By Zephyria 
Everything was quiet, as if I had dreamt it. Only the panting of the group could barely be heard. The group members cautiously gathered at one point, looking around. Marianne and Nadish, who had been standing far off, also led their camels closer. I looked over their sweat-soaked faces to see if anyone was injured, but no specific external wounds were visible.
“Is it over?”
“…Mikael, don’t say that.”
“Huh? Why not?”
Rustle.
The sound of falling sand.
“Damn it, I’m going crazy! Run!”
Even without Hugh Benson’s words, everyone would have run in the same direction. The ground was sinking lower and lower. The sand that had been flowing into one point disappeared noticeably fast. The center of this inverted triangle was reddish. It was poison. I figured a Sandworm would be there, its maw gaping open. If we got poisoned here, we’d be dragged straight into its belly. There was no time to think. While still on the camel, I grabbed Marianne’s belt from behind and lifted her up.
“Mikael, no way!”
“Landing technique!”
“Ah!”
And I threw her. I had taught her how to fall without getting hurt several times, so she’d do well. Indeed, I heard the sound of her landing properly from a distance. Marianne swallowed her curses but didn’t scream. On impulse, I grabbed Nadish, who was next to her, and threw him too. He muffled his scream with both hands, but I worried inwardly that he might break an arm or a leg if he fell like that. However, since Healing Artifacts were plentiful, I didn’t point it out.
Then, Rubel was held tightly in my arms. Hugh Benson, who had been holding onto Ruben to prevent him from being dragged down, pushed him towards me. As I instinctively held the child, Hugh Benson immediately leaped upward and said something amusing.
“If you miss, I’ll catch them. Throw with confidence.”
“Yes.”
“…Mika,”
“Shh.”
“…Okay.”
I threw him. Seeing what I did, the mercenaries also threw each other far away. The recoil from throwing one person from the collapsing sand dune was immense, but thanks to the sand sliding in a triangular shape, our bodies weren’t buried deeply. John, who had been pushed down as far as I had while throwing the others, first threw his morning star up above. Then he asked.
“Shall I throw you? Or…”
“Hmm.”
“…Yes.”
John meekly extended his thick, large hands. What was he doing? With such a heavy body, if he lifted his arms to throw and his arms fell off, it would be a considerable problem. I just let go and grabbed his waist. He let out a grunt and went up high into the sky.
Then I turned around. I could hear the commotion from above.
“Mika! Come back!”
“What is she doing now, damn it!”
“Marianne! Magic! Use magic!”
“She can’t catch it if she can’t reach it! Mikael! Just get out! Wait until you’re out and then catch us!”
I knew why the children were causing a commotion. They had quickly retreated due to the poison. But I could overcome the Sandworm’s poison. Even Elvin, who possessed the strongest power among us, couldn’t kill such a large monster with a single blow. But I could unleash Sword Energy twice as long as Elvin’s. Would such an opportunity come again? The Sandworm, which had been thrashing wildly in all directions, was now just swallowing sand with its mouth agape. It was much better to fight it now. We would have to walk on sand for the rest of our journey. I couldn’t let such a dangerous creature follow us. An enemy cannot be left behind. It was best to cut it down now before it could escape.
I stared into its wide-open, red mouth. Gazing at the white and yellow teeth, layered several times over, I gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands. Sword Energy seeped into it, crackling and burning with an eerie sound. Could I do it? Yes, I could. As I gathered my strength into one point, it swallowed more and more sand.
Then. Suddenly, Maelo Sanson’s voice echoed in my ear.
‘They are smarter than you think, and they have fought for survival for a long time.’
A shiver ran down my spine. Without hesitation, I leaped upward. Almost simultaneously, it opened its mouth wide again. Bone fragments shattered and were shot out at tremendous speed. They must have been from the beasts the Sandworm had swallowed. Seeing monster bones of familiar colors mixed in made me dizzy. I was confident I could easily block small, light sand with a Sword Screen, but with such powerful, thick bones, even I could only deflect them by parrying with my sword.
If I had stayed close, I would have been in big trouble. I had seen this before. The Mancheonhwau scattered by the Dang Family’s head just before he died was exactly like this. The magnificent sight of tens, hundreds, thousands of thin, thick, slender, and heavy Hidden Weapons being shot out was replayed in reality by a beast. I split the sky and ascended to the highest point I could reach. Poisonous mist billowed softly from beneath my feet.
‘Do you think you are stronger than me?’
Ah.
Master.
‘When the weak hunt the strong, they must be more careful.’
Reaching the highest point, I stepped on a few bone fragments and propelled myself upward again. The Sandworm, having spat out everything it could, wriggled and churned the sand, climbing up to catch me. I couldn’t look directly at it. At the point where the sand met the sky, far in the distance, something raised its head.
It was… a giant Sandworm. Three Sandworms.
My companions were still worried about me, retreating backward, backward, away from the sticky, swamp-like Poison Sand. There was nothing left to step on or climb, and no time to wait calmly. I spun around in mid-air and poured power into my sword. Simultaneously, I erased all the doubts I held. I had to do it. I absolutely had to, now. Had I ever gripped my sword so desperately? On the day I died, I had nothing left to protect. The ones I cherished had long since died and fallen. Back then, I lived only to survive, lived because I couldn’t die, and died when it was time to die.
But now it was different. My eyes blazed with fierce light. Tiny lightning bolts, crackling around the shimmering Sword Energy, scattered like mist. This one time. I couldn’t miss this chance. I gathered all the energy of the sky and amplified my power several times over. I heard the sword cry out with a clang. The beast beneath me surged up and opened its mouth wide.
