Chapter 4 - A Cornered Battle

We turned to face the far wall, opposite the entrance we had come from.

Emerging from the darkness was a massive spider-like creature—its lower half covered in thick chitinous legs, while its upper half was eerily humanoid. The twisted fusion reminded me of something I had seen in a game before.

Ramon immediately took charge. "Arachnes. Everyone, be ready!"

Weapons were drawn. Spells were prepared. Arrows were knocked. Meanwhile, I stood at the back, pressed against the wall, serving as nothing more than background decoration.

"Silver, Emma—cover me! Lily, stay with Alve and be ready for healing!" Ramon shouted.

"Got it!" Lily responded, gripping her staff tightly.

As the battle unfolded, I took a moment to scan the cave. No escape routes. Just one entrance. The same entrance the spider monsters were pouring in from.

This was a dead end.

I turned my attention to the fight. Ramon was holding his ground, but Emma and Silver were barely keeping up—magic blasts and arrows flying rapidly.

But no matter how many they took down, more kept coming.

"How many of these things _are_ there?" I muttered.

"Too many," Lily answered, her voice tight. "At this rate, Silver will run out of arrows, and Emma will be out of mana."

Which meant that Ramon would eventually be left fighting alone. That was not a winning scenario.

Defense over offense—it was the only way.

"We need to block the entrance," I said.

Lily looked at me in surprise. "Block the entrance?"

"Yeah. If we can collapse it, we cut off their reinforcements."

She hesitated for a moment before nodding. "That… might actually work."

I stepped forward, calling out to Emma. "Can you bring down the ceiling above the entrance?"

Emma blinked. "Wait, you want to—" She glanced at the entrance, realization dawning. "…Alright. I'll give it a shot."

She began chanting, magic swirling around her.

"Ramon!" I called out. "Fall back—_now!_"

Ramon spared me a glance but didn't question it. He shifted his footing, gradually moving away from the entrance while keeping the Arachnes at bay.

With a final incantation, Emma unleashed her spell. A powerful mana blast struck the rocky ceiling above the entrance, sending a deep tremor through the cavern.

Cracks spread rapidly before the entire structure gave way. Stones and debris crashed down, sealing off the tunnel in an avalanche of rubble.

Dust filled the air. The echo of the collapse slowly faded.

Silence.

And then—only the remaining Arachnes, now cut off from reinforcements.

"Now," I said calmly, "we just have to clean up."