The Princess & The Twilight Blade

Lydia

"Lydia! Look at that! Can we get some?" Audrey said excitedly as she pulled on my hand, pointing at a store sign that featured something called 'Ice Cream' on its sign.

"Maybe later. We need to report the escort completion to the guild first." I said with an exasperated smile. My girlfriend pouted adorably, but I refused to be swayed.

It had been nearly five days since we left Grunde, renewing our search for my brothers, or anyone else we knew. We had taken an escort quest that happened to be going west, to the city of Jarno, where we now found ourselves. The actual trip had been uneventful, and the merchants we rode with had been grateful for our services, even though we didn't do much in the end. Other than our divinity keeping the magic beasts away, at least.

Jarno was the former capital of one of the many kingdoms that had fallen victim to the empire, but despite the change in leadership, it still held its moniker: The City of Rainbow Glass. As I'd heard, colorful glass was inlaid in nearly every building in sight. They depicted stories, art, or sometimes just random patterns that were still enjoyable to look at. Glass also served as the city's main export, and I'd read that the methods of production were a closely guarded secret among the generational craftsmen.

A playful bark came from the bag on Audrey's back as we moved past the ice cream shop, and my partner's red hair swayed as she looked over her shoulder with a smile.

"What's that, Koyuki? You want to have ice cream too?" she said, before turning to me once again with pleading eyes. A head of white fur appeared over her shoulder, doubling the attack as the wolf pup gave me a tilted look. Its ear flopped over as its ice-blue eyes mimicked the sapphire ones right next to it. She's such a cute, smart girl! I gushed in my head while maintaining a cool expression.

"Which one?" Azure snorted with amusement, but I decided to ignore her.

It had taken us a while to decide on a name for our new companion once we settled everything with the guild. I was pretty sure 'Koyuki' meant 'little snow' in Yamadian, and since that was our new destination, I thought it fitting. I planned to confirm it with Yuzuki once we met again. Audrey quite liked the name as well once I explained it.

As much as I hated to give her credit, Cassandra was a big help in getting us permission to officially adopt the fluffball. To repay her, she spent a whole day with Audrey and me, where I couldn't say anything disparaging, no matter what she did. My blood pressure began to rise just thinking about it, and I had to take a few deep breaths to calm down again. But… It wasn't the worst time I've had.

Parting with Cassandra and Bernard had been surprisingly difficult, especially for Audrey. She had teared up while hugging them goodbye, but once they reminded her that such moments came with the adventuring life, she managed to wave farewell with a smile and a promise to meet again.

"So…?" Audrey's hopeful voice brought my mind back to the present, and I looked between her and Koyuki a few times before sighing in resignation.

"How could I ever say no to either of you?" The wry smile on my face betrayed my own feelings on the matter, because dessert did sound good right about now. My girlfriend pumped her fists in victory, and then I followed her into the small building. The interior was a bit chilly compared to the outside weather and was decorated in cute pastels, mostly pink and gold. A sweet smell filled our senses, and I couldn't help but berate myself for delaying such an experience.

"Ah, my responsible guardian is wavering…" My goddess teased, and I flushed slightly.

"It's Audrey's fault. What else can I do?"

"Welcome! What can I get for the two cute young ladies?" An older lady said from behind the counter. Her gaze travelled up and down our bodies, taking in the adventuring gear.

"There are three of us!" Audrey said happily, turning to show off the little wolf in her backpack. Koyuki yipped at the stranger as if in greeting, and the woman covered her mouth with a giggle.

"Sorry about that! How could I miss such a reliable-looking companion!" Koyuki had a collar around her neck now, showing that she had been recognized by the guild as a tamed beast, which was why nobody seemed to show concern at a frost wolf pup being carried around. The badge on it had our names and rank on it, just in case she ever got lost.

We moved closer to the counter, only to realize it was hollow on the inside, with large bowls of what I assumed to be the advertised 'ice cream'. A large pane of curved glass arched over the top, preventing customers from accessing the treat, while still allowing the employees to do their job. I could also sense mana moving around the inside, and I figured that was how they kept everything chilly.

Each bowl was filled with a different color, and the lady gestured to them while explaining the various flavors. Once she was done, Audrey quickly pointed toward the bowl filled with dark brown.

"Chocolate, please!" I knew she would pick that.

"I'll take the mint chocolate chip," I said, pointing toward the bowl next to the chocolate.

