Children of the Holy Emperor

In the early stages of the Gehenna situation, at the front lines of Paju City, when humanity’s counterattack was just beginning, it appeared.

Pavo Nephila.

The accursed spider offspring that took away most of Seongjin’s initial comrades.

***

Urrrrrrrrrr! Kuwoong!

The monster that burst through the floor of the Heresy Tribunal building, kicking up a cloud of dirt, was as massive as that spider back then.

Its plump body, densely covered with long, coarse spines like fur, looked like a purple tarantula. Only, it was bigger than an average large freight truck, and its disproportionately long legs made it move as if it were heavy machinery.

At the ends of its tough, elongated segments—almost as if armored—were enormous claws emitting a menacing red gleam.

Kiik. Kiik. The eight eyes, emitting a malevolent light, quickly found their target.

Ddadadadadak.

The spines covering its entire body all quivered at once, generating a low-frequency noise.

“Your Highness!”

Ignoring Masain’s scream, Seongjin was already charging at the spider.

As the monster struggled to fully emerge from the hole in the ground, Seongjin swiftly dodged its spike-laden legs.

And before its venomous fangs could even point forward, he had already reached the middle of its belly and slashed it with all his might. It was where its nucleus was located.

Kagagagak.

The blade, tightly wrapped in a coarse aura, managed to cut through the creature’s tough outer shell.

‘…Too shallow!’

Before the spider could fully stand up, Seongjin, who was sliding down, struck the same spot once more horizontally. Kagak!

But, driving his sword deeply into that massive body was still too difficult. He needed to penetrate at least 2 meters with a single strike.

Realizing his failure, Seongjin rolled to his feet, immediately running counter-clockwise, using the monster’s body as an axis.

Meanwhile, the spider, now fully upright, flickered its ruby-like red eyes as it scanned its surroundings.

It momentarily followed Seongjin with its head, but then turned its body to face forward again. This was because Masain was charging at it from the front, sword raised, with a fearsome momentum.

“Your Highness!”

It seemed that their priority was to be wary of the human on the other side. After all, the golden aura surrounding Masain’s sword must have appeared quite threatening to the monster.

Seeing the creature grinding its upper fangs together, Seongjin shouted towards Masain.

“Move, Sir Masain! It’s going to spit poison!”

“…Huh?”

In the moment that Masain hesitated, Seongjin swiftly struck down one of the creature’s protruding spikes near its rear with his sword. While he didn’t completely destroy it, he was still able to make the monster flinch and turn its head.

*Psst.*

A large amount of mucus is scattered onto the entrance floor from the monster’s mouth.

Soon after, the entrance’s carpet began to melt with a *shhik* sound. Masain, narrowly dodging the acidic spit, was startled.

“Gah! What is this!”

“Don’t stand there gawking, move, Sir Masain!”

With the urgent shout, Masain quickly regained his senses and began running towards Seongjin.

*Thump! Bang! Thump!*

The creature, turning its body to follow, stomped on the floor with its sturdy claws. But the experienced knight commander skillfully dodged its massive legs chasing after him.

He even managed to cut off one of the joints of its mid-air leg with a momentarily-formed elongated aura blade. Seongjin’s swordsmanship teacher indeed had quite the skill.

While chasing after Seongjin, he shouted desperately.

“The imperial guard knights will be deployed soon, Your Highness! It’s best to evacuate first…!”

“No, Sir Masain! We need to keep it pinned down here!”

It was a reasonable thing for Masain to say, as he wasn’t familiar with the creature’s mobility. If the monster broke the building and started rampaging, the damage would be uncontrollable. After all, it had already massacred hunters while moving so quickly, despite its massive size.

Moreover, the monster might not be able to aim properly in the tight space for now, but once it starts spraying its webs over a large area, it would become extremely difficult to deal with.

Most of the knights with no experience dealing with such a monster would get killed before they even had a chance to act.

‘That’s why we have to hit it as much as we can while we can make it go round and round in a small space!’

Of course, just like the monster was restricted because it was trapped in the building, Seongjin and Masain were also limited in their movements. It was because the creature had broken a large hole in the floor to crawl out.

*Kwa-aang!*

A leg as large as a crane’s shot out like a cannon, embedding itself into the wall. Swiftly ducking and rolling, they found themselves facing a dead-end.

Kagagak!

Utilizing the recoil as another leg flew towards them, Seongjin and Masain barely managed to change direction. Luckily, a hallway with a completely lowered wall appeared next to them, allowing them to quickly escape from the corner.

Ttadadadak!

Frustrated at its failed pursuit, the spider angrily dropped its spikes and chased after them with a “Shhak Shhak” sound, its talons pounding the ground. Parts of its talons got stuck near the crumbling floor, causing the edge of the hole to crumble down even further.

Kuaaaaaa! Chang! Chang!

Eerie noises echoed from beneath the punctured floor. Sounds from the dungeon located in the underground of the Heresy Tribunal.

Screams, the clashing of weapons.

And a creepy, “Kkadeuk Kkadeuk” sound as if something was being chewed on.

It seemed that a battle was raging inside the dungeon as well. Most of the Heresy Tribunal’s forces must have been gathered underground. The root cause of the situation must be inside that dungeon.

‘Is it because the gate has opened?’

As Seongjin dodged the incoming spider webs, he thought. There was no other way to explain the sudden appearance of these many monsters.

The circumstances pointed to a suspicious priest named Hayes. But how could a human arbitrarily open a gate?

