24

O(I)O(I)

The rocks glittered in the gloom, and Saitama hopped from stone to stone treating it like a game. Another thing illuminated in the gloom. It was a brooch on the wall glowing blue; a trail of light leading away from it.

His stomach tumbles seeing the small size of the hole. Four double A batteries could fit in a Lumens Focus flashlight better than his body could fit in that hole, but on the other hand it could be some fun-even if just a little bit unpredictable.

O(I)O(I)

Lumina could barely keep her ground on the rough cromlech of a hill.

Blinding the Hemphoria with light magic was futile when her eyebrows alone shimmered in the bright cave a lightning surge periodically loomed in. All she could do was project barriers while matching the rhythm of the big spider's jabs, knowing when to occlude was hard when the onslaught differentiate from black legs to elongate stingers, and her father always babbling wasn't helping.

"She's a parasite. First chance she gets she will nock you. What, you pick her over me?"

His nattering was really starting to vex her.

The spiders smile as it relentlessly swung at her could curdle milk. As much as being forced to use her magic was draining her, she had no need to hurt her. Her eyes fixated on her cocoon while blocking a blow from her spider legs-a fast moving projectile hurtling towards the cocoon.

Lumina didn't know where it came from, didn't stop her from holding out her hand manifesting another barrier around it...her good deed was rewarded with a sting-tourniquet.

Her veins felt the seething pain of the sharp perforation.

Every moment was flensing with agony-sharp wound, searing pain, temperature raising. She could still manage to stay awake and see the one who brought this wound accompanied by angry red welts.

It was none other than the man with the yellow suit and white cape billowing despite the lack of ventilation, gas not being billowed in creating wind.

He stood stolidly, arms crossed gazing at the rear end of the spider, and her in another instance.

"I'm sorry, is one of your friends trapped in there?"

His voice was low and mirthful and it was followed by a sharp punch that hit the Hemphoria's face before Lumina even had time to cast a spell-which would be the case if the barrier was already there with the collective strength of her and her father still not enough to stop his hit, but helping her evade it.

What was once a minacious monster was a hairy lump retching in a panic induced state, scuttling up the wall with her eight legs before drilling her foul stingers into the wall. She was going for her eggs, a crinkle in her lifeless eyes.

It only took one wince for Saitama to get the hint he shouldn't meddle with this big arachnid. His attention diverted to the little girl standing all noble in the light but panting like he did when he first tried his workout regiment, and her deranged father massaging her back.

"I'm so proud of you, peroxide-blue."

Weirdest nickname a father has ever given a daughter, but he was just glad she was alright.

A spider hugging her cocoon of tiny kin and a father being grabby to his daughter was not a sight that needed a hero around here, so the caped baldy turned around and left back through the crevice.

O(I)O(I)

Lenise never held her sisters' hand for over two minutes before; took Pief and her collective strength to move the pulley she had to summon with her summer magic sparkling in the pitch darkness. They passed a blue brooch on the way down but moved past it attempting to trek to the treasure she seeked—and to release Pief from her sisters' shackles.

The sisters weren't comfortable not being able to see, jokingly telling themselves plebians see worse when they return home after working all day but the ride was long and boring.

Neither could look each other in the eyes without temerity eminently wise.

Eventually, Pief just gave up.

"I heard Yakime Kingdom has been overrun with goblins since we left. It's not hungry monsters rummaging through our kingdom that will destroy our civilization, but that it seems Gold ranked heroes might return and you know they always cast ruinous spells."

"Yeah. Well, glad I moved out of that patina of hotblooded plebians and I'm glad men with big egos never dream of hurting sinners."

Pief felt like she just stumbled into a dark chapter of her sisters' life.

She thought trying to work with her sister would help unnerve her, but all it did was rattle her about the positives they shared.

The pulley eventually stopped moving; they reached as far down as their pulley could go, but they weren't at the bottom.

Lenise already squeezed out of the pulley. Pief came through after her knife cutting with an intermittent glow that severed the pulley. She was in a rush, but she wasn't so dimwitted she would let herself fall in a chasm so dark she couldn't see a landing to go down safely.

She hooked a rope around herself that lurched out a kunari, slowly moving with stifling clashes of rocks. As she moved she made her way safely down...only for her plan to be foiled by a long pole pressing up pushing her beneath her feet.

