Unlike ordinary spiders, an Arachne’s moulting process was far more complicated.

The dense chitin exoskeleton protecting their arachnid half couldn’t naturally expand once hardened. Their human upper body, however, possessed flexible flesh, skin, and softer adaptive plating capable of growth and change.

The mismatch between the two halves created constant strain during maturation.

Each moult became a dangerous transitional period.

As the human half developed, forcing their spider abdomen and legs to shed their rigid shell to accommodate the increase in mass. But unlike true spiders, an Arachne’s partially humanoid physiology disrupted the instinctive efficiency of the process.

Their larger size, heavier musculature, and hybrid nervous system made splitting and escaping the old exoskeleton painfully slow.

Asmodeus listened carefully to his wife’s explanation, Lumina’s inflamed skin a result of incorrect moulting.

"When I first moulted and shed my chitin, it was right after my punishment..." Lumina muttered bitterly. "The moment I entered that state, I didn’t even understand what was happening. Then some damned cave lizard attacked me while my shell was soft."

Her fingers brushed lightly against the pale underside of her abdomen.

"It cracked the fresh chitin before it could harden properly."

"Oh?"

Asmodeus hadn’t expected a creature as terrifying as Lumina to possess such a vulnerable phase. From her explanation, however, her human half didn’t actually shed in the same manner as her spider body.

Which only deepened the question forming in his mind.

He glanced at her swollen breasts, buttocks and crotch.

"Then why are the softer parts of your human body swollen as well?"

Lumina’s expression stiffened slightly before she sighed.

"Because moulting affects more than the shell itself. During the process, an Arachne’s body floods with growth hormones, regenerative fluids, and heat, softening the old chitin beneath. The human half absorbs part of that reaction too."

Her cheeks flushed faintly with irritation.

"Sensitive tissue reacts the worst. Breasts, hips, thighs... anywhere with dense blood flow becomes swollen and feverish while the body adjusts."

"So your human side enters a partial growth state along with the spider half."

"Exactly. Usually it fades after the new shell stabilises." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But mine has a... different reaction. Maybe because I was once human."

"Heh, what kind of effect does it have?" Asmodeus smirked lazily. "Makes you horny or something?"

The room fell silent.

His grin slowly faltered.

Lumina avoided his gaze for the first time since the conversation began, one hand tightening against the soft fabric draped over her lower body.

She watched him from the corner of her eight sparkling garnet eyes.

"...Mhm."

Asmodeus blinked.

"Seriously?"

"The moulting hormones overstimulate the human nervous system." Her voice carried clear annoyance now. "Heightened sensitivity, elevated body temperature, increased aggression, irritability..." She paused bitterly. "And reproductive instincts."

A faint crimson tint spread across the bridge of her nose.

"For ordinary Arachne, it’s manageable. Embarrassing, but manageable. But my body reacts more violently than it should."

He stared at her swollen thighs and flushed skin with renewed understanding.

"So that’s why you’ve been acting strange."

"I have not been acting strange."

"You have been constantly leaving sticky webbing all over my bed, my office and even the throne room!"

"T-That’s not webbing..." She squeezed her voice into silence.

"You also pinned me against a wall yesterday."

"...Irrelevant."

Asmodeus couldn’t stop the amused grin pulling at his mouth.

Lumina immediately noticed.

"Do not laugh."

That warning only made it harder to hold back.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, though the deepening colour in her face ruined most of the intimidation.

"I swear to the gods," she hissed, "if you say a single word about this to anyone, I will wrap you in silk and leave you hanging from the ceiling for a month."

"Why would I tell anyone, let’s help our lovely daughters complete their moulting with no issues... then maybe Daddy can help Mommy with her ’Moulting,’"

Lumina’s entire body froze.

Even the twitching spider legs behind her locked stiffly in place.

"...Daddy?"

Asmodeus only shrugged innocently, utterly unapologetic. "What? I’m taking responsibility as a husband and father."

Her face turned scarlet so quickly it almost looked painful.

"You absolute shameless degenerate..."

"Then did you leak ’webbing’ when I said it?"

Despite her usual cold facade, Asmodeus found the current venom in her voice refreshing; the confidence behind it was now considerably weakened. The swollen sensitivity which wracked her body seemed to make every heated word coming from his mouth much more dangerous than it should have been.

Asmodeus leaned closer with a playful grin.

His fears and sense of danger from earlier were completely gone.

"Besides, we could make this a family thing from now on, and someone has to make sure you’re comfortable during moulting season."

Lumina immediately jabbed a finger toward him.

"You are forbidden from saying the words ’moulting season’ ever again."

"Too late, I am the Emperor, and this is my edict!"

"I hate you."

However, when he wrapped an arm around her waist, she offered no resistance.

