474. Unable to Use Grand Skills

The clone drifted and wandered and snuck her way throughout the vast tumultuous landscape of monolithic edifices and paved pathways. She hid in this complex labyrinth from the predator. A perilous position. The intricate design of crimson threads overhead undermined any camouflage the city provided.

And that was how the [Archarachne] found her. It appeared hanging above the clone. Its eight red eyes flashed, and its mandibles clicked open. The clone looked up and gritted her teeth. She unleashed a plume of golden flames upward, blasting the wild Primeval Demon’s back.

For a moment, a sphere of golden flames engulfed the spider-Demon. The explosion shone like a scintillating star in the sky. Then the moment ended, and a crimson beam of magic sheared through that golden veil.

The clone leapt out of the way of the attack. The red blast consumed all nearby buildings. A terrible shockwave ripped through the earth. She flew into the air, spreading her wings wide.

And the [Archarachne] appeared next to her, its scythe-like limb already raised. It swung down as the clone’s eyes grew wide—

I looked up as a golden blast rocked the city of Ertos. A flaming cross marked the sky, shearing a clearing in the red web of death overhead. I clicked my tongue.

“Another clone’s dead.”

That was the fourth dead clone. I shook my head. It was starting to get annoying. I raised a hand, casting [Salvo of Vanity] once again. Another pair of clones appeared next to me, and I sent them out.

“Find Orgaf or Helena Warshade. We need to work together to get out of here alive.”

They nodded at me before leaping away. I watched them go as I continued scouring the area for either Elite Ranked adventurers. I hadn’t seen either of them since the [Archarachne] activated its Grand Skill. And now, the wild Primeval Demon was prowling all over its domain, hunting for us like we were some insignificant insect.

I glanced up at where the explosion from my last clone’s death had burned away at the web above. The golden flames had consumed a large chunk of the interlacing threads, leaving behind nothing there. But the [Archarachne] hovered over the empty space, bringing its legs together like it was weaving the air. Slowly, the torn section of the web began to reform.

I shook my head. This was starting to get really annoying. We couldn’t inflict any permanent damage to this web of death. Each time I sheared through the threads, the giant spider-like Demon would simply repair the damages. There was no way to escape. The only solution was to fight. But here, inside the confines of its Grand Skill, we might as well be resigning ourselves to our deaths if we fought it one-on-one.

That was why I was searching for my allies. I continued scouring the streets of Ertos, until I heard the boom. The flash of lightning followed by the crackle of thunder. My eyes grew wide as I glanced up.

“Helena…?”

The Great Tempest Archmage of Mavos Academy unleashed a hurricane on the [Archarachne]. Black clouds obfuscated a section of the web as dozens of lightning bolts ripped through the insides of the storm. I quickly spread my wings wide, flying up to come to the aid of Helena Warshade.

I soared around the web, moving quickly and even teleporting over a large distance to reach her as soon as I could. But as quickly as the storm commenced, it dissipated. I spotted the Archmage zipping down on her cloud, chased by the wild Primeval Demon.

Each step the [Archarachne] took, it reshaped the design of the web all throughout the sphere. I blinked, watching as the threads around me moved and shifted. I weaved around the network of crimson threads as I created a flaming blow.

I loosed the Giant Killer Arrow at the wild Primeval Demon. The Epic Grade artifact burrowed straight through all threads in between myself and the target. The [Archarachne] loomed over Helena Warshade, slamming its legs against her barriers as she braced herself. And that was when my arrow struck.

The [Archarachne] reeled back as the Giant Killer Arrow dug deep into an already-broken section of its shell. The wild Primeval Demon spun around just in time to see me swoop past it. I sent a blast of flames at its eyes as I flew down to the Archmage.

“Helena!”

I swooped down towards her, but I didn’t grab her. She blinked at me, and I pointed.

“[Haste]. Let’s go!”

She looked down at herself for a moment as my Skill enhanced both our speeds. Then I flew out of the way, descending back into the city of Ertos. The Archmage quickly followed, and I created another clone. The wild Primeval Demon tried to give chase as my clone held it off for a total of a minute before exploding in the sky.

By the time the [Archarachne] was finished with my clone, we were already back down in the city. I sighed in relief as the Archmage landed behind me.

“This is annoying…”

I muttered. Helena Warshade’s gaze remained fixed towards the sky, wary of what the wild Primeval Demon was doing.

“We need to organize a plan to defeat that thing. This place is a death trap for us. Look.”

I raised a brow, turning to where the Archmage was pointing. And I saw it. The [Archarachne] had taken quite a bit of damage from Helena, my clone, and myself from the last encounter. But its shattered chitin began to regenerate. The black blood leaking from its body vanished as its wounds closed up. I frowned.

“Huh.”

Then I shook my head.

“We can’t take it down with just the two of us. We need Orgaf’s help if we want to stand a chance. And even then, it’s very risky.”

“Well, I’m flattered to hear that you need my help.”

A voice came from the side, and I spun to face a figure emerging from the shadows. He was accompanied by both my clones who were grinning proudly at me. I started forward, exclaiming.

“Orgaf!”

The Thief of the Golden Scales nodded at me. He had his daggers held out to the side. He glanced up once towards the wild Primeval Demon. It was fixing the hole in its web before finally sweeping its dangerous gaze over the city.

Orgaf furrowed his brows.

“But I don’t think we can defeat this Primeval Demon. Even if we work together. Without our Grand Skills, we are very much at its mercy.”

“Right.”

