“Stay alert! It will be here soon!”

A tremendous roar shook the ground. Every warrior, nerves stretched taut, gripped his weapon with all his strength.

A moment later, an enormous sandworm burst through the sand and surged aboveground.

“Screeeeeech!”

“There it is!”

Its mouth, densely packed with hundreds of sharp teeth, unleashed a deafening roar.

Grains of sand exploded in every direction alongside the ear-splitting shriek.

Scorching dust filled the air, obscuring their vision. Beyond the hazy cloud, the enormous outline of the monster appeared.

The creature that had erupted from beneath the ground was so massive that they had to tilt their heads far back to see its full height.

Its appearance resembled that of a centipede or a giant bristle worm.

Covered in a hard, sand-colored carapace, the creature opened its vicious maw and lunged at the warriors.

“Skreeeeeeech!”

“Everyone, attack!”

At Kapkan’s command, dozens of warriors charged at the monster. Blades, axes and clubs rained down upon it indiscriminately.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Because of its hardened outer shell, most of the attacks bounced off without inflicting any meaningful damage.

The force of the impact was considerable, as could be seen from the way every warrior who struck it was forced to adjust their grip.

“D*mn it!”

The warriors facing the monster grimaced.

They had heard that its powerful shell could not be pierced by blades. It certainly lived up to its reputation as an invincible creature.

Anchoring its body in the sand, the sandworm lowered its shark-like mouth from above.

The warriors threw themselves aside desperately.

The creature crunched through the mouthful of sand it had swallowed and let out another thunderous shriek.

“Screeeeeech!”

Its entire mouth was packed with teeth. One look was enough to inspire the terrifying certainty that anyone swallowed would be minced into tiny pieces within seconds.

“Do not be afraid! Keep attacking!”

Kapkan drew his sword and charged the creature.

Taking advantage of the moment when it attacked the other warriors, he aimed for a gap in its parted armor and drove his blade inside.

“Take this!”

“Skreeeeeeech!”

Enraged that its prey had dared to fight back, the creature flew into a violent frenzy.

The wounded monster thrashed around with tremendous force, shaking the ground beneath them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Its enormous body slammed down mercilessly towards the desert warriors.

Then, perhaps deciding that its prey was faster than anticipated, it stretched its massive body across the sand and began to twist violently.

Its razor-sharp teeth lunged outwards, ready to devour the warriors.

“Ugh!”

“Gah!”

Although they moved quickly to evade it, warriors were injured one after another. Crimson droplets scattered across the sand.

“Be careful! Its sense of smell is keen!”

Kapkan shouted in warning.

At the same time, the monster caught the scent of the wounded warriors’ blood and plunged underground in an instant.

Rrrrrrrrrumble!

Its enormous body burrowed deep beneath the sand.

The ground trembled briefly before an ominous silence descended.

Not knowing when or where the creature would erupt again, the warriors tensed every muscle.

There was no possibility that the sandworm would abandon wounded prey.

“Form up around the injured! It will come for them!”

They could not afford to lower their guard for even a moment. Keeping watch for an enemy with an overwhelming advantage in the desert terrain, they gripped their weapons tightly.

The warriors stared intently at the ground beneath their feet; their nerves were so taut that the sound of their sweat falling seemed audible.

The dust haze settled, and the blazing sun intensified the heat. Yet they could not allow their concentration to waver.

“…….”

“…….”

A harrowing silence.

The life-or-death standoff continued.

More than ten minutes passed after the creature disappeared, yet there was still no sign of it resurfacing.

Several desert warriors murmured in confusion.

“Did it…… leave?”

“No. Everyone, remain alert.”

Kapkan warned them as they focused their defenses on the wounded warriors.

They had no way of knowing when the enemy would catch their scent and appear suddenly.

If they became complacent and allowed themselves to be ambushed, the consequences would be devastating.

***

‘Hmm……’

As she watched the warriors remain on high alert, Ophelia sank into thought.

Just as Kapkan had suspected, the creature lurked deep underground, waiting for its prey to lower their guard.

Her senses detected the enormous creature coiled beneath the earth, waiting for the right moment.

“Skree! Skree!”

It seemed furious that they had managed to wound it.

Ignoring the furious monster, Ophelia glanced at the red-haired warrior holding her camel’s reins.

‘……His dedication is rather admirable.’

The red-haired warrior had faithfully carried out the chief kidnapper’s instructions.

Throughout the battle, he focused on protecting her and moving her as far away from danger as possible.

True to his seasoned and experienced appearance, he moved remarkably well, predicting the monster’s attack trajectory and guiding Ophelia away just before it struck. He also deflected stray fragments of sand flying unpredictably through the air.

Even now, he was protecting her by keeping her away from the injured warriors.

Since the prey emitting the strongest scent of blood would become the sandworm’s highest-priority target, his judgement was sensible.

However, there was one thing they had overlooked.

‘What should I do about this……?’

Ophelia swallowed the warm liquid in her mouth and pondered.

It seemed that detecting the village earlier had put her body under considerable strain.

The metallic taste of blood repeatedly rose from her burning throat.

When she discreetly covered her lips, crimson blood spread across her pale palm as expected.

‘They said its sense of smell was keen……’

For a moment, Ophelia considered the possibility that the monster had not noticed her.

However, given how accurately it had tracked the location of its prey from deep underground, that seemed impossible.

Ophelia looked troubled as she thought about the monster’s filthy mouth.

Its densely packed fangs…

The decaying pieces of flesh caught between them…

‘That might…… hurt.’

She had certainly wished for death countless times, but she had never expected that wish to be granted by being swallowed and torn apart inside a monster’s maw.

With a weary expression, she lightly shook her head.

‘I hope it finishes me in a single bite.’

After all, Ophelia was far more accustomed to resigning herself and awaiting death than attempting a hopeless escape.

However—

‘You shouldn’t die with me.’

Ophelia looked toward the red-haired warrior guarding her.

‘Did he say his daughter was…… six? Hmm. I don’t remember.’

With the support of a low-level wind spirit, Ophelia lowered herself to the ground.

“What are you doing? It’s dangerous, so you must remain on the camel.”

Startled by her sudden action, the warrior standing on the other side of the camel hurriedly tried to seize her.

As he reached out to help her back on, Ophelia slapped his hand away sharply. The warrior froze, bewildered.

Ophelia silently shook her head at him.

‘Ugh……’

The moment she summoned a spirit, her body temperature plummeted to its limit.

She was struck by an excruciating pain, as though her heart had turned to ice. At the same time, her troublesome ankle ligament began to throb.

Gripping her chest, Ophelia looked down at her legs, which were shaking as though seized by convulsions. She gave a faint, bitter laugh.

‘……There is no possibility that I can run.’

The only option available to her was to drive away the warrior protecting her.

“Skree……”

At that moment, the monster lurking underground finally decided on a direction for its ambush.

Sensing the creature’s hostility turn towards her, Ophelia nodded calmly, as if she had anticipated it.