“Don’t let that grin fool you,” Lilian said seriously. Christine actually blinked in shock at how somber Lilian seemed. “Kevin might seem relaxed, but the truth is that he’s more worried about what’s to come than anyone else.”
“Why?” Christine asked. It was a simple question, but it carried so much meaning to it. Kevin was the strongest person she knew. When they were attacked by that three-tailed kitsune, it had been Kevin who defeated her. When Iris had been near-fatally injured, Kevin had been the one who stitched her back up. He always seemed so calm and collected when they were in trouble that the idea of him being nervous seemed laughable.
“Because Kevin is the weakest person here, and he knows that.” Lilian’s pained smile presented a startling contrast to her often cheerful mien. “Everyone else is a yōkai. Kevin is a human. Everyone else has relatively powerful offensive abilities. Kevin’s only ability is the fighting style he created, and his strange power to break through youki barrier techniques, which isn’t likely to help him here. If something unexpected happens, if our enemies turn out to be stronger than we believe, then he won’t be able to protect us.”
Christine had never thought about that. All this time, she’d moped about how useless she was, how powerless she was. Kevin really was powerless, unlike her. He couldn’t create ice, couldn’t produce illusions, couldn’t manipulate people into doing his bidding. He was human.
How would I feel if we were going into a dangerous situation, and I was the only person without any powers to protect me?
Christine couldn’t answer that question, but she imagined that she wouldn’t feel good.
“How does he deal with it?” Christine asked.
“By doing what he’s doing now.” When Christine stared at her blankly, Lilian gestured to Kevin. “Whenever Monstrang asks us to go on a mission for him, Kevin always chats with me and Iris. We’ll talk about whatever we can to keep our minds off the coming danger. I personally like to talk about the latest anime or manga, but Iris likes trying to fluster Kevin with innuendos. It’s our way of coping.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Christine’s nose wrinkled as she scrunched up her face. “It’s like… how guys in those army movies always bust each other’s chops right before a mission.”
“More or less.” Lilian shrugged. “Oh, look. Kotohime and the dog have come back.”
Christine turned. Indeed, striding to them was Cien, who grasped something within his hand, and Kotohime, who trailed a little bit behind him, left hand caressing the hilt of her katana.
She took a deep breath. This was what she’d been training for all this time. She didn’t want to be a burden anymore, didn’t want to have to rely on others anymore. Her goal in all this was, as it had always been, to be useful to her friends.
It was time.
They took two boats.
Because he had experience with driving and no one else did, Kevin drove the one in front. He used the throttle to control their speed and kept a firm grip on the wheel with one hand, guiding the boat through the small channel that fed into Lake Michigan.
He was nervous. They were traveling into an enemy base to rescue their friends, who’d been held captive for days and, in the case of one of them, at least a week. What would they find when they got there? Were Phoebe and Heather still alive? Even if they were, rescuing them wouldn’t be easy. So much could go wrong.
Polydora and the others should draw most of the attention away from us, but there’s bound to be some yōkai held in reserve. The key to our success will be determined by the strength of the yōkai they have in reserve.
He eased on the throttle and looked behind him. Iris and Christine were fast asleep. They sat side by side, Christine resting her head against Iris’s shoulder as they were both wrapped in the vixen’s raven-colored tails. Behind them, he could see the other boat. It was close, hugging his rear by, give or take, five feet. Looking back ahead, the large trees on North Fox Island loomed ever closer.
The biggest problem, as he saw it, was that they had no idea how strong their enemy’s forces were. Cien had given them a rough estimate, but his opinions were also biased. Like most inu, he simply didn’t have a good opinion about other species’ fighting ability. It was worse when those yōkai used mostly illusions, which the three yōkai that he, Lilian, and Iris were likely to face, were most proficient at.
A grinning Lilian appeared on his left. “Hey, Beloved, I was thinking…”
“Oh, dear, you were thinking.”
Lilian pouted. “That’s not very nice.”