I hesitated. Helena Warshade closed her eyes.

“Yet, our only other option is to roll over and die.”

I looked between both the Elite Ranked adventurers.

“So we just fight? Shouldn’t we come up with a plan or something?”

Helena raised her staff.

“It is better that we attack it on our own terms, then let it hunt us down one by one. Do you not agree, Salvos?”

She eyed me with a sidelong glance. I blinked. For a moment, I stood there silently. Then my lips curled up. Baring my teeth, I summoned my Divine Nebular Scythe once again and answered.

“Of course. I much prefer this method over running around.”

Orgaf sighed, massaging his temples.

“This is not going to end well. But… fuck it.”

He raised his blades as I pointed towards the sky. Helena and I unleashed a barrage of lightning and fire at the wild Primeval Demon from behind as my clone picked up Orgaf and flew forward, while the other followed behind.

We charged at the [Archarachne] as it let out a shriek, challenging us once again.

“I cannot do that.”

Mori Gladius replied simply. Daniel bit his lower lip.

“We need a Grand Skill— you’re the only one here who has that power with us. Please, you need to save Salvos. Helena Warshade. Even Orgaf!”

The [Hero] explained, yet the Champion of the Human Lands refused to budge. Mori shook his head and lowered his gaze.

“I am certain they do not need my help. Worry not, for they will be able to escape this prison in time.”

“But what if they need our help? We can’t just stand idly by if we can do something, right?”

Edithe stepped in, pressing Mori with even more questions. But he just spoke in the same cool voice he did earlier.

“Because my Grand Skill is valuable. It is an asset that can be used later on in the war. Wasting it now when it is not necessary would only be detrimental in the long run.”

It was a pragmatic answer. But one that Daniel refused to accept. He blinked.

“Wasting…?”

Then he gritted his teeth. He didn’t expect this from the Champion of the Human Lands. Edithe was clearly taken aback too. But both of them knew that arguing here was pointless. Daniel spun around and eyed the woman standing to the side.

“Scarlet— you’re an Elite Ranked adventurer, right?”

The Red Rose blinked and backed up quickly.

“I-I am!”

She squeaked. Daniel walked up to her and grabbed her by the hand.

“If Mori can’t do this, then you need to help us. It’s not just Salvos in there. We can’t just take a chance of their lives.”

Scarlet averted her gaze, speaking apprehensively.

“I want to help… but I don’t have a Grand Skill.”

“What?”

Daniel stared at her. And she raised her hands defensively.

“I’ve tried to get one, but it’s difficult, you know? It’s not something you just get at every Class advancement like a [Hero] would.”

“That’s…”

He pursed his lips. Edithe looked towards Daniel, asking softly.

“What do we do, Daniel?”

“That’s…”

Then his eyes widened.

“Wait, maybe I can—”

“Attack it from all sides!”

I yelled out at my clones as they flew forward. These were my last pair of clones, conjured up with [Salvo of Vanity]. The rest had been killed by the [Archarachne] as it glided around its web and swung its scythe-like legs wildly. And it slowly healed from any attack we blasted it with. This was a tough battle.

But this wasn’t a one-sided beatdown. We were putting up a good fight against the wild Primeval Demon. Orgaf clung onto the [Archarachne]’s back, ripping its shell open with his blades. I kept close too as I attacked the spider-like Demon from its underbelly, so we would be inflicting damage from both sides.

It tried to shake us off, but my clones distracted it as they flew around like flies. Meanwhile Helena Warshade zipped around at a distance and unleashed a flurry of spells to support us. The wild Primeval Demon screeched as it began to bleed profusely, the attacks compounding faster than it could heal.

I tore through a large chunk of its underbelly with [Draconic Fury], grinning as my Divine Nebular Scythe lodged deep inside the Demon.

“How about that?”

And that was when it decided it had enough. It leapt back, hurdling through a dense gathering of crimson threads. Orgaf and I quickly jumped off before we would be cut apart from the web. The [Archarachne] just phased through it— its own Grand Skill seemingly harmless to its body. Like it was just water or mist.

I caught the Elite [Rogue] in the air before he could tumble down, before flying up to my clones and Helena Warshade.

“Is it trying to run?”

I asked, narrowing my eyes. The Archmage’s eyes widened.

“No…”

She half-replied, and I blinked. I looked towards where she was looking and stared as the web began to unfurl. The entire intricate network of threads folded back away from all around us. At first, I had thought the [Archarachne]’s Grand Skill had finally come to an end. I almost believed that the battle was over.

Then I saw the dome overhead— I realized the fact that we were still trapped. And the web stopped receding. The wild Primeval Demon stood on its web, its eyes glinting as it faced us. We stared at it as it clicked its mandibles together.

My shoulders slumped.

“Uh-oh.”

And all at once, thousands of threads shot forward, weaving through the air back towards us. Helena Warshade tensed, raising her staff.

“We need to get back!”

Orgaf nodded and leapt down onto her cloud. But he paused as he turned to me. I hadn’t moved just yet.

“Salvos, what are you doing?”

“We can’t run anymore.”

I glanced back at him as he stared up at me. He narrowed his eyes.

“What are you—”

But I continued, speaking over him.

“This is our only chance. The [Archarachne] is hurt. If we run, we lose. So we continue this fight.”

“But we can’t survive—”

Orgaf started once more, and I shot forward. I charged straight towards the wild Primeval Demon as its crimson threads wove through the air heading for me. I grinned and whispered.

“[My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends]!”

And the assailing crimson threads… bounced off me.