Phoenix Healer, Chapters 54-55

Chapter 54

Monica found Gromorlig sitting on a broken pillar in the courtyard. Ted sat cross-legged on the ground nearby. They both looked up when she entered.

“You look terrible,” Gromorlig said.

Monica touched her face. She was covered in dried blood. Her clothes were torn in several places.

“I’ve been training,” Monica said. She sat down on a piece of rubble.

“Training? Is that what you call dying over and over?” Gromorlig shook his head.

“How did you know?” Monica asked.

“I can smell death on you,” Gromorlig said. “And your clothes look like you’ve been through a meat grinder.”

Ted moved closer to them. “Did you level up your Skills?”

“Yes and no,” Monica said. “I got close to ranking up Obsidian Impact but couldn’t quite get there. The spiders were too weak by the end of the day.”

“The Corrupted Spider Constructs?” Ted asked.

Monica shook her head.

“The Corrupted Tarantulas.”

Ted’s eyebrow raised.

“I needed to push myself to the edge,” Monica said. “The Twin Phoenix told me that’s the only way to master Skills.”

Ted and Gromorlig looked at her with surprise.

“You spoke to the Twin Phoenix?” Ted asked.

“Yes. They summoned me when I was talking to Dotty. They explained how Skill Mastery works.”

“And?” Gromorlig leaned forward.

“You need to be close to death. That’s when your Soul emerges and you can see the flaws in your Skills.”

“That explains a lot,” Gromorlig muttered.

“Where’s Dotty?” Monica asked.

“Resting,” Ted said. “Gromorlig showed her the trap locations. She has memorized them all.”

“Now that you’re here, we can move out in an hour, lass. Are you ready for some spider extermination?”

  *

Monica trembled.

Her entire body felt tense as Gromorlig, alone with Dotty and Heidi, moved toward another street entirely.

The Dwarf had suggested quite a simple plan. He would run alongside Dotty as she activated traps and Heidi would provide covers by running through a series of connected roofs. The spiders would follow them and die miserably.

Sir Tristan, Ted, and Monica would instead stay behind, kill any straggler, and then kill the Boss.

Gromorlig had told them that, based on the Boss’s behavior, it was extremely unlikely to follow them through the traps and die from them. That meant that the trio would have to face the creature alone once the rest of the spiders would be far enough.

Once they killed it, Monica would finally get the key to open the Temple of Dhoznil and finally get the Spear of Dhoznil, which would then allow her to kill Machina once and for all.

Monica, Sir Tristan, and Ted waited behind a broken wall. They were twenty yards from the spider nest. The rest of the group was already in position.

“Gromorlig said to wait for his signal,” Sir Tristan said. He held his shield close.

Ted gripped his mandolin. His hands were sweaty. “What’s the signal again?”

“A lot of noise,” Monica replied.

“How does he even plan it to lure them all—” Sir Tristan was interrupted by an explosion so loud all three had to grab the wall to avoid falling.

The explosion made the ground shake. Pieces of stone fell from nearby buildings. A second explosion followed right after. Then they heard Gromorlig shouting. His voice echoed through the streets.

“Come and get me, you eight-legged freaks!”

“He must have had Dotty activate some explosive traps,” Monica said, using the Golden Flame on all three of them to heal their ringing eardrums.

“They’re taking the bait,” Sir Tristan whispered.

A small horde of Corrupted Spider Constructs rushed down the street after Gromorlig’s voice. More explosions sounded in the distance.

Ding

Quest Progress Updated – ‘Eradication I/III’

Progress: 46/164 -> 67/164

Ding

Quest Progress Updated – ‘Eradication I/III’

Progress: 67/164 -> 97/164

“They’ve already killed more than fifty,” Monica said, stunned.

She was worried sick about Dotty, but as she saw the Corrupted Tarantulas finally emerging en masse to chase Dotty and Gromorlig, she gritted her teeth and said, “we’re almost there.”

Ted, Monica, and Sir Tristan watched as the remaining Corrupted Spider Constructs and Tarantulas poured out of the nest. Their metal limbs scraped against stone as they scuttled after their prey.

The trio waited until the last stragglers disappeared around a corner. More explosions sounded in the distance, followed by metallic screeching. Occasionally, a notification would pop up in Monica’s vision, updating their progress as more spiders fell to the traps.

“Ready?” Monica whispered, activating Meditation. She could feel her Mana flowing more smoothly now after her intense training.

Sir Tristan nodded and raised his shield while Ted gripped the mandolin tighter until his knuckles went white.

They crept toward the massive hole that served as the spiders’ nest.

