From the top of a shaded hill, Red looked down to where a central tree stood tall. Or more accurately, the wide, open base of the tree where webs covered the ground connecting tree to tree.

  Gathering Spiders crawled around, dragging large clumps of webbing larger or smaller than themselves, while others maintained their own personal webs.

  They looked small at a distance, they looked small from the hilltop. Crimson eyes watched as two of them crossed paths.

  One was dragging one of those webbing clumps, which looked to match the size of a goblin. Slowly, a second followed behind, growing closer and closer until it lunged forward and tried to steal it. The two quickly turned hostile.

  The owner and thief swayed from side to side, making false lunges, trying to bait the other into making a mistake first. And one did mess up.

  The thief leaped forward only to have the owner sidestep the attack. A blast of silk shot out from the owner before lunging forward. The thief thrashed in the owner's grasp, hitting the owner with its legs. The owner didn't hesitate, slamming its fangs into its rival. It took a few months, but the thief's thrashing slowly became weaker until it stopped moving.

  Red could only watch, the owner wrap up the thief before dragging both it and the other webbing.

  "Did it kill it?" Red questioned, his mind wondering as the Gathering Spider colony didn't even care about what transpired.

  Everyone was low to the ground, just watching the colonies movement. Well, everyone except Aurali, who, laid in the grass, covering her eyes. With a telescope, Zyreth surveyed the area.

  "No Red." Igneel's voice was low. "The venom of male Gathering Spiders contains a paralyzing agent. They use it to immobile their prey to keep it alive and fresh."

  "Immobile?"

  "Yes, now watch. Looks like the victor has gotten bold."

  Looking back, Red watched the owner drag both of the webbing clumps to a larger triangular opening at the base of the tree.

  Placing both of the clumps at the entrance, the spider then started tapping one of its legs against the ground.

  Once, pause. Twice, twice again, then it paused again, only to give another singular tap. It repeated this pattern a few times, and slowly the colony started to gather, until it stopped and backed away.

  Crimson eyes were joined by a golden pair when Aurali's hands slowly parted. Watching and waiting for soomthing to happen.

  A large leg slammed out from the tree, followed by seven more and slowly every spider but the presentor backed away from the tree as a dull gray and brown colored spider towered over the the rest of the colony.

  "Grandpa—

  "Keep quiet Red."

  "Right." His voice went just above a whisper. "Is that really the same type of monster? It looks so different."

  "Yes, that's the Queen. Now keep an eye on it." As Igneel spoke, Zyreth nudged her elbow into Igneel's, handing off her telescope and pointing to a certain spot.

  Watching as the massive female looked down at the owner, to the offering, then back to the male. The male's abdomen and middle legs rose.

  'What is it doing?' The sight left not just Red curious, but Aurali too.

  Its abdomen flattened out like a fan. The risen legs shook up and down, and the spider itself moved from side to side, gaining the queen's attention. Watching the display, it looked down at the offerings, connected a thread of silk to them before looking back at the dancing male.

  Its efforts seemed to have increased a thousandfold. Its abdomen fell and rose, trying to show off its colors, its legs almost turned into a blur. It kept moving from side to side, getting closer to the female before backing away.

  It happened in less than a second, before Red or Aurali had a chance to blink.

  Without warning, in a single motion, the female lunged forward, grabbing the male in its front legs before staking its fangs into the male's head. Taking both it and its offering back into the tree to feed.

  The sight made Aurali cover her eyes once again, cracking her fingers to give her a small view.

  "Wha... why did it do that? It gave it an offering and danced."

  "That's the natural order, lad." With a confused look, both kids turned to the dwarf. "That bug just didn't meet her standards and got its head bitten. Maybe it's the one struggle we all face in life, pleasing our women."

  Quiet laughter escaped from him and Igneel. The only other one who understood the joke was Zyreth, and she shot a glare at him. "Would you like me to inform Heather of that comment?"

