"Hmm. You're certain the spot where they found the earth dragon's corpse was right here?"
"Yes. It should be."
"Strikingly, there's nothing here at all."
We had arrived at what was known as the Grand Corridor.
A report had placed an encounter with the target monster in this area.
Sure enough, we found the nest where the earth dragon's carcass had supposedly been discovered, but there was nothing left inside.
Well—nothing, to be precise, aside from what appeared to be scraps of hard, indigestible remains.
I took another look around the nest.
Judging from the impurities clinging to the threads and the state of the interior, this place had most likely been abandoned. There were no traces of recent use.
"It seems the nest has been relocated."
"Is that so. Then we have no choice but to search the area methodically."
"Indeed."
Over the following days, we carefully combed through the surrounding area. Yet we found no sign of the creature in question.
"It's not here."
"That's strange. Navigator, is there anywhere else nearby that we haven't searched yet?"
The four navigators considered the matter for a moment before one of them spoke.
"There's a passage nearby that leads down to the Middle Layer. Could that monster have gone there?"
"However, spider-type Monsters are said to be weak against fire. That seemed like a thin lead, so we haven't pursued it until now."
Hmm. The possibility was low, but not nonexistent.
The Middle Layer of the Great Ello Dungeon was said to be a hellish expanse of searing heat waves and overflowing magma.
Without proper equipment, venturing that deep was impossible.
Factor in dwindling rations and the fatigue from days of investigation, and it was undeniably time to pull back.
"Very well. Let's investigate the passage to the Middle Layer, and if we find nothing, we'll withdraw."
And so we were led to the passage and proceeded down it.
"Wha—?!"
One of the navigators walking at the front let out a scream and froze in an unnatural posture.
"What happened?"
"I don't know—what is this? I can't move!"
"Wait!"
Ronant stopped another navigator who was about to approach carelessly.
"Shine a light on it and look closely. It's extremely hard to see, but threads are strung everywhere."
I squinted as instructed. Sure enough, I could make out thin threads that occasionally caught the light.
"What is this?"
"We may have struck pay dirt."
On closer inspection, the threads radiated outward in a neat, symmetrical pattern—unmistakably the shape of a spider's web.
"Someone, cut the threads with your sword and free them."
One of the soldiers raised his blade to rescue the ensnared navigator.
But— "Oh. It won't cut?"
Ronant let out a note of admiration.
The soldier's downward slash had stopped mid-swing, the blade caught on the threads just like the navigator. He was tugging at it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Navigator, it may get a bit hot, but bear with me."
"Y-yes."
Ronant cast a fire spell, aiming to singe away only the surrounding threads with precision, without injuring the navigator.
That was the plan, at least.
"Hmm? It won't burn?"
Perhaps because it was a low-level spell, or perhaps despite the claim that these threads were weak against fire, the threads remained stubbornly unburned.
"I'm turning up the heat."
A torrent of flame shot from Ronant toward the threads, flooding the dark cavern with blinding light.
"Oops, I overdid that a bit."
The navigator's clothes were singed, but he managed to break free.
The problem was that the flames had consumed the passage all the way to its end.
"Now we've done it."
"If the owner was lurking back there, it's probably gone berserk."
In that case, any hope of a friendly disposition was gone. Taming the creature was now practically impossible.
"I just hope this area was abandoned too, like the last nest."
"Doesn't look like it. If the thing still hasn't shown itself after all this commotion, it's either out roaming or no longer using this spot either."
I could only hope so.
If the adventurers' rumors were true, the spider in question was said to be wandering freely through the dungeon.
And it could almost certainly use teleportation.
A Monster capable of teleportation—something even few Humans could manage—was something I had never heard of.
There was also the possibility that it happened to be out right now and could teleport back at any moment.
"All soldiers, prepare for combat. Stay on alert so we can respond to anything."
I relayed the order.
The threads burned away, and the flames died down.
We advanced cautiously once more down the now-darkened path.
The charred remnants of the threads were spread over a remarkably wide area.
"It's somewhat resistant to fire, but once ignited, it becomes brittle."
"Yes, it seems so. The fire appears to have spread quite far in."
After traversing a passage far too wide to call a mere nest, we emerged into a broad, open area.
"What is this place?"
"The entrance to the Middle Layer."
The navigator answered.
Now that they mentioned it, I could feel the heat. The path ahead sloped gently downward.
"Hm?"
There was something there.
The downward slope made it hard to see at first, but it was quite large.
"Everyone, take formation."
We arranged ourselves in battle formation and approached with caution. I stayed back alongside Ronant and the navigators, pulling an Appraisal Stone from my robe.
"Oh. An Appraisal Stone. Level 9, is it?"
"As a summoner, Appraisal is indispensable. Do you use it too, Lord Ronant?"
"Mm. Level 9, yes."
"That's remarkable. I've used Appraisal Stones so frequently that my Proficiency has built up to Level 3, but Level 9 is simply beyond reach."
"I've dabbled between spells here and there. It took me until this age to barely reach 9. In most cases, using an Appraisal Stone would be the smarter choice."
"True. So... what do you make of that?"
I pointed ahead.
There lay the carcass of an enormous spider Monster.
"An Arctaratect corpse, then."
Arctaratect.
One rank below the Mythical-class, Over-S-rank Queen Taratect.
It held an S-rank danger rating.
And here it lay, dead and mutilated.
"Moreover—can you see it? A portion has been eaten."
From my distance, I couldn't make that out, but Ronant apparently could.
"That means something exists capable of killing—and worse, devouring—an Arctaratect."
A chill ran through me.
Preying on an S-rank Monster?
A creature like that could be out there?
If we ran into something like that— No.
No matter how elite our squad, no matter that the most powerful mage of the Human race stood among us, we stood no chance against such an existence. We needed to retreat.
But the decision came too late.
The incarnation of this nightmare had already teleported in.