At first, nothing but the ceaseless wind swept across the empty fields.
But Yuri soon sensed an unusual presence rapidly gathering. It was invisible and intangible, yet its powerful sense of presence drew everyone's attention—as if some enormous creature, unseen by the naked eye, had slowly approached them. The colossal creature concealed its form, but deep breathing and an instinctive oppressive aura emanated from all directions.
Everyone widened their eyes in tension and confusion. Semler instinctively summoned his Battle Staff, Wendy's brow immediately furrowed, and Magnan's figure abruptly emerged from the air. Before he could greet Yuri and the others in his booming voice, he had already stared wide-eyed in Gawain's direction—
A vague, translucent outline had appeared before Gawain and rapidly solidified into a physical form the next second.
It was a gigantic white spider.
She lay quietly upon the flat grassland, wrapped in a nearly transparent white cocoon of light. Grass blades stirred by the wind swayed along the cocoon's edge, surging as though licking at it. The instant the white spider appeared, Magnan cried out, "By all my ancestors! Mind Stor—"
Gawain casually pointed in Magnan's direction. "Shut up."
A massive torrent of chaotic thoughts instantly slammed into Magnan's mind. Before he could finish saying "Mind Storm," he exploded on the spot into a brilliant firework display—though two seconds later, he reformed and reappeared, immediately shut his mouth, and stood obediently where he was. By the looks of it, he would not be capable of another Mind Storm anytime soon.
Gawain had fought alongside Magnan before, after all. He had come prepared.
This sudden little incident also jolted everyone present awake. After a brief moment of shock and panic, Yuri was the first to regain his composure. He stared warily at the spider within the cocoon of