Dark Dragon: The Summoned Hero Is A Villain

"Anything up ahead?" Arlo drawled, the sound travelling far in the quiet of the tunnels.

The entire group turned to look at him with frowns on their faces.

He blinked at them, before raising both hands in apology.

"Sorry." He whispered with a grin. "I couldn't resist."

Galahad sent Leo a pointed look as if saying "I told you so" before focusing back on the path before them.

Leo glared at both Noah and Arlo before turning to face forward again.

Noah smiled at it all, before gripping his sword tighter, focusing on what they were about to do.

He shot Arlo a look, and his friend nodded to say he wouldn't do it again.

This wasn't the time to be joking or playing pranks.

A few minutes ago, they'd walked down the hallway, and little by little, the walls of the monolith had become less smooth and more jagged, transitioning smoothly to a network of tunnels.

Luckily, the walls still glowed. Apparently, that was a function of all monoliths.

From what Noah had read about the mysterious structures, there were only two ways to leave a monolith.

The first was for people who gave up halfway. They can retrace their steps and return back to the entrance, walking out with their own two legs.

The second and most dangerous was a crystal that appeared in whatever chamber was holding the boss of the monolith.

The mages of Camelot were not sure if the monsters were actual bosses, but it was the same in all the monoliths they faced.

Each monolith had a chamber in the middle of the network of tunnels, where a stronger beast hibernated.

When killed, a crystal would appear that when touched, would teleport the mages back outside the monolith.

And when the mages were gone, the Abyss would regurgitate another monster to take the place of the boss.

Sometimes it would be the same species as the former boss monster, and other times, it would be a surprise.

The plan today was for their group to defeat as many monsters as possible, take as many resources as they could, and defeat the boss monster.

Noah glanced behind him, making sure nothing had appeared there, while they were focused on where they were going.

Leo and Galahad believed that everything they'd face would be before them, as they had not encountered any branches in the tunnels yet, but Noah kept an eye out, just in case.

At the front of the group, Cal and Bronn led the way with their shields before them, ready to provide cover as they faced whatever was coming.

They were both FF-rank, but as they would only partake in the defense, that was alright.

Following behind them were the actual stars of the show. Leo and Galahad.

Both were F-rank, and were the main firepower. They would take care of whatever Cal and Bronn held at bay.

And bringing up the rear was Noah and Arlo.

They were considered dead weight by the rest of them, but Noah didn't mind. There would be numerous opportunities to prove otherwise.

"Halt!" Cal whispered, bringing Noah's mind back to the present. "I think there's something up ahead."

They froze where they stood, everyone straining to hear what was coming.

At first, there was silence. Then, they heard it. The soft skittering of stone falling.

"Monsters." Galahad growled, and everyone was instantly alert.

Everybody raised their weapons as the skittering grew louder.

Then, they appeared.

Dozens of spiders the size of a man's head poured out from the shadows just ahead of them, their many legs tapping the stone in a maddening rhythm.

Their bulbous bodies gleamed under the bioluminescent glow, and their eyes shimmered with a sickly green light.

"Spiders!" Leo hissed, sword rising.

Before anyone could react, the spiders opened their mandibles and fired.

Snap!

The webs shot out like bullets, threads compressed so tightly they tore through the air with a whistle. One slammed into the tunnel wall, embedding itself with a solid thunk, cracking the stone.

"Careful!" Arlo shouted. "Those things can kill in one shot!"

Cal and Bronn raised their shields instantly, bracing. The next volley struck the shields with explosive force, making both boys stagger back a step.

"Stay behind them!" Leo barked, stepping forward.

Galahad was already moving. His sword lit with a faint sheen of mana, and he swept it across the tunnel wall, slicing through two of the spiders as they scurried sideways.

The creatures moved fast, clambering up the walls and ceiling, spreading out to flank them from every direction.

Cal took a web to the shield that nearly knocked it out of his hand. Bronn snarled, planting his feet, eyes scanning the ceiling.

Noah ducked as another shot zipped past his ear, smashing into the wall behind him.

He didn't have a clean line of fire, and the spiders weren't close enough for him to attack one without risking hitting his companions.

A screech came from above.

One of the spiders had nearly reached them, scampering down from the ceiling.

Thwip!

An arrow caught it mid-leap, pinning it to the stone with a sickening crunch. Arlo lowered his bow with a grin.

"Thought I'd try to contribute." He muttered.

Leo stabbed forward, skewering a spider that darted too close to Cal's side. Another nearly lunged for Bronn's neck, but Galahad spun and sliced it in half.

The rest of the spiders hesitated.

Maybe they recognized the danger now. Or maybe their instincts told them they'd found predators instead of prey.

Either way, they began to retreat, scuttling back into the dark cracks of the tunnel.

Everyone watched, holding their breath, and in a few seconds, silence filled the tunnel yet again.

Cal lowered his shield, panting.

Bronn wiped a smear of guts from his shoulder. Arlo retrieved his arrow, grimacing at the goo stuck to it.

"Those things shot webs like bullets." Noah muttered.

Leo nodded, flicking blood off his blade. "Piercing webs. They're called Bullet Spiders. These are the young ones, probably just two weeks old."

"Luckily, they're E-rank monsters, so we should be able to take care of them."

"See?" Leo grinned. "With all of us working together, taking out this E-rank monolith should be easy work."