  The group grew quiet again; the only sound that came from them was a low groan from Igneel.

  "This isn't gonna be easy."

  "Grandpa? What's—

  Red was silenced when the telescope was handed to him. "Look at the tree, the second largest one on the opposite side of where the female's tree is."

  "Ok..."

  With the telescope enhanceing his vision, he tried to find what his grandfather was pointing at.

  'What am I looking for anyway? All I see are spiders and webs.' Passing by each spider, some were sitting in the light or under the shade, and a few even fought each other before backing away.

  "Grandpa, what am I looking—

  His eyes answered him and the sight silenced him. Aurali's confused gaze at him went ignored.

  Underneath a tree piled at the base were piles of cocoons, either covering the base or hanging from the branches. Slowly moving around the tree, one of the webbing at the base stood out; it was slimmer than the rest. Then he reached the head of the webbing, a pair of white canine-like ears, and a sedated face.

  "Miss Xaio..."

  "This was a situation I was nervous about when we found that scene."

  As he spoke, Red reached for Breaker and almost shot off the ground. Only to have a rough hand grab his shoulder and pull him back down.

  "Calm down, Red, what do you think you're doing?" Despite his voice being low, the message was understood.

  "Xaio is down there, we need to help her before she gets offered to the big one. I can't just sit here and watch that happen!"

  The moment his voice rose, his face was pushed into the dirt. Everyone pressed themsleves as low as they could agasint the ground. "Keep quiet."

  A pair of Gathering Spiders turned their attention up the hill. For a moment, they stayed, but after nothing happened, they left.

  A collective sigh of relief escaped the group.

  "But Grandpa..."

  "Look, Red, as much as I would like to run down there in a spectacular display for fire and strength, that wouldn't be wise."

  "Why is that?"

  "Yeah, why is that, Mr. Igneel?" Aurali joined in; her voice was just quiet.

  "With the female rejecting that male, it ruined an opening for us." His answer didn't do much to answer the question as they waited for him to continue.

  "You see, in a Gathering Spider colony, it's all about the female. She rules over them like a queen; the males aren't just foragers but warriors and are always on alert for threats. The reason why we need a change of plans now is because once the female accepts the male, she stays sheltered in her home with her chosen male while every single remaining male guards the entrance."

  Red and Aurali looked to the colony, faced each other, and looked back to Igneel, only to have Jerome speak up.

  "During that time, the other males guard the entrance. They don't leave to feed or even attack if something wanders into their territory. They stay at that entrance for days until the female is done."

  It took a moment for the knowledge to settle, but Red was quick to understand. "So you were hoping the female would accept the male and would use the chance to go get Xaio."

  "That's right, the only issue is now—

  "Now we need a different plan to move forward with." Zyreth cut in, a smile on her face. "A plan I just put together."

  While Red and Aurali turned to her with baited breath.

  "The problem is us getting to that tree where she is. Even if we sneak around to it without something to keep them occupied, they'll pick up on us before we've made it halfway. However..." Her gaze shifted from the colony to the group, and a sly, gambler's smile grew. "... if we had something to disgrace and keep them occupied, it would be a different story."

  A human gave her a cocky smile.

  The dwarf could only groan and mutter under his breath.

  Two children looked at each other, confused, before facing their elders.

  —

  A lone Gathering Spider wandered the edge of the colony, maintaining the tripwire webs that covered the ground. Reconnected one of the lines, it went slack again.

  What could be called a confused look on the spider took shape as it followed the line to the edge.

  Only to have a crimson blade slam into its head and pierce the ground. Igneel, followed by Jerome, leaped into the area. At the sight of the pair antoher spider charged the dwarf, only to be turned to paste His mace turned another to paste.

  Igneel's shout caught the colony's attention and his body caught flame, acting like a beacon to get their attention. It worked without fail and without a second to waste; every single male met their charge.

