Vol. 2 Chapter 106: Hunting the Spider

Deedee, with her bow drawn, rapidly advances inside the small temple.

For a moment, just one moment, her gaze falls on the remains of Bicrista. The floor of the place is covered in blood, a sign of the fierce battle that took place.

"Fuck," she thinks to herself. But she has no time to think about her fallen comrades. Her prey is in front of her with the precious loot of gems.

"Thought you could escape with your fucking tricks?" she insults him. The enemy had escaped during their encounter by opening a portal and entering it. Unfortunately, the damned one had kept his distance, and in this way, he managed to elude her. Luckily, he didn't get far, and she was able to reach him immediately. She needs to get close and keep him at a distance where he can't use his space-time magic to move to another location.

Sylthrenn forcefully rips the arrow from his chest. The Elfrider snarls with his grotesque face split in two.

*HRIEK!*

The face reassembles into that of a dark elf, although the mark of the opening remains. "Naut'inthuul jaluk!" he probably curses in his language or is insulting Deedee. Not that the policewoman cares.

"I have no time to waste with your games! The queen desires the gems!" exclaims the enemy. He, like the woman, has his mission. These two missions are at odds.

Deedee has the arrow nocked, ready to let it fly. "I won't let you escape, motherfucker." The fire of the hunt shines in her aqua-green eyes.

Sylthrenn sneers, his face opening again to show his fangs.

The Elfrider's malevolent laughter echoes through the temple. "I am not afraid, human! The queen's needs are greater than my life.

Enough with the talking, thinks the green-haired woman. She quickly moves from words to action. She launches an arrow, swift as lightning, but the Elfrider, with a surprising speed for his bulky body, deflects it with the blade of his poleaxe. The arrow embeds in a nearby column, vibrating.

[ENHANCE PENETRATION] She casts a spell to increase the penetration of her arrows so that she can damage the monster's weapon.

Driven by the frustration of the woman's presence, without wasting time, Sylthrenn lunges forward, with the axe of the poleaxe cleaving the air with a threatening hiss. Deedee smiles. This is what she wants. The ranger dodges, rolls away, and rises in a fraction of a second, launching another arrow, then another.

Scuttling quickly on his eight legs, he avoids them by moving in directions opposite to the hissing arrows embedding in the walls and stone columns beside him.

Sylthrenn responds with furious anger, the poleaxe dances in a whirlwind of metal. He strikes a stone column, sending fragments flying through the air. Deedee takes advantage of the moment of distraction, slides under the attack radius of the spider-elf, and fires an arrow at point-blank range.

The spider-elf screams, a sound echoing through the temple, with the arrow stuck in his chest. But he does not give up. With a roar, he launches another attack, the axe drawing deadly arcs.

The detective, with controlled breathing and fluid movements, moves like water, avoiding, dodging, trying to stay as close to him as possible. It's a risky tactic, and as an archer, she would benefit from being in a distant and elevated position, where she could utilize her sniper abilities, but if she did so, the enemy might escape through his portals.

The spider-elf's furious attack continues relentlessly, his poleaxe swirling always inches away from the woman. Deedee dances around him, with graceful movements, continuing to shoot arrows towards his weak points.

[XUND’U XOLARINN]The enemy casts the mysterious magic, and the arrows pass through him as if he were made of air.

"Not fucking again!" the woman curses in annoyance. That damn magic makes him like a fucking ghost. Even his movements become difficult to follow. He hasn't increased in speed, but it's as if he disappears and reappears a very short distance from his previous position.

How does this technique work? He's used it before, so the effect is temporary. Before, Deedee managed to land some hits. Of this, she is certain. How long will this sort of platform video game-style invulnerability last?

She decides to test the enemy's ability. She nocks three arrows at a time and starts firing them in rapid succession. Deedee's barrages of arrows hit Sylthrenn's figure, but they pass right through him, embedding into the wall behind him.

But suddenly, two of these embed in his torso. Due to the increased penetration, they pierce the tough flesh of the monster, exiting through the back. Ten seconds. Deedee makes a mental note of the spell's duration.

The Elfrider, however, despite the wounds, shows no sign of fatigue or slowing down. His movements are quick and fluid, almost otherworldly, even though the effect of his magic has ended.

*SLASH*

Deedee can't dodge a particularly fast slash. She is grazed by the attack. The axe of the poleaxe scrapes her armor, opening a gash. The blade wounds the woman on her back.

"Uarghhh!" she screams in pain.

Deedee stumbles backward, blood flowing down her back. Her heart beats hard as she grips the wound. She must overcome the pain if she wants to defeat this beast.

As Sylthrenn advances towards her, Deedee clenches her teeth, her eyes burning with determination. She knows she's running out of arrows, but she can't afford to lose focus.

Pain courses through her body, but she refuses to show weakness. "Fuck!" she curses, summoning her remaining energy. She forces herself to stand. She knows that if she falls now, she won't get up again.

Sylthrenn seizes the opportunity and lunges forward, swinging his weapon forward. The poleaxe makes a crescent motion aimed at splitting the woman's skull in half.

Deedee quickly turns to face him, raising her bow to block the attack. She barely manages to deflect the blow, but it grazes her arm, leaving a deep cut.

Ignoring the pain, Deedee responds with a fierce kick to Sylthrenn's chest. The force of the kick makes him stagger back a few steps, giving her time to draw one last arrow from her quiver.

She nocks it and takes aim at his heart. But Sylthrenn is too fast. He dodges the arrow with his monstrous half-spider agility and lunges forward again.

Deedee knows she must act quickly. With an adrenaline surge, she nocks an arrow and releases it. The arrow flies straight and true, embedding deeply into the monster's chest.

The Elfrider roars in agony, his movements slightly slowed by the impact. Deedee seizes the opportunity and dodges the next attack, rolling away and getting back on her feet.

"Not today, motherfucker," she growls, pulling out all her grit.

She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves and stabilize her aim. Her fingers tighten around the bow as she focuses on the target.

"This ends now," she declares decisively.

The arrow is loosed. The bow vibrates violently from the tension released.

The bolt flies straight towards the left eye of the spider-elf.

*HRIEEEEKKKKK!!!*

The arrow pierces the eye, blood gushes out, and Sylthrenn screams in pain. The monster's body convulses and staggers back a few steps.

*HRIEEEKKK!!!*

The monster's face contorts unnaturally, and his body is wracked with spasms. The face splits in two, and spider fangs protrude.

Deedee wants to finish off the Elfrider but realizes too late that the distance between them has significantly increased. While the enemy was screaming, he continued to back away rapidly on his arachnid legs.

[L'ELEND'ORBB]

The enemy casts his space-time magic, and a portal opens behind him.

"Fuck me!" the woman curses. She can't let Sylthrenn escape.

The spider-elf places its two front legs inside with the intention of going through the portal. Deedee tries to run towards him but is slowed by her wounds. No more arrows in the quiver.

Another leg enters the gap. She won't make it in time.

[ENTANGLED VINES]

The magical vines summoned by the ranger entangle the remaining legs of the Elfrider.

*HRIEK?!*

Sylthrenn has now lost all semblance of a sentient creature. Finding himself trapped by the vines, he thrashes furiously.

He swings his poleaxe to free himself from the vines, and with both his legs and the weapon's blade, he manages to break free. Deedee, however, is now very close.

Without hesitation, the now-free monster fully crosses through the portal. It begins to close behind him.

"Now or never!"

Deedee, like a panther, lunges forward and follows him through the portal.

The portal closes, leaving the temple empty and silent.