Chapter 20
An upper-rank demon, Arachne.
They were hunters who used their own threads to set traps and eat people.
Humans considered Arachnes dangerous because they attacked people with cunning, and classified them as upper-rank demons.
In other words, Arachnes were classified as upper-rank demons because they set traps, not because they were inherently that strong.
Once again, Arachne had planted a fake quest with the Adventurers' Guild so she could lure people into a trap and eat them.
Her plan was to draw strong-looking humans into the forest where the orcs lived, then ambush them when their guard was down.
If only some lunatic bitch hadn't fired a laser out of nowhere.
“Kyeeeek!!!”
Arachne was furious that her puppetry had been exposed.
She immediately revealed her four pairs of legs, showing off her beautiful form.
Her upper body was human.
Her lower body was a spider's.
“Ew! That's so gross, I can't look!”
……What?
“Ghk, you bitch! Have you ever thought about how insulting it is for a demon to hear you call her gross over and over?”
Arachne was one of the prettier demons.
Proud of her own beautiful appearance, she couldn't let such a vulgar insult from that bitch slide.
“What are you talking about? Don't you own a mirror? Ugh! Look at all that hair on your body!”
If an ugly woman had said that, Arachne might have let it go.
But Yubel's looks were those of a Demon King of Lust.
Her goddess-like beauty was more than enough to stir Arachne's jealousy.
“Graaaah!!! Fine! I'll use those horns of yours as a tonic! Dieeeee!!”
Whooosh!!
A spider leg swung hard at Yubel's face.
“Huh?”
Kagagak——!
Se-on wasn't about to stand by and watch.
Se-on raised his longsword to block the leg.
“Yubel! Stay back! Riella, cover me!”
“Okay!”
“Nice, I can just watch.”
Crack.
“Kyeek!! I'll kill you!!!”
Arachne's legs lashed out wildly.
She brought them down with as much murderous intent as she could muster.
But Se-on blocked them without much difficulty.
“Kik!?”
Arachne was badly shaken by the sight.
She'd shouted that she was going to kill them all, but she was actually in a pretty difficult spot.
As mentioned earlier, Arachne specialized in setting traps with her webs. In a head-on fight, she could barely use half her true abilities.
Besides, demons grew stronger the longer they lived.
Arachne hadn't lived very long yet.
That left her in a difficult situation.
She hadn't even accumulated much mana, and now she had to fight head-on!
Arachne's gaze turned to Yubel.
If only that bitch weren't here!!!
***
Meanwhile, that bitch was watching the fight from behind while munching on jerky.
“Why are they fighting like that?”
She even offered advice as she watched.
Nothing was more fun than giving advice about a fight you knew absolutely nothing about.
Patter, patter, patter.
In the middle of the fight, Riella came over to Yubel.
“Yubeel!! I can't fight without a bow……”
Since Yubel had stopped her from picking up her bow, Riella had lost it.
But shameless Yubel had forgotten all about that.
What?
Why are you coming to me?
What do you expect me to do?
So all she could do was criticize Riella in her thoughts.
Tsk, you're completely useless.
And you're supposed to be the Hero's party's archer?
“Hey, go use your spirit magic or something. That thing looks like it'd burn really well.”
“Oh! That's right! Yubel really is a genius!”
Scamper!
Riella hurried back toward the battlefield.
What if the Hero died? Honestly.
Hmm, but wouldn't that be good for me?
No, still, deliberately killing someone is a bit much……
Thinking that, Yubel reached for the jerky.
Waving her hand around.
“Huh?”
Yubel went to grab some more jerky, but the spot where she'd been eating was empty.
On a hunch, she looked toward Riella and saw her holding the jerky while setting the spiderwebs on fire.
“Damn it! That pig!”
Yubel was angry that her food had been stolen.
But the jerky was already gone.
Going to get it back felt like too much trouble.
“Ugh, I guess I'll just sleep until it's over……”
At that moment, Yubel saw it.
The Hero, fighting with a massive erection.
At that awful sight, Yubel……
No, fuck.
Seriously, that's disgusting.
Of course, she swore.
Monster fucker? No, demon fucker?
You get turned on by something like that?
It's not like your dick has an anger-management problem.
Unfortunately, Se-on couldn't help getting an erection whenever he used Adrenaline.
But nobody had noticed this.
Not even Se-on himself, while using the skill.
And Yubel didn't know that Hero skills could be used during battle.
She thought they were only for lewd stuff, so it never occurred to her that they could be used in a fight.
“Ugh, I should just fight too.”
Arachne was gross, but Yubel was worried Riella would see the Hero like that and get all lewd.
Didn't bitches get horny and start panting just from seeing a man's dick in porn videos?
Yubel thought someone as much of a bitch as Riella might well be susceptible.
Last time, she got all worked up just from being close to the Hero.
Honestly, you horny idiots.
Yubel had forgotten that she'd just been in heat over Se-on herself.
Clang! Clang! Slash!
The battlefield was filled with Arachne's creepy legs and sticky webs.
