141 Spider vs. Earthworm Alaba④
S arc is on temporary hold.
A battle of mutual exhaustion.
Yet neither side can land the decisive blow.
I cannot breach Alaba's high defense and regeneration.
Alaba continues evading every attack with superior evasion.
Neither side lacks a decisive tactic.
My advantage lies in thread.
Once ensnared, even Alaba would require time to escape.
In that interval, I can unleash a barrage of magic and secure victory.
Yet Alaba has grown wary of my threads.
He understands: taking such a hit is unacceptable.
Thus, he responds with caution to any thread-based attack.
Closing himself in a complete defensive posture, Alaba renders thread strikes nearly impossible.
Alaba's decisive tactic is the maximum-scale breath attack.
Alaba's breath, unleashed with full force, carries power exceeding the strike that once destroyed my home.
Even I would vanish if struck by something like that.
Even if endurance activates, once struck, it must endure the continuous breath attack until strength is exhausted.
But Arava cannot fire it.
Alaba had already received my counterattack twice through Breath attacks.
As a result, Arava cannot sustain a prolonged breath attack.
After being struck twice by the same technique, Alaba restricted herself to single-use breath attacks only.
A single breath attack is not unfavorable.
However, the attack range inevitably narrows, and power diminishes.
All attacks are avoided. Even if struck, the damage is far from fatal.
Each holds a decisive advantage, yet neither can effectively utilize it.
As this unfolded, the conflict naturally prolonged.
Each maintains a balance of restraint and occasional genuine attacks, preventing the other from dictating pace while awaiting opportunity.
The situation remains slightly unfavorable.
Our attacks have no decisive effect.
They land.
But damage does not persist.
Damage is immediately restored.
Even when striking multiple times in succession, Arava creates distance, or counterattacks to disrupt my offensive rhythm, gaining time for recovery.
Ultimately, after this prolonged exchange, total damage inflicted remains zero.
Worse, resistance has increased.
Arava’s darkness resistance, initially level four, has risen to level five.
Continuing this way, the already minimal damage will diminish further.
Arava’s attacks, when landed, penetrate.
A single hit does not deplete my HP or MP entirely.
But Arava’s strike is powerful.
A single blow like that would send my small frame flying without resistance.
If that were to happen, the risk of receiving further attacks would be high.
That would be game over.
The margin for error is too great.
As a character built for evasion, a single misstep could result in an immediate reversal.
Of course, I do not intend to be caught so easily.
Not impossible, though.
My tension rises naturally.
Nerves sharpened.
Concentrating to not miss any visual cues from foresight.
In the slowed world of accelerated thought, I sharpen my senses to detect even the slightest information.
《Mastery level reached. Skill 'Thought Acceleration LV9' has evolved into 'Thought Acceleration LV10'.》
《Condition met. Skill 'Thought Acceleration LV10' has evolved into 'Thought Hyperacceleration LV1'.》
.
.
The evolution of skills at this moment.
Grateful.
The movement of the world slows further.
The fragmented images of foresight now remain constantly visible.
Visible.
What Arava intends to do next.
And beyond that, predicting the sequence of movements within the stilled world using thought hyperacceleration.
Like a forced mate in shogi.
The fluid combo attack—claws, fangs, tail—delivered with lethal intent, easily dodged.
Amazing.
To land an attack on me now, one would need to move at a speed beyond my perception.
Perfect.
Excellent.
Bring it on.
I feel no attack could possibly land on me now.
Avoid.
Avoid.
Avoid.
Dodge.
Dodge.
Dodge.
Continue landing counters in the intervals between.
Araba’s HP begins to diminish slightly.
At this point, the increase in my evasion ability causes Araba to feel urgency.
I perceive that emotion as clearly as if I were holding it in my hand—during thought superacceleration.
I am not kind enough to overlook that mental opening.
Heretic Magic: Phantom Pain.
A heretic magic that inflicts phantom pain.
Araba is shocked.
Of course he is.
The intense pain is something Araba, who possesses high-level Pain Reduction, has not felt in a long time.
Phantom pain from Heretic Magic cannot be mitigated by Pain Reduction.
I know this firsthand—having suffered from detection myself.
How is it?
Pain you haven’t felt in a long time?
Araba grits his teeth, bound by agony.
Heretic Magic exploits mental vulnerability, making resistance easier when the mind is compromised.
A creature of Araba's mental fortitude would likely dispel the spell's effect immediately.
But even a moment is sufficient.
The instant Araba's consciousness turned toward the pain, threads wrapped around his body.
More and more threads entangled his form as he tried to shake them off.
Araba's body became wrapped in multiple layers of thread, immobilizing his movements.
Got it!
The outcome seems certain—before the poison takes effect.