Despite hating wolves from the depths of his soul and fearing them just as much, he didn't panic. On the contrary, he smiled slyly and sneered.
'Idiots. Do you really think I'm alone? Come to your deaths. I've got a pleasant surprise waiting for you.'
He looked at the spider standing calmly nearby, eager to see what she would do with the absurd strength he had witnessed earlier.
This number of wolves posed no threat to her at all. She could wipe them out with ease. And that way, he would get his revenge without lifting a finger.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, his smile widening further. If the situation weren't so inappropriate, he might have laughed out loud.
'At this rate, the spider will lose all interest in me and focus solely on the upcoming feast.'
His tension and fear eased, and he let out a relieved sigh. But before his joy could fully settle, the spider suddenly turned around and fixed her gaze on him again.
His body stiffened, his smile froze, and a cold shiver crawled down his spine.
The spider frowned in irritation. After a brief moment of hesitation, she began walking toward him.
And that wasn't all—with every step she took, her body began to change.
Her four spider legs began to shrink and fuse together in a bizarre sight, until they finally transformed into two completely human legs.
Her loose silk garments expanded, cascading down to cover her legs and feet like a simple, elegant gown. At the same time, her frame shrank until she matched the height of an ordinary human woman.
Changes rippled through her upper body as well. Her facial features shifted slightly; her ears lengthened into sharp points, and four short horns sprouted from her forehead—two on each side.
Her hair grew unnaturally thick, and two crimson streaks bled down from beneath her eyes, tracing paths all the way to her chin.
When she reached Arthur, she stopped directly in front of him, locking her captivating gaze onto his.
His pulse quickened. He felt utterly powerless, his limbs refusing to move. As she slowly reached out toward him, his face contorted with tension, and he instinctively pulled his head back.
'Fuck… what does she want to do to me?'
But contrary to his grim expectations, she didn't harm him. Instead, she merely patted his head.
Without warning, she leaped and mounted his back as if he were a common steed. Given his massive frame and thick fur, he provided a surprisingly comfortable ride.
In that instant, his fear vanished, replaced by the paralysis of sheer shock. Then, he gnashed his teeth. An uncontrollable surge of killing intent exploded within him; he could not stomach this humiliation.
His heart boiled with rage as he buried his fangs into the dirt beneath him, seriously considering spinning around and tearing her apart.
'You crazy bitch… I'll kill you.'
Though this act utterly trampled his dignity and shattered his pride, he didn't make a reckless move. He endured it, quickly calmed himself down, and returned to thinking rationally.
The spider-woman felt every turbulent shift in his emotions and took a twisted pleasure in watching him struggle to remain composed. A mocking smile played on her lips as she spoke:
"What did you expect, you little fool? Did you truly think I would let you go just like that, in exchange for a few measly scraps?"
She chuckled, shaking her head in disdain. To her, his attempt to bargain was an insult. No matter how far she had fallen, she would never allow a mere, weak wolf to look down upon her.
In truth, the only reason he was still breathing was her own indecision.
Arthur was an intelligent monster, possessing a rare and useful skill that even she lacked.
To simply kill and devour him felt like a waste—a squandering of his true potential. If she utilized him correctly, he could prove to be an invaluable asset.
Yet, that alone wasn't quite enough to stay her hand. She was a predator at her core, and defying her own nature was no easy feat.
Her instincts screamed at her to consume him; his superior bloodline promised an exquisite taste and far greater nutritional value than any prey she usually encountered.
The weight of these conflicting thoughts only added to her confusion. Quickly, she cleared the useless clutter from her mind and focused on the most pressing matter: escaping the wolf pack closing in on them.
What Arthur didn't realize was that, in her current state, she was incapable of facing them all at once.
With their sheer numbers, they could easily overwhelm and kill her. But she wasn't worried; being weakened didn't mean she was entirely helpless.
With an air of indifference, she patted his head and commanded in a cold tone, laced with a hint of killing intent:
"Take us far away from this place."
As usual, Arthur couldn't understand a word she said, but he wasn't so dense that he couldn't grasp her meaning.
His soul recoiled in rejection; he gnashed his teeth so hard his gums began to bleed, and the fur on the nape of his neck stood on end.
With agonizing effort, he trampled over the tattered remains of his pride and began to run. However, since his body was far from healed, his pace was pitifully slow.
The spider-woman knitted her brows in dissatisfaction. The pack was closing in rapidly—barely half a mile separated them now—and they would be upon them in no time.
She let out a sigh and muttered, "You are useless."
Harnessing the meager strength she had managed to recover, she completely suppressed both of their presences.
"..?"
In that instant, Arthur noticed that his footsteps and breathing had fallen utterly silent. His scent vanished, blending into the forest as if he had become a part of the wilderness itself.
Most unsettling of all was that he lost all sensation of the spider on his back; it was as if she had evaporated. If he hadn't been able to see her with his own eyes, he would have thought he was hallucinating.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Arthur felt a sharp pain in his back, snapping him out of his daze. The spider wasn't done yet, she had plucked some of his fur and taken a small piece of his flesh and blood.
This grated on him intensely, yet he didn't utter a word of complaint. Instead, he watched her with a keen curiosity, recognizing this as a rare opportunity to broaden his horizons and learn more.
Ignoring his gaze, the spider closed her fist around the parts she had taken and muttered something incomprehensible and obscure.
Strangely, silky threads wrapped around her hand, forming a very small spider with bizarre features. It carried an aura and scent identical to Arthur's. Once she was done, she flicked it away.
It landed on its feet and began running at an absurd speed in a different direction.
Arthur followed the tiny spider with his eyes until it disappeared from sight, his jaw hanging open. What shocked him even more was that the wolves chasing them changed direction and went after the small spider instead.
'This is ridiculous. How can she do all this? If I had such a powerful ability to hide and camouflage, my life would be so much easier.'
He let out a long sigh and lamented in silence. There was no point thinking like that. He continued running straight ahead until he was far away from the wolf pack.
Only then did the spider pat him, signaling him to stop. She dismounted from his back, stood in front of him, and looked at him sternly before speaking with a small smile:
"Now that we're alone again, it's time to decide your fate. Listen carefully, you stupid animal. From today onward, you belong to me."