“I kid.” Kevin kissed her on the cheek. “What were you thinking about?”
“After we rescue Phoebe and Heather, I want to start watching K-Project.”
“Isn’t that the anime with all the pretty bishounen boys?”
“It’s not about pretty boys! There’s a lot of action and drama in it, too!”
“If you say so,” Kevin chuckled—until Lilian bit his earlobe. “Owch! Was that really necessary?”
“Yes,” Lilian said before licking his ear as if in apology. “You were being mean. It’s an awesome anime. There’s even a really cute pairing in it. I think you’ll like it.”
“Then I guess you and I will have to watch it together.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
The conversation helped ease Kevin’s mind, and they soon arrived on the island. From up close, it really did seem like a jungle, or perhaps a forest. Large trees kept them from seeing further into the island. Dark. Foreboding. Thick branches twisted around each other like serpents, creating a living wall that blocked all from entering.
“There’s a small inlet on the western side,” Cien said, coming up on his left side.
“Right.”
Kevin steered the boat as directed, weaving through several stalks that jutted from the water’s surface. They reached the inlet, a small pool surrounded by bulky trees. He moved the boat until it caressed the shore. The boat carrying the yama uba pulled up beside him.
“We’re heading to Beaver Island,” Euryale, who was driving, said.
“Okay. Good luck.”
“You too.”
Euryale didn’t stay long. The other boat moved off, disappearing behind a thicket of trees.
For some reason, I feel like this is the last time I’ll ever see them.
A hand landed on his shoulder, and a voice spoke in his ear. “They will be all right, Kevin-sama. Believe in them as they believe in you,” Kotohime said.
“Right.” Kevin took a deep breath. “You’re right. Thank you.”
“Ufufu, of course.”
Kotohime retracted her hand, and Kevin turned around. Cien had already hopped out of the boat and was tethering them to a thick tree branch. Lilian was shaking Iris and Christine awake.
“Are we already there?” Iris mumbled, her words interrupted by a loud yawn. Beside her, Christine rubbed her eyes.
“That’s right,” Lilian said. “So you two need to get up.”
“Right,” Christine groaned as she stood to her feet. Her black lolita dress, which had bunched together as she slept, unfolded and fell to cascade around her feet. Kevin shook his head.
I do not know how she expects to fight in that thing.
They climbed out of the boat. Kevin went first, so he could help Lilian, Iris, Christine, and Kotohime out of the boat.
“Thanks, Beloved.”
“Ara, ara, such a gentleman.”
“Much appreciated, Stud.”
Christine stared at his hand, her cheeks slowly turning a pale blue, visible even within the low-lit night. She reached out tentatively, placing her hand within his, allowing him to pull her out of the boat.
“T-thank you—kya!”
“Woah!”
A loud tearing cut the night air. Christine slammed into Kevin head first, knocking the wind straight from his lungs and sending him to the ground. He groaned. On top of him, Christine also mumbled complaints.
&nb
sp; “You okay?”
“Yeah, I think so…” Christine raised her hand, then froze when they locked eyes. Like a scared mouse, she let out an “Eep!” and scrambled to get off him.
“Ugwa!”
Unfortunately, in her haste, she stepped on Kevin’s balls.
“Oooh!” Iris held a hand to her non-existent gonads. “That has gotta hurt.”
Lilian didn’t say anything; she just rushed to Kevin’s side.
“Oh, gods!” Christine held a hand to her mouth as Kevin held his hands to his nutsack. “Oh, gods, I’m so sorry! A-are you okay, Kevin?”
“W-what do you think?” Kevin wheezed. Tears stung his eyes. His doodler felt like, well, it felt like someone had diddled on his doodle and been non too gentle.
Christine winced at the rebuke. “I-is there anything I can do to help?”
“No.” Kevin looked ready to panic. “No, no. I-I’m fine. Thank you. Your concern is enough.”
