Chapter 184: The Grand Finale
Demon Lord's Castle, Manor.
A cool breeze blew softly, rustling the green leaves.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
More than a year had passed since the final battle.
With Shirazawa's help, the reincarnators were living the another-world life of their dreams.
Someone had once thought about returning to their original world, but unless one stepped into the Divine Realm so their soul could break free from the system's restraint, even Shirazawa had no way to help.
Regarding this, everyone no longer asked for too much, content to peacefully experience their life in another world.
...
Inside a room covered in cobwebs, Shirazawa slowly opened his eyes from his slumber.
He constantly felt as if something was pressing against his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.
He raised a hand intending to move the object off his body, but upon touching it, he unexpectedly ended up with a hand full of moisture.
Looking down, his fair skin was covered in crystal-clear water droplets.
Where did this drool come from?
"Mm... Mmm..."
The girl on the bed woke up with a soft whimper, crystal-clear liquid hanging from the corner of her mouth, her eyes half-closed and half-open, her eyelashes trembling slightly, looking a bit hazy.
"Master, you're awake? Thanks for the meal, hehehe..."
"?"
Sophia smacked her lips with lingering satisfaction.
Fainting drunk from sucking blood—she was probably the very first person to achieve that.
"Why are you in our room?" Shirazawa knitted his brows tightly.
"It's not just me, everyone is here~" Sophia said with a beaming smile.
Only then did Shirazawa realize that Leest was currently clinging to his chest like an octopus, while on the other side was Yuri, still sound asleep.
As for his official wife Shiraori, she was currently entangled by the four spider sisters, completely unable to free her hands.
If the bed in their room hadn't been large enough, it really wouldn't have accommodated this entire crowd.
Shirazawa: "..."
This is enough to set up two tables for mahjong—what on earth are they playing at?
"Hey, hey! All of you get off me!" Shirazawa scolded angrily.
Having his perfectly fine married life mysteriously disrupted like this made him feel exceptionally annoyed.
"Hmph, you can't beat us right now anyway—just behave and be a good blood bag for us."
Sophia gave him a cold glance, flipping over to sit astride him.
"Heiya, your wings have grown tough, haven't they?"
"Hahaha, that tickles so much! Master, I was wrong! Ah, hahaha~~~"
Very soon, the mischievous four spider sisters joined the fray as well.
Giggling and bustling, making a racket without end.
What is life?
*This* is life~
It's just that sometimes, Shiraori would use the excuse of being jealous to pouting-ly return to the little house back on Earth to play games.
How could a man compare to video games?
Honestly.
Oh right, there were also Cola and potato chips.
Basking in the air conditioning, wrapped in a blanket, eating snacks, starting up a 3A masterpiece—how could a life like that not be sweet?
Then, her little secret was discovered by Shirazawa.
That day, Shirazawa ran over to coax his wife home, only to bump right into Shiraori holding a controller, fighting passionately.
At that moment, Shirazawa was stunned to a crisp—what kind of woman had he married back home? This was way too fun!
"Darling, listen to my explanation."
Having her secret exposed, Shiraori pitifully threw herself into his arms, acting weak and helpless.
Regrettably, a certain someone wasn't buying it. "What else is there to explain?!"
"I'm sorry~"
"Quick! Log in, carry me!"
"In the future, call me earlier for good stuff like this... What?! Call of Duty is already at 38?! Red Dead Redemption is already at 7?! Holy crap, Cyberpunk 2677, sick..."
Shiraori: "..."
What kind of man did I marry? This is way too fun!
Very soon, the sounds of the two fighting passionately resonated within the room.
There's a reason why some people can end up together.
...
At the same time.
Inside the Demon Lord's Castle.
Ariel called over Balto, Mera, and Wrath.
"I'm not being the Demon Lord anymore. The three of you play rock-paper-scissors—whoever loses is the next Demon Lord."
"Ugh..."
The three were left completely speechless on the spot.
Does it really have to be this casual?!
Even though the world was peaceful now, the Demon Lord still represented the supreme authority of the Demon Race after all.
How could the position of Demon Lord be handed off so carelessly?
"Alright, hurry up, I'm still rushing to tour the world with Lord Sariel," Ariel urged.
"..."
After all that, it turns out you just wanted to go slack off!
"I forfeit!"
Wrath was as sharp as a tack—working was out of the question, he still wanted to go adventuring all over the world.
"I forfeit as well!"
Mera followed closely behind. He couldn't even handle taking care of the Young Lady properly; if he were tasked with managing the Demon Race, the world would probably turn upside down by the second day.
Better to resign early and head back to the County to take care of the Master and Mistress.
"Alright then, from now on Balto is the new generation Demon Lord. Everyone clap and congratulate him."
*Clap, clap, clap!*
Warm applause instantly resonated across the room, with Mera and Wrath clapping the hardest.
"Wait, I haven't even said anything yet!"
Balto was crying tears of frustration.
Even though he was the one handling all matters big and small in the Demon Territory, stepping up to be the Demon Lord was still quite a stretch for him.
His strength wasn't high after all; it would be far too easy for a Hero to harvest his life.
Furthermore, vast numbers of adventurers were popping up all over the world recently, shouting slogans like "Defeat the Demon Lord, Save the Princess."
Balto felt his life wasn't going to last much longer.
"Don't worry, I'll leave the Queen Taratect behind to protect you." Ariel was truly a caring big sister, always able to extend warm concern to others.
Lo and behold, that single sentence poked right at Balto's sore spot again.
"Sob, sob, thank you, Lord Ariel! I will work hard!"
Balto wiped his nose, slapping his own chest forcefully.
"Ugh... Your persona is that of a cool, handsome idol. Don't be like this; I still prefer your previous arrogant and wild appearance. Try to recover a bit."
"I shall follow your teachings! I, Balto Phthalo, shall inherit your will, wear the crown of the Demon Lord, and guard the glory of the entire Demon Race!"
"Mm, I'll leave the Demon Race to you from now on. Don't look for me unless necessary."
Having said that, Ariel waved her hand and vanished from the spot.
...
A serene lake greeted a gentle breeze, sending up small ripples.
Golden sunlight filtered through the crystal-clear water, reflecting colorful pebbles beneath the surface.
Sariel and Gulie strolled along the lakeside, enjoying a rare and wonderful moment of tranquility.
Not far away, Ariel, Sophia, Leest, and the little spiders were sticking their bottoms in the air, stealthily peeking from behind a tree.
"Hurry up and confess already! This Gulie is truly driving me to death from anxiety."
"I know you're anxious, but don't be anxious just yet."
"Is it because the atmosphere isn't right yet? Should I summon a heavy snowfall to set the mood?"
"Is this a problem with the atmosphere?! Two mute people aren't communicating at all—how are they supposed to confess?!"
Several of them chattered away as they discussed countermeasures.
The parties involved weren't anxious, yet those watching the drama were anxious beyond belief.
"Shh, quiet down, there's movement!"
Ariel suddenly made a gesture for silence, calling out softly.
They saw Gulie looking as if he had made a monumental decision, finally opening his mouth to speak.
"Leaving?"
"Mm," Sariel responded softly.
"Can you not leave?"
Sariel: "..."
"I'm just going out for a trip—is there any need for you to make it look like a life-and-death parting?"
Gulie scratched the back of his head with some embarrassment. "Sorry, sorry."
Sariel let out a sigh, taking the initiative to hold Gulie's hand.
"!!!"
"Oho~!" Everyone instantly got excited.
"Who's there?!"
"Oh crap, we're exposed!"
"Run!"
Watching the group flee as if running for their lives, Sariel shook her head with a smile.
It reminded her of the scenes when she played around with the children in the past—how heartwarming.
"It's still early, shall we keep walking?"
Gulie held Sariel's hand without letting go, proposing with a stiffened expression.
Sariel pursed her lips in a subtle smile, nodding gently.
...
Underworld, a certain back garden.
The cat-eared girl, Meido, and D were drinking afternoon tea while watching the projected image before them.
"Oh~ Goodness, this guy has finally shown a bit of sense." Menka couldn't help but let out a heartfelt exclamation.
"Hmph~ The sour stench of romance," Meido curled her lips.
"Oya~ Sister Meido, you sound so sour~"
"Get lost, get lost, get lost! I'm not a jealous lemon!"
"Speaking of which, has Sister Meido ever been in love?"
"Are you looking for a beating or what? Believe it or not, I'll beat you up."
"...Looks like you haven't. What a waste of such a good figure."
"Dead cat! (╰_╯)# Wanting to die, are you?!"
Meido looked as if her sore spot had been poked, rolling up her sleeves aggressively, ready to pick a fight.
D hurriedly pulled Meido back. "Alright, have you two argued enough?"
"If it weren't for you slacking off all day, forcing me to work overtime every day, I could have had a soul-stirring love story too..."
Meido glared resentfully at D, not giving her a single bit of face.
"Uh, heheh, then please continue. Just treat Menka as me and give her a good beating to vent your anger."
"?"
D sheepishly pulled back her hand. Knowing she was in the wrong, she felt that rather than having both of them suffer, it was better to let Menka bear it all alone.
Very soon, miserable meows echoed one after another within the back garden.
Once the two had argued their fill, D picked up her black tea and took a light sip. "Have them prepare. The new journey has only just begun. Three days from now, we launch an assault on the Pantheon of Gods."
"Uh, isn't that a bit too fast? At least give them some time for a honeymoon, right?"
Her face black and blue from the beating, Menka still wanted to fight for a bit of slacking time on behalf of Shirazawa and the others.
Who knew D would let out a cold snort.
"Hmph~ If this continues, they're going to spawn a whole nest of little spiders—tell me, can I not be anxious?!"
Watching the two play her favorite games every day, live in her favorite bedroom, and sleep on the big bed she had once slept on...
Just thinking about it made her furious.
One day in the Underworld was a hundred days in the outside world.
A year later, Shirazawa joined forces with Shiraori to charge into the All-Heavens.
An endless army of spiders covered the starry sky, causing the gods to tremble wherever they passed.
At the same time, on the other side of the universe...
A blood-colored canopy blanketed the universe. Sophia descended like an empress, striking fear into the world.
Within the canopy, cold, fierce blade lights crisscrossed, slicing open the vault of heaven.
Holy light diffused throughout the depths of the universe, resisting these terrifying existences.
A Holy Grail was held in a young girl's arms; the sky full of holy light dissolved into nothingness, swallowed straight into the cup.
Among the holy light, a traitor had appeared.
The majestic Holy Lord was beside himself with rage, his vast universe having been completely devoured within a short hundred years.
Trembling with rage and coldness!
He cursed fiercely at those few figures ahead.
"Damn it! Who on earth are you people?!"
"People?"
"We are not people."
"We're just spiders..."
— END —
Author's Afterword:
This fanfic on So I'm a Spider, So What?, was a promise I made to my readers a while back. It started out just as a way to help fulfill a fan's dream, but as I kept writing, it somehow reached 400,000 words.
Well then~ I've officially kept my promise!
Huge thanks to all my reader lords for sticking with me, and big love to every single fellow spider fan who supported this story.
My writing skills are limited, so I couldn't quite bring every character up to the standard of the original light novel. All I can say is that I did my best—so original fans, please don't roast me too hard, sob sob.
As for the storyline involving the Myriad Realms later on, I could've milked it further—er, I mean, kept writing it.
But it just felt like it was losing its flavor. So I thought ending it right here was pretty sweet, leaving us all with something nice to look back on.
Oh, by the way! I mentioned before that we'd visit the That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime world later in the story... gomen nasai, I broke my promise! Go easy on me with the beatings, guys!
Like I always say, if the chance comes up, I'll definitely write another book crossover with Spider and Slime.
Also, my new book is officially launching! You can search for Global Curse: Your Mom's Grocery Prices Will Always Rise, or check it out on my author homepage.
If you're interested, swing by and take a look! The pacing gets pretty wild, so I'm honestly worried it might get taken down one of these days, haha.
Alright then, see you all in the next world!
Bye-bye! ヾ(￣▽￣)Bye~~Bye~~
LanLi: Yahallo, mina-san, it's your lovely, most handsome, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient Translator. I won't say much cuz I am not good with words nor reviews (and too lazy ahem) but thank you for reading till now, supporting the great author above and me who did the meticulous work of translating this otherworldly good fanfic. Uhm, yea that's it. Arigato~
The End....