Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 160

160. The Moon Caught in a Spiderweb (4)

Hyeon-woo’s pupils turned purple in an instant.

The moment the Lower Moon Spider flinched, Hyeon-woo tightly gripped her leg.

Feeling something burrowing inside, the Lower Moon Spider quickly pulled her hand from Hyeon-woo’s neck and stepped back.

Hyeon-woo’s hand fell, but a strand of spiderweb stretched out long and taut.

“Annoying!”

The Lower Moon Spider shouted and tried to cut the web immediately. But instead of breaking, the web stretched elastically and stuck to her other hand.

Startled by the unexpected strength, the Lower Moon Spider lost her focus.

Hyeon-woo was charging at her.

The Lower Moon Spider prepared to counterattack. However, Hyeon-woo didn’t collide with her; instead, he leaped into the air.

Thousands of spiderwebs filled the alley.

Hyeon-woo was using them as stepping stones to jump higher. The Lower Moon Spider scoffed.

Hyeon-woo had even less chance of winning in aerial combat.

“Trying to run away on spiderwebs in front of a spider?”

The Lower Moon Spider and Upper Moon Spider quickly leaped towards Hyeon-woo.

To make matters worse, Hyeon-woo stumbled as a web he stepped on broke.

The Lower Moon Spider bared her teeth.

Although they looked like the same spiderwebs, the ones Hyeon-woo made and the ones the human-faced spiders made were completely different.

Even real spiders sometimes get caught in other spiders’ webs.

There wasn’t much difference in quality, but it was hard for anyone but the maker to know the strength, control points, and which parts were safe to step on.

“Go back and learn from the beginning!”

The Lower Moon Spider shouted and tried to stab Hyeon-woo’s foot with her leg.

But at that moment, she stumbled, and her leg missed wildly. The web she was standing on had broken.

The Lower Moon Spider faltered and barely clung to another web.

The Upper Moon Spider was fine but stopped, surprised by the unexpected situation.

It was nearly impossible for the Lower Moon Spider to fall from the web, given her skill.

Then, the Upper Moon Spider noticed Hyeon-woo was smiling. The Upper Moon Spider widened her eyes and shouted at the Lower Moon Spider.

“Sister, cut the spiderweb that human stabbed!”

Without asking why, the Lower Moon Spider immediately tore off the web as she was told. The spiderweb was embedded so deeply that she felt pain when she tore it off.

The Lower Moon Spider realized that Hyeon-woo’s blood was on it.

“What is this…”

In that instant, even the spiderweb the Lower Moon Spider was hanging on snapped.

The Lower Moon Spider quickly clung to the wall and rapidly climbed up. Even without spiderwebs, she was skilled in three-dimensional maneuvers. The Upper Moon Spider followed, climbing on the spiderwebs.

But Hyeon-woo was climbing the spiderwebs as skillfully as if the earlier stumble had been a lie.

Bouncing lightly as if they were his own.

“Sister, what did this guy do?!”

“He completely understands the pattern of our spiderwebs!”

“I get that, but why can’t we use the spiderwebs we made, and why is that human using them like they’re his own? These are our spiderwebs, right?”

The Upper Moon Spider couldn’t explain it either. The patterns of spiderwebs were as complex as fingerprints, but if you took the time to analyze them, you could figure them out.

But preventing other spiders from using them was a completely different matter.

‘Did he do something when he stabbed the spiderweb into Lower Moon?’

Did the poison cause some kind of confusion?

The Upper Moon Spider felt uneasy.

The Upper Moon Spider, climbing on the spiderwebs, caught up with Hyeon-woo first. But Hyeon-woo swung his arm as if he had been waiting.

In an instant, the entire spiderweb structure in the ruins swayed violently. The Upper Moon Spider barely managed to hold on.

Her face was filled with shock.

Hyeon-woo had taken control of the entire spiderweb here.

As if all the spiderwebs they had made were his own.

Hyeon-woo couldn’t hang in the air indefinitely, so he was moving around frantically, but the amplitude of the spiderweb’s shaking was increasing.

Either the spiderweb would break, or the Upper Moon Spider would fall first.

“Sister!”

With the spiderweb in this state, there was no way the Lower Moon Spider could climb up. The Lower Moon Spider prepared to leap towards Hyeon-woo.

As the amplitude grew unbearable, the Upper Moon Spider decided to use the recoil to jump away.

The moment the Upper Moon Spider put her weight on a spiderweb to jump, she saw the corners of Hyeon-woo’s lips turn up.

‘Oh no.’

In that instant, the spiderweb the Upper Moon Spider had put her weight on snapped limply.

The Upper Moon Spider, who had been preparing to leap, kicked into the empty air and fell downwards.

Hyeon-woo didn’t do anything directly to the Lower Moon Spider. He just made her feel like he had done something.

