The House of Spiders: The Middle Nursefather Outis's Story

Buddy...?

Buddy, is that you? It's you, right?

Yes, she is. Have you no eyes? Now be silent; your braggadocio is as distracting as ever.

... She has reached the end of her homeward journey.

Hah. You've got some fuckin' nerve, coming home after that shit you pulled when you left -

... The hell? You let some fools beat your ass out there? Why're you so bloodied up?

And who the fuck is that brat?

Who dared to hurt our -

Has the collaborator been evacuated?

Yes. Moved to a separate location, as planned.

Researchers of the LCE Department recalled the request relayed by the "collaborator."

No need to try to kill the intruders - only slow them down as much as possible. Every second helps.

Engaging the intruders directly, even with E.G.O gear, proved to be mostly ineffective.

Some managed to take advantage of the uniqueness inherent in certain E.G.O gears to catch the intruders off guard and buy some time, but most did not fare so well.

Embers status?

Two intruders have infiltrated the hallway. That makes it five targets.

So, the LCE Department decided to adopt certain methodologies employed by another department...

... and release the Abnormalities, the monsters that were born of humanity.

Dang, it suddenly got hella hot in here... What the heck is that...?

Ah, and here I was, wondering when she'd grown so fond of playing tag after hating it all her life.

Looks like she'd prepared a fun little toy for me to play with.

A great embered moth blocks the Nursefather's way, its sweeping wings fluttering ponderously in the air.

The room soon fills with heat haze, tongues of flame licking through the hallway corner-to-corner with each beating of its wings.

Too bad...

Because this one's not as bad as that monster from back when.

My lil' sis, you've not been to the Ruins before, have you?

I have read of it a few times in the Book, but never have I set foot in it until today.

... And that creature... I've not seen anything like it.

Hehe, you ain't scared, are ya?

... Of course not.

A giant of lava... I can see now how it could have killed a Great Brother of ages past.

Indeed, this is a most fitting foe to be given a Labor designation from the Middle...

Hah! But now that we three siblings are here, not even such a monstrous creature will be spared from the Middle's Vengeance.

Daaaaamn, girl! That's what I'm talkin' about!

Like I always say, kid's got a bright future ahead of her.

Then shall we get right to -

Junior, we're not in any rush. Let's take a slow look around the place before we get down to business - we're in the Ruins for cryin' out loud!

Great Brother, Great Sister... You must both understand how much our family suffers when your absence becomes... prolonged.

Don't worry about 'em, kiddo. That's what family is. They can afford to make a little sacrifice if it's for one of us, ain't that right?

…….

Great Brother. I, Outis, shall etch your words to my heart.

Still, I think you deserve a little credit.

Haven't had a plaything this hot in a... hot minute!!

The Nursefather's purple tattoos begin to emit light like they've caught on fire,

and the beastly foot formed by layers upon layers of tattoos crushes the weakened ground that had already partially melted from the heat.

With a thoom, she takes off into the wall of fire, not searching for a passage through the blaze...

... but the center of it, where fire burns the hottest,

reaching out for the incandescent, crimson wings.

M-Mama!?

Remember, Kiddo?

You see these enemies collecting stacks of something...

... that's the first thing you've got to go for!!

*sigh* So, what now?

We all saw the sorry state my Ticket's in.

Hm. Does this mean that Project House of Spiders has essentially fallen through?

Now's hardly the time to worry about that.

We have to avenge her. Look at what they've done to my buddy. If we don't settle the score -

Yeah, and how are ya gonna pull that off, huh?

What, gonna make enemies out of all five Fingers at once? Gimme a fuckin' break.

Stop. Please take this inane contention elsewhere. I have enough distractions as is.

…….

Nothing but... a delayed ending to a tale.

The plan remains unchanged.

Though... perhaps this calls for a reinvention of certain parenting techniques.

I dunno what you cowards are yapping away about behind that monster, but...

Hey, whaddaya think? Mama's badass, isn't she?

... The intruder has destroyed Entity O-01-20-07's Wings.

