Loren’s group continued to run in a line.
The spiders chasing them didn’t decrease in number, nor did they show any signs of slowing down – they were like an avalanche, or a tsunami.
“No matter how many arrows are there, it’s still not enough.”
Nim grumbled, her quiver had been reduced to less than half. She looked over her shoulder and shot at the spiders from time to time, one arrow of hers carrying enough force to pierce through multiple creatures at once. But the fallen spiders were immediately replaced by others, and her attack showed no visible effect at all.
“Magic has its limit too.”
Quartz, who was trying his best to run, had given up using magic attacks since the start. The spiders were numerous enough to fill the whole width of the tunnel, so they would have caught up to him while he was still chanting a spell. And even if he was lucky enough to be able to land a hit, it probably wouldn’t mean much, since it would only cause a bit more damage than Nim’s arrows.
“Ritz, stop for a bit and do them in!”
Jack shouted at Ritz, and he shouted back:
“You do that!”
None of them were being serious about it, though. They both knew that in this situation, if they stopped even just for a moment, they would be engulfed by the tsunami of spiders and die before they had a chance to do anything.
Loren knew it too. He only used his greatsword when a spider dropped in his path. In all other cases, he just devoted himself to running.
But Loren painfully knew that sooner or later, one of them would reach their limit. He wasn’t worried about Lapis, who he was carrying in his arm and Gula, who was running so closely behind him that it felt like she was sticking to his back. The one he was most worried about was Quartz, who didn’t use his body much as a magician, and was elderly in age. In fact, Quartz was speaking less and less, and sometimes a hint of pain showed on his expression.
“Is the exit still a long way off?!”
Ritz asked Dig, who was still being carried by him as there was no way dwarves could outrun spiders. Dig answered in a loud voice while holding the lantern aloft:
“Unfortunately yes! We’re not even halfway there!”
Everyone felt quite hopeless hearing his answer.
“We can’t escape!”
It was understandable for Jack to scream like that. Humans just couldn’t run with all their might for such a long distance. Yet, if they let up their speed, the spiders will catch up with them.
“Gula, can you do something?!”
Loren asked Gula, who was supposed to be just another magician. His question wasn’t for a magician who could cause wide-scope damage by herself, but for a being having the power of an Evil God. Even though they would surely be questioned by Ritz’ party later, it would still be a lot better than becoming spiders’ food.
But Gula’s answer was unfavorable:
“Even I will be swarmed by spiders if I stop.”
“<<Earth Wall>> probably won’t be effective, right?”
If the tunnel was less wide and high, an earth wall could be raised to stop the spiders, even if just temporarily. But with the width and height of this tunnel, one single earth wall wouldn’t work.
“We’ve been through something like this before, haven’t we?!”
“Do you mean the goblins case? But don’t worry, Loren.”
Lapis said with full confidence, even though there was not a single thing to not worry about in the current situation. Loren, who was carrying her under his arms, gave her a puzzled glance, and she said in a resigned tone:
“Last time, only women were used as nurseries. This time we’ll all become food or nurseries together. The only difference is whether they’ll eat us right away or plant eggs on us.”
“That’s nothing to not worry about!”
“Somehow you guys seem quite relaxed.”
Ritz said with amazement. Near him, Quartz suddenly stumbled, and Nim and Jack hurriedly grasped his arms to lift him up. He managed to not fall this time, but it was clear that he was near his physical limit. Ritz grimaced.
“Hey, Loren,..-“
“If you want to tell me to take Dig and go ahead, I won’t hear it.”
Loren interrupted before Ritz could continue. Everyone knew Quartz wouldn’t be able to keep running like this. It seemed like Ritz planned to stop and tried to buy as much time as possible for Quartz’ to commence some more powerful spells, hoping it would turn the situation around.
There was almost no chance for that plan to succeed, of course. The odds were too high that it wasn’t even worth betting, and Ritz didn’t want to drag Loren’s party into it. He was about to tell Loren to take Dig and leave, but Loren stopped him before he could.
