Kaijin Observation Area
"Oh damn, I didnāt know we could make our possessions look like that when weāre doing this solo," Spring Brawler commented. "That was cool."
"Wait a minute, Hurricroak, all of us weāre present when you possessed Jasper, solo style, how come it didnāt look like that?," Razorstella asked.
Surprisingly, Hurricroak had an answer for that.
"Yeah, I actually asked Logos about that little tidbit after that adventure with Jasper. Apparently I was taught the most gentle way of possessing someone, but we all have the ability to do something like...that. Just need to practice."
"The...the implication of that statement is that Archanidame has been practicing how to possess someone like that," Nepherage pointed out.
"Well...yeah."
"..."
"..."
"We promise to never ask her about this?"
"Agreed."
_____________________________________________
Meanwhile, in the room with all the humans...
"Well, that was..."
"Absolutely unsettling to watch?," Zhen Liu finished.
"Viscerally uncomfortable, yes," Jin Fang agreed.
"And that was my other reason why Iām in this room...I wouldāve vomited otherwise."
"Iām not even going to tease you about it, that was...different from straightforward torture..."
"Meh. Itās not that bad," Rianna shrugged, "didnāt know Arachnidame was pregnant though."
"..."
At this comment, both Jin Fang and Zhen Liu stared at the pale Amazonian with a strange look in their eyes.
"What? You guys act like youāve never seen a mother spider covered in their babies before," Rianna stated with a hint of disbelief.
"We...we havenāt," Zhen Liu answered.
"Really?"
"Yes..."
"I honestly keep forgetting that you spent most of your childhood in a jungle filled with mostly giant insects and spiders," Jin Fang commented. "Were you seriously not traumatized from...seeing some of the things you saw growing up?"
"It is what it is," Rianna shrugged.
"Although, now that more of my memories are less foggy, I can say I remember a time when my papa screamed when he saw a Steelsilk Moth caterpillar explode from parasitic wasp monsters."
"...I have no idea how to respond to that."
"Letās just focus on the interrogation, thank you...that being said, this is looking to be more like a confession..."
_____________________________________________
Two minutes
Over the course of two minutes, the spies and assassins that had been sent from other clans to inquire about whether or not they could sink their hooks into the branch clan for good or for ill, were subjected to the overly detailed confession/explanation of a fellow master of espionage named Yin Mai.
Now, the information she had shared was incredibly sensitive and detailed, and if any of the other six assassins/spies managed to escape this encounter alive, they could use this information as blackmail against a powerful rival.
Unfortunately, these same assassins/spies were so befuddled by Arachnidameās method of interrogation, namely turning into a swarm of spiders and forcing themselves down someoneās throat, that they all failed to record or keep track of anything that had been said.
They were significantly more focused on whether or not they could resist Arachanidameās influence, especially since absolutely none of them were trained to deal with whatever she was doing to this woman named Yin Mai.
Many of them were aware of secrets, ones that could topple their respective organizations or even whole kingdoms in a matter seconds.
And now, thanks to Arachnidame, one such woman was sharing all of these secrets like she was a criminal confessing before a judge...and she knew she was going to be hanged anyways.
"...and...that...is...all...I...can...say," Yin Mai finished after explaining that she was a peak Aether Master sent by the Xing Family, one of the major factions in another providence of the Empire, in order to spy on the Zhen Clanās activities. When she had heard about a mysterious branch clan that had just showed up out of nowhere, led by one of the main clanās exiles, she felt it was necessary to investigate the matter herself.
She was the least dangerous of the punch, but would have the most unique reason for being here.
"Good girl. Arachnidame, feel free to exit when ready."
"Thank...you..."
With her information now shared, Archanidame proceeded to leave Yin Maiās body the way she entered.
"Hm...HRK!"
"MMMM!"
"FWUCK!
Yin Mai doubled over as she, strangely enough, didnāt vomit out a swarm of spiders, but a huge amount of black smoke that slowly reformed into Arachnidame.
