Chapter 212: Flies about to crash.

--Saturday, May 30, 2172

As the group moved through the charred remains of what was once a lush forest—where only a few intact trees and some small, newly sprouting saplings could still be seen—they spotted a spider launching toward them in the shared mental image of the surroundings provided by the combined efforts of Shino and Tomoko.

[Leave it to me.]

Before anyone else could react, Mirko announced excitedly through the mental link, then crouched and leapt using her powerful legs to their fullest, moving at an astonishing speed and living up to her reputation as the rabbit hero. At that moment, a spider about two meters tall leapt toward them at high speed.

The moment everyone could see the spider, it released two high-pressure jets of steaming liquid from its exposed fangs. Mirko dodged by twisting in midair, while Ryuko quickly manipulated the earth to create a hardened wall to block the attack, protecting the entire group.

Spinning in midair, Mirko unleashed a powerful kick that landed squarely on the spider, causing it to shriek in pain. It then tried to stab her with its legs—something Mirko managed to dodge using the momentum of her kick—but the sudden, rapid movement still managed to throw her slightly off balance, as the force created a small shockwave that shattered the nearby charred ground.

Although surprised, Mirko didn’t lose focus and quickly unleashed another spinning kick—this time aiming at one of the spider’s weak points, which she could see thanks to the mental image shared by Tomoko—completely crushing it and killing it. Then, she twisted in the air to look back at the rest of the group, which allowed her to see that Ryuko’s hardened earth wall was now completely frozen.

[That was two quirks, wasn’t it?]

At that moment, Kamui Woods couldn’t help but comment heavily, confirming one of the alarming details they had been told before setting out: the spiders had multiple quirks.

[That’s what I think, too.] Kai replied in a serious tone before continuing with a calmer explanation.

[It’s fairly common for the spiders to have super strength and use various means of attack. Some even seem to have up to five completely different abilities. But none are as dangerous as the ‘conditional webs’—those can appear out of nowhere and kill you instantly. So don’t let your guard down.]

Upon hearing Kai, the others nodded with solemn expressions, now fully convinced that the stories they’d been told about the island and its spiders weren’t exaggerations. It truly was a hellish place—one from which nothing could be allowed to escape, no matter what happened. If even one spider made it off the island, the world would be doomed. This realization caused the Symbol of Peace to clench his fists tightly, filled with determination.

Quickly, the group advanced toward the points of light Kai had shared through the mental link, doing their best to avoid being surrounded by the spiders, which moved as if unaware of their presence. This offered a small sense of relief to most—except for Kai, whose bad feeling only grew worse.

After all, during his initial arrival, the time between when he revealed himself and attacked the spiders, and the appearance of the male Drider along with an entire horde of spiders, had been incredibly short. But now, they were moving in broad daylight as a group, had already killed two spiders, and yet the rest seemed not to notice.

While that might seem like a good thing, it only made Kai more suspicious. After all, one of the three spiders he had marked with the Trace card—the very same ones he found on the island where the scientists had disappeared—was noticeably weaker, and it continued to weaken at a slow but steady pace. It was eerily similar to what had happened with the electric spider, the one that had nearly taken his life the first time.

[Sage, do you notice anything strange?]

Kai quickly contacted his trusted assistant, who had been flying at his side in [In] mode since the beginning, through the mental link he shared exclusively with her. She responded in a serious tone as her wings glowed in various colors, a stern expression on her beautiful face.

[No, Master. But I also feel that something’s wrong.]

[Maybe we’re just ‘flies’ about to crash into the web…]

Kai commented in a serious tone, to which Sage could only nod with a heavy expression, feeling incredibly uneasy. If it were up to her, she would never have returned to this cursed place. Then, with solemnity, she replied.

[I will increase my efforts, Master.]

Meanwhile, Mirko couldn’t help but show a wide grin on her face, feeling her body heat up with excitement. That spider had really been tough—so much so that she could still feel the impact on her right leg. Instead of scaring her, it thrilled her, awakening her 'lust' for battle.

As they advanced, the group inevitably began encountering more and more spiders, which Mirko attacked with fury, a wide, predatory smile spreading across her face. Little by little, she grew more reckless, which prompted All Might to speak through the mental link in a serious tone.

[Mirko, calm down. Recklessness in this situation is dangerous.]

[It’s fine. I’ve just never been good at working in a team, so I’m just having a bit of fun.]

While still in the air after taking down a spider, Mirko quickly replied, her voice filled with excitement. At that moment, an image appeared in everyone’s mind—of themselves being surrounded by spiders—accompanied by Kai’s solemn voice.

[It’s a trap.]

Almost simultaneously, Mirko suddenly found herself suspended in midair, all four limbs stretched out and floating against gravity, as if bound by something invisible. Her eyes widened in disbelief, but she instinctively tried to break free using her overwhelming strength, feeling something gripping her wrists and ankles.

