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Chapter 94: Interlude – The Spider's First Experience
Swish!
The eerie sound of thousands of silver threads intertwined filled the air.
Spiderwebs closing in from all sides.
“D-damn it!”
With a horrified expression, Bishop Harris shot tendrils toward the tightening webs.
Lined with sharp barbs, the tendrils whipped out as if to tear apart the delicate threads, but…
“Urgh!”
Sssshk!
Instead of cutting through, the tendrils were severed as soon as they touched the webs.
Although thinner than hair, the threads held enough power to slice through steel effortlessly.
“How dare you, wretched sinner, trapped in a human body!!!”
With a fierce roar, tendrils sprouted from his entire body, tearing through his skin.
A maelstrom of demonic energy surged around him.
Dozens of tendrils shot toward Professor Elisha.
And then…
“Is that your answer?”
Taking a step forward, Professor Elisha commanded the webs around her to contract, ensnaring the incoming tendrils.
Crack!
The webs wrapped around the tendrils, ripping them from Bishop Harris's body.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
A horrifying scream burst from him.
The bishop, spurting blood, collapsed to the ground as his tendrils were torn out.
“Cursed spider…”
He muttered, trembling as he backed away.
Fear flickered in his grotesquely bulging eyes.
Professor Elisha calmly walked toward him, taking a deep drag from her cigarette.
“Pathetic answer.”
Exhale.
She blew out a cloud of smoke.
“Hah.”
Bishop Harris's lips twisted into a grin, blood trickling down as he staggered to his feet.
“Don’t think it ends here! Lord Jackal will soon—”
“You talk too much.”
Shiiiing!
Before he could finish his sentence, a web wrapped around his neck and sliced off his head.
“Squeeeal…squeeee.”
From his severed head crawled a writhing lump of flesh—the true form of the Mind Eater.
Crunch!
Professor Elisha stomped on the squirming creature.
Its remains splattered across the ground.
Tick.
She flicked her cigarette onto the mangled corpse of the Mind Eater.
“Well done.”
I dispelled the protective barrier and approached her.
“How are the villagers?”
“They’re fine. For now.”
Even after Bishop Harris's death, the poison embedded within them had not yet taken effect.
“We should call for reinforcements from the Holy Kingdom to neutralize the poison…”
“No need. I can remove it.”
The Primordial Flame had the power to burn away the Stigma of the Demon God.
Since the poison in the villagers had been crafted with the demonic mark, I could neutralize it using the Primordial Flame.
“You, Cadet Dale?”
“Yes.”
I nodded and walked toward the villagers.
“Hero!”
“What’s going to happen to us?”
“Please, save us!”
As I approached, the villagers gathered around in a panic.
“Everyone, calm down and form a line.”
They glanced at each other and quickly lined up.
“Extend your arms.”
“Yes, yes!”
One of the villagers stretched out his arm.
I grasped it and let my mana flow into his body.
‘Only burn away the poison, nothing else.’
Channeling mana into an ordinary human’s body was as dangerous as performing surgery with bare hands.
‘But this is where I shine.’
Precision control over mana was my strongest suit, something even the other "Five Heroes" could not match me in.
Flare!
The Primordial Flame entered the villager’s body and incinerated every trace of the poison.
“It’s done.”
“I-I won’t turn into a monster?”
“No. The poison is completely gone, so you’re safe now.”
“Thank you! Thank you, Hero!”
Tears streamed down the villager’s face as he bowed repeatedly.
“Next, please.”
Like a doctor in a field clinic, I detoxified each villager one by one.
* * *
Late at night, in the village square.
The campfire was dying out, sending the last few sparks into the air.
“Whew. It’s finally over.”
Wiping the cold sweat from my forehead, I stood up.
This was the first time I had controlled the Primordial Flame for such an extended period, and I felt utterly drained.
‘But at least I’ve improved my control over it.’
Surprisingly, handling the flame while treating ordinary people had helped me better manage its overwhelming power.
“Well done.”
As soon as I finished detoxifying the villagers, Professor Elisha approached me.
She wiped the sweat from my forehead with a cool, damp cloth.
“You’ve sweated a lot.”
Her expression was full of concern.
I shrugged, trying to hide my exhaustion.
“I just had to focus a bit. It’s nothing.”
“Your complexion says otherwise.”
She gently pulled my head onto her lap, her soft thighs beneath the fabric of her suit.
“Rest.”
“…This position makes it harder to relax, though.”
“Quiet. Just lie there.”
She pressed my forehead back down as I tried to lift my head.
“Is the detoxification complete?”
“You must be tired from the battle. You did well.”
