The battle continued, seemingly on even terms.
The spider's speed was halved, and the loss of agility made it difficult to dance around its prey.
Talia's slow would have turned the tables right now, but they had joined the battle before she could regenerate enough MP.
Meanwhile, Vincent and the rest who had successfully freed themselves pestered the spider as they ran around it.
It attempted to crawl to its next victim indignantly, but Vincent boldly appeared in its way, obstructing its path. He was nimble, dodging its strikes as he had completely read all of its moves.
This caused the spider to lose its mind.
It tore off its own leg and used it as an extension, striking at Vincent with all its might.
Vincent dodged right away, but the extra range and the rage-fueled spider were faster.
Blood splashed across his cheek as his dominant right arm was cleanly cut at the shoulder, flying off into the distance along with his katana.
"Cents!!!" Angel shrieked.
[28 -> 6/28 Hp]
[Critical injury: Major loss of health. Stunned for 6 seconds.]
Vincent's heart stopped as his body refused to listen—the system had taken hold, freezing him in place.
'Move!'
But instantly, a feeling of becoming a passenger in his own body washed over him.
The spider noticed his state. There was now a [Stunned] indicator above Vincent's figure.
A splitting grin graced its face as it clutched its leg, ready to strike again.
Bonk!
Angel's revolver landed squarely on the back of its head, briefly staggering the spider, followed by Daniel and Dave working together to slice the hand holding the leg.
Daniel had a rare anger painting his face, adding to his strength.
The hand holding the leg fell just as the spider reeled from the pain, screeching.
There were now three seconds left before Vincent was freed.
But he refused to wait and hand over his fate to the system. He continued to fight for control over his body, screaming for his muscles to move, grounding himself in the pain, aches, and jolts of a human body.
The [Stunned] indicator glitched, breaking into parts.
Air rushed into Vincent's lungs as he succeeded in regaining control over his body two seconds before it ended.
The spider had lunged toward him, its mouth open for a bite.
But Vincent didn't move.
His head spun, calculating the timing, his left arm drawn back as he waited.
Then—
Smack!
The attack came from below. Without vision, the spider was sucker-punched in the chin, momentarily blacking out as its head flew back, bringing its body along.
Its one arm flailed in an attempt to balance itself, but without the stable support of its legs, it fell onto its back.
Vincent crumbled right after, dropping to the floor.
[6 -> 4/28 Hp]
That one punch seemed to have cost him two of his HP, bleeding to death. But he had the mind to bet that it was actually the system retaliating.
"B-Big brother! H-Hand!"
Palya screamed, still stuck under the webs. Her short hands stretched as far as she could.
Vincent's entire body was in agony, but hearing the sounds of the siblings continuing to pester the spider, strength surged within him.
He struggled to move closer, as he was too far from Palya.
A few seconds later, Palya caught his hand and activated her spell instantly.
Vincent: [4 -> 16/28 Hp]
Palya: [100 -> 0/100 Mp]
Vincent felt invigorated, and his bleeding shoulder stopped. He pushed himself up before patting Palya's head.
"Good job. Stay here and play dead. Your big brothers and sister will take care of this in a minute."
"O-Okay! I b-believe in you!"
Palya pulled back, letting the web hide her entire form, her eyes radiating innocence, dependence, and complete trust.
It was the same look the siblings would have on him, kicking away all his doubts and self-regrets, leaving only the stubborn determination to keep going.
His stance relaxed for a moment before he broke off into a run, retrieving his katana on the way and joining the battle again.
Another minute of dodging and chipping at the spider's health later, Vincent noticed the life in its eyes finally fading.
"Wait!"
Everyone paused without question.
"Keep an eye on it." Vincent gestured with his head before walking toward Theo.
Theo was still lost, embracing his headless friend. His tears had dried, yet his eyes remained red.
Seeing footsteps coming into view, he weakly lifted his head.
"Get up." Vincent's tone was firm, leaving no room for objections.
