The Starving Earth Dragon

The starving worm — the Earth Dragon Disastro — wandered the world as it always had.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

It dove deep beneath the earth, jaws yawning wide, swallowing soil and stone and spitting the waste out through its tail as it passed. Whenever hunger struck, it would snatch prey in an instant from the sounds and vibrations it sensed above. Because it swallowed the ground whole, every impurity was forced out through its tail, leaving only the meal to dissolve in its gut — an evolution refined for that purpose alone.

The problem was that Disastro was always hungry.

Its appetite matched its colossal body, but more than that, the constant writhing of its entire form and the endless expulsion of sand kept its metabolism raging. It was a beast that never stopped starving. It had eaten countless lives. It had killed countless more.

Yet no matter how far it searched, there was nothing left to eat.

Disastro surfaced and swung its snout this way and that, peering about. It could not see, but the gesture let it read vibrations and sound from that direction in finer detail. Still, nothing registered anywhere.

Finding no prey, Disastro sank back into the earth.

Only then did the living things that had clamped their mouths shut, held their breath, and gone utterly still dare to feel relief. Unaware it had been deceived, Disastro swam through the soil once more.

Where had everything gone?

Disastro had forgotten that it had indiscriminately swallowed every living thing it found. The survivors had learned. That eyeless monster could not detect them if they neither moved nor made a sound.

For a time, silence spread across the surface. Wherever Disastro appeared, everything lived as if dead. Unable to sense activity above, most of its hunts failed.

Then the abnormality set in.

Hungry.

I'm still hungry.

Is there really nothing left for me to eat…?

Disastro's body began to wither. It wanted only to soothe a hunger without end. Eating sand meant nothing. Anxiety seized it.

At this rate, I'll die.

It coiled underground and cradled its empty belly.

I'll sleep for now. Tomorrow I'll move again and find food.

But sleep would not come. Suddenly the texture of its own flesh felt like succulent meat.

Maybe if I ate this, it would be enough?

Biting it would hurt, though.

Disastro hesitated, then shifted its body. Something terrible was about to unfold in the Earth Dragon's burrow. Drool began to spill from its trembling maw as it slowly opened its jaws toward its own tail.

Just as Disastro's consciousness began to fade, the world changed.

The axis of time twisted — the price of someone crossing from a distant future into a nearer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠past. Disastro was swept up in the aftermath and cast adrift.

—Kii!?

Its body appeared on the surface without warning. For a moment it reeled as every surrounding wave and vibration vanished — then it moved toward the new vibrations of life it could feel.

This was no empty land. It was a golden expanse teeming with monsters.

At last the Earth Dragon rejoiced. And once more it began to devour everything in sight. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Its eternally empty stomach started to fill.

Yes. This is what I've been waiting for.

Drunk on sweet satiety, Disastro raced across the wasteland. A monster mad with appetite, it swallowed everything it found without filter or pause.

Then — a deep, resonant tone.

A massive vibration, shaking air and earth alike, reached Disastro's senses as it prowled. It was a majestic noise the beast had never heard before. Disastro thrust its head up and turned toward the source. The vibration grew stronger. It submerged and swam in that direction.

Rrrrrumble—!

The ground above tore open as Disastro passed. Whatever it was, Disastro was ready to swallow it whole. Whatever it was…

At last Disastro yawned its jaws wide from below and swallowed the vibrating earth entire.

But what it felt was not warm living flesh — only the cold touch of iron.

A trap.

Disastro roared as it took in the shapes of the small things ringing it. It did not care what this meant. It would simply eat them all and be done.

…But.

Melchior's eyes went wide as he faced Disastro.

We'll show you humans aren't so easily taken.

We are not your prey.

We are the hunters who came for you.

Melchior bellowed until his throat tore.

"It's here—!! Fire the ballistae before it can dive underground—!!"

Twang—!

The strings of the ballistae flanking Disastro snapped free. Massive bolts carved from monster horn streaked through the air, thick ropes braided to their shafts. The ropes had been coated with the silk sacs of the desert spider Pontoponto, rendered nearly unbreakable. Each ballista was anchored to the wasteland by enormous stakes driven deep into the ground.

