The spiders didn’t even let me catch my breath. The one in front of me raised its front legs and jumped straight at my face. I formed my flaming katana in a fraction of a second. Probably the fastest spell I had ever cast out of pure panic reflex. Just as its ugly face was about to kiss me, its jaw met my blade. It dropped instantly, and some hot, disgusting stuff spilled all over my feet.

  I jumped up and slammed my back against the wall. Once I was sure nothing could sneak up on me, I clenched my sword with both hands and dropped into a defensive stance. I scanned the room and cursed. There were way too many of them. Ten, maybe twelve massive, dark brown spiders crawled toward me.

  “Hey, Midori!” I shot a look at the cocoons on my left. “I don’t know which one you’re taking your beauty nap in... but now is a really bad time for it!”

  Of course, no answer from her. I didn’t even know if she was wrapped up in one of these things or still asleep in the cave entrance. All I knew was I was stuck deep in the cave, completely clueless about where the place we slept even was.

  Before the spiders could try another surprise, I raised my sword to the right and swept it to the left, spraying fire in a wide arc. The front line met the flames and instantly panicked. They backed off, bumping into each other, tripping over their own legs. That gave me some time to breathe.

  “Okay,” I said with a tired sigh. “Looks like I’m on my own.”

  Since it worked once, I did it again. Left to right, fire flying. Right to left, more flames. I stopped thinking smart and started fighting crazy, swinging like a madman with a flamethrower in hand. I didn’t stop until my arms screamed and even the spiders in the back caught on fire. They never got the chance to move, let alone strike back.

  After all, this wasn’t my first time fighting for my life, and I really didn’t plan on letting it be my last. I stepped in and stabbed down at the ones rolling and twitching from the flames, making sure they stayed very dead. I didn’t have any time to waste. I had to get back and find Midori, rip her out of whatever silk coffin she was stuck in, before she dissolved into something non-human.

  After finishing the last one, I shrank my katana down into a small knife and ran to the cocoons on the corner. I sliced each one open, widened the cuts with my hands, and looked inside. Every single time, it was the same rotten goo, half melt animals, things I really didn’t want to identify. My hope kept dying a little more with each one.

  When I opened the last one and saw Midori still wasn’t there, my mood crashed straight through the cave’s floor. If I’d known she wasn't here earlier, I wouldn’t have tired myself out like a complete idiot. One domain release and every spider here would be a dry shell. I was busy cursing myself when something slammed into my back.

  

  I hit the sticky goo hard. When I looked up, the spider was already on me. I didn’t even know how it happened. The flaming knife in my hand somehow buried itself in its belly. In the same breath, I stretched it back into a katana. Once it was dead, I grabbed the thing with everything I had, and threw it off me. And the moment my vision cleared, I saw them... another dozen spiders were crawling in.

  “Oh, come on,” I groaned. “Are you kidding me!?”

  I was on my feet in seconds, scrubbing the stinking slime off my clothes. Sweat, dirt, and exhaustion clung to me. I smelled like death warmed over, and I was done playing fair. Enough was enough. I released my domain and sucked everything, draining every last drop of mana from every living thing around me.

  Soon, the cave was littered with empty, dried-out spider corpses. The mana I’d lost also surged back into me, spilling over just enough to make dark sparks. I couldn’t push it too far, though. If another wave came, I’d have to dive back into the fight, or risk losing control completely.

  I looked around, confused and lost, with no clue where to go or where Midori might be. The cave was like a maze, rooms linked by winding corridors. I took a shaky breath, braced myself, and stepped forward, hoping I’d reach somewhere eventually.

  I gripped my katana tight, using it as both a sword and a torch. I moved forward cautiously, slicing through spider webs with short bursts of fire, glancing behind me every few steps in case another surprise was waiting to attack.

  “If this were a nightmare,” I muttered, peeking behind me again, “I’d never sleep again.” I ended up in front of a large room, poked my head in, and sighed. “But here I’m… and this is actually happening.”

  I stepped inside and saw lots of spider eggs lined up in the corner, tangled in thick spider webs. I moved toward them carefully, every step cautious.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  

  A terrifying crash ripped through the room behind me. I spun around and saw the ceiling collapse, and a massive spider dropping straight in. I froze, my eyes locked on the monster. Its huge, round yellow body streaked with black nearly filled the room. Eight fury eyes stared right at me, and its long black legs sprawled like dark shadows.

  Then something wet, soft, and hot smacked into my chest. I toppled onto the eggs, cracking them and getting a generous helping of slime all over my butt. Soon enough, I found myself flat on the floor with Midori sprawled on top of me, exhausted, sweaty, and covered in blood.

  “Oh…” she gasped, still catching her breath. Relief in her voice, she added, “You finally awake? I was starting to think you liked that cozy little cocoon of yours.”

  “What?!” I literally yelled. “Wait... did you already know—”

  “Oh yes, since you didn’t sleep last night...”

