Ossan Saikyō Chapter 12 Part 02
We made our way through the trees, drawing closer to the Queen Moth.
From what we could see from a distance, the Queen Moth appeared to be resting its wings while perched at the top of a tree.
The problem was how to take it down. If we botched our opening move and allowed it to take flight, things would become troublesome. We had to take away its ability to fly with our first attack, at the very least.
But how to do that...?
As I was thinking about it, Rani began sniffing the air.
“Hey, Soushi, something’s strange. Even though we’re getting closer, I don’t smell any poison. If anything, it smells kind of nice.”
“A nice smell?”
That made me think it might be a dangerous monster that lured its prey in, but if there was no smell of poison, then it also meant that the creature over there wasn’t a Queen Moth.
“Soushi-san, look at that.”
Sphenia pointed toward the trees. When I looked, I saw what appeared to be white ropes stretched between the trees. It was a sight I had seen before, although on a completely different scale.
“Is that a spiderweb? If so, then it means a giant spider made it...”
The white ropes stretched throughout the area, with parts of them forming a mesh-like pattern. At a glance, they certainly looked like a gigantic spiderweb.
“Mariane-san, are there giant spider monsters as well?”
“Yes. The web-spinning type is called a Killer Spider, but at this size, it would be a Queen Killer Spider. That is also a B-Rank monster.”
This was turning into a more troublesome situation than I had expected. However, I still couldn’t quite grasp what was happening.
Did two giant monsters happen to appear at the same time? And would a Moth and a Spider actually cooperate with each other?
“Do monsters ever prey on other monsters? For example, a Paralysis Moth getting caught by a Killer Spider and being eaten?”
“I have never heard of that happening in dungeons, but it does happen in the field. It is common to hear about goblins being preyed upon by ogres, for example.”
“Common enough to hear about it, huh...”
In that case, perhaps that giant moth had been caught in the spiderweb. If so, that was actually fortunate for us.
“Got it. For now, let’s be wary of the Killer Spider as well. Getting caught in that web looks like it would be a real problem.”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
“I feel like Soushi could just deal with it through sheer strength, though.”
“Fufu~, yes, I suppose so.”
The members of〈Saul's Guidance〉showed little reaction to the appearance of another new monster. They had become thoroughly accustomed to unexpected situations.
As we continued forward, the webs overhead gradually became denser. When we got close enough for the Queen Moth’s wings to cover the sky above us, we finally confirmed that the giant moth was indeed caught in the spiderweb.
Its wings and legs were entangled in the web, leaving it clearly unable to move.
“So it really is caught. But if that’s the case, isn’t this lucky? Right, Soushi?”
“Yeah. First, we’ll take down that Killer Spider, then we can take our time with the Queen Moth.”
I answered Rani while sweeping my gaze around us. I had【Presence Detection】active, but it seemed that the spiderweb was interfering with my ability to sense its presence. The giant spider was probably somewhere in the web, but...
“Fray, use «Absolution» just in case. And Sphenia, could you try hitting the spiderweb with【Earth Magic】? That might draw the Killer Spider over.”
I remembered hearing that web-spinning spiders could detect whether prey had been caught by sensing vibrations in their webs.
“Yes. «Absolution» coming up.”
“«Stone Bullet».”
Freynil’s «Absolution» did not seem to have much of an effect. That probably meant, as Rani had said, there was no poisonous scale powder in the air.
Meanwhile, the stones fired by Sphenia struck the spiderweb high in the trees, cutting several strands and sending vibrations through it.
We waited for a while, and then we sensed something enormous moving through the treetops.
“Ew, that’s creepy disgusting!”
It was no wonder Rani screamed.
What emerged from between the trees, crawling along the spiderweb, was a fat spider that looked to be 7-8 meters wide. Its abdomen had yellow-and-black stripes, making it quite an intense sight to behold.
“That is definitely an upper species of Killer Spider. All of its characteristics match. Be careful, as it will shoot its web at you and try to entangle you.”
Following Mariane’s warning, we took up our positions. The Queen Killer Spider was still high in the trees, so unless we used ranged attacks, we could not reach it.
“Fray, use『Halo』, follow up with «Sacred Ray». Sphenia-san and Mariane-san, attack with ranged weapons. I’ll stop the webs. Rani, watch the situation and cut the surrounding webs to drag that thing down. Don’t get caught in the webs.”
“ “ “Yes.” ” ”
“Gotcha!”
At Freynil’s『Halo』as the signal, everyone except me sprang into action.
Sphenia’s «Stone Lance» pierced the abdomen of the Queen Killer Spider. At the same time, Mariane’s throwing dart also struck its head.
After taking damage, the Queen Killer Spider spun around and presented us with its rear. I thought it was going to run, but that wasn’t the case. The next moment, an enormous amount of white rope-like material, spiderweb, shot out from its abdomen.