  Two more leaped into the air, and four halves hit the ground instead. The swarm was unfazed at the sight of their fallen kind, their only foucs was to attack the burning man.

  "This oughta get my blood pumping, it's been years since I've had fun like this!"

  "Just remember the plan, this isn't an excuse for you to show off in front of your grandson."

  Jerome's calm was in opposition to Igneel's more burning readiness

  "I know, can't help it. I don't get many opportunities to cut loose like this."

  "Sure, just keep to the plan. The last thing we want is the female getting involved."

  The two continued to take down spider after spider as they pushed deeper and became the center of attention.

  —

  Red walked next to Aurali as they followed Zyreth through the thick brush. Ducking under low branches and stepping over webbing hidden within the grass, they continued to circle towards the tree that held Xaio.

  "Miss Zyreth, how much further until we get there?" When he asked, his voice was barely audible.

  "Not much further, just a little—

  A low yelp came from their side. They turned to see Aurali, stuck with a hanging vine stuck in her hair and her foot in a burr bush.

  "Help..." A quiet whimper escaped.

  "Stay still, I'll get you out of there. Red, keep an eye out for me, will you?"

  "Yes, Ma'am."

  Watching the elf remove the vine from Aurali's hair, then started to work on freeing the girl's leg from the burr bush.

  "Ow."

  "Hold still, the more you move, the more it will hurt." With a delicate touch, she started to work. "Red, I told you to keep an eye out."

  "Right." A low whispering shout came from him as he started to look around.

  Crimson eyes darted around, attempting to spot anything dangerous. But the more he looked, the more tempting it became for him to stare into the colony's open field.

  Watching the spider swarm rush to where his grandfather and Jerome were, only to be met with might and flame, crimson eyes found themselves distracted.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  'Grandpa is really strong. Their numbers don't even seem to bother him... I wonder if I can become that strong.'

  "Hey, Red." The quiet tone of Zyreth grabbed his attention away from the conflict. "We're done here; we need to get going before Igneel and Jerome get overwhelmed."

  Aurali stood close to the dark elf as they took the long way around the colony.

  "Right..."

  'I hope Grandpa and Jerome will be ok.'

  With each step they took, his mind started to slowly wander back to just moments before.

  "So that's the plan. We have someone gain their attention while another group circles to where Xaio is."

  Looking at Zyreth with a concerned gaze, Red could only watch the group ignored both him and Aurali as they discussed a plan.

  "And who is going to be the metaphorical lamb to the slaughter?" The skepticism that filled Jerome's voice held no attempt to hide itself.

  "Preferably, whoever takes this role would only have to stall long enough for us to reach where Xaio is held."

  "So we'll have to split up into three groups. I knew we shouldn't have brought these kids with us."

  There was a slight quiet between the three.

  Zyreth tried to speak up, but before she could even get a word out, she was cut off.

  "Look, I tried to hold my tongue about this, but this wouldn't be an issue if we weren't having to pace ourselves so they could keep up."

  With each word that came from the dwarf, a hand's grip became tight.

  "Jerome, look, we can just find a way around it. Nothing like this is nothing we haven't run into before when we were younger."

  A hand ran through his thick beard. "Look, the fact i,s no matter how you look—

  "Then I'll stop holding you back."

  Red had their attention all turn to him.

  "I'll help distract them. I won't slow you down."

  Looking down at him, he felt their gaze strike him as his hand started to shake.

  "I'm here to help Xaio and I'm gonna—

  "Then I think I have an idea on how to fix this problem of ours." Looking down at Igneel, still saw a dumb boy who ran into the forest before the crack of dawn, but he saw a hint of something else.

  "Ok, here's the plan: Jerome and I will get their attention while Zyreth and the kids go for the rescue. And Red...

  Moving through the brush, the recent memory continued.

  "... your assignment is still the same..."

  "Red." A low voice whispered.

  ".. . I want you to go with Zyreth and help guard Aurali."

  "Red." The voice whispered again.

