Chapter 22: ...Oh.

The second time. This is the second time that Rhys was seeing someone being eaten in front of him—and in broad daylight at that. And as he compared the two instances, Rhys couldn't help but think of how different the scenery was.

When Arachnea ate Lex, she didn't look as… beastly as the arachne in front of him right now. It was obvious why, though. If you exclude Arachnea's spider parts, she was probably the most beautiful woman that Rhys has ever laid eyes upon.

As for the arachne in front of him, its skin was completely grey; its face, more akin to that of a dried-up skull. It was…

…disgusting.

"Diane!"

Rhys then woke up from his mild stupor. The girl he just pulled away from harm, now rushing toward the arachne. The girl stretched her arms to the side, summoning a set of daggers in each hand as she did so.

"Let… let go of her!" And while the arachne was busy devouring her friend, she stabbed it right in the neck.

"...Kh?" The arachne, however, still seemed completely alive as it very slowly turned its head toward the girl.

"S…" The girl could not help but hold her breath; her legs, moving on their own as she stared at the blood dripping from the monster's mouth.

"Krra!"

"Eek!" The girl froze as the arachne shrieked, unable to move even as the monster stretched its hand toward her. Fortunately for her, once again, she felt herself being pulled away as Rhys grabbed her by the arm… again.

"Move."

This time, however, any gentleness in his touch was gone as Rhys kicked her away—with reason, of course, as Rhys also needed to push himself away from the arachne's arms that were threatening to eviscerate his body.

And as soon as he was clear of the sharp and deadly fingers, Rhys quickly pulled the knife that was stuck in the monster's neck.

"Kh…" Unfortunately for him, he wasn't fast enough to move his hand away as the arachne's nail tore off a part of his skin. This didn't stop Rhys, however, as he started weaving and dodging the arachne's arms and legs—before finding the chance to roll behind the monster and leaping on top of it.

The arachne quickly flailed its entire body and struggled, cracking the walls of the hallway as it did so. Unfortunately for the monster, Rhys knew quite a lot regarding an arachne's physiology.

"Khee!?"

The arachne shrieked as Rhys suddenly grabbed its sparse hair; pulling it back and causing its entire body to freeze for a second… and a second is the only thing Rhys needed as he slammed the knife he was holding straight through its spine.

"Khra!?"

"Tsk…" Rhys could not help but tighten his grip on the arachne's hair as it once again started to move—the knife seemed to have not pierced deep enough. And so, Rhys once again pulled the arachne's hair before stomping on the knife, finally lodging all of the blade through the monster's spine.

The arachne's shrieks became weaker and weaker… until its legs finally went limp and its body dropped to the floor.

"Ho…" Rhys let out a deep breath as he clumsily stepped down the arachne's back, almost stumbling due to the slippery floor filled with blood. The floor wasn't the only thing that was painted with blood, however, as Rhys's arms and clothes have also turned red.

"That… isn't that the Lowborn?"

"Did… did he manage to kill the monster!?"

"..." And as soon as he heard the students whispering about him, Rhys could not help but flinch; his head, instinctively shaking on its own to make sure his face was being covered by his hair.

He was about to run away, but the hairs on his body once again started to stand up. He quickly turned to look at the arachne, but it was already completely lifeless.

"..." Soon, however, he took in a small gulp as he made his way to the window… and there, he saw what seemed like a hundred arachnes crawling everywhere around the campus.

"W…What the fuck!?" The students also started rushing to the window; their voices trembling as they saw the sight in front of them.

"D… Diane…" Perhaps the only one that was not interested in whatever was happening outside was the girl that Rhys saved; her tears, dropping on her friend's face as she wailed and cried.

"..." Rhys ignored everything, however, as he very slowly turned his head up… only to see even more arachne climbing down from the walls above.

"Get away from the window! Run!" One of the students also noticed this as he screamed—pushing away his friends as he rushed to get away and run through the hallways.

And as soon as he did so, everyone started following his lead as they all just frenziedly started running away… not even caring that they were stepping, stumbling, and stomping on the arachne's corpse… as well as Diane's corpse.

"W… wait!" Diane's friend tried covering her; not minding even as she was being stepped on by her schoolmates, "W… wait, please. We need to—Kh!"

And before she could even form a full sentence, her head was stomped on several times. She tried to scream, but her voice was literally being trampled on by the frenzied crowd.

"What are you doing?"

A few seconds later, however, the pain surrounding her body disappeared as she felt herself being lifted up. She quickly looked behind her, only to see Rhys carrying by the armpits like she was some sort of cat.

"Can you stand?"

"Y… Yes?" The girl stuttered as Rhys placed him on the floor.

"If you can, then run."

"T… thank y—" and before she could even thank Rhys, he already disappeared and ran—not with the rest of the crowd, however, but toward the other end of the hallway.

"Wait!" The girl screamed as she called for Rhys, "That knife! It won't…"

But alas, before her words could reach Rhys's ears, she was dragged away by the current of students that were continuously running away. And even if it did, Rhys wasn't listening to her at all… he was busy forcing his feet to move as fast as they could as he rushed toward the only person he should be helping—Katarina.

Although the clinic will be closer if he just followed the crowd, forcing his way through his frenzied schoolmates would take too long. And so, he just ran in the opposite direction. The clinic was 2 floors down, he was just hoping he wasn't too late.

"!!!"

Rhys's eyes then widened as he suddenly changed direction, entering an empty classroom and completely avoiding an arachne that once again leaped from the window and into the hallways. He didn't stop running, however, as he made his way through the classroom, exiting the other door as he continued to run across the hallways.

Sadly for him… there was already an arachne waiting for him outside.

"..." Rhys quickly looked around to find a way to escape, only to see another arachne behind him—his path, now blocked from both sides.

"Tch…" Rhys sucked in a deep breath as he raised his hands. If there wasn't a path, then he just needs to make one. And so, Rhys tightened his grip on the knife he was holding…

…only to find that he was holding nothing at all.

His knife was gone.

"...Oh."