Chapter 57
“What the—?”
“Sandworms?”
“Damn it!”
Zahar, Darren, and Seido’s eyes widened.
They hadn’t expected sandworms—one of the tyrants of the desert—to appear at this exact moment.
Among them, Zahar was especially shocked.
“Why are sandworms here? Don’t tell me this is their habitat?”
One sandworm wouldn’t have been that frightening.
The problem was that there were four of them behind Zeon.
The sandworms briefly raised their heads as if tasting the air, then sank back into the sand.
Rumble!
A powerful vibration followed.
The sandworms were charging toward the three.
Felix moved hurriedly and shouted,
“Why are they ignoring that bastard and—?!”
Zeon stood between them and the sandworms, yet the creatures bypassed him and targeted them instead.
He couldn’t understand it.
“Damn it!”
Darren cursed and slammed his mechanical fist into the ground.
BOOM!
The sand burst upward like an erupting volcano, but the force didn’t reach the sandworms beneath.
This was what made sandworms so troublesome.
They attacked from beneath the surface, making them difficult to strike, while using the sand itself as a shield as they waited for opportunities.
There was a reason they were called the assassins and tyrants of the desert.
Zahar spoke,
“No one move carelessly. They detect our vibrations. When they surface, we kill them in one strike.”
“Yes!”
“Got it, boss!”
Seido and Felix answered at once.
Their responses were firm, but their faces showed clear unease.
KWAHH!
At that moment, a sandworm suddenly thrust its head up.
Its massive open maw lunged at Darren.
“You dare target me, you worm?”
Darren roared and swung his fist.
It was a mechanical arm.
A black aura flickered around it—
a color only those fused with machinery could wield.
Black symbolized death and destruction.
Darren intended to obliterate the sandworm in a single blow.
But just before his fist struck, something unexpected happened.
Crackle!
A small flame suddenly ignited on Darren’s forearm—
right on the drive mechanism of his mechanical arm.
The mechanism melted instantly, and the arm ceased functioning. The black aura surrounding it vanished at the same time.
Darren’s gaze immediately shot toward Zeon in the distance.
By instinct, he realized it was Zeon’s doing.
And he was right.
Zeon had raised his right arm.
A gauntlet covered his forearm and fist.
Embedded in the back of the gauntlet was a red gem.
The gem was slit vertically like a reptile’s eye, emitting an eerie glow.
It was the eye of a Red Dragon—
once used as the power source of the chimera Iblis, who had been forcibly turned into the guardian of the Gold Dragon Hieltun.
With the Red Dragon’s eye fused into it, the gauntlet had transformed into a superheated gauntlet.
This gauntlet allowed Zeon to use fire magic.
It wasn’t as refined as his control over sand, but he could still wield it instinctively.
He concentrated the fire magic into a single point and melted only the arm’s mechanism.
It was no more difficult than focusing sunlight through a magnifying glass.
A simple spell—
but the consequences were anything but small.
With his arm disabled, Darren froze for a moment—
and in that instant, the sandworm swallowed him whole.
CRUNCH!
Before he could even scream, Darren’s body was crushed inside the sandworm’s jaws.
“Darren!”
“No!”
Zahar and Seido shouted as they watched him die brutally before their eyes.
Their voices created vibrations—
and the sandworms, sensing them, attacked again.
KWAHH!
A massive maw burst through the sand.
Zahar threw a punch at the sandworm’s head.
BOOM!
SKREEE!
With an explosive sound, the sandworm let out a shriek.
Its exterior looked intact, but its brain had been completely crushed.
The sandworm went limp and died instantly.
Having dealt with the immediate threat, Zahar looked for the one that had eaten Darren.
But the sandworm had already disappeared after filling its belly.
“…Damn it.”
Zahar’s shoulders trembled with rage—
and then—
“Ghk!”
Seido suddenly screamed.
He staggered, his side badly burned.
While he had been focused on the sandworms, Zeon had secretly struck him with fire magic.
The burning pain disoriented him for a moment.
The sandworm seized that opportunity, bit down on him—
and vanished into the sand in an instant.
There wasn’t even time for a scream.
“AAAAAA!”
Having lost two subordinates in an instant, Zahar exploded in fury.
He charged straight at Zeon—the source of all this chaos.
He no longer cared about the sandworms.
His mind was consumed with one thought:
Kill Zeon.
“Don’t think you’ll die easily, you bastard!”
Zahar’s charge, overflowing with killing intent, was terrifying.
But it wasn’t nearly enough to wipe the smile from Zeon’s lips.
Snap!
Zeon flicked his fingers. Instantly, the sand hardened and clamped around Zahar’s ankles.
Zahar faltered for a moment.
In that instant, the massive maw of a sandworm lunged at him.
“You dare, you worm…!”
Zahar tried to activate a skill—but Zeon was faster.
Pop!
A small burst of flame exploded right in front of Zahar’s eyes.
The flame scorched his retinas.
“Aaaargh!”
Darkness fell over him along with searing pain, and Zahar screamed. In that brief moment, the sandworm’s enormous jaws swallowed him whole.
