"Uwah, what's Mom doing here?! Did she come all this way just to deal with me, the one that slipped through the cracks?"
"But geez, Mom looks terrifying… If I hadn't followed the Appraisal-based evolution path, would I have ended up like that too?"
"Thank goodness, praise be to Lord Appraisal and the Voice of Heaven! Otherwise, I'd have no face left to meet Eriri!"
Even as she ranted furiously in her mind, Shiraori's face remained perfectly expressionless.
She didn't fully understand her mother's power—after all, she didn't have Appraisal the last time they met. But from the pressure radiating off her, it was clear the Queen Taratect's strength was far from ordinary.
Knowing full well that Queen Taratect wouldn't hesitate to devour her own offspring right after birth, Shiraori had already mentally prepared herself for battle.
But before anything happened, she didn't forget to appraise the Queen Taratect.
[Name: Unnamed]
[Race: Queen Taratect]
[Level: LV89]
[Stats: HP 24,557/24,577, MP 22,301/22,301...]
[Skills: ...]
[...]
Seeing the average stat values around the 20,000s, Shiraori let out a small breath of relief.
The Queen Taratect was undoubtedly the strongest opponent she'd encountered aside from Güliedistodiez. But now that she had evolved into a Jorōgumo, the difference wasn't overwhelming.
Her own stats had already surpassed 30,000, a full 10,000 more than the Queen's.
With that kind of gap, she honestly couldn't imagine how she would lose.
Mirei Shinohara, who had also used Appraisal, remained calm as well. She didn't rush to attack, though—having noticed the strange behavior from Shiraori earlier, she suspected there might be some connection between the giant spider and Shiraori. After all, they were both spiders.
While Shiraori and Mirei remained relaxed, the Queen Taratect, facing them, was far more serious.
As the sovereign of the Elroe Great Labyrinth, she had always been the supreme ruler—every other monster was merely prey. But now, for the first time, she sensed a threat from these two: a half-human spider and a snake-like unknown being.
Even more alarming, her attempt to appraise them had failed—meaning their strength likely surpassed her own.
Of course, she noticed that Shiraori carried her own bloodline and realized she was one of her offspring. But what puzzled her was why Shiraori wasn't affected by the usual subordinate control.
And that half-human, half-spider form—she had never seen such an evolution before. She felt it necessary to report this to her own mother.
Seeing that they had no intention of attacking, the Queen Taratect made her decision. Without a word, she turned and left.
Watching her sudden departure, Shiraori was slightly stunned.
In her mind, her mother had always been a brutal, merciless figure.
Still, she had no intention of pursuing. As much as she disliked the Queen Taratect, she had no desire to commit matricide unless absolutely necessary.
After all, there wasn't any real animosity between them.
Just then, Mirei floated up in front of Shiraori with a curious look on her face.
"Hey, Shira—what's the deal with that giant spider? She related to you or something?"
Shiraori silently glanced at Mirei, then turned and continued walking down the path.
"Hey, don't just ignore me! You still haven't answered my question!"
Watching her retreating back, Mirei quickly followed after her, continuing to pester her with questions.
Some time later, Shiraori and Mirei finally emerged from the labyrinth they had spent an entire year in, stepping into the sunlit world outside.
The moment they stepped into the outside world, that familiar Voice of Heaven rang out in their minds.
[Elroe Great Labyrinth cleared. Congratulations! You have acquired: Mastery of Otherworldly Language.]
...
While Shiraori and Mirei were leaving the labyrinth, it was just past 5 p.m. on Earth.
The massive screen in the living room continued to livestream the two's journey.
Since dinner time was approaching, Aoi Kujou had gone off to prepare the evening meal as usual, with Meido tagging along, apparently interested in learning to cook.
Now, only Eriri and D remained in the living room watching the broadcast.
"They've left the labyrinth… looks like it won't be long before they return," Eriri said with a smile as she watched the screen.
Although the time flow was a hundred times faster in the other world—and so was the livestream speed—it made no difference to them. It all felt like normal time.
"So this is the kind of plot you enjoy? Honestly, I find it pretty boring," D remarked.
Despite sticking around with Eriri, D found the survival-themed progression of Shiraori and Mirei utterly dull.
"What kind of plot do you enjoy then?"
"A weak creature showing countless possibilities… offering small nudges at key moments to see how far they can rise. That kind of story."
"That does sound interesting, but I still prefer the kind of story where overwhelming force crushes everything. It's more fun to watch."
"Is that so? As long as you're happy."
D didn't continue debating and didn't leave the room, even though she found the livestream boring.
Time ticked by, and at 6 p.m., Aoi Kujou and Meido returned to the living room—with a deliciously prepared dinner in hand.
...
Several days had passed since Shiraori and Mirei entered the human world.
Because of their appearances, they had never once visited a human town during that time. Instead, they stuck to the wilderness and forests, avoiding populated areas.
It wasn't that they feared humans, but they didn't want to attract unnecessary trouble.
Nor did they take this opportunity to explore the world just for fun. For them, the top priority was finding the ancient ruin.
