Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill

There were spiders everywhere around William. At first, he was startled—but he didn't let it show. Showing fear would only make things worse.

"Oh, lost all that composure, huh?" the queen spider sneered. "Not looking so cocky now, are you?"

Now fully transformed into his demonic form, William had a wide arsenal at his disposal. New spells unlocked by the transformation itself—spells whose knowledge simply appeared in his mind, only to vanish once the transformation ended.

And it was precisely these new spells that gave him the confidence he needed to win this battle. They were all based on black fire—a devastating element against spiders.

"You really think I'd come here alone if I wasn't confident in my own power?" William said, glaring at them with pure contempt. "Are you seriously trying to compare your intelligence… to mine?"

Right then, he began channeling a special fire spell granted by the transformation. The spell was called Infernal Explosion, and it was absurdly powerful—though it required a longer channel time.

But there was one major advantage: the channeling was completely invisible.

Unlike most spells, which were channeled through the hands, this one was formed deep within William's body. The spiders wouldn't even realize what was happening—until it was far too late.

The queen spider bristled with rage. She clearly hadn't liked being called stupid. "Attack him!" she screeched.

All the spiders lunged at William. Infernal Explosion was already building inside him… but he needed to survive for at least two minutes.

And that was the problem.

Several spiders leapt toward him. William swung his sword, slicing through them, cutting some clean in half.

But just then, one of the hybrid spider-men flanked him from behind—sinking its fangs into him, trying to inject its venom.

The demonic energy surrounding his body completely blocked the toxin from entering his system.

The spider's face twisted in shock, realizing its attack had failed. William spun around—and with his sword blazing in black fire, slashed at the creature, aiming to cleave it in two.

The spider barely managed to dodge, leaping backward—but not without consequence. Two of its legs were severed in the process, sending a disgusting spray of green blood splattering everywhere.

But even with that small victory, the situation was looking really bad for William.

The spiders had changed tactics. They started firing webs at him—trying to pin him down and turn him into an easy kill.

On their own, those webs weren't strong enough to hold someone like William. But with that many spiders? The sheer volume of silk being fired was overwhelming.

Webs wrapped around his arms, his legs, his torso. Every time he slashed them apart or burned them with fire magic, more just kept coming.

No matter how fast he moved, no matter how much power he unleashed—there were simply too many.

Web after web piled on until, eventually… he couldn't break free anymore.

The feeling of being trapped by all those webs was… unsettling. Maybe even terrifying. But William knew that all he needed was time. Just a little more time—and victory would be his.

Luckily, the queen spider seemed to enjoy talking. She wanted to toy with him.

"You know… we prefer eating humans alive, right?" the queen hissed, her many eyes gleaming with malice. "We'll wrap you up, drain your strength… then devour you slowly. How does that feel, little human?"

Even trapped, William still had his voice. "How long have you been doing this?" he asked, keeping his tone steady. "Where do you even find food if this place has been abandoned for so long?"

He already figured it out—the queen liked to talk. If talking bought him more time, then he would talk all day.

"Oh, we find food," the queen chuckled, clicking her fangs together. "Adventurers… villagers from that pathetic little settlement nearby… even those fools in the palace right now. We're not picky. Whatever we can catch—we eat."

As the conversation went on, William could feel it. The magic was almost ready.

And it wasn't just him who noticed. The spiders could see it too.

A blazing red glow began radiating from William's body, so intense that it lit up even through the layers of web cocooning him. The air trembled. The walls flickered with crimson light.

The queen spider froze. Her many eyes widened as panic crept into her voice. "W-What… what are you doing? What is this!?"

William laughed—loud, unhinged, and victorious. "It's over," he said, voice dripping with certainty. "There's nowhere to run. You're finished."

The flames grew brighter. The webs around him started to smoke. The heat was unbearable. Even the spiders, born of darkness and poison, felt fear.

The spiders tried to run. Desperately. Frenzied. But it was too late.

A violent explosion of black fire burst from William's body, spreading in a devastating wave in every direction.

The flames devoured everything. Every spider was incinerated the moment the fire touched them. Screeches of agony echoed through the tunnels of the mine, mixing with the crackling sound of burning flesh and web.

It was a massacre. Total annihilation. The queen had made a mistake gathering all her forces in one place. And now… nothing remained.

As the flames faded, William collapsed to his knees. His demonic transformation broke, the dark energy dispersing into the air like ash. His body trembled from exhaustion, lungs struggling to breathe, muscles barely responding.

After a minute, he forced himself back onto his feet. Slowly. Painfully.

His eyes scanned the aftermath. Charred spider limbs and melted exoskeletons littered the ground. Nothing moved. Nothing breathed.

Well… almost nothing.

A few steps ahead, he spotted the queen spider—barely alive, twitching, her massive body scorched and broken, a grotesque shadow of what she once was.

Without a word, William raised his sword and delivered the final blow. A clean, merciful end.

Silence. Complete silence.

He took a deep breath, wiped the blood from his mouth, and started walking—slowly—toward where Jhen and Victoria were waiting. His body was weak. His steps were heavy. It took longer than usual… but he was alive. And the threat was gone.

As William returned to where Jhen and Victoria were hiding, he was met with their wide, shocked eyes.

Jhen was the first to speak. "What… what was that sound? It felt like the whole cave shook. Like an explosion."

William wiped some soot off his shoulder and nodded. "A spell. You don't need to worry. I'm fine… and the spiders are dead." He paused for a second, looking directly at her. "And you, Jhen? How are you feeling?"

Earlier, she'd been hit with venom from one of the spiders. Nasty stuff. Potent.

But since she hadn't been forced to fight further, Jhen had been able to focus her energy entirely on resisting the toxin. And it worked. Her breathing was steady now. Her color had returned.

"I'm good. Almost fully recovered," she confirmed, flexing her fingers as if testing her strength. "Let's move. And let's hope nobody else heard that blast."

With determination, Jhen took the lead. William and Victoria followed close behind.

But the moment they stepped into the area where the spiders had been… Jhen froze.

Her eyes scanned the battlefield—or what remained of it. Charred husks. Burnt legs. Pools of melted chitin. The ground was blackened as if a wildfire had raged through.

"...What the hell did you do, William?" Jhen whispered, half in awe, half in disbelief. She couldn't even begin to imagine the level of power required to cause that much destruction.

Victoria gulped quietly behind them. Neither of them doubted now—William wasn't someone to mess with.

Now that there were no more spiders, it was really easy to walk through the mines. It felt like a stroll in the park for them.

Jhen took longer than she expected to find the way out. That was because the mines had changed over the years — some passages had collapsed, making it impossible for them to pass through.

But eventually, they found the elevator that led up toward the palace. That was what they were looking for.

"Are we going up now, or are we resting? You do look like you need some rest," Jhen said, staring at William.

He was indeed feeling weak after using that attack, and the palace would be a dangerous place. William decided to stay and recover.

"Let's stay here for a moment," he said.

William and Jhen both needed some rest. She didn't want to say it out loud, but the venom had almost gotten her.

They looked around for a place to sit. There were some crates near the elevator — old stuff. Not the best spot to put their butts on, but still better than the rocky floor.

"I honestly thought we would die," Victoria said, sighing. "Those spiders were quite scary."

She hadn't even seen what William saw. Victoria would've definitely panicked if she had seen all those spiders gathered in one place like he did.

"We are safe now. But I believe this palace will be even more dangerous..." William said.