“But, to continue like this is…”
“If you want to make a bad bet, why don’t you bet on me, hm?”
Gula suddenly barged in on their conversation.
“Bet on you?”
“Yeah. Try to run hard for a while. Count slowly to 300 while you’re running. When you’re done, I’ll manage it somehow.”
Gula proposed without telling them even one specific solution. But they had no other ideas now, so Ritz made a quick decision. He pointed at Nim and Jack, who was carrying Quartz:
“During the time it takes to count slowly to 300, run like dying if you stop!”
“Does such an instruction even exist?!”
“Shut up, Jack.”
Nim told him that if he had the leisure to chat now, he should turn it into running power instead. Jack shut his mouth and continued to run with a frantic face. With a similar expression, Ritz continued to run while carrying Dig. Loren was also running without dropping his speed, Lapis still under his arm.
“Gula, are you done?!”
Gula had somehow dropped to the end of their line even though she wasn’t carrying anyone or anything. She absentmindedly uttered while glancing back over her shoulder to check something,
“Nah, wait just a minute. Does it work, I wonder? It should by now.”
If nothing happened, they would come to a point where they couldn’t run anymore, and would end up being swarmed by the spiders. Just as Loren wondered if Gula understood that fact, he noticed the sound of the spiders’ feet begin to falter.
“Eh? Ah?”
Ritz’ party had also noticed it. They slowed down more and more, and eventually stopped to look behind. Enticed by their actions, Loren also stopped and put Lapis down.
“Seems like it worked well.”
Hands on hips, Gula squinted at the scene behind them and said with satisfaction. There were still countless spiders there, but even though they had been chasing them vigorously just a moment ago, they now all stopped moving and drew their legs in as if they had died.
“What did you do?”
Not quite believed in the scene before his eyes, Loren asked Gula. They had been saved, but if he didn’t understand how, he still felt unsteady. Somehow, it just didn’t feel real.
“Uhm, I don’t really want to explain it.”
Gula scratched her head and turned towards Loren, looking troubled. But Loren didn’t let her end it there and kept looking at her, waiting for an explanation.
“I just used some magic. Just some magic. As for what I used or how, well, it’s a secret. My secret as a magician.”
Gula declared loudly to everyone, then grabbed Loren’s head and pulled him closer. She secretly told him what had actually happened in a low voice:
“Spiders’ respiration systems are their weakness.”
“I don’t understand what you want to say.”
“To put it simply, the gas that is harmless to humans could make them immobile.”
“Gas… It can’t be…”
Being mindful of his own volume, Loren said and unthinkingly looked back at the spiders behind them. From what he understood, Gula had somehow released some kind of poisonous gas inside the tunnel. In that case, if they dawdled there, they might end up being affected by the gas. They should leave this place as soon as possible.
But Gula waved her hand while still keeping hold of Loren’s head:
“I won’t use poisonous gas in a closed space like this. Everyone will be in danger.”
“So what did you release?”
If it was something harmless, the spiders wouldn’t become immobile, so it should have some toxic element at least. Loren questioned her, but she was hesitant to say it for some reason:
“Don’t tell me it’s something that can’t be spoken…?!”
“N-no, it isn’t. But it’s not something nice to talk about…”
“You’re not being clear at all.”
“Eh, you see, I eat a lot, don’t I? There’s a lot of things you can do if you eat that much, you know? There’s this thing that’s basically harmless to humans…”
“Are you sure it’s gas? Is it not something solid or liquid?”
“…What are you imagining now… Ah, no, don’t say it out loud. If you do, I’ll kill you, alright?!”
Gula let go of his head and grabbed his neck instead, shaking it back and forth. Loren still didn’t understand what Gula had released, but he still believed they should go asap, when the spiders were still unmoving.
————————
Author’s Note: In defense of a certain Evil God
The thing she used was released from her upper body, not from her bottom.
Loren was strangled because he thought it was the latter.