The demon—half woman, half tarantula, loomed in the center of the ruined hall. Her upper body was disturbingly humanoid.
She had pale skin, two massive obsidian eyes ringed by three smaller crimson pupils, curved fangs protruding from a too-wide mouth, as well as two human-like arms that flexed at her sides.
Below the waist, a bulbous spider abdomen swelled, with legs thick and jointed like armored pistons. Spider silk wrapped around her chest in crude bands, barely concealing the swell of her breasts—dark nipples peeked through gaps if one stared too long.
Her wide, fanged grin faded. "It's not yet time."
Noctura blinked. "What?!"
Yeah, what?! the male silhouette also expressed its ownconfusion.
Nocturna's stance didn't waver. "Explain. What do you mean by that?"
The male silhouette drifted closer to Tarantus, its head tilting side to side—studying the uncle, the niece, and the demon in turn.
"Leave." Tarantus turned half away, her voice dripping with boredom. "Our confrontation isn't due yet."
Nocturna's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"
"My master gave me orders, and I will fulfill them without fail. That is all youneed to know."
You—as in, only me? Nocturna thought, curious of the implication.
"I already know your plan." Noctura said, her voice steady with certainty.
Nocturna's thoughts stuttered. What is she talking about? Could it be related to her investigation?
Tarantus finally faced them fully. "You know only what you were allowed to know. The necessary pieces, and nothing more than that."
Noctura's confidence began to crack. Her mind spun—fractured and directionless.
She had always excelled at following orders, at executing them. Thinking on her feet, improvising strategy… that had never been her strength.
Her entire investigation had only succeeded because others had pointed the path. She found the clues, while they deciphered them.
It was only natural, given that fact that she had always been bound in one place her whole life, only ever leaving to the outside world during missions—which were brief due to her quick and flawless execution.
In short, she was more impulsive and acted on instincts rather than tactics and planning. She was a lot like her father in that regard.
Nocturna noticed the tremor in her stance. He didn't look away from the demon. "Calm down, Noct."
"Yes, uncle." Her voice came out small and obedient.
Nocturna addressed Tarantus again. "What is your objective here?"
"Wire Strings." the demon responded.
Multiple delicate silver threads shimmered into existence—nearly invisible, crisscrossing the entire room like a deadly web. The demon hadn't even turned fully, rather, a casual flick of her fingers had woven the trap.
"Move," she said flatly, "and you die."
The male silhouette reached out, brushing one thread with a curious fingertip. Okay, okay. Now we're getting somewhere.
Nocturna studied the wires. These will be troublesome.
Even his trained eyes could barely trace all of them, while Noctura could barely see any of them at all.
"I can't let you do that." he said finally. Death held no fear for him. At least, not his own.
"You are irrelevant." Tarantus's tone was once again, bored. "Your life or death changes nothing in the grand scheme of things."
Nocturna's jaw tightened—just a flicker of wounded pride. Then his gaze slid to Noctura, and the corner of his mouth lifted faintly.
Maybe so, but that just means that she isn't. It seems like you've already surpassed me... He raised one hand and muttered, "Shadow Clones."
Darkness peeled from the floor and coalesced into two perfect duplicates of himself—each relative to his strength, armed with an identical kunai.
I mean, they can only use 70% of his own strength, but that's a pretty good spell to have. the male silhouette nodded with approval.
"Use the kunai." he told Noctura.
He knew that she'd never run. Stubborn as her father, she'd insist on fighting until the very end. With that in mind, he decided that it was better to channel that fire than waste time arguing with her.
The moment the Shadowfang is passed down to a new heir, knowledge on how to use it flooded their mind instantly—every edge, balance, and hidden function imprinted directly into their instincts.
That said, whether one can actually use all of its abilities was dependent on the wielder themselves.
"Fine then." Tarantus spoke. "I'll play with you for a bit." she mocked.
The clones moved first—silent blurs, darting along the walls, testing the web. Tarantus flicked a finger. One clone bisected itself mid-leap, dissolving into smoke.
Nocturna didn't flinch. He and Noctura moved in perfect sync.
"Shadow Slash."Nocturna's kunai gleamed with black light.
He slashed at Tarantus's shadow on the floor, aiming for the abdomen. The real demon hissed as a clean gash opened across her lower body.