I thought releasing the Abnormalities from containment could buy enough time for the collaborator, but...

... I'm not so certain now.

Ah, Kiddo! Don't activate those thermal blades for this one.

It's a fire monster, huh? It's probably immune to heat.

Huh... Yeah, Burn debuff generally doesn't stick on fire-type enemies, even in those games we played together.

Hmm, then should I give 'em a good kick like Mama?

Heh, Kiddo, if you want to dish out as much damage as Mama does... you're gonna need some more leg augmentations and tattoos.

Ugh, fine... Then I'll just try out some moves I saw in the mag today.

Hmm.

Appreciate the toy, but it's getting a bit old.

Well, then...

Well, then...

As the eldest brother, I claim this sword as mine!

.......

Uh-huh. Sure. It's not like there's anyone else who can wield that thing.

We don't have the aptitude for it, lil' Sis here and I.

Anyways, put that back. We can pick up that sword on our way back.

Just one look at that monster tells me fire won't do jack.

... Ah, yeah. Guess we gotta handle the junior Sister's Labor first.

So, Sister. Tell me about that monster's crimes.

It has brought harm to a Great Brother of the Middle. And it goes without reading, but that is a crime punishable by...

... complete and immediate execution.

Ha ha... There it is.

I'll admit, I had fun. Flaming moth monster, bunch of bookish nerds wearing what appear to be bizarre Workshop gears...

But that's barely an appetizer. Tell you what, I was just about to be sorely disappointed with this paltry spectacle...

... but looks like you've got more up your sleeve. So, that man next to you is supposed to be your ticket out of this, huh?

... As the terms of our contract state, I am to protect you from that individual, correct?

Very well. Two officers of a Finger... This should be manageable.

Ooh... Yooooooo!!!

Mama! I recognize that dude! I saw him in the "Fixer of the Year Nominees" section in the Fixer Insights mag!

He's a Section 1 Fixer of the Zwei Association... Known to have a squeaky-clean record in single-client bodyguarding missions.

That so?

Sounds like... I've finally found someone who'll be worth unboxing for.

Gah... Over here, Junior!

Great Bro's got a good grip on this shithead! Now's your chance, guys!

The Junior's mind raced.

This is an opening, but striking the monster's lava exterior does next to nothing.

She has to go for its core, the origin of the flame that burns so hot that it feels just about ready to devour the whole world...

... But as things are now, she can't get a good angle on it.

At least not by herself.

Let us attack in tandem, Sister!

Urgh... Sorry, Junior, but I'm all outta gas - can't take so much as a single step right now.

Looks like... Looks like it's up to you.

But how - ah.

The "Junior" of past saw it then.

Adjust the arc of her kick by just a hair...

... and she could land a hit on the monster's core. It's just that... it'd also carve a path straight through the Great Brother's heart.

Hah...

And in that moment...

Indeed, in that very moment, a realization - a certitude - struck the Junior like a flash of lightning.

Haha! I see now! To think our Great Brother himself would go that far for my sake...!

Yes - what else could it have meant? The Great Brother, moved by boundless fraternal devotion, had chosen to sacrifice himself to become the very stepping stone by which his Junior would shatter the monster's core!

Hey, Kiddo, I'm, uh, starting to lose my grip here. Mind wrappin' this up quick?

Of course, Brother! Your directive will be carried out to the T, right this instant.

Right. Hurry up and -

Objectively speaking, there was no need to destroy the core right that instant.

After all, exhaustion was beginning to become apparent in the monster after the trio's relentless assault. And the Junior had no doubt that her strong Brother still had more in him to give.

As for the Great Sister, she had only overdrawn the power of her tattoos in a moment of urgency. Nothing someone of her caliber couldn't manage - given a little time, she'd be back on her feet.

But the Junior disregarded that line of thinking.

Envy.

Jealousy.

The Junior poured the full force of her tattoos into her leg, which soon began to emit a rippling, shimmering purple glow.

And in her mind, in her eyes, a singular image burned hotter than lava: the sight of the Great Brother and his triumphant laughter as he claimed the sword as his own.

