Chapter 8: Sleeping Like a Baby
The vast desert, a sea of dead silence, majestic and tranquil... always presented a monotonous yellow. That scorching yellow seemed to have instantly solidified the surging waves and the raging billows of nature here, leaving it forever frozen in stillness.
"Uwaaah... it was so hard to survive such a cold night, and now it's starting to get hot again..."
Gudako lay listlessly on the Vimana, the ship of light flying close to the ground.
The days and nights in the desert were simply two extremes.
The average temperature during the day exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, while at night, it could easily reach minus 4 degrees Celsius.
The drastic change in temperature between day and night was something a normal human could hardly endure.
"Hang in there a little longer, we'll be there soon."
Shirou offered a word of comfort.
However, Gudako did not respond for a long time. When Shirou looked toward her, the girl had already fallen into a sleep as peaceful as a baby's under the soft lap pillow of Mash.
"Huu... huuu..."
"I really admire this girl for being able to sleep like that."
Da Vinci could not help but exclaim.
Suddenly, the desert below began to surge like rolling waves.
Mash immediately became vigilant, and the shield, larger than her own body, materialized instantly in her hands.
"A sandstorm... no, everyone be careful! There seems to be something inside!"
Gudako, who had woken up due to Mash's movements, looked dazed: "Uwu... what happened?"
"Senpai, quickly stand behind me!"
Hearing Mash's words, Gudako, who had already been through five Singularities with her, ran behind Mash almost by reflex, carefully placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, curiously peering at the desert below.
Da Vinci's staff lit up, and she spoke with a confident smile: "Leave it to me! Finally, I can showcase my omnipotence, my wisdom! Although the first battle is in such a terrible place, one must try to see things from a different perspective at times like this. Even in a sandstorm, my ultimate beauty remains completely unaffected; you should all just be captivated by the secret weapon of Da Vinci-chan, the omnipotent-attribute beauty secretary Servant!"
Several giant eyeballs covered in tentacles emerged from the sand, their terrifying appearance making both Mash and Gudako tense up.
However, before the monsters could enter a frenzy, a blue energy ball whistled through the air and impacted the giant eyeball.
Boom!
The scattering energy not only eradicated these monsters but also brought along a large amount of dust.
The moment Gudako, wanting to praise Da Vinci for her performance, opened her mouth, she was filled with sand.
"Ah ptui ptui ptui... sand got into my mouth again!" Gudako lay uncomfortably on the edge of the ship of light.
Da Vinci clapped her hands proudly: "As expected of me, it was handled with ease!"
However, no sooner had her words left her mouth than she heard another roar.
ROAR——!!
Simultaneous with that roar was a violent gale that made it impossible to keep one's eyes open. The hurricane, mixed with sand covering the sky, was making the refugees following them crawl on the ship of light in agony.
"This is trouble!" Da Vinci said. "Although I am a perfect genius who can foresee everything, I wish I were wrong right now!"
"This sound should be the roar of some monster, and there's the sound of wings flapping as well; it should be a flying type..." Mash tried hard to look toward the source of the sound.
"Prepare to engage!" Da Vinci said. "Although I don't know what kind of monster it is, we have no choice but to fight now!"
As the yellow sand dispersed, a colossal monster appeared before everyone's eyes.
Its appearance was like a lion with wings, but its face was a golden human mask, and its size was astonishingly large.
This monster was looking down at everyone on the ship of light. Although the mouth on the golden mask did not move, it emitted a deafening roar.
ROAR——!!
"It's a Sphinx!"
Da Vinci confirmed: "This is an existence of a higher order than Demonic Beasts or Phantasmal Species; sometimes it can even surpass the highest-ranking creatures of the Dragon Kind!"
Following Da Vinci's explanation, the Sphinx roared and swung its sharp claws in an attack.
For this type of basic creature, there was no need for magical moves; a single swipe or collision could send an enemy into disarray.
However, picking this ship of light as an opponent today meant the Sphinx's luck was as bad as it could possibly be.
A long-halberd Noble Phantasm, trailing a blue streak, descended from the sky, instantly piercing directly through the Sphinx's massive body.
With a miserable howl, the monster's body gradually turned into spots of magical light and dissipated.
"So amazing..."
Gudako sighed in admiration at this scene, her eyes burning as she looked at Shirou.
'If only Senpai could join Chaldea... then future Singularities would be much easier...!'
Gudako thought to herself.
With the death of the Sphinx, the storm ceased, the yellow sand cleared, and the surroundings suddenly became bright.
Due to the sunlight and cloud shadows, this vast, boundless desert transformed into a blue, clear sea.
"There are people over there...!"
Mash suddenly made a new discovery: "Estimated number of people is ten; all of them are humans, and... there is also a woman whose hands and feet are tied!"
Hearing Mash's words, Gudako immediately looked in that direction: "Could it be a kidnapping!? Mash, attack immediately!"
"Yes, Senpai!"
Mash immediately leaped from the ship of light Vimana, waving her shield as she rushed toward the individual who had their eyes mostly hidden by a hood and clearly looked like the leader.
Bang!
Caught off guard and unable to react in time, the leader, struck by the back of Mash's shield, was sent flying backward. Although physically unharmed, the clothes she wore and the mask used to cover her face fell off.
"Oof!? My mask was...!"
Only then was the appearance of the leader finally revealed.
Dark but firm skin, long blue-purple hair swaying in the wind, and a delicate, exquisite face that was not at all affected by the skin tone—even looking rather glamorous—was now exposed.
The subordinates behind the female leader nervously spoke up: "Master Hundred-Faced, be careful! These people are not ordinary soldiers! The pattern on that girl's armor is likely from the Holy City—"
The Heroic Spirit fused with Mash was one of the Knights of the Round Table, Galahad.
"You all retreat to the back; the enemies are Servants, not people you can deal with!" Hundred-Faced Hassan immediately ordered her subordinates.
Then, she cast her gaze toward Mash, her brows slightly furrowed, and she said in a somewhat displeased tone.
"You could have severely injured me just now... purposefully not delivering a lethal blow, was that to show you had energy to spare, or to mock me? Do you mean that we Mountain Folk aren't even worth being killed?"
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