Tactical Silk

Tension hovered between enemies, both sides poised for the first move.

Kai stepped in between his caster and the towering arachnid, his golden-coated arms already in the air. 

The spiders didn’t budge. They eyed their prey with a collective of hundreds. Moonlight poured down on the impending battlefield, catching the movement of countless thin legs shifting restlessly against the cracked stone. The smaller ones inched forward, mandibles clattering softly as they waited for their leader’s command.

Rose stood still, arms raised. She knew she was the biggest threat. She knew the spiders were wary.

Her invisible shield shimmered faintly around them like a dome, its surface bending the light in a faint distortion. Even the night wind seized within its confines, pressing silence between them and the creatures outside. Her eyes shifted to the melted walls ahead, tracing the glossy streaks where acid had eaten through the stone. The scent of scorched dust and damp air filled her lungs.

"Stay near me Kai." she ordered. “I’m still learning to control this shield.”

Kai didn’t look back, but his confusion said it all.
“What shield?” he asked, eyes scanning the dark.

“You can’t see it—but it’s there.”

The queen spider reared up, its shadow stretching wide across the ruins. Its abdomen gleamed like polished obsidian, pulsing faintly with an orange glow as it turned it toward them.

A motion—then a blur.

Orange silk shot out toward them, a flash like molten glass in the moonlight. It struck the invisible barrier with a crackling hiss, sliding down before melting through the stone flooring below. Wisps of smoke curled upward.

Rose winced.

"Are you okay?" Kai turned, catching Rose straining an eye open.

"I'm fine." She steadied her breath. "This is the first time I've made a shield this big."

Kai exhaled as he quickly turned back ahead, his voice almost trying to lighten the mood. "You sure like trying new things, huh?"

"Well thanks to that, we aren't melted flesh." Her eyes flicked to the darkened gold puddle near his boots.

I’ve never heard of spiders being acidic.”

“It must be because of its mutation,” she said.

Kai took a deep breath, gaze narrowing on the swarm’s movements. "The smaller ones didn't have that trait," he muttered as the horde began to advance, their legs tapping in sync like rain.

“Maybe it’s something they develop when they reach that size.” Rose brushed her hair back with a hand, clearing her face. “Either way, I can’t take another hit.”

Kai’s eyes darted from side to side, keeping track of the closing wave. “So what do we do?”

"I am dropping the shield." She replied.

"What?"

"I'm more useful without my hands full with a spell I haven't mastered!" she snapped, gesturing the air. The dome collapsed with a faint pop, and the chill of the night once again pressed against their faces, cold and sharp.

The moment the shield vanished, the swarm sped up toward them.
Hundreds of legs scraped stone as the spiders surged forward in a black tide.

Kai exhaled sharply. “Here they come!”

He launched forward before Rose could respond. His boots shattered loose rubble beneath him, momentum surging through his body as golden light flared across his limbs. The mana-coated veins beneath his skin pulsed like molten threads.

The first wave reached him—too slow.
Kai’s arm blurred through the air, smashing through the front line. Chitin cracked. A half-dozen spiders flew back, their bodies skidding across the stone floor. He pivoted on one heel, driving a kick through another cluster, scattering legs and fluid into the dust.

But from the corners of the ruined shop walls, new shadows descended. The spiders that had crept along the beams lunged, fangs glinting in the moonlight.

Rose raised her hand, her sapphire eyes glinting the silver of moonlight and the gold of mana.

The air around the attackers warped. A thunderous snap echoed as they froze mid-lunge—then collapsed inward. Bones—or whatever passed for them—crunched as she crumpled the creatures like paper, hurling their remains against the far wall with telekinetic force.

More came. Always more.

“They’re adapting,” she muttered, sweat glinting against her temple.

The next instant, Kai felt the shift too—the change in rhythm. The spiders weren’t lunging anymore. They had pulled back, their bodies lowering. Then, in eerie synchronization, dozens turned their abdomens toward him.

“Rose—”

“I see it!”

Kai dove back just as a barrage of white silk shot through the air, slicing across the space he’d just been standing. The threads layered like a pile of blankets. 

“That was close,” he muttered, rolling back to his feet.

