They were able to extract pheromones from Arahnia’s thread without issue. Souen distributed ads with Arahnia’s code written on them throughout the capital of Heian. On the surface, the ads looked like a large-scale advertisement for Aluloona’s sake, but they actually held a message to the Black Widows.
The message was that the “Arachnida” they served was in the monster village. The Black Widows were to ready themselves and all make their way to that monster village. As the bandits had no central base, being spread all through Heian, this should be enough to make them all congregate on Souen’s land. Souen took over all preparations, pulling what strings he needed to.
Glenn, for his part, simply waited patiently for the day the Black Widows would come.
And then—
Once, there was a poor drayman in the human realm. His father had been a drayman before him, and his father’s father, and his father before him. The man assumed he would also live and die the dull life of a drayman.
But—
One day, he met a beautiful woman who seemed like she’d walked out of a fairytale. The woman, who by the name Arachnida, showered him with boundless love. The bottom half of her body was…well, she was what they called a weaver in the east. But Arachnida was so spellbinding that the man’s aversion to this was short-lived.
Who cared if she was half spider, or a monster? The more he got to know her, the more he found her just as beautiful as any human—nay, even more beautiful. Being with her made him happier than he’d ever been before. He left his village and devoted his life to Arachnida, giving her everything she desired—even if he had to steal to obtain it. In accordance with Arachnida’s wishes, he formed a group of thieves who procured everything she desired, even using violence when the situation called for it. It was all for Arachnida.
Eventually, the man became the leader of the Black Widows. He gave everything he had to Arachnida. He did everything she asked, bloodying his own hands in the process. He left his home and his family for her. He could no longer even remember the name of his hometown.
But his love was entirely unrequited. Arachnida partnered freely with other people to sate her lustful desires, and though the man forced himself to tolerate this for many years, one day he could no longer hold back. Criticizing Arachnida for her debauchery, he told her that he wanted her love all for his own.
Arachnida disappeared, leaving the Black Widows behind, the very day after the man reproached her.
I need to get Arachnida back.
He was forever her slave.
This time, he wouldn’t let her get away. He’d cut off her limbs if he had to, to make sure she couldn’t run. He was sure he could make her stay by his side. The other members of the Black Widows, who adored Arachnida just as much as he did, had no inkling of the dark thoughts their leader harbored. The only reason they’d become bandits was because they believed the woman they loved would return someday.
“Captain,” called his second-in-command, a lit torch in his hand. “Is Arachnida really in this village? We got the coded letter, but…”
“I’m sure of it. Arachnida is the only one who can make this ink and coded message,” the man said.
The tinted glasses resting on the bridge of his nose contained special polarized lenses that allowed him to read the message written made from the pheromone ink. He’d also used them to get past the arachne traps set in the monster village.
“It was stupid of me. I knew the traps were arachne…but I never thought Arachnida herself might have set them. Now we can finally bring our queen home.”
“Understood.” The man saluted his leader obediently. Smitten by Arachnida, these men were easy to control.
The Black Widows had surrounded one of the houses in the monster village. Inside that house lay Arachnida, who’d send them a coded message in pheromone ink to summon them here. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, the message had read. I watched what you did in the village. Because of everything you’ve done for me since I went away, I’ve chosen to dedicate myself to you once again. Come get me in the monster village.
The rest of the Widows implicitly believed the message was true. Only the leader smelled something fishy. This was the crafty Arachnida they were talking about. She might have something else in mind.
But there were so many of them, hiding in the woods. No matter what the monster woman had planned, there was only so much she could do. Arachnida was cunning and unmerciful, but when it came to brute force, she was vulnerable. That was why she seduced men into doing her dirty work for her.
Arachnida, you’ll finally be all mine.
The leader of the Black Widows lifted his arm, the signal to strike.
“Unh…”
They entered the house.
The leader and the men who followed him moved swiftly through the dark, like ninjas. They had trained and acquired these skills in order to steal the things Arachnida loved.
There are no traps…
Arachne loved traps. But there wasn’t a single thread to be seen anywhere. He wondered if she really wanted them to come get her.
What he did see, ahead of them in the dark house, was—
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
A flower.
“Thank goodness you’re all hot-blooded men. You did well. Teehee.”
Before them stood a large bulb crowned with red flowers. In the midst of the flowers stood a woman with green skin.
“Wh-who are you? A flower fairy?”
“Idiots. It’s a monster from the west. An alraune,” the leader told his comrades.
Most humans from the east had never seen monsters before. Even most of the Black Widows had only ever seen an arachne. The alraune fluttered her leaves, laughing at them.
“We were tricked?”
“It’s too bad. Well, I don’t feel bad for fooling heretics like you—but I do recommend you go peacefully.”
“Tsk.” The leader clicked his tongue.
There was nothing to fear. A single alraune woman posed no threat to them. Every single member of the Black Widows was enamored of Arachnida. No matter how beautiful this monster before them might be, they would resist her charms.
“Ignore her! Kill her! It’s just a monster flower.”
“Good grief.”
Her vines flew at the men, who cut them away. But there was no sign of the alraune recoiling.
“Seriously? I mean, it’s not like I don’t like it rough.”
“Kill it! Cut it down and put it in a pot. Arachnida will love it!”
“You won’t get off that easy.”
Her vines stretched like whips, wrapping around the men’s necks. The leader nonchalantly sliced through those vines, too…and then it happened.
“E-eee!”
A scream cut through the air.
One after another, the shoji screens in the house exploded as a seemingly endless tangle of vines burst through them. The vines grew in from all sides of the room, stretching out to capture the Black Widows.
“What in the world?!”
“Captain! It’s a huge group of alraune!”
“What did you say?!” The man was dumbstruck.
The women came from every direction—all the same species, all sharing the same face—and began to ensnare the men. Their vines were nothing more than plant matter, but if they bound them up securely enough, they’d have no way to escape.
Where had they all been hiding?!
“Mother, I’m tired.”
“I was already tired waiting for these guys, buried in the dirt.”
“I’d rather be buried in a man’s chest.”
“But there are so many of them.”
“Do you think we can?”
“I think they’re going to be buried…by us.”
“Well, that’s fine.”
The army of alraune chattered and giggled together. Their faces looked so similar that the leader couldn’t tell them apart. The only difference he could see was the color of the flowers on their heads.
“Don’t be afraid. Just set them on fire! Burn this house down!” the leader ordered his second-in-command.
But before he could act, another vine wrapped around his torch. There was a whiff of burnt matter for just a second, and then the flame went out, followed by a strange slurping sound in the darkness.
“Despicable. Don’t you know how hard it is for live trees to burn? We’re just full of moisture. Ridiculous to think you could hurt us with a few torches,” an alraune said savagely.