But Robin knew that these mobs were just appetizers. The real decider of their life and death was still the battle on Aiden's side.
Clang—!
The Death Web swung its door-sized road sign. Bors roared and charged forward with his battle axe, but the moment their weapons collided, an unmatched, monstrous force surged through him. He was sent flying backward, landing hard on his rear, his head spinning.
"What the hell kind of monstrous strength is this?!"
Bors cursed loudly again.
He was a veteran Level 3 adventurer known for his strength; even facing the Goliath, he had never been in such a miserable state.
Even more terrifying was that this monster could not only use a weapon, but its defense was astonishing, its regeneration was maxed out, and its speed wasn't slow. Furthermore, its perception was absurdly sharp. Even against a sneak attack from a blind spot, it could react with precise accuracy.
Among the several Level 3 adventurers laying siege to it, only Aiden's longsword wreathed in crimson flames could barely cut through the Death Web's black metallic shell. Even then, it only left a sword mark that quickly healed amidst a glow of green energy.
"Roar!"
The Death Web seemed tired of these annoying flies. It suddenly raised its left hand—fingers as thick as a child's arm, tipped with claws as black as ink—and swiped directly toward Aiden.
The grab wasn't fast, but it carried an oppressive, locking sensation of "you have nowhere to run."
Aiden's eyes narrowed. He twisted his body, dodging it by a hair's breadth. The sharp claws brushed past his clothes, leaving five bottomless gouges in the hard stone floor.
Before he could even steady himself, the Death Web's right foot stomped down heavily.
Boom!
The five-meter-tall behemoth stomped its single foot, and the entire floor violently quaked.
With the point of impact at the center, a terrifying, spiderweb-like fissure instantly blew outward. A violent shockwave wrapped in countless pieces of rubble swept in all directions.
The other besieging adventurers were blasted away on the spot. Aiden also staggered backward, the ground beneath his feet constantly crumbling, nearly causing him to lose his balance.
Just as a thought arose, the Death Web moved.
It thrust its massive road-sign weapon fiercely into the ground—the sharp edge burying deep into the bedrock. Using this as a pivot, its colossal body spun one hundred and eighty degrees with the agility of a top.
Its other giant hand swung in a full circle, howling as it tore through the air, sweeping horizontally toward Aiden who had just regained his footing.
Aiden's pupils shrank. He abruptly ducked. The massive palm swept almost right over his head, the accompanying gale stinging his cheeks.
The "mouth" stretching across the Death Web's face split even wider.
It rapidly retreated—the five-meter-tall, heavy body leaping back several meters with an agility completely unsuited to its size, landing almost completely silently.
Then, the moment it touched down, it spun around forcefully. The giant road sign, still embedded in the ground, was pulled by this terrifying rotational momentum, carving out a complete, deadly arc.
The door-sized metal plate came howling over, cutting off all avenues of retreat.
Aiden was forced into a desperate backward roll. The massive weapon practically brushed past the tip of his nose, smashing heavily into the rock wall behind him.
Boom!!!
The sturdy rock wall instantly exploded into a massive crater over two meters in diameter, showering the area with shrapnel.
In that split second, as Aiden rolled and dispersed the force, he was already behind the Death Web.
Without even having the time to adjust his breathing, driven almost purely by combat instinct, he thrust out his hand, instantly mobilizing the magic within his body.
"Gospel!"
Sonic waves wrapped in superheated flames coalesced into a crimson fireball in his palm. With the suddenness of a thunderbolt, it blasted precisely into the Death Web's broad back.
Boom!
Amidst the violent explosion, flames and shockwaves wreaked havoc, instantly engulfing the Death Web's massive frame.
However, this high temperature, capable of melting steel, failed to slow it down in the slightest.
Soon, a massive dark shadow charged fearlessly out of the roaring flames. The blackened, shattered carapace and flesh—burned by the magical explosion and high heat—sizzled and emitted thick steam. Meanwhile, the green energy lines pulsed like a beating heart, and the fleshy tendrils writhed madly, recovering at a terrifying, physics-defying speed.