Only after Shiraori fully evolved into human form would they be able to blend into the human world more easily and search for Eriri.
Once they found her, then they could travel the world all they wanted—with Eriri in tow, of course.
What they didn't know was that they had already caught the attention of the most powerful entity under this world's system.
...
Another month passed in the blink of an eye.
Following Appraisal's guidance, Shiraori and Mirei confirmed their destination lay to the north, and so they advanced at full speed.
What would've normally taken nearly a year, they reduced to just over a month.
Though they hadn't yet arrived at the ancient ruin, they were now very close—it wouldn't be long before they reached it.
Having stuck to wild areas and forests, they encountered few humans in that time, but plenty of monsters.
Without exception, all those monsters ended up as prey for Shiraori. The energy she gained significantly boosted her strength—
—but did little to push her toward evolution.
As for the humans they encountered, it seemed to be an adventurer party. When the adventurers saw Shiraori and Mirei, they were instantly captivated by their appearances.
Shiraori's human upper body was extraordinarily beautiful, and Mirei herself looked like a living work of art.
To them, such exotic and gorgeous "monsters" had to be worth a fortune.
Those human adventurers instantly set their sights on the two, hoping to capture and sell them to some noble lords—surely a transaction that would make them rich beyond belief.
Unfortunately for them, this was a death wish.
Originally, Shiraori and Mirei Shinohara had no intention of harming the adventurers—after all, they were once human themselves. But the adventurers made the first move.
And that left the two with no reason to hold back.
In the very moment the adventurers attacked, they were all wiped out by a single Evil Eye blast from Shiraori.
After a year of dungeon crawling, they had long grown accustomed to bloodshed and slaughter. Even though this time the targets were humans, the discomfort lasted only a few seconds.
Then, they were back to normal.
...
Now, Shiraori and Mirei had arrived at a canyon. Once they passed through it and crossed the wilderness ahead, they would reach the location of the ancient ruin.
But before they could exit the canyon, a figure suddenly appeared before them at incredible speed.
"Are you the monsters that child mentioned?"
Standing before them was a petite girl with short black hair and a large streak of white bangs. Her clothing was minimal and revealing—but despite her appearance, neither Shiraori nor Mirei mistook her for a little girl.
[Name: Ariel]
[Race: Primordial Spider Monster]
[Level: LV139]
[Age: 3000+]
[Title: Current Demon Lord]
[Stats: HP 90,098/90,098 +99,999, MP 87,655/87,655 +99,999...]
[Skills: …]
[...]
Seeing the absurdly overpowered stats and skill list, Shiraori and Mirei couldn't help but recall Güliedistodiez, who had similarly appeared and vanished months ago.
Though Ariel's raw stats were slightly inferior to the humanoid Black Dragon, she was still undeniably among the strongest beings in this world.
Her title alone—Demon Lord—made her status clear.
And the numerous titles like Human Slayer, Demon Slayer, Elf Slayer, Dragon Slayer were further proof that she was no kind soul.
But times had changed.
After over a year of evolution and growth, both Shiraori and Mirei had become entirely different beings.
Shiraori's stats had surpassed 60,000 across the board, while Mirei was even stronger—bolstered by her superior cross-rank combat abilities and the powerful defensive skill "Diamond Body."
Though they couldn't claim victory against this Demon Lord loli, they were confident they wouldn't die.
More importantly, there was no sign that Ariel had come to fight.
In fact, they could tell she had approached them with goodwill.
So they had no reason not to talk—best to hear her out first.
And clearly, between the two, Mirei was better suited to that role.
"That 'child' you mentioned—are you talking about the giant spider in the labyrinth?"
Since Ariel was also a spider-type, it wasn't hard for Mirei to guess who she meant.
"Correct. She mentioned you to me recently and piqued my interest, so I came to see you for myself."
Ariel smiled as she looked at the two.
"Oh? And now that you've seen us, what do you think?" Mirei asked curiously.
"I can only say that it was worth the trip. You're quite extraordinary."
Ariel had already tried appraising them upon her arrival. Unsurprisingly, the results had been blocked.
Their Appraisal skills not only allowed them to analyze anything in the world without being noticed, but also shielded them from others' attempts to appraise them.
"Honestly, I can't see through you. I can feel your strength… so—"
"So what?"
"So I want to invite you to join me—to help save this world from its looming destruction."
At her words, Mirei and Shiraori were both visibly shocked.
"What did you say? This world is going to be destroyed?" Mirei asked urgently, while Shiraori's expression turned equally serious.
"Yes," Ariel said, her tone grave. Both could tell she wasn't lying.
Shiraori's thoughts immediately started racing.
"World-ending crisis… Seriously? Just my luck!"
"Wait, my Space Magic currently only allows teleportation to previously visited places. But if I evolve again… could I reach another planet—or even return to Earth?"
"No choice. I need to accelerate my evolution. I must find Eriri before the world ends, and take her to a safe place."
With that in mind, Shiraori turned to look at Mirei.
And at the exact same moment, Mirei looked back at her.
Their eyes met, and they instantly understood each other.
Without hesitation, they made their decision.
—
—
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