The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

(Planet Corpeola- Capitol City Underground Sewers)

Sophie watched in morbid fascination as flesh began to slowly grow upwards from the creature's neck.

First the muscle tissues then the veins and finally the skin. Sophie stepped back in disbelief as she felt a vague sense of familiarity until…

The facial features of the humanoid monster were finally revealed.

"You…" Sophie exclaimed in disbelief.

Standing before her was the mirror image of a younger version of her father. 'Duke Peterlor' grinned cheekily as he approached his daughter with outstretched hands.

"My child… it has been so long," the duke gently spoke as the flesh on his body began to melt away until he was once again nothing more than a skeleton.

Sophie reached into her storage ring and pulled out a black carbon-fibre whip with spikes that ran along its sides.

Without hesitation she channeled her qi into the weapon and flung its tip at the skeleton who roared with laughter.

Black Asura Whip Art- Hell Flame!

The entire length of the whip ignited with black flames that burned with an eerie light.

The skeleton raised up his right hand and a bone-like structure emerged from the dark murky river.

Sophie's whip crashed into the makeshift barrier and easily tore through the fragile bones that made up the structure.

Her weapon slammed directly into the creature's body and sent him flying into the side of a nearby wall with a sickening crunch.

"My… my… you really are impressive…" a low throaty chuckle came from the hole in the wall as the skeleton pulled himself out of the rubble.

"It's such a shame that I have to kill you… in another life perhaps you could have made a loyal subordinate."

"But none who enter my realm… will ever leave."

The skeleton raised up both of his hands and the entire world stood still.

Sophie felt her body freeze up as an enormous wave of intimidating pressure surrounded the skeletal monster.

She had felt a similar pressure before… this could only be the result of someone whose cultivation level was in the void stage or higher.

Fuck…

Was this creature the target that the hunter goddess wanted her to sacrifice?

Sophie barely had any time to react as the creature flung a sharpened bone spear at her body with enough force that a sonic boom was created.

The hybrid girl's enhanced reflexes took over and she quickly moved to the side, but the spear travelled too fast to avoid getting hit.

"Arghhh!" Sophie let out a scream of pain as her entire right arm was torn off her body. She spared a glance at the bloody stump before activating her movement technique.

Cloud Treading Dragon!

Sophie's body blurred and then vanished from the spot.

It was not a moment too soon as hundreds of bone spears erupted from the filthy sewer water where she had been standing just moments ago.

Sophie reappeared several hundred meters away and she stared at the lich who looked at her with those terrible empty eyes.

The hybrid girl growled like an animal as her golden eyes slowly shifted to a crimson hue.

There was only one thought running through her mind and the pain from her injury was making her bloodlust rise.

No… I will not be the hunted…

I. AM. THE. HUNTER.

The skeleton monster whispered a few words under his breath and dozens of bone spears shot towards Sophie once more.

But this time… it was different.

The world slowed down to a crawl as Sophie's body moved with a speed that was much faster than before.

She ducked and weaved through the barrage of bone spears paying no attention when their sharpened edges shaved off pieces of her flesh.

There was just one goal in her mind.

Kill. Hunt. Consume.

Sophie arrived in front of the lich and although the creature's face was nothing more than a skull incapable of expressing emotions…

She could sense that it seemed to be in disbelief.

Archangel Whip Art- Righteous Condemnation!

Sophie's whip lashed forward while glowing with a holy light that illuminated the nearby surroundings with a dazzling glow.

This was a technique that she had learnt over the summer vacation, and it was based on a certain religious text from the Nephilim Church.

Simultaneously Sophie's blade-like appendages shot forward and she used their barbed ends to slice apart the skeleton's arms.

The skeleton howled in pain and gazed at his arms. He tried to say something, but Sophie's attack shattered his body into hundreds of pieces.

The hybrid girl stood over the shards of bones that lay scattered across the ground and took a few moments to catch her breath.

That was it? He died so easily…

No… something was wrong.

Sophie knelt down and picked up one of the bones which immediately crumbled away into a fine grey powder.

She didn't understand what was going on but instinctively knew that somehow the skeleton had survived.

Maybe it was part of being the Hunter Goddess' vessel since Sophie could vaguely sense when her prey was dead.

And every fibre of her being was telling her that the creature was still alive.

The hybrid girl waited for around five minutes, but nothing happened. The only sounds that one could hear was the water that ran through the sewers.

Sophie took in a deep breath and gazed at her right arm. She still felt the pain of having a limb torn off her body, but it was bearable.

The flesh was already beginning to regenerate but in order to speed up the process she reached into her storage bag and pulled out a syringe filled with healing serum.

Sophie gritted her teeth and stabbed the silver needle in the middle of the bloody stump.

She hissed and tried not to scream since it felt as though her arm was being filled with hot molten lava.

After ten minutes her new arm was now fully grown, and Sophie took a few seconds to flex her fingers.

She continued walking through the sewers but now her body was completely alert, and she listened carefully for any sudden movements.

There was no telling what manner of horror lurked in this dark underground place where the air smelled of sewage and decay.

Sophie wandered through a dark damp tunnel and winced as she felt something warm ooze onto her shoulders.

She looked up and saw brown sludge on the ceiling dripping slowly downwards thanks to the effect of gravity.

Thank goodness she was wearing a body suit.

This entire experience had been nothing but a nightmare so far and Sophie was not expecting it to get any better.

Suddenly there was a soft rustling noise.

Sophie stopped moving and her pointed ears swung in the direction of the sound waiting to see what would happen next.

"Please help me…" a soft child-like voice came from further up in the tunnel.

"It's dark here… I am so afraid and alone. I want my mommy… please… please help me kind stranger… please."

The voice began to sob, and one could not help but feel a sense of sympathy for the obviously lost child who was scared and alone.

Sophie knew exactly what the right thing to do was.

.

.

.

.

She turned around and immediately ran in the opposite direction.