She felt the pole start to wriggle as it moved her around in circles surprising at first but starting to cause nausea to trickle up in her stomach. This also reminded her of the times brushing her teeth would make her throat tickle until she almost throws up—and the pole sinking down into the depths below eased that feeling the same way it does when she stops doing that.

In what felt like a long time but was really a sliver of the god Uaris's work, she was at the bottom; no longer dark with shinning gold trinkets hanged against the wall. This was stuff Lenise had; the pole no longer insight.

What was insight: Lenise. She was tangled against the wall by microcotton ropes of a shinning peroxide yellow. To the unknowing eyes it would look like she was trapped by a spider, but Pief knew this was just a spell of hers to replace the expensive filigree she gave to Princess Lumina.

"Treasure...near...Pief...in front of me...food storage running low."

Pief never heard her sister sound so delirious before.

"How do you feel-"

Something strange started happening to her...her whole body was jiggling incessantly. Before Pief could even touch her to see what was wrong with her, her body was hoisted up. She was now changing with less squirming in her chest with more squirming under her arms, and face. Out of her jawline came two sharp mandibles like the beetle, her eyes were bejeweled and losing their irises, and her human legs were becoming quadruple. To finish it wings started to grow.

" Gogga Magic. Their using it to turn Lenise into an insect."

Pief did the only thing she could think of to save her. She tucked her shirt in her pants slowly. Her hands touching her waist while her pelvis gyrated. From her clothes came a long piece of cloth. It was sky blue with a few white dots near the end, grey lining and the insignia of a weasel in the middle. She gripped the cloth three times tighter then she grips her pen before writing an urgent report- tighter than a coconut crab could squeeze its prey.

With her torch she ignited the flame on the corner of the sash, tossing it at her sister.

Her sister went completely feral shaking her body in an attempt to deflect the cloth, but she had as much chance as someone catching a raindrop with her stubby limbs.

"BBBB-Burn Back Body Burn!"

The flames combusted consuming Lenise's body. She writhed and hollered in a language that was no longer human while she burned. While she was burning Pief just stood there examining her body just to make sure nothing dropped. When she was done, her sister was human again falling out of a charred cocoon.

The now purified Lenise fell down the same as a slug descended until she was safely on the ground. Pief helped her but she wasn't going to help her. She stood stolidly keeping her thoughts to herself of what could've caused her sisters' transformation and waited to see if she would recover on her own-which she did thank the god of endings Gaesis.

"P-Pief!"

Lenise walked towards her sister in a fidgety state, her limbs wouldn't stop swaying as her arms swinged down. She caught up to Pief, gave her a grimacing look.

"I think I was nearly burned alive and I think it was caused by you."

Pief looked at her unsympathetic before stepping past her.

"Hurry up...we are close to the queens' nest."

O(I)O(I)

Goblins had completely engulfed the kingdom, festering it with their pillaging and their ravenous hunger but not completely taking control-they still haven't captured the king to overthrow him. Little did they know the king was still in his castle surrounded by loyal followers as they made their egress through a large portrait.

Behind them wielding a black sword was a young bodyguard. His hair was fluffy blonde like the wool of a sheep, he had a small frame completely covered by heavy brown armor except for the onyx stones embedded in his collar, on his waist a flap was left open showing his black felt and cotton grey pants, and his footwear was one brown metal boot with a strap around his ankle while the other was only wearing green khakis. He was moving his swinging his sword in the air while the noblemen fled through the passage of the portrait.

Soon, he and the king were the only ones standing quietly in the treasure room-only one thing left to do.

"Get in, your highness."

Instead of egressing down the path, he sauntered towards the statue of a mighty knight cladded in gold armor with a faceless manneqin standing nine feet tall and a golden shield embedded with jewels. He reached in the shield as he took the jewel out. Before Roui could even get a glimpse of it, he placed it in a wooden box. His king strutted back with the box in-hand.

"Don't stay, I'll use deterrent magic on the path until I'm sure your far enough away. This is an important mission for you, Roui. I need you to escape this malign kingdom, travel west until you see the spectral black branches of Ravenbreach Valley, and find the one called Thgin; banished there to live as a hermit."

Roui didn't take the charm just yet-he found it overwhelming what his king was telling him.

"Your safety is my highest priority, your highness. Just flee and-"

He stepped into the vault and closed the portrait.