  "Huh?"

  Before he could take another step, a hand reached back and lifted him up by the scruff of his shirt.

  Only when he was brought back did Zyreth place him back on the ground.

  "Red, you need to watch where you're stepping. You almost stepped on a tripwire."

  Looking back, he found that he was ahead of both Zyreth and Aurali. And before him, just a single footstep ahead was a thin, almost invisible trail of webbing.

  "Oh... sorry."

  "Look, it's fine to be nervous, but right now I need you to stand guard and watch Aurali while I lead."

  "I'm not nervous."

  A low sigh escaped from her. "Come on, we don't have time for this, just follow my movements and watch your step."

  Following Zyreth's steps, the small group moved rapidly. Every few steps, Red turned back to the open field, watching the Gathering Spiders rushed towards slashing flames and non wavering cries.

  He could only shake his head. 'Grandpa is gonna be fine. I need to focus on helping Xaio.'

  "You ok, Strange Eye?"

  "Could you stop calling me that?"

  Before either could start their back and forth again, their mouths were covered by Zyreth. The two looked to her as she knelt to the ground and motioned ahead.

  "We're here." If Zyreth's voice was quiet before, now it was barely audible. Once her hand left his mouth, her hand pointed to the tree.

  Both his crimson and Aurali's golden gaze traveled forward.

  Their target, the tree where the colony stored their offerings to the female, was just a stone's throw away. But more importantly, where Xaio was strung up.

  'Ok, it's time to hel—

  The moment he tried to take a step forward, a hand pulled him back.

  Even Aurali had a confused look.

  "Zyreth? I thought—

  "We are, but even with your Grandfather and Jerome causing a distraction, it's best to be cautious."

  The pair nodded, Red drew Breaker from its sheath... only for something to dawn on him.

  "Wait, what's Aurali supposed to do? You don't have a weapon."

  A smug took over Aurali as if she was holding back any information from him.

  "Just follow me and be quick, understand?"

  The two shared another nod before Zyreth took the first step out for the tree line and into the colony proper. Red and Aurali were quick to follow, matching where she placed her steps with theirs.

  "So what are you gonna do, Aurali?"

  "I'm not gonna be scared of an abbot like you, that's what."

  "I... what... Why are you bringing that up now? Whatever, just watch out while I get Xaio."

  "Sure, I'll watch out so you don't turn into a scaredy baby."

  A stupefied look came over him. 'Why is she bringing that back up now? Is this payback for the spider?'

  But before he could even think of a comeback, Zyreth's voice grabbed their attention. "Both of you quit bickering and follow me."

  As they moved towards the tree, Red couldn't help but look around.

  'There are webs all over. Hey Aurali, watch where you step. We don't want to get caught in these webs."

  "Yeah I know."

  They were quick to arrive under the tree's shade. Avoiding the silk that covered the ground and hung from the trees, they gathered around the webbing that encased Xaio.

  The webbing that wrapped around Xaio clung to her like a tight, damp blanket, only to slightly move when a quiet, shallow breath escaped from her pale face.

  Red didn't hesitate to grab at the silk in an attempt to peel it off, but his hand became stuck.

  "Come on, this is just like with the slime." Trying to pull his hand free from the webbing, he couldn't free his hand. No matter how hard he pulled, the webbing clung to his hand.

  "Come on!"

  "Hehee."

  His attention shifted away from the webbing and to a giggling Aurali; even Zyreth couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight.

  "Go on, Aurali, lend him a hand."

  That same smug look appeared on her, as she approached the stop where Red was stuck and extended her hands over the spot.

  "Now focus, Aurali, take it nice and easy."

  Confusion came over Red when he looked to Zyreth for some kind of answer before a wave cold washed over his hand. A cold, misty frost covered his hand casued the silk to harden and crack.

  Crimson eyes watched as the frost spread over the silk and its hold on him became frail and crumbled apart.

