Chapter 33 -Queen in the Web
Power erupted from André's body in a surge of unleashed raw energy, spreading throughout the palace. The ground trembled beneath their feet as the guards were flung into the air like discarded dolls. Armor crashed against stone, and bodies slammed into walls with brutal force.
The entire hall seemed to vibrate with the force, and a terrifying silence followed. No one dared speak. The guards who had once posed a threat now lay unconscious or worse scattered on the ground in twisted, broken forms.
Diiing!
A notification appeared before Lucas's eyes. He hadn't had enough time to process the gravity of the situation before the system message popped up.
"Congratulations! 67 B-ranked guards have been killed. 86 points acquired."
Lucas blinked, his heart skipping a beat. He turned to André, his eyes wide with shock.
"What? What just happened?" he whispered, his voice usually calm and composed tinged with disbelief.
The rest of the team stood frozen, their eyes wide, minds struggling to comprehend what they had just witnessed. Zane, always the confident warrior, stood dumbfounded, his mouth slightly agape. Rin's usual composure had cracked, and a rare glimmer of doubt danced in his eyes. As for Darlene, she remained unaffected by the scene. She stood emotionless, her gaze steady.
Lucas let out a light laugh, his lips curling into a strange, almost mad smile.
"Well… since putting sixty points into Strength had that kind of effect on him, I'll throw the whole 86 into Strength too," Lucas said in a quiet, almost indifferent tone. But there was something in his eyes—something cold and calculating.
Without waiting for a response, Lucas accessed the system and allocated the points. His fingers moved swiftly, ignoring any excitement bubbling beneath the surface. The moment the points were applied, the atmosphere shifted.
André's body radiated energy. His once pale-yellow aura turned into a brilliant gold, blazing with a power that seemed to whisper with life itself. He stood taller, as if his posture had become regal—like he had stepped into a role far beyond his current existence. His chest rose and fell with every breath, but his face remained an unreadable mask. The energy pouring from him was undeniable, and the air around him pulsed with suppressed potential.
Lucas couldn't help but laugh. A dark, satisfied laugh.
"Ha… well then…" Lucas muttered to himself, his eyes glinting with dangerous excitement. "Let's go meet that boss in the Cursed Cell."
Zane, still digesting the scale of André's transformation, nodded, a determined look on his face. "Yeah. Let's go." But beneath his resolve, a storm of thoughts raged.
What is this monster? He's definitely not B-rank. He's… something else. Something dangerous.
Rin, ever the pragmatist, was no less shaken. His thoughts raced.
What did I just witness? How can a B-rank hunter possess this kind of power? That's impossible.
His mind was clouded, caught between disbelief and rising curiosity.
As for Lucas, he was already on the move, his eyes fixed ahead. "Let's go," he said firmly, his voice resolute, devoid of hesitation.
The team began walking across the red carpet that stretched through the palace corridors, their footsteps echoing in the vast space. The air was heavy with the tension of what lay ahead. They passed through grand halls adorned with luxurious decorations, the silence broken only by the sound of their steps.
After a few minutes, they reached a disturbing sight. The air had grown thicker, more suffocating. Then—spiderwebs. Everywhere. Dense silken threads hung from the ceiling, coated the walls like the remnants of some forgotten nightmare. The webs stretched as far as the eye could see, twisting and spiraling in unnatural patterns.
"Is this… some kind of joke?" Zane muttered under his breath, his hand instinctively reaching for his sword. His voice was tight, as if trying to rationalize the impossible. "What is this place? Why are there webs everywhere?"
Before anyone could respond, the scene ahead turned more ominous. In the distance loomed a massive white gate, wrapped in dense, pulsing webs that seemed… alive. The gate was ancient, its surface glowing with an eerie, unstable light, standing as the entrance to the palace's main hall.
Lucas narrowed his eyes, feeling the weight of the moment. This wasn't just another room in the palace. This was something much, much worse. He turned to André, a command on his lips.
"All right, open it, André," he said. His voice was calm, but there was a glint of something darker in his eyes.
André, as always, obeyed without question. He surged forward, muscles tensing with effort. He slammed his hands against the heavy door, pushing with all his might. The door groaned in protest, its old hinges resisting the intrusion, but after moments of struggle, the door creaked open, revealing the nightmare beyond.
What lay behind the door was not just a dungeon chamber it was a massive hall, bathed in an eerie, ghostly light. The walls were completely covered in thick, white spiderwebs, stretching from floor to ceiling, their sticky threads glistening in the dim glow. The webs pulsed, as if alive, shifting in a slow, deliberate rhythm that made the hair on their necks stand.
Lucas's eyes scanned the room, absorbing the scene. His mind was working at lightning speed, calculating possibilities, analyzing the situation.
"What… What is this place?"
He thought.
What are these strange webs?
Zane took a cautious step forward, still gripping the hilt of his sword. "I don't know… What is this?" His voice was barely a whisper, as if speaking louder might provoke something lurking in the shadows.
But before Lucas could respond, a sudden notification appeared in front of his eyes:
"Detected: White Queen."
"Detected: Queen of the White Spiders."
"Rank: S."
"Warning: Danger."
Lucas's breath caught in his throat. His heart jumped.
"S-Rank?!"
His eyes widened in shock, but his voice remained steady, composed. He turned to the others, who were still trying to make sense of what they were seeing.