Bass, Jack, and I were concealed in a small nook among the skeletons, hidden and silent. Time stretched on, and my boredom mounted, though the others remained vigilant. Then, at last, the Ban-Sior stirred from its slumber and rose to its feet. I had anticipated this moment much earlier, as it had been grumbling and shifting in its dreams. Even in sleep, the creature seemed perpetually aggressive.

  As it stood, the Ban-Sior unleashed a roar that echoed powerfully through the cave. Rationality flickered in its eyes as it recognized the cave. It had faced defeat here before. The realization shifted its demeanor from domineering to desperate. Tall and proud no longer, it looked around, eager to flee. Unaccustomed to stealth, the ape made a hurried attempt to escape, darting around a wall only to circle back in confusion.

  It quickly spotted the staircase I had used to enter the room and darted toward it. Just as it was about to reach safety, the giant spider descended rapidly from above. It landed with a thunderous impact that shook the cave floor, effectively blocking the ape's path. Meanwhile, the spider, though accustomed to the noises of its awake prey, was likely taken aback to find the ape attempting an escape.

  The ape responded just as I had expected and unleashed a powerful scream directly into the spider's face.

  It was unlike anything I had anticipated. I had braced for a sharp, high-pitched shriek that would pierce the ears and incapacitate through sheer pain. Instead, what we experienced was profoundly different. Despite being on the opposite side of the cave, with our hands clamped over spiderweb-packed ears, the impact was palpable. It was a deep, resonant roar that vibrated through everything. The bass was so potent it instantly stirred a wave of nausea within me.

  I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to be right next to the Ban-Sior’s scream. It probably would not have deafened me, but the sensation reminded me of the room spinning when I was drunk, or at least that was the closest comparison I had. For the spider, the impact was likely a thousand times more intense, akin to being pressed against a wall and spun at such a high speed that it would cause immediate unconsciousness.

  The scream was our cue.

  We surged to our feet, too fast. My head spun, and my legs gave out. I stumbled forward, hit the ground, and bit back a curse.

  Jack and the Dwarf didn’t wait. While I struggled up, they sprinted for their targets.

  The plan was simple. Brutal, but simple. The Dwarf would go for the eyes. He was too short to reach the leg joints, so Jack and I would handle those.

  Jack reached his side of the spider and didn’t hesitate. Mana Strengthening surged through him, and the sword bit deep. He drove it down at the joint closest to the spider’s body.

  The spider twitched. Jack grunted, braced his footing, and shoved harder. Metal-like flesh gave way with a sickening crack as the limb separated at the joint with a wet crunch.

  I reached him just as the limb hit the ground.

  Without a word, we split. Jack moved to the next leg. I took the one behind the stump.

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  If it had woken up now, we would be dead. Cutting one leg on either side would slow it. But cutting all of them on one side might keep it from chasing us.

  I planted my feet, pulled mana into my arms, and raised my sword high. The spider’s prone body left the joint exposed at just the right height. I brought the blade down with everything I had.

  The impact jolted my arms. The joint cracked but didn’t give.

  "It didn’t cut through!" I shouted.

  "Keep at it!" Jack called back.

  He was already swinging at the next leg. I grit my teeth, lifted my sword, and struck again.

  I redoubled my efforts, striking again and again, each blow sinking deeper than the last. Pulling the sword free burned almost as much energy as swinging it. The spider twitched beneath me, legs jerking as its massive body began to shift.

  It was waking up.

  Jack let out a shout and brought his blade down hard. The joint snapped with a crunch, and another leg hit the floor.

  The creature stirred, its bulk rising.

  I had no time left.

  I could run. Hope the missing legs would slow it down. But if I left now, we might not get another chance.

  I kept hold of the leg I’d been attacking. The joint was nearly severed. As the spider stirred, I swung myself up onto its body and braced near the socket.

  I locked my legs around the limb, sword still in hand.

  "You had options, and you chose the best one," Rabbit said with grim amusement. "If we're going to Valhalla, I fully approve of arriving on spiderback."

  "I'm not planning on dying," I growled, shifting my grip. “I just need to cut off another leg from above."

  Each swing of my sword drained more mana. I kept going, carving deeper into the joint until the leg finally gave.

  The spider shifted, and the half-severed limb tore free under its own weight.

  The entire creature collapsed sideways, its bulk crashing down and flattening the unfortunate Ban-Sior beneath it.

  The impact launched me sideways. I barely had time to react before I was flung through the air, spinning through a blur of blood and rough tile.

  I hit the ground hard. Pain lanced through me, but nothing felt broken.

  I pushed myself up and froze. Blood soaked through my armor. For a second, I thought it was mine.

  It wasn’t.

  One of the spider’s severed legs lay nearby, pulsing out dark streams of blood.

  Rabbit had explained it before. Like smaller spiders, this one moved its limbs through hydraulic pressure. But it wasn’t like ordinary arachnids. It had an exoskeleton and an internal frame that made it absurdly hard to kill.

  As I looked up, the spider was already dragging itself toward me. It wasn’t trying to capture me. It meant to kill me.

  I tried to stand and run, but the blood on the floor sent my legs out from under me.

  That stumble was all it took. A massive leg crashed down on top of me. Pain tore through both legs.

  I screamed and tried to crawl away, but the spider struck again, flattening me into the ground.

  Then another hit. And another.

  I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Each time I moved, it slammed me back down.

  Eventually, the blows stopped. I lay there, stunned and shaking, the world spinning around me.

  Somehow, I lifted my head. The spider was sliding away.

  I blinked, confused. Why wasn’t it finishing me off?

  In the distance, I saw them. Jack and the Dwarf had grabbed onto its legs and were pulling it back. Their feet dragged grooves in the blood-soaked ground.

  Rabbit's voice echoed in my head. "Use the Ban-Sior."

  The words floated through my mind, but they felt distant, like something remembered from a dream.

  I turned my head slowly and saw the corpse beside me. It took another second to make the connection.

  Then I reached out, my hand trembling, and touched the body.

  Soul Absorption began.

  Warmth pushed through me, and the pain dulled. My body began stitching itself back together. My thoughts, still sluggish, started to pull into focus.

  Warmth crept through me, dulling the pain. My body was stitching itself back together. My thoughts, still foggy, started to sharpen.

  But not fast enough.

  By the time my mind cleared, the spider had already shaken the others off. It was almost on me.

  I tried to crawl away, but my limbs were still broken, still healing, still useless.

  The last thing I saw was a leg rising over me.

  Then everything went dark.