A group of undead stood in front of Spider to shield him from our attacks. I used my magic to freeze and shatter them, then I started running forward, carefully using Flügel to clear the web that Spider had woven across the battlefield. Countless zombies and skeletons tried to swarm us, but Egret took care of them with his Divine Artifact, Starving Sahra. The sand it emitted took the shape of thorny vines which pierced through the monsters, destroying them.
Spider lifted one hand and a dullahan rode toward me, raising its spear. I readied Flügel to counterattack, but before the monster could reach me, a dragon made of mud devoured the dullahan. Sistia stood atop the head of the dragon, controlling her many Mud Dolls.
“You saved my life earlier. Thank you,” I said, remembering how her mud had pushed me away from certain evisceration by Spider’s threads.
Sistia shrugged. “I wouldn’t want to lose a competent ally in the middle of an important fight,” she replied. “Though if you really want to thank me, you know how.” She rubbed her fingers together in the universal sign for money.
I laughed. “You got it. For now, though, we’re short on time, so may I request some more help?”
“Sure thing.”
Having finished my short conversation with Sistia, I once again dashed toward Spider as Egret covered me from behind. Spider evaded my blade and sent a thread flying at me in return, but one of Sistia’s Mud Dolls squeezed itself between the thread and me, stopping it. Seizing an opening, Egret aimed for Spider’s head with his shamshir, but Spider amputated part of his own body with his threads, which allowed him to evade the blow.
“Mud Swamp.”
While Spider was still regenerating his wound, Sistia turned the paving stones into mud, making him sink into the ground.
Now that Spider’s movement had been restricted, I slashed at him with Flügel. He produced a thick layer of threads to protect himself, but Flügel’s extraordinarily sharp blade cut right through them and into the bones of his shoulder. Despite all of this, Spider didn’t seem to feel any pain, and he immediately counterattacked.
He must have taken some sort of drug, I concluded.
“This is bad,” I said. “The undead are about to escape the square.” Through the vision of the saint birds, I could see that the people surrounding the perimeter of the square were having a tough time keeping the monsters contained. Some even appeared to be losing the will to fight. “Morale won’t hold much longer,” I added.
No matter how many times the soldiers and adventurers defeated the undead, the foes inexorably restored themselves. Our allies’ physical endurance was being tested to the limit, as was their mental strength. Those whose weapons had been enchanted by Tida could finish undead monsters off for good, but in the face of this overwhelming army, it hardly made a difference. It was only a matter of time before our front line would collapse entirely.
Just as all seemed lost, a voice echoed across the square. “Don’t falter!” The person who’d just yelled out encouragement was a young man in dashing armor.
“That’s... His Highness Prince Okyst?”
The young man was indeed Okyst Yutear, the crown prince of the empire.
“Soldiers, knights, don’t falter! Behind you are the people you’ve sworn to protect!” His voice rang out with clarity and power. “And you, courageous adventurers and mercenaries—men and women with noble, heroic hearts who have unsheathed your blades to protect the capital! I, the crown prince of the Yutear Empire, have witnessed your bravery! When we subjugate the undead together, I promise you will be rewarded as you deserve! Heroes, the time has come to carve your names into the history of this glorious empire!”
Thunderous cheers erupted in response to Okyst’s address, and the combined voices of the crowd were so powerful that we could feel the ground rumble. The knights and soldiers who had previously let go of their swords in despair picked them up, while all of the adventurers and mercenaries, having been promised riches and glory, became emboldened.
“It looks like our morale will hold after all,” I said.
“Right. I wasn’t sure where to claim my reward when this was all over, but now I know the imperial family will pay up. I’m relieved,” Sistia joked.
“Say, Ellie, do you think merchants can claim that reward too?” Egret asked jovially, tapping one shamshir against his shoulder.
“I’m sure they’ll give it to you if you do a good job,” I replied.
Even as we bantered, we continued exchanging blows with Spider. It seemed as though cutting Spider’s threads had no effect whatsoever. He always immediately created more to replace them.
“Thread Manipulation: Slash.”
Did he just use a skill?
Spider’s threads suddenly became much quicker and stronger. Egret crossed his shamshirs in front of him to block the attack, but the impact was so violent that he was still sent flying.
“Egret!” I exclaimed.
“Do you really think you can afford to look away? Thread Manipulation: Binding.”
Spider’s threads spread out before closing in on me, seemingly seeking to entrap me. I sliced through some of them with Flügel and swiftly jumped through the breach I’d created, but Spider’s threads wrapped around my left ankle before I could get out entirely. I tried to cut them away but couldn’t act in time. The threads traveled up my leg and across my body, binding all four of my limbs.
“Thread Puppet: Lion,” Spider chanted. A myriad of threads intertwined, forming an elaborate shape—that of a ferocious beast. The thread lion pounced on me, baring its fangs. It was coming straight for my neck.
I groaned as I froze my own body so I could begin to rupture the threads. I wouldn’t have been able to do so if he’d used the same mithril-like threads he’d been fighting with before, but he had created the strings that had entrapped me entirely using mana. Without the use of any special techniques, the result had more or less the same properties as regular threads. Although it took a little longer than I expected, I managed to freeze and shatter my bindings to break away.