The nest was mostly empty now. Only the Matriarch and two Corrupted Tarantulas remained inside. The massive spider sat in the center of the hole. It was weaving metal strands into a new hatchling.

[Corrupted Tarantula - Level 120]

[Corrupted Tarantula - Level 125]

[Metallic Arachnid Matriarch - Level 135]

“The strongest stayed behind,” Monica said. “Let’s go. They’re not leaving anytime soon.”

The Matriarch suddenly stopped its weaving and turned toward the group at the edge of the nest. Its eight eyes glowed with an unnatural blue light. The half-formed hatchling dropped from its legs.

Sir Tristan moved in front of Monica as fast as he could. His shield caught the first blast of metallic webbing. The impact made him slide back several feet.

“Sir Tristan, can you take the two Corrupted Tarantulas?” Monica said, emerging from his back, staring back at the Matriarch.

“Yes, but you can’t—”

“Worry about those two then,” Monica said, jumping into the nest, letting herself fall to the ground.

Before she could even reach the ground, the Matriarch shot more webs.

Monica twisted in mid-air as the metallic webs shot toward her. She channeled her Mana through Phoenix Step, keeping Meditation active as she’d practiced during her training deaths. The movement felt smoother than ever before as she materialized on a chunk of debris, the deadly strands of metal webbing embedding themselves into the stone where she would have landed.

“Enemy Magnet!” Sir Tristan shouted twice and Monica saw the two Corrupted Tarantulas flying toward him.

The Matriarch was impossibly large up close. Its body gleamed with a silver sheen, and those eight glowing blue eyes tracked Monica’s every movement.

The half-formed hatchling lay forgotten at its feet, metal components scattered across the ground.

The Matriarch towered over Monica.

Monica simply stared back for a moment, engaged in a duel of stares. She heard Sir Tristan starting to fight the two Corrupted Tarantulas, and then Ted’s music played and enveloped her body like a golden cloak. Monica remained still, mimicking the same stillness of the Boss. This was just the first challenge on their way to fight Machina. This was just the beginning.

“If you can hear me,” Monica said out loud. “Just remember who I am.”

Three Phoenix Feathers appeared on Monica’s body - two on her forearms and one behind her neck, pointing downward.

“I am the Avatar of the Twin Phoenix, and you’re just my first stepping stone.”

The three Phoenix Feathers started burning, blazing like a barely contained inferno. Finally, the Matriarch’s humongous body moved with deceptive grace. It shot several lines of metal webbing at Monica, who activated Meditation and Mana Sense and barely moved as she sidestepped and jumped through the attacks. The Matriarch kept firing, and Monica simply kept dodging, using her golden bracers every once in a while to deflect the hits.

As she neared the Boss, Monica noticed that the Matriarch’s body was different from the other spiders. Its metal plating seemed to shift like liquid mercury. It made it harder to spot any weaknesses even with her Mana Sense.

Volley after volley of metallic webbing, the Matriarch finally managed to land a few hits on Monica, who barely even flinched. The power-up given by a third Phoenix Feather while using Fury of the Phoenix was nothing to scoff at. Several wounds bled, but she didn’t activate the Golden Flame, feeling the immense power of her Skill and Ted’s song coursing through her veins.

“You’re nothing to me,” Monica said to the Matriarch, and as soon as she was close enough, she mixed Meditation and Phoenix Step, empowering it with the Obsidian Flame. She suddenly appeared in a blind spot of the giant Boss and punched three times in quick succession at the same exact spot on the body of the Boss, activating Shatterpoint, the special effect of Obsidian Impact, delivering 300% additional damage with the third attack and cracking the metal of the creature.

Her Obsidian Flames ate into the Boss, making it scream in pain. The giant legs of the Matriarch shot at Monica, but she weaved around them as if they didn’t exist. Monica’s meeting with the Twin Phoenix had reminded her of her responsibility, of her role, but more importantly, of her power. Machina might be a tough opponent, but Monica was the ultimate fighter.

Monica couldn’t complain about her powers. She couldn’t complain about the companions that she had gathered along the way. No. She only had one job, and no matter what, she would do it. She would finish it step by step, monstrosity after monstrosity.

Monica easily parried one of the giant legs, breaking her arm but using the momentum of the blow and Phoenix Step to hit the same point she had struck before. Three times more this time. Liquid silver started pouring from the wound, and the Matriarch hugged the ground, trying to minimize the surface Monica could hit with her fists. But it was all for naught. The Matriarch had met a different Monica from the one that had killed the Crystal Wolf Boss. This Monica was even fiercer, angrier, and would stop for nothing.

