Blood splattered across the cave floor, pooling like water from a broken faucet. But that wasn't the real problem. The damage wasn't the problem.
It was the speed.
Sirius dropped to his knees, clutching his gut. His vision swam as he stared at the Spider King. Horst simply stood there, silent, unmoving.
[HP: 50/100]
[System Notification: Vitals are low.]
[System advice: Do not get hit again]
"You say that like I did it on purpose," he muttered, coughing up blood. "System, give me the health potion."
Nothing happened.
No purple light. No instant recovery. Then it hit him, he'd given the last vial to Cela.
He was out. No potions, no medicine, no second chances. One more hit, and it was over, and if he didn't die in the next, the other would certainly do it.
Fear set in.
Sirius cursed himself. Why had he thought he could change? Why hadn't he just played it safe, stuck to what he knew? He had wanted something different—something more.
And now he had it.
Blood soaking through his fingers. Numbness spreading through his body. Death staring him in the face.
Yet, even as he knelt there, terrified, a grin appeared on his lips.
"I really should've gone out more."
With a shaky breath, he pushed himself up, his bloodied hands tightening around his daggers.
Horst watched him. "The indomitable human spirit," he mused, raising a hand. "Resilient, but not immortal."
His hand fell.
A split second later, the cave wall behind him shattered, cracks burst outward, dust and debris raining down.
But Sirius was already moving. His feet slammed against the stone, his body propelled forward, leaving a crimson trail in his wake.
Then he felt it.
The air.
The attack wasn't coming from Horst—it was the very air around him. Sirius skidded to a stop, pivoting hard to change direction.
But knowing didn't make it easier. It made it worse.
[SkillAnalysis: WindShear—Userinfusesmanaintosurroundingair, hardeningittoachosendegreebeforeretractingorreleasingit.]
Mana. That meant it wasn't an automatic attack—it had intent. It had control.
Horst had to activate it.
Sirius grinned, blood dripping from his lips. His legs tensed.
And then he ran straight for the Spider King.
Horst reacted instantly, his many legs shifting against the ground as he raised both hands. The air around him shimmered, warping unnaturally.
Sirius dove.
The moment he did, a razor-thin blast of pressurized wind cleaved through where he had just been. The air howled, sharp as a blade, cutting deep gashes into the stone walls.
He rolled, momentum carrying him forward. He was close now—close enough to strike.
His dagger flashed forward.
But before the blade could reach, Horst's body blurred. A leg struck out, faster than Sirius could react.
It slammed into his ribs.
[System notification: Fatal damage received]
Sirius barely had time to register the pain before he was sent flying, his body crashing into the ground and rolling violently across the cavern floor.
His back hit a boulder. His lungs emptied. For a second, his vision flickered black.
[Warning: Rib fractures detected.]
"Yeah," he wheezed. "No shit."
Horst approached. Slowly. Deliberately.
"I had wondered if you were something more," the Spider King said, his voice as cold as the cave air. "But perhaps my initial impression was incorrect."
Sirius pressed a trembling hand against the stone, forcing himself up. His head spun. His whole body screamed in agony.
But he couldn't stop now.
"You don't say," he muttered.
Horst narrowed his eyes. "You are stubborn. But stubbornness is not strength."
Another shift in the air.
Sirius moved on instinct. He didn't run this time, instead dropped low, hugging the ground.
Wind shrieked above him, slicing clean through a stalactite, sending the spiked rocks crashing down.
"He's aiming for my movements." Sirius thought, eyes landing on Horst.
If he ran in a straight line, he was dead. If he stalled, he was dead.
Sirius's mind raced. He needed an opening. A real one.
Then, he saw it.
Horst's hands.
Every time the Spider King used his ability, there was a split second—a fraction of a moment—where his hands twitched, adjusting the flow of mana.
That's the tell.
Sirius exhaled sharply.
One chance.
He sprinted forward.
Horst raised his hand again—Sirius watched closely. There.
The moment the fingers twitched, he stopped.
Horst's attack fired off, completely missing as Sirius darted to the side.
Now or never.
Sirius shot forward.
His feet pounded against the ground in a relentless rush, every motion sending fresh waves of pain through his aching body. But he didn't slow. He couldn't.
Horst raised his hand. Sirius did the same.
Mana flared—
Then blood sprayed.
Thick, blackened plasma splattered across the cavern floor. A severed arm hit the ground with a loud thud.
Horst's eyes widened. Behind him, Sirius stood heaving, daggers dripping with blood.
"Still think stubbornness isn't strength?"
Horst turned to face him fully. His severed arm twitched on the ground. Then, calmly, he spoke.
"Now more than ever."
With a sudden burst of speed, the Spider King dashed forward, a massive shadow barreling toward him like an avalanche.
Sirius barely had time to react. Dodging wasn't an option.
He crossed his daggers just as the punch landed.
The impact sent him flying. His back slammed into the cave wall, the force rattling his bones. But before he could even feel the pain, he pushed off, using the momentum to launch himself back into the fray.
