The Spider is Caught

" I have to say; you have surprised me a whole bunch today. First, you came to my domain unannounced, fought some of my strongest guards, and now you are making me clean up their mistakes. I might even be inclined to say you may be stronger than my Chief Guardian Hana-chan. Hmm...How about you serve me and beg for forgiveness?"

" I will have to decline your offer for it is not my will to serve but to have you serve me. Pardon my earlier intrusion, I wanted to see if the rumors about this place were true. A truly powerful being was said to reside here, amidst these sacred caverns deep in the Black Faerus Mountains. Are you truly the master of this domain?"

" Do you dare to doubt me?! In my own home no less! You will fall here and be strung up at the gates for all future visitors to witness!"

A silvery string cut through the air as it reached the young man.

Having noticed this, he had begun to move away at a speed just a bit higher than the nearly invisible string.

At each passing minute, new strings seemed to make an appearance. Every string seeming to move at an increasingly faster speed, leaving little room for the young man to strategize.

Yes, all one could do when faced with an unwinnable situation like this is run.

And run he did. Faster and faster, his feet moved around the room each place he landed being carved into as the strings had hit with a sharpness like no weapon should be able to muster.

Soon, a string seemed to strike at the young man from seemingly every angle. It looked as if she had the young man on the ropes. Any time he would dodge a few strings from his front another five came from behind to attack.

"Hmph. His moves were certainly graceful but even the fastest have a limit to their endurance!"

The young girl continued to look on at the spot where the young man's corpse should have been.

But to her own surprise, the young man was able to dodge every thin thread with the finesse of an acrobat.

I-Impossible

She had almost let that word slip from her mouth.

It certainly was impossible to dodge those attacks that reached speeds higher than even sound.

Any lesser man would have surely perished by this point in the battle.

Not only were they faster than the average human, but each of the strings also seemed to have a mind of their own being able to follow his every moves with ease.

When he dodged and backed away, they followed suit.

When he kicked off the ground or nearby column to dodge an attack he couldn't easily avoid, the strings rushed him from behind as if to keep him from returning.

It truly was as if someone was controlling them.

Stumped, the young man took a chance and looked around the room as fast as his neck would allow him to.

That is when he noticed something he hadn't noticed before.

There, in the corner of the room, he noticed the strings led back to one place.

It was along the side of the stairs that led up to that old cobalt throne.

Standing there proudly with a smug look on her face, was this place's ruler.

Strange.

Strange was all the young man could think in this situation.

Why would they stand in plain sight? Unguarded at that.

Of course in the path, he had faced many proud enemies in the past. But none would be so stupid as to throw away advantage in a fight.

Well, unless they had to.

Yes, he concluded that they had to be out within the eyesight of the enemy or vice-versa.

It seemed as if the enemy were within her sights, then she could certainly lead her strings to them.

Upon betting on this being the case, the young man hid behind a column.

At first, nothing happened and there was only silence that filled the large room.

Why isn't she attacking yet?

That's when he could hear it. The sound of light clapping rang out with even a light laugh mixed in.

" Fufufu~ I see, I see. You are quite perceptive for a mere traveler. Indeed, no simple wanderer would be able to hold their own against my abilities handed down to me from my ancestors. To even deduce a possible weakness of mine and act swiftly shows that you are no simple person."

Maybe you were an adventurer before coming here. A knight, perhaps? Or maybe you are...of noble descent? "

The young man wore a dark cloak over his body so it would be hard to notice anything about him. But a person's aura can be seen clearly by a well-trained eye.

One's life energy is known as aura though depending on where one's from the name can differ.

Everyone has an aura but those from noble families or those blessed by the Gods usually start with more. Though it also comes with risks as most people can see another's aura once trained to. Likewise, with practice, one could hide their own aura. Though it is much harder for the average person.

Although, this girl is not average by any means.

However, what she saw was the blade at his side instead of his aura.

It was a slim blade. The sheath was made of a black unknown material, and the end of its hilt was golden. Etched onto the sheath was a crest that looked like the head of a dragon.

[Crests] are one of the many things that symbolize noble birth. One's lineage is everything to many people.

But to some, it could be seen as nothing but a burden that only brings problems.

" So, it seems you are no simple fool but a noble one. Ha, that's rich. Why would such a delectable catch walk into a spider's web? You must have stolen that blade. Or...You've been sent to distract me long enough for your employer to gather an army to kill me and exterminate my followers, eh? Well, I will not fall to the likes of you!"

With a loud crash, the column he had stood behind was cut down.

Though no one was behind it at all.

Confused, the girl began to strike down the other columns with her strings. Though to no avail, she could not find the young man.

" Where are you, dog?! Are you too frightened to face true power? I have defeated many foolish warriors. You will be no different. Now! Show yourself, coward! You think just because you may be of noble roots, you have the right to do as you please. Taking me out won't save this country! I will not fall into the darkness like my mother! I will reclaim my throne and help unite the kingdom. I w-"

The girl stopped in her tracks. For the second time in her life, she was scared. She, who had long since forgotten what it was like to know fear is now scared. But she also had to discover what happened to one of the biggest royal families on the continent and bring them back to restore power to the country. Will she even survive up to that point? Who is this being that made their way into her domain? Why is she fighting him? What can she do to even appease this god-like figure behind her? The aura radiating from the seemingly normal traveler hit her body with a force similar to that of a slash from the strongest swordsmen slicing through a wall.