One strike. The line drawn honestly from top to bottom was a path I had traced thousands, tens of thousands of times. It was a path I knew. Now I understood. All the fragments of enlightenment I had gathered existed for this moment. I had come back the hard way, the long way, to something I knew so well. The sky I had summoned brought down lightning. The sand dune, over fifty yards long, in front of my eyes split in half silently. The sand pushed aside by the Sandworm’s body, split in half and overturned, flowed down. I wondered how the children behind me were doing, but I had no energy left to look back. A strange exhaustion, following enlightenment, held me captive. My entire body tingled. I had now reached the extreme of Transcendent Peak.
With a short thump, I landed on the sand dune. Just as a proud smile began to form on my lips.
“Wow.”
“…”
“You’re pretty good, aren’t you?”
From between the Sandworm’s corpse, a young man popped out with a bright smile. I froze, unable to even let out a gasp of surprise. My grip on the sword tightened. Even though he must have known what I had just done, he showed no sign of feeling threatened in front of me, the one holding the sword. He rummaged through the Sandworm’s innards and pulled something out. He was an unusually intact-looking man. He had blue hair that seemed to absorb the dim light and shimmering silver-grey eyes. Even in the bright daylight, his skin gleamed as if he had just emerged from a very dark place.
What was this? A person, or a ghost? What I had done to the Sandworm was like a dream, had I already died? I couldn’t read the presence of the man breathing, moving, and waving in front of me. No, it wasn’t a presence. There was no breath. He didn’t blink. The one laughing, talking, and gesturing was not alive. How could this be? Even the previous Dang Family head, who was a Hwagyeong, Maelo Sanson, or Wesley Kiadris, couldn’t do this. To protect my child, should I go in the opposite direction? Or would it be better to run straight to the children? What if he attacked? Was I scared right now?
In my utter confusion, Nadish let out a gruff scream from above.
“Sith!”
“Nadi! I missed you! How have you been? You’ve gotten older since I last saw you!”
“I haven’t been well, you crazy bastard!”
…We knew each other? Only then did I realize that another Sandworm was approaching. Without showing my back, I slowly retreated and returned to the group. The unfamiliar man also stared at me and walked towards me, stepping out of the deep sand pit. All the companions with sharp Qi sense tensed, watching the newly appeared man warily.
The silence was finally broken by Marianne.
“…It seems you know that person…”
Nadish Haisan answered in a voice so choked with emotion that it sounded like he would bite off his tongue. It was a very quiet voice, as if he didn’t want to speak at all, but we all heard it clearly. But I couldn’t believe it and asked again.
“…What did you say?”
“…This person.”
Nadish Haisan covered his face with both hands.
“…The Oasis. The third god we were looking for…”
What? The god, who looked at Nadish as if he were a small child, tidied his hair, pinched his cheeks, and checked his complexion, let out a satisfied chuckle deep in his throat. It was a laugh that didn’t suit his youthful appearance at all. He glanced over the other companions, then suddenly stopped laughing and fixed his gaze on me.
“It’s you, isn’t it? Jeongyeon. You’ve found a good body?”
“…How do you know…”
“No, that’s not it. This isn’t the place for such talk. Let’s go to where the ‘item’ is first.”
“Uh, um… Yes.”
Since he seemed determined to take me even if I refused, I agreed for now. How many things did I want to ask the god? Why had I come to this land, how did he know me, what should I do… I should have asked such questions. But facing the dazzling face of the young man, who looked no older than twenty, my mouth froze.
When had he retrieved them? I finally noticed the camels standing shakily around the group. The terrified camels regained their senses after the god stroked them once. Could humans be charmed like that too? I was utterly bewildered. It must have been this god who drove the monsters towards us. Was it a prank? No, was this really a prank? The god quickly scooped Nadish Haisan into his side. Nadish grumbled with a surprisingly insolent attitude for a follower towards a god, as if his previous composure was a lie. As they climbed onto the Sandworm’s head, the Sandworm led the way. The camels followed, so we hurriedly climbed onto their backs one by one. From above, I could hear the god’s cheerful laughter, and ahead, the setting sun scattered its crimson light.
Our group’s grumbles, questions, or complaints were directed towards Elvin, who seemed to know something.
“…Didn’t you say he cherishes monsters too?”
“From his perspective…”
“Sending that many monsters into a group with this many Sword Masters?”
“I told you.”
As Elvin whistled something, a thunderous voice boomed from above.
“Hey! Bai-Sak! I can hear you cursing me!”
“…”
Ruben, who had been quietly observing, asked Hugh Benson.
“What’s Bai-Sak?”
“The tall one.”
“…Ah.”
“It’s a curse.”
“…Ah, I see.”
Hugh Benson acted as if he had accidentally chewed on a plump caterpillar. We were all silent for a long time. I repeatedly replayed and gnawed on the fragments of enlightenment I had gained. The realm of the sword was like a staircase whose width widened as you ascended. When you first started climbing, you could leap over several steps at once, but at a certain realm, you had to walk steadily to see the next path. Today, I had been pushed to its edge. Now, if I climbed the cliff that was clearly visible before me, I would reach an unknown realm, Hwagyeong. The desire to protect my children pushed my back and pulled my hands. Would I have been this desperate if the fear hadn’t been so close? Did that man know that and orchestrate this? What was the price of the mercy he bestowed upon me, the one who claimed to cherish monsters like people? The many questions I had about him before meeting him were erased, leaving only one clear question in my mind.
Why, that god,
Did he stop laughing when he saw Ruben?