  "How is this...Wait, Aurali, you can use magic?"

  The smug look that painted Aurali was still present, but the cold frost continued to to fall, there was a visible fatigue that covered her face. Her hands fell to her side and the frost came to a stop.

  "Hey, are you—

  "Red, help me get her out of this." Zyreth didn't give him a chance before they started to uncover Xaio.

  Aurali took a moment to rest. Red nad Zyreth started to remove clump after clump of silk, with each clump they pulled off, Red watched as Xaio seemed to breathe easier.

  But the more webbing that was removed, the damage became visible. The clothing she wore was tattered. Multiple pairs of large, swollen bite marks covered her, ranging from her shoulder, legs, and side.

  There was no bleeding, but she didn't look.

  "Miss Xaio!" Forgetting the situation, his cry echoed when he started shaking her shoulder.

  Even Aurali didn't have a favorable look at the sight and Zyreth pressed her fingers against the girl's neck. "She'll be ok, likely still under the effects of the Gathering Spider's venom. It's times like this that make me wish I was any good when it came to healing magic."

  A collective sigh came from the young pair when suddenly something flashed in Red's mind.

  "That could work."

  "What could work?"

  Auralipouted when Red ignored her, taking his bag to the ground and started searching until, a smile grew when he pulled out a pouch and ran to the zoophian's side.

  Opening the pouch, finding his five potion vials. Taking off the cork of one that held the white liquid. 'This should work, after all, Mr. Cromed made them.'

  Once Zyreth saw what he was planning, she lent him a hand by helping sit the zoophian up. Gently placing the vial against Xaio's lips, he poured the liquid down into her mouth. A low gulp was followed by a groan when she swallowed.

  Red didn't wait, grabbing one of the red potions. He was about to remove the cork, only to have a hand land on top of his.

  "Let's wait for her to come to. These wounds are bad but not life-threatening."

  "Right."

  Before the trio could move out, a low set of ticking noises echoed from behind.

  Zyreth's attention shot backward as a thread of silk shot at them. Her staff interacted with the silk, only to have several more threads latch onto the staff. Zyreth groaned, silk glued her hand to the staff and a small group of Gathering Spiders returned to their food storage.

  "Why are they here? Should Grandpa and Jerome have had them distracted!?"

  "If I had to guess, a few got scared off and ran back here for safety."

  "Zyreth!" Aurali cried out as she watched the elf get dragged towards the spiders.

  "Aurali!" Red heard Zyreth cry out. "Stay by Red and don't move from that spot!"

  As she cried out, a spider leaped at her side only to have the staff pierce its body. Another came from her left, only to be shot by a blast of water.

  In that moment, Red and Aurali watched Zyreth get pulled off balance and towards the small group, forced to fight.

  The groans from Xaio slowly grew louder and the grip Red had on Breaker tightened. A rushing sound came from the tall grass, his attention shifted away from the tree as he turned to find Aurali standing closer to him. But he wasn't given a moment to check on her.

  As a yellow-headed Dungeon Lizard came into view.

  Looking around the area, it kept its head low, bobbing up and down in a repeated motion. Until its gaze landed on the webbed cases, and where Red stood in front of Aurali as it slowly started to move forward.

  "Zyreth! Help!" Aurali's screech left a painful echo in Red's ear as it caught the elf's attention, but her hands were stuck dealing with a different problem.

  While an elf tried to deal with the Gathering Spider group that caught them by surprise, impaling them with her staff or blasting them with water. The only thing that separated the girls from the lizard was the blade that Red held.

  'Grandpa gave me a job and I said I'd help Xaio.'

  But despite his thoughts, Breaker still shook in his hands. Just like the encounter he had with the goblins in the forest.

  'I'm not gonna be scared... I won't be scared!'

  Looking back at the lizard before him, it kept bobbing its head, flicking its tongue out as it approached them.