Christine bit her lip, hesitating. Lilian helped Kevin sit up and graced Christine with a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”
“I… okay…”
Appearing for all the world like someone had just kicked her in the nuts, Christine went off to sulk by Iris’s side. The void kitsune tried not to chuckle as she rubbed Christine’s back.
“There, there. Don’t worry. Main characters are supposed to be abused occasionally.”
“I have no clue what that means, but I suggest you shut up.”
“Could we get going?” Cien asked, grunting. “Your weird comedy antics are making us waste time.”
“Oh, chillax, Mutt,” Iris said. “A little comedy never hurt anyone.”
Kevin raised his hand. “I beg to differ.”
“Much as I would like to let you all have your fun, I must agree with Dog-san,” Kotohime said. “While the operation will not start for another fifteen minutes at least, we should reach the entrance quickly.”
“R-right.” Kevin groaned as he stood up, leaning against Lilian. “Lead the way, Cien.”
Cien nodded, turned, and strode into the thicket of trees.
As the group followed him, Kevin took one last look at the little inlet, looking not at the inlet itself, but at something far past the tree line, beyond his line of sight.
Stay safe, he thought before turning back around and following the others.
Polydora was not one to get nervous. Nervousness did not befit a yama uba like her. They were warriors who feared nothing.
That being said, Polydora would admit, if only to herself, that she was nervous. A lot hinged on the success of this mission. Lady Phoebe’s life was at stake. If they could not save her… Polydora could not even bear the thought.
“We’re closing in on the beach head,” Euryale said from up front. Polydora frowned. That woman acted way too relaxed for her taste.
Thoe shifted beside her. “You are too tense, Polydora. I understand that you are concerned, but you should relax.”
“How can I relax when Lady Phoebe is currently undergoing unspeakable tortures?” she asked, clenching her hand.
Thinking about what Lady Phoebe must be undergoing right now, what she had been undergoing for days, made her feel sick. More than anything else, however, it filled her with regret. Lady Phoebe had sacrificed herself for her, and she’d repaid that sacrifice by running off. How could she face her lady again with such shame?
“You worry overly too much, Polydora. It does you justice most of the time, but here, such thoughts will only hinder you,” Thoe said.
“We’ve got spider webs incoming! Taking evasive action!”
Polydora yelped when Euryale yanked on the steering wheel. She crashed against Thoe, her face landing in the other woman’s breasts. Thoe moaned when she grabbed her companion’s chest to push her away—and that’s when Euryale yanked the wheel in the opposite direction, reversing their position, which ended with them becoming a tangled heap of limbs.
“This… this is most awkward,” Thoe admitted, staring at Polydora’s crotch, which was barely covered by a small loincloth that just hid her lips.
“You’re right. It is awkward, so get off!”
The two scrambled to their feet, but almost lost their footing again when Euryale’s evasive maneuvers caused them to nearly fall overboard. Everyone else had grabbed onto something, so Polydora and Thoe did the same.
Webs crashed down all around them. Polydora frowned when she saw the webs disperse moments before hitting the water. Webs did not do that, did they?
“We’re almost there, everyone!” Euryale shouted, the boat twisting and turning. “We’ll be hitting ground in five, four, three, two, one!”
Polydora’s arm was almost yanked from its socket when their boat suddenly hit the beach. She let go of the seat she’d been gripping and launched herself into a sprint, grabbing her batons and springing out of the boat. Her companions followed.
She could see them now. They stood against the darkness, large silhouettes formed of inhuman shapes, monstrous beings that walked on six legs and had mandibles the size of her arm. Tsuchigumo. The giant arachnids stood before them, two in all, which meant the rest must have been stationed inside the base itself.
Polydora dodged a spider web shot at her. Like the others, she noticed that this web also dispersed before hitting the ground. She had no time to dwell on such anomalies, as her enemy was right in front of her.
