"You’re actually quite kind, Yugo. You were so good with little Mina, too."
"Eh? That’s just common courtesy, isn’t it? You were doing the same thing, Melt."
"That’s true, but... I just had the feeling that you must treat Fee like that as well."
Following the trail left by the Magic Armor Beasts, Yugo and his companions had discovered a cleverly hidden side-passage and ventured deep inside.
As Melt followed behind Marcos, who had taken the lead, she kept a sharp eye on their surroundings. She couldn't help but reflect on everything Yugo had done and said since they met, her head tilting in genuine curiosity.
(Why was someone this kind ever called the absolute worst piece of trash? I heard he lost his memories and his personality changed, but can someone really do a total one-eighty like that?)
He was someone who didn't get angry even when he was mocked, who treated children and his younger brother with warmth, and who could work himself to the bone for the sake of others. That was the impression Melt had formed of the boy after spending this time with him.
Looking at him now, he didn't seem like someone who deserved to be called a "scumbag" at all. If anything, he fell squarely into the category of a "good person."
So why did everyone around him perceive him as trash?
Since Melt hadn't known the Yugo from before his amnesia, she found it utterly baffling that he had earned the title of the most hated man in Luminous Academy.
Melt didn't believe that amnesia alone could fundamentally rewrite a person's soul to that extent. In her optimistic, trusting way, she eventually reached a conclusion.
(Rumors always grow wings, after all. Yugo comes from a high-ranking family, so he probably invited a lot of resentment.)
Perhaps the Yugo of the past had a bit of a mean streak, but surely it wasn't as atrocious as the stories suggested.
Given his position as the eldest son of a prestigious house, he likely had many enemies. They must have exaggerated his every misdeed until people were accusing him of things he had never even done.
His brother, Fee, adored him so much; to the boy, Yugo must have been an exemplary older brother.
Just as Melt concluded that Yugo couldn't possibly be the scoundrel everyone claimed, the man walking ahead of her raised a hand, signaling for them to halt.
"Melt, looks like we’ve arrived. This is the nest..."
Yugo was staring into a vast, cavernous space.
Sensing from the faint, lingering musk that the Magic Armor Beasts had occupied this area for a long time, Yugo carefully scanned the environment. He soon spotted several figures wrapped in thick webbing a short distance away.
"There! Those are the passengers who were taken, right!?"
"Yeah. It looks like they haven't been eaten yet."
The people were bound from head to toe in silk, looking like prey caught in a spider’s web. While they had sustained some injuries, none appeared to be in critical condition.
The absence of the scent of blood suggested the Magic Armor Beasts hadn't started their meal. Yugo and the others felt a brief surge of relief, but they quickly focused their minds, reminding themselves that they had only confirmed the victims' safety—they hadn't secured it yet.
"What about the Magic Armor Beasts? Do you see any?"
"...I see one for now, over there. Is it a sentry?"
His eyes now fully adjusted to the gloom, Yugo scrutinized the interior of the nest until he found a grotesque silhouette looming in the dark.
The creature possessed a hideous form that defied simple description.
Its face was a repulsive mockery of a human's, dominated by a crooked, prominent nose. Its broad forehead was studded with rows of tiny, glistening red eyes, and sharp, insectile mandibles flickered in its mouth.
Its lower half was unmistakably that of a Goblin, though its frame was significantly larger than the child-sized variants usually found in the wild.
In contrast, its upper body was heavily influenced by spider traits. Two primary arms tipped with razor-sharp claws were supplemented by four additional legs sprouting from its back, heightening the creature's monstrous, alien appearance.
"So instead of a 'Spider-Man,' it’s a Spider Goblin... God, that’s revolting."
The creature was patterned with yellow and black stripes, much like a tiger, yet there was nothing brave or majestic about its presence. It was merely an omen of dread—an eerie, terrifying, and stomach-turning Magic Armor Beast.
Melt seemed startled by the creature’s appearance, but she didn't look like she was about to buckle under pressure.
Knowing what they were up against was a tactical advantage. It was far better to see the enemy now than to be blindsided by such a horror later.
The real question was where the rest of them were hiding.
Judging by the number of tracks leading into the nest, there were likely at least five but fewer than ten. That meant at least four more were lurking somewhere.
"Yugo, do you see any other Arachlaw?"
"No, just that one... Wait, what? Arachlaw? What’s that?"
"It’s the name of that specific Magic Armor Beast. It comes from 'Arachne,' a famous spider monster, and 'Claw,' because of their primary weapons."
Surprised to hear a specific name, Yugo nodded. It made sense; it would be weird to just call every monster by a generic label.
He decided it was a much more fitting name than "Spider-Man"—after all, they were Goblins, not humans, so calling them "men" was technically inaccurate anyway. As Yugo committed the name of the Giant Spider-Goblin hybrid to memory, something unbelievable happened right before his eyes.