Alice watched the bolts fly and gave a small nod. First priority: pin the creature to the surface so it could not retreat underground.

The bolts struck Disastro's body, crushing through its desiccated carapace. Forged by a craftsman's hand, they were as sharp as spears. Their tips flared with barbs like fishhooks, designed never to pull free.

—KYAAAAaaaa!!!

Disastro screamed. The sound threatened to rupture eardrums — and proved the attack had worked. It thrashed, trying to dive. But the ballista bolts snagged in its flesh and would not come free, and the taut ropes held its body locked to the surface.

They could not waste this opening.

"Cannons!"

Boom—!!

Gunpowder erupted in a single volley. Heavy cannonballs arced through the sky, punched through the sandstorm, and smashed into Disastro's body with brutal force.

—!!!

The beast howled in agony. Fragments of dry carapace flaked away like dead skin. It writhed and thrashed.

If they could drive the Dragon Bane into it as well, it would be perfect…

"G-Grandpa! Should I pull it?"

Pina asked, hands on the Dragon Bane's long trigger. The creature was thrashing like a crushed worm, too frantic to think.

Matillo shook his head and clicked his tongue.

"Not yet. That thing's thrashing its whole long body around — if we fire now, we'll miss."

A design flaw. Noticing it only now. Matillo cursed himself. The Dragon Bane had been built to target dragons soaring high overhead. If the barrel could have been lowered further, he would have fired into that pinned body already. But the pillar supporting the heavy barrel would not drop below forty-five degrees.

Matillo turned to the soldier assisting them.

"You there!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

"Tell the prince! To hit it with the Dragon Bane, that thing has to stop and hold its head still!"

"U-understood!"

The soldier sprinted off. Matillo clenched his fist.

Alice. Oflo… everyone fighting out front.

He cheered them on in silence. Those figures in the sandstorm, braver than anyone. There were no further orders from the prince for them. The only goal given was victory.

From here on, it was the hunters' and knights' time.

Alice decided it was time to move and spoke low.

"…Let's go."

That was the signal.

Alice raised her greatsword and fixed her gaze on Disastro. Behind her goggles, her eyes sharpened to a killing edge. Everything so far had gone according to plan. The Dragon Bane had not fired yet, but there would be a reason. From this moment, she trusted everyone to survive — and she would read every one of the beast's patterns.

Alice's mind had never been clearer. The sandstorm whipping across her vision no longer blinded her.

"It's coming."

She lifted her greatsword. Not only Alice — every fighter raised their weapons and prepared for battle. Yet no one rushed forward first. It was not fear locking their bodies. Guido, puzzled by the hesitation, asked a hunter beside him — but charging a monster head-on was the mark of an amateur. Everyone here was a veteran. All of them, focused solely on Disastro, were watching its every move.

The creature, which had been lazily swaying its head, did something strange. It slammed its body down onto the ground to its right, then began slowly sweeping across the earth like a massive broom. A sweeping attack along the ground.

No gaps. They had to fall back.

Alice shouted.

"Fall back!"

Ssscrape—!

From the far side, Disastro's body scoured the ground. Everyone scrambled backward. Watching the Earth Dragon's head whip past behind them sent a chill through every spine. Caught in that sweep, they would have died without question.

They seized the opening as it swept. Closing in, they hammered weapons into the Earth Dragon's long body.

"Hah!"

Alice put her strength into a swing of the Bloodshell Greatsword. But the dry carapace ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was hard and thick. The blade could not cut deep.

Then Disastro lifted its head again, bent it downward, and opened its maw toward the hunters. A shadow fell over them. The head was aimed precisely where Oflo stood.

"Tch."

Oflo clicked his tongue at the Earth Dragon's gaping jaws. The moment that head hovered above him, he broke away from the others. As Disastro lunged, he planted his staff, launched himself hard, and rolled across the ground.

"Hoo…"

Oflo caught his breath and stared at the Earth Dragon. It chewed sand with a grinding motion, then wriggled back upward as if disappointed to have missed. No ordinary monster. The way it tried to swallow them whole in a single bite proved just how vicious it was. This was a creature that should never have existed in the world.

It drew its head back and unleashed a roar.