Rose’s hand swept through the air, stopping the second wave of strands mid-flight—then reversed direction. The silken threads twisted around her will, snaking back toward the swarm. They wrapped around their shooters in a blur of motion, binding limbs before tightening violently. The spiders convulsed as their own webbing crushed them into stillness.

Kai shot her a quick grin. “Appreciate the save!”

“Don’t make me keep doing it,” she snapped, though the edge in her tone couldn’t hide her focus.

All around, the fight intensified. From above came the faint creak and splinter of rotting wood. The ceiling trembled. Tiny flakes of dust fell around them.

“They’re in the rafters,” Kai warned.

The sound of mandibles gnawing echoed through the darkness—behind, above, surrounding.

The two stepped back toward each other instinctively, the air between them humming with adrenaline and mana.

And still, the queen spider did not move. She loomed at the far end of the ruined street, her many eyes gleaming like lanterns in the dark. Watching. Waiting.

Another wave poured in from all directions—thicker, faster, crawling over their fallen kin. 

“Keep them off me,” 

Rose shouted, glancing at each wall around them. 

Kai darted ahead with a sharp nod. “On it!”

Her head faced upward, noticing the roof would be the first to breach. "When I call, come, Kai!" She yelled as he kicked another pair of spiders to mush. 

“I'm running out of space!” Kai ducked under a volley of silk, twisting aside as the threads stuck to the floor where he’d stood a moment before.

Rose tore a few suspended spiders apart, as her eyes shifted toward the cracking ceiling.

“Kai—come!”

He turned just as the roof gave way.

A dozen spiders dropped through the collapsing beam, legs reaching, fangs bared.

He launched backward toward her outstretched hand, trusting her word completely.

Rose’s eyes glinted orange.

A spiral of flame burst into being above them—a blazing whirlpool twisting faster and faster until the air screamed. The falling spiders plunged straight into it. Their screeches were short-lived, their bodies dissolving in showers of ash before they hit the ground.

With a sweep of her other hand, Rose caught the smoldering remains midair and flung them aside. Then, gripping Kai’s shoulder, she lifted them both upward in a single, fluid motion.

The roof burst open in a wave of fire.

They rose through it, flames licking harmlessly beneath their feet as her magic carried them higher—above the rooftops, into the moonlight.

Below, the shop was an inferno. Spiders scattered from the blaze, fleeing into alleys, their outlines flickering in the heat. The queen remained still, massive and unmoving, eyes glimmering like molten gems as she watched from the street’s end.

Rose hovered, her focus sharp. One hand still held them aloft; the other swept outward.

Mana gathered—five small points orbiting her like stars.
They ignited.

Each spear of energy burned crimson, humming with restrained fury.

Kai glanced at her, eyebrows raised. “Since when could you do that?”

“Since five seconds ago.” Her tone was clipped. “And it’s not enough.”

She thrust her hand forward.
The flaming spears shot out in quick succession, streaking across the air like meteors. Each one struck true—bursting through the smaller spiders that had begun to regroup below.

She summoned five more, each volley finding its mark from the scattering enemies.

The air smelled of smoke and scorched silk.

She landed them on a nearby rooftop, their feet resting on fractured boards of decayed wood. 

The spiders turned toward them, continuing their assault.

“Finally,” she muttered, shaking her hand loose. “Now I can do a little more.”

Twelve new spears formed at once, surrounding her like a burning halo. They launched in waves, each one finding its mark, bursting through the last of the smaller creatures. The final spider shrieked and fell still, curling as flame consumed it.

Kai inched forward slightly, ready in case any had slipped through. None did.

Rose lowered her arms, her breath heavy but controlled. “Experiment successful.”

Kai smirked, eyes still scanning the street. “You really should’ve led with that.”

“Would’ve, if I knew it worked,” she replied, half-grinning. "Besides, did you want to be buried under rubble and flame?" She pointed toward the burning shop.

"Fair point." He said.

They descended together, the street glowing faintly with embers from her airborne strike.

Every lesser spider lay still.

And now—only one remained.

At the far end of the ruined street, the queen spider shifted, her massive form framed by the light of the flames. Eight orange-gem eyes fixed on them, burning with intelligence and malice.

The final battle had begun.