8 Chapter 8: We Have Monster Hunter At Home. The Monster Hunter At Home:

'Back is itchy. My back is itchy.'

The ability to know someone's desires.

Rhys wasn't a fool, he knows that in the hands of a more intelligent person, this kind of ability would be one of the most overpowered skills to have. But why, why would the heavens give someone who lived a life of solitude like Rhys this kind of ability?

But then again, no matter how intelligent one is; a plan usually shatters in the face of overwhelming strength—and that is exactly what the arachne means for Rhys right now.

He wanted to try and see what would happen if he filled up the 5 hearts and turned them all red. He got lucky earlier when the arachne's neck was itching because he was lifted in the air.

But now, her back is itching. Her legs were still tapping from Rhys's… magic touch, and as she was even backing away, it gave Rhys ample time and space to think everything through.

Should he just run away? No, that was absolutely not an option.

So, what was Rhys even supposed to do… climb on her? Or at this point, it. But how exactly was he going to do that, and while his… thing was fully standing for some reason.

He had to climb on the arachne's spider parts. And now that his eyes were fully adjusted to the dim lights of the cave, Rhys could clearly see the little strands of… something sticking out of her spear-like legs—almost like a clear contrast of her human part's flawless skin.

"Ha…"

And very soon, as Rhys wasted his time overthinking again, the arachne seemed to have recovered from its… brief ecstasy. Her eyes, sharp eyebrows, immediately furrowing as she looked at Rhys with slight annoyance.

"..." Was she annoyed that Rhys stopped scratching her, or was she annoyed that her food was playing with her?

"Human, you—"

"!!!" And as soon as the arachne's sharp legs once again approached Rhys, he finally decided to close his mind off of anything else and just do it.

Although Rhys no longer wanted to die because of his newfound abilities, he was still ready for death. After all, if he couldn't survive here, how would he expect to survive out there?

The Underworld and the Surface—there was no difference for Rhys. All of them are vultures wanting to eat him.

And so, with reckless abandon, Rhys just lifted himself up from the frosty ground—rushing straight back to the arachne. This caused the arachne to flinch for some reason, but Rhys didn't really notice it as he was already too focused on his goal.

He leaped into the air, grabbing the arachne's arm as he pulled himself further up. The blood of Eros might not have given him increased strength, but his body was already in peak human form—at the very least, right now, Rhys could finally say his workouts were worth something.

Rhys then kicked in the air, pushing himself right at the back of the arachne.

"!!!"

The arachne didn't seem to like someone climbing on top of her spider parts, as her legs quickly started jittering and moving all over the place like a wild horse, causing Rhys to almost topple back to the ground. He couldn't even see properly anymore as nausea started filling his head. Thankfully for him, however, he had something to latch onto—the arachne's long black hair.

"Hun!" The arachne lightly screeched as Rhys pulled on her hair. She swung her arm back, but Rhys was able to avoid it even in the chaos as he was only focused on one thing.

Rhys tightened his grip on the arachne's hair, cementing his footing like a sailor as he looked at her bare back. And with a deep breath, he pulled back his free hand, opening it like an eagle's talons… before swinging it at her surprisingly smooth, and pale back.

"Hn…!"

And like a painter in front of a blank canvas, Rhys started brushing the tip of his nails; gently, violently… continuously.

"Human… human!" The arachne once again started flailing around; her 8 legs, once again violently tapping the ground as her entire body started shivering.

"Please… don't move too much," Rhys whispered in his lethargically soothing voice. And as soon as the warmth of his breaths reached the arachne's back, the arachne's shoulders rose up.

"Uhn!" And with that loud moan escaping her lips, another one of the gray hearts floating above her head turned red.

"Hey!" Rhys could not help but grit his teeth as the arachne's entire upper body suddenly leaned forward, once again almost throwing him down. Rhys violently tugged on the arachne's hair so as to not fall, pulling her head back.

"That… human… it feels good."

And out of Rhys's expectations, two hearts just turned red—leaving only one left.

And then, all of a sudden, the arachne's legs just lost their strength—causing a slight rumble to reverberate in the air as her spider body dropped to the ground.

It wasn't only her legs that lost strength, however, as her human body also dropped to the ground, leaving no choice but for Rhys to fall and roll on the ground as she did so.

"Ha…"

The arachne's breaths whispered in the air as she tried to lift herself up with her hands. The cobwebs on the ground, sticking to her bosoms and stretching out like white, and slightly wet strings—some of it, hanging from her now bulging pink teats.

"..." Rhys then very carefully backed away as they looked each other in the eyes; he raised one of his palms and faced it toward the arachne, showing that he was completely harmless… which he is.

The arachne looked at his hand, before turning back to look Rhys in the eyes. And then, very slowly, another smile crawled on the arachne's face.

"As… expected of Eros's descendant," she then said, "Always a welcome face amidst all the violence."

"..." Is it just him, or is this arachne getting more and more fluent with her words?

"So…" And then, very slowly, the arachne raised one of her hands; her fingers, trailing on her belly as it crawled its way up to her bosoms. And then, with a raised eyebrow, the arachne very gently caressed her breast, before lifting one of it up and looking at Rhys.

"...What else are you going to show me?"

"Wh—"

'Lick it.'

"..." Rhys could really only bat his eyes a couple of times as another voice entered his head. Did… he hear that right?

'Lick my teat.'

"...Oh."

Yes, he heard that right.