Zahar’s scream was cut off as he disappeared into the creature’s mouth.
Shhh—
The sandworm that devoured him sank back into the sand.
That was Zahar’s end.
Watching the scene, Zeon muttered,
“You don’t need a big skill to kill someone.”
Even a small skill, used at the right moment, could easily eliminate a stronger opponent—Zeon had realized that long ago.
And that the most perfect victory was one achieved without expending one’s own strength.
Zeon turned his head and looked at Mandy.
After taking a direct hit from Zahar earlier, Mandy had been unable to escape a defensive position.
Felix and Anika were attacking her relentlessly.
“Damn it! Just die already! Die!”
Felix hurled curses like a madman.
Curse of Decay.
Curse of Corruption.
He unleashed every curse he could at Mandy—but for some reason, she remained unaffected.
Instead, it was Anika’s attacks that drove her into a corner.
“Flash Bomb!”
Boom!
Anika’s magic exploded right in front of Mandy’s face.
Mandy was blown back as if caught in a storm.
Her appearance was in shambles.
Her clothes were torn, and her hair was a mess.
Anika shouted viciously at her,
“How is it? Huh? How does it feel, you bitch?!”
She had seen her teammates get devoured by sandworms.
Her rage had consumed her reason—she had resolved to kill Mandy even if it cost her own life.
“You’re dead. You hear me? I’m going to rip your limbs apart!”
Just as Anika strode toward Mandy with murderous intent—
“Ha! Damn it, I knew it’d come to this.”
Mandy, who had been lying on the ground, cursed as she rose.
She brushed back her blonde hair and lifted her head.
Something about her had changed.
Mandy had always been a striking beauty.
Wavy blonde hair, sapphire-like blue eyes—
a beauty that stood out anywhere.
But she had always seemed to lack the ruthlessness needed to survive in the desert.
Now, however, her face carried a vicious expression and a sharp, dangerous aura.
She was clearly the same person—but her entire presence had changed.
Most striking of all were her ears.
The pointed ears that had been hidden beneath her hair were now visible.
Anika pointed at her in shock.
“What the hell? You’re an elf? No… a half-elf?”
“The hell are you pointing for, you bitch? Hah!”
“What?”
“Want me to chop off that finger and turn it into chopsticks? Huh?”
Caught off guard by Mandy’s sudden venom, Anika froze.
She stammered,
“What… what are you?”
“Can’t you see? I’m a half-elf, idiot!”
“What?”
“Let’s deal with you first.”
Mandy pulled out a small baton from behind her waist.
Clang!
As she pressed the handle, it transformed instantly.
The shaft extended longer than her height, and a spear blade emerged at the tip.
“What is that—?”
“What do you think?”
Whoosh!
Mandy kicked off the sand and shot forward.
Slash!
In an instant, she reached Anika and swung her spear.
“Ghk!”
Anika hastily cast Aero Bomb—but Mandy’s blade split it apart.
The air failed to explode and dissipated uselessly.
The blade didn’t just cut the spell—
it sliced through Anika’s neck.
A thin red line appeared—
and then her head dropped to the ground.
That was Anika’s end.
“ANIKA!”
Felix screamed at the top of his lungs.
“God, you’re loud.”
Mandy sneered and flipped her spear in reverse grip.
The blade split into nine strands.
She hurled the divided spear forward.
Whoosh!
“GAAAH!”
The spear pierced Felix’s chest.
The nine-pronged blade shredded his insides like rags.
Felix coughed up blood and collapsed.
Mandy clapped her hands lightly and muttered,
“Ugly bastard kept pestering me—it was disgusting. That’s Mandy’s problem… why leave room for trash like that? How long do I have to clean up after her?”
At that moment, a sandworm’s head suddenly emerged beneath her feet.
But Mandy calmly stepped back.
The sandworms quickly dragged Anika and Felix’s bodies underground.
It felt like they were retreating after filling their bellies.
Zeon ignored the sandworms and looked at Mandy.
Her appearance was the same—but her nature, her aura, her gaze—everything had changed.
It was as if her very self had been replaced.
She was Mandy—
but not Mandy.
Zeon spoke,
“Two personalities in one body?”
“Hm~”
Mandy let out a strange hum and looked at Zeon.
Her expression was alluring, her gaze filled with a dangerous charm.
It was captivating enough to daze most men at a glance.
With her hands behind her back, she walked toward him.
“You’re no ordinary young master, are you? No wonder Mandy couldn’t handle you.”
“And what is your name?”
“Eloi. As you can see, I’m Mandy’s protector.”
“Interesting. Being a half-elf is surprising enough, but a split personality too. Does anyone else know?”
“You’re the first person to hear my name and still be alive. So far.”
“That sounds like you might kill me if things go wrong. Am I mistaken?”
“You’re not. I’ll do anything to protect Mandy.”
“Then you should keep me alive. Without me, Mandy will wander the desert and die.”
“That’s why I’m thinking… what to do with you.”
Eloi smiled, revealing her white teeth.