W-wait, Junior... Your kick's goin' straight for - !

Huh...?

Kiddo...? Why...?

Hmm?

Oh, but Brother, you did say...

... that family can afford to make a little sacrifice if it's for one of them.

Haha...

Hahahaha!

Y-you... What have you done...?!

Heh...

Sis... Don't tell me you're gonna - Listen, why don't you just put that down so we can -

Gah...!

The Great Sister, who was desperately scratching something into her Book, slumped to the ground right where she stood.

Silence fell upon the Ruins. The only sound that could be heard was the soft turning of pages.

A moment later, the Junior let out a breath of relief.

Every grudge inscribed in a Book of Vengeance is shared across every other one.

Put another way, an unrecorded grudge is no grudge at all.

Although one of the lines the Great Sister had jotted down - the situation is not dire - clung to the back of her mind, the Junior decided not to give it too much thought.

You aided me on my Pilgrimage... and even yielded this super-sick sword of legend.

I must say, dearest Great Siblings of mine... you're just the best! Hahaha!

As though proving the Apprentice's magazine trivia true, the Zwei Fixer, who was said to never have failed a single-client bodyguarding mission,

held firm against the Nursefather, a Great Sister of the Middle.

Meanwhile, with each passing minute, the Nursefather's unease gnawed deeper.

Her search for a certain someone had led her to storm this Research Facility in an unknown location, but she could not be stalled here forever,

because she had to reach the designated Backdoor before the appointed time.

Perhaps the pressure of time was what spurred her sword,

as her movements began to show signs of frustration.

As if on cue, however, the Apprentice of the House of Spiders somehow managed to spot an opening in the Fixer's guard and launched herself to tie the opponent's feet.

Ngh...!

Teehee. Whatchagonna do about it now, huh?

I read up about that gimmick in a mag. That shield needs refueling every 10 blocks, right?

How did you -

Mama! Now!

.......

... Good girl.

Mama...?

Remember, Kiddo?

Lævateinn.

In the blink of an eye, the smoldering sword slashed through the Apprentice's flesh and bones, melting and cleaving through everything it touched...

Until it reached the Fixer's head and cut it off.

There wasn't a flicker of hesitation in the trajectory of the attack.

From the start, the Nursefather had never considered half-measures. Taking an arm or a leg, after all, doesn't always eliminate a threat.

Adjust the arc of the sword by just a hair... to decapitate the opponent with 100% certainty.

We're family. A little sacrifice ain't a thing between us.

The Nursefather wholeheartedly believed it - that no sacrifice is too great if it's for one's family.

What were the lives of her Apprentice and her daughter before that truth?

…….

All right. And that leaves just you.

A once-white ribbon flutters to the ground, fire eating away at its edges until it becomes charred black.

You. It's your fault that my buddy fell sick. You made our own daughter hate us!

It all began because you were born...

Because you came to the House of Spiders.

Isn't that right?

Yoshihide!!!

I picked up the charred ribbon and tucked it against my chest.

These Apprentices had been raised and nurtured to replace me - or perhaps to face me.

But I had no sympathy left in me to spare for them. I spent it all feeling sorry about my own life wasted as a mere replacement for my mom.

There was no room left in me for "pity."

You... and the other Nursefathers... You still don't understand what Mom truly cherished.

... No. You're the one who doesn't know the first thing about my daughter! My buddy and I lived together under this roof for decades longer!

I don't know about her other Nursefathers, but my parental love for my daughter? It has always been completely earnest.

All you have to do is submit quietly and be completed. That'll make us truly happy - both us Nursefathers and my precious daughter!

You... You really think that's what Mom wants?

What a stupid question.

.......

It's all grandstanding, isn't it. You don't even know what you're saying... What you're robbing us of.

I've heard enough.

... And I'll destroy everything.

That Relic, those chains, the juvenile collection of toys, your life...

I will find every last one of the things you hold dear and destroy them.

Hah! Bring it on!

I'll be damned if I let you take even a single scrap from me!