Chapter 62: The Revenge Begins

After the long, mentally exhausting debate, a tense quiet finally settled over the group. Adam let out a weary sigh. Even with the Soul-Link and other bonds connecting them all, it seemed it would never be enough to satisfy Alice’s possessive streak. Hopefully, they won’t start fighting again mid-battle.

They arrived at the fringes of the Arachnowyrm’s domain. The cavern was a scene of frantic industry. The massive spider-god was there, moving with a palpable, furious focus. Its colossal body, still bearing the acid scars and tears from its battle with the Creeper Queen, was orchestrating a legion of its children. They scurried everywhere, spinning new silk, hauling away debris, and reinforcing the shattered web structures. It was clear the repairs would take an immense amount of time.

A stroke of luck, Adam thought, but the thought immediately made him suspicious. His life in the dungeon had been a testament to spectacularly bad luck. Was this good fortune a brief respite, a balancing of scales, or merely the calm before a cataclysmic stroke of misfortune? He remembered the countless near-deaths, the severed tail, the desperate escapes. No. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is now. I will have my vengeance, and I will consume her to fuel my next evolution.

«Adam, why are you so quiet? Are you scared?» Alice’s voice, now laced with concern rather than anger, cut through his thoughts.

«Yeah, Boss! Let’s go fight together! We can do it!» Ignis added, her fiery spirit undimmed.

«Who said I’m scared?» Adam replied, his mental voice dropping to a predatory whisper. «I was just thinking of the best strategy to make this hurt. With my camouflage, which she can no longer detect, and our combined strength… our levels are more than sufficient to break her.»

«A confident outlook is beneficial,» Lilith mused, her crimson eyes studying the chaotic repair work. «We should strike the moment her attention is fully consumed by her task.»

“Lilith,” Adam whispered, his star-lit eyes never leaving the monstrous form below. “You know her better than anyone. What are her weaknesses? Not just where to strike, but how she thinks, how she fights.”

Lilith crept forward, her crimson eyes analyzing the scene with cold, clinical precision. Her voice was a soft, sure melody in their minds. «Physically, her underbelly between the third and fourth leg segments is less armored. It is where her primary mana core is housed. Her eyes are sensitive, but destroying them only enrages her. Her greatest weakness is her mind. She is a creature of perfect order, of absolute control. Chaos, unpredictability, and attacks on her meticulously built domain are psychological torments that disrupt her focus. The fire was a good start. Her venom sacs are located in her fangs, but they are heavily protected. However, the connecting ducts run along the inner sides of her jaws. A precise strike there could cause her to poison herself.»

Adam nodded, processing the information. A plan formed, clear and ruthless. “Alright. Here’s the plan. Ignis, your fire is the ultimate chaos. You will be our primary disruptor. Burn her webs, burn her children, fill her lair with smoke and panic. Alice, you will guard Ignis and eliminate any smaller spiders that try to swarm her. Your Void Step and Void Bolts are perfect for rapid, precise strikes. Your job is to keep the battlefield clear and let Ignis wreak havoc.”

He turned his gaze to the Pale Widow Queen. “Lilith, you and I will take the Arachnowyrm directly. You disrupt her mind, target her eyes, and look for an opening to strike her venom ducts. I will draw her attacks, tank her hits, and go for the underbelly and the kill.”

Before he could continue, Alice’s voice cut in, sharp and possessive. «No. I’m not working with the lizard. I stay with you.»

Adam turned to her, his expression softening. He lowered his head to her level, his star-lit eyes meeting her starry ones. “Alice,” he said, his voice gentle but firm. “I need you to do this. There is no one else I trust to handle the swarm. You are the only one fast enough, smart enough, and strong enough to keep Ignis safe while she burns everything. You’re not just guarding her; you’re leading that part of the battle. I need my first companion, my most trusted, to handle this. Can you do that for me? Can you guide Ignis and clear the path for us?”

Alice stared at him, the fight draining from her posture. The acknowledgment of her importance, the trust he was placing in her, the request to guide rather than just fight—it was a potent concoction for her proud heart. She glanced at Ignis, who gave her an eager, hopeful look, then back at Adam. She let out a soft, staticky huff.

«…Fine. I’ll guide the clumsy lizard. But only because you asked so nicely. And if she sets my tail on fire, I’m leaving her to the spiders.»

«I won’t! I promise!» Ignis chirped.

From beside Adam, Lilith let out a soft, chiming laugh. She leaned in, her psychic voice a whisper only for him. «You are becoming quite adept at handling her, Adam. A masterful blend of flattery and delegation.»

Adam could only sigh, a long, weary exhalation. “Let’s just focus. We wait for the right moment, when she’s fully engrossed in the repairs. Then we strike.”

They watched and waited. The perfect moment came when the Arachnowyrm, frustrated by a poorly anchored silk line, turned its entire multi-eyed gaze to berate and redirect a cluster of its workers. Its guard was down, its focus fragmented.

«Now!» Adam’s command was silent but absolute.

The ambush was unleashed with devastating coordination.

Adam shot forward, Abyssal Glide making him a silent, star-lit arrow. As he closed in, he unleashed his presence. Abyssal Majesty rolled off him in a tangible wave of psychic terror. The lesser spiders, already skittish, were directly in its path. They froze, their simple minds overwhelmed by primordial fear. Many simply curled their legs and trembled, paralyzed.

Ignis, taking to the air with a powerful beat of her new wings, flew high above the web lines. She drew a deep breath and exhaled not a concentrated beam, but a wide, rolling wave of Solar Wind. The superheated gale washed over the intricate web network. The ancient, dry silk ignited instantly, creating a rapidly spreading wildfire across the cavern ceiling. The panic among the swarm turned to chaos as flames dripped down, severing lines and setting spiders alight.

Alice became a reaper in the shadows. Void Stepping through the panicking, burning masses, she delivered precise, lethal Void Bolts to any spider that seemed to be regrouping or attacking Ignis. Her movements were a dance of efficient slaughter.

Adam and Lilith went straight for the heart. As the Arachnowyrm shrieked, turning from its repairs to face the sudden inferno and psychic assault, they were already there. Adam slammed into its side, his Monarch’s Aegis clashing against its chitinous armor. Lilith, perched on his back, unleashed a Crimson Gaze. The beam of psychic energy struck one of the spider’s main eye clusters, not to paralyze something of its will, but to sear it with pure mental agony, disrupting its coordination.

The Arachnowyrm let out a ground-shaking screech of pure, undiluted rage—”KREEEEEEEEEK!”—that echoed through the dungeon, a sound that promised pain and oblivion. It reared back, its remaining eyes burning with hate, locking directly onto Adam.

A grin spread across Adam’s serpentine features, his own star-lit eyes meeting the gaze of the ancient horror. The lesser battles were over. The stage was cleared.

“Now,” Adam roared, the sound vibrating through the flaming cavern. “It’s time for the main event!”

The boss fight had begun.

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