Leaving behind the room where four villains had met their end in an instant, I stepped out into the hallway.
…Had some time passed?
A swarm of villains now filled the wide corridor, waiting to greet me.
“Wow, are you all here to welcome me? I didn’t realize I was this popular. Then again, I *am* easy on the eyes.”
“Don’t let your guard down! That’s Arachnid we’re dealing with! Form ranks!”
Ugh, seriously.
These people have no sense of humor.
I was just trying to have a little chat before the fight…
…Well, fine. I’m not exactly swimming in free time either.
Guess I’ll have to take them seriously.
“Alright. I admire the dedication to your roles, but there’s one thing.”
“…What? If you’re thinking of surrendering, save your breath. You won’t walk out of here in one piece.”
Huh. So if I *had* gotten caught, I really would’ve been torn apart.
If I’d kept sneaking around like an idiot, the odds of ending up as a flaming mech-Arte would’ve skyrocketed.
Even if I stripped down to just my leotard—literally baring my body as it was at birth—I still couldn’t take them all on.
Then I’d have to scare them off.
War is all about momentum. If no one *wants* to fight me, that’s victory enough.
Out of six hundred, if five hundred lose their nerve, I only have to deal with a hundred.
“Thing is, I’m a little pressed for time, so I can’t exactly play with all of you. If anyone’s interested in a *fun* little experience, step into the center of the hallway.”
“…Nonsense! Everyone, battle stations! Capture that bitch! No—kill her if you have to! There’s a bounty for whoever finishes her!”
Hmm. So threats alone won’t cut it, huh?
Fine. Whatever.
If they won’t back down, I’ll just have to *show* them.
“…Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Last chance. If you want to live, jump aside *now*.”
“Attack!”
Ignoring my warning, the apparent commander’s signal unleashed a barrage of magic-infused ranged attacks.
Sigh. Of course.
They weren’t going to listen, were they?
I wove a defensive barrier from threads, using part of my stockings.
But as they say, numbers win battles. The barrier, pummeled by dozens of attacks, was on the verge of tearing apart.
Are these guys *actually* this stupid?
This hallway was narrower than I expected.
Even if hundreds of villains charged at once, I could only engage a limited number at a time.
Maybe that’s why they ordered ranged attacks—to keep their distance.
Then I’d have to move first, wouldn’t I?
I unleashed the threads I’d saved in my half-gloves, driving them straight into the muscular arm of a man.
“Gah—*Ack*?!”
“Th-threads?! H-hold on! He’s using you as a shield! Whatever happens, *endure*!”
Hmm. Correct.
So he *was* a physical enhancement-type Ability user. Figured as much from his build.
If he hadn’t been, I’d have had to pick someone else. Lucky me.
I circulated my magic, gripping the threads, then yanked them hard as I leaned back, as if pulling him toward me.
The villains assumed I’d subdue him and use him as a human shield. They started *thinking*.
A hulking villain braced himself, digging his legs into the floor to resist being dragged, while others piled on top of him to weigh him down…?
Wait, why are villains *cooperating*? That’s just weird.
The net of threads above me was a hair’s breadth from snapping.
This was *dangerously* close.
…But here’s the thing, you idiots.
When did I ever say I was using him as a *shield*?
The sound of the net above me shattering was followed by the sudden snap of the tense tug-of-war I had been forcing to hold with all my might.
My strength, artificially boosted by magic, plummeted back to the feeble level of a high school girl, and naturally, the balance of the tug-of-war collapsed in an instant.
"W-What?!"
Now, here’s the question.
If two people are locked in a fierce tug-of-war and one suddenly lets go, what happens?
The answer: the other person gets yanked toward them!
And since I’d been putting *this* much force into it, the speed was insane!
That’s why I was looking for someone with a physical enhancement ability. As expected, I’m the lucky one.
Faster than any ranged attack, I shot forward like a bullet, crashing straight into the cluster of villains.
"Ta-da!"
"What the hell—?!"
"Hello, and goodbye."
As a token of gratitude for bringing me here, I separated the heads from the bodies of the muscular man and the villains who had been struggling to restrain him.
Before the dazed villains could regain their senses and counterattack, my school uniform unraveled in an instant, freeing the threads to run wild.
...Yeah, that thing. The ability I had sealed away.
I didn’t want to use it, but I had no choice.
My goal was to scare them as much as possible.
"Pfft… Ugh, damn it. Got some in my mouth."
"Hiiii—!"
After the threads rampaged for a brief moment—
The once-smooth floor was now slick with blood.
...Wow, there are *so* many people.
I knew 600 was a lot, but seeing it in person… it’s even more overwhelming.
Even after slicing through them like this, their numbers don’t seem to be decreasing...
I plucked the beret off what looked like a commander—a puppet—and dusted it off before placing it on my head.