Rolling across the ground, she avoided the descending arachnid leg, which descended upon the ground, sand spraying everywhere. Polydora closed her eyes, feeling the grains pelt her face. Coming back onto her feet, she blindly oriented herself toward where she remembered one of its legs being. Lashing out, she slammed her baton into the leg and was rewarded with a pained shriek. This should have satisfied her, but something was wrong.
There should have been some resistance, so why isn’t there?
“Ally oop!”
Opening her eyes, Polydora was just in time to witness Euryale get launched into the air by Menippe, who wielded her massive spear with ease. She must have used the spear as a springboard.
Spinning her sword around, Euryale grinned as she plunged it into the tsuchigumo—or so it seemed.
“What the—?”
Euryale squawked as she went straight through the tsuchigumo and crashed into the ground, then disappeared in a cloud of sand. Polydora had just enough time to realize what was wrong, when the ground caved in and she, along with her companions, fell into a giant hole.
Her eyes widened as the air whistled around her. She couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t she breathe?! Tunnel vision set in. Polydora strained her eyes to see something, anything, but all she could make out was a white dot getting farther and farther away.
Her back hit something soft. She bounced several times before going still. Her lungs filled with oxygen when she inhaled deeply, coughing several times. Only after she’d regained her ability to breathe did she realize her situation.
“W-why can’t I move?”
“What is?!”
“Is this… a web?!”
She was caught, trapped within millions of white silk strands that were stronger than steel. Polydora looked to her left, then to her right. Her companions, like her, were stuck. They struggled against their bonds, which in turn made them become more entangled. Euryale screamed obscenities, Mennipe quietly fought to break free, and the others were in varying states of shock as they, too, attempted to escape from this massive… web?
“Well, well, well,” a voice rumbled, echoing all around them. “What do we have here? Six delicious flies trapped within my web.”
“Who are you?! Show yourself!” Polydora shouted, twisting around to try and locate the source of the voice.
“I smell something sweet. I wonder, is it blood?”
The web they were on shook. Blood pounded in Polydora’s ears. She could feel her heartbeat accelerate, fear taking hold.
“It’s been so long, too long since I had anythi
ng good to eat. That damn snake only ever feeds me scraps!”
A figure appeared within the darkness, towering above them, its six massive legs moving with an odd delicacy. Hair covered much of its arachnid body, a ruddy brown fur that appeared bristly and hard. Massive mandibles clacked, as if they could already taste the flesh they would soon be devouring. It was a tsuchigumo, an enormous one, and its seven multi-faceted eyes were locked onto them.
Polydora could not be sure, but she could have sworn this thing smiled.
“Time to eat,” it said with something resembling joy.
It looked like an ordinary cavern entrance.
“This passage leads to an underground cavern,” Cien explained. “It was already here when we moved in, forged who knows how long ago by the Den Mother.”
“Den Mother?” Iris asked. “What the heck is that?”
“It sounds like the final boss to a video game,” Lilian commented.
Kevin stared at the cave, his pulse quickening. Jagged stalactites jutted from the roof. Water glistened off their tips, dripping onto the ground. Deeper into the cave, darkness eternal greeted them.
“The Den Mother is an old legend among the spider clan,” Cien said, walking toward the cave. “The Den Mother is the spider clan’s progenitor, an arachnid yōkai who lived for thousands of years and sired many sons and daughters. According to what’s left of the clan, this cavern was where the Den Mother laid her eggs.”
Lilian pulled several flashlights out of her storage space. She handed one to Kevin, and another to Iris and Christine. She offered one to Cien and Kotohime, but they both refused.
Entering the cave, Kevin almost fell when the ground disappeared underneath him. It wasn’t gone, however, but rather very steeply sloped. Christine yelped as she did fall, but Lilian’s tails caught the girl and pulled her back.
“T-thank you,” Christine stuttered.
“You’re welcome.”
They slowly moved down the slope, constantly moving their flashlights to ensure no one slipped or ran into something. Dark shadows played off the walls, twisting, warping, distorting. Kevin saw disturbing images of a mindless terror within those shadows. It was like something was beckoning them all to their final demise.
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