"Woof, woof, woof!"
A puppy suddenly darted out from behind them, barking. It bravely stared down the Spider Monster before it and howled loudly. Yet the vicious Spider Monster treated the puppy as a formidable enemy. On the surface, this was only an ordinary puppy and should have been no match for it, but the monster raised its body warily and fixed its gaze on the little dog.
As though it faced not a puppy, but some terrifying beast.
"Woof, woof-woof!"
Betty the Puppy stared at the enormous Spider Monster and barked loudly, lowering its body into a stance ready to attack at any moment.
The two faced off for an instant. Then the Spider Monster struck first!
It raised its bladelike front claws and slashed down at the puppy!
Whoosh!
The gleaming claw blurred as it slashed toward the puppy at a speed an ordinary person could barely react to. Yet the instant the Spider Monster moved, the puppy seemed to anticipate the attack. It darted sideways and dodged the nearly fatal blow.
At the same time, it pushed off the ground with its hind legs, shot forward like an arrow, and slammed headfirst into the Spider Monster!
Normally, being struck by a puppy of ordinary size should have meant little to such a towering Spider Monster. But the instant the puppy hit it, the monster wailed and flew backward, skidding a considerable distance across the floor before coming to a stop.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded, and another fire support squad rushed inside.
"Bluebird, are you all right? What happened-"
"Forget about us! Kill that monster first!"
Seeing their comrades arrive, the Bluebird Squad's captain hurriedly shouted, then added a warning.
"Watch out for the webs it spits!"
At first, he had thought these were