Attack after attack, Monica peeled the armor of the Matriarch, exposing its metallic flesh, making it bleed silver, and finally steering it to its capitulation.

Chapter 55

Dotty’s spleen ached as she sprinted at full speed, pumping her legs through Viscera’s streets.

A metallic wire sliced through the air where her head had been a moment before, embedding itself in the stone wall with a sharp crack. She didn’t dare look back, but the clicking metal legs behind them told her everything she needed to know - the spiders were gaining.

“Left here!” Gromorlig shouted from beside her. Despite his claims of being powerless, the dwarf kept pace surprisingly well, his short legs pumping furiously.

Dotty veered left, her boots skidding on the ancient cobblestones. Above them, she caught glimpses of Heidi moving across the rooftops, providing cover where needed. The sound of metallic legs intensified - the two Corrupted Tarantulas had taken the lead in the pursuit, their larger forms visible in her peripheral vision as they scuttled along the walls.

“Ready yourself, lass!” Gromorlig called out. They were approaching another trap point. Dotty’s hand went to the silver disc he’d given her.

The street ahead narrowed between two towering buildings. Perfect bottleneck. Just like they’d planned.

“Now!” Gromorlig bellowed.

Dotty pushed her Mana into the disc while running. She felt the ancient dwarven mechanisms respond, connecting to her Hunter’s instincts. The cobblestones beneath their feet trembled slightly.

The moment Dotty’s Mana connected with the trap, massive metal spikes erupted from the walls on both sides, shooting across the narrow passage in a deadly crosshatch pattern. She heard the satisfying crunch of metal being pierced behind her, followed by inhuman shrieks as several Corrupted Spider Constructs were caught in the ancient mechanism.

But the Corrupted Tarantulas were smarter. They leaped over their impaled brethren, using the walls to bypass the trap entirely.

“Don’t slow down!” Gromorlig shouted. “Next one’s bigger!”

Dotty’s thighs burned from the endless running. She’d never sprinted this far in her life. Her hand still clutched the silver disc.

Something whistled in her ear—a Corrupted Tarantula had gotten within range. She heard Heidi shout something from above, followed by a blast of fire that briefly illuminated the street.

Heidi wasn’t supposed to act unless the monsters got too close.

Ahead, Dotty saw what remained of an ancient dwarven fountain - a massive stone basin with elaborate carvings, now dry and crumbling. She banked hard around it, her boots nearly sliding out from under her on the smooth stone. The Tarantulas’ legs scraped and sparked against the ground as they followed, their momentum carrying them wider around the turn.

That’s when Dotty saw it - thin Mana threads that were visible to her thanks to the silver disc.

“Ready!” Gromorlig shouted in excitement. “This one’s my favorite!”

Dotty gripped the second disc tighter.

Dotty pushed her Mana into the silver disc. The ancient mechanisms responded instantly. The stone fountain cracked open. Liquid metal burst out in a pressurized spray, catching the closest Corrupted Tarantula mid-leap. The metal hardened instantly, freezing the monster in place.

“Keep moving!” Gromorlig called.

The second Corrupted Tarantula shot a wire at his face. Gromorlig tilted his head slightly. The wire missed by an inch. He moved with strange precision despite having no Class or Attributes.

Another wire flew at Dotty’s neck. Gromorlig’s hand shot up and deflected it bare-handed.

“Experience beats power any day, lass!” he shouted, winking at her.

Above them, Heidi jumped between rooftops. A Corrupted Spider Construct started climbing the wall toward her. She pointed her hands. A Fire Lance pierced its head. The construct fell and shattered on the ground.

Two more constructs tried climbing up. Heidi’s flames consumed their legs with two more blasts of Obsidian Ember before they reached the top. Their metal bodies crashed down behind Dotty.

“Left!” Gromorlig grabbed Dotty’s arm and pulled her down a side street.

The remaining Corrupted Tarantula followed. Its legs scraped against stone as it gained on them. Behind it, at least twenty Corrupted Spider Constructs skittered after them in a wave of metal limbs.

“Next trap point!” Gromorlig pointed ahead.

Dotty saw more Mana threads connecting to a metal plate in the ground. She channeled Mana into the disc. The street split open. Giant metal teeth rose up like a trap door.

The Corrupted Tarantula tried to jump over them. The teeth snapped shut. The monster’s body exploded into fragments. The Corrupted Spider Constructs behind it ran straight into the trap. Metal crunched and tore as the trapping mechanism chewed through them.

Heidi landed next to them from above.

“More coming from the side streets.”

“Lass,” Gromorlig looked meangifully at Dotty who injected more Mana into the silver disc.

