The Corrupted Syndicate

"I'm surprised that you wouldn't know the legend of the Mother Of Spinning Webs. A rather small deity that once was believed to guide mothers who died during childbirth to the afterlife. A benevolent and lovely goddess now turned into a mindless beast."

"Summoned as a monster because some old folks in robes wanted to surpass physical logic and do experiments..." complained the rabbit as he walked past both the dragoness and the blonde.

"She, the Mother, spun vast webs to cradle the broken-hearted souls—mothers who never nursed the children they bore. Each strand held their pain, woven with grief and longing."

"Arakaali, they called her... a name born of both despair and reverence," continued Mattheos as he paused right at the center of the floor, spinning around to face Mavislin and Zenos.

It was only then that the dragoness realized the beautiful mural of a goddess draped in gold and purple was far more than mere decoration.

The painted figure stood as tall as the columns, her upper body that of a striking woman, adorned in regal golden robes, her skin shimmering with a hue of purple like twilight falling over dusk.

Her eyes, deep black voids, seemed to peer into the souls of those who gazed upon her. Long, venomous fangs peeked from beneath her lips, and from her back, eight black spider legs extended but didn't strike the dragoness as monstrous.

No... They seemed normal; as if they didn't harbor any ill intent. 

Before anyone could react, the cavern's walls trembled violently, sending shards of stone crashing down around them. From the rubble emerged a monstrous sight—a colossal black spider, its grotesque body pulsating with dark purple veins.

Where the head of the arachnid should have been, the upper body of a woman twisted grotesquely into place. Her skin shared the same dark sheen as her spider's form, making her appear like a fusion of nightmare and venom.

Two fang-like horns jutted from either side of her head, their tips dripping with venom, while her black eyes—void of any emotion—fixed hungrily on the group.

Her razor-sharp teeth gleamed as she howled, exhaling a thin wisp of green poison from her forked, pointed tongue. Bald and eerie, the creature's face bore no sign of normalcy.

As if her spider-like legs weren't horrifying enough, her two arms mirrored them—only bulkier, with twice the muscle, each one seeping a lethal, glistening toxin that dripped menacingly to the ground.

Her eyes flashed with malicious intent as she decided the moment had come to end the group's lives.

She was nothing like the mural that had graced the cavern walls, a serene representation of divinity. With a sudden and deafening roar, she charged toward them, her massive legs pounding the earth like thunder, causing the cave to tremble beneath her might.

The air thickened with the scent of her venom, each drop falling like a harbinger of death. In a split second, instinct took over; the trio scattered in different directions, urgency driving their movements.

Mavislin leaped to the left, her instincts honed for survival, while Zenos dashed to the right, his scythe ready for combat. Mattheos, with a quick glance over his shoulder, darted straight ahead, each intruder determined to evade the impending doom that the goddess embodied.

"Matt! Head out to the buffer area first!" commanded Mavislin as she summoned her scythe.

"I was waiting for that! Catch you both later!" yelled the rabbit as he rushed towards the small, white marble door on the far left corner of the arena.

"It would appear that spiders are not to his liking..." murmured Zenos.

The dragoness slammed her scythe into the ground, using its heft to launch herself into the air. As she executed a graceful somersault, Mavislin instantly changed into her Alter form, amplifying her strength and determination.

Mid-flip, she grasped her weapon, before severing one of Arakaali's massive legs. Without giving the fallen goddess a moment to react, the dragoness twisted her body with precision, her blade slicing through the air toward the spot where Arakaali's leg had been.

The strike was fueled by a fierce determination, a surge of energy propelling her forward as she aimed to cripple the powerful being before her. The edge of Mavislin's scythe met the goddess's flesh with a sharp hiss, resulting in the monster roaring, blasting her away.

Despite the shockwave, the dragoness quickly recovered, slamming her scythe into the ground to create a powerful blast that propelled her forward.

She managed to graze the side of the monstrous goddess before swiftly dodging a torrent of white webs that erupted from Arakaali's furthest end.

Meanwhile, the Viceroy was engaged in a deadly dance, skillfully deflecting dark green orbs that shot from the creature's fangs. Each deflection was accompanied by swift slashes to the upper body whenever the opportunity arose.