The new army of spiders descended upon Iris at terrifying speed.
Dust swirled between the creatures, and their armored legs sent stones tumbling before their charge.
Iris, who had finally found a ledge to stand on without climbing further, looked upward with disbelief written on his face.
"How… is this possible?"
He had every right to doubt what he was seeing. The previous explosion he unleashed should have annihilated all the spiders completely.
Soon, Iris reached the same realization Elara had.
The Hell Keeper was creating these spiders from its own body.
Before the horde reached him, Iris examined the giant's body from his position, scanning for any sign of strain—
some weakness, perhaps, caused by spawning such numbers.
But there was none.
The Hell Keeper moved toward the palace with the same pace, its steps steady, its body unshaken.
It showed no fatigue, no fracture, no weakness. It was simply generating them—endlessly.
Time was running out. The spiders would reach him within seconds.
He had to think fast.
If he could just figure out how the Hell Keeper generated them, he might be able to stop the endless flood.
But he couldn't.
The spider army was now only a few hundred meters away. In seconds, they would be upon him.
Iris glared upward, hatred and fury burning in his eyes.
His entire body turned into a dark silhouette against the blinding blue light behind him.
He tightened his grip on the Moonblade.
Planting his right foot firmly on the rock, he channeled all his strength into his left leg.
The stone beneath him cracked from the sheer force of his stance.
And once again—
he swung the Moonblade upward with overwhelming power.
The explosion roared upward, nearly reaching the Hell Keeper's head.
Every spider in its path was obliterated by the wave of destruction.
Dust engulfed the giant's upper body, darkening the sky above.
Hundreds of boulders broke loose and plummeted toward Iris.
He had no choice now.
He had to retreat—descend from the Hell Keeper's body and fall back to the palace.
There was no way to stop the spiders' endless regeneration.
---
On the opposite side of the Hell Keeper, Elara looked up at the newly formed swarm.
In seconds, they too would strike.
As she searched desperately for a solution, a sudden heaviness pressed against her chest.
She looked down—
Alexa's head was resting there, limp and weary.
Alexa hadn't lost consciousness yet, but the Kaito Blade strike that destroyed the capital, combined with the brutal climb, the endless fighting, and her head wound—
it had all drained her strength completely.
She could barely stand, let alone fight.
The plan to seal the lava channels on the Hell Keeper's back was collapsing fast—
especially after everyone realized the giant could endlessly spawn spiders.
Elara looked at Zack and Alex, who stood some distance away, staring upward in sheer terror.
Continuing to fight would mean certain death.
Elara wasn't in much better shape herself.
The climb, the battle, and the exhaustion had nearly broken her body.
She held Alexa close, then gently shifted to lift her onto her back.
With one smooth motion, she slid Alexa's limp body behind her shoulders—
and succeeded.
She used voice amplification magic to shout across the chaos.
"Zack! Alex! Fall back to the palace! I'll be right behind you!"
Without hesitation, the two leaped from the rocks and descended rapidly.
Now it was Elara's turn to retreat.
But carrying Alexa made it far more dangerous—
she would have to descend quickly while dodging dozens of spiders still swarming below.
Yet strangely, Alexa's weight didn't burden her.
The strength of Elara's emotions made her forget the heaviness entirely.
She loved Alexa deeply—
not just because she was her sister, but because she was her anchor.
Alexa was only two years older, yet they had grown up side by side—
studied together, trained together, fought countless battles together,
especially during the Second Great War.
To Elara, Alexa had always embodied the truest meaning of sisterhood.
And to Alexa, Elara meant no less.
She knew her sister's heart—her sincerity, her quiet devotion.
After Alexa's coronation as queen and rightful ruler of the Siren Clan,
even those closest to her treated her with formal reverence.
Her marriage to Iris had been an official union more than a personal bond.
Only Elara treated Alexa as Alexa—
not as a queen, not as a ruler.
Just… her sister.
Around Elara, Alexa could breathe freely. She could be herself.
Now, as Elara descended the Hell Keeper's body with her sister on her back,
her heart carried her far more than her body did.
She leapt from one stone ledge and dropped swiftly down the giant's torso,
her short hair and tattered silk cloak whipping violently in the wind.
Jagged rocks and emerging spiders rushed past her as she maneuvered midair,
dodging each by mere inches.
Above them, the spider army was closing the distance fast.
Elara had to act quickly.
"Alexa!"
she shouted over the roaring wind.
"Can you use the Kaito one more time?"
Alexa's faint voice replied,
"Yes… why?"
Elara smiled.
"Create a rift behind us. Slow them down. If one spider falls in, dozens will follow."
Alexa gripped Elara tightly with her left hand,
then raised the Kaito Blade with her right.
A surge of magic crackled through the air.