  Before she could finish her sentence, a spray of bright green acid shot from the giant spider’s mouth. Midori barely blocked the attack with an immediate stone wall.

  “...I didn't want to wake you,” she said, as if I was sleeping in my own bed.

  “You... what?!” I facepalmed hard. “I could’ve melted inside that coffin!”

  “Huh? I didn’t know that! I thought… it was just comfy inside.”

  “And hey!” I snapped, pointing at the wall she’d just raised. “Stop wasting your mana! We’ll need that for later!”

  “Sure, honey,” she shot back, nudging me. “Let me just stop so it can kill us, right?”

  I shoved her aside and got to my feet, dripping with egg and failing to look heroic. I thrust my left arm forward, flooding the katana with mana until it roared in blazing flames.

  “I’ll handle this…” I said, then swallowed hard. “I guess.”

  “All right,” Midori said, just as the stone wall vanished.

  We locked eyes with the giant spider. I had no idea which of its eight dark eyes I was meant to stare at, but I was pretty sure all of them were reflecting the same thing, my terrified face. Behind me, Midori was watching, and knowing her, she was enjoying every second of it.

  “Okay,” I said, gripping my katana tighter, planting my feet firmly, “this thing… is this a boss level—”

  It suddenly spitted its acidic saliva at me, like some bug spray aimed at a cockroach. I acted fast and swung my katana midair, melting the attack, and a foul-smelling smoke hissed up around me.

  “Damn,” Midori covered her nose with her arm, “don’t burn that disgusting stuff! It stinks!”

  “What?!” I shot back. “You’d rather it melt me instead?” She remained silent, and I stayed tense, pretty sure that it meant a huge yes.

  The spider seized the little opportunity and caught me off guard, swinging its web like a rope at my legs. It yanked me onto my butt and started dragging me in. I cut the web with my sword just before its mouth reached my backside, but then it lunged, legs stabbing like sharp iron spears. I rolled left and right.

  

  “Damn it, stop watching!” I yelled, dodging attacks barely.

  “What?” Midori said, “Weren't you the one telling me not to waste my mana?” clearly enjoying herself. “Consider this… training, maybe?”

  “T-training?” I yelled, almost crying. “This thing isn’t a boss?!”

  “Yes, this time, it is…”

  The damn thing didn't slow down at all. I rolled and twisted, but it felt like it was reading my mind. Every strike landed right where I was about to be. I dodged on pure instinct, silently thanking my grandpa and his endless beatings for turning me into a professional at not dying. A cold crawl ran up my spine. This eight eyed nightmare probably knew my next thought before I did. And let me tell you, that wasn't comforting.

  The spider clearly got fed up with missing me. It reared back and, like a llama aiming at an annoying zookeeper, shot a full blast of acidic spit straight at me. I was too tired and slow to dodge this time, all I could do was to scrunch up and squeeze my eyes shut. When I peeked again, relief hit me, Midori’s stone shield was hovering over me.

  “T-thank you,” I said as I turned my head.

  “Get up, move,” she yelled, “before you get crushed!”

  I rolled to the side, sprang to my feet, and darted over to Midori. The spider boss glared at us, watching for any opening to strike left or right.

  “Okay,” Midori said, nocking her arrow, way too calm for someone about to drop a terrifying truth. “This one’s inherited talent is… a bit annoying. I think it can see the near future.”

  “...What?!” I snapped, I hated that my gut had been right all along. “How are we going to defeat it then?”

  Midori fired her arrow at one of the spider’s eyes with insane speed, but the spider, even more insane, blocked it with one of its legs the immediate it reached. How do you even surprise something that lives in the future? My brain, overloaded, just checked out and left the scene.

  The spider lunged at us, forcing us to scatter. Midori dodged from the right as I shot flames from the left, but its legs weren’t just legs, they were like iron spears. My fire, her arrows, they were useless. Its armor laughed at everything we threw at it.

  Midori fired arrows to draw its attention while I tried closing in with my flaming katana. At the last second, it spun back and shoved me away. When I swung to distract it, the damn spider lunged at Midori instead. Every so often it spat acid, turning the floor into a deadly trap and forcing us in place.

  "Midori!" I shouted. "We're just dancing in circles. It knows what we're doing before we even think it!"

  She didn’t even glance back, just kept shooting arrows the spider batted away like annoying flies.

  “Then stop thinking!” she shouted. “Maybe do something it can’t predict. Something weird or stupid, that’s your specialty!”

  Easy for her to say. My heart hammered, and the instant I shouted, all eight eyes of the spider snapped toward me. It lunged in an instant, and I couldn’t dodge. Its legs shot out like living black whips, coiling around my arms and legs. I slammed to the ground, trapped, crushed in a cage of dark, unyielding limbs.

  “H-Hayato!” Midori yelled, but her warning came too late.

  With a sick twist, the spider squeezed harder and slammed me into the cold stone. I could barely breathe. My vision darkened, and for a moment, I was sure this was the end. Then something stirred inside me. Yeah. It was happening again.