Petra's scythe passed through loose sand, and the creature answered immediately. Its body rippled, and clusters of hardened sand burst from its surface—three spear-like projectiles firing from its sides. They screamed through the air, sharp and fast.

  Petra spun sideways, letting the first spear graze past her shoulder. She twisted her wrists mid-motion and cleaved the second and third at the same time, the scythe flashing in a tight arc. The sand shattered on impact, bursting into dust that scattered across the battlefield.

  Before the dust could settle, the creature's massive tail whipped toward her, wide as a fallen pillar and moving with crushing force.

  Petra stepped aside as if she had been expecting it.

  She didn't stop moving. Instead, she continued to spin, the scythe circling her body like an extension of her arms. Her metallic boots glided across the sand, each step light yet precise, carving shallow lines in the dunes. She looked less like a warrior and more like a dancer, twirling an oversized baton with calm confidence.

  Every movement was deliberate. Every swing forced the creature to react.

  It was as if she was setting the tempo, and the beast had no choice but to follow.

  Kiel's jaw slowly dropped.

  "…Is she really this good?" he muttered, blinking hard. "Why does it feel like she's dancing?"

  Maddy clicked her tongue, though her eyes never left Petra.

  "I hate to admit it," she said, her nagging tone softened by concern, "but this side of Petra is far more effective. Normally, she swings her scythe just to survive." She swallowed. "This Petra swings to kill."

  Ulon let out a loud laugh, cracking his knuckles.

  "And she's enjoying it."

  "That's not funny," Maddy snapped.

  "This isn't the time to be impressed!" Shalotte shouted, nearly tripping over his own staff as he repositioned himself. "We need to help her!"

  Kiel glanced between Petra and the shifting sands.

  "Help her? How? I think what she said earlier wasn't a threat. She might actually do it."

  Ulon grinned and rolled his shoulders.

  "Then don't mess up her rhythm. Every fight has a pattern." He pointed at Petra. "She's already leading."

  He turned to Kiel.

  "Can you dance?"

  Kiel shook his head immediately.

  "Nope. Not even a little."

  "Then stay right here," Maddy said sharply. "And don't shoot anything. If you distract her, we might not be able to restrain her if she decides you're next."

  "…Comforting," Kiel muttered.

  Ulon stepped forward, planting his mace on his shoulder.

  "Watch and learn, kid. You don't need to lead. You just follow the beat."

  Maddy didn't wait any longer.

  She sprinted forward, daggers flashing in her hands as she slipped into Petra's orbit. The sand creature sensed the shift immediately. Its body swelled, and clusters of sand launched outward from its sides in rapid succession.

  Ulon charged in head-on.

  "HAHA!" he roared as his mace slammed into the incoming spears. Sand exploded around him, coating his silver body in dust. He barely slowed, smashing through the barrage with reckless enthusiasm.

  "Block high!" Petra snapped without looking.

  Ulon reacted on instinct, raising his mace just as a heavier cluster formed above and crashed down. The impact sent a shock through his arms, but he held.

  Maddy darted in beneath the block, her blades slicing into the creature's surface where Petra had just forced it to expose itself. The sand parted, not wounded, but disrupted.

  "Left!" Maddy shouted.

  Petra pivoted instantly, her scythe intercepting a spear that fired from the creature's flank. She twisted the blade and redirected the projectile into the ground.

  "Shalotte—now!" Maddy called.

  "R-right!" Shalotte slammed his staff into the sand. "Stone Pillar!"

  The ground erupted.

  A pillar of stone burst upward beneath the creature's midsection, lifting its massive body and throwing off its balance. Sand poured down like rain as the beast let out a low, grinding roar.

  Petra moved first.

  She stepped into the opening, scythe carving a brutal arc toward the creature's head. The beast twisted away, firing more sand spears in desperation.

  Ulon barreled in, laughing as he swatted the projectiles aside.

  "Is that all you've got?"

  Maddy followed Petra's strike perfectly, her blades slipping into the same gap Petra opened, their movements aligned as if they had practiced this a thousand times.

  "Again!" Maddy barked.

  Petra obliged.

  The creature slammed its tail into the ground, sending a shockwave through the sand. Kiel stumbled backward, barely keeping his footing.

  "Hey! I'm not even in this!" he yelped.

  Another barrage of sand spears erupted from the creature's back.

  "Block!" Petra commanded.

  Ulon planted himself between the spears and the others, bracing as his mace absorbed impact after impact. Sand chipped and cracked against his metallic body.

  "Shalotte!" Maddy shouted. "Another pillar—angle it!"

  "I-I'm trying!" Shalotte squeaked, adjusting his stance. "Stone Pillar!"

  The next pillar rose diagonally, forcing the creature to tilt and exposing its underside.

  Petra didn't hesitate.

  She leapt.

  Her scythe came down in a vicious spiral, dragging sand away and destabilizing the creature's form. The beast thrashed, firing spears wildly now, its rhythm broken.