She struck downward, carving a deep fissure into the Hell Keeper's rocky hide.
The earth split open—
a trap for the pursuing swarm.
It was the last act of consciousness Alexa managed before passing out completely on Elara's back.
Elara kept falling, faster and faster, until she reached the giant's basin.
With one final push of her foot against the stone, she propelled herself downward like a comet.
The rock beneath her shattered from the force of her launch.
Within seconds, she hit the ground below.
The Hell Keeper towered before her, still marching toward the palace.
Elara ran—darting between the giant's legs, sprinting toward the ruins of the fallen capital.
The thunder of the Hell Keeper's footsteps nearly shattered her eardrums.
Dust and debris filled her lungs.
But she didn't stop.
She pushed through the devastation—
over broken stones, shattered glass, and bodies—
until she reached the palace.
Within a minute, she arrived.
Iris, Zack, and Alex were already waiting outside.
All three froze in shock when they saw Alexa's condition.
Elara lowered her sister gently to the ground.
Seeing Alexa like this tore her heart apart.
From behind her, Iris spoke quietly,
"Is she all right?"
Elara sighed heavily.
"Barely… She won't be able to move for some time."
She stood and looked back toward the Hell Keeper,
which was now crushing its way through the ruins, advancing toward the royal palace.
Her voice dropped to a grim murmur.
"What do we do now?"
Iris clenched his teeth.
"I… I don't know."
Elara studied the monster closely.
"Can't you blow off its legs to slow it down?"
Iris shook his head.
"It's not just the spiders it regenerates… even its own body.
The two explosions I caused tore its torso apart—
and yet look at it now. Good as new."
Elara lowered her gaze.
"Lend me the Moonblade, Iris."
He looked at her in confusion.
Why now, of all times?
Still, he didn't hesitate.
He tossed her the blade.
Elara caught it effortlessly, took a few steps forward,
and her feet began to glow with magic.
The three warriors exchanged worried looks.
Then, in an instant,
a massive magical barrier began to rise around the palace.
It expanded upward, forming a vast dome of shimmering blue light.
It was a barrier that blocked only magic.
Sound, air, even physical matter could pass through—
but not magic, nor living beings infused with it.
Iris rushed to the barrier's edge.
"Elara! What are you doing!?"
She exhaled deeply.
"I'm going to erase it… completely."
Iris's eyes widened.
"By the gods— that'll kill you too!"
"I know,"
she said softly.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
He opened his mouth to argue—
but a weak voice called from behind him.
"Step aside, Iris…"
He turned.
Elara did too.
And her heart nearly stopped.
Alexa was walking toward the barrier,
leaning heavily on the Kaito Blade.
Her silver hair hung over her face, damp with sweat and blood.
When she reached the barrier, she looked at her sister with blazing eyes.
"Elara… stop this madness right now."
Elara walked closer until they stood face to face, separated by the shimmering wall.
She smiled faintly.
"Alexa… do you remember our vacation at the beach?
When I won the card game and made you confess your feelings to someone?"
Elara lowered her head slightly.
"I'm sorry for putting you in that situation.
All those little moments we shared, however silly… I remember them all.
I'm sorry for everything. And thank you…
You've been the very meaning of sisterhood to me."
Blood from Alexa's head wound traced down her cheek,
mingling with her tears as they streamed freely.
"Elara… please… stop…"
Elara pressed her forehead gently against the barrier,
meeting Alexa's through the glowing surface.
"I'm sorry, sister.
I'll disobey you—just this once.
I have no regrets now.
The only thing I'll regret… is that I won't get to hold you one last time."
Alexa screamed, her voice breaking.
"Have you forgotten what we said when we were kids?
How we wanted to die someday?
You said you'd get married, have ten children, and die old and drunk!
You can't—"
Elara took a few steps back.
"I'm sorry, Alexa…
See you in paradise."
The Moonblade flared with blinding light in her hands.
She turned to face the Hell Keeper—
and shot forward like a comet.
Alexa pounded her fists against the barrier again and again.
It wouldn't break. It couldn't.
In seconds, Elara reached the giant's chest.
Though her body was weak,
the sword's own power coursed through her—
enough to unleash a single, ultimate strike.
When she reached the Hell Keeper,
she released all of the Moonblade's energy at once.
A blinding blue explosion consumed everything.
The shockwave tore through the capital,
its winds shredding the warriors' clothes and scattering the rubble like sand.
The barrier trembled under the force,
stones splintered against it and disintegrated.
A searing blue light swallowed the entire horizon.
The roar reached cities hundreds of kilometers away.
And slowly…
the raging winds began to fade.
The debris settled.
The light dimmed—
as did the final flame of Elara's life.
Alexa collapsed to the ground, screaming through her tears.
"Elara!!!"
There was nothing the others could do.
What was done… was done.