In the middle of all that chaos, Yubel jumped in.
“Y-Yubel? We're still fighting!”
“Oh, shut up and keep fighting, you filthy bastard!”
What? Why……
Se-on felt wronged, but for now he focused on the enemy in front of him again.
The demon didn't seem to have much combat experience.
Even so, she was no pushover.
Slash——!
The spiderwebs cracked through the air.
“Tch, I'll block it—”
“Burn them all!”
Fwoosh!
Riella's spirit magic burned the webs raining down on them.
“I'll handle the webs!”
“Got it!”
“Spirit, please!”
When Riella called out into the air, a curtain of flames sprang up, burning the webs and holding Arachne back.
“Kyeek!! You annoying bitch!”
Whoom! Whoom!
Arachne tried to put out the flames with her legs, but it was no use.
Spirit fire wasn't going to go out just because she tried that.
“Kyeeeek!!!!”
Shrrr-shrrr-shrrr-shrrr!
In an instant, an enormous amount of web burst from Arachne's body.
“W-What is that?”
Instead of putting out the flames, Arachne had chosen to move them aside with her webs.
“Kihehe! I'll kill you all!”
As the wall of flames opened a path, Arachne charged toward the Hero's party.
Whoom! Swoosh!
Arachne swung her hook-like legs wildly.
As befitted an upper-rank demon, she was anything but slow.
[Adrenaline]
When he used the skill, the legs that had been invisible to the naked eye gradually came into view.
Left!
Clang!
Right!
Kagagak——!
A shock that felt like it would break his wrist coursed through his whole body.
Even blocking the blows sent a shock through him that felt like it was injuring his insides.
Just then, he felt an explosive heat behind him.
“Burn to ashes!”
Fwoooosh, boom!
Along with Riella's voice, a massive fireball swallowed Arachne's upper body.
“Kyeek!! You bitch!!! Aaaagh!!!!”
Sizzle——!
A horrible stench rose from her burning body.
Arachne screamed and twisted around like she was dancing.
Se-on didn't let the opening pass him by.
An opening!
Thump!
A heavy sensation.
The longsword pierced her chest.
“Kreeeeek!! You slippery bastards!!!”
The blade had entered the area around her heart.
Just as he thought it was over—
Squeeze!
“Huh?”
The longsword lodged in her heart wouldn't come out.
Arachne's muscles had clamped down around it.
A strange smile spread across Arachne's lips.
“Kekeke! Dieeeee!!”
Swoosh!!
Her two massive front legs flew toward Se-on's defenseless head.
The attack seemed to move in slow motion to Se-on.
As if his life were flashing before his eyes.
Was her heart not a weakness?
Or had he failed to land a decisive blow?
Was his longsword dull?
Those thoughts were meaningless now.
A black shadow loomed in front of him.
Just as he squeezed his eyes shut and braced for the pain—
Pow!!
“Kyeeeeeek!!”
With an ear-splitting boom, Arachne's front legs snapped in midair.
A beam of mana had hit her directly.
“Hey! Hurry up and get out of there!”
Yubel's scream rang out.
Had she saved his life again?
Tatat!
“Th-thanks…… You saved me!”
Se-on let go of his longsword and hurried away.
Yubel's face, however, was stiff.
“Hey! You have to bring your sword! Who's supposed to tank for us?”
“Ah.”
Se-on's longsword was still dangling from Arachne's chest.
But I can't pull it out……
Se-on made excuses to himself.
-What's going on over there!
Just then, a human voice came from far away.
A group of men who looked like adventurers were approaching from that direction.
Seeing the adventurers, Yubel shouted in her heart.
Oh, meat shields!
Yubel's expression brightened again.
-Huh.
The adventurers saw Arachne and started to turn around.
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
Yubel shouted, but they'd already hidden themselves.
Oh, seriously.
“Kreeek…… Kill, kill, kill……!”
Arachne began targeting Yubel, who had fired the beam of mana.
Even forgetting that Riella was burning her body, she slowly began to approach Yubel.
At the sight, Yubel began to agonize over what to do.
Tch, I guess I have no choice.
“Haa, that's the only way…… Hey!”
“Hm?”
“Look over here, quick!”
When Se-on glanced over, Yubel was lifting her skirt again, just like last time.
“N-No! You mustn't do that, Yubel!”
Se-on didn't want to defile innocent Yubel.
She had no idea what she was doing meant.
And it would be difficult to explain it to someone so easily embarrassed.
Just as he tried to cover his eyes so he wouldn't see Yubel—
Hop!
Yubel jumped onto Se-on's face!
Yubel's lower body came close in an instant.
“Mmph!!”
With his face buried between Yubel's legs, Se-on tried to pull her off at once.
“Just look already!”
But Yubel was faster, shoving Se-on's head under her skirt.
Yubel's crotch was pressed against Se-on's face.
“N-No……”
And then Se-on saw it.
Yubel's sacred, beautiful, male-stimulating, sexy black panties……
“There!”