"Of course!" We watched as the woman used a large spoon to scoop out three balls of each flavor and put them into separate glass cups with smaller spoons. Then, she grabbed a smaller glass bowl and put a scoop of white ice cream into it. "This one's for the little pup." She said with a smile.

"Oh, is it alright for animals to eat?" I asked while Audrey grabbed it from the older lady's hand, and Koyuki propped herself up with two paws on her shoulder. Before I got an answer, the wolf was already licking away at the treat joyfully.

"That one is basically frozen milk, so it should be alright." Her eyes crinkled as she watched the adorable sight. Well, if there are any issues, we'll just heal her and make a note of it.

"Thank you, Ma'am," I said, pulling out the coin pouch I kept on my waist. "How much is it?"

"Three silvers total." I handed her the payment, and she told us to take a seat in the cafe area to enjoy the ice cream. We took the seats next to the stained glass window and enjoyed the ambient warmth coming from the sun while slowly savoring the sweet cream. Audrey enjoyed the chocolate very much, surprising nobody.

I was hesitant about the light green one I had, but after trying it, I immensely enjoyed the contrast between the sharp freshness and the slight hints of sweetness from the small chocolate pieces. Once we finished, we took the dishes back to the counter, and I thanked the shop owner before dragging my girlfriend out by the collar. I could tell by her eyes that she wanted to buy the whole bowl of chocolate.

After we left the ice cream shop, we finally made our way to the local adventurers' guild. The front of the building had two large stained-glass windows on either side of the main entrance. The left side depicted an enormous fire-breathing dragon made of green glass, and the right pane showed a group of adventurers using various weapons to fight the creature.

"Wow... How pretty!" Audrey exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as we stopped to admire the art. None of the glass we'd seen today was an eyesore, but this was above and beyond everything else.

"I agree. The artisans must be very proud." I said in wonder. We stood outside for another minute or two, pointing out small details to each other before I pulled myself from the distraction and led Audrey by the hand inside.

"A dragon, huh? Do you think there are still any around?" My girlfriend asked, cutely tilting her head. The wolf on her back mimicked the motion, and I couldn't help but giggle in response.

"It's possible, though it's been several hundred years since the last confirmed sighting." They were among the first magic beasts to appear in the world. In the past, they had been feared and hunted to near extinction whenever they were discovered, though not without significant losses. Aside from being powerful, records indicate that they were incredibly intelligent creatures. There were even stories of people conversing with dragons. Though... Who knows if that was actually the case?

I glanced back at Audrey as we made our way to the reception area and smiled at the thoughts clearly written across her face.

"No. You can't fight the dragons." I teased her and she gasped at me.

"How'd you know?!"

"Because it's you."

"But... Imagine how strong they must be! Wouldn't that be the ultimate test of skill?" She wondered aloud. "Plus, they seem cute!"

I paused at that and looked at her with a raised brow. "Dragons? Cute...?" My disbelief was met with enthusiastic nodding that sent her red hair bouncing around her shoulders.

"Yep! How amazing would it be to make friends with one? Then you could fly through the sky on its back!" Her sapphire eyes were sparkling even more now.

"Seriously..." I shook my head with a wry smile. "If we ever do run into one, I'll let you handle it."

"Really?! I love you so much!" My girlfriend threw her arms around me and pecked my cheek, which I happily received.

"You really shouldn't say those kinds of things..." Azure teased.

"Oh, please. You think there's any chance of a real dragon showing up?" I shot back.

"It's in the realm of possibility when Audy's involved." I started to deny it, but then stopped, realizing she had a point. Please don't tell me I just jinxed us into a dragon encounter somehow...

I pushed my worries away as we finally made it to the reception counter.

"Well, even if it does happen... I can handle reptiles at least. Anything is better than bugs...."

"You just don't learn..." I ignored my goddesses' laughter as I focused my attention on the male receptionist who greeted us.

"We'd like to turn in a quest," I stated.

"Can I see your ID cards?" We both presented them at his request, and he took them for a moment, along with our quest form, before handing them back. "Your quest has been marked for completion. Your reward is twenty silver coins." His hands moved beneath the counter with perfect precision, and they soon emerged with the stated payment. I slipped them into my coin pouch and thanked him again, but before we could leave, he stopped us. "If I may, I see here you two are B-rank. I assume you are in a party, but I don't see a name listed. I would advise that you fill that out as soon as possible."

