139 Spider vs. Earthworm Alba②
First strike: Dark Spear.
Avoided, as expected.
Counter: Breath.
Avoided, as expected.
Predictable evasion on both sides.
Attacks that feel like testing each other's resolve.
A sequence so synchronized it evokes the sensation of long-separated lovers meeting again.
Well, I’ve never had a lover, let alone a friend.
Exchanging attacks like greetings, the true battle begins.
Alba’s massive frame rushes forward like a gale.
What kind of speed is this.
Arc was fast, but this one exceeds even that.
Yet speed is not my disadvantage.
Dodge the front claws before they strike.
Beyond the dodge, the sharp tip of the tail approaches.
Even that is evaded.
Tail slicing through the air.
But it bends instantly, launching a follow-up strike toward me.
She activates repulsion aura upon herself, triggering a pseudo-ward.
Then, she evades.
The tail, repelled by force, passes just beside my body.
A follow-up kick from the rear leg strikes next.
It halts mid-motion.
Tch. Noted the thread strung along the trajectory.
She has detected the threads I secretly laid.
Alaba retreats.
Possibly resetting her stance. But now it is my turn.
I launch a dark bolt toward Alaba, retreating.
An unexpected strike. Yet Alaba dodges with ease.
But she cannot evade the thread I have set in wait.
Thread with no adhesion. Maximum infusion of poison and cut attributes.
Alaba charges straight into the mesh.
At the same moment, I dash to the opposite side of Alaba.
The threads bit deeper into my body.
As a result, my body was thrown back.
Well.
The difference in physique is too great.
No matter how enhanced my strength is, it cannot match Alaba’s.
Alaba’s HP decreased slightly.
It is unclear which of poison or slashing was more effective, but I succeeded in inflicting a minor wound.
Even if the wound heals immediately through automatic regeneration, the fact that it was inflicted remains unchanged.
Hmm.
If I can inflict wounds, then it should be possible.
I release the thread.
Maintain the inertia from being thrown back, use spatial mobility to control my posture.
Face Alaba once more.
From my current perception, Alaba has superior physical attack.
I have superior speed.
Alaba has superior defense.
I have superior magic.
That is the general balance.
But it is not even. I am clearly at a disadvantage.
This is due solely to one aspect of Alaba being exceptionally high.
Alaba’s defense.
My attack power cannot breach Alaba’s defense.
Physical attacks are blocked by heavy carapace and divine steel plating.
Even with full-force thread attacks, I can only inflict superficial wounds, as before.
Magic attacks are ineffective.
Due to this skill—Sylris’s upper-tier ability, Heaven Scales and Reverse Scales—the potency of magic is drastically reduced.
Even so, my magic attack power exceeding ten thousand should still inflict damage.
If it lands.
Alaba’s evasion is also high.
Even if hit, damage would be negligible—recovery would likely outpace subsequent attacks.
Maintaining spellcasting during combat is difficult without parallel consciousness.
Given Alaba’s evasion, recovery speed likely exceeds damage output.
Parallel consciousness is not used.
It is merely stubbornness, but I wish to face Alaba alone.
If mobilizing parallel consciousness, it might be possible to overwhelm with a Gatling-like barrage of magic spells in a single burst.
Even without that, activating Abyss Magic would suffice.
But the point is to win alone.
No decisive advantage.
Besides, attacking recklessly might only grant unnecessary resistance.
Since parallel consciousness is not used, the tactic of launching a large-scale Abyss Magic attack as a countermeasure against Kagura is unavailable.
Thus, there is only one strategy left for me.
To execute it, I must fight at full capacity now.
To make Alaba believe I am worth fighting at full strength.
When Alaba unleashes full effort, my chance will become visible.
Because only then will my unseen second toxin begin to erode Alaba’s body.
Alaba prepares.
The motion is recognized through foresight as a prelude to breath.
The same breath that once destroyed my home.
Alaba’s breath strikes.
Transference.
Transferring above Alaba’s head.
Firing the dark projectile directly into the head—unprotected, still exhaling breath.
The dark projectile impacts Alaba’s head, sealing the mouth shut.
The mouth currently emitting breath.
The breath explodes within Alaba’s mouth.
The dragon’s breath appears not to be limited to its elemental attribute alone.
Alaba’s HP—supposedly immune to earth—drops.
Combined with the dark projectile, this results in proper damage.
Hm hm.
Could this work?
No. Probably not.
Even as the mouth explodes, the tail strikes like another creature.
This tail is problematic.
Avoiding the tail’s whip-like motion.
The wind rush from its passage at close range sends cold dread through the body.
Considering my HP and MP, I shouldn't die from a single hit.
But I can still see the vision of being cleaved in two by its tail—its power is that strong.
Ducking backward to evade the forelimb swung after the tail.
Maintaining distance, I fire a restraining dark spear.
Alaba is halted by the dark spear.
Its HP recovers rapidly.
Fast.
This confirms it—overcoming it through sustained damage will be difficult.
Yet Alaba now fully recognizes me as an enemy.
It will attack with full force from here on.
My poison has begun its erosion.
You’ve already taken my poison.
A special toxin—invisible under status abnormality.
Now, let’s begin the countdown.
When will Alaba notice the poison’s presence?