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"Spread out!" Helga said. "Don't bunch up!"

The Void-Thread Arachne moved.

That thing was impossibly swift. One moment it hung above them; the next it was among the front-line fighters.

A survivor screamed as a leg punched through his shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

The Arachne's mandibles opened, and it bit down on his neck. The Enervating Bite, one of the monster's skills, injected venom directly into his bloodstream. He convulsed, and his body went rigid as the Toxin took hold.

Panthers swarmed the creature. Not even those agile creatures had been able to keep up with the beast.

But they took the chance; they got served and leaped onto its back, tearing at its carapace. The Arachne shrieked and activated Phase Step.

Its body became translucent. The panthers' claws passed through it as the creature repositioned itself twenty feet away, now clinging to the wall.

"It's phasing!"

"Mages!" Aldric said. "Magic attacks!"

The raid already tested the theory. When the creature phased, only magic worked against it.

Spells erupted across the chamber. Fireballs, lightning bolts, and ice lances streaked toward the Arachne.

The creature couldn't phase through magical attacks and got severely injured.

But it wasn't down yet

The Arachne spat a glob of Void-Silk Snare at the mages. The substance expanded mid-flight, catching three of them in a web of dark threads. They struggled, but the silk drained their mana.

"Free them!"

But as soon as Aldric shouted that, the beast disappeared.

It activated Web-Portal, disappearing into one section of its nest-weave and reappearing behind the raid's rear line. It struck fast, its venomous bite catching a woman before she could react. She collapsed, the toxin spreading through her body. Another healer tried to save her.

Helga was already moving. Her rage had been building since the moment the Arachne had appeared along with her battle lust. Her S.H.I.E.L.D. was soaring through the roof. This had been, quite frankly, a very annoying battle, because the creature was not only fast but also had skills that made it basically teleport. Every time it struck, it vanished; she couldn't even get to her on time, and her rage simmered.

Her strength surged and flooded her muscles. Endurance hardened her body against damage. She became a living battering ram, smashing through webbing with her warhammer as she charged toward the Arachne's, and slowly getting fast enough for her to kill the bastard despite the level difference.

"You think you can run from me?" she said. "I'll crush your fucking legs off!"

The Arachne sensed the threat. It tried to portal away, designating a new exit point in the web. But Lorian was ready.

He slammed his spear into the ground. Gravitational energy pulsed, and that disrupted the Arachne's teleporting skill. The web portal destabilized, its exit point collapsing before the Arachne could escape.

The creature was trapped.

Panthers closed in from all sides. They formed a living cage around the monster, cutting off every escape route. The creature's ten eyes darted left and right, searching for an opening.

She hit it too late. Helga barreled in like a storm, her warhammer carving a brutal arc through the air. The blow smashed into the Arachne's left side, snapping two legs like brittle sticks. Chunks of black shell exploded outward as the creature let out another shriek.

It tried to phase. Helga's second strike caught it mid-transformation, disrupting the ability.

"Stay solid, you coward!" Helga roared. Her rage was at its peak now.

The Arachne lashed out with its remaining legs, trying to impale her. Helga blocked the first strike with her hammer, the second with her forearm. The leg punched through her armor but couldn't penetrate deep enough to cause serious damage. Her endurance was too high.

She grabbed the leg with her free hand and pulled.

The Arachne reeled, thrown off balance. Helga's hammer shot up, smashing into its jaw with a sickening crack. The force sent the creature flying backward, slamming hard into the web-coated ceiling above.

Stunned and dazed, the Arachne couldn't muster its portal magic. The survivors saw their chance and moved in.

Aldric's Sun Chasers surrounded the fallen creature. Everyone, not just the mages, channeled their most powerful skills.

But the Arachne wasn't finished.

It activated Gravitational Lure, targeting Helga directly. The telekinetic pull yanked her off her feet, dragging her toward the creature's mandibles.

Helga twisted in midair, her body reacting before her mind could catch up. Rage surged through her, sharpening every sense. For a split second, time seemed to slow; she saw the Arachne's jaws opening; the venom glistening on its fangs, and the exact angle of the attack.

Her hammer swept around in a backhanded arc, smashing into the Arachne's mandible right as it lunged to bite. The strike knocked the attack wide, those deadly fangs snapping shut on nothing but air where her throat should've been.

She landed hard, rolled, and came up swinging.

The Arachne tried to retreat, its remaining legs scrabbling against the web. But the panthers were everywhere now. They tore at its legs, their claws finding purchase in the cracks Helga had created. The creature couldn't move.

Lorian stepped forward.

The Arachne's eyes locked onto him. It recognized the threat. It spat another Void-Silk Snare directly at Lorian, the sticky mass expanding to engulf him.

Lorian thrust his spear forward. Whatever skill he affected, some kind of fire vines moving on their own appeared and intercepted the web.

The creature shrieked as the heat reached it. Its body convulsed.

Helga didn't give it time to recover. She charged again; she raised her warhammer and brought it down on the Arachne's head with all her strength.

The carapace cracked. Then shattered. The hammer crushed through the exoskeleton and into the creature's brain cavity.

The Void-Thread Arachne spasmed once, violently, then went still.

Its violet eyes dimmed until only darkness remained in them. The creature's legs curled inward, resembling a spider's death pose. The void-silk webbing throughout the chamber began to dissolve, the threads unraveling into wisps of shadow that faded into nothing.

Silence fell.

Then the notifications appeared.

—[Void-Thread Arachne—Level 115—defeated!] —

[You have gained 1725 C.L.A.S.P. Points.]

[You have earned 672,75 Survival Points.]

That thing was strong enough so that even Reidar had been able to get something out of it.

—[QUEST COMPLETE: Eclipse the Spire]—

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