But even as her muscles swelled with effort, the rabbit heroine couldn’t move—let alone break free. It was then that she saw what looked like a massive black arrow flying toward her at impossible speed, and despite everything, a smile formed on her face.

(So this is how it ends…)

“Salem!”

Just as Mirko calmly accepted her end, Kai’s powerful, slightly distorted voice echoed through the area, followed by a mighty roar in response. Everyone could see the imposing blue-eyed panther that accompanied Kai darting off into the distance, leaving behind a trail of bluish electricity.

Mirko then looked on in surprise at Kai’s back, as he seemed to have materialized right in front of her. He launched a slash toward the massive arrow, causing it to sharply veer off to the right. Taking advantage of the momentum from his strike, the young man twisted in the air and, using the two Jian swords in his hands, slashed toward her outstretched limbs.

At the same time, a large number of spiders of varying sizes and colors suddenly appeared around the group, attacking in unison with what looked like multicolored venomous spit. All Might immediately gave a command through the mental link while raising his right fist.

[Prepare to fight!]

“Detroit Smash!!”

As he shouted with power, All Might delivered a mighty punch to the ground, creating a rising tornado that surrounded the group, blowing away both the incoming attacks and a large number of spiders. At the same time, Ryukyu—the beautiful blonde woman in the red qipao—began to grow in size, quickly transforming into a massive Western-style dragon roughly 8 meters tall.

Simultaneously, Kamui Woods’ arms began to grow like trees, while Edgeshot’s torso flattened and stretched, causing his arms and head to rise high above the ground. Then, Ryuko placed her hands on the ground, causing enormous amounts of earth to move as if it were liquid. This shifting mass transformed into a small battalion of monstrous earth creatures, which were then quickly covered in metallic armor.

Meanwhile, Tomoko took a boxing stance as arcs of electricity surrounded her. At the same time, Chatora pulled his right arm back, causing it—and the armor around it—to stretch far behind him. Shino rose into the air using the thrusters on her armor, extending her arms in opposite directions, while the palms of her cat-themed gloves began to glow with an ominous blue light.

[I don’t know if this will work the way I imagine it, but I’ll try to let you all see what’s really going on.]

Suddenly, Kai’s voice echoed in everyone’s minds, and immediately after, a mental image appeared, overlaid with the one Tomoko was already sharing. This revealed a crucial difference: around them were four invisible webs woven in a tight formation, and above them—and below the ground—were two more, completely trapping them in a massive cube.

Thanks to the mental image, Mirko was finally able to “see” what had trapped her—invisible webs—which were instantly cut by Kai, freeing her. The rabbit hero began to fall, just as a powerful explosion echoed in the distance, causing her to turn and look. She quickly noticed that the explosion had occurred in the direction Kai had sent the giant “arrow,” which, for some reason, brought a smile to her face.

[Thanks for the image. Attack!]

Soon, the tornado created by All Might faded, prompting the Symbol of Peace to thank Kai and immediately give the order to attack, even as he crossed his arms in front of him—because despite all the spiders he had blown away, a massive number were still charging at them without any fear of death.

“Carolina Smash!”

With his shout, All Might brought his arms down at incredible speed, creating a cross-shaped shockwave that tore through all the spiders in a straight line. For his part, Kamui Woods extended his tree-like arms, piercing through the spiders at their weak points—clearly visible thanks to the mental image shared by Tomoko.

Meanwhile, Shino began firing lightning bolts from her cat-shaped gloves into the sky, hitting spiders that were dropping down from the web above them. Chatora rapidly retracted his stretched arm, hardened by his Accomplice’s ability, while activating his [Vital Reactor], boosting his superhuman strength to cataclysmic levels. At that moment, he muttered in a heavy voice.

“Iron Recoil!”

Chatora’s blow landed squarely on a spider nearly five meters tall, shattering it to pieces while also generating a powerful shockwave that created a small air hurricane, tearing through several other spiders in its path. This greatly surprised the surrounding heroes—because although he was weaker than All Might, the similarity in power and sheer impact was undeniable.

But their surprise only grew when they saw Tomoko perform a classic boxing-style forward step, but at such an incredible speed that she literally vanished from their sight for a second—only to reappear in front of a spider about three meters tall. She delivered a punch that shattered its exoskeleton while electrocuting it with a powerful current. In the next instant, she vanished again and reappeared in front of another large spider, repeating the process.

Finally, Ryuko’s small battalion of armored earth beasts quickly engaged the smaller spiders, creating a one-sided massacre—tearing through them left and right. Meanwhile, Ryuko herself had her hands on the ground as metallic cables extended from various parts of her armor, burrowing into the earth.

Through the shared mental image, everyone understood that Ryuko, on her own, was holding back the spiders emerging from the underground web—immobilizing them with the earth and finishing them off with her metallic cables, specially designed by Kai and Keiko. These cables could become as flexible, rigid, or sharp as needed thanks to the ability of her Accomplice.

