The Garbage Collector Who Stumbled Upon Mythical Weapons! - Chapter 27
“Hey! Hurry up and put me down! The poison is affecting you, right!? I can cure poison!!”
Celesti had noticed the poison filling the cave.
She could neutralize poison with magic, but there was a bigger problem. Looking up at the thread suspending her, she saw that the ceiling it was attached to was beginning to crumble.
If things stayed like this, she would fall. Desperate for help, Celesti pleaded with Garm and the others.
“Please, hurry—!!”
Garm, watching from below, considered the situation.
—Poison is definitely a hassle. With Celesti’s power, the battle would turn in our favor.
The problem is whether this thing will let us go that easily—
Garm shifted his gaze to the giant spider.
But the spider was gone.
“Huh?”
A brief moment of distraction. The instant Garm took his eyes off it, the spider had moved. It had circled around to the side of Clay and Garm, now right in front of their noses.
“W-What!?”
Clay was shocked by the spider’s speed. He never imagined that something this big could be faster than a small spider.
The spider raised its front legs. Sharp as pickaxes, they came down mercilessly toward Clay. He quickly raised his shield to defend himself.
If he took the hit directly, he wouldn’t survive. But—there was no impact.
Instead, the sound of metal clashing echoed.
“What…?”
Peeking out from behind his shield, Clay saw Garm blocking the spider’s leg with his axe.
“You actually came this close… Don’t get cocky!!”
With a powerful swing, Garm knocked the spider’s leg aside. As the spider staggered, he stepped forward and slashed with his axe.
The giant spider’s front leg was severed, flying through the air.
“GIIIIIIII!!”
The spider let out a strange screech for the first time and immediately leaped away from Garm.
Garm tried to pursue it, but his knees buckled, and he couldn’t move forward.
—Ugh… Is this the poison’s effect!? I can’t put any strength into my legs.
With Garm unable to advance, the giant spider maintained its distance, staying on guard. It was ready to unleash poison mist or magic at any moment.
“Garm, are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah… but the poison is getting to me. My body is going numb.”
Clay furrowed his brows. Without Garm, they had no chance against the spider.
If Garm was paralyzed by the poison, the battle would be over. They needed Celesti’s detoxifying magic at any cost.
“Go, Garm. I’ll hold this thing off.”
“No, but…”
“I won’t last long, but I can manage for a little while. I’ve been a shield warrior for years. Don’t underestimate me!”
Garm hesitated for a moment but decided to trust Clay.
“Got it! I’ll go save Celesti. Keep the spider’s attention on you for a bit.”
“Yeah, I’ll try. Now go!”
Clay drew his sword and banged his shield loudly to attract the spider’s attention.
“Hey, hey! I was caught off guard earlier, but I won’t make the same mistake twice!!”
The giant spider’s focus shifted slightly. Seeing this, Garm leaped into the air and used “Aerial Step” to head toward Celesti.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the ceiling. Celesti looked stunned.
She had asked for help, but she never expected Garm to jump straight to her. Now face-to-face, she was speechless.
“Alright!”
Garm grabbed the thread wrapped around Celesti’s legs and ripped it from the ceiling.
As the rocks crumbled around them, he held her in his arms and landed safely on the ground.
“Are you okay, Celesti?”
“I-I’m fine… Th-Thank you.”
Celesti blushed as she thanked him. Amused by her reaction, Garm chuckled.
“H-Hey! What are you laughing at!?”
“Ah, my bad, my bad. Let’s get that thread off you.”
Celesti was bound by the thread except for her right hand. Garm wanted to help, but the thread was too strong to break by force.
Looking around, he spotted remnants of fire from an earlier explosion.
“Alright! Celesti, it’ll be a bit hot, but I’ll burn the thread off.”
Saying that, Garm moved to toss her into the embers—
“W-Wait! Stop! I’ll die!!”
Celesti struggled and resisted with all her strength. There was no way she was getting thrown into a fire.
“My right hand is free, so I can use magic to cure the poison!”
“Really!? Then do it right away!”
Still in Garm’s arms, Celesti raised her hand. A soft light emanated from her palm, enveloping Garm’s body.
“Whoa! I feel lighter! The numbness is gone!!”
He clenched and unclenched his fists, confirming that his movements were back to normal.
“Now you can fight properly!”
“Yeah, thanks, Celesti!”
Hearing his genuine gratitude, Celesti blushed and looked away.
“I-It’s not like I had a choice… You’re the only one who can fight.”
“That’s right. Now leave the rest to me.”
Garm gently set Celesti down. Gripping his battle axe in both hands, he turned toward Clay—
“Garm… I cured your poison, so… you better take that thing down!!”
Lying on the ground, Celesti’s voice trembled as she begged him.
Garm responded firmly.
“Yeah, leave it to me!”
With that, Garm dashed forward. Unable to move, Celesti watched his back grow smaller and smaller, praying with all her heart.
—Please… Save everyone, Garm.