Once she had fully expelled the spider woman kaijin from her systems, Yin Mai let out a small groan before passing out entirely and collapsing to the floor with her eyes a solid white color.
The others could sense she was still alive and breathing, but that didnāt exactly mean she was okay.
The warriors stared at Yin Maiās unconcious form for a bit, before redirecting their gaze back at the newly reformed Arachnidame...who still has that insidiously sweet smile on her face.
"Well that was fun, been awhile since Iāve been insideās someone soul like that," Arachnidame casually commented in the same manner one might describe swimming in a lake or a river, "but I get the feeling itās going to take me far, far too long to get all of you to confess to me and my master in a timely manner."
"Hmmm?"
The other six spies/assassins couldnāt help but direct a quizzical look at Arachnidame at this strange statement.
It didnāt sound like she was just going to kill them all and be done with it, they couldnāt sense any bloodlust in those words.
"Which is why I am going to have an associate come and help."
"HMMM?!"
Evidently, none of them expected that she would ask for assistance...let alone, they didnāt think that she would have colleagues.
"Oh Lacerage," Arachnidame called out in a strange, sing-songy manner, "would you mind coming down and helping me?"
"Tsk! Fine you eight-eyed devil. I donāt mind coming to help interrogate some lowly mortals," a feminine voice dripping with the purest anger and bloodlust called out in response to Arachnidameās question.
The sound of this voice caused the humans in the room to shudder, but in a manner completely different from when they saw Arachnidame.
When the spider woman showed up, the assassins felt as if they had lost all control and were now nothing more than puppets to someoneās whim. Which, given Yin Maiās sudden confessional, wasnāt entirely incorrect.
But as for this new voice...they felt a primal feeling of the fear of death via a gruesome manner. They could feel that whomever this Lacerage was, it wouldnāt end until they were screaming and bleeding on the floor.
The assassinās looked up, expecting to see another spider swarm to appear, since they had guessed that this Lacerage character was probably a spider woman too.
Evidently, absolutely none of them expected for how Lacerage actually appeared.
"Oh donāt worry about keeping an eye on little ole me," Lacerage called out as she noticed the upward gazes, "youāll know when Iām close."
The assassins/spies had no idea how to respond this statement, until they all suddenly felt their ears popping as the air presssure in the room suddenly became a lot heavier than what it normally was.
"MMM!"
"Hmmm?"
"HMMM!"
From above, an entirely different type of chitin covered woman had descended from above, one that was solid and not made of a thousand or so spiders.
Instead, it was a black, white and red patterned insect woman with large, delicate wings that seemed to gleam with a sharpness greater than any blade than any of them had ever wielded.
The appearance of this insect woman called Lacerage reminded the group of lacewing insects, albeit, a type of lacewing that regularly hunted things that were much larger than it...and won.
Lacerage hovered in the air with the power of her sings for a moment before landing with an incredibly amount of grace. Once she was fully settled, the razor sharp, giant wings on her back, folded up around her like a cowl.
It was a strangely beautiful sight...despite the source of it being an unfathomable source of violence.
"So these are your new toys, Arachnidame? They look so...fragile," Lacerage commented, with a voice that reminded the group of an ill-wind more so than that belonging to any mortal.
"And you needed me to be here because you want to break them?"
"No, no, you violent psychopath," Arachnidame chided in a tone that either suggested great familiarity or animosity, "I need you to help me get information from the inside, you know?"
"Oh...oh very well then, but Iām not going to be as careful as you though."
"Oh itās fine, theyāre stealthy elites, Iām sure they can handle it," Arachnidame assured Lacerage. The way she said it sounded more like she was referring to vegetables in the garden more so than people tied to a chair.
"Alright then, Iām going to go with...you."
"HMMM?!"
"Oh donāt worry about the gag...I prefer to go through the ears."
"HHHHMMMMMMMMMMM!"
What happened next was almost as viscerally uncomfortable as a swarm of spiders going down someoneās throat...but a small swarm of lacewing flies going into the ear isnāt much better.
Not even in the slightest.