Shadow Slash bypassed—
Wait! Let me handle the narration and description of the spells.
Ahem... Shadow Slash is a spell that allows him to bypass armor and flesh. The attack pierces a being's shadow, reflecting the wound on the flesh of said being. It's function is pretty basic, but very effective in a fight.
Noctura followed instantly. "Shadow Bind."
Tendrils of darkness erupted from her own shadow, lashing around two of Tarantus's legs.
Nocturna capitalized—darting low, driving his blade into the joint of a third leg. Steel met chitin, and the joint cracked, causing black ichor to spray on the floor.
Tarantus recoiled—more surprised than hurt.
Nocturna pressed. "Now!"
Noctura released the bind and threw the kunai in a spinning arc.
Nocturna caught it mid-flight, reversed grip, and drove it upward under the demon's humanoid ribcage. The blade sank deep, its shadow energy pulsed along the edge, tearing internal channels.
Tarantus snarled—feeling genuine anger now. "Insolent…"
She flexed. The wires tightened, then sang.
Nocturna shoved Noctura behind him. "Get down!"
Multiple threads had sliced past where she'd stood—fast enough to make a whistling sound. Nocturna took the brunt. His left arm came away in neat cubes, his blood misting the air.
"Uncle!" Noctura called out, her eyes wide in shock.
He grunted, forcing a smile through the pain. "It's okay. I'm fine."
Noctura's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, it's my fault—"
"Perhaps irrelevant was not accurate." Tarantus mused, turning fully again. A wicked grin split her face. "You may prove to be useful after all."
"I'll kill you!" Noctura screamed, charging with the kunai raised. "Shadow Slash!"
The blade attempted to cut at Tarantus's shadow, aiming for the neck, but Tarantus laughed once, then the wires snapped taut.
Noctura's arms and legs locked outward, threads bit deep enough to draw blood but not sever her limbs.
Her clothes tore in ribbons—silk parting over cleavage and thighs, leaving them exposed. Crimson lines bloomed where the wires kissed skin.
Bdsm? the male silhouettevoiced, one hand stroking the chin of itstilted head.
...?
Oh, right. My bad, I was too caught up in the fight and had nearly forgotten. Ahem...
The reason Noctura's limbs weren't instantly cut by the wires like her uncle's arm had been, was because Tarantus could adjust the sharpness of the wires to be either sharp or dull.
This meant that the wires could be sharp enough to cut steel like butter, or dull enough to barely deal damage to paper.
One method was designed for efficiency, while the other was designed for torture. Such was the mechanics of Wire Strings.
Tarantus's eyes fixed on Nocturna. "Just sit back and enjoy the show."
Noctura's stomach dropped. "Wait—please! I'm begging you—"
Hearing Tarantus's words, Noctura was overcome with an ominous feeling of dread.
"It's okay, Noct." Nocturna's voice was calm despite the pain. "Don't worry about me."
First came the whistling sound, then a thread sliced. His left leg came off below the knee.
He bit through his lip to keep from screaming, blood trickling down his chin.
"Please stop!" Noctura thrashed against the wires, but they only tightened, slicing deeper into her skin.
However, she no longer cared for the pain she was feeling, too concerned with her uncle's state rather than her own. She kept on fidgeting more and more, completely unaware of the cuts accumulating on her bare skin.
A second whistling sound came, then another cut. His right arm fell away in pieces.
Nocturna never cried out. He wouldn't indulge the demon with that satisfaction. Instead, he met his niece's eyes and gave the smallest, proudest smile. "I love you, Noctura."
Another slash, then another, and even more. Legs, arms, thighs and forearms, every part of his limbs were cut and severed.
"UNCLE!!!" Noctura cried out, her expression one of pure horror.
The cuts continued until only Nocturna's head and torso remained, blood pooling beneath him, eyes glassy but still fixed on his niece.
Tarantus sighed. "I suppose this should suffice."
The wires released Noctura. She collapsed, gasping for air. Words failed to come out of her now raspy throat, and her body refused to respond to her will.
Before grief could take root, a final finger flick from Tarantus hurled her out of the mansion—tumbling into the ruined streets among corpses and spiderlings.
The demon flexed her legs, ichor dripping from her wounds. "Not bad… for mere humans."
The male silhouette watched for one heartbeat longer—then vanished, leaving no trace that it had ever been present.
