Ryen vs the Widow
The forest was still.
No wind. No birds. No light.
Only the shrill screeeech of a nightmare born before history—echoing through the shadows like a funeral bell.
Ryen Sylvan stood alone, body half-bloodied, the silver sword pulsing violently in his hand. The blade resisted him—each swing felt like holding lightning wrapped in barbed wire. It didn't obey him like his own weapons did. It was meant for Yuji. It carried the scent of something… wrong. Dark. Ancient. But he had no time to complain.
Eight crimson eyes glared down at him from the monster's grotesque face.
The Poison Widow had grown larger.
Faster.
Smarter.
Every cut Ryen delivered had made it stronger.
He'd learned that too late.
The creature hissed, releasing another cloud of that glowing green mist—so thick it left holes in the trees.
Ryen's breath came shallow. "If this keeps up… I'll burn from the inside out."
He dashed forward.
CRACK—CLANG!
His blade slammed into one of the beast's legs. The impact sent sparks flying. Black ichor dripped, but the monster barely flinched. Instead, it lunged, all eight legs pounding down like falling meteors.
Ryen twisted mid-air, landing on the back of the monster's thorax. The second he did—
BOOM!
A wave of poison detonated around him like a volcanic burst.
Ryen was launched backward, crashing into a tree that splintered on contact.
He hit the ground hard, coughing blood. His vision swam.
"Damn it…"
His ice aura flickered weakly around him. His body was trembling—not just from fatigue, but from the sword in his hand. The dark veins on the blade were crawling, like vines wrapping around his wrist. He could feel its energy whispering into his mind. Hungry. Unstable.
> "You are not the chosen."
He shook it off, rising to his feet with a grunt. His uniform was half-burned. His left shoulder had a deep gash from when the spider's claw grazed him earlier.
[EB: 1 left.]
One shot of power.
That was all.
But he refused to die. Not in front of Yuji. Not while that bastard was still learning what it meant to be hated.
Ryen raised the sword.
> "Come on, you damned insect."
The spider responded instantly—dashing with speed unnatural for its size. Its limbs blurred. The trees behind it shattered from the force of each stride.
SHWOOOM!
Ryen vanished at the last second, reappearing underneath the creature.
He slashed upwards—
CLANG!
Again, it only scraped the carapace.
He blinked midair and spun to its side, aiming for the exposed underjoint. This time—
SLASH!
A leg flew off.
The beast screamed.
Poison sprayed like acid rain.
The mist got hotter.
Ryen landed—but dropped to one knee, his arms trembling.
"Shit…"
> The more I hurt it, the stronger it gets.
That realization was a curse. Every second he tried to kill it, he was only feeding its fire.
The spider shrieked again—and this time, its body ignited with green heat, steam rising off its back. Its body shimmered, veins glowing beneath the exoskeleton.
> It was evolving.
"Of course it is…" Ryen muttered, standing shakily.
Then it struck.
Faster than ever.
He brought the sword up—
BOOM!!!
The impact shattered the earth beneath them, forming a crater of molten rock and venom. Ryen's blade blocked the direct hit—but the force sent him flying through the air like a ragdoll.
He tumbled. Hit the dirt. Skidded.
Stopped.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Smoke curled from his armor. His arms twitched.
He coughed hard, blood spraying into the dirt. His vision spun.
"…still… not enough…"
The spider let out a final, low hiss—staring at him like a predator disappointed by its prey.
Ryen forced himself up again. Sword dragging behind him now.
Each breath burned.
His ice aura was completely gone. His EB storage? Drained.
But still—he walked forward.
Unshaken.
Broken.
But walking.
> If I fall here… Yuji and Aika will be next.
That thought lit something inside him.
Not rage.
Not hope.
But duty.
The kind that didn't bend.
He stopped just a few meters from the beast.
The spider raised its front claws, venom dripping.
Ryen lifted the blade in one last stance.
His voice, hoarse but unyielding, escaped through his cracked lips.
"…I'm not dead yet."
---
Run or Die
The Poison Widow screeched—its voice like bones grinding in molten acid.
Its glowing eyes narrowed in, fixated solely on Ryen Sylvan.
Ryen stood still, sword raised, breath shallow. His limbs trembled—not from fear, but from the heat boiling under his skin.
The venom had gotten in.
His left side—numb.
His vision—blurred.
His heartbeat—irregular.
> "Damn... that last blast... I wasn't fast enough…"
Aika, from the edge of the clearing, screamed, "Ryen, pull back!"
Yuji tried to rush forward, but Ryen growled, "STAY BACK!"
The spider lunged again.
Ryen barely rolled aside, slashing upward with the silver sword—but his movements were slower now. Less precise. The poison inside him was eating through his veins like fire.
Each breath felt like knives.
The spider's claw sliced past his shoulder. Ryen stumbled.
The numbness was spreading.
> I can't win this now…
"Yuji—Aika—run!!" he barked.
"But—" Yuji started, eyes wide.
"NOW!"
Ryen launched a frozen wave behind him with his last EB. It barely slowed the spider, but it bought two seconds.
Enough.
He turned and bolted.
Yuji grabbed Aika, and the three sprinted through the dense underbrush, leaping over twisted roots, ducking under massive thorned vines. Behind them, the Poison Widow gave a furious screech—and the trees behind exploded in poisonous green flames as it charged after them.
Boom—Boom—BOOM!
The entire forest shook as the monster gave chase.
Ryen's hand clutched his chest. Every few steps, he staggered—but forced himself forward.