He gently stroked her puffy stomach, the hard muscles beneath twitching under his fingertips.

"No, you don’t."

"...maybe I am considering it?"

He laughed softly, earning an exhausted glare from her eight eyes.

Yet despite all her threats, Lumina slowly lowered herself against his chest, exhaling slowly. Her overheated body visibly relaxed from the contact alone, tension easing from both her human half and the restless spider abdomen behind her.

The silence that followed felt strangely domestic.

Then Asmodeus ruined it.

"So... how exactly does a husband help his wife moult?"

Lumina buried her burning face into his shoulder and bit him.

"...I am not answering that."

...

The deeper sections of the nest were warmer than the royal chambers above.

Threads of silver silk stretched between the dark stone pillars in layered curtains, forming bridges, hammocks, tunnels, and hanging nests large enough for children to curl inside. Soft golden crystals embedded in the walls cast a dim amber glow across the artificial cavern, making the silk shimmer like moonlit water.

Asmodeus could already hear them before entering.

Tiny feet pattering.

Excited chirping voices.

The faint creak of silk lines swaying overhead.

The moment Lumina stepped into the nursery-lair, four small figures abruptly froze.

Then all four moved at once.

"Mother!"

"Daddy!"

A blur of white hair and tiny spider limbs descended from every direction.

Aranya reached him first, launching directly from a silk thread above with impossible accuracy. Her white-silver hair fluttered wildly behind her as she collided into Asmodeus’ chest.

Despite being the most humanoid of the sisters, the small spinneret patch near the base of her back twitched excitedly, loose silk already sticking to his sleeve.

Seraphae arrived silently beside Lumina, rather than jumping, her pale ivory hair drifting around her shoulders as six faintly glowing eyes opened across her forehead. The extra eyes shimmered softly as she stared up at her mother with uncanny intelligence.

"Mommy, you smell strange."

Lumina stiffened.

Then glared at her husband.

Asmodeus shrugged, almost in tears, laughing.

Luthiel carefully climbed down from an overhead web rather than pouncing like the others. Snow-white curls framed her delicate face, while the tiny spider legs hidden beneath her oversized dress nervously shifted beneath the fabric whenever she grew excited.

She stopped directly beside Asmodeus, golden eyes sparkling.

"Papa!"

"Luthiel~ come to Papa!"

He offered his arms, the lovely spider finally leaping, as she clung to him with all her legs and arms. It was a strange feeling to have non-human daughters at first. Until they hugged him like this, and his heart melted.

Miris, meanwhile, remained at a distance, simply hanging upside down from a silk thread behind them.

Her platinum hair with black-tipped strands dangled freely while the visible pair of spider legs protruding from her back curved in the air. Unlike her sisters, she merely narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Dad never comes to visit us... There must be a plot!"

Aranya pulled at her mother’s front leg.

"...Why is Mother red?"

Lumina looked moments away from climbing into the abyss voluntarily.

Asmodeus failed to contain the grin spreading across his face.

The four girls immediately noticed.

And in perfect eerie synchronisation, all four tilted their heads at the same angle.

"...What happened?" they asked together.

Even Lumina’s spine tingled when they did that.

"Girls! I’ve told you to stop doing that! It makes Mommy scared..."

"Okay, Mother!" They did it again.

Lumina could only shake her head, glancing at Asmodeus, who seemed to be just as nervous seeing their strange movements.

At least he could hide it well, while gently stroking Luthiel’s silky hair.

"Girls! Hurry and get back to your nests, right now it’s dangerous to be jumping and flinging around, I’ve told you time and time again!"

"Ahhhh~ Mom is going to shout!"

"Mommy is angry, let’s flee!"

"Kekekekeke, chaos!"

"Mother... don’t be so mad. Daddy, he finally came to see us."

The four girls’ intelligence and how each of them played drove Lumina insane, only furthering Asmodeus’s amusement.

"Bed. Now!"

After her shout, the girls skittered away, just as silently as they came. A moment later, Asmodeus found dozens of pretty garnet-coloured eyes peeking from the darkness above, creating an eerie scene straight out of a horror movie.

"S-Sorry about that..." Lumina covered her face, her skin visibly pink.

"It’s fine, isn’t it amazing how smart our girls are?"

He glanced up as the webbing shook.

These girls were too much like her mother, and so a little praise would soon cause them to stop acting out, as the eyes faded into the dark and the soft webbing became silent.

"Shall we get something to drink? Maybe I should rub some oil on your skin before we start... it looks really uncomfortable."

After he spoke, Lumina smiled for the first time.

She gently stroked his cheek with her outstretched leg, then pointed to the stairs leading to their nursery.

"I-I’ll be okay, let’s help the girls first."