•••
I stumbled through the wreckage, clutching the bloodied kunai—uncle's last gift. I searched for any sign of life.
Nothing.
Then I felt it, a presence. It was warm, gentle, and calming.
A man stepped from the smoke, his golden aura soft around him. Two people—another man and a woman, flanked him.
I stared—tears cutting tracks through ash and blood.
I looked at the man calling himself the Hero and saw the manifestation of the only hope left in a world that had taken everything from me.
•••
Shortly after that, Noctura finally finished her story, the kunai clenched white-knuckled in her lap, her voice cracking.
"I'm so sorry." Sera murmured, rubbing slow circles on Noctura's back. "I can't imagine how hard it's been for you..."
Thomas glanced at Vlad. "What now?"
Vlad's expression hardened. "Something big is going on."
"Agreed." Thomas nodded. "First the slime, then the chimera, and now this spider. Powerful demons have taken root in our territory, and we barely knew about it." he expressed.
"There's more to this than meets the eye. We need to capture Tarantus, and question her. We need to find out what's really happening here."
"Got it." Thomas nodded. "Then we need a plan."
"There is no talking with a demon like that. I saw it, I felt it, when she tortured and killed uncle. She enjoyed herself, as if it was a game to her. It's pointless getting something like that to talk."
And since the chimera from before had also refused to talk, it seemed possible that the demons' loyalty to their king wouldn't allow them to reveal anything truly important.
"Even the slime decided to kill itself." Vlad started.
"After only giving her the bare minimum information." Thomas added.
Noctura stood abruptly. "The plan is simple. I go in, and kill her. Anything that gets in my way dies along with her."
Sera opened her mouth.
Noctura cut her off. "You won't change my mind, so don't waste your breath."
Vlad studied her—then nodded. "Fine. We'll help you."
Noctura blinked—shocked.
After her parents died, her uncle was the only human to ever show her genuine kindness.
When it came to other people, she had resigned herself to believe that their kindness came from other motives and thus, always kept them at a distance—never truly giving them a chance.
Perhaps it was shock, or simply her being wary of them, but she just couldn't help but wonder.
Thomas raised a finger. "On one condition, though. You have to help us kill the Demon King."
Noctura didn't hesitate. "I was planning to do that anyway. After all, this is all his fault. Helping you just makes it easier to kill him than if I were alone."
"Straight to the point. I like that." Thomas exhaled, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"I don't like mincing words or beating around the bush," Noctura said simply. "I prefer making my intentions clear."
"I hear you. I feel the exact same way." Thomas nodded. "Being direct only makes things easier."
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Neither of them thought much of it at first, but something about that exchange felt strangely familiar. There was an unspoken understanding between them—one neither had expected to find so quickly.
The others didn't know it, but the truth was that neither Thomas nor Noctura had ever been particularly good at manipulating or deceiving other people.
In fact, neither of them had ever deliberately tricked another human being for their own gain. Which was especially strange for Noctura, given her profession.
Their respective upbringings had made such behavior almost impossible for them. They had both grown accustomed to speaking plainly, expressing their intentions honestly, and facing problems head-on rather than trying to maneuver people into doing what they wanted.
It's funny how their personalities contrast one another—one being impulsive, and the other being very good at planning. Yet, even with that, both of them are also similar—being straightforward and all.
Not half bad, author.
It was a small similarity, almost insignificant on the surface. Yet, after only a few words, the two of them had recognized it in each other.
And perhaps because honesty was something neither of them encountered often, that realization created a quiet sense of familiarity between them.
Thomas found himself appreciating how effortlessly she spoke her mind.
Noctura, meanwhile, found his straightforwardness oddly refreshing.
Neither said anything about it.
There was no reason to.
Still, when their eyes met once more, there was the faintest hint of warmth between them—subtle enough to be mistaken for simple understanding, but perhaps a little more than either of them realized.
It was a small connection.
But it was there.
"Then it's settled." Thomas finally said. "Noctura and Sera will take down Tarantus, while Vlad and I buy time and keep the spiderlings off of you."
Sera cracked her knuckles. "Simple and effective. Works for me."
Vlad met Noctura's eyes. "We'll get through this. Together."
Noctura clutched the kunai tighter—her uncle's final legacy.
Alright then,If you're going to fight, then try tomake it entertaining.