Chapter 57
“What the hell?”
“A sandworm?”
“Fuck!”
Jahareu, Daereon, and Seido opened their eyes wide.
They hadn’t expected a sandworm, one of the tyrants of the desert, to appear at a time like this.
Among them, Jahareu’s shock was especially great.
“Why is there a sandworm? Could this place be a sandworm habitat?”
A single sandworm wouldn’t have been all that frightening.
The problem was the four sandworms that had appeared behind Jeon’s back.
The sandworms that had poked their heads out as if to briefly inhale fresh air disappeared back into the sand.
*Thud thud thud!*
Intense vibrations followed.
The sandworms were charging toward the three of them.
Felix moved urgently and spoke.
“Why are they passing that bastard by….”
Jeon was between them and the sandworms. Yet they couldn’t understand why the sandworms were bypassing Jeon and attacking them.
“Fuck!”
Daeron spat a curse and struck the ground with his mechanical fist with all his might.
*Boom!*
With a single punch, the sand erupted like an active volcano. But the force didn’t reach the sandworms beneath the sand.
This was exactly why sandworms were tricky opponents.
They hid beneath the surface to approach, making them difficult to attack. On the contrary, the bastards used the sand as a defensive wall, lying in wait for an opportunity.
It wasn’t for nothing that sandworms were called the assassins and tyrants of the desert.
Jahareu spoke.
“Nobody move carelessly. They sense our vibrations. When they reveal themselves, we have to kill them in one shot.”
“Yes!”
“Got it, Captain!”
Seido and Felix answered simultaneously.
Their answers were crisp, but their faces clearly showed bewilderment.
*Kuwaaa!*
At that moment, one sandworm suddenly raised its head.
Its gaping maw aimed for Daereon.
“This insect bastard dares to target me?”
Daereon swung his fist in fury.
It was a fist made of machinery.
A black aura flickered over the fist.
It was a color that only those who had fused with machinery could possess.
Black symbolized death and destruction.
Daereon resolved to kill the sandworm in a single blow. But just before Daereon’s fist struck the sandworm, a small variable occurred.
*Fzzt!*
Suddenly, a small flame flared on Daereon’s forearm.
And of all things, it was the drive shaft of his mechanical prosthetic arm.
The drive shaft melted in an instant, causing the mechanical prosthetic to stop moving. At the same time, the black aura enveloping the mechanical prosthetic also vanished instantly.
In that moment, Daereon’s gaze turned toward Jeon, who stood far away.
He instinctively realized it was Jeon’s doing.
His suspicion proved true.
Jeon was holding up his right arm.
A gauntlet enveloping his forearm and entire fist.
A red jewel embedded in the back of the gauntlet’s hand.
The center of the red jewel was vertically split long like a reptile’s eye, and a bizarre light emanated from within.
The chimera Iblis, which had been forced to become the guardian of the Gold Dragon Haieltun.
It was the Red Dragon’s Eye, which had been used as that Iblis’s power source.
With the fusion of the Red Dragon’s Eye, the gauntlet had transformed into the Blazing Gauntlet.
The Blazing Gauntlet allowed Jeon to use fire magic.
Though it wasn’t as precise as controlling sand, he could still deploy it somewhat intuitively.
He concentrated the fire magic into a single point to melt only the prosthetic’s drive mechanism.
He wasn’t spreading magic over a wide area; concentrating it into a single point like focusing sunlight with a magnifying glass wasn’t very difficult.
It was merely a simple spell, but its aftermath was by no means small.
As the prosthetic stopped working, Daereon faltered, and in that moment, the sandworm devoured him in one bite.
*Crunch!*
Without even time to scream, Daereon’s body was ground apart inside the sandworm’s maw.
“Daereon!”
“No!”
Seeing the brutal death before their eyes, Jahareu and Seido screamed loudly.
Sound created vibrations, and the sandworms sensing the vibrations attacked the two.
*Kwaaa!*
A giant maw appeared, parting the sand.
Jahareu threw a punch toward the head of the suddenly protruding sandworm.
*Boom!*
*Kreee!*
Along with the explosive sound, the sandworm let out a screech.
Its exterior looked fine, but its brain was completely pulverized.
The sandworm collapsed and died on the spot.
Having put out the urgent fire, Jahareu looked for the sandworm that had eaten Daereon. But the satiated sandworm had already hidden its form.
“Damn it….”
As Jahareu trembled with rage…
“Kuhuk!”
Suddenly, Seido’s scream was heard.
Seido was staggering with a large burn on his side.
While his mind had been occupied keeping the sandworm in check, he had been hit by a fire spell Jeon had secretly launched.
The pain of his burning side made Seido’s consciousness briefly fade.
The sandworm didn’t miss that opportunity and bit Seido. Then in an instant, it disappeared into the sand.
Not even a scream was heard.
“Uwaaaah!”
Having lost two subordinates in an instant, Jahareu was enraged.
Jahareu charged toward Jeon, the root cause of all this.
He no longer cared about the sandworms.
His head held only one thought: he had to kill Jeon.
“Don’t think you’ll die an easy death, you son of a bitch!”
Jahareu charging while radiating fighting spirit was incredibly threatening. But it was far from enough to erase the smile lingering at Jeon’s lips.
*Snap!*
Jeon snapped his fingers. Immediately, the sand hardened and grabbed Jahareu’s ankle.
Because of that, Jahareu faltered for a moment.
In the meantime, a giant sandworm’s maw aimed for him.
“How dare a mere insect….”
Jahareu tried to unleash a skill on the sandworm. But Jeon was faster.
*Pop!*
A small flame burst in front of Jahareu’s eyes.