Though, she was more akin to a leaf in this instance than a wall. When one is faced with this frightful amount of aura you usually fall into two categories and act appropriately. Either you are a seasoned veteran and have dealt with such killing intent daily out on the battlefield and take a defensive stance. Or you are the other: a child. One who hasn't even felt a sliver of killing intent a day in their lives. You will just stand there wondering how you got into this predicament in the first place or what you can do to get out.

What can she do to get out? This question came to mind over and over again in the girl's mind. Who is this man who was capable of making my guards have to work together to face him? Who is this man who made me even begin to fear him?

This is a person I must be wary of, she thought.

" I-I think y-you have long overstayed your welcome! How about you leave me and keep your miserable life. Seems like a fair trade to me, correct?"

"I believe you misunderstood me earlier. I only wish for you to join me. I have not come here to take your life, I promise you that."

¨You are truly just a fool then. Fine, I will just have to end you with this. I never thought I would use a move created by her, but times have changed. You should congratulate yourself on being quite the opponent. Rejoice, for I will be sending you to meet the Gods now!¨

The traveler was then struck across the cheek. A feeling of warmth seemingly escaped from the side of his face.

In an instant, it seemed the girl had gotten the upper hand. For many more silent strikes had begun to rain down from all over.

The speed of said attacks was not comparable to those from before.

The attacks seemed to be much faster and more accurate now.

He didn't stand a chance. He was turned to mincemeat with that final attack.

--Or so one would think.

The young man who was struck many times over seemed to be alright.

¨I see this is what they call a final struggle. You cannot win this battle, girl. Any weaker opponent would have been torn to shreds. Sadly, it was I, facing you. It was simply a bad matchup, is all. Now. What is your answer.¨

He still did not get an answer from the girl.

For she was far too shaken up.

How did he survive that? The look on her face seemed to say that.

Her strikes hit him from different directions increasing in speed with each passing second. It was almost as if she was everywhere at once.

With each passing second, a new slash was made. With each one faster and deadlier than before.

It wouldn't be wrong to think it was overkill, the number of times she struck him. Normally, one would have died from that many blows. Yet, each time, the boy would take every slash with not so much as a scratch on him. Let alone a wound.

How did he do it? Why was he able to take on an attack that would have killed anyone else? The answer was looking right back at her. Because he isn't normal.

Then who is he? And what would someone like that want with someone like her?

Though these questions kept coming to mind one after another, her attacks didn't let up. She continued to slash at him with these seemingly disembodied strings for a while.

Eventually, a bunch of dust was kicked up from the continuous strikes. She slowed her tumultuous strikes and brought her onslaught to a halt.

¨ Do you see now, boy? It was you who cannot win. I am the one who has you pinned into a corner. I am the spider and you were the annoying pest caught in my trap. If you still yet live, then yield to me. Become my servant or perish!¨

As the dust began to settle, and the outline began to become visibly clearer.

It was that of the young man. Although upon closer inspection, one would be able to see he was seemingly uninjured.

But how could that be? Those attacks were unavoidable. No mere human could dodge those strikes let alone come out without so much as a scratch on them. These thoughts seemed to come to mind for the young girl.

¨ I hope that will be the last of your attacks. I don't wish this exchange to go on any longer than it needs to.¨

What did the young man mean by that? That one thought seemed to surface in the young girl's mind.

Is he hiding something else within his sleeves? Whatever it is, it cannot match both my speed and experience. Besides, I am the master of this domain. He certainly does not know this place as I do. I will call his bluff with this next attack.

But she still couldn't shake it. The feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.

How was one young man able to not only be able to fight on equal footing as her elite guardians but herself as well. This doesn't make any sense! How could--no, she should keep a cool head about this and act calmly.

If she can't overcome a problem of this level, how can she face her mother or even her people who followed her here? She can't become strong without equally strong opposition.

She began to steel herself. With a deep breath, she went into a defensive stance as silvery threads began to surround her. She smirked.

¨ I think I have been playing this game far enough. It's high time I finish this. Prepare to face death!¨

She leaped towards the man with a powerful kick off the ground and lunged at him with all she had. She reeled in her right arm to strike at him with.

This should certainly finish him, right!?

She wasn't sure if she knew the answer to that question. But she had far too much riding on this attack to just give in.

She clenched her right fist as tight as she could. She could feel all her remaining strength flow into her arm. One could see the air swirl violently around her fist.

Many tiny silver threads swirled around her fist cutting even the air itself. It would be a devastating blow to any opponent.

¨I see. This is how powerful you are, am I right? Then I shall meet that strength head-on.¨

The young man reached toward his blade with his right hand and grabbed the end.

In an instant, the young man pulled the blade into the air and turned the sheath sideways to block her strike. The young man should have been sent flying but instead was pushed back a few inches by the girl's mad strike. Stunned, the young girl began to retreat.

Though it was too late before she even realized it the young man grabbed her ankle amidst her retreat. With that, she was pulled back and was then struck with the hilt in the abdomen.

"So…fast."

She was only able to get those few words out before losing consciousness.

With that last attack, the young man was the victor.

After catching her, she was then hoisted over his shoulder.

With that, his job was done.