Suddenly, the entire side street went up in a ball of flames that consumed everything.

The heat blast reached them at the same time as the terrifying screeches of the melting creatures caught in the attack.

They peeked into the side street when the flames subsided after their initial roar, seeing only orange-hot shells of the creatures, including one Corrupted Tarantula that had come out of nowhere, which was now in its death throes as all of its legs were melted down.

Through the waves of distorted air, Dotty could barely make out the rest of the silhouettes of the constructs collapsing into molten puddles.

“You like some Dwarven flames, don’t you?” Gromorlig teased the spiders.

Then, they all heard more clicking sounds and the Dwarf pushed Dotty.

“Come on, lass, we’re not done.”

  *

Monica landed another combination of hits on the Matriarch. Her fists crackled with Obsidian Flames as she struck the same spot repeatedly. Silver liquid poured from the wounds she had made in the creature’s metal hide.

The Matriarch’s legs trembled. It seemed to be weakening under Monica’s relentless assault. Ted’s song filled the air behind her while Sir Tristan fought the two Corrupted Tarantulas.

Monica jumped back and studied her opponent. Something felt wrong. The silver liquid wasn’t spraying outward like normal blood would. Instead, it moved and pooled beneath the Matriarch’s massive form.

“Die already,” Monica growled, channeling Obsidian Impact into another three-hit combination. The Matriarch’s body shuddered under the assault, more silver streaming from its injuries. Yet the creature had stopped fighting back entirely, its giant form unnaturally still.

Monica’s battle instincts screamed a warning. She hesitated for a split second, Meditation allowing her to sense something shifting in the Mana patterns around them. The Matriarch’s eight glowing eyes dimmed, and its massive silver form began to collapse inward like mercury being drawn into a vortex.

She jumped back as the silver liquid suddenly surged upward, forming into razor-sharp spikes that forced her to take a few wounds to avoid dying impaled on the spot.

The Matriarch’s body continued to melt and flow, but now Monica could see it wasn’t dying – it was transforming. The liquid metal rippled and reformed into a smaller and smaller cocoon.

The silver liquid began to levitate upward in defiance of gravity. The Matriarch’s crushed body disappeared completely into the rising cocoon of metal.

Then, the cocoon started changing color, going from a pure white silver to a darker and darker grey, until it became fully black.

“What’s happening?” Ted shouted from afar.

“It’s transforming!” Monica shouted back, keeping her arms raised. The last time this had happened with the Crystal Wolf Boss, the evolution had been much, much stronger.

The cocoon cracked. Blue light leaked through the cracks. Monica kept her guard up as more fractures spread across the surface.

The dark liquid of the cocoon peeled back like curtains. A sleek body emerged, dripping silvery residue. Unlike the bulky matriarch, this was a much smaller spider, much sleeker. Its carapace was pure obsidian black

The shell broke apart. A new form dropped to the ground. It was smaller than the Matriarch but denser. Its body was pure black except for a red hourglass mark on its abdomen.

[Black Widow - Level 165]

Eight eyes burned with cold blue fire. Its legs were thinner than the Matriarch’s but the metal looked denser, each limb tapering to a razor point. Its body was compact, perhaps a tenth of the Matriarch’s size, but it looked ten times as dangerous.

Monica could feel through Mana Sense that all the Mana contained in the body of the Metallic Arachnid Matriarch had been compressed into this new, much more deadly form.

“Ted, don’t stop playing!” Monica shouted. She needed the song’s boost more than ever now.

The Black Widow moved. Saying that it was faster than the Matriarch would have been an understatement.

Monica barely dodged its first strike. Its leg left a deep gouge in the rocky floor.

Behind her, Sir Tristan was still fighting the two Corrupted Tarantulas. “I can’t help!” he called. “These ones won’t die!”

Monica activated Phoenix Step. The Black Widow matched her speed. Its legs were a blur as they struck. She blocked with her bracers but the impacts made her bones shake.

She tried to hit it with Obsidian Impact. The Black Widow’s hide was harder than the Matriarch’s. Her flames barely scratched it.

Monica panted heavily, feeling the sharp pain of broken bones. Her right arm hung useless, shattered in three places from blocking the Black Widow’s strikes. Her ribs were cracked and breathing hurt.

She activated the Golden Flame, letting its healing power wash over her. Bones knitted back together. Pain faded. But her Mana reserves were dropping fast.

The Black Widow watched her with its eight glowing eyes. It seemed to be studying her.

“Ted, don’t let that song stop!” she called out.

Ted’s fingers moved across his mandolin strings, but his voice was barely a whisper as he watched the Black Widow advance.

“This is bad.”