Ugh, it’s sticky with blood… Gross. But if I don’t wear *something*, I’ll be naked, so I guess I have no choice...
"Too bad. I told you, if you didn’t want to fight, you should’ve left. But you didn’t listen."
"M-Monster…!"
"‘Monster’ sounds so cold. Don’t you know the cool name *Arachne*?"
I didn’t come up with it myself—it was the author’s doing.
But hey, the author’s got decent naming sense.
I kinda like it. Arachne.
"So. …Are you gonna fight, or are you gonna run? Decide fast."
Be scared, be scared, be scared, be scared…!
Was it because I used the ability I didn’t want to? Or because I’d been silently praying in my heart?
Fortunately, the terrified villains began to slowly back away.
Seems like they were all deeply traumatized by the *Cube Steak* production process.
Probably worried they’d end up the same way.
Hah. My bluff worked perfectly!
…Not that I was planning to let them go just because they left.
I already blocked all the exits, idiots.
By the time they realize they should’ve fought *after* taking out the executives, it’ll be too late.
"Ahaha… That was a surprise. A sudden ambush, huh?"
"S-Save me… Spira. I-I can’t move my body…!"
Fuck.
The Weaverfolk executive, Sa of the Twelve Zodiacs—his lower half now a snake—realized his defeat.
Spira could *feel* it. The perfect ambush had failed.
Spectacularly.
"W-Why…? Why did it fail?! No, *how*?!"
"Hmm?"
"How did you kill Ovis?!"
"Ah, this?"
That feeling of having a perfectly alive comrade just moments ago now being referred to as "this."
Those who haven’t experienced it wouldn’t understand. And honestly, I never wanted to.
"Ovis fur absorbs slashes in an instant...!"
An Ovis with sheep-like fur might lack offensive power, but she could boast incredible defense in certain situations.
Blunt strikes couldn’t pierce her fur, and slashes would only sever a few strands before losing their force, unable to harm her.
Unless it was fire or electricity, she’d believed she wouldn’t suffer serious injury. So why—
"Ah, now I get it. No wonder the fur wasn’t cutting easily. Is it like physical nullification?"
"How did you do that...?!"
"Oh, it was nothing. If one strike doesn’t work, just do it a hundred times, right? You surprised me by hugging me out of nowhere."
If she could sever even a single strand, then slashing the same spot hundreds of times would be enough!
The way that woman said it sent chills down her spine.
She’d slashed the same spot that many times in such a short span...?
Thanks to that, her clothes were ruined too. Ugh, damn it. At least she had sheep’s wool, or she’d have been exposed like some pervert.
Spira, who hadn’t heard Arte’s muttering, turned to look at her controlled comrade next.
Chris, a boar beastkin. He had decent resistance to slashes, and his weight-based attacks were more than enough to turn a person into paste.
...And yet, that hulking man was trembling at the sight of a single, tiny thread.
"Was the method good? Someone resistant to blunt force hugs me, then delivers a powerful strike like hitting a sandbag. The person inside takes the impact, while the one hugging stays unharmed."
"N-No, you’re messing with me...?"
"And it was smart to have you ready to ambush in case it failed."
But the problem was that *she* was the one who got hit!
Reeking of blood from head to toe, the woman grinned as she controlled Chris. Or maybe she was just toying with him.
...She’d been moving him around like a puppet, staring at him with fascination as her poison spread through his body.
The moment she realized the first ambush had failed, she’d launched a second one.
And using Chris as a shield, she’d slipped away in an instant.
"S-Stop, stop...! T-The poison’s spreading! What do you want?! Information?! Money?! Name your price! I’ll give you anything!"
"Oh, really? You’ll give me anything?"
"Yes! Anything! Just say it! What do you want?!"
"Your life."
"...K-KHEK?!"
That was the end for Chris, who had been cowering from the tiny thread near his ear.
He’d boasted about his thick fat making him immune to something as flimsy as that.
But in the blink of an eye, the thread bored into his ear, and soon after, Chris collapsed, blood gushing from his eyes and nose.
Had it... scrambled his brain?
The horrifying thought turned her face pale.
"Your money or information means nothing to me. What I want is your deaths."
In an instant.
Truly in an instant, the two executives who had ambushed her were dead.
And they’d had decent combat experience too.
"Now, that leaves just you. ...What should I do?"
Her mind went blank.
What could she do?
How could she possibly survive this?
...The answer didn’t take long to come.
Because no matter what she tried, she didn’t think she’d make it out alive.
So, she decided to follow her instincts.
"Please spare me!"
As a snake, she chose to grovel on the ground.
Then again, maybe it wouldn’t have been any different even if she wasn’t a snake.
If she’d been a dog beastkin, she probably would’ve rolled over and exposed her belly.