out of the sticky silk. This allowed one of the spiders to bite her leg as she pulled her arm off the spider web.
Risa crushed the spider with the butt of her staff. Drinking her only health potion, as the wounds didn't close, and more blood rushed out of them. The healing potion closed up her wounds as she turned to face a large shadow spear aimed at her.