I fired【Shockwave】upward, but the spiderwebs that were knocked back spread out gently and rained down around us rather than scattering away. It seemed that spiderwebs were a poor match for the【Shockwave】skill.
“Everyone, fall back!”
Following my order, Freynil and the others retreated while continuing their ranged attacks. Rani also skillfully avoided the webs by moving along the trees, cutting the webbing that served as the Queen Killer Spider’s footing.
As I faced the Queen Killer Spider alone, several strands of web wrapped around me. The webs were about as thick as thin ropes and had an adhesive quality, making them troublesome indeed.
However, they apparently weren’t strong enough to hinder my tremendous strength.
When Rani cut several more sections of web, the portion supporting the Queen Killer Spider could no longer bear its weight and broke loose, causing it to fall.
The giant spider still tried to stop its descent by catching one of its legs on another tree, but «Sacred Ray» severed that leg, and the spider crashed heavily to the ground.
I immediately shook off the webs wrapped around me and dashed forward. I brought my mace down on the giant spider’s head, right between its four eyes.
“That just leaves the Moth, right? Want me to go over there and cut its head off?”
Rani looked up as she spoke. Above us, the giant moth still covered the sky, trapped in the spiderweb.
“...Wait a moment.”
Normally, just as Rani said, we could have thanked our luck and gone ahead and killed it.
However, when I looked at the body of the giant moth caught in the spiderweb, I felt something strange.
Of course, both its body and head looked exactly like those of an ordinary giant moth, but somehow I had the feeling that this was no ordinary monster.
Judging from the sensation I had experienced during «Absolution» earlier, its scale powder did not appear to be poisonous, either.
“Mariane-san, can you use【Appraisal】on this monster?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes. At this size and at this distance, I can. Let me try.”
Strength gathered in Mariane’s sharp, narrow eyes... and then she tilted her head.
“Apparently, this monster is not a Queen Moth. According to【Appraisal】it is a Garuda Moth. Moreover, it is not a monster. Its classification seems to be a『Divine Beast』.”
“『Divine Beast』? A Garuda Moth, huh...”
When I heard the name “Garuda”, I remembered that in my original world, it was the name of a bird ridden by Gods. The classification『Divine Beast』certainly seemed fitting as well.
So I pondered, Isn’t this, then, something we really shouldn’t kill?
“Rani, sorry, but could you collect a little of the scale powder from its wings? Be careful not to damage the wings.”
“Huh? Sure, I guess.”
Using【Vault】and【Airstride】, Rani launched herself into the air in one go, rubbed the surface of the wing with her sword sheath, and came back down. She did it so casually, but even this movement was far beyond anything a normal human could do.
“Is this enough?”
The scale powder on the tip of the sheath was shining gold.
“Mariane-san, use【Appraisal】.”
“Yes. ...《Bountiful Scale Powder》... It purifies and revitalizes the earth, creating land where plants and other vegetation can flourish... That’s what it says. I’ve never heard of an effect like this.”
“Freynil, Sphenia, have either the Church or the elves ever heard of a『Divine Beast』like this?”
“I don’t think it was mentioned in the Church’s scriptures. The Church tends to avoid stories about animals in the first place.”
“...There is a story in ancient Elven folklore about a gigantic butterfly that makes the earth fertile. I don’t know whether it is the same creature as this『Divine Beast』, though.”
“I see. Thank you.”
This had become a situation that was difficult to judge. If I were a thoughtless adventurer, I would kill this Garuda Moth, collect its scale powder as a rare item, and put it up for sale.
But still, it was obvious that this was not something we should kill. After all, it was a『Divine Beast』.
In fairy tales, whenever humans accidentally killed something like this, they would usually end up suffering a terrible curse afterward, or the environment that had been sustained by the『Divine Beast』would be destroyed.
“...Let’s let it go.”
When I muttered that, Rani looked at me in surprise.
“Why?”
“I have a feeling that we shouldn’t kill this Garuda Moth. Judging from the properties of its scale powder, it’s probably a creature that benefits humans by flying through the sky.
…
And the fact that it’s a『Divine Beast』concerns me as well. There are stories about people accidentally killing creatures like this and being cursed afterward.”
“Hmmm. Well, if smart Soushi says so, then I guess that’s the right thing to do?”
Beside Rani, who tilted her head, Freynil pressed her staff against her chest and nodded deeply.
“I agree with Soushi-sama. The fact that it is a『Divine Beast』concerns me as well. Just as Soushi-san says, we should free that Garuda Moth.”
“There is no problem from the Guild’s perspective, either. Since【Appraisal】cannot establish that it is a monster, what happens to that creature is left to the discretion of the person who discovered it. However, we will need to report it.”
Since neither Sphenia nor Mariane objected, it was decided that we would free the Garuda Moth.
When I looked up, the giant moth’s head was resting on top of the spiderweb. It shouldn’t have been possible, but somehow, its face seemed to have a relieved expression.
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E/N:
Garuda Moth be like, Thank you so moth~ 🤣
Stay tuned!
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