By injecting poison, stabbing spiderwebs, and making her fall from the spiderweb.

But in reality, Hyeon-woo had only accomplished one thing.

Analyzing the patterns of the spiderwebs and, beyond that, even mastering them.

It meant that Hyeon-woo’s control had become so strong that he could handle other people’s spiderwebs as if they were his own.

The Upper Moon Spider saw herself falling and the Lower Moon Spider leaping towards Hyeon-woo with an enraged expression.

Only then did the Upper Moon Spider realize Hyeon-woo’s intention.

“He’s trying to separate me from you!”

The Upper Moon Spider’s warning was already too late.

The moment the Lower Moon Spider leaped to bite Hyeon-woo, Hyeon-woo twisted his body.

The Lower Moon Spider’s pupils widened.

It was the technique of sweeping up the entire alley’s spiderwebs like a net, just like she had done in the alley race.

‘He’s already trained to this extent?’

This time, he didn’t even transform it into a chain. The Lower Moon Spider belatedly tried to bounce back, but the spiderweb stuck to her body.

It wasn’t the Lower Moon Spider’s spiderweb. It was the spiderweb that Hyeon-woo had scattered everywhere while running around frantically.

The Lower Moon Spider gritted her teeth.

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Chwaak! With a sound like tearing soft silk, Hyeon-woo’s spiderweb scattered. The spiderweb Hyeon-woo was standing on was also torn away.

Hyeon-woo, who had lost his balance, began to fall. The Lower Moon Spider arched her body greatly to stab her leg into Hyeon-woo’s chest.

Hyeon-woo reached out his hand.

For a moment, the Lower Moon Spider saw the alley filled with purple threads.

It was the spider sisters’ spiderweb.

As if obeying Hyeon-woo’s command, their spiderwebs rushed in all at once.

Like a snake swallowing its prey, thousands of spiderwebs wrapped around the Lower Moon Spider.

Hyeon-woo whispered sharply.

“Got you.”

The moment he uttered those words, Hyeon-woo felt a splitting headache.

This technique wasn’t a skill or anything. It was a technique he could only perform by mobilizing all the skills he had learned from the spider sisters, from strengthening spiderweb control with mana to separating his consciousness.

The limbs of animals alone take up a lot of brain usage.

Among them, human hands, with their complex functions, are especially so. But Hyeon-woo had to divide his consciousness into the senses of having eight hands to control these countless spiderwebs all at once.

If the Lower Moon Spider had been caught just a little later, Hyeon-woo might have fainted in mid-air.

쿵! The Lower Moon Spider, wrapped in spiderwebs, fell to the ground. Hyeon-woo quickly approached to finish her off.

He had to subdue her completely before the Upper Moon Spider interfered and then face her. At that moment, Hyeon-woo felt a sense of unease.

‘Wait, the Lower Moon Spider is caught, but why is her snout so still?’

The moment he felt a chill, Hyeon-woo felt sharp claws touching the back of his neck.

“…To think you were hiding your skills.”

Hearing the Lower Moon Spider’s voice from behind, Hyeon-woo raised both hands.

“You too, right? Why didn’t you tell me about this technique?”

Hyeon-woo kicked the Lower Moon Spider lying on the ground.

But what he touched was just a spiderweb with an empty interior. As the form collapsed, the spiderweb that looked like the Lower Moon Spider scattered and disappeared.

“This isn’t something you can learn. You have to be able to spew spiderwebs from your whole body.”

“Why did you hide your skills?”

The Upper Moon Spider appeared in front of Hyeon-woo and asked. Hyeon-woo shrugged.

“I wanted to learn as much as possible. There aren’t many opportunities to learn something from someone here.”

But the Upper Moon Spider didn’t seem satisfied with the answer.

Hyeon-woo was completely analyzing the spiderweb patterns of both the Upper Moon Spider and the Lower Moon Spider.

To the point where he could even master them through mana.

This wasn’t something that could be done with a day or two of research. It was safe to say that he had been researching it since the day Hyeon-woo first met them.

Could that be understood simply as a desire to learn?

‘If not…’

The Upper Moon Spider tightened her claws. Was it a mistake to get involved with this human?

The Lower Moon Spider was looking at her with anxious eyes.

The Upper Moon Spider’s eyes were filled with complex emotions. Harming Hyeon-woo here would mean severing their relationship.

The Upper Moon Spider tried to understand Hyeon-woo.

“I can’t say I don’t understand.”

At the Upper Moon Spider’s words, the Lower Moon Spider retracted her claws with a relieved expression.

“If you had any intention of harming us, you would have quickly finished off the Lower Moon Spider when she fell to the ground. But I didn’t feel any killing intent from you.”

“Thanks for recognizing that.”

The Upper Moon Spider smiled bitterly at Hyeon-woo’s answer.