Yubel had succeeded in seducing the Hero.
A tremendous amount of mana began to overflow from Yubel's body.
Along with the Demon King's demonic energy.
Freeze.
Arachne stopped in her tracks.
“W-What is this…… this aura……!”
The rage that had been burning in her turned to bewilderment in an instant.
Even as an upper-rank demon, she'd never felt demonic energy this immense in her life.
And there was an oppressive feeling, as if she were being crushed by something enormous.
She could feel it coming from that bitch.
At the same time, one possibility came to mind.
Could this power be…… the Demon King?
“Now die!!! You disgusting bastard!”
At some point, a tremendous beam of demonic energy was already shooting toward her.
A black beam that looked as if it could swallow everything.
It was nothing compared to the real Demon King, but the density of that demonic energy was unmistakably the Demon King's power.
“Graaaah!!!! You……! No, could you be……!!!”
Kwooooom!!!!
Arachne had realized for the first time that Yubel was the Demon King, and she had to pay the price for it.
Sizzle……
“……”
Arachne was gone without a trace.
Riella, who'd been working hard to burn Arachne with her spirit, stared blankly at the spot.
Her mouth fell open.
“W-Wow!! Yubel, you're incredible! How did you do that? I thought you were weak and useless until now! You're amazing!!”
Hop, hop.
Riella bounced up and down, celebrating their victory.
“Now, get down……”
Meanwhile, Se-on was depressed at the thought that he'd defiled Yubel again.
“Ahem! Praise me more!”
Yubel was entranced by her own power.
She didn't even realize Riella had subtly insulted her.
[Hehe……]
Twitch.
“?”
What was that just now?
After using her power, she suddenly felt something stir inside her.
Like a lock inside her had come undone? Or maybe an emotion?
Whatever it was, it didn't feel good.
-Woooow! You're incredible!
“Huh?”
The adventurers who'd run away came rushing back.
Suddenly joining in with Riella's praise.
Wait, you bastards?
“Wow! So you were the Hero's party! As expected! Your incredible magic nearly made us faint! And Mage, you're so beautiful! Even the Goddess would have to admit you outshine her!”
“Archmage!” “Peerless beauty!” “Archmage!”
The adventurers began praising Yubel.
But that didn't mean Yubel would just forgive them for abandoning her.
This is ridiculous.
They'd just run away without even looking back.
But why does this feel so good?
“A-Ahem. Really?”
Yubel had never received flattery like this in her life, and she didn't know how to handle it.
Foolish Yubel seemed to have forgotten that the adventurers had abandoned her.
The trio of adventurers didn't miss their chance.
“So, would you join us in conquering a dungeon? With the Hero's party along, there's nothing to fear!”
“A dungeon?”
The Hero reacted.
“Y-Yes! We recently found a dungeon! Well, it has some…… unusual traps, so it's difficult for us to take it on ourselves. That's why we're asking for your help! Of course, you can have all the rewards! We just want to gain some experience.”
The Hero looked thoughtful.
Yubel felt uneasy again.
“Then, we can go together—”
“No!!”
Yubel cut Se-on off.
“Didn't you hear them? They said there are traps! Who knows what could happen!”
Yubel snapped, fuming.
But Se-on wanted to go to the dungeon.
He'd heard dungeons held all kinds of rare equipment.
If he could replace the longsword that had gotten stuck in Arachne with better gear, he wanted to go to the dungeon right away.
Is Yubel angry because she's worried about me again?
But I'm just as worried about Yubel.
If Yubel, who'd already been tormented by the orcs, ran into trouble again……
Ugh, even imagining it was horrifying.
“Yubel. If you're okay with it, Riella and I can go alone. We can leave the traps to Riella.”
Riella was the Hero's party's scout, so the traps wouldn't be a problem.
With that in mind, he cautiously suggested that Yubel take a break.
But Yubel heard it differently.
Drag Riella into a dungeon and leave her to all those perverted traps?
And without me?
This world was a game world.
Most dungeon traps existed to raise the heroines' lewdness levels.
And some traps designed to raise lewdness could destroy a person's mind.
If a heroine fell into one of those traps, she might not be able to live a normal life anymore.
To think he'd do something like that to Riella just for skill points.
Riella's in danger.
The Hero looked at me with a calm expression, as if it didn't bother him at all.
Even if this was a game, how could someone be so cruel?
Was he an emotionless psychopath who didn't even bat an eye at this sort of thing?
“Seriously…… what a lunatic……”
“Hm? What did you say, Yubel?”
“Ah! I'll go! Fine, I'll go!”
“O-Okay. Got it, Yubel.”
Yubel rejected the suggestion, apparently unhappy with the idea of resting.
Well, kind and caring Yubel would never leave a companion behind and stay behind to rest by herself.
Yubel seemed embarrassed about worrying for him, so she turned her head away.
The way she did it reminded him of a cute cat, and the corners of his mouth lifted before he knew it.
This time, I'll grow strong enough to protect you.
Just wait a little longer, Yubel.