Into the Red Sands
The demon and the desert party stepped into the gate after a quick round of preparations and briefing. Whoosh. A completely different air swept over their bodies. Before them stretched an endless expanse of sand dunes. Ochre sand extended to the horizon, dotted here and there with the ruins of crumbling stone buildings. The sky was red. There was no sun. Yet everything was bathed in a crimson hue. A scorching wind blew.
"Hot..." Isol wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Jisoo spoke up as they walked. "We'll do the briefing on the move. Everyone listen up." Her bright, friendly voice sobered, replaced by the steady tone of a leader.
"This is a D-rank desert-type gate. It's been open for about two weeks, and the advance team's report is already up."
Jisoo pulled a folded sheet of paper from her pocket.
"The environment's a desert, as you can see. Wide-open sightlines mean low risk of long-range ambushes, but no cover either. And watch your step—there are burrowing monsters that come up from under the sand."
"Burrowing types?" Seha asked.
"Yeah. The main ones are scorpion-types." Jisoo unfolded the paper and showed it around. It had photos of the monsters taken by the advance team. Sand-colored scorpions and dark red-black ones. Those two varieties seemed to be the most common.
"The scorpions are usually medium to large-dog sized. The dark red-black ones are bigger and tougher, according to the report. And they've got stingers on the end of their tails."
"Poison..." Harin narrowed her eyes.
"Yep. Paralysis venom, per the advance team. The affected area goes numb for about 30 minutes. Not lethal, but dangerous in a fight."
"Yeah, I bet." Harin double-checked her protective gear. For someone wielding a massive axe like her, even a momentary loss of balance could mean serious injury.
Seha unconsciously touched the belt at his waist. A green potion. Antidote potion.
"Their shells, especially the claws and tail tips, are rock-hard and tough to crack. Don't get cocky—aim for the joints and underbelly instead."
"Got it." Isol nodded.
"Good." Jisoo pointed ahead. "Formation one. Uncle Mansu and Jinho up front. Me and Isol behind them, Harin as flanker, Dohyeon behind the front line on detection, Seha and Haneul in the rear. Clear?"
"Yes!"
They moved into the pre-arranged formation. The crunch of sand underfoot echoed softly.
Dahong and Noeul hung back at a distance, watching.
"What do you think?"
"Of what."
"Doesn't it look like kids playing to an immeasurable-rank demon like you?"
"Not really." Dahong shrugged at Noeul's mocking tone. "I think any struggle to survive is noble, no matter what. Strength or weakness doesn't factor into my judgment."
"......"
Noeul toyed with her staff, about as tall as herself, as if pondering the words. Dahong spoke to her.
"Looks like kids playing to you, huh?"
"......" Noeul narrowed her eyes. She hadn't expected her own words thrown back at her. Instead of replying, she turned her gaze forward.
"That kid." Her eyes fixed on Seha.
"His mana reserves are higher than average. Pure, too. He doesn't know it yet, but raise him right and he'll turn out decent."
Dahong silently watched Seha. He was laughing, chatting with Isol about something. Noeul glanced at him, then back to Dahong's bored expression.
She made a deal with Seoyeun.
A one-year promise. Seoyeun would train Seha in that time and subjugate Dahong. Honestly, Noeul didn't like the plan. Too long. Too many variables. Who knew what Dahong might do in the meantime. Better to just kill her. Even if it meant some casualties.
Noeul's hand gripped her staff. Right here, right now. Wouldn't it be better to deal with this demon?
An immeasurable-rank demon. Seoyeun had said even a bunch of S-ranks couldn't guarantee a win. But Noeul thought differently.
...That big a deal? She couldn't quite gauge it. She could handle up to greater demons solo, with some prep. But...
Her gaze shifted forward. There was Haneul. Her cousin, who looked up to her.
...Not now. Haneul might get caught in it.
She relaxed her grip. Dahong watched silently.
"Everyone, hold up." Dohyeon raised his hand. The group stopped.
"Fifty meters ahead. Reactions under the sand."
"How many?" Jisoo asked.
"Five. Four sand-colored, one dark red-black."
"Mixed with a dark red one, huh." Jisoo's eyes narrowed. "Go around?"
"Nah, five's manageable," Harin said.
"No, we can take 'em." Jisoo rested her hand on her sword hilt. "Harin takes the dark red one, rest on the sand-colored. First time, so scouting battle—focus on probing. Haneul, save your heavy firepower."
"Got it!"
Harin raised her axe, Isol drew her sword. The blade reflected the red sky sharply. Mansu and Jinho lifted their shields.
"Alright, Ruby. Let's do this." Seha muttered.
"Nya." Ruby, padding through the sand, looked up at him. Her tail was straight up.
"Tanks first. Everyone ready. Dohyeon, signal."
"Coming from three o'clock. 3, 2, 1—"
The sand churned. Crunch crunch.
"Here they come!"
Whoosh! Five scorpions burst from the sand at once. The dark red one stood out clearly—easily 1.5 times bigger than the sand-colored ones, with noticeably thicker plating.
"Charge!"
Mansu surged forward, Jinho right behind. The scorpions scuttled in, claws snapping wide.
Clang! A claw hit a shield with a screech of metal.
"Sis!"
"On it!"
