"Hold him Blaze."
Blaze immediately turned to V.
"What did you say?? You want me to hold him alone?"
The sound of footsteps grew closer, so fast and so distinctive was the sound of eight feet stomping the ground alternately, causing a faint vibration.
A large shadow broke through the fog.
A giant spider appeared.
His leg immediately lunged towards Blaze with terrifying force.
Behind, Lily didn't wait for the signal.
She lowered her stance.
One of her hands was raised, the air around him vibrating as if pulling something.
Instantly, a magic circle appeared on her arm, moving quickly towards her palm.
From there, the magic circle merged with her index finger, glowing blue.
Every time her index finger moved, it left a trail like light ink, the line was a bright blue.
One symbol was drawn, Lily immediately slashed it vertically.
The symbol broke and disappeared.
She drew a second symbol, this time she slashed horizontally.
The air in front of her vibrated, a clump of energy formed, rolling like a whirlpool.
Lily took a quick breath, then pushed her palms forward.
The blob shot towards Blaze, forming a golden yellow barrier .
The giant foot slammed into the shield with a thunderous sound.
Electric sparks danced between his feet and the protective field.
The ground beneath them cracked, spreading like tree roots.
Blaze held his body from being pushed back, the veins in his arms tensing.
"That shield won't last long!" Lily shouted, her voice hoarse and breathless.
From behind the shield, Blaze turned his gaze to V. The man was standing slightly behind him.
V seemed to be shaking the phial with a serious expression.
"What are you doing, V!?"
Without turning around, V raised one hand as if telling him to be quiet.
"Give me time," he said coldly.
Blaze snorted in annoyance,
"Tch. I hope you don't disappoint me."
He gripped his sword tighter, then began to chant a series of spells.
"Skill Activation: Iron Defense!"
Golden light wrapped around his body, flashing briefly like a living sparkle.
"Skill Activation: Guardian Pulse!"
Shield-shaped magic ornaments appeared, spun briefly in the air, and then were absorbed into his body.
"Skill Activation: Anchor Field!"
The ground around Blaze cracked open, new cracks appearing every time he planted his foot deeper.
A dense yellow aura anchored his body to the earth.
Lily took a half step back, catching her breath. The chantless spell had drained her energy.
After finishing concocting the phial, V slowly drew his sword.
His eyes swept the monster's body from end to end.
His gaze stopped at the stomach area.
"That pattern... So, it's a Gas Spider."
He narrowed his eyes. "I don't see any magical energy. Just a natural mutation."
His hand moved quickly to pull one of the phials from the row of bottles at his waist, the liquid inside swirling slowly, with a deep black color.
"This fog is very disturbing," he said quietly.
He opened the phial's cover.
Thick steam immediately came out.
With one breath, he inhaled it all.
V blinks.
Suddenly his eyeballs turned black, the veins on his temples and around his eyes were faintly visible, pulsating softly.
The world around him changed.
The slightest thump in the ground, even the vibrations from behind the fog now formed three-dimensional images in his vision.
"Its hide might be thicker," he muttered flatly. "I can't cut it the usual way."
He opened another phial and poured the liquid onto his sword.
The liquid flows itself along the blade, sticking like a liquid magnet.
The shield shattered with a sharp sound.
The spider didn't stop, the momentum of its attack increased.
Blaze tried to ward off the giant's foot with his sword but to no avail, the foot continued to advance and only moved an inch away from his body.
Sparks flew as the sword rubbed against the spider's skin.
Blaze's jaw clenched. His arms shook violently, the force of his legs nearly buckling his joints.
The other leg followed.
Blaze gasped.
"Damn! My defensive magic isn't strong enough! That attack could have pierced me."
At the last second, a shadow crossed his vision.
He heard the sound of flesh being torn apart.
Suddenly, the weight on his arm vanished. Blaze stumbled to the side. When he came to, the giant's leg had been severed cleanly.
Then in front of him, he saw V's back ready to block the next leg.
The next foot hit the air, parting the mist.
V didn't back down, wasn't surprised.
The pitch black eyes stared at the attack path without blinking.
He lowered his center of gravity, putting more power into one of his legs.
V dodged to the side at the perfect moment.
Her hair swayed as the wind brushed past her body.
With both hands, V swung his sword.
With just one slash, the leg was immediately cut off and fell to the ground, a cloud of dust appeared followed by a faint vibration.
A loud groan erupted from the spider's mouth. The creature leaped back, hiding in the mist.
Blaze paused for a moment. His breath was ragged. He took a few steps forward, staring at V's unmoving back.
From behind, Lily exclaimed loudly, filled with admiration that she couldn't hide.
"V! You're cool!"
But before Blaze could get any closer, V raised a hand, signaling him to stop.
V's eyes narrowed, his focus not leaving the fog ahead.
"Be careful," he muttered lowly. "He hasn't stopped."
V turned his head.
And in that moment, Blaze froze. His eyes widened at the obvious change in V's face, his dark pupils, the faint veins that became visible like shadows beneath his skin.
