Witch Taming System-Chapter 26: Mother Silkbane

Lancel was hoisted upward and, the moment his feet left the corridor below, he forced himself to stay calm.

His eyes adjusted quickly as he was pulled into a new space, taking in the surroundings in a single sweep.

It was an upper chamber.

The ceiling opened into a hollowed cavern within the labyrinth.

The entire structure was layered with thick cobwebs that stretched from wall to wall. Smaller creatures crawled along the threads, skittering across the surfaces like parasites.

A spider’s nest.

No, a Mother Silkbane’s nest.

Lancel’s gaze moved.

All around him, bodies were trapped in silk. They were the adventurers. Their forms were wrapped within cocoon-like bindings with their eyes closed.

And their skin... it was a mix of something pale and a sick green.

Lancel didn’t need to check. They were all dead.

"...."

His grip around the dagger tightened.

Slash——!

The blade cut through the silk binding his shoulder in a single motion. The thread parted without resistance, severed as if it had never been there to begin with.

Something that had been impossible just moments ago now yielded effortlessly to his strength.

The difference was jarring.

Lancel dropped from the air and landed on the ground below.

The moment his feet touched the surface, dozens of small Silkbanes began crawling toward him across the webs, closing in from every direction.

"...Fuck did I get myself into."

He exhaled slowly and adjusted his stance, lowering his center of gravity as he brought the dagger forward.

There was no one left to see this.

There was no one left to question him.

There was no one left alive.

The expedition that was meant to last a week had failed in less than a day. In just eight hours, nearly everyone had died.

And those still below... would likely meet the same fate soon enough.

But here, in this chamber, Lancel was alone.

Which meant he no longer needed to hold back.

He extended one hand forward.

The atmosphere fell.

A sense of chill spread outward as the temperature dropped. Frost began to form along the surface of the webs and the stone beneath his feet.

Mist escaped his lips as the mana within him finally took shape.

Then, with a whisper, Lancel opened his mouth.

"Frostnova."

Crackle——!

Temperature dropped at an astronomical level as frost surged outward like a tidal wave, spreading across the chamber and freezing everything within its reach.

The webs hardened instantly. It turned brittle as the cold consumed them, while the Silkbanes crawling toward him were caught mid-motion.

Their bodies locked in place as ice spread across their limbs.

Lancel did not stop there.

"Frostnova."

He cast the spell again, layering another wave of freezing mana over the first.

The temperature in the chamber plummeted further as frost accumulated along the walls, the ceiling, and the cocooned corpses, sealing the entire space in a frozen tomb.

What should have been taxing did not feel that way at all.

His mana remained stable. Despite casting the same spell repeatedly, there was no sense of depletion.

If anything, it felt as though something was sustaining it from beyond himself, reinforcing each cast and allowing him to continue without consequence.

He knew the reason why.

Because most of the mana provided for a spell like this was siphoned from Faust.

"Frostnova."

Once more, the spell erupted from his hand.

Lancel continued casting without pause. The waves of frost overlapped and stacked as the Silkbanes that had surrounded him from all directions were gradually immobilized.

One by one, they were frozen in place. Their movements were stopped entirely as the chamber transformed into a domain of ice.

Screeeeech——

A grating cry echoed through the chamber

From within the shadows, a massive silhouette began to move, emerging slowly.

Its form revealed itself from the darkness. A spider far larger than any of the others. Its body was so immense that even the chamber itself seemed barely enough to contain it.

Its limbs stretched across the webbed walls, pressing against the frozen strands as it stepped forward.

The Mother Silkbane.

———!

Near instantaneously, multiple silk threads lashed out at once. They shot forward with terrifying speed.

"Hoo..."

Lancel raised both hands, bringing his fingers together into a diamond shape as cold gathered around his palms. Frost began to spread once more as mana condensed.

Then he spoke.

"Frostnova."

Crackle——!

The cobwebs that should’ve wrapped around him froze in an instant.

The moment the opening appeared, Lancel moved.

"...!"

He pushed off the ground and ran along the wall. If there was one thing Lancel was confident in, it was his speed.

The dagger remained in his grip as he accelerated, using the frozen webs and uneven stone as footholds before launching himself upward toward the Mother Silkbane.

"Fucking die!"

Lancel closed the distance.

In the past, Lancel would never have even considered facing a creature like this alone.

During his first and only encounter with a Mother Silkbane, he had barely been able to contribute anything meaningful.

At best, he had acted as support, relying on others to handle the real fight.

But as of this moment, there was no one to support.

And no one to support him.

As his body remained midair, Lancel extended his hand once more.

"Starstream."

This time, the mana he invoked was different.

Light gathered rapidly, condensing into a concentrated golden ray before firing downward in a continuous stream.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The beams carved through the chamber, striking the Mother Silkbane’s body, piercing through layers of hardened silk and chitin.

Lancel was quite hesitant to use this spell.

Compared to Frostnova, it consumed far more mana from him than he liked. Most probably due to Ishtar’s inexperience.

But compared to Frostnova, it was also far more lethal.

If Frostnova was a area-of-effect spell, then Starstream would be a barrage cannon.

The golden rays continued to descend in rapid succession.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Without pause, he cast another Starstream, layering the attack and forcing the barrage to intensify as beams of light rained down relentlessly upon the Mother Silkbane.

At the same time, Lancel tightened his grip on the dagger.

This time, he poured his own mana into it. Mana so laughable a witch wouldn’t even notice it.

The edge began to glow as the energy reinforced the weapon, sharpening it beyond what the steel itself could offer. The moment his feet made contact with the Mother Silkbane’s body, he ran.

"Haaah!"

The dagger followed through with every motion, cutting deep into its hardened exterior as he carved a path across its body without ever slowing.

Lancel continued forward. His scream echoed all throughout the labyrinth as he pushed further, driving the blade deeper and deeper.

Before he even realized it, the resistance beneath him gave way.

Thud!

A deep, heavy sound echoed through the chamber.

The Mother Silkbane collapsed.

Its massive body crashed against the ground. The impact reverberated through the frozen chamber as the webs trembled and fragments of ice broke apart around it.

And just like that, it fell.