novelODS Chapter 193: The Moss Spiders Caught a Woman
Chapter 193: The Moss Spiders Caught a Woman
Dorian came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the corridor.
A huge grin spread across his face.
"They got her."
Max raised an eyebrow.
"That fast?"
"Of course."
The elf pointed ahead.
"They already found someone."
Without wasting any time, the two of them started running.
They turned one corner.
Then another.
And finally arrived at a small open chamber within the Mirror Dimension.
What they found there left them confused.
In the middle of the floor was a massive bush-like shape with a human silhouette.
Branches.
Roots.
Leaves.
Moss.
Everything intertwined into a sort of plant cocoon that twisted weakly.
Max blinked.
"Your moss spiders did that?"
"Yep."
Dorian smiled proudly.
"Professional work."
Several tiny moss spiders crawled over the vegetal prison.
The elf crouched down.
"Good job, little ones."
The spiders seemed to react to his voice.
Then they obediently returned to him.
Dorian picked them up one by one.
And placed them back inside the jar.
Max watched the scene.
"Honestly..."
"Yeah?"
"That was incredibly fast."
Dorian secured the jar to his belt.
"My spiders are efficient."
He puffed out his chest proudly.
"After all, I raised them myself."
"That explains how they managed to chase down a woman so quickly."
"Thank you."
"That wasn’t a compliment either."
"I know."
Dorian approached the humanoid bush.
He pulled a small scalpel from his bag.
Max looked at the tool.
"Why do you always carry a scalpel around?"
"I’m a healer."
"That makes sense."
"And it looks elegant."
"That no longer makes sense."
Dorian ignored the comment.
He carefully began cutting through some of the roots.
The plant prison shifted.
The trapped person tried to struggle.
"Hold still."
Dorian said.
"I don’t want to hurt you."
The roots slowly began to give way.
Long legs appeared first.
Covered in elegant clothing.
Max immediately recognized the outfit.
It was identical to the clothing worn by the drow sisters.
Dorian continued cutting.
"Sorry for touching your thighs."
The trapped figure made a muffled sound.
"But if you keep moving, I might accidentally hurt you."
"Can you hurry up?"
Max asked.
Dorian sighed.
"You have very little patience."
"Because we’re trapped in a Mirror Dimension full of monsters."
"Details."
The elf continued working.
He cut more roots.
More branches.
And little by little, he began freeing the woman’s torso.
Then he smiled.
"I knew it."
Max raised an eyebrow.
"Knew what?"
Dorian pointed proudly.
"It’s Thara."
Max blinked.
"How the hell do you know that?"
"It’s obvious."
"Obvious?"
"Yes."
Dorian crossed his arms.
"I’d recognize those breasts anywhere."
The hit came immediately.
Smack!
Max bonked him on the head.
"You creep!"
"Ow!"
Dorian rubbed his forehead.
"It was a scientific observation!"
"Sure it was."
The trapped woman twisted again.
Trying to free herself.
Max crouched in front of her.
"Stop moving."
The drow glared at him from behind the roots.
"We already caught you."
The woman tried to say something.
But her mouth was partially covered.
"We’re not letting you escape."
Dorian stepped closer again.
"I should uncover her face, though."
"Why?"
"So she can breathe more easily."
Max sighed.
"Do whatever you want with her."
Then he pointed toward the corridors.
"But don’t let her out."
Dorian nodded.
"Relax."
Max started looking around.
"We should find Seraphine and Don."
"I agree."
"And get out of this damned Mirror Dimension."
Dorian continued cutting roots.
There were fewer and fewer left.
The woman looked exhausted.
And barely moved anymore.
Her face was almost completely uncovered.
Only a few branches remained around her head.
Then...
They heard a woman’s scream.
Distant.
It echoed throughout the corridor.
Max instantly turned.
"Did you hear that?"
Dorian froze.
The scream vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Max frowned.
"That wasn’t Seraphine."
Silence.
"And I don’t think it was Don either, even if he screams like a woman."
Silence.
Max expected a joke.
A laugh.
Some ridiculous comment.
But nothing came.
That made him turn around.
"Dorian."
The elf remained completely still.
"Dorian."
Nothing.
"Are you okay?"
Finally, Dorian spoke.
His voice sounded strange.
Surprised.
"That can’t be right."
Max felt a chill run down his spine.
"What is it?"
The elf didn’t answer.
He simply pointed.
Max looked down.
And finally saw the woman’s face.
The last roots had been cut away.
Her mouth was still partially covered by moss.
But the rest of her face was perfectly visible.
Violet hair.
Pointed ears.
Dark gray skin.
And a pair of small oval glasses resting on her nose.
Max froze.
"What...?"
The trapped woman was Thara.
Definitely Thara.
There was no doubt.
The glasses.
The hair.
The arrogant expression.
Everything matched.
Then something clicked in Max’s mind.
Slowly.
Like a puzzle piece falling into place.
He slipped a hand into his pocket.
And pulled out the broken glasses they had found earlier.
He examined them.
Round.
Large.
Very different.
Then he looked back at Thara.
The glasses she was wearing were small.
Oval.
Completely different.
Max felt his blood run cold.
Because that could only mean one thing.
The broken glasses weren’t Thara’s.
And if they weren’t Thara’s...
Then they belonged to Vesper.
Dorian seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
"Max..."
"I know."
"That means..."
"Yeah."
The two of them fell silent.
The trapped drow looked at them in confusion.
Unable to understand what was happening.
But Max wasn’t looking at Thara anymore.
He was thinking about Vesper.
The woman who had supposedly come to the castle looking for answers.
The woman who had been waiting for them in Thara’s room.
The woman who had vanished without a trace.
And the hooded figure they had been chasing throughout the entire Mirror Dimension.
A figure who had just lost a pair of round glasses.
Exactly like the ones he held in his hand.
Max clenched his teeth.
’I can’t believe this is actually happening.’
But the more he thought about it...
The more sense it made.
Then the woman’s scream echoed again.
Much closer this time.
And both Max and Dorian lifted their heads simultaneously.
Because for the first time since entering that Mirror Dimension...
They both had exactly the same thought.
’What if the person we’ve been chasing this whole time wasn’t Thara...?’
’What if it was Vesper?’