Ah, right. I almost forgot… Cassandra and Bernard said the same before we left Grunde. They had explained it would be convenient once word spread of our exploits, but Audrey and I weren't trying to make a name for ourselves necessarily. In fact, drawing any attention from the church or the government would be a considerable hassle…

Still, if we were asked about it every time we went to the counter, it would get old quickly. I sighed, then opened my mouth to say we'd do it later, when Audrey grabbed my shoulder with a smile that blinded me from such close proximity.

"I've actually been brainstorming with Aurora! I think I've got a good one!" I nodded slowly.

"Let's hear it then."

She took a deep breath, as if she were preparing an announcement, before pointing at the receptionist dramatically, who took it without a change of expression. He looks like he's used to this…

"Our party will be called… 'Stars of Dawn'!" The man behind the counter nodded pleasantly before writing it down.

"Party name recorded, you may officially take quests under that title going forward." After that, we left his line so he could help the other waiting adventurers, and Audrey and I found an empty table in the dining area.

"Stars of Dawn… Not bad at all." I said, drumming my fingers against the wooden table. "I assume the 'Dawn' part is mine?" My girlfriend nodded happily, then ordered a drink from a passing waitress.

"Not necessarily, Dia." My goddess chimed in. "The sun is also a star, so it applies to both of you!"

"W-What…?" I asked back in shock. What does she mean? They are clearly different… Stars are tiny, and the sun isn't.

"Well, the sun is just really close to your planet. The stars just look small because— Owww!" She was cut off, and I heard a dull thwack! Through our bond. "Sis! What was that for?!" She whined before my mind went quiet for a few minutes. What did she mean by 'planet'? When Azure finally came back, I could sense her sheepishness. "On second thought, forget everything I just said. I'm not one to give spoilers."

"Uh… alright?" I was pretty confused about what just happened, but who was I to question the quirks of the divine? Even if those quirks are sometimes very concerning.

"I heard that! Divine Guardians shouldn't be so rude to their goddesses!" I laughed softly to myself and opted not to respond to that as our drinks arrived at the table. Audrey had also ordered for me. So considerate… We enjoyed the quiet moment as we sat at the table, just talking about anything that came to mind, and also our plans. We would stay in Jarno for about a week to look for any leads pertaining to our goals before moving further west, doing some quests in the meantime to help keep ourselves busy.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

When we left the guild, it didn't take long for us to locate a relatively cheap inn with passing accommodations and settle in for the night.

***

Audrey

The day after we arrived in Jarno, Lydia and I went back to the guild to see what quests were available. We were promoted to B-Rank for our part in the auction raid, despite Lydia's many objections, and we now had access to better-paying jobs, but they also became more difficult.

There were plenty of subjugation quests, and I grabbed one that caught my interest.

"Lydia, what about this one?" I asked, unpinning the paper from the wall and turning toward her. "How does hunting... wolves... sound?" I trailed off slowly as Koyuki's head peeked out from beneath Lydia's hair. We were taking turns carrying the pup around, and she was on Lydia's back today. A silent moment passed between the three of us as Koyuki looked up at me adorably. "Actually, never mind," I said quickly, putting the quest back on the board.

Lydia giggled mischievously at me, putting a hand to her cheek in mock confusion. "What? You don't want to go kill some wolves? I wonder why that could be?"

I stepped toward her, reaching out to scratch behind the wolf's ears. "I just love wolves so much! How could I ever harm one?" I said with a sheepish smile.

A few minutes later, Lydia pulled a sheet from the board. "Investigating the sand mines? The reward depends on the results..." After showing it to me, we took it to the counter to get some more details.

"One of the larger mines has been filling with a poisonous fog." The male receptionist we had talked to yesterday, Chris, began. "It has grown to the point that mining operations had to be called off, which has impacted the city's glass production."

"And the guild has no suspicions on the cause?" Lydia asked.

"A few parties have gone to investigate, but even with healing magic or hazard gear... The fog has proven quite potent." He said, his gaze turning sad. "A few adventurers never returned."

"I see..." My girlfriend hummed in thought. "We'll do it."

"I must warn you that this quest is on the brink of being moved to A-rank. Please be careful."

"Thank you for the concern, but there's no need to worry. We—" She suddenly glanced back at me, then cleared her throat. "I know our limits. We won't do anything we can't handle."

Chris nodded in understanding, while I puffed my cheeks out at her implication. "The details are on the quest form. There's no specific time you need to go, but the sooner the better."

After getting a few more details, Lydia and I left the guild. The mine in question was a two-hour walk from the southern gate, and since it was still morning, we decided to head there right away.

