"What—" Hwang Dongsuk's voice snapped, his fist halted mid-swing.
Choi Yoora, still reeling from pain and confusion, blinked her eyes open—just in time to see something strange: a thin silken thread had caught Dongsuk's fist, holding it in place like a leash. His wrist trembled violently, but the thread didn't even quiver.
From the shadows behind him, a figure emerged.
Slender. Pale. Dangerous.
A young woman stepped into the flickering light—her hood falling back, revealing cascading silver-white hair braided down one shoulder. Her skin was porcelain-smooth, her gaze a piercing crimson, and her aura so cold it made even the air seem to recoil. She wore an outfit woven from shimmering white material, part cloak, part gown, but unmistakably feminine and threatening—like silk spun with steel.
[Image Here]
But her killing intent was anything but restrained.
[Evolution Complete!]
[Shiraori has evolved into a Unique Humanoid Beast: Arachne — Shiraori]
Jinwoo's eyes widened as he slowly turned toward her.
"That's…"
He could feel it. Even standing still, even without lifting a finger, the pressure she exuded was suffocating. Heavy. Venomous. Her presence screamed predator. A being made to kill.
Stronger than him. Undeniably.
She's at least S-rank… he thought, instinctively clenching his fists.
Medusa evolved from E to A… So if Shiraori evolved from C… S makes perfect sense. But still—this killing intent…
Even he felt a primal fear. An ancient dread.
This wasn't someone who fought to kill.
She existed to kill.
"Who the hell are you?!" Hwang Dongsuk roared, yanking at his trapped arm—but it wouldn't budge. The webstring shimmered under the torchlight like a divine thread, unbreakable.
Shiraori didn't answer. Her crimson eyes narrowed—focused entirely on him.
He was prey.
Meanwhile, Medusa stirred.
"Master…" she murmured, groggy but awake.
"Medusa." Jinwoo turned to her, relief and concern mixing in his voice. "You're awake. Good."
She looked up at him.
"Take Jinho and Choi Yoora. Get out," he ordered.
"But—" Medusa and Choi Yoora both protested at once, struggling to rise.
"I said go!" Jinwoo barked. Then, his voice softened. "Don't worry…"
He looked back toward Shiraori.
"…with her here, I'm sure I can win."
Choi Yoora hesitated. Medusa's eyes lingered on the new figure—Shiraori. There was a flicker of something in her gaze. Envy. She didn't like this strange woman, this creature, this killer who now stood beside her very same Master.
But she obeyed.
"…Yes, Master."
Medusa helped Choi Yoora up. Together, they hoisted Jinho's limp body between them and made their way toward the dungeon's exit.
Shiraori didn't even glance at them.
Her attention was locked on the man in front of her. Her prey. Her target.
Jinwoo clenched his jaw as his wounds pulsed, but a faint green glow enveloped his body as he used healing magic on himself.
"Shiraori…" he said, voice low. "Bind him completely—"
"No."
Her voice cut across his command like a blade of ice. "He's mine."
Before he could protest, Shiraori moved. With a wet shk-shk-shk-shk—eight white arachnid limbs erupted from her back, glowing slightly as if spun from divine silk. They shot forward with eerie precision.
"AGHHHHHHHH!!"
Hwang Dongsuk's scream echoed as the spider legs perforated his body—through his shoulders, his thighs, his gut. Blood exploded from his wounds, splashing onto Shiraori's porcelain face and clothes, staining them crimson.
She didn't blink. Didn't flinch.
She just… smiled.
Jinwoo narrowed his eyes. She was enjoying this.
"Fuck…" he muttered. "She's gonna be one heck of a problem—"
But then—BOOM.
A sickly green aura erupted from Hwang Dongsuk's battered body. The spider legs shattered with a sound like shattering crystal. He dropped to the ground, twitching—and then stood, steam rising from his skin, eyes glowing with madness.
"You fucking bastards!!" he howled.
The broken stubs of Shiraori's legs were still embedded in him, wriggling.
He didn't care.
Fueled by rage, he charged. Not at Jinwoo.
At her.
"Shiraori—!" Jinwoo leapt to intercept, his twin daggers erupting in Hell Flames, purple fire dancing in the dark. He caught Dongsuk's blow—barely—his feet grinding back against the stone floor.
"He got… even stronger?" Jinwoo gritted his teeth.
Dongsuk was laughing like a man possessed.
"You fucking shits! I am better than all of you! You should kneel to me! Worship me!!"
"Yeah… yeah…"
The soft, venomous purr came from behind Jinwoo.
Shiraori's voice echoed through the dungeon like silk laced with poison.
Her arms wrapped around Jinwoo's waist from behind, breasts pressing against his back. Her chin rested on his shoulder.
"You're better than everyone else… except for my Master…"
A single webstring shimmered into existence in front of them—then flashed like a guillotine.
Slice.
Hwang Dongsuk's words died with him.
His head rolled across the stone floor.
His body twitched, fell, and bled out at their feet.
The silence that followed was thick—only broken by the soft drip-drip of blood.
Both Jinwoo and Shiraori were soaked in crimson.
"Shiraori…" Jinwoo sighed, looking down at his blood-drenched self. "Couldn't you have killed him in a cleaner way?"
She giggled softly—then leaned in and licked the blood off his cheek with her warm, wet tongue.
Jinwoo froze.
Her lips hovered near his ear.
"I like it messy," she whispered.
But then—
The corpse glowed.
A soft, pulsing green light emanated from within it—unnatural, unholy.
"The hell?" Jinwoo muttered.
The light grew brighter. It pulsed in rhythmic waves, like a heartbeat.
Ba-dum.
Ba-dum.
Ba-dum.
"What's happening—"
But before he could finish, the world around him shifted.
Time stopped.
The blood dripping midair froze. Shiraori, still mid-lick against his cheek, stood motionless. Even the Hell Flames clinging to his daggers halted, like frozen fire.
Jinwoo's eyes narrowed.
"...This again."
He remembered it—the exact sensation, the absolute stillness. The only other time he had felt it… was then.
When he met Rosalia.
That woman.
His hand instinctively gripped his dagger tighter.
The green light from Dongsuk's corpse intensified, glowing like a miniature sun.
Then—just a few steps away—another green flash bloomed into existence.
Out of the glowing column of emerald mist… a figure emerged.
Feminine. Regal. Terrifying.
To be continued...
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