"Shake! Shake!"
Tremors rippled through the sand as the temperature suddenly surged, becoming hotter than anything I had ever felt. I dashed past two dying men as I moved toward the tent King and Nassar had exited.
"Boss, we need help!" Those were the words echoing throughout the camp.
Amy was with them, fighting off a group of men armed with spears.
I had already planned to betray Nassar, but after considering the vile acts that bastard committed, I couldn't stop myself from moving—even though I knew none of this was real.
If Hari, Amy, or Anica were in that situation, would I have remained seated just so my plan could proceed smoothly? I didn't think so.
Radis leaves were a special type of weed found in the desert—they would one day make Jordan Karen one of the main cast become the greatest alchemist, though at this point in the story, he was just a poor man barely scraping by.
The leaves had a strange trait: they attracted monsters. That could be seen as useless, but from a mage's perspective, it was incredibly valuable.
By spreading them on our way here, I managed to lure the Goblot—but that wasn't my actual plan.
The Goblot itself wasn't a strong creature; it didn't even qualify as a sequence eight, but that didn't make it irrelevant in the food chain.
That was because it was the favorite prey of one of the most dangerous creatures in the outer regions of Nefertari—the Mollusk Rider, the tempering dragon.
At first, I had planned to lead the dragon near the temple in case of unforeseen circumstances, but because of my damn wavering heart, I used more Radis leaves than I realized—causing both the Goblots and the Mollusk to quicken their pace.
The Mollusk was a sequence six drifter, and no matter how powerful Nassar or King were, they couldn't defeat it easily.
I picked up my pace, avoiding any confrontation with the Goblots.
I had already devised a method to kill the Mollusk and how to eliminate the group effectively, since I was confident they would be caught in a deadlock.
"Excuse me."
I opened the tent flap as my face contorted. "Damn bastard."
As I stepped closer, a woman slightly older than the others stood in front of the group. "Who are you? What do you want?"
I stared at her trembling arms as a pang of sorrow struck my heart. "Do you want revenge?" I asked, my voice calm.
"What?" Her voice trembled with fear as she opened her arms protectively.
"I asked, do you want to kill Nassar?"
It was a ridiculous question—I wasn't even sure I could kill Nassar myself. Yet here I was, asking someone barely clinging to life if they wanted vengeance.
But I couldn't help but feel it would be unjust for them to simply hear that Nassar died. Even if they were projections of the past, their souls deserved peace.
"What do you mean?..." Her voice was cut off by shockwaves from the battle.
"We can talk later. For now, all of you come with me."
The woman looked at me with suspicion, but then—suddenly nodded. "Okay."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes. I can see it in your eyes." Without another word, she gathered the girls and stood behind me.
'What did she mean?' I wondered.
"Uhmm... Sir." A soft voice came from behind the group—it belonged to a woman with orange hair.
I turned to her as she continued. "There's another girl in Sir—no, King's bag."
'So it was a dimensional bag.' I nodded and led the group out of the tent.
Moments later, a massive Goblot corpse crashed onto it.
The group was thinning out slowly as the large black, draconic figure soared above us.
Yet even then, it didn't seem any of them had died yet.
Scanning left and right for a good hiding spot, I spotted a small cave. "What's your name?"
"Series, sir," the older woman replied.
"Okay, Series. I want you all to hide here until I say otherwise." She nodded as I ran toward the battlefield.
"With that out of the way..."
I approached where Amy was fighting and signaled to her. She appeared mostly unharmed, likely thanks to the earlier warning I had given.
"Is this what you meant?" she asked, dismissing the blade formed from her talent.
"Yes."
"Did you save them?"
I looked at Amy's darkened expression, then smiled faintly. "Yes. Don't worry."
After a moment, she responded. "Thank goodness."
I sighed. "Now's not the time for relief."
Regaining her composure, she looked up at me. "So, what's the plan? We can't fight that, right?"
"Mmm... I already know what to do. For now, I want you to retrieve a brown pouch from King."
Amy didn't question me. She immediately sped off.
Right beside me, King, Nassar, and one of his men were trying to fend off the Mollusk.
No matter how hard they fought, the beast wouldn't retreat, as though drawn to them.
The reason was simple: it couldn't abandon its prey, and the fact that they were all drenched in Goblot blood marked them as targets.
That brought me to my final plan—but I still wasn't sure if it would work. It was really just a gamble.
"Looks like luck is on my side."
The dragon lowered its maw and, with a single snap, seized the third man in its jaws. The man screamed for help as Nassar's face turned pale with fear.
In an instant, blood sprayed everywhere—no body remained.
[TALENT: ACID MANIPULATION HAS RESONATED WITH ELIONE SAINT WEED]
[EFFECT INTENSIFIED BY 500% DUE TO USE ON HIGHER-RANKED BEING]
The drifter's wings weakened, but it still managed to stay afloat.
King, seeing this, formed an orb in his hand and launched into the air.
The drifter swerved left, but King was faster. The orb pierced the Mollusk, and its red blood dyed the sand crimson.
Just as King began to smirk, the drifter struck him with its foot, hurling him into the collapsed tent.
Nassar stood frozen. He struggled to glance at King, who was unconscious—barely alive.
Cold sweat slid down his face. His body trembled violently and his teeth clashed against each other.
The same mouth that had roared orders begged like a child. "Please... I beg you... I want to go home."
My gaze darkened at his words. I couldn't feel even an ounce of pity. "Monsters only regret after death stands over them." I breathed in then added. "It seems it's time to end this."