"Shit... it's over..."
"I can't move anymore..."
How much time had passed?
The surroundings were now covered in black carapaces, the corpses of spiders piled so high that nothing else was visible.
Among the mountain-like heap of bodies, tattered clothes and threads that were too worn to use anymore were scattered about.
"Hey, is everyone alive?!"
"Y-yeah, barely."
"Damn it, even finding the wounded is a pain!"
"Help me! My leg’s stuck—I can’t move!"
"Where are the healers?! It’s an emergency! Someone’s dying!"
I pushed aside the spider carapaces with effort and forced my way forward.
The scene around me was pure chaos.
People crying out for help for their dying comrades, others collapsing from exhaustion.
Healers rushing around, the groans of injured superhumans.
We had endured the horrific wave, but the cost must have been immense.
The voices I heard weren’t celebrating the end—they were caught in another battle, this time against the aftermath.
...It was definitely this way.
Ignoring the groans around me, I headed toward where my companions had been.
"...Ah, found them."
Before long, I spotted my companions.
Laira and Hayul.
A fairly large clearing had formed around the two of them.
Probably Laira’s doing.
She didn’t look good.
Like a patient suffering from illness, she kept retching violently.
"Bleurghhhh—"
"Are you alright?"
"No, I’m not. Pfft."
Had she taken a serious wound?
From what I’d seen, she’d actually walked straight into the wave of beasts herself.
I hadn’t been attacked, but maybe there had been a poisonous variant among them?
Worries flooded my mind.
But Laira seemed to dismiss those concerns as she kept jabbing at her own throat with her fingers.
...What was she doing?
"Blegh, ugh..."
"...Is it that bad?"
"If you’re so curious, why don’t you try licking that puddle on the ground?"
"I’ll pass. I’m not stupid enough to try that after seeing you like this."
"Smart choice. It’s disgusting. Ugh..."
Ah.
Right. Laira’s ability turned her into a werewolf.
Lately, her power had evolved to let her transform into a full wolf as well, but when she became a werewolf, she still lost her rationality.
Maybe she’d drunk some of the beasts’ bodily fluids during the fight, and even after regaining her senses, the taste still lingered on her tongue.
"Ugh, this is annoying. Why do I have to taste this when I don’t even remember eating it? Even rotten fish would taste better than this."
"Want me to get you some water?"
"No, forget it. Like there’s any water here. I’m not about to drink from you."
"..."
"But I appreciate the thought."
Did she... just offer her own body?
Did she even realize what she was suggesting?
Hayul gave an awkward laugh.
"By the way, what about that snake bitch? Did she die? Though, I guess it’s about time she kicked the—"
"Die?! Who’s dying?! I’m still alive, you know?!"
"Knew it. Knew you’d show up if I said that."
"...Ah."
"Did you really think you could sneak away in all this chaos?"
When had she gotten here?
No—how had Laira even known Spira was nearby?
It wasn’t like she had tracking or detection abilities like Siwoo.
Had they tried to escape in the chaos, as Laila said?
Spirra’s face was stiff with tension, while Laila’s, previously scrunched up, brightened in contrast.
"Get over here before I really turn you into snake liquor."
"…Hiiing."
"Hiiing? What’s with the hiiing? You gonna die?"
"…Yes."
"Good."
Normally, shouldn’t a canid like Laila be the one on the receiving end of that?
But there was no time to chitchat about it, so I slowly walked toward them.
"Ah, Boss! You—…Whoa, damn."
"G-Good grief… That’s bold of you…"
"…"
Spirra and Laila were making a fuss.
It wasn’t unreasonable for them to react like this.
We’d been fighting for hours now. The day was fading, but it wasn’t dark yet.
If someone was walking around naked, this kind of reaction made sense.
"…Give it to me."
"Huh? What do you—"
"Your clothes. Give them to me."
"What?!"
"Got it!"
"HWAAAAAAAACK?!"
But I wasn’t idle enough to react to every little outburst, and I wasn’t embarrassed to show them my bare body.
So I boldly decided to borrow Spirra’s clothes, and with Laila’s cooperation, I easily got my hands on them.
"H-Hiiiiiiik—! G-Give it back…! I’m cold…!"
"How do I put this on?"
"…You’ve never worn a bra before?"
"Nope. I only ever wore leotards."
I’d avoided bras because wearing one felt like admitting I was a woman.
But there was no point clinging to that now.
If I wanted to help Yu Siwoo as much as possible, I had to wear things like this.
…The problem was, I had no idea how to put one on.