The flame seared Jahareu’s retinas as is.
“Kuaaack!”
Suddenly, darkness came with pain, and Jahareu screamed. In that interval, the giant sandworm’s mouth swallowed him.
Jahareu’s scream disappeared, eaten by the sandworm.
*Srrrk!*
The sandworm that had swallowed Jahareu disappeared directly into the sand.
That was Jahareu’s end.
Jeon watched the scene and muttered.
“You don’t necessarily have to use big skills to kill.”
Jeon had realized long ago that even a low-power skill, if used at the right time and place, could easily eliminate a strong opponent. And that the most perfect victory was one achieved without using one’s own strength.
Jeon turned his head and looked at Mandy.
After allowing Jahareu to land a blow, Mandy hadn’t been able to escape from a defensive position.
Felix and Anika attacked Mandy like madmen.
“Fuck! Just die. Die.”
Felix poured out curses like a madman.
Curse of Decline.
Curse of Decay.
He poured every curse he could cast onto Mandy. But for some reason, Mandy was perfectly fine despite his curses.
Instead, Anika’s attack drove her into a corner.
“Flash Bomb!”
*Boom!*
Anika’s magic exploded right in front of Mandy’s eyes.
Mandy was blown away as if swept up by a storm.
Her appearance was a mess.
Her clothes were all torn, and her hair was tangled into a mess.
Anika looked at such a Mandy and shouted with venom.
“How’s that? How is it, you fucking bitch!”
She too had seen her comrades get eaten and killed by sandworms.
Rage consumed her reason, and she resolved that even if she died, she would kill Mandy.
“You’re dead. Dead. I’ll tear your limbs apart and kill you.”
Just as Anika was approaching Mandy triumphantly…
“Ha! Fuck! I had a feeling this would happen.”
Mandy, who had been collapsed on the ground, spewed a curse and stood up.
Mandy swept up her blonde hair and raised her head. But somehow, the atmosphere had changed.
Mandy was definitely a great beauty.
Deep wavy blonde hair and blue eyes like embedded sapphires.
She possessed a beauty that would stand out anywhere. But she seemed somewhat lacking in savagery to survive in the desert.
But now, on the face of the risen Mandy, there was a delinquent expression and an air of savagery.
It was definitely the same person, yet the atmosphere itself had completely changed.
Most impressive of all were her ears.
Pointed ears that had until now been hidden by her blonde hair were revealed.
Anika pointed at her ears.
“What? You, an elf? No, you were a half-elf.”
“Where does a fucking bitch get off pointing? Ha!”
“What?”
“Shall I chop your fingers right off and make them into chopsticks? Ha!”
At Mandy’s unexpected venomous tongue, Anika’s mind blanked for a moment.
She stammered.
“You, what… are? What are you?”
“I’m a half-elf, as you can see. Moron!”
“What?”
“Let’s take care of you first, then we’ll see.”
Mandy pulled out a small short staff from behind her waist.
*Swish!*
When she pressed the handle, the short staff instantly transformed.
The shaft elongated beyond her height, and a spear blade appeared at the end of the shaft.
“What?”
“What do you mean, what?”
*Tap!*
Mandy kicked off the sand and launched her body.
*Shing!*
Having arrived in front of Anika in an instant, Mandy swung her spear.
“Eek!”
Anika hastily deployed Aero Bomb.
But Mandy’s spear blade ruthlessly split the Aero Bomb.
The air failed to explode and dissipated into nothingness.
The blade hadn’t just split the Aero Bomb. It had also split Anika’s neck.
A red line appeared on Anika’s neck, and then her head simply fell to the ground with a thud.
That was Anika’s end.
“Anika!”
Felix called Anika at the top of his lungs.
“Ugh, so noisy.”
Mandy sneered and gripped the spear in reverse.
Then the spear blade split into nine branches.
Mandy threw the split spear as is.
*Shwick!*
“Keuack!”
The spear penetrated Felix’s chest.
The nine-branched spear blades churned Felix’s insides into tatters.
Felix vomited blood and collapsed on the spot.
Mandy clapped her palms and muttered.
“That ugly thing kept clinging to me, so I got disgusted and scolded it. Mandy, this bitch has this problem. Why does she give them openings? How long do I have to clean up after her?”
Then a sandworm suddenly stuck its head out from beneath their feet. But Mandy calmly stepped back lightly.
The sandworms soon dragged Anika and Felix’s corpses inside.
One could feel the satiated sandworms retreating.
Jeon didn’t pay any attention to the sandworms and looked at Mandy.
Her appearance was the same, but her temperament, atmosphere, and gaze were all different.
As if her inner self had been switched.
It was definitely Mandy, but not Mandy.
Jeon opened his mouth.
“Are there two personalities in one body?”
“Hmm!”
At that moment, Mandy let out a strange nasal sound and looked at Jeon.
A languid expression with suggestive eyes.
It was so captivating that an ordinary man would be bewitched the moment he saw it.
She approached Jeon with her hands behind her back.
“As expected, you’re no ordinary young master. Enough that Mandy couldn’t handle you.”
“Then, what is your name?”
“I’m called Elroi. As you can see, I’m Mandy’s protector.”
“Interesting. It’s surprising enough that you’re a half-elf, but to have a split personality as well. Do others know of this?”
“You’re the first to hear my name and still live. For now.”
“That sounds like you might kill me if things go wrong. Am I mistaken?”
“You’re not mistaken. I can do anything to protect Mandy.”
“Then you should all the more keep me alive. Without me, Mandy will wander the desert and die.”
“That’s why I’m troubled. How to dispose of you.”
Elroi smiled, revealing her white teeth.