  'Why is a Dungeon Lizard here? Shouldn't it be scared of getting caught and wrapped up?' With a shake of his head, Red left his thoughts behind and turned his attention back to the lizard. 'That doesn't matter right now!'

  One step forward was quickly followed by another as he approached, feeling his gaze being sent back at him. The lizard, feeling that it was being challanged, skurried towards him.

  Each step forward, Red watched the lizard's movement. Every time it adjusted its form, he stopped as the bobbing became more rapid and its mouth opened, showing off its teeth.

  Then the first lunge happened.

  The lizard headbutted Red, knocking him back and kept the pressure going.

  Zyreth, with her attention divided against the Gathering Spiders that surrounded her, could only watch and try to end the threat as quickly as possible.

  Its jaws snapped at Red's feet as he crawled back, trying to get back on his feet. The moment he did, the lizard lunged again. It felt like something else took control of him, in that moment he moved to the side of its lunge and a sharp pain ran acorss his leg.

  But he didn't have time to think about it, with its side exposed to him. Red took his shot.

  'Just like how Mom said, don't swing wildly!'

  Breaker came flying down as it cut into its side and a small. Bloody streak took shape.

  'I did it!'

  A smile formed and liquid oozed from the opening. Raising his sword high, he tried to take another swing. But the loud crack of the whip echoed, the lizard's tail slammed into his side. Rolling across the ground, he came to a stop by Aurali, and the lizard started to approach them once more.

  "Are you ok?"

  "I'm fine, I...my side just hurts." All he could do was hold his stomach as the lizard slowly approached.

  Struggling to get back on his feet, frost started to coat Aurali's hands. Even with the seconrd arival the lizard leaped into the air. One struggled to get back on his feet, the other felt her body freeze. However they both felt something rush past them.

  Watching, a white blur intercepted the lizard. A fist rammed into its open jaw, just before it closed around the fist, its head slammed into the ground. The sound of a skull cracking helped the two lock in on what happened.

  Low panting was followed by vomiting and the woman fell to the floor.

  "That's—

  "Red, Aurali! Are you both ok?" Zyreth's return was marked with concern when she arrived. Aurali didn't waste a second, tackling the elf with a hug. But Red ignored Zyreth's return because his gaze was stuck on the white haired woman who now stood over the head-crushed lizard, with ears that twitched as they tried to scan the area.

  "Miss Xaio!" Turning to the call, she only watched the red-eyed boy rushed towards her. Trying to get up, she could only to fall back to her knees as more bile left her mouth. "Miss Xaio, are you alright?"

  The zoophian gave the boy a strange look before whiping her mouth on her arm and a tired laugh came from her. "We really... need to stop meeting like this, kid."

  Red faced her with a smile, but it was a smile short-lived when a serious look took over. Reaching into his pouch, and quickly held out both of the red vials and his canteen.

  "And these are?"

  "They're the healing potions I had, and I thought you might need some water."

  "That's nice, but I'm not gonna take your stuff. Looks like you might need one yourself."

  Confused for a moment, Red followed her pointed finger down to his leg. His pants had a tear with a shallow cut on his leg.

  "It doesn't hur—

  "I'll make you a deal, I'll take one of my rescuer drinks, the other."

  He gave a nod, handing off one of the vials, and they both downed them. "It's kinda sweet."

  "Healing potions are like that, and the taste isn't the only good thing about them. Look at your leg."

  It was fast-acting, as if the moment the liquid touched his lips, the cut on his leg was already healing. Slowly coming together until not even a single mark of it remained.

  A smiles grew on him, but the moment Red looked up that smile slowly faded. Xaio was still covered in wounds, the bite marks still clearly marked her body. But the countless bruises, at least the ones he could see, started to heal slowly.

  "I don't—

  "You see, just because you gave me a potion doesn't mean it's going to heal all my injuries." When she spoke, Aurali and Zyreth came to their side. "But I'm thankful for your help, now, tell me where your grandpa is? Did you run off without him again?"

