The emergency light illuminated Princess who sat on her throne. She glanced at a headless corpse, its rotten head devoured by the Broodmother at a corner of the central control room.

Princess tapped the throne and studied the corpse in front of her. A swarm of tiny spiderlings infested it, crawling in and out of their pores. By feeding it to the spiderlings, she could nurture her force while getting the most out of her enemies.

She wiped the blood that dirtied her and licked her fingers to savour the aftertaste. The spider legs on her back extended to stab the corpse. The force split the chest open. A relatively big spiderling climbed up the limb.

The fist-sized spiderling roared before approaching Princess by climbing her extended limb. Princess stretched her hand and allowed the spiderling to leap on it.

"Angelica, take the body to her."

Princess walked to the Broodmother, Angelica following behind. She casually dragged the corpse and paced herself slightly slower than Princess.

Princess watched the Broodmother devouring the corpse. It gradually shrank in size before reducing into a puddle of blood, leaving nothing but bloodstain behind.

The Arachna could efficiently replenish their lost energy by consuming all organic and inorganic matter. Though the energy conversion rate wasn't a perfect one-to-one, it was impossibly close.

With the lack of moral, coupled with their insane self-replicating nature, the Arachna was a formidable force that could overthrow the Great Races supported by the Lesser Races, the Mythical Creatures, and the Gods.

Princess observed the change in the Broodmother's body. The green liquid increased its volume, glowing through the semi-transparent layer of membrane on her back.

The green liquid diffused an acidic odour, attracting the spiderlings. In a mere moment, they covered the Broodmother, squeezing to devour the juice.

The green liquid was one of the enigmas of Arachna. The distilled nutrient was created to accelerate the growth of the Arachna while producing little to no long-term side effect. When combined with the Aracha's fast-growing nature, it produced an endless horde of all-consuming Arachna.

The Great Races tried to replicate it but failed miserably. They couldn't efficiently converse the material into the pure unpolluted nutrient.

Without that pureness, the impurity would add up after certain amounts of daily dosage. Once the quantity had exceeded a determined threshold, serious, life-threatening side-effects would manifest.

"Isn't it wondrous?"

Though Princess wasn't originally an Arachna, she still felt proud of her race's greatness. She naturally took the entirety of the Arachna as an extension of herself, for she was their royalty. With her hands, she would bring upon prosperity.

"Mistress, you're incredible."

Through she lost most of her memory, Angelica understood the exotic quality of this process.

When she watched the spiderlings devouring the corpses, an underlying pressure built in her. The monstrous appearance of the Arachna stirred her mind despite her robotic nature.

This feeling, however, dispersed at once after she looked at Princess. The emergency light reflected from her carapaced skin, gleaming in a soft purple hue. Angelica longed to be by her side. The nobility she witnessed soothed her mind.

So long as she remained by Princess, nothing could shake her.

She who existed as Princess's property would stand above all others and beneath only one: Princess.

"Angelica, record it."

Angelica snapped back and began the recording process. Her pupils widened and contracted to adjust the brightness and focus, capturing as many details as possible.

Princess gently tapped the Broodmother's semi-transparent film. Her nails slipped through it and submerged under the lukewarm green liquid. In contrast to its sticky appearance, it wasn't viscous.

Once her entire hand went in, Princess waited for the spiderling to absorb the nutrients. It greedily swallowed everything, doubling its size. It only stopped after its stomach threatened to burst.

Princess retracted her hand and observed the spiderling.

"Fascinating."

The gem in her chest shone and released Fons. It circulated her body before gathering at her fingertips and seeping to the spiderling.

The spiderling radiated blue light before rapidly growing. Its body expanded and strengthened, doubling in size again.

Princess felt its weight pressing against her hand. Though its mass didn't magically increase, the nutrients had changed into muscle mass and body parts.

With the secret knowledge from the absorbed will, Princess manipulated Fons to accelerate the spiderling's rate of digestion and growth. She increased its metabolism and cell division rate, helping it progress through the ladder of maturity.

Though the spiderling couldn't reach adulthood due to the lack of significant nutrients, Princess was satisfied with the result. She got the estimated energy required to grow a spiderling.

Princess let the spiderling go and watched it moving out of the room. After the sudden maturity, it needed to fill its empty stomach, so Princess commanded it to go hunt.

"Angelica, come with me. We'll try this out."

Princess and Angelica exited the room, leaving the Broodmother with her children.

...

"Sire Constrien, please understand that you can't use our Virtual Battleground without prior appointment," the receptionist said, trembling.

As a receptionist, he had met with countless strong mercenaries. Though they were strong, he feared losing his job more than getting bullied by them.

"Everyone knows it is empty, and we're leaving the city tomorrow. Do you want us to die?" Tardium said before glancing at the Arbiter behind him.

"Tardium, let me handle this." The Boss, Constrien, met his gaze with the receptionist. His assertive built towered over the receptionist, his fierce eyes staring without blinking.

"We've already bought a lot. Maybe we can get an exception," Constrien said. Contrasted to his dominating presence, he smiled.

"But sir—" Before the receptionist could finish his sentence, the Arbiter raised her hand and cast a spell. The gadgets from the shelves floated and laid in front of the receptionist.

"Our Miss is feeling generous today. You're lucky." Constrien laughed at the receptionist's dumbfounded expression. Who would have thought an Arbiter would visit the weaponry shop?

The number of the Arbiters remained low even within the most prosperous part of the Human Empire, let alone in City D-34.

"Even if Miss is an Arbiter . . ." The receptionist's voice softened over time. He began to regret his decision.

As if a Goddess was angry, the atmosphere of the shop froze. The temperature dropped towards absolute zero, shifting from yellow to blue shade.

"Sirs and Miss, please accept my apology on his behave," a voice said. From the upstairs, a man walked down and greeted the group.

"Boss?" The receptionist almost collapsed on the floor, his breathing turned unstable.

"Though the rules must be respected, there are always exceptions. Please, enjoy your stay," the owner said.

"Well then. Let's go," Constrien said.

In front of the gate, the Arbiter gracefully took off her hood, revealing her snow-white skin as well as her pair of long, pointy ears. With her look akin to nature, her identity was unquestionable.

"You understand now, don't you?" the owner said. He and the receptionist stared at her until the gate closed.

"So she is an Elf." The receptionist nodded. Her appearance was even more beautiful than he imagined an Elf to be.

The Elves, one of the Great Races blessed by nature with timeless youth and great Fons affinity, were truly a mystical figure to look up to. With their close connection with the Gods, they stood on par with the humans.