"Y-you…" Blaze swallowed, taking a half step back unconsciously. "Are you… okay?"
"It's just a side effect. My eyesight improved… that's all."
V blinked once, slowly.
"It's not dangerous. As long as the dosage is right."
V turned his gaze back to the fog.
"Just focus on your steps. We're not done yet."
Blaze was stunned for a moment, not used to hearing such strange words.
"...In that case, okay."
Lily hurried to catch up with them from behind.
Suddenly, a scream broke the air.
"Lily, get out of the way!!"
Lily only had time to turn her head with a blink.
Something flashed out of the fog, very fast.
The object hit her chest.
Lily was dragged several meters, her body rolling and coming to a stop on the wet ground. She was still conscious.
She tried to get up, but her body wouldn't move.
When she looked down, she saw a thick layer of web, like wet wood that was stuck to and wrapped around his entire body.
"EEEK—what is this??" she said in fear.
A hiss suddenly appeared. Gas escaped through the gaps, the net deflating but still holding tight.
"Eh…? W-wait—"
From the front, another scream was heard.
"Cover your nose, Lily!! That gas is poisonous!!"
In front only V could see the spider.
He immediately ran through the fog.
"Help Lily, Blaze!"
"Wait V, you want to fight him alone??"
V didn't respond, he focused on looking ahead.
From his vision that gave off a vibrating visual, the spider had spun a web between the giant trees.
"So you want to play the distance."
The net shot out, this time towards him.
V slashed him with his sword.
Surprised.
The net is very flexible and does not cut.
His grip slipped, his sword left behind, bound by the net.
V didn't look back at all, as if he had expected it before.
His right hand reached for the bow hanging on his back.
V touched the trunk of a large tree as he continued running, his eyes assessing the color of the mist and the texture of the leaves.
"…High humidity, but not water mist."
He rubbed two fingers together, leaving behind a fine powder.
"There's resin. It's volatile. The percentage is enough to be a medium."
He looked down briefly, kissing the dry earth.
"The soil contains light sulfur… meaning the combustion reaction can occur indirectly."
His hands reached for his waist, fingers touching a row of small phials.
"If the resin in the air is thick enough, the fire can 'stick' to certain surfaces."
He pulled out his phial and then reached into a small pocket under his belt, pulling out a tiny tube filled with a silvery powder. The powder looked solid, but when touched with his thumb, it crumbled like dry dust.
"Reactive to resin… but stable without heat," he muttered.
V opened the phial he had chosen. The pale green liquid inside swirled slowly, emitting a sharp aroma that pierced the nose.
He added a little powder to the liquid.
Suddenly a soft sound was heard, like a small ember exhaling.
The liquid changed color, from green to transparent orange.
Then V poured the liquid into the arrow quiver on his back.
V slowly raised his bow. He didn't slow down and began counting.
"The angle… is three degrees higher."
His steps shifted to the left, keeping the rhythm.
"Wind...light cross. One-eighth correction."
He pulled the bowstring while still moving, his eyes following the vibration patterns in the air.
"Distance… thirty-six. Arrow burning at zero point four…"
Full inhalation. Short breath.
He released the arrow.
The air vibrated, arrows pierced the mist.
Exactly after zero point four seconds, a small spark appeared, the arrow lit up.
Fire burns the air.
Behind, Blaze had just finished pulling Lily off the ground, when he saw an orange light reflecting off the mist.
"What is that!?" he exclaimed.
"Fire…?" Lily stared with wide eyes.
The fog parted. In the distance, the silhouette of V was visible, holding a bow in one hand.
The fiery arrow appeared to miss, but after a few meters its trajectory changed, turning slowly towards the target, following the calculations.
The spider shot a web. The white fibers immediately burned before touching the arrow.
V muttered softly,
"It's useless. Your net isn't designed to withstand heat."
The arrow continued to fly and finally landed on the spider's belly.
It doesn't penetrate the skin but is enough to trigger heat on its surface.
"I know it won't hurt you," V muttered. "Your skin layer needs a special solvent, but… it's hot enough to make you react."
The spider roared, its body shaking frantically.
V squinted.
"If there is a threat near the stomach… you will—"
Before he could finish, the spider released a jet of concentrated gas.
The gas touched the fire.
An explosion occurred, enveloping the creature itself in a massive inferno.
Blaze and Lily stood still, as if they had forgotten how to breathe.
The embers of fire reflected in their eyes, dancing across their dilated pupils.
"He… really wasn't lying," Blaze whispered.
"I feel like a failure."
He waited for Lily to comment, but there was no sound.
The silence made Blaze turn around.
Lily's eyes widened, staring at V in a way Blaze had never seen before. Not in awe, not in fear, but in fascination with something she didn't understand.
Lily finally spoke, her voice soft.
"Blaze… let's be adventurers. You understand, right? Let's really be adventurers."
Blaze's fingers clenched, then slowly relaxed again.
"…Yes. Next time we'll take on a higher contract gradually, and…"
His sentence was broken, he looked down slightly as if holding something back.
Blaze's tone dropped, more honest.
"…we both become stronger."