Jisoo and Isol leaped out together, each taking one. They severed tails and legs.
"Big one's coming!" Mansu yelled.
The dark red scorpion approached, claw raised high.
"Yaaah—!" Harin charged with her axe aloft. Her legs sank into the sand. Slower than on firm ground. Knowing a one-shot kill was unlikely, she dashed into its path and swung the axe like a thrown hammer.
Crunch! One side's legs shattered instantly. A choice born of her sluggish speed.
As the scorpion staggered, its tail stinger froze solid. Haneul had her wand raised.
"Nice!"
Harin hoisted her axe high and smashed down. Without the stinger, nothing to fear.
Splat! Fluids sprayed as the body split in two. The scorpion twitched and died.
The two sand-colored ones held by Jinho and Mansu had their tails lopped off by Isol and Jisoo, swords plunged into their torsos.
"Smooth for a scouting fight."
"Yeah." Dohyeon scanned around. "How's Seha's side?"
"Hah!"
Thwack! Thwack!
Ruby was savagely pummeling a dead scorpion.
"Haha, nothing for me to do." Seha grinned sheepishly. It had ended so fast he hadn't even loaded mana bullets.
They moved like a single unit, perfectly in sync.
"Ruby, that's enough." Seha scooped her up.
"Nyaong."
Ruby looked up expectantly for praise.
"Yeah, good job." Seha chuckled, petting her head. She was still a kitten, after all. Expecting a real fight from her was unreasonable.
The party gathered materials and mana stones, then pressed on.
Second encounter. Seven scorpions this time. Five sand-colored, two dark red-black. Numbers up.
Front line blocks the dark reds while the rest handle sand-colored.
"Seha! Heading your way!" Jisoo shouted.
Excluding the two leftmost, the rest charged Seha and Haneul.
"Ruby! Get ready!"
Ruby puffed up. Seha gathered mana. Buy time until she breathed fire.
"I'll help!"
Haneul swung her wand; three ice spikes formed and flew forward. They smashed into the approaching scorpions' faces.
Thud! Thunk!
But they only flinched the scorpions briefly—the hard shells unscathed.
Seha fired his gathered mana as bullets.
Crack! Hit the lead one's face dead-on. It shuddered from the unexpected impact. A crack visible in the shell.
"Yes!" Seha pumped his fist.
Crunch crunch crunch.
But the remaining two closed fast.
"Ruby!"
Seha yelled. Ruby bristled and stepped in front of him and Haneul.
"Everyone, get back!"
Mansu and Jinho shoved claws aside with shields and scattered left and right. Then—
"Heh... heh... Pffftchoo!"
Fwoosh!
With a somewhat pathetic sneeze, Ruby unleashed a massive blaze.
Screeeeech!!!!
The scorpions flipped over, legs flailing in agony. But only briefly—the sand-colored ones hit dead-on by the blue flames charred black and stopped moving. The dark reds farther back stayed mostly intact, but roasted all the same.
Seha blinked in shock. He knew she could breathe fire, but... this was way bigger than expected...?
The others didn't care.
"Kyaa! Amazing, Ruby!"
"Nyang."
They fawned over the proudly head-tilted Ruby.
Third encounter. Twenty sand-colored scorpions. Patterns emerging. Front line and tanks buy time for Ruby and Haneul's AoE. Then clean up the rest together. Numbers high, but handled smoothly. Like a tiny gear slotting into place.
Clank. Harin slung her axe over her shoulder.
"Numbers are climbing, aren't they?"
"Yeah." Isol agreed.
Started with five, now twenty. No dark reds this time, but still too many.
"Not overwhelming, but weird," Jisoo said, wiping her sword with a cloth from her pouch. Teamwork solidified, twenty was easy—but who knew if it'd keep scaling.
"Stick to the outskirts, no deep dive. Pull back if it feels off."
"Yes."
Quick checks done, they headed to the next area.
Outside the gate. A quiet clearing. A bit away from the management office's temporary booth stood two figures. A boy and a woman.
Jet-black hair, white shorts, knee-high socks, brown loafers. Red eyes. The boy swinging his legs on the bench looked almost innocently carefree. The woman stood demurely beside him, hands clasped. Long blonde hair. Modest clothes covering her skin. And a violently curvaceous figure that no outfit could fully hide.
"Eloise."
"Yes, Lord Belzar."
"How long are the bugs holding out?"
Eloise looked up. One eye socket empty.
"Six encounters cleared so far. No casualties."
"Hmph." The boy muttered boredly. "Honestly, I don't see the difference. Bugs are bugs, no matter how many. Can't we just ramp it up all at once?"
Eloise cautioned him. "A sudden spike in interference might alert the management office."
"Sigh. Annoying, having to sneak around the bugs' eyes."
"My apologies."
"Huh? Nah, not at you. I wanted to see what these bugs could do anyway."
Belzar waved his hand; black threads formed in the air and slipped into the gate. The management staff noticed nothing.
"If the bugs can't hold, my dear will step in."
"...Is that the goal?"
"Goal... nothing that grand."
Belzar picked up a fallen leaf from the bench. The fresh green withered instantly, crumbling to dust.
"Just."
His red eyes turned to the gate.
"Wanna see her."
Eloise bowed her head.
"Understood."