  Maddy slipped in close, blades flashing in short, efficient strikes that kept the creature from regaining balance.

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  Ulon laughed again, voice booming across the desert.

  "See? Perfect dance partners!"

  "This is not a dance!" Shalotte yelled, ducking as a stray spear shot past him.

  Petra landed lightly, boots sinking just a little into the sand. Her breathing was steady, controlled—but her smile was sharp.

  The creature backed dozens of meters away. The mound of sand remained still.

  For the first time since the fight began, it hesitated.

  Kiel lowered his bow, staring.

  "…So this is what teamwork looks like when no one's yelling at me."

  Maddy snorted despite herself.

  "Don't get used to it."

  Petra raised her scythe again, eyes locked on the beast.

  "Stay in formation," she said coldly. "It's adapting."

  The mount twisted its body, coiling like a spring.

  Then it screamed.

  The sound was deafening. Not just loud, but violent. The sand around the creature exploded outward in a wide ring, grains hitting skin and armor like needles. Maddy yelped and clamped her hands over her ears. Shalotte nearly dropped his staff. Kiel staggered back with a curse.

  Only Petra remained unmoved.

  Her eyes narrowed.

  "Get ready, maggots," she muttered.

  The creature charged.

  It took only a few heavy steps—then it vanished.

  The sand collapsed inward where it once stood, leaving nothing but a shallow crater and swirling dust.

  Maddy spun in place, panic creeping into her voice.

  "Where is it? Don't tell me it learned how to teleport. I hate monsters that cheat!"

  Petra didn't answer. Her head snapped to the right.

  "Shalotte—!"

  She saw it then.

  The sand burst open several steps infront Shalotte, the creature erupting from below with terrifying speed. Its massive body arched upward, jaws splitting wide. Rows of jagged teeth lined its mouth, each one grinding against the other as sand and saliva spilled out.

  Shalotte froze.

  His eyes widened, reflecting nothing but teeth.

  "…Again?" he whispered.

  A shout tore through the chaos.

  "DUCK!!"

  Shalotte didn't think. He didn't argue. He didn't even scream.

  He dropped.

  A sharp wind ripped over his head.

  Kiel stood several meters away, feet planted unevenly in the sand, his bow drawn so far back it looked ready to snap. His expression was no longer playful—his usual mischief replaced by raw focus and fear.

  "Ultimate skill," Kiel shouted, voice cracking,

  "Coup de Grace!"

  Mana surged.

  It gathered violently at the arrow's tip, spinning faster and faster until the air itself twisted. A miniature tornado formed around the arrowhead, pulling in sand, light, and sound. The pressure made Maddy's skin prickle.

  Petra's eyes widened—just a fraction.

  Kiel released the area as soon as Shalotte ducked.

  The recoil hit him like a charging beast. He was thrown backward several meters, slamming hard into the sand. His bow flew from his hands as the arrow screamed forward.

  It flew straight into the creature's open mouth.

  Through it.

  The arrow tore out the other end, ripping through the creature's body and tail in one brutal line. The compressed wind detonated from within.

  For a split second, there was silence.

  Then the sand worm exploded.

  Blood and shattered sand sprayed outward in a violent wave. Petra, still mid-air from her leap, twisted her body sharply, pivoting just enough to avoid the worst of the gore. Drops of dark blood splattered across the sand where she had been a moment before.

  The arrow didn't stop.

  It kept flying.

  Straight toward Ulon.

  "—OI?!" Ulon shouted.

  At the last second, an invisible force shoved him sideways. He skidded across the sand, boots digging deep grooves. The arrow passed so close it tore through his metallic shoulder, leaving a long, burning scratch across his metallic skin.

  Ulon rolled once, then sprang back to his feet.

  "That was dangerous, kid!" he yelled, half-laughing, half-angry. "You almost hit me!"

  The battlefield fell quiet except for the settling sand.

  The creature's remains lay scattered, its massive form collapsed into blood-soaked dunes.

  They regrouped slowly.

  Kiel pushed himself up with a groan. His right arm trembled violently. When he lifted it, everyone could see the damage—his arm was swollen and dark with blood, veins standing out as if they had burst from the inside.

  Maddy rushed toward him immediately.

  "What were you thinking?! You could've torn your arm off! I told you not to—"

  "I know, I know," Kiel said, wiping blood from his lip with a shaky grin. "But it was an emergency."

  He reached into his storage ring with his good hand, pulled out a red vial, and drank it in one gulp.

  The potion burned its way down his throat.

  Slowly, the damage began to fade. The swelling reduced, the bleeding stopped, and the color returned to his arm. A soft glow surrounded him as system notifications appeared in everyone's vision.

  You've killed Level 201 Sand Worm.

  Congratulations. You have earned 43,075,254 experience.

  Ulon whistled loudly.

  "Level two hundred? No wonder it screamed like my aunt."

