Chapter 036 - Spider Monsters

I click my tongue as I observe the spider. It is massive, with a mottled brown color. Its body is segmented into multiple sections and legs—some of it is waving in the air while the others are stuck on its web. Its two large pincers click menacingly, and from the way it moves, it is obvious that it badly wants to devour us.

"Miss Fubuki, I think we should run," Mountain Ape suggests.

"The odor is not good," Eyelashes comments.

"It is," I answer. The place has a faint, musty odor that lingers in the surrounding air. There is also some metallic smell, or is it blood? But the weirdest thing of all is... "Something smells like honey..."

Suddenly, the spider moves, charging toward us at an alarming speed. The spider reaches one of the members who is standing behind me. It opens its chelicera and tries to take a bite of him.

Most of the Blizzard group members scream, but keeping my head, I activate my psychic. I make a swirling motion with it until it creates a barrier of air with dirt and rocks mixed in with it. I push the spider back, making it fail in its plan to eat one of the Blizzard group members.

"I will lead the battle against the spider," I say. "Blizzard Group members! I am still here. Keep your cool!"

"Yes, ma'am!" they chorus.

I count them. "There are six of us now, and I plan to leave this tunnel with the same number. Is that understood?!"

"Yes, ma'am!" they answer again.

Then I hear a roar of laughter from the spider. There are weird slithering noises, and as I fear, several more of the same creature surrounds us. Some of them are even larger and more menacing than the first spider we came across earlier.

"This doesn't look good, Miss Fubuki," Eyelashes whispers.

Still, I remain as calm as possible. I won't let fear overwhelm me, especially when I have an older sister that is more of a monster than what is in front of me!

"Blizzard Group!" I call out. "We are going to fight, and we are going to win! We can do this together! We will not let these monsters devour us!"

I raise my psychic output, taking a defensive stance and gathering my energy as preparation.

"We are ready, Miss Fubuki!" they shout in unison, as if they are but a single unit.

At my count, we rage toward the spiders and unleash all our abilities and skills against them. I direct my psychic against the largest spider, pushing it back and away from the other Blizzard Group members.

"Keep your distance and use whatever resources you have!" I instruct.

The others tackle the other spiders and hold them back with their weapons. One spider tries to lunge at me, but I use my psychic to push it away and hit the wall behind it.

More spiders appear. Yet, instead of feeling hopeless, I feel my psychic energy rising as I take more of the spiders.

"Aim for their eyes, legs, and fangs! Remember, our goal is to make it out of here alive no matter what!"

With encouragement, the Blizzard group members seemed energized, performing better than I expected. With each attack, we weaken the monsters until finally, the horde of spiders is lying on the ground, defeated.

I look around and count—six! We managed to defeat all the monsters with the same number as we went in! And so, I feel relieved even if half of us are injured. At least the incurred wounds are not life-threatening.

"Hooray!" one member cheers.

"We did it! We are alive!"

They smile in satisfaction at our accomplishments and start to hug each other. Yet, despite the joy flooding my heart, I cross my arms on my chest and remind them, "We still need to find an exit."

"Yes, ma'am!" they all answer in unison again.

"Alright. Let's get moving," I suggest.

We make our way down the tunnel, searching for an exit. The silence of the cave is only broken by our echoing footsteps. After what feels like forever, we reach a small opening with a light source coming from the outside.

"Look! That must be the exit!" Mountain Ape exclaims.

We rush forward, but because the opening is smaller than a human, the other members punch through it until one of the Blizzard group members is able to make it out. I follow him, and as I step forward, I find myself in a beautiful, lush green land that I am unfamiliar with.

"We did it!" someone shouts with happiness when we are all out in the open. "We are out of that horrible place!"

I look back at the tunnel and smile. I need to inform the Heroes' Association of the tunnel and let them comb it again. I am certain that there is more to it than the spiders.

I take out my phone and see that it has a signal now. I dial in the special number for the Association and give them our location and a request to send a cleanup crew.

After a while, I say, "Let's keep going. The Heroes' Association will soon swarm this place."

However, the instant I take another step, I sense a peculiar feeling and I hold still. As if by instinct, I activate my psychic and create a barrier to protect everyone inside. Something blows up and my barrier struggles to keep up. It is a narrow escape that almost took our lives.

When everything dies down and the smoke and dust clear up, we realize the predicament we are in. Hordes and hordes of lizard monsters surround us. Each of them is twice the size of the lizard that we followed earlier into the tunnel.

Then someone cackles. "Celebrating too soon, f*cking heroes?"

I wheeze, and my barrier is tearing up. But as soon as it does, I increase the output of my psychic, making sure that it will not get destroyed before the Association arrives.

"Well, Blizzard group members, you might need to fight this horde once I deplete my energy," I say, struggling to maintain composure. "Be ready to fight at any time."

"We are ready anytime, Miss Fubuki," Mountain Ape says.

"And once your energy depletes, it will be our time to protect you," Eyelashes pronounces.

Everyone tenses up while the lizards snarl and approach my barrier–the only thing that protects us from the monsters. Still, I hope that the Heroes Association arrives soon and brings the medic unit with them. Because I am sure as hell, that if they are late for even a few seconds, a lot of casualties will be upon us.