  "No, he volunteered to help, constantly saying how he was going to help Miss Xaio. As for his grandfather..."

  The ground seemed to shake. Looking back, they were greeted by the sight of both Igneel and Jerome running towards them. And right behind them was the female. And she was snarling as venom dripped from its maw.

  "Were you guys able to get Xaio? Hope you don't mind the guest!" Igneel looked like he was laughing despite being chased.

  "... looks like even after all these years, just as reckless as I remember."

  As they rejoined, the female Gathering Spider looked down at the group, agitated. Its agitation only grew at the sight of more of its slain kind.

  "You really went and pissed it off, old man." Xaio's comment did get a chuckle from the group. Igneel was practically booming. "I don't mind. I was in the mood for a little payback."

  But their laughter was cut short. Red watched the spider raised its front legs up only for them to come crashing down. A quick arm wrapped around him and leaped from that spot, but the force from the impact cuased the duo to slid across the ground.

  When the sliding came to an end, Red looked up, only to be greeted by Xaio's pain-filled smile.

  Zyreth did the same with Aurali, while Igneel and Jerome avoided the strike themselves. His crimson gaze soon locked with the spider's. A blast of venom was launched at him. Red was the only one to flinch. Xaio trired to move but coudn't. Her body was still drained of its streght, so she rolled ontop of Red. Trying to shield him from the acid.

  The sound of splashing and sizzling was heard all around them. The pair looked behind them, finding Igneel in front of them.

  "Grandpa!"

  "Old man?"

  With a single slash, Igneel didn't allow a single drop to land on them. Watching as Defiant Flame slowly caught flame before it was quickly engulfed by it.

  Before Red could question him furtherJerome charged in and slammed his mace into the spider's tree-like legs. The limb to shatter on impact. Looking back to where Aurali and Zyreth were. While the girl clung to the elf's side, Zyreth was speaking, chanting, but was too far for him to hear.

  The roar of fire directed his attention back to his grandfather as the flames around Defiant Flame grew larger, brighter and engulfed Igneel's arm.

  Another wack from Jerome echoed with another spider leg being shattered, but the Queen wasn't a damaged sponge. When it saw an opening and swung it, its leg slammed into the dwarf.

  Gasps echoed from Red and Aurali as Jerome flew, but he didn't relent and threw his mace with all the force he could muster. The force of the impact of the weapon hitting its side knocking it to the ground.

  "Aquarius Binds!"

  As Zyreth cried out, several pillars of water shot from the ground aorunnd the spider. Like tenticlas the pillars wrapped around its body, but the mosnter thrashed wildly tryong to break free from the elf's control as the watery pillars coiled upwards around its legs. as Zyreth used all of her consideration to keep a hold on it, she creid out to Igneel.

  "End this now!"

  Crimson eyes reflected the Gathering Queen's struggle against the bindinnhs , thrashing wildly as the watery restraints continued to tighten their grasp. But quickly, the light of fire took over his attention.

  "Grandpa..."

  "Red, I want to pay attention to this. This is a glimpse of what kind of power is gained when you have something to protect."

  The flames around Defiant Flame erupted further into a bright, brilliant fire. Even the air he breathed was uncomfortably hot.

  In a single calm motion. Igneel swung his blade as a slashing wave of fire was freed from the blade. Cutting through the center of the spider, the slash kept going until it splashed against the dungeon wall. Leaving a molten mark as its sole remains.

  With a swipe to the ground, Defiant Flame lost the last of its fire before being returned to its sheath.

  Facing the group once again, Igeenl spoke, showing off his black ring to the group. "All right, everyone, let's get that stone and head back. Drinks and dinner are on me tonight!"

  There was a sudden, celebratory roar from the group.

  But while they were cheering, Red was left in awe, his eyes locked onto this grandfather's sword and the massive bisected spider that slowly burned to ash.

  Only to look away and to his reflection on Breaker.