  Petra stared at Kiel for a long moment. Her expression was unreadable—then she scoffed.

  "…Idiot," she said. "But good timing."

  Kiel brightened instantly.

  "Wait—was that praise?"

  "No."

  Shalotte finally managed to stand up straight, though his knees still trembled. He brushed sand off his robe with stiff, awkward motions, leaving dusty streaks along the fabric. His eyes moved from the mangled corpse on the ground to the glowing notification hovering in the air. His brows slowly knit together.

  "…Sand worm?" he said, carefully, as if the word itself might bite him. "Aren't we supposed to kill a sand wyrm?"

  The desert seemed to hold its breath.

  No one spoke.

  Ulon blinked once. Then again.

  "…Oh."

  He scratched the back of his head and gave a short, uneasy laugh. "Maybe, uh… a typo error?"

  Shalotte shot him a look. "I don't think so. The Alliance doesn't make simple mistakes like this. Especially not on a special mission."

  Maddy folded her arms, worry creeping back into her face. "Don't say things like that. I hate it when you say smart things right before something bad happens."

  Kiel stepped closer to Shalotte and tapped his shoulder.

  Tap.

  Shalotte ignored him.

  Tap. Tap.

  Shalotte frowned. "What is it now?"

  The tapping turned into a firmer grip.

  Annoyed, Shalotte turned around.

  His breath caught.

  Beneath the sand beside the jagged rock formation, a massive pair of crimson eyes blinked open. The pupils narrowed, glowing faintly through the shifting grains. The ground began to tremble—not violently, but steadily, like the deep breathing of something enormous waking from sleep.

  The sand split apart.

  A colossal figure rose, lifting itself with clawed limbs that dug into the rock for support. Its elongated body slid free in sections, each one covered in light-brown, plated scales that blended almost perfectly with the desert. The creature's sheer size was overwhelming—easily fifty meters long, its body wrapping halfway around the rock formation as it fully emerged.

  A Sand Wyrm.

  Before anyone could react, the rock formation itself cracked.

  With a grinding roar, another massive head burst from within the stone, sand and rubble cascading down its scales.

  Two.

  Shalotte stumbled back instinctively. "This is bad. This is very bad. We need to retreat—now."

  His hands shook as he opened his status window, fingers flying as he sent an emergency signal to Shane.

  Ulon let out a laugh that was just a little too loud. "Heh… I don't think we can, deputy boss."

  Shalotte turned sharply.

  Behind them, four mounds of sand surged forward, moving unnaturally fast, circling like sharks beneath the surface.

  They were flanked.

  Maddy sucked in a sharp breath. "You've got to be kidding me…"

  Petra didn't say a word. She simply raised her scythe, eyes burning brighter than before.

  Shalotte looked back at the nearest wyrm and froze.

  Its throat was glowing.

  A deep, molten orange light pulsed beneath its scales.

  A chill crawled down his spine.

  "Ulon, barrier!" he shouted. "Petra—strike downward with everything you've got!"

  No one questioned him.

  Shalotte slammed his staff into the ground. "Stone Dome!"

  Ulon raised both arms, grinning despite the sweat on his brow. "Heaven's Grace!"

  Petra stepped forward, muscles tensing. "Moonblade."

  The ground erupted.

  Two massive half-spherical stone domes surged upward from the sand, forming side by side. At the same time, a shimmering barrier descended from above, sealing them in just as the domes connected. The space inside rattled violently as sand and debris slammed against the forming walls.

  Petra moved before the barrier fully closed.

  She leapt and brought her scythe down in a brutal arc.

  Sand exploded sideways, blasting through the unfinished dome and pouring in like a flood. A heartbeat later, the wyrm unleashed its attack.

  Fire—thick, blazing, almost molten—spewed from its mouth. It wasn't just flame; it moved like lava, heavy and roaring, swallowing everything in its path.

  The stone dome sealed shut just in time.

  The world outside vanished in a blinding inferno.

  Inside the dome, the heat surged instantly. The stone walls glowed faintly red as the impact shook the structure. The ground trembled so hard that Shalotte lost his footing and fell backward.

  Maddy grabbed his arm. "Stay up! Don't you dare faint now!"

  Ulon planted his feet and pushed against the barrier, veins bulging. "I'm holding it! I'm holding it—but I'm not a miracle worker!"

  Kiel crouched low, covering his head. "Next time, I'm checking the mission details myself!"

  Petra stood at the front, scythe embedded in the stone floor, teeth clenched. "If this barrier breaks," she growled, "I'll carve my way out."

  Outside, the wyrm continued spewing fire.

  The desert shook as the flames carved a massive crater—far larger than the stone dome itself. Sand melted, rock shattered, and the roar drowned out all sound.

  Then, slowly, the fire stopped.

  Smoke and heat rolled across the battlefield.

  When the flames cleared, the crater remained—wide, deep, and scorched black.

  And within it…

  There was no sign of the party.