Chapter 26 – Spider’s whore

As I awaken to the soft glow of dawn filtering through the tent, I'm startled to find Luna sitting by my side, her large, luminous eyes fixed on me. The ethereal light that surrounds her adds an otherworldly quality to the scene, momentarily disorienting me.

"Good morning, Adonis," Luna chimes, her voice carrying a soothing melody.

I sit up, rubbing my eyes to shake off the remnants of sleep. Mila is still asleep, her form curled in a corner of the tent.

"Luna believes in the strength of your group. But Luna also… can't trust the human girl. Is it possible for Adonis and Luna to travel alone?"

I consider Luna's suggestion carefully – traveling alone with Luna might have its advantages, given the mistrust Mila harbors and the unpredictable dynamics of our group. However, this mission is already impossible as it is and removing Mila won't make anything easier, instead it will turn Luna and I into easier targets.

"Luna, I know you don't trust Mila… but we don't have a choice. She is coming with us, plus she has a book, a more detailed book than mine, about the depths of these layers."

Luna frowns, then nods. "Forgive me, Adonis. It appears Luna is not out of the woods yet."

This time is my turn to frown, "No this isn't the way you use this saying… you know what? Never mind!"

She smiles and our voices wake Mila up. Surprise, surprise, she is cranky this morning as well.

"Why don't you speak a little higher?!" She groans.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine!" my joke earns another eye roll from Mila.

"Don't you call me that! Oh," she groans again, "The insect girl is still here?!"

Luna lowers her head in shame.

"Don't call her that, she has a name!" I stand up and walk towards Mila, "And if you want to cooperate with us, you need to start calling her by that."

Mila crosses her arms. "Or what?"

"If you insist in being a bitch you can very well leave."

"Oh please Adonis, I know you need me to make it to the next layer."

"Keep telling yourself that, and you won't go far."

Mila is fuming, rage is written all over her angry expression. She pouts, finally, and shrugs.

"So how do you intend to kill the spider king and his ugly wife?" she asks.

I sighs, relieved to let the tension go for a moment, and focus on something else. "I have no clue,"

"Luna might have an idea," the moth girl walks towards us with both cheeks blushing. Bathing in the soft sunlight peering inside the tent, she looks gorgeous. I blush as well, focused as I am on the mission I also can't deny the warmth I feel whenever Luna speak. She saved me, and not only that, she is the sweetest monster girl I have met so far.

Mila is looking at me, her gaze is cold as ice. But she doesn't say anything about my blushing, although I know she noticed. I bet she will use that as a weapon to backstab me later on… at least judging from the way she smiles wickedly right now.

"I am all ears… Luna. Please enlighten us with this wonderful plan of yours. And since you interrupted our conversation I surely hope it's worth it."

Luna swallows loudly, aware of the expectations that Mila set on her.

"It's okay, no plan is too dumb!" I tell her.

Luna's eyes gleam with a mix of excitement and nervousness as she starts to unfold her plan. "Luna was thinking, what if we lure the spiders into a fire with a diversion with pretty lights? Luna can create illusions, beautiful ones that will distract the spiders. They will follow the lights, and walk straight into the flames. Luna knows the perfect combination of colors and sparkles to make it irresistible!"

Mila snorts, clearly unimpressed. "You've got to be kidding me. We're relying on sparkles to get us through this mess? Also is not the stupid, mindless spiders that Adonis has to kill but the queen and king, and they won't fall for a shitty trick like that!"

I can't help but smile at Luna's earnestness. "It's a creative idea, Luna, but we need something more practical. Maybe we should focus on finding a way to the spider royals without drawing too much attention."

Luna pouts, her wings drooping a bit. "But Luna thought it would be fun..."

Mila laughs, a sarcastic edge to her voice. "Fun won't get us far in this place, bug girl."

"Alright, what do you have Mila?" I ask, trying to shift the attention back to her.

Mila smirks, her eyes narrowing with a mischievous glint. "If we want to get through this layer, we need something more cunning. How about we use the spider queen's minions against her? We can capture one, maybe disguise ourselves with their silk, and infiltrate their nest."

Luna's eyes widen with a mix of surprise and concern. "Luna doesn't like the idea of infiltrating among them…"

Mila waves off Luna's objection. "Where's the gain if we don't risk a bit? We capture one, take what we need, and kill it. Simple."

I glance at Mila, impressed by the ruthlessness of her plan. It's cunning, but it also feels risky. I turn to Luna, hoping for her input. "What do you think, Luna?"

Luna hesitates before responding, "Luna still thinks the sparkles would have been better..."

