We were assigned a mission in District 9, a Class 5. There are seven mission classes in total, and the higher the number, the more devastating the threat. The system works like a pyramid: the truly nightmarish classes are so rare they're almost mythical. Class 7 represents a target with the high potential for extinction-level events, while Class 6 threatens to completely erase landscapes.
These two classes are virtually non-existent, making a Class 5 the most difficult mission most of us will ever face. What defines a Class 5? It's a target that, if neglected, could grow into a Class 6 or 7, capable of Regional Ecological Disruption. What makes them truly terrifying is their volatility; a Class 5 could appear in any mission from one to four. When you encounter them, they could be weak, making the mission a quick, easy hunt, or they could have already grown strong enough to inflict mass casualties. This unpredictability makes them the most problematic threat we face.
So how do we even know we're dealing with a Class 5? First, if a Nightbound team survives to report that a target from a lower-class mission is capable of regional disruption, the mission class is immediately elevated to a five. If there's no survivor testimony, we look for evidence of its effects: a slow, unnatural loss of habitat or biodiversity, the sudden contamination or disappearance of vital resources, massive disruption of the food chain, or constant, inexplicable climate shifts. And here I am, on a mission with all the grim hallmarks of a Class 5. I just hope I get back home.
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Mission Brief
Objective: Eliminate Unknown Evil Entity
Class: 5
Location: Stone City, District 9.
Summary of Unknown Entity:
There has been a growing and sudden increase in missing persons in Stone City. Evidence suggests the target has a preference for abducting men, most of them teenagers, though there have been rare cases of missing women. This has been occurring for a little over five weeks.
Minimum Number of Nightbound:
20+ People
Minimum Number of Enforcers:
35+ People
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We entered Stone City under an overcast sky. The citizens were visibly anxious about our presence; the sight of forty Nightbounds, the most elite of the elite, was a stark symbol of how serious this was. We usually don't disclose our missions to the public to avoid mass panic, but this time, the sheer number of us told its own horrifying story, making it the perfect opportunity for enforcers to come in and do crowd control to ensure they are not collateral damage.
We split into groups of four to investigate the last known locations of the missing people. After hours of searching for clues, one of the mothers of a missing boy approached me, flanked by Enforcers.
"Please! Find my son," she pleaded, her sobs, desperate. "I haven't been able to sleep knowing he's out there, unsafe. His name is Raphael, and he has a bracelet with his name on it that I made for him. He's been gone for two days now; it would mean the world to me if you bring him back home."
"... Do you know where he was going, have you noticed anything unusual?" I questioned, seeking answers that can piece things together.
"He said he met a nice, beautiful girl and was going to take her on a date. The only unusual thing is that he brought back one of her pets. It was some kind of spider, if I remember correctly." The mother says in distress.
"That information is very useful, thank you."
I finally have a clue.
The Enforcers led her away, her body still wracked with sobs. I went around to the other Nightbounds and citizens with missing members or friends, and every story had extreme similarities.
This is worse than expected. Missing men, dates, and spiders. There was only one horrifying conclusion to be drawn: the entity had the power of mimicry, a shapeshifter cloaked in the guise of a beautiful woman to lure in its prey. The rare cases of missing women were likely due to the women having an orientation to be attracted to other women as well or it could be far worse it has a hunger for variety.
The entity we were looking for was a "Jorogumo". I had read the mythologies on it, ancient tales I had dismissed as mere folklore. I never expected to face one. I had to update the mission brief immediately so we all knew what grim fate we were walking into.
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Updated Objective: Eliminate Jorogumo
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The notification was sent to every Nightbound present. Now we had to locate it. We spent hours gathering evidence, and the more we found, the more silent and grave the group became. We all knew that some of us were guaranteed not to make it back home alive.
It gets dark after gathering all the evidence needed to locate it, the Enforcers begin to evacuate the civilians of Stone City; we didn't know what kind of devastation the coming battle would bring. While they did their work, our captain gathered us before the raid.
"Listen up! I know most of us have families, friends, and people we care for. Unfortunately, your safety is not guaranteed if you choose to move forward. Clearing today's mission will not only elevate your rank but there will also be great compensation for your efforts. However, if you change your mind about participating, you may leave. No one will think less of you."
Seven of the forty Nightbounds present turned and walked away without a word. I was at least glad they chose to opt out now, instead of trying to get the Sloth Sin reward by fleeing during the fight and leaving us to die in there.
"Now that they have chosen to walk out, I have to state that it doesn't matter how the target is eliminated, as long as it is. Based on the evidence we've gathered, the Jorogumo is located at the large, abandoned church up the hill. We will surround the place by midnight and strike. Prepare yourselves, losing is not an option."
It was 10 PM. Everyone was preparing their tools and weapons. Some were already reinforcing their bodies with incantations, what commoners would call spells. I used my dual pistols and saved my cursed Incantation for the official start of the raid.
Midnight's approaching, and we had all surrounded the church. It was a massive, gothic monument, a perfect place to hide and hold its victims. My main goal was to locate the children... especially Raphael. I prayed we weren't too late.
The moment the clock struck midnight, the Nightbounds breached the tainted church. Some moved in like phantoms, while others stormed in like a traditional SWAT team and others resembled my own approach, silent, as we surveyed the unknown area.