Although impressed by the overwhelming strength of the Pussycats, Ryukyu didn’t stop her assault. Using her massive claws and tail, she began tearing through spiders like an unstoppable killing machine, while the spiders could barely scratch her scales—showcasing the sheer power and durability of the heroine in her dragon form.

In the background, Edgeshot flattened and stretched the upper part of his body, transforming into something like a flexible spear, and began moving erratically—piercing through a large number of spiders in his path.

Then, his body extended outward in the shape of spikes, tearing the spiders apart from the inside. At the same time, Mirko began spinning in the air, landing powerful kicks that shattered the spiders escaping Shino’s lightning barrage, taking out two or three with each strike.

[Area attack incoming; be careful.]

“Whirlwind Slash!”

As they fought, everyone heard Kai’s voice in their minds, just as he announced the technique aloud. Immediately after, they saw a rain of black slashes—similar to the one they had seen split the sea in half during the storm—begin to fall. Looking up, they spotted Kai spinning like a top in midair, unleashing a storm of flying slashes in every direction.

Seeing the devastating power of the armored man once again, Edgeshot, Ryukyu, and Kamui Woods couldn’t help but look at him with a hint of apprehension—while Mirko, grinning like a predator with eyes shining, leapt forward to kick a spider, then launched herself toward another, beginning her own acrobatic slaughter at super speed, dodging the rain of deadly slashes as she went.

[This isn’t ending. We have to retreat!]

Although the indiscriminate attack had created a brief window of relief from enemies on the surface, Ryuko—who was still fighting alone underground—spoke with a worried tone. Just then, a new horde of spiders came rushing out of the webs that only they could see through the shared mental image. Edgeshot quickly responded in a serious tone.

[Those webs are way too strange. While the large-scale attacks from All Might, Saito, and Chatora pass through them as if they don’t exist, every spider comes out of there as if it’s some kind of portal. I’ll try to investigate a bit to secure an escape route.]

[Then we’re counting on you, Edgeshot.]

All Might quickly responded through the mental link, prompting Edgeshot to nod with his flattened head before launching himself toward the top of one of the side webs.

The others began unleashing powerful attacks to decimate the spiders and distract them, ensuring they wouldn’t interfere with the Ninja hero. Upon reaching the web, Edgeshot extended just one finger to pierce the invisible thread.

“AHHHH!!!”

Almost instantly, the ninja hero let out a scream filled with pain, then abruptly returned to his human form and began falling toward the ground. Shino spoke through the mental link in an urgent tone.

[He’s disconnected from the mental link—he’s completely unconscious!]

Without a second thought, All Might leapt at full speed to catch Edgeshot midair, just before he would have landed in the middle of a massive group of spiders. At the same time, Kai stopped his attack and stared at the web the ninja hero had tried to pierce, a thoughtful expression hidden behind his kitsune helmet, as he began communicating with his trusted assistant.

[Sage, was it just my impression, or did that web dim for a moment and the one next to it repair it?]

[It wasn’t your impression, Master. It really happened.]

Sage quickly replied, simultaneously generating a holographic screen in [In] mode in front of her master. It displayed a video showing the web dimming for a millisecond—at which point the web to the right extended over it like a vine, moving so quickly that only the accelerated thoughts of Kai and Sage could perceive it.

When the web extended toward the dimmed one, the latter returned to normal. But Sage highlighted a spider that passed by at that exact moment, which lost a leg due to the sudden dimming of the web. This prompted Kai to comment thoughtfully to Sage while launching a pair of flying slashes to cover Chatora and Mirko, who had become surrounded for a moment.

[So that ‘portal web’ shut down for an instant when Edgeshot tried to pass through it. That means the fact we’re surrounded by six different webs isn’t a coincidence—it’s so they can repair each other if we try to break through. There must be something important on the other side…]

[That’s likely the case, Master.] Sage quickly replied, her wings glowing in various colors as she ran calculations at high speed. Then she added in a thoughtful tone.

[But for now, we can assume that the only way to escape is either by teleporting out… or by ‘shutting down’ all six webs at the same time, so they can’t repair one another.]

[Then shutting them all down at once is the only option.]

Kai shook his head and replied in a serious tone, then added as he sent out more flying slashes—this time to cover Kamui Woods and Tomoko, who were about to be struck from blind spots they couldn’t defend in time.

[Now is not the time to reveal teleportation. Don’t forget that last time, the female Drider created specific countermeasures against the ‘Rail Gun’ after seeing it only once. The less we show, the better—especially since teleporting others is too costly and problematic. The best tactic is to keep it as a trump card.]

[You’re right, Master. That’s the best course of action.]  Sage responded quickly in a serious tone.

[Kai! Can you try to heal Edgeshot?!]

At that moment, All Might spoke through the mental link as he landed on the ground holding Edgeshot. The conversation between Kai and Sage had happened so quickly that only a second had passed in the real world—a tactical advantage born from the combination of their mental connection and accelerated thought.

***

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