Mila rolls her eyes. "And why not hosting a tea party since we are at it?! Sparkles won't save us here."

I massage my temples, wondering how I got entangled in this mess.

"And how do you intend to kill the queen and king?" I ask.

Mila fidget her thumbs, Luna looks intently at her and try to replicate the movements she sees. This small group of ours will never be able to survive in the wild.

"We will figure it out, no?!" Mia cocks her head to the side and scoffs, "Instead of shitting on our plans how about you also come up with one?"

I frown, "The only one shitting at plans is you, Mila. I was just trying to figure out where between infiltrating and bickering you will fit a royal assassination!"

"Last I checked it wasn't I the one who made impossible promises!"

 I clear my voice trying to buy time to come up with a good idea. I wanted to plot on what to do next the day before but I fell asleep quicker than anticipated.

 "Alright, here's the plan. We need to exploit the spiders' weaknesses. Luna, can you create an illusion of a large prey, something that would attract the queen and king?"

Luna nods, her eyes gleaming with determination.

"What are you getting at?" Mila asks.

I take a deep breath before revealing my plan, "Once they're drawn out, we strike."

An initial silence follow my words, but just a second after I hear clapping. I turn towards Luna and find her completely amazed.

"Luna likes the plan! But what about minions? They will guard the queen and king closely."

I turn to Mila, "That's where your idea comes in. We capture one of the minions, use its silk for disguise, and infiltrate the nest. While the illusion keeps the leaders occupied, we gather intel and deal with the queen and king through stealth. Separately."

Mila smirks, seemingly satisfied with the inclusion of her idea. "Not bad, pretty boy. But what if the illusion doesn't hold long enough, and we end up facing both the minions and the leaders at the same time?"

"I guess we are dead," I say. "I know I may sound harsh, but beside Luna… you and I knew the moment we ventured into the first layer that we would have died. There was never a moment we thought we would make it back."

My plan has always been to find the crystal and bring my loved ones to life, it didn't mean I intended to see them again. Just knowing, or having hope, that they are fine somewhere up is good enough.

Mila's eyes widen for a few seconds, registering the gravity of our situation. She then smirks again, this time with a hint of admiration. "Well, pretty boy, at least you're realistic. Let's not keep death waiting; it's a busy entity."

Luna, who has been silently observing our exchange, interjects, "Luna believes in Adonis. He will keep both Mila and Luna safe."

I give Luna a grateful smile. "Thanks, Luna. Now, we need to set this plan into motion. Luna, start working on the illusions. Mila, we should ensure we're equipped for both stealth and combat. We'll gather more information on the spiders' behavior before making our move."

"How do you intend to do that?" Mila asks.

"Thankfully we are still within mothkin territory and they are attracted to Luna like moths to the flame! erm… sorry, maybe horrible analogy for you, Luna."

Luna giggles, fluttering her wings. "Luna understands. Mothkin are curious, and they like to observe."

I nod. "Exactly. We'll subtly gather information by observing their behavior. After that is to wait for the barrier to kill a few. Luna will then lure either the king or queen, and we will murder he or she by pretending to be an ally! Then we can infiltrate in their territory and kill the remaining one-"

"You forget that Luna attracts them!" Mila interrupts, "if she is to infiltrate with us they will know we are not spiders."

"That's why Luna needs to be somewhere safe!" I look around the tent, this one doesn't sound like a bad place to hide.

Mila shakes her head, "How do you intend to bring the royals out here?! It's way too far and they never venture so much outside…"

"You have spent considerable time with the king, have you not?" I ask and before Mila can answer, Luna nods.

"Yes, Luna can smell the scent of the spider king all over Mila."

"What are you, a dog?!" Mila barks with a roll of her eyes, "Well, a considerate amount of time is not like I'd put it into words but yes… I did spent some time with the spider king."

"So you must know by now a lot of his habits. He wasn't present when I entered the cave, can it be that he ventures outside?"

Mila nibble on her lower lip, she looks nervous although I can't place the reason why. Before I ask any question, she sighs. "Yes he does, every now and then but never so far out."

"Luna can lure the spider king here, then Adonis and Mila can take him down."

"Yest… after killing the spider king we could infiltrate into their cave and murder the queen in her sleep!" I say, my heart beat is quicker than ever as a rush of adrenaline curses through me. Mila nods, but she looks perplexed. My plan has a lot of holes in it and I am aware of its limitations but is not like we have anything else to try.

"Okay!" Mila says with a weak nod of her head. "What are we waiting for? Start working!" she points to Luna with her head, and we all get to work.