"Tch."
Aiden clicked his tongue, a look of "I knew it" flashing across his face.
He tapped his foot lightly against the ground. The flames from his enchantment magic, Everlasting Flames, erupted violently, propelling him backward at extreme speed, distancing himself from the Death Web.
While retreating, his hands didn't stop. Volleys of fiery bombardments fired at the Death Web like endless Gatling gun bullets.
Every shot exploded into a burst of fire against the monster. Though the massive impact force couldn't inflict effective damage, it successfully knocked the creature back, making it stumble repeatedly.
"Now's the time! Scrape it down! Even breaking its skin is a victory!"
Bors and the others seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, roaring as they charged forward again.
Giant axes, greatswords, spears... Several elite Level 3 adventurers unleashed their strongest attacks from all kinds of tricky angles, raining them entirely upon the Death Web.
"Roar!"
Completely enraged by these "flies," the Death Web let out a heaven-shaking roar.
It abruptly swung its massive road sign at high speed in front of it, whipping up a terrifying storm of metal. Not only did it extinguish all the lingering flames on its body, but it also forced Bors and the others back once again.
Following that, it lunged forward with a single stride. The giant road sign crashed down with the force of a thunderbolt. Bors raised his axe to endure the blow but was swatted away again by the violent power. He spun in the air several times like a top before hitting the ground. If Jeanne's barrier magic hadn't flared brightly at the moment of impact, forcibly mitigating nearly half the force, he wouldn't just be severely injured right now—he would have been turned into a puddle of meat paste.
"Is this thing really a 17th-Floor Boss?!"
Laying on the ground, Bors felt his internal organs had all shifted out of place and couldn't help but curse out loud.
The other adventurers weren't much better off. One was swiped by the claws, his chest armor torn open with five bone-deep gashes; another was kicked flying, crashing into the distant mob of monsters like a rolling gourd.
If not for Jeanne's barrier magic and Hyacine's healing magic constantly providing damage reduction and recovery, their temporarily assembled elite squad would likely have been wiped out by now.
Bors and the others were practically useless—Aiden had anticipated this.
He hadn't expected these temporary teammates to create miracles anyway.
The crimson flames on his body flared up once more. The terrifying heat even distorted the surrounding air, turning him into a towering pillar of human fire.
The ground beneath his feet shattered instantly. Turning into a streak of fire, he closed the distance to the Death Web in the blink of an eye.
He swung his Fire Spirit Sword, no longer aiming for wide, sweeping slashes. Instead, the blade blurred into countless afterimages, striking precisely at the weak points where the Death Web's seemingly indestructible joints met its energy lines.
The extremely fast slashes left horrifying, bone-deep gashes on the Death Web, sending sparks flying.
However, green light flickered within those wounds, the muscle tissue writhing madly, recovering to its original state in just a breath or two.
The corner of Aiden's eye twitched hard, but his offensive didn't halt.
With an agile sidestep, he dodged the howling swing of the giant road sign, closing the distance. The Fire Spirit Sword in his hand swept upward at an impossible angle, finally breaking through that layer of hard black carapace and burying the blade deep into the Death Web's body.
"Gospel!"
Without any hesitation, he activated his magic.
A chain of fiery explosions detonated directly inside the Death Web's body.
Muffled booms echoed in succession. Red light even burst through the seams of the Death Web's pitch-black shell.
The Death Web's flesh swelled and twisted madly from the energy erupting within it, and it let out an agonized roar.
Aiden's eyes glinted. He was about to press the attack, desperately pouring more flames into its body in an attempt to completely incinerate its internal organs and core.
But in the next instant, a sense of crisis akin to descending death made his hairs stand on end.
Almost without hesitation, he violently detonated the flames within his Fire Spirit Sword, creating a massive recoil that sent him flying backward, instantly distancing himself from the Death Web.
The exact moment he left his spot, a thunderous crash resounded. That massive road sign slammed down with crushing force, smashing a bottomless crater exactly where he had just been standing.
If he had hesitated for even a fraction of a second, he would probably have been driven straight into the bedrock by now.
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