"It's a shame we can't shadow travel with Koyuki…" I said as we walked down the dirt road. The density of stella in the shadows would be too much for her… In response, a quiet shine came from Lydia's back, and the wolf's face appeared through the waterfall of blonde hair. "Ah! I didn't mean it like that! I'd rather have you!" I stepped closer to give the pup some placating scratches, which seemed to work as her tongue lolled out in satisfaction.

"People might think you can communicate with animals by how you talk to them." Lydia giggled, looking over her shoulder at me.

"Maybe I can! She seems to understand what we say, isn't that right, Koyuki~?" I said, slipping into cutesy talk as I leaned closer to the wolf. Koyuki yipped, as if she were agreeing with me.

"It's probably less that she understands the actual words, and more that she can sense our intentions and meanings through our mana." Lydia thought aloud.

"That's still impressive!" I gushed, then finally released the wolf from my hands.

"Magic beasts are known to be much more intelligent than their non-magic counterparts after all."

The walk passed peacefully, with conversations and comfortable silences, and we soon found ourselves standing next to a large hill. The entrance to the mine was framed with large wooden beams, and a few small buildings lined the road leading up to the gaping cavern. A man stepped out from one of the buildings and quickly approached us.

"Hey! This ain't no place for curious kiddos!" His words put a wry smile on Lydia's face as we exchanged glances. The man didn't look nearly old enough to be losing his eyesight, and with our equipment, it was clear we were adventurers.

"Excuse me, sir. We're adventurers from the guild. We're here to investigate the mine." My girlfriend explained patiently, and the man huffed in response.

"Ya can't be serious! The two of yer barely older than my daughter! Is the guild just letting anyone in these days?"

It's been a while since we've had this reaction. I thought to myself, but I let Lydia handle it.

"I can assure you, we are perfectly qualified," Lydia said, a bit of irritation leaking into her tone. Then she pulled her ID card from her pocket and showed it to the man. I followed suit, and his eyes widened as he leaned in to read them.

"B-Rank…? Yer Jokin'... Two girls like ya?" He looked at our faces uncertainly, but finally sighed in resignation when we nodded confidently. "I guess I owe ya an apology then. Forgive me, I just don't like the idea of sending youngins in there… Not after the last group that came through."

"What happened to the last party?" I asked curiously.

"One of the boys came out looking pretty burned up. Their poor healer couldn't do nothin' for em, so they rushed back to the city for proper medical attention," he explained. "I'm the site supervisor for the mine. Name's Randall." he extended his hand, and we shook it in turn.

"His accent's pretty funny… I wonder where he's from." I said to Aurora.

"Focus, my guardian." She reprimanded me as I let my mind wander.

"We heard from the guild the fog was poisonous, not caustic," Lydia said, folding her arms.

"It was until the other day." Randall shrugged. "It's probably cause the last group was takin' care of their friend. Maybe they haven't reported to the guild yet?"

"I suppose that might be the case," Lydia said with a sigh. I knew she wouldn't be too upset about their lack of diligence if they were prioritizing the injured. Though… An adventurer still has to report back to the guild as soon as possible to avoid situations like this… "We'll take extra care then while investigating. Thank you for the information."

The man nodded, but there was a hint of hesitation as we walked past him to the mine's entrance. Then he whirled around and shouted after us. "How long do you want me to wait before sending a message to the guild?" Does he mean… In case we don't come back?

In response, Lydia just waved over her shoulder nonchalantly. "Whatever you feel is appropriate, but we'll be just fine."

With that, we stepped into the tunnel, and I watched Koyuki look around in interest as the light slowly faded away from outside. Once it was too dark to see, Lydia and I both enhanced our eyes with stella, making the tunnel appear bright once again.

"Couldn't you just use your fire?" I asked, my voice echoing down the passage ominously.

"That could be a bad idea. Mines are filled with tiny particles of dust and whatever else is kicked up. Even a small flame could result in a massive explosion." Lydia explained. "And the fog could be flammable as well, which would be even worse. We'd risk destabilizing the mine, and even if we didn't, the lack of airflow afterward could be dangerous… Even for us."

I nodded in understanding and shivered a bit as the temperature dropped the further we went. When I felt an aura of heat envelope me, I looked at my girlfriend with worry, but she just smiled. "Heat is different. No point in us being cold if we don't have to be."

A few minutes later, we stopped when we ran into a hazy wall filling the mine in front of us. It was hard to tell due to our augmented vision, but it appeared to be a dark green color. We observed it for a few moments before curiosity got the better of me, and I stepped forward with my hand out.