[System Notification: 3 minutes left.]
His legs ached, his body screamed, but he forced himself forward. There was no time to waste. Every second spent dodging, reacting, thinking, was a second closer to death.
Horst clutched his severed arm. White liquid seeped from a hole in his palm, covering the wound like a patch of silk. His voice was calm, amused.
"And here I was thinking humans had broken Mehr's barrier." He said. "For better or worse, that would have been... interesting."
Sirius barely heard him over the throbbing in his skull. He could barely think past the pain.
"But even so," Horst continued, "how did you make it here? A hole in the seal? Or something more?"
Sirius exhaled sharply. "You talk a lot."
"Perhaps I do."
[System Notification: 1 minute left.]
This was it.
Now or never.
Sirius lunged.
Faster than ever before, faster than his body could handle. The edges of his vision blurred, the cave warping into straight lines.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the spiderfolk. They had knelt since the battle began, heads bowed, faces hidden, whether in reverence or fear.
But now, for the first time, they were looking at him.
Eyes wide. Hands clenched. Hope etched on their faces.
Hoping he could finish what they never could.
His breath came in short bursts. His mind drowned in a monotone ring. His lips parted in a scream he didn't recognize.
Horst moved.
His remaining arm swung, white liquid sloshing into the air—webbing, raw and unshaped, until in an instant, it hardened into thin, razor-sharp blades.
The whips came fast.
Sirius barely ducked in time. One strand grazed his cheek, opening a fresh cut as blood trickled down his face.
The old him wouldn't have been here.
The old him would've never imagined fighting something like this.
The old him would've never dreamed of fighting for something greater than himself.
But look at him now.
Two daggers—chipped, bloodstained.
A face wet with sweat and crimson.
A body broken and bruised, but still moving.
Staring down a monster, one that could slice the air itself and weave blades from webbing.
Sirius laughed.
The web-blade slammed into the cave wall with a crack, dust and stone crumbling under its force. Horst pulled back, the whip recoiling—snapping straight toward Sirius.
But Sirius didn't stop.
He ran forward, blades arched behind him, his every motion screaming in his muscles.
For a split second, his mind detached.
He saw everything from a third perspective, the whip recoiling, Horst's expression twisting, caught between fear and disgust.
Sirius jumped.
The air surged around him as he flung himself above the strike's path. The web-blade whipped past, and just as it did, he grabbed it.
Pain exploded through his fingers, flesh ripping, palm torn open, but he held on.
The force yanked him forward, and as the whip recoiled toward Horst, Sirius let go.
The momentum hurled him straight toward the Spider King.
Face to face.
His dagger came down.
But Horst was faster.
Much faster.
The severed stump of his arm shot up, catching the blade.
Chipped steel buried into thick, hardened flesh, stopping just short of his head.
"You have failed," Horst growled.
Then he swung.
The sheer force flung Sirius backward, hurling him into the air.
And with his other hand, the whip lashed out.
[Level up]
Sirius didn't think. His free hand flicked forward.
The second dagger flew.
A blur of steel.
Then—
Horst's head snapped back.
The blade sank deep between his blackened eyes, the tip sticking out the backside of his skull.
Sirius barely had a moment to process before the whip slammed into him.
Pain.
Blood splattered across the cave floor as he was sent flying. His body twisted, the world spinning, his ears ringing.
He crashed.
Hard.
[System Notification: Mission Complete.]
[System Notification: Severe Damage Received.]
[System Notification: Severe Damage Received.]
Sirius stared up.
Through the haze of pain, through the red tint in his vision, he saw the cave ceiling.
Or rather, the hole in it.
Sunlight poured through, the golden light passing over his face.
Then footsteps, the spiderfolk were already at his side.
Hands hovered over him, silk spilling from their palms, the same webbing Horst had wielded, now weaving over his wounds.
Trying to close them.
Trying to keep him alive.
But it wouldn't work.
The corners of his vision darkened, the world closing in like a vignette.
The spiderfolk were shouting, their voices frantic, their dark eyes wide with desperation, watering with tears.
Maybe they wanted to thank him.
Maybe that would've been nice.
Sirius laughed softly, and blood spurted from his mouth.
The system wasn't sending its annoying messages anymore. It was strange. It had been a constant presence, guiding him, prodding him. Now, there was nothing.
Was it tied to his life?
Would it die with him?
Did it even matter?
No. Not anymore.
Because this wasn't the same as last time.
This time, he had fought for something, this time, he had died for something.
And that was enough.
A strange kind of peace settled over him, even as his body grew numb, even as his vision narrowed to a slither of light.
For a moment, in the fading haze of his mind, he saw her.
Cela.
For better or worse, he was glad he hadn't ignored her. Glad the system had forced him into this.
His breath shuddered.
His body sagged.
His vision went dark.
. . . .
[New Skill Acquired: Extract]
[Extract Target Acquired: Spider King, Horst]
[Extraction Started]
.
.
.
[Extraction Complete]