Mother Spider
Achilles stared at the unknown Higher Surpassed that was approaching over the horizon.
Its silhouette gradually became clearer and clearer and Achilles realized something was wrong.
The abomination that was arriving was a giant spider that towered above Achilles and the little elf.
Its size was so massive that the couple seemed like two puny ants compared to a human.
And it was not even near the duo just yet.
Achilles was taken aback by its massive scale but something else was bugging him more.
The Corrupted...did not come alone.
As the giant spider got closer and some slight tremors on the ground could be felt, a dozen of small shadows were moving beneath the giant spider's eight legs.
'Are those...spiderlings?'
After a moment, Achilles was quite certain that the multitude of silhouettes underneath were spiderlings.
But something was missing — he could not sense any auras radiating from them. It was as if they were just...marionettes.
While Achilles was still confused by what was happening in front of him, Sia spoke up from the side like she could hear his thoughts:
[Mother Spiders. They control a bunch of spiderlings that were born directly from them, but had no real life and are directly under the Mother's command.]
[We've fought one of these before. But a Mother Spider of this caliber is a first.]
[How do we kill them then?] Achilles asked worriedly as the tremors slowly became larger.
[Spiderlings can't be killed. They stand as long as the Mother Spider stands. The only way to disable them is to kill the giant up there.]
[What do you suggest then?]
[...We have a suggestion. But the Mother Spider's defense needs to be weakened. Otherwise, there is no way to penetrate its brain.] Sia said as she summoned a sniper rifle out in her hand and took the aim at the colossal creature's vital.
Achilles recognized instantly that it was a soul artifact — a peak Tier D that was an incredibly lethal weapon.
'Impressive.'
[We can only use it once since it would cost most of our essences. The rest is up to you darling.] Sia spoke calmly with a hundred percent trust in Achilles.
[...Wait, what?] The latter wasn't able to process what she said yet as the sniper rifle fired a bullet.
BOOM!
The bullet flew at a lightning speed and it hit the spider right where the brain region was. The Mother Spider was surprised by the sudden strike as it lose its footing and fell down.
BOOOM!
A wave of wind spread throughout the landscape as its body came into contact with the ground.
Achilles was flabbergasted by the soul artifact's power as he turned to look at Sia. Only to notice that she was about to fall to her knees.
Out of instinct, he immediately arrived by the little succubus' side and let her rest in his embrace.
Sia's face was pale and her breathing was ragged, the white-haired beauty clearly spent most of her essences on that single shot.
[Now what?] Achilles asked as he knew the damn spider didn't die yet since he could still sense its aura.
[...Run.] Sia whispered one simple word but it rang loud and clear beside Achilles' ears.
"""""KYARGGHHHHH!!!!""""" Multiple shrieks traveled across the open space which made Achilles shift his eyes to the spiderlings.
They began charging at the couple like a black living tidal wave, their eyes shone with the Mother Spider's wrath to tear apart the elf that injured it.
Achilles immediately lifted Sia in a bridal carry and dashed away in the opposite direction.
If it was anybody else, he might have considered ditching that person since it could buy him some valuable time.
His inner self, however, had forcefully stopped him from attempting such things. The thought of abandoning Sia did not even cross his mind before he lifted her up.
Achilles did not notice any of this, but if someone told him about it he would indeed find it peculiar how attached he was to the silvery-white hair beauty.
The spiderlings were coming closer to him with a speed that made some of them even trample on each other. The trampled ones didn't stay dead and quickly reformed themselves and continued like nothing had happened.
It was just like Sia had said — these things were unkillable.
While he was searching for a way out, the little succubus spread open her palm and summoned out something which made him turn his gaze towards her.
In her hand was now a pitch-black cloak that seemed to be darker than the darkest night, she draped that coat over Achilles who was unsure of what was going on.
A second after he put on the coat, the spiderlings' movements slowed down before they stopped entirely.
The monsters turned left and right confusedly as if they didn't see where Achilles and Sia were.
The former's eyebrow raised a little at the sudden turn of the event but before he was able to say anything, a delicate finger touched his lips and he instinctively stopped breathing.
The beauty who was in his carry spoke in a barely audible tone while looking at him tensely:
[Don't speak. This thing is called "Darkness' Shroud" — a Tier C artifact. It will make us enter an invisible state but any loud noise will get us discovered.]
Achilles nodded his head indicating that he understood, then he asked her with one of his eyes still lingering on the spiderlings:
[What do we do now?]
[...We can try to hide and wait for backup but our reserves are running out. We doubt we can hold on for that long until the cavalry arrives, also there's no guarantee that they would come here soon.]
[What do you suggest then?]
[...First, we need to climb to a higher vantage point, then somehow get on top of the Mother Spider. Only then can you kill it.] She spoke while pointing at one of the skyscrapers nearby, its height seemed to be somewhat equivalent to the Mother Spider's so it could work.
Achilles stared at the skyscraper for a while before letting out a small sigh. He turned back to Sia before clutching her tightly and said in a surprisingly caring voice:
[Hold on tight.]
[Got it.] Sia smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, securing her position.
Moments later, Achilles sprinted to the almost-fallen skyscraper while creating as little noise as possible.