Professor Elisha gently stroked my forehead as she spoke in a quiet voice.
“Cadet Dale.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
I suppressed a small laugh and shook my head.
“No need to thank me.”
I may have proposed the plan, but…
It was not a plan that I could have accomplished on my own.
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“It’s you, Professor Elisha, who saved them.”
“…….”
Professor Elisha turned her head and looked at the villagers.
Some were crying tears of relief, others were cheering that they had survived, and some were angrily spilling cider on the ground.
Suddenly, memories from the past flashed in her mind.
—Someone, please! Please save us! Our village… Our village!!!
That day, decades ago.
The memory of a young girl who cried as she watched her village burn.
A girl who looked just like her, endlessly shedding tears, desperately longing for a rescue that never came.
—Don't worry.
Her younger self, standing in front of the crying girl, blocking her view.
—We’ve come to save you.
In her imagination, Dale stood beside her, giving a reassuring smile.
“…Hah.”
Professor Elisha let out a self-deprecating laugh at the fantasy that came to her mind.
‘So, this was the kind of wound that could be soothed so easily.’
Deep within her memories, she felt the long-torn and rotting wound begin to heal, bit by bit.
“How… common.”
No grand reversal, no moving backstory, no tearful, emotional ending.
The wound that had tormented her for decades was being healed in the most absurdly simple way.
By a mere cadet, no less.
“Professor Elisha?”
She looked down at Dale, who was gazing up at her with wide eyes.
For some reason, her heart was pounding, so much so that she found it hard to meet his gaze.
‘How foolish of me.’
If Professor Lucas saw this, he’d tease her endlessly.
Suppressing a bitter smile, Professor Elisha looked at Dale.
Suddenly, a playful thought crossed her mind.
“You know, this is all rather suspicious.”
“Sorry? What is?”
“A combat cadet using a magical barrier that even professors from the magic department struggle to cast, and then detoxifying a poison made by the archbishop… Isn’t that suspicious?”
With narrowed eyes, Professor Elisha lowered her face, drawing closer.
Close enough that they could feel each other’s breath.
“I think further investigation is required.”
“What…?”
Just before her lips touched mine, she suddenly tugged on my cheek.
“Ha, were you expecting something?”
“…What are you doing?”
“I just felt like teasing you for a moment.”
With a satisfied smile, she pulled away.
I frowned and lifted my head from her lap where it had been resting.
For a moment, a flicker of disappointment passed through her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing.”
She looked back at the villagers and spoke.
“This time we made it through, but the Archbishop of the Beasts isn’t going to let this slide.”
“Yes. That one earlier even said it before he died.”
He mentioned that Jackal would come for her soon.
“When that time comes… will you fight by my side again?”
Her voice trembled slightly.
She was likely hesitant to involve a mere cadet in a battle against the Archbishop, a powerful being unlike any other demon.
Suppressing a small laugh, I nodded without hesitation.
“Of course.”
I hadn’t expected the Archbishop of the Beasts to act so aggressively, but it was good news.
‘The sooner we deal with him, the less burden it’ll be on the future.’
Thinking of the number of heroes sacrificed in my past life just to take down one Archbishop of the Beasts, eliminating him now was essential for the future.
“…‘Of course,’ huh.”
Professor Elisha seemed surprised by my firm response, as if she hadn’t expected such a clear answer.
The Archbishop of the Beasts was targeting her, Elisha Baldwin, not Dale.
Now that Bishop Harris was dead and there were no witnesses, he would be safe if he just distanced himself from her.
Surely he must know that.
Yet, Dale nodded without a hint of hesitation.
‘Is it because he trusts the blessing?’
No.
Elisha shook her head.
Even if Dale had the blessing to revive after death, that wasn’t enough to explain his easy agreement.
The Archbishop could create a living hell that would make one long for death.
Despite that, he agreed without pause.
‘Because he has feelings for me, perhaps?’
The audacious thought that crossed her mind made Elisha’s cheeks flush slightly.
She knew it was more of a wishful delusion, but she couldn’t suppress the powerful urge rising from deep within her.
“Haa.”
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
“This… is hard to resist.”
“What is— mmmph!”
Elisha grabbed Dale by the neck and pressed her lips against his.
After a moment, a thin, transparent thread of saliva connected their lips as she pulled away.
“…Didn’t you say the investigation was a joke?”
“I did say that.”
“Then why…?”
Elisha gently touched her lips, a faint smile playing across her face.
“It wasn’t a kiss for the investigation.”
The Spider-Eyed Elisha Baldwin.
In her long life, it was the first time she had kissed for a reason other than ‘investigation.’
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