Moonlight bled through the windows of the church, you would swear vampires lived in here. I kneeled and pressed my hand on the cold ground, and unleashed my Incantation, summoning a massive hoard of rats, an army currently dedicated to locate the Jorogumo and, more importantly, the kids. The rats scattered, good thing these are not ordinary rats, so their speeds are beyond abnormal.
I wait patiently for any feedback from my rats, luckily I would know instantly if my rats get killed or if they have spotted something without the need of my physical presence.
And without a doubt, a sharp sensation in the back of my head informing me of my rats demise and while a wave of terror overloaded my senses as the survivors spotted the children. I sprinted through the corridors towards them and I could hear explosions, gun shots, animals fighting and screams from distant rooms. My heart went frantic as I do not even know what Jorogumo even looks like or what it is even capable of, yet alone the state of the children… their fate could be sealed.
I reach the door where I got the signal from, suggesting this is where the kids are being held. I take a deep breath, load my dual pistols and kick it open. I already feel like vomiting, spider webs the size of the rope everywhere in the large room, and the kids are hanging on the ceiling, suspended like meat in a butcher's shop. Others were stuck on the floor and walls, their bodies contorted and stretched. There were too many to count. The ones on the ceiling were still alive but in terrible condition, their eyes wide with fear, the ones stuck on the walls have bloated stomachs almost resembling a pregnant woman, they look pale and are leaking a thick green - purplish substance from their ears. The ones on the floor were long dead and completely hollow, their stomachs ripped open, piles of them just lying down.
A teenager hanging from the ceiling screamed, "THE SPIDER LADY USES HUMAN BODIES TO BREED HER CHILDREN! SHE INJECTS THEM WITH VENOM TO PUT THEM IN A COMA STATE, AND THEN INJECTS THE EGGS IN THEM! THE SPIDERS JUST BURST OUT OF THEIR STOMACHS, INSTANTLY KILLING THEM!"
So that explains the green - purplish sickly fluid leaking out of the one attached on the walls. These children were far beyond saving, their bodies already pale and overly stretched. Now we know for certain that the Jorogumo was capable of rapid reproduction, definitely putting it in the Class 5 category.
"IS RAPHAEL AMONGST YOU GUYS? A BOY WITH A BRACELET, HAVE YOU SEEN HIM? ", my voice cracked.
Before I could get an answer I noticed the bracelet and saw his hollow lifeless body right there among the others. I took the bracelet off, wore it, and with an immediate urgency, I freed the remaining children. I escort them out of the church towards the enforcers ensuring their safety and run back to it to aid in taking down Jorogumo.
After a lengthy sprint, I make it to the main room, the sanctuary and there is gruesome battle occurring, limbs and bodies of fallen comrades, and there I see it Jorogumo, it's half woman - half spider, she has a sadistic smile on her face, eyes without pupils - pure white, and worst of all, not only can she retract and extract spider features at will, she can communicate and is extremely fast, definitely evolved to exploit the weakness of men.
I summon all my aggressive rats to attack Jorogumo, and start shooting at it with my dual pistols to not only create an opening for my comrades but to also hopefully land a lucky shot.
Jorogumo was a blur, my greatest nightmare made real, as it outpaced both my rats and bullets as she sprinted all around the sanctuary across the walls and ceiling with terrifying agility, the room being moonlit put my aim at a disadvantage. One of my comrades attempted to cut it off its path and with fluid motion, Jorogumo leaped from the wall, extracted her razor sharp spider legs, rapidly and repeatedly sliced through the flesh and bone with horrifying ease, effectively dicing him. She lands on her feet, its white eyes fixed on us, a wide, bloodlusted smile stretching to a terrifying length while it starts to rain blood, the remnants of our fallen comrade. There are four Nightbound left and the odds felt like a crushing weight. It began to walk towards us, its movements slow, deliberate, a predator savoring its kill, during the silence I quickly reloaded my weapons.
The others began using their Incantation, while a large fireball was casted and forming, it lit the room perfectly for me, especially Jorogumo in detail. Without hesitation, I squeezed the triggers, shot out both her eyes effectively blinding her, and the fireball got shot and slammed into its face, a raw, powerful scream tearing from its throat. We charged, a desperate and furious attempt to kill it before it got a chance to heal. We whaled on it, making sure it did not survive. It begins to disintegrate, I take a photo to confirm the target has been neutralized, and send it to my headquarter.
The first rays of dawn bled through the shattered windows as we stumbled out of the church. Luckily, I came out unharmed, my own relative safety felt like a cruel twist of fate, a reward for prioritizing the survival of the children while my comrades faced the brunt of the horror. Out of the thirty-three who entered that unholy place, only four emerged to see the next day, two with severe injuries, one with minor wounds and I, untouched physically, carrying the weight of their sacrifice, the silence of my fallen comrades screaming louder than anything.
We returned to the heart of Stone City, and there was a joyous parade of people, cheering for us as we rescued a lot of their missing children and siblings. I spotted the mother from before, her face - desperate and hopeful. I broke the news to her about her son's fate, she breaks down in tears as I hand her the bracelet. This felt bitter sweet as even though we had retrieved some of the missing children, their innocence forever tainted by the horrors they had endured, the spiders are still out there, a new entity now exists in this world, Jorogumo will return.