It must be an unnecessary worry. She felt that she was wary because Hyeon-woo’s talent was so amazing and awe-inspiring.

She held out her hand.

“You pass. Human. I don’t think there’s any need to teach you anymore.”

Finally, the last process. Hyeon-woo nodded and replied.

“Let’s start planning to enter the Egg Chamber now.”

Now it’s the end.

Hyeon-woo shook the Upper Moon Spider’s hand and recalled the memories of last night.

***

Last night.

Hyeon-woo was pulling on the Lower Moon Spider’s spiderweb that he had salvaged from the ruins.

The spiderweb infused with Hyeon-woo’s mana didn’t break easily and instead repeatedly stretched and contracted according to his will. Even after he let go, it moved according to Hyeon-woo’s will for a short time.

The Lower Moon Spider could do this frequently. If a battle occurred, the most difficult opponent would be the Lower Moon Spider. She had to be eliminated first.

The Upper Moon Spider was also very strong, but if he faced both of them at the same time, Hyeon-woo had no chance at all.

Therefore, analyzing the Lower Moon Spider’s spiderweb was very important. It was a device that could enhance his mobility and impair the opponent’s mobility.

‘I don’t have to kill her.’

Hyeon-woo pondered that.

Then he suddenly realized that something was wrong with the thought he had just had.

He didn’t necessarily have to think grammatically correctly, but the fact that he clearly recognized it was the problem.

It was a thought that was too clear and vivid to be just a passing thought.

Hyeon-woo put down the spiderweb and stared into the air, sighing.

‘Mongstriel.’

[Whispering Star, Mongstriel is watching you.]

‘This time, the reaction is quite fast. You’ve lost your charm.’

‘I thought there was no way you wouldn’t be nosy since it’s your quest. I was wondering when you would show up.’

Hyeon-woo crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Conversations with Mongstriel weren’t enjoyable, but at least they were much more comfortable than the other stars that couldn’t even be communicated with.

‘So, what’s the business?’

‘You tell me first. What are you curious about?’

Mongstriel said cheerfully.

‘Instead, for each answer to your question, I’ll tell you something additional that you didn’t ask.’

One additional answer to something you didn’t ask for each answer to a question. Hyeon-woo couldn’t figure out what Mongstriel’s intention was.

Isn’t it good to know a lot?

‘I don’t know what kind of perverted trick you’re playing… Okay. There were many things I was curious about.’

Hyeon-woo leaned forward and began to ask questions.

‘First. Why did you make me kill your kin with my own hands? Did you want to instill guilt or something?’

‘It’s nothing special. The Widow Queen Spider failed to carry out the orders I gave and was trapped inside the Crystalline Egg Chamber. It’s a common occurrence. Like a young man who goes to pick a flower on a cliff at his lover’s request and tragically dies.’

‘That’s a less interesting reason than I thought.’

‘I constantly want to confirm affection from my lovers. Of course, the price for that is also certain. But now the Widow Queen Spider is losing herself and dying. So, as a former lover, I think it’s my duty to finish her off.’

According to what the human-faced spider sisters had heard, the moment you enter the Egg Chamber, you live a life that is not like living even if you are alive.

If that’s the case, Mongstriel’s words might be right. But since the human-faced spider sisters seemed to want to save her regardless, it seemed that he couldn’t ask Mongstriel for help either.

‘Second. What about Crystalline Transformation? Weren’t you planning to stuff me into Crystalline Transformation as high-quality fertilizer? I thought you were definitely related to Crystalline Transformation.’

‘I like Crystalline Transformation very much. It’s also closely related to my attributes. But I prefer the sight of withering and dying in a vase rather than wildflowers. Of course, I don’t want even Kang Hyeon-woo, you, to become nutrients for Crystalline Transformation. So, those kids were there.’

‘Those kids?’

‘I’m talking about the Moon Spiders. They’re interesting kids. Considering they were simply in charge of assisting the Widow Queen Spider.’

Was he talking about the human-faced spider sisters? It seemed that Mongstriel had arranged that as well.

He had thought that might be the case.

Anyway, seeing that he had left behind the role of helper, it seemed that Mongstriel didn’t intend to make the quest impossible to clear forever.

Then Mongstriel continued to say something he hadn’t asked.

‘Do you know that those kids were actually human? Like the Hungry Ones you met.’

‘What?’

‘They’re not low-level kin like the Hungry Ones you encountered, but they’re still kids who pledged allegiance to me. Well, they might look like simple monsters now. But there wouldn’t be much difference to you.’

It doesn’t matter.

A monster is a monster.

Hyeon-woo had cut, sliced, broken, and even chewed up the Hungry Ones, but he didn’t feel like he had harmed humans at all.

But Mongstriel had no intention of just leaving Hyeon-woo alone.

‘Do you know that those kids had names?’