Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 561

Chapter 561

An octopus is a lifeform that lives in the sea.

It was one of the propositions that had never changed over long years. But after the Great Cataclysm, the world changed, and the life that had lived on Earth underwent great changes as well.

Most lifeforms were swept away by the current of destruction and lost their lives, but some survived through explosive evolution.

The giant octopus that had taken up residence within the vast quicksand was one such monster that survived through evolution.

A massive body reaching thirty meters and eight grotesquely writhing legs.

Unless one looked closely, it was impossible to tell—so perfectly had it blended into its surroundings.

It hid within this enormous quicksand, snatching and devouring passing monsters or humans.

Despite being an S-grade monster, the octopus possessed extreme caution and covert aggression.

Its name was the Sand Kraken.

Instead of the sea, it swam through quicksand and ruled this region.

The mid-sized monsters that knew of its existence did not dare come near this area.

Instead, small monsters that passed nearby without knowing better became the Sand Kraken’s prey.

Because of that, the Sand Kraken was now in a very hungry state.

Small monsters could not satisfy its hunger.

A starving monster inevitably became extremely ferocious.

Right now, the Sand Kraken had grown extremely ferocious.

Within the quicksand, it wriggled its eight legs and waited for large prey to pass by.

Thud! Thud!

At that moment, a powerful vibration was felt by the Sand Kraken’s senses.

At the tremendous tremor that shook the area, the Sand Kraken’s eyes flashed sharply.

From the vibration alone, it could tell that an enormously large monster was approaching.

It was an opportunity to feast after a long time.

The Sand Kraken vowed to devour it completely, leaving not a single bone nor drop of marrow behind.

Boom!

At last, the owner of the massive vibration arrived before the quicksand where the Sand Kraken was hiding.

The Sand Kraken immediately stretched out its legs to snatch the approaching presence.

As long as it dragged it into the quicksand, the fight would be over.

This vast quicksand was its domain, and within its domain, it was all but invincible.

But the moment the Sand Kraken wrapped its legs around the prey, it was flustered.

The monster it thought was prey did not budge in the slightest.

Just then— 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Crunch!

Suddenly, tremendous pain shot through its leg.

The monster it thought was prey had instead bitten into its leg.

Enraged, the Sand Kraken fully revealed itself above the quicksand and glared at its prey.

In its eyes, clear bewilderment appeared.

The being chewing on the Sand Kraken’s leg was a monster far larger than itself.

A colossal monster over one hundred meters from head to foot.

The enormous beast that resembled a hippopotamus was Behemoth.

—Kieee!

Upon confirming Behemoth’s identity, the Sand Kraken felt fear and used its skill.

Puhwaahk!

Black ink shot out from its mouth.

It was not ordinary ink.

It was ink infused with the Sand Kraken’s deadly poison.

Containing corrosive and neurotoxic venom, the ink could even melt through force fields and inflict damage.

The ink struck Behemoth directly.