Few Days Later
The sun hung overhead, mercilessly pouring scorching heat onto the endless dune. The sand stretched in every direction — an ocean of gold that shimmered beneath the heat.
Two figures trudged across the molten wasteland.
Mahoraga walked ahead at an easy, steady pace, completely unfazed by the blazing sun. There wasn't a drop of sweat on him, and his breathing remained slow and steady.
Behind him, Sunny dragged his feet.
[Puppeteer's Shroud] was wrapped tightly around his body to shield himself from the sun, though it did little to ease the heat radiating from the dunes. Sweat clung to his skin, and his hand clutched [Endless Spring], taking sips from the memory to relieve himself.
He stared at the endless dunes.
"…This place is hell."
Mahoraga did not look back, already accustomed to Sunny's incessant complaints.
Over the past few days, the boy had discovered an endless reserve of grievances. The heat was unbearable. The sand was everywhere. The sun was malicious. The desert itself, apparently, had been personally designed to inconvenience him.
At first, Mahoraga had responded.
Then he tried ignoring him.
Now, he simply accepted it as background noise.
Sunny kicked at the sand weakly and took another sip from [Endless Spring].
"I'm serious. Who designs a world like this? Endless sand, no water, and the sun keeps trying to cook me alive. Whoever made this desert clearly hates people."
"You know what the worst part is?" he continued, squinting at the horizon. "There's not even anything interesting out here. Just sand. Sand and more sand. I swear the dunes are multiplying."
He wiped sweat from his brow and squinted at the giant's back. "How are you not dying right now?"
Mahoraga did not bother to answer.
"You're not even sweating," Sunny accused.
"I am," Mahoraga replied calmly.
Sunny narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."
Mahoraga gave a faint shrug and continued forward.
Sunny groaned and dragged himself up the next dune. When he reached the crest, the same endless sea of gold greeted him again.
He stared at it for a long moment.
"…I hate this desert."
Mahoraga suddenly stopped.
Behind him, Sunny didn't notice. He continued trudging forward, cursing under his breath as he dragged himself over the crest of the dune.
"…Great. Another hill. Fantastic. Exactly what I needed—"
"Sunny… stop." He warned, his breath barely over a whisper.
Sunny kept walking.
"Oh, what now?" he grumbled.
"Sunny."
He waved a hand dismissively without even turning around.
"Oh well. Can't stop now, can we? We have to keep wandering the desert for God knows what. Maybe if we walk long enough we'll eventually find the edge of the world or something—"
"Sunny stop!"
Sunny flinched slightly at the sudden bark. He turned halfway around with an irritated frown.
"What?!"
Mahoraga moved at once.
"Get down!" He yelled.
The distance between them vanished in an instant as he lunged forward. His massive frame slammed into Sunny, as the giant drove him off the crest of the dune.
Sunny barely had time to register what was happening before the world flipped sideways. They rolled down the slope of loose sand, Mahoraga's weight pinning him to the ground.
"What the—!"
Suddenly, a sharp roar cut through the air.
Something tore across the crest of the dune where Sunny had been standing a heartbeat earlier. The sand burst apart violently.
A colossal sandworm burst from beneath the sand, its immense body easily twice the size of an average Ivory Reaver. Jagged steel appendages jutted from its body, while thick metallic plates overlapped along it like natural armor.
Mahoraga clenched his fist.
This monster was at least a Fallen Terror.
"..."
Sunny shoved Mahoraga off and scrambled to his feet.
"Great," he muttered darkly. "Just what we needed."
The creature let out another thunderous roar and twisted violently, Its massive body slipped beneath the dunes and surged through the sand like a fish through water. Sand exploded into the air as its steel appendages tore through the desert like blades.
The sandworm had struck.
Mahoraga summoned his gladius in a panic
The sand ahead of them bulged violently as the creature tunneled upward, its enormous mass racing beneath the dune.
Mahoraga's grip tightened around the weapon.
Then he realized it.
He wasn't going to stop it.
Without hesitation, he dropped the idea of intercepting the attack. Instead, his hand shot out and seized Sunny by the collar.
"Hey—!"
Mahoraga moved.
With a powerful leap, he dragged Sunny off the dune just as the sand erupted behind them. The colossal worm burst from the ground in a violent explosion of sand and steel, its jagged appendages slicing through the air where they had been standing a heartbeat earlier.
The force of Mahoraga's jump carried them several meters across the slope before they landed hard in the sand.
Sunny tumbled once before catching himself.
"Can you warn me before you carry me like a sack—"
His voice slowly quietened as his gaze landed on a massive ridge of shifting sand and his expression darkened.
"…It's coming back."
Mahoraga stood silent for a few moments before turning towards Sunny, "Summon your weapon."
Sunny stared at him like he had lost his mind.
"Are you crazy?!"
"That thing is a Fallen Terror," Sunny snapped, pointing toward the rapidly approaching swell in the dunes. "We can't fight that!"
Mahoraga didn't look away from the approaching Terror. "Summon your weapon."
Sunny let out a disbelieving laugh. "Yeah, great plan. Why don't we also punch a mountain while we're at it?"
"Well, that's exactly what we're going to do," he said with a faint smile. "This is its territory. We can't outrun it — just look at how quickly it's closing in on us."
Sunny clicked his tongue.
"I really hate this place."
He closed his eyes and called out to Serpent. Following Sunny's mental command, Serpent slithered up to his hand, and then escaped from it, turning into a dark blade.
Soon, he found himself holding a lusterless greatsword. It was a menacing, formidable, foreboding odachi.
The sand ahead of them heaved violently.
The ridge racing across the desert swelled higher, the dune bulging upward as the creature surged toward the surface. The ground trembled beneath their feet.
The dune exploded.
The colossal sandworm burst from beneath the desert with a deafening roar. Its immense armored body tore through the sand, jagged steel appendages lashing outward like a storm of blades.
Mahoraga didn't wait.
He lunged straight at it.
Contrary to his expectations, his attack did little to no damage. The gladius collided against the steel limb just as it struck. The impact rang across the desert like clashing iron.
The force pushed Mahoraga down.
Sunny moved at the same time.
Three shadows danced at his feet, before wrapping around his tachi. The blade slammed into the creature's armor.
A harsh metallic screech split the air.
Sunny's arms shuddered from the impact as the massive blade scraped uselessly across the creature's armor.
The sandworm shrieked.
Its enormous body twisted violently, the steel appendages lashed outwards — colliding against his mantle with a deafening roar.
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
While [Puppeteer's Shroud] shielded him from the blow, the sheer force behind the strike had been too much, and sent him crashing towards the ground.
BANG!
Sunny crashed into the side of the dune and punched straight into the loose sand. The impact buried half his body instantly, the soft slope collapsing around him as the desert swallowed him waist-deep.
Sand poured over his shoulders and arms, sliding down the dune and threatening to bury him completely.
"—Tch!"
He thrashed violently, spitting sand from his mouth as he forced one arm free. The odachi stabbed into the sand beside him as he used it to lever himself upward.
Above him, the colossal sandworm twisted through the air with a deafening shriek. Its immense armored body coiled and lashed, jagged steel appendages tearing through the desert like scythes.
"Damnation!" Sunny cried aloud, summoning [Mantle of The Underworld] in an effort to protect himself from the jagged body of the fallen terror as it rushed past him toward Mahoraga.