[Should I go take a look?]

Hearing the eager voice of the Demon King, Seongjin let out a wry smile. Whenever there was something to do, the Demon King seemed oddly happy about it, which felt a bit annoying.

‘Please do!’

[Alright. You also take care of yourself!]

The Demon King promptly disappeared from his thoughts.

Seongjin silently swung his nutcracker and thought.

If indeed a gate had opened in the basement, it would be difficult to expect support from the paladins of St. Marcias until the situation inside is resolved. All they could do was hope that other knight orders from the imperial palace would quickly realize the situation and come running.

In the meantime, Seongjin succeeded in completely destroying one of the monster’s spiky protrusions, and Masain managed to sever two more of its leg joints.

Of course, they were also gradually being cornered as time passed. The space for maneuvering was narrowing, and while they were moving perilously as if performing acrobatics, it was uncertain how long this dangerous standoff could continue.

“Puhahak.” The spider indiscriminately spat out webs, tangling them around the floor.

The entrance ground was already a mess due to the sticky spider webs. If they didn’t deal with it quickly, it would become increasingly difficult to even set foot on the floor.

The stairs leading to the second floor had long been corroded by the monster’s venom and had crumbled away.

Screech. Seongjin clicked his tongue as he confirmed the melting railings that emitted smoke. He had initially planned to jump off from above using the creature’s head, but…

“We need to destroy its core, Sir Masain!”

Thud! 

Seongjin shouted as he deflected an incoming leg with his nutcracker grip. Masain yelled from behind him, severing the partially broken joint with his sword.

“Do you know where the core is, Your Highness?”

Masain seemed to immediately understand Seongjin’s words, perhaps recalling the larvae at the Diggory mansion.

“I already slashed near its belly! That’s where you should aim!”

Unlike the Bantra Moss larvae, which shifted positions, the core of the Pavo Nephila always remained in a fixed location.

Masain nodded and aimed his sword. However, he soon looked discouraged, as the spider creature had moved right above a hole in the ground.

They couldn’t dig downwards like this.

Both retreated quickly, dodging the creature’s claw attack. It was the first time they had distanced themselves from it since it appeared.

“Why don’t we cut it from the top?”

Masain cautiously asked Seongjin while watching the creature’s furiously grinding mandibles.

“It’s difficult. The core is closer to its belly, and the carapace on its back is extraordinarily tough!”

If Masain’s Aura Blade attack, which had the same destructive power as Seongjin’s peak fistfight, was used, then perhaps destroying the core from the back would be possible. But so far, Masain seemed to be using the Aura Blade with some limitations.

How could they target the creature’s back when it was so frantic? And if they tried to go from the front, the creature’s massive body would not be easily cut through to reach the core.

For now, the only option seemed to be to slowly whittle down its stamina from the front until an opportunity arose.

Both had been pushed back to the entrance of the Heresy Tribunal building. The ground was entirely covered with sticky webs, making random movement difficult.

Two intact venomous fangs targeted them and squirmed.

Screech. Unpleasant smoke was also rising from the creature’s mother, seemingly ready to spew venom at any moment.

Just then, a group of paladins in white robes rushed into the Heresy Tribunal building.

Golden chains and black swords were embroidered on their clothes—the members of the Order of Saint Marcias.

“What the hell is going on here?”

The old man leading the group shouted in a clear voice. Unfortunately, it drew the spider creature’s attention.

Almost simultaneously as the old man finished speaking, the creature fired a massive amount of venomous needles it had prepared.

“Everyone, dodge!”

Seongjin quickly grabbed the old man’s coat and pulled him sideways.

“Ah!”

“Arghh!”

The sudden event caught everyone off guard; three paladins were unable to dodge the venomous stinger and melted into puddles right on the spot. 

The remaining paladins were not in good shape either. Some were writhing in pain due to burns from the splattered venom, while others were retreating timidly, paralyzed by fear. 

Struggling to his feet, Seongjin saw one of the paladins lifting his head with a pallid face. 

His eyes aimlessly stared at his fellow comrades, who were standing behind him just moments ago but were now reduced to pools of blood on the ground. 

“What on earth…?”

“This is no time to be spacing out! Aren’t you the commander?” 

Seongjin gripped his Nutcracker, aimed it at the spider, and yelled. The creature was now distracted by Masain’s bait. 

“If we don’t deal with that monster quickly, the damage will increase! Give orders to your subordinates now! If you can’t help, at least don’t stand there like an idiot!” 

“…Prince Morres…”

At last recognizing Seongjin, Sir Durand’s eyes suddenly filled with furious blue flames. 

“Prince Morres! I knew it! I knew you would reveal your true colors someday!”

“What?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected response, Seongjin was left bewildered. Durand lunged at him, his hands tightly gripping Seongjin’s collar. 

“What have you done! What have you done to my men?”

“Wait a minute…”

“Do you think you can harm the paladins serving His Holiness in the Holy Kingdom and get away with it?”

“No, old man! Now’s not the time for this…”

Seongjin tried to shake off the old man’s grip, but his hand strength was not to be underestimated. 

There was a strange glint in his eyes. Whether it was due to shock or something else, he didn’t seem to be in a state where he could be reasoned with.

“You fiend! What are you plotting in Delcross?”

“What…!”

Before Seongjin could react to his irrational fury,

“Your Highness! Dodge!”

A shrill scream echoed from afar, courtesy of Masain.

In an instant, a thick spider leg shot through the air and impaled both men against the building wall. 

Bang!