What appeared before my eyes was the Almaster estate, unchanged as ever.
A somewhat luxurious mansion with a relatively spacious plot, even in this densely packed town.
I had just left that place a little while ago, yet it stood before me now exactly as it had then.
However, there was one difference—it was unusually quiet.
It was late at night, so that was to be expected, but given Diana’s personality, it wouldn’t have been strange for her to stay up waiting for our return.
And yet, not a single light was on, and an unnatural silence filled the air.
I quickly approached the entrance of the house and knocked on the door.
However, there was no response from within.
That alone told me something was off.
Because, at the very least, Iris, the maid, would have come to greet me.
When I used magic detection again, I found three magical signatures inside the building.
It seemed that Diana and the others were indeed inside.
However, the door was locked.
I needed to find a way to get inside…
The first thing that came to mind was the small window at the back of the building.
It was a tiny window next to the stairs that led from the basement to the first floor—small enough for a child to squeeze through.
I had used it many times to sneak out in the middle of the night to practice magic alone.
The window was poorly fitted, and if you knew the trick, you could open it from outside.
Having decided to enter through there, I quickly made my way to the back of the house.
With practiced ease, I removed the small window and slipped inside without any trouble.
I headed straight to the living room on the first floor, but it was pitch dark, and there was no sign of anyone.
Believing the second floor to be suspicious, I immediately made for the stairs.
But then, I noticed something lying on the ground near my feet.
It was an apple pie.
One that Diana had made, now cruelly crushed.
“……”
A bad feeling solidified into certainty.
Why hadn’t I noticed sooner…?
Damn it…!
I hurriedly ran up the stairs.
My first destination was my parents’ bedroom.
In the darkness, I found a shadowy figure standing there.
Illuminated by the moonlight streaming in through the window, it appeared small and delicate.
“Lux…”
Involuntarily, I called out to his back.
He turned slowly in the dim light.
“Oh, big brother. You’re back earlier than I thought.”
“……”
He spoke with the same casual tone as always.
But I couldn’t bring myself to respond in kind.
“Where are Diana and Iris?”
“Diana? Iris… Oh, you mean mom and the maid. I didn’t recognize the names since you don’t usually call them that.”
“……”
Lux, who usually spoke in a childlike manner, suddenly began speaking fluently, and at that moment, I steeled myself.
“How long do you plan to keep up this act?”
“Oh?”
I could see Lux’s eyes narrow.
He reacted that way because I had cast aside the persona of Nero Almaster and spoken with my true self.
“You’re different from the usual big brother. Who are you?”
“No need for introductions. How about you drop the pretense and reveal your true form?”
“What are you talking about? …I’d like to say that, but I suppose it’s pointless now. Very well, I’ll show you—my true form.”
No sooner had he spoken than his body began to change.
His flesh swelled up, expanding rapidly.
In an instant, he grew to the size of an adult male. Although his body, now covered in darkened skin, wasn’t too different from a human’s, his head was a different matter.
The face of the young Lux split vertically, and from within, many legs, like those of an insect, extended and swallowed up his head.
What emerged was a head that looked like that of a giant spider perched on a human body.
If I had to give it a name, I’d call him Spider-Man.
“How about this? I’ve shown you my true form, just as you wished.”
Lux—or rather, the Spider-Man—moved the fangs around his mouth in a grotesque smile.
I never imagined such a repulsive form lay beneath that boy’s exterior…
His voice had changed from that of a child to that of a young man.
There are monsters that use disguise magic to hide their presence, but it seems there are also those who can transform themselves completely into human forms.
Maybe that’s why I couldn’t detect him—because he was mimicking a human’s appearance.
Still, that form… while it shares a resemblance to insects, it’s quite different from the more monstrous creatures I’ve encountered before.
Except for the head, it resembles a human-like bipedal creature.
Is he also a monster?
Could this be what Kurt was talking about—?
“A demon…?”
The bizarre appearance made me mutter that almost reflexively.
The Spider-Man chuckled softly.
“That’s a flattering guess, but no. I’m just an ordinary monster, unlike the true demons.”
“……”
Not a demon?
And he even referred to the demons with respect as “the true demons.”
That means he ranks below them.
But unlike the giant centipede, he possesses the intelligence to speak fluently.
That likely places him in the upper middle ranks, but below a demon.
Upper-class monsters are considered to be at the level of the Sixth Magic Horn.
In terms of rank, he might be lower, but as Kurt said, it’s dangerous to rely solely on rankings.
“Still, it’s a shame. If I’d taken things slowly and carefully, savoring my meal bit by bit, I wouldn’t have had to be so flashy. But now it’s all ruined.”
“So, it was you after all.”
I couldn’t see his expression clearly with that spider head, but it felt like he was sneering at me.
“Quite a clever trick, don’t you think? Disguising myself as a human child and infiltrating your midst. After that, I could eat as much as I liked. That is, until you caught on.”
Spider-Man tilted his head and glared at me.
“How did you manage to see through my disguise?”
“Do you really think I’d just tell you that?”
I answered his question with a question.
Telling him how I saw through it would gain me nothing and only benefit the monsters, so of course I wouldn’t.
In reality, I began to suspect Lux’s identity due to a very small detail.
When I first met him after he woke up, we shook hands.
At that time, I felt an unnatural coldness in his hand that gave me a sense of unease.
It was the exact same sensation I felt when I touched the corpse of the giant centipede.
That spine-chilling cold… once I realized it was a trait specific to monsters, Lux’s face was the first to come to mind.
But right now, the reason didn’t matter.
“More importantly, where are the other two?”
“The other two? Oh, that. They’re right over there.”
“……!”
“If I told you I already ate them, what would you do?”
“……”
Spider-Man seemed to be enjoying my reaction.
“Oh, come on, don’t look so scared. No need to panic—they’re right here, you see?”
He directed his gaze upward toward the ceiling.
However, it was too dark to see clearly.
“Let me shed some light on things.”
Spider-Man brought his index finger to his mouth and spat out thread, wrapping it around his fingertip.
Then, he started clacking his fangs together.
Each time, sparks flew from his fangs, like a flint.
The thread caught fire immediately, creating a small flame.
As he held it up like a torch, the ceiling came into view.
“Wh-What is this…?”
The ceiling was covered with a thick layer of spider silk, like cotton spread across the entire surface.
Within that mass of thick webbing, two large cocoons were suspended.
Inside each cocoon, a human face could be seen.
They were Diana and Iris.