"Audrey?!" Lydia gasped in disbelief, reaching to grab my arm, but she was a second too late as the tip of my finger sank into the fog, and I hastily retracted my hand with a hiss of pain.

"Ouch! That really does burn!" I grumbled, immediately using my holy magic to heal the wound.

"You're like a child told not to touch the cooking fire! What were you thinking?" My girlfriend chided worridly, inspecting my hand and finger from all angles and even applying her own holy magic to be safe.

I grinned sheepishly and scratched my head. "I just wanted to check."

"Goddess… At least give me a warning!"

"Right… I'm sorry." I said, leaning in to kiss her cheek, which seemed to help her mood. At least, before I made it plummet again. "But now we know it isn't instant, we can just constantly heal ourselves to make it through."

She looked up at me, her green eyes blank with disbelief. "That sounds terrible, Audrey."

"You're not doing that." My goddess added, her cold tone leaving no room for argument.

"It was just the first idea…" I tried to defend weakly, but soon realized it was pointless. I could feel the judgment from both my girlfriend and my goddess, and just decided to keep quiet.

"It doesn't seem to corrode the stone or wood, at least," Lydia said as she turned back to face the fog. Her eyes scanned the ground around for a moment before she bent down and picked up a palm-sized rock. She threw it into the haze, and we both watched as it left a trail through the air before the poison filled the space once again. "Maybe you can wash it away with your water?"

"I can try," I said, stepping forward again and raising my hands. My mana rushed toward my palms, and I infused some stella into it to reinforce it. A moment later, a stream of pressurized water shot from my hands and into the poisonous fog. The moment it made contact, the water glowed briefly, and the mist around it began to disappear.

"Oh, maybe we can purify the air with our holy magic?" Lydia said in thought. She stepped closer, her palms aimed toward the green haze, and I sensed her magic circulating before a white glow emanated from her hands. The poisoned air sizzled as she stepped closer, then vanished altogether. "This will do, shall we go?" She asked me with a smile.

I nodded, stopping my water and using just holy magic as I joined her. We both increased the strength of the light until the whole mining tunnel began to clear for a couple of feet in front of us. Then we started moving further underground. The poison lasted for nearly ten minutes before we broke into clean air once again.

"Well… That's definitely not natural." Lydia observed as we turned around. The way we had just come began to fill with the green fog again slowly, but it wasn't spreading toward us.

"Do you think it's a magic beast?" I asked curiously.

"Either that, or a mage," my girlfriend responded. "I can't think of any magic beasts off the top of my head that use poison magic like this… But new beasts appear all the time, so it's not impossible."

We rested for a few moments and discussed the plan of action before continuing our journey even deeper. Yet, the more we walked, the more I sensed Lydia growing uneasy. Her steps faltered to the point that she was practically hiding behind me, her fingers curled into my sleeves. A wry smile graced my lips as I looked around at the cobwebs that were slowly growing in size in the corners of the tunnel.

"Could it be that you're afraid of bugs, my brave princess?" I asked teasingly.

"Of course not!" She denied hastily. "It's just… I don't like them, that's all." I stifled a giggle, and she slapped my shoulder lightly in frustration. "Don't laugh at me! I spent my life in a clean castle! Of course I wouldn't—!" She was cut off by Koyuki, suddenly standing up from her bag and planting her front paws on Lydia's shoulder as she growled toward the darkness in front of us.

We both fell silent, our eyes snapping forward as we both focused our senses. Silence filled the air for a few tense seconds before we heard it. A quiet chittering noise slowly moved toward us, and then we saw large, but thin, black legs appear from the other side of a wooden beam that crossed the ceiling. The legs were followed by a cluster of beady red eyes set above black fangs that dripped with venom. A large, rounded abdomen appeared shortly, along with the rest of the legs, as the melon-sized spider crawled toward us on the ceiling. The way it moved even sent shivers down my spine, and I was more than used to insects and rodents from my time at the mansion.

I could sense Lydia had frozen completely with fear behind me, and when I glanced at her, her face had lost all color, and her mouth hung open in shock. Turning back, I faced the large arachnid, preparing my shadows to kill it quickly to bring some comfort to my distressed partner. But before I could, I sensed a burst of mana, and an enormous icicle shot through the air, and the instant it touched the large spider, its whole body froze into a block of ice. It fell from the ceiling and then shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces on the ground.

