The Spider in the Clearing

The Karate Rabbit acted quicker than everyone else and tackled Gwen to the side. A web shot from the giant spider's mouth, missing her and toppling trees far away. It let out a click that sounded like disappointment as the spider’s body came into view.

The spider towered over them, reaching just above the trees. Its fur was jet-black and tight against its body, resembling a massive black widow. Red markings were littered across its body; green liquid dripped out of its mouth.

Despite the size of the creature, it moved nimbly.

Holy shit… this has to be a boss. Gwen thought, scrambling to her feet. Her heart beat with a mix of nervousness and excitement at the prospect of fighting such a monster.

The giant spider let out a loud click and thrust its leg out—spraying a green liquid from the tip.

Gwen grabbed the rabbit with her left hand. With a flick of her right wrist, she sent a stone large enough to push Claire out of the way. Then threw herself to the right, dodging a green glob that melted the ground.

She came to her feet and flicked her wrist upward. The ground shook as a stone spear shot upward and smashed against the spider's jaw, sending it back. The Karate Rabbit glowed yellow and launched itself forward.

It appeared in front of the spider, slamming its leg downward with bone-crushing force.

The giant spider formed a shield with two of its legs, blocking the strike. Using one of its back legs, it formed a web around the rabbit’s stomach and yanked hard. The karate rabbit couldn’t react as it was slammed into a tree in the distance.

It pulled on the webbing again—forming green liquid on the tip of another leg as the rabbit came flying back.

Claire threw one of her daggers to intercept. A purple glow formed around the blade as it cleanly cut the webbing. Gwen made a hand out of rock, catching the rabbit before it hit the ground.

The spider angrily lifted its leg and shot a glob of acid at Claire.

Ding!

A blur intercepted the liquid, reflecting it into the dirt.

“Sorry I’m late to the action,” Chris said, landing on the ground in front of Claire. The shield in his hand was glowing.

“It took you long enough, brother,” Claire replied, taking a deep breath.

“I’ll have you know the hero is never late, but always arrives when needed.”

“Hey, joke later; let’s focus on the giant spider monster trying to kill us,” Gwen interrupted.

“Ugh, can we just run away? Spiders are so creepy!” Clarie groaned, her dagger trembling slightly in her grip.

“No, with its size, the spider will catch us before we get far. It's best if we at least attempt to injure it if we want to run away.”

“I’ve always wanted to make armor out of an Arak!” Chris readied his shield, his sword now in his right hand.

“Right, Claire, I want you to focus on flanking. If possible, use its shadow to slow it down.” Gwen explained, rocks already appearing behind her. “Chris and I will handle distracting it.”

Clair nodded, her body slowly blending into the background as she snuck off.

Around Gwen, the giant stone rock shaped itself into two massive stone spears. The spears cut through the air one after the other as they flew toward the Arak. The giant spider let out a screech as it lifted two legs.

Webs shot from the tips and wrapped around the spears. With a hefty twist, it spun its giant body around. The spears circled before launching right back at the duo.

“Barrier Shield!” Chris shouted, the light blue glow around his shield growing stronger as he jumped in front of one spear—shattering it.

Gwen used her magic to catch the earth spear out of the air—making it float above her palm. Rushing forward, she thrust the weapon forward, launching a firebolt from the tip. The Arak stomped its leg on the ground, summoning a rock to block the flames.

Suddenly, the karate rabbit vanished from her side, leaving behind a yellow blur. It took advantage of the Arak’s distraction to strike at its head, sending it crashing into the ground.

Chris darted forward and thrust his sword into its leg, but the sword bounced off. He barely raised his shield in time—a leg slamming into the metal, sending him past Gwen.

With a flick of her wrist, Gwen shattered the stone and sent the pieces at the Arak. The pieces did nothing but cause it to get mad as they bounced harmlessly off its body.

The Arak angrily got to its feet, jumping out of the way as the Karate Rabbit reappeared. The small monster slammed into the ground, sending pieces of the earth up into the air.

Gwen used the pieces to form a boulder and dropped it on top of the monster’s body.

Boom!

The spider’s massive body was forced back toward the ground.

Twirling the spear around in her hand, a blade of fire formed around the point. Slashing downward, she cut one of its legs with a sizzle. Green blood shot through the air as the limb dropped to the ground.

The Arak roared and tried to bring up more of its legs, yet couldn’t move.

“I-I trapped it!” Claire screamed out, her voice strained.

“Chris, attack its legs again now!” Gwen roared. She knew now was the only time they could actually do some damage to the creature.

Chris appeared next to the Arak, his sword cleaving through the air. Unlike before, Gwen coated the blade in fire. The boost allowed him to cut through one of its front legs.

In a short time, Gwen and Chris cut off five of the spider’s legs.

“It's fighting against my hold; I don’t have enough magic to keep it down any longer!” Claire said. The sound of a rubber band snapping filled the air as the spell broke.

The karate rabbit tried to attack the Arak, but the spider swung one of its remaining legs, knocking the small monster to the dirt.

The Arak launched itself into the air. Its shadow appeared above them, forcing Gwen and Chris to scramble out of the way. The monster crashed down on top of the rabbit.

Boom!

Dust filled the air, mixing with acid that shot out of the spider’s body, raining down around them.

“Boss!” Chris shouted, his eyes wide with panic.

He sheathed his sword and gripped the shield with both hands. He threw himself backward, knocking both himself and Gwen to the ground as a bright blue shield protected both of them.

Gwen found it hard to catch her breath because of Chris’s body weight on top of her. The acid dripped to the ground next to her, a loud hissing sound filling the air as the attack continued to rain down around them.

I hope Clare and the bunny could get out of the attack before it landed. She thought, scared that some of her party members could’ve died.

Soon the sound of hissing ended, and finally Chris got off her. Gwen took a deep breath and got to her feet. Her eyes widened as she took in the destruction.

Some trees were melting, with smoke coming out of them. Holes littered the ground, and she felt grateful that Chris had protected them from the worst of the attack.

The Arak stood on its hind legs, a deep red glow around its body as a sense of anger seemed to overtake it.

Below it, the rabbit seemed to be knocked out.

Gwen didn’t get a chance to catch her bearings as the Arak went on the attack. Giant globs of webs started raining down around them, mixing with green liquids as hissing returned to her ears.