I should’ve tried it at least once.
As I stared at the bra in my hand with a troubled look, Laila approached and snatched it from me.
"Raise your arms."
"Ah, thanks."
"How’s that?"
"…Hmm, it’s a little tight on my chest."
"That’s shocking…! Not fair! I have a decent chest too! If I go out like this—! Hiiik!"
"Don’t worry. No one’s gonna get turned on by that snake tail of yours."
"That’s just mean?!"
Would this be enough?
I’d even put on a bra to secure as much thread as possible, but my worries didn’t fade.
To get there as fast as possible, I needed to use my Thread Extraction Ability, but… if I used too much on the way, I wouldn’t have any left for the actual fight.
No matter how I thought about it, it felt like I was still short. Just as I was growing anxious—
Haryu, who had been silently watching the situation, spoke up.
"…Are you planning to go alone?"
"Yeah. There’s no other way, is there?"
Of course, I knew Amelia was much faster than me.
If I rode with her, we’d get there extremely quickly.
The problem was, I didn’t know where she was.
Luckily, thanks to these corpses blocking the view before it got too bad, I’d managed to locate these two and come here.
That was how I’d gotten clothes and figured out a way to get to Yu Siwoo.
It felt like a soldier heading to the battlefield with low ammo, but there was nothing I could do.
It wasn’t like I was completely unprepared.
"…If you go a little southeast from here, you’ll find Amelia. Dorothy’s with her too."
"What? How do you—"
"Well… my Ability gives me a wide range of perception. I’ve known for a while that she was in that general area."
Hayul gave me a small smile and said,
"You need both. Dorosi is essential to fight that monster, and Amelia is the only one who can get us there quickly."
"...Thanks."
"Don’t mention it."
Then—
When I had wanted to kill Hayul out of sheer annoyance and frustration...
If I had actually killed him, would I have lost Dorosi and Amelia?
It had been unintentional, but...
I genuinely felt relieved that I had accepted Hayul as a comrade.
"Amelia, Dorosi."
"Ack! W-where did you come from?! And what’s with that outfit?! You were wearing something else just—"
"No time for that. We need to move. Now."
"...Siwoo?"
"Yeah. Right now."
Maybe it was a stroke of luck.
Both of them already understood the urgency of Siwoo’s situation, so no further explanation was needed.
"What about telling the others?"
"Hayul will handle it. We need to get there first and help."
"Got it."
Amelia tried to sling Dorosi and me over her shoulders, but I stopped her with a hand and used my ability.
I took a small part of my clothes and quickly formed a thread into a spherical cocoon around Amelia’s waist.
Big enough to fit both of us.
"This’ll be faster. Dorosi, get inside."
"...A cocoon?"
"I made it as sturdy as possible. It might get a little dizzy, but... can you handle it?"
Dorosi nodded and climbed inside through the intentionally left opening. I followed after her.
I gripped the handle I’d made inside, then tightly sealed the entrance with thread before turning to Amelia.
"Go now! As fast as you can!"
"Leave it to me."
Thump, thump.
Was Amelia loosening up her body?
The cocoon tied to her waist wobbled up and down for a moment, then—air began rushing at an incredible speed through the small holes I’d left for breathing.
"W-whoaah—!"
"How’s that?! Still holding on?!"
"Faster! As fast as you can!"
"Got it. This isn’t some daily commute—it’s the Amelia Express! Enjoy the ride!"
Even when Amelia nervously asked if this was her top speed, I urged her to go faster, and the cocoon began shaking so violently that even a superhuman like her might feel dizzy.
"I’ll get you there at the fastest speed in the world!"
Wait for me, Siwoo.
I’m coming.
"Huff, huff... You’re pretty persistent, huh...!"
"Grrrrrr—!"
"D-damn it. If it weren’t for you, I could’ve lasted a lot longer."
I did my best.
That thought crossed Siwoo’s mind.
He had barely survived several near-death moments...
But on the other hand, that meant his stamina was draining just as fast.
He had wanted to conserve energy by moving as little as possible, and with just that one girl, it had been manageable.
But then that beast had suddenly appeared.
Because of that single beast, his stamina had plummeted in an instant.
"...D-damn. I can’t dodge this one."
Siwoo analyzed the trajectory of the girl’s transforming arm and the beast’s biting path, then concluded:
This was impossible.
He could see the best possible evasion route, but his body wouldn’t obey.
Then the girl’s arm swung.
He tried to dodge, then forced his body to twist, but failed.
The beast’s jaws clamped down hard on Siwoo’s body.