I looked back, in shock this time, and saw another icicle floating in front of Koyuki's muzzle. The sequence seemed to bring Lydia back to her senses, and I saw her take a few heavy breaths in an attempt to calm herself. Her hands reach out and caress the wolf's fur, which seemed to help.

"Thank you, Koyuki… What a good girl," she whispered, a bit of fear lacing her voice still.

"Should we head back?" I asked with concern.

"N-No… I'll pull myself together…" She said with a shaky smile. "I just wasn't mentally prepared for… That." She gestured vaguely to the already melting ice on the ground.

"Are you sure?" I pressed, taking her hand in mine. "You will always be my priority."

"I know, thank you." Lydia squeezed my hand gently. "We took on this quest; we should do our best to complete it so that others won't have to deal with it."

We continued down the tunnel, moving a bit slower because of the oversized spiders. Despite their size, they were just ordinary spiders and lacked mana, making it difficult for Lydia and me to sense them before Koyuki did.

The encounters became more frequent as the webs became more dense, and it wasn't long before I was cutting through the sticky threads with my divine sword. Lydia did her best to stay calm, but I couldn't help but smile wryly every time she jumped because of a stray web.

Our little fluffball was doing a fantastic job taking care of the spiders, but my shadows helped whenever a group of them charged at us. Throughout all of this, Lydia's expression changed slowly from fear to completely blank. That was until she placed a hand on my shoulder and pulled me back from the dense webs still blocking our path. Sounds of skittering were still moving toward us as the spiders came in a nearly endless stream.

"I've had enough, Audrey. I'm going to burn every single thing in here…"

"Huh? Wait, you said that—"

"I know what I said! But a den of evil like this shouldn't exist!" She exclaimed as white fire flickered to life around her hands. Before I could stop her, the shaft in front of us was filled with a spire of flame that burned indiscriminately. Burning threads fell to the ground, and the spiders screeched in pain before falling silent. I quickly followed the fire with waves of water that put out the tongues of flame licking at the wooden supports. Luckily, it wasn't followed by an explosion from her flames igniting anything else.

Lydia tensed as she came back to her senses, and she wrung her hands together in shame. "I-I'm sorry! There were just so many…" She visibly shivered as she spoke and turned back to me. I couldn't help but laugh at how worried she looked.

"It's alright, nothing happened, right?" I said, running my hand through her hair to comfort her. It's rare that I'm on this side of the conversation. After she felt better, we took off running. We didn't know how long the path would stay cleared, so we decided to make the most of it. Her flames had reached all the way to the end of the passage, and we soon arrived in what we assumed was the main mining area.

Piles of sand fell from the walls on either side of the large cavern, and deactivated minecarts sat throughout the space. Seeing how there hadn't been any rails coming down the entrance, I assumed they operated on some form of magic. Besides the everyday things you'd expect to see in a mine, what awaited us was a gathering of even more spiders, even bigger than the ones we'd seen coming down. In the center of the horde was a massive creature. Its legs were as thick as tree trunks, and its house-sized body turned toward us as it sensed us enter. Dozens of dark green orbs that covered its head seemed to glare at us as venom flooded the ground beneath its gaping fangs.

"No. Absolutely not," Lydia muttered, and an incredible burst of hot mana engulfed the cavern. Everything flashed white and gold in an instant, and when my vision returned, I was met with the sight of nothing but ash floating through the air where the spiders had once been. All except the gigantic spider had been incinerated, and even the piles of sand had been turned to glass.

"That monstrosity is quite strong to resist so much divine power…" Aurora observed that her disdain for the massive spider was apparent.

"Even goddesses don't like spiders?" I asked, while keeping my attention on the imminent threat. I was just trying to push away my own horror at having to fight the beast.

"Some things go beyond mortal instincts…"

My girlfriend was already preparing another spell, with Koyuki forming another icicle of her own. And I quickly called on my artifact. The glowing silver blade appeared in my hand, and I felt a calming sensation wash over me as my stella flowed freely between it and my body.

The mutant spider had finally recovered from the flash of light and was chittering at us angrily. Its chitin shell had melted in a few places from Lydia's previous attack, but it didn't appear to be damaged any more than that.

"This thing will be tough to take down," I said to Lydia, and she nodded with fierce determination.

"Such a nightmare can't be allowed to continue existing… I swear it on my honor as a royal, and a woman!"

With a synced nod, we both dashed forward. Lydia circled to the left, her bow and quiver appearing from the shadows before her, while I dashed forward.

My blade pointed right at the monstrosity's head.