—KYAAAAAAA!!!

The thunderous bellow carried destructive force, shoving enemies back or knocking them flat.

"Kh—."

Alice was driven backward and drove her greatsword into the ground before her. It was a survivable attack — but some fighters lost all strength and could not move. Legs trembled. Hearts hammered. How could anyone defeat a monster like that? Regret took root in their hearts.

And then—

"Ah—."

In a flash of movement, someone became the Earth Dragon's prey. There was not even a death to witness. They simply vanished into that maw, disappearing down the long, distant length of its body. Those still standing flinched. Death, arriving right before their eyes, was this brutal.

But there was no time to hesitate. Monsters never waited. Everyone knew that in their bones.

Suddenly another vibration spread through the earth.

"…This is—!"

Capello's eyes went wide as he nocked an arrow. A new crack split open beneath his feet. Sensing killing intent, he threw himself sideways — but whatever erupted from the ground was faster.

"Gah!"

Capello was struck and flung aside. His cowboy hat flew off. He tumbled across the wasteland floor and did not move.

What had burst free was Disastro's tail.

Alice clicked her tongue at Capello, knocked out in a single blow.

"Capello—!"

One of his fellow fighters shouted the name and ran toward him. Head and tail were both on the surface now. Targeting one meant worrying about the other.

Alice was about to give orders when Royal Knight Guido shouted and charged toward the tail.

"Split into two groups!"

Guido's quick judgment told him the tail could not be left alone. Alice closed her mouth and nodded. A call worthy of a promising hunter. Guido was exactly right.

"Hah—!"

Lucas and the other knights followed Guido to the tail. That end of the body housed the vent through which Disastro expelled sand as it moved — and like every monster, that region served a function far from ordinary.

Whoosh—!

Rocks suddenly erupted from the tail in a violent spray — a fraction of everything Disastro had ever swallowed. Guido read their trajectories and dodged. There were many stones, but projectiles of this kind were easily tracked by the five knights present. Some of the rocks, however, flew not only at the fighters here but toward the distant ballistae and cannons. Too far to worry about. They could only hope the crews handled it.

Alice glanced at the situation, then swung her greatsword again.

Clang—.

As expected, the edge would not bite.

Then Disastro bent its body backward. The form drawn taut like a bow whipped across sandstorm and sky, lashing down toward the ground like a scourge.

Whoosh—!

A shadow fell over Alice's head. This time, the target it had chosen was her.

"Dodge!"

Kyle shouted. It was an attack that demanded evasion. Taking it head-on would crush her flat as a stomped tin can.

But Alice did not move. She looked up at Disastro. In the grip of extreme tension, her mind was ice-cold.

Watch carefully.

Time slowed around her focused awareness. Within that stretched moment, Alice held the image of Disastro's body crashing down toward her — as if she were watching herself on a cinema screen. She studied it, considered, and then nodded.

I can do this.

Certainty filled her, rising until it moved her body. With fierce confidence she adjusted the angle of the Bloodshell Greatsword in her hands.

This attack — I can take it.

Black energy poured from the Luga-lac essence, coiling around the greatsword and Alice's arms. Her heart hammered. Fail, and she died. But she would not fail.

Alice gripped the hilt as if to crush it and raised her weapon high.

The earth-shattering whip met the small hero's blade. Alice immediately guided the flow of force aside. A future hunter who had slain a supreme-grade monster would not yield to this. Transcendent power streaming from the essence lent her its strength.

KRAANG—!

A pure, ringing note pealed out. The greatsword, colliding with the dry carapace, did not break — it let Disastro's body slide past. The whip smashed into empty ground, and the full shock of the impact rebounded into the beast itself.

Disastro's body went slack and crumpled.

"Wh—what—."

Oflo stared in astonishment. Forgetting even the battle around him, he could not close his mouth as he looked at Alice. This was the birth of a new Master Hunter — a moment no one could dispute.

In that case, he could not die here.

Oflo snapped back to himself and struck the ground with his staff. A strange light began to rise from the essence set in its tip. It was not only Oflo — everyone moved with the same resolve. Knights and hunters alike drew out the power of the essences embedded in their weapons.