Theo's shoulders jolted, taken aback by his body subconsciously complying. He made no effort to question it as he stood.
Vincent handed him his katana before taking one step toward the spider.
"Go on. That thing killed your family."
Theo's breath hitched as he abruptly clutched the katana, his confusion vanishing in the wind. Anger that hadn't had the chance to form through his grieving was pulled to the surface unbidden.
His reddened eyes turned bloodshot as he gritted his teeth. "Many thanks."
There was no scream, no curses, as he rushed to the weakened spider and plunged the blade straight through its skull.
The spider shook violently for a few seconds, its last bit of consciousness fighting death itself.
Then, it visibly slackened.
[+ 225 xp]
["No Mutation For You" hidden quest completed.]
[+ 50 xp]
Vincent was startled, feeling a brief whiplash from the sudden quest notification.
They had fought so hard against this Revenant Spider that he had completely forgotten the world had turned into a game.
Glancing at the party window, he saw that eight out of eleven people had leveled up, their increased HP and mana noticeable. But none of them showed much excitement compared to the first time Henry and Dave had punched a frost rabbit to death.
The web had lightened, freeing them from its hold, but they stood in place, lost.
The five strangers were somehow affected, confused as to why the entire group was so hung up on one person's death. They could understand if half of them hadn't survived, but just one? That was a miracle.
Only a week had passed since the outbreak began, and those who had survived had done things they wouldn't normally do in order to live.
So even though they should have already left the scene, they remained, equally lost in their confusion.
Vincent took in everyone's state and sharply inhaled. He couldn't let the gloom take hold of his party.
"Gather your things. We made too much noise. Theo, where do you want to bring Rusty's body? Be rational."
Theo blanked at his question but realized a moment later what Vincent meant. No matter how much he wanted to give his friend a proper burial, that was a luxury they could no longer afford.
"L-Let's go to the food court… That dumbass could eat a whole roasted chicken and a leg if I didn't stop him." He laughed bitterly.
Everyone started moving their battle-torn bodies at Vincent's orders while the clerics used up the rest of their heals on those who needed them.
Within half an hour, an impromptu funeral was set up at the center of the food court. Candles were lit this time, as a store had been selling some.
And the five strangers loitered nearby, shaken to their cores.
"Those people are still human."
One of them murmured, and it traveled to Vincent's ears.
But Vincent's hands were clenched tightly into fists.
The regrets came to haunt him now that his mind was free to be invaded, and he wondered—if he had chosen to follow through with the original plan, to wait for Talia's slow to be up rather than attempt to save strangers, would Rusty have lived?
Yet his morality fought.
He couldn't imagine the guilt that would have eaten him up later.
Vincent decided the party would rest at the mall since it was past eight at night. They found the most obscure place to hide and set up camp, struggling to ignore their spectators.
The campfire was lit, driving away the cold within ten meters, and Angel started preparing the food. She had vowed they would have a hot meal at least once a day, so everyone patiently waited.
Beatrice and Ben (the clerics) helped her.
After ten minutes of silence and settling down, Vincent sighed. "I'm sorry."
Everyone visibly froze.
Angel and Dan glanced at each other before being the first to go back to their work. They knew exactly who Vincent was talking to.
"I know if I had gone back in time, I would have chosen for everyone to rush in and save those people again."
Everyone was sitting close to the campfire, so his words easily reached them.
The silence stretched for a few minutes before Theo broke it.
"I am angry. But after thinking about it, I'm angry at how weak I am." He turned to lock gazes with Vincent, lips pursed.
"If you weren't the person you are, we would still be stuck in Walmart, living off its supplies, and then maybe dying when the Troll found us."
His words resonated with a lot of people.
Palya was no longer interested and continued writing down her discoveries about the game's mechanics, planning to discuss them with her big brother later.
Vincent stared at the fire, blanking.
"What I'm trying to say is… Rusty's death wasn't your fault. But I do want you to use that brain of yours to make us stronger faster."
Theo grinned, his teeth showing. "You can do that, right, boss?"