"Don't stop," he growled. "Don't look back."
Ahead, the only known path out of the Hunting Forest came into view—a narrow ridge between cliffs, flanked by jagged rock.
But as they reached it—
Chittering.
Small shadows skittered across the ground.
A swarm of smaller Widow Spiders—maybe thirty—poured down from the trees like raindrops made of hate. Their legs clacked against stone. Their mouths hissed.
They blocked the only escape.
"Damn it!" Ryen spat, skidding to a stop.
He glanced behind them.
The Poison Widow—the mother—was almost here.
They were surrounded.
No choice.
> "This way!" Ryen barked.
He turned sharply to the right, veering into an unmarked section of the forest—an area not even mapped by the Corps.
Yuji and Aika followed without hesitation, their boots pounding the damp earth.
Trees closed in. Branches clawed at their faces. Thorns tore at their legs. The forest was a blur of motion and breathless panic.
Behind them, they could hear it:
Dozens of legs.
Claws clicking.
The air heating up from incoming poison shots.
Fwsshhh—BOOM!
A poison blast exploded near Yuji's head, burning through a tree and nearly catching his shoulder.
He ducked—too late.
SLASH!
A shard of burning poison grazed his arm, slicing his sleeve open. Blood trickled down.
"Agh—!"
Aika gasped, "Yuji—!"
"I'm fine, just keep going!"
Then her foot slipped on wet moss. She fell, rolled, then forced herself up again, limping.
One of the spiderlings had managed to launch a venom spike. It scraped her left thigh.
Her eyes glowed with pain, but she said nothing.
Ryen looked back once.
Yuji bleeding.
Aika limping.
His own lungs burning like they were full of ash.
And the spiders behind them—still chasing. Still gaining.
> We're dying one second at a time…
But he didn't speak it aloud.
No one did.
The air was too heavy.
The only sound—was running.
Running for a future that was slipping through their fingers.
And still—the forest gave no mercy.
---
The Crimson Exit
The thunder of pursuit still roared behind them—thirty spiderlings tearing through the underbrush, and behind them, the Poison Widow itself.
But just ahead—
A glow.
A crimson light flickering between two ancient stone pillars, partially buried beneath vines and time.
Ryen's eyes narrowed, heart pounding against his ribs.
> "A Vein…?"
No. This wasn't like the others.
It pulsed like it was alive.
Its glow wasn't blue, gold, or dark—it was red. Blood red. And yet, not hostile… not cold. Just strange.
> "I've never seen this type," Ryen thought. "Not in Zeyrus. Not in the records. This… isn't mapped."
His breath was short. The poison had already reached his chest. One more hit, and his body would collapse.
Yuji was limping behind him, arm scorched.
Aika's leg was bleeding heavily. Her breathing shallow.
They couldn't outrun this.
> "If I do nothing, they'll die."
He gritted his teeth.
> "No… I'm the strongest of Zeyrus. Their protector. I won't let them fall."
He turned, voice rising like steel.
> "JUMP INTO THE VEIN! NOW!"
Yuji hesitated.
"What?!"
"I SAID NOW!!"
The three of them didn't stop to ask again.
Together, they dove through the crimson energy.
And instantly—
Pain.
Their bodies convulsed.
Their vision turned white.
Their lungs screamed.
Each of them let out a raw, piercing scream as the world around them shattered—like glass being cracked, then flipped inside-out.
Then… silence.
Yuji gasped as he landed, knees slamming into soft grass.
He opened his eyes—and froze.
The sky above wasn't the burnt gray of Zeyrus.
It was… glowing pink.
The trees sparkled with silver leaves. The forest shimmered softly, almost breathing. The air felt thick, powerful, but not dangerous. It felt…
Ancient.
Peaceful.
And yet…
Heavy.
Ryen stood slowly, swaying slightly.
"This… isn't Zeyrus," he muttered.
His voice was almost reverent.
"It's not Kaidu. Not Sarenya. Not Marina. Not even Verin."
He looked around, utterly lost.
> "It's something else entirely…"
Aika collapsed beside a tree, hand gripping her bleeding thigh. Yuji fell beside her, coughing. His arms were sliced. His ribs felt broken.
All three looked like corpses wearing armor.
Yuji shakily dug through his utility pocket.
"I… I have one blue-grade medicine left…"
He held up the vial—glowing faintly with healing nanites and cool essence.
Ryen looked at it.
Then shook his head.
"No. Give it to Aika."
"What?!" she protested.
"If I die, it doesn't matter," he said flatly.
"But—!"
Ryen turned his head slightly.
"Then give it to your boyfriend."
Aika flushed.
Yuji blinked.
"W-What!?"
"He's not my boyfriend!" Aika snapped, blushing harder than her wounds.
But before any more words could pass between them—
SHK-KRAK.
The sound of boots.
Soldiers.
Four of them, cloaked in bronze armor, carrying rifles with flickering flame engravings across the barrels. Their helmets were carved like beasts, and their eyes glowed faint red.
They surrounded the trio instantly, weapons aimed.
> "Identify yourselves!" one shouted in a language half-familiar, half-strange.
Yuji instinctively raised his hands.
Aika tensed.
Ryen looked at the weapons—custom flame-sourced guns. Not tech from any of the five nations. The air behind them pulsed with faint FE—Flame Energy.
He calculated.
Wounded.
Out of energy.
Unfamiliar world.
Unknown enemy.
Only one move.
Ryen slowly raised both hands and said, voice firm but low:
> "I surrender."
---
END OF CHAPTER 13