Chapter 91: Web of Lies
Azakh-Tur stood still, not from fear, not from awe, but from sheer uncertainty. The spider demon towered before him, monstrous and beautiful, yet that wasn't what froze him.
'Shit. What the hell do I say? I don't even know what kind of demon I'm supposed to be.'
[My best guess would be a Demon of Gluttony.]
That made sense. The Maw birthed only gluttons—creatures of endless hunger. Each layer of Hell bore its own sin, its own breed of monsters. But the Maw never produced higher demons. Only beasts. So he couldn't say he was a Demon of Gluttony, they didn't exist.
Realizing she was still watching him, waiting for his response, he forced the first lie that came to mind.
"I am called the Broodfather. Demon of Pride."
On the surface, he looked composed. Inside, he was praying she bought it.
The spider queen tilted her head, her human face unreadable. Then she smiled.
"Welcome, Broodfather. Please, follow us. We thought ourselves alone here. Tell me—how did you come to this lonely place?"
One of her hairy, black legs reached out and dragged the thorned vines aside, revealing a narrow path coiling into shadow.
[Be careful. You're most likely walking into a trap.]
'I know. I've still got Rotmark. So we'll play along.'
He nodded once and stepped forward, his face calm, his tail flicking low behind him.
"I arrived here by accident. Some humans summoned me. Idiots on a ship. Before I knew it, we were attacked by something from the Abyss, and now I'm here."
It was a clean lie. There was no other kind worth telling.
Lilid tilted her head again, a faint clicking sounding from beneath her thorax.
"That explains the scent. Humans cling to everything they touch. How terrible, to suffer for their stupidity. Our home shall be yours for as long as you wish."
He smiled faintly, keeping his voice level while his eyes tracked the shifting metal flora as it drew away from her presence.
"I take it you arrived through a dungeon. That must've been hell in itself. What was it like?"
A weight pressed out from the spider queen, thick and suffocating. For a moment, Azakh-Tur thought he'd overstepped. But then the pressure faded, replaced by a slow exhale that carried something close to grief.
"We had heard whispers. Shadows of truth..."
Her tone almost gentle if not for the abomination pulsing from her back.
"But nothing prepares one for what it feels like."
Her voice softened, weaving through memory like picking shrapnel from a wound.
"One moment, home. The next—a rift. Not like the ones we knew. The sky above our nest blackened, and then... it fell."
She wasn't lying. The memory poured from her words, thick and raw.
"Everything drowned in light. Then the light burned out, and one was left in the hatchery—trapped by something unseen. We screamed, but nothing answered. Only when the dungeon shattered did one finally understand."
He stopped. The change hit instantly. Her killing intent bled through her last words...wet, metallic, alive.
From cracks in the stone, from hollow trunks, from the hanging webs above, the nest emerged. Hundreds of human infants, each fused with chitin, each spine crowned with twitching legs. Their cries bled into the wind like a choir of dying things.
"The humans' Network bound us here."
She hissed, every syllable shaking the ground.
"One cannot return. One cannot strike back. But now you are here. One dares to hope again."
All at once, the crying stopped. The nest turned as one, blank white eyes locking onto him.
Azakh-Tur stood still, every instinct screaming. He forced his voice to remain even.
"Hope? I wouldn't count on that. I'm just as trapped as you."
Pushing through the choking underbrush, they came out onto a field of hulking stone. Spider-silk hung from boulder to boulder, a cathedral of web that filled the hollow.
"One believes that you are a sign. With two minds, we can achieve what we desire."
The queen drifted onto her lattice and began to chuckle, padding to the center, she turned to face him—
"Where did—?!"
"Here."
Her startled leap betrayed her, she'd expected him at the rim, not walking across her web as if it were floor. The sight of another demon moving easily on her territory flickered between fury and something like hunger.
"You are able to traverse my web?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
He played the fool, acting as if crossing were the most ordinary thing. She didn't know about his Wall Crawler, the trait that let him treat web like stone.
Her laugh spilled, silver hair trembling. He watched the skin along her arms ripple; small signs of arousal and bloodlust tightened her posture. Her skin flushed, nipples hardened.
"Truly a splendid guest. And do not sell yourself short. With our powers combined, one can craft an escape from this island."
He paused, weighing her words against the hunger coiled in her body.
'No doubt this bitch is planning to kill me. Her body is almost begging to do it. Maybe I can get some use out of her before I have to put her down.'
Clearing his throat, he adopted a mock-offended expression and stepped back a half pace.
"Apologies if this offends. But why would you need me? Seems your solution is staring you in the face."
Her face went slack, then the clicking beneath her resumed as she rebuilt a smile.
"No offense taken. But we fail to see what is obvious."
"Just force the dwarves to build you a boat. Plenty of trees here they could use."
Her laugh burst out, harsh, full of scorn.
"And how would we do that? Our children are not strong enough to face them. And those reptiles wouldn't just let us build a boat. You must be young to think it so simple."
The laughter died when his look turned mocking. He returned the favor with a small, cold grin.
"I'm afraid I don't understand. How could you not see? Aren't demons of lust well versed in manipulation? All you'd need is to persuade the dwarves into an alliance. Promise to help them wipe out the snakes, and they build you a boat."
Her cheeks flushed; surprise cracked her composure. She hadn't considered that angle. She knew the races enough to grasp the reality. The dwarves were dug in, stubborn and earthbound. A dwarf on a ship was an absurdity. They didn't plan on going anywhere. If she could truly twist them, the road off this rock opened.
He saw the hunger flicker in her eyes and pressed it.
"It'd be hard for them to refuse. Win for both sides—you get to leave, they get the island. You can even kill them after they finish the boat. Make a contract with them. Word it right and they'll never sniff the loopholes. Too stupid."
He then let his gaze travel...slow, deliberate. Exaggerated. From her face, down her throat, across the soft curve of her chest, then lower. He lingered...unhurried. She noticed. Her legs shifted, spreading slightly, a subtle invitation.
"I could even handle the negotiations myself. The dwarves might find my human form a bit more… persuasive. For a price, of course. You take me with you when you sail."
Her smile brightened, her web humming beneath her feet.
"We will draft a contract immediately. That way there will be no doubt between us."
Her smile faltered the second she finished. Killing intent rippled through the air.
"Ah… forgive us—"
She spoke quickly, eyes flicking, voice softening.
"We cannot help it sometimes. No contract."
He let the tension break and exhaled, the faintest smirk curling his lip. He was lucky he'd read about his kind before coming here. This was the game demons played, contracts as contests, each one a knife duel of words. One false phrase, and the other would own your soul. An impossible habit for most demons.
"Then we have an agreement. I'll handle the dwarves. I don't plan on staying here any longer than I have to. Send your children to harass the beast tribe—keep them busy while I work."
She hesitated, then smiled again.
"Agreed. Though some of my children will accompany you. Nonnegotiable."
Her hand rose, silencing any protest, then slid slowly down her chest, fingers tracing the skin beneath her breasts, drifting toward her stomach.
"Before you go… it has been so long."
He paused, considering. The offer was tempting, but he shook his head.
"Another time. I don't plan to linger. Once we're off this island, if you're still hungry, I'll feed you then."
A flush crept up her throat. Slickness glistened along her thighs as her fingers dug in.
"Hurry back, then. We both have things to devour."
He bowed slightly, then turned away. His steps left her web untouched, no tremor, no trace. She watched until he vanished into the dark, her body shuddering.
Then her human shell collapsed, limp and lifeless.
The carapace-mouth split open, swallowing the husk whole. The creature stirred, dozens of eyes blinking awake as a grin carved across its monstrous face.
"He will make a fine father."
It hissed, voice gurgling through layers of flesh.
"Our children will grow strong from his corpse."
Below, her thorax echoed with clicks and wet sounds. Thick strands of saliva dripped from beneath her through the web, sizzling against the ground.
----
Azakh-Tur followed the same trail back, every step heavy with restraint. The forest crawled with eyes. He could feel them...hundreds, pressing down from the trees and the dark above.
[This plan carries a high probability of failure. Though if it works, it will become an incredible resource for the Dead Hands. Still, convincing dwarves will be hard. Pride defines them. And trading weapons to humans is forbidden.]
'We both know that's bullshit. Seo-jin's memories had records—something called the black market. Pride can break.'
Even with the path clear, he watched each step, the ground shifting like it wanted him to bleed.
[Still think your odds are shit.]
He scratched at the base of his horn, exhaling through his nose. The system couldn't see what he saw.
'If I get them to work for me, it's worth every risk. Dwarven artifacts would give the Brood a real edge. I can't let that go.'
The trail ended at the bramble wall where he'd first entered. Waiting there were three of Lilid's children. Limp, pallid things. Their torsos hung from spider legs that twitched like broken machinery.
One scuttled forward. The queen's voice came through its body, thin and distorted.
"These three will guide you to the dwarves. Be cautious. They are fools, and fools anger easily. Remember—this is our way out. Don't be rash."
She likely thought she was warning a pride demon. Fine. Let her.
"Lead the way."
As he followed, his form shifted, horns sinking back, claws retracting. His skin sealed shut until Seo-jin stood in his place. He rolled his shoulders, the Twinback Growths waking on his back. Their maws split open, wanting to screech until he clamped them down silent.
He didn't need attention on them. Not yet.
[How are you going to convince them with the bugs watching?]
'I'll have to kill them. Just gotta find a way to do it unseen.'
[You could always use the rabbit's foot. Hard to explain them appearing, but even harder for her to trace them back to you.]
He glanced up. The spiderlings scurried along the canopy, their slack bodies jerking and twitching like puppets. He wanted to tear them apart then and there. The urge burned in his chest, but he swallowed it.
'I've got two charges left. Not wasting one unless I have to. I can handle—'
His thoughts froze. A faint blue glow drifted through the trees toward him.
Grimm.
Guilt twisted his gut. He'd sent the ghost on a pointless errand. But seeing him return stirred something quiet in him.
Until he got closer.
Grimm's light was dim, flickering. New cracks ran deep through his skull, and each movement shed faint drops of blue flame. When he reached Seo-jin, he clacked weakly, no bounce, no excitement...just a trembling flicker of relief.
Suddenly, the spiders hissed. Their small bodies convulsed, fangs snapping open as they skittered back, eyes locked on Seo-jin.
Bloodlight flooded the forest.
The Broodfather's facade cracked. Rage, pure and boiling, bled through him like wildfire under his skin.
Someone had hurt Grimm.