Big Mama

It turns out Kalia’s guess would be correct, while also being the answer to ‘what caused all that rumbling?’

The ground became cracked suddenly as if giving way to some invisible mass before completely crumbling beneath their feet.

Midori felt the world falling out from beneath her, she could not help but be reminded of her arrival here. That feeling of weightlessness and falling, before the ground came up to greet her.

Only this time the ground did not meet her, she felt a strong hand snake around her waist as Rune held her close to him while he jumped between the falling rocks until he came to a ledge that was jutting out from the side of what looked to be an enormous subterranean chamber.

“Rune,” she whispered in both surprise but also relief. He smiled at her and she couldn’t help but kiss him thinking of how much they had both accomplished in such a short amount of time.

“Eyes up lovebirds!” The commanding voice of Kalia called from across the enormous expanse. She gestured down toward the bottom.

Below them was what looked to be an endless chasm of darkness, with an enormous and thick web stretched across it with what looked like multiple layers to the webbing as well. And sitting atop it was the largest spider Midori had ever seen or feared to see.

It was easily the size of a small house, with a dark chitinous exoskeleton that falling rocks seemed to bounce easily off of. Though there were eight bulbous orbs one of them seemed to have been crushed at some point leaving behind a gruesome milky crater barely healed over. A ravenous maw snapped and hissed at them above, and held in two of its front legs was some of the webbing that Midori suspected had previously been attached to the ceiling.

As it reared up it slammed part of its body against the wall causing a portion of the ledges they were perched on to crumble. Midori and Rune were shaken and watched as the other spiders began to swarm down from above.

“Kalia!” Rune shouted, “you take care of the big one, Midori and I will watch your back!”

“Giving me all the fun? Sure you don’t want to use this chance to show off?”

“This isn’t a time to be a smart ass!” He shouted sternly, “you can take it out more efficiently than I can. So quit being a smart ass and help!”

A low blue flame flickered across Rune’s hands as he cracked his knuckles and turned to Midori.

“You ready for this, my guiding star?”

Midori felt her cheeks flush, her heart flutter, and excitement flood through her as she stood up.

“Hell yes I am, my gallant knight!”

Conjuring a blade of water she tried to make it as wide and flat as possible to cover a greater area, and with a wave of her hand it launched in the direction of the spiders.

She was horrified, however, to watch as many of them twisted strangely managing to dodge the blade.

Clenching her hand she yanked her hand backward and imagined the water forming a thin spear that impaled one of the spiders before it could find purchase on the wall.

“Damn, these ones are annoyingly smart!”

“I know, it’s creepy!” Rune shouted while tearing a leg off one before impaling it with the same appendage.

Suddenly inspired Midori made one of her hands into finger guns and conjured a small ball of water that hovered at the tip. Then taking a slow breath she fired it, the water launching out thin like a piece of string that tore through the air bending and curving in ways it was nearly impossible to predict, until finding purchase piercing through the head of one of the arachnids.

“Oh hell yeah! New move unlocked!” She shouted with a cackle of delight. “How do you creepy crawlies like my Geyser Gun!?”

“Cool name!” Rune shouted from nearby, flashing her a playful smile that she returned.

“All the coolest attacks have names,” she said definitively.

“Maybe you can help me develop some?”

Once she had developed her unique method of attack it became a lot easier to take out the remaining spiders.

Moments after the pair had dispatched the remaining spiders an enormous gout of fire was launched from Kalia leaving both Midori and Rune stunned at the display of strength.

The woman bowed once she had returned to the ledge across from them, and from above Midori could hear the chirping cry of Popcorn who had managed to avoid falling into the chasm.

"Don't worry Popcorn, we're okay!"

-----

Kalia flashed a glare of annoyance at Rune as he gave her a command. She was not sure if it was more annoying to be commanded or because she knew he had a point.

Closing her eyes she rolled her shoulders letting the mana flow through her body before leaping upwards and letting gravity take hold. While doing a flip in midair she produced the spear attached to her back and clicked the mechanism to release its full length.

With a sliding of metal the spear suddenly became a poleaxe that she rested easily on her shoulder before touching down on the spider queen’s abdomen.

“Hm, a tough hide you’ve developed mother dearest,” she said with a smile while tapping her knuckles against the chitin covering the bulging belly and egg sack. “Bet you’ve lived your entire life thinking none can cut through your hide.”

The beast reared back trying to buck her off before it rammed itself into the side of the wall when all else failed, yet Kalia only left when she was done inspecting the beast.

Leaping off it like a graceful dancer she twisted her body before touching down on the wall, as if momentarily unbound by the laws of gravity. Tensing the muscles in her leg she channelled her mana through the weapon before launching toward the spider.

With a casual sweep of her poleaxe the blade cut through two legs on the left side as if it were a hot knife moving through butter.

A shriek of pain and anger came from the spider queen as they were forced off balance by the attack.

But Kalia was not yet done.

Once more she launched herself taking off two legs from the right side. She repeated the launching attack twice more until the the spider was laying helplessly on the web.

“You thought we’d make for an easy snack, and normally I’d let that slide but you’re threatening to make me late to give my report and that I cannot abide.”

Floating in the air in the middle of the cavern, Kalia pulled her arm back as if she were going to throw the poleaxe in her hands. However the blade on it had begun to glow bright orange-yellow colour before being engulfed in flames that exploded outward forming an enormous blade of fire.

Pointing her poleaxe down at the spider a smile came across her lips, she had set out from the capital ready for battle and so her entire body had felt tensed when it turned out the fighting had already finished.

But now she felt that tension ease.

“Roar of Sarrud!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, having heard Midori’s comment about attack names and wanting to show off slightly.

The flames launched from her weapon like lava from a volcano, swirling around until it took the form of an enormous spiralling serpent that howled with anger that engulfed the entirety of the spider queen.

It devoured the creature in an instant, leaving not even the ash of its body behind.

Kalia touched down gently on the ledge, having been propelled upward by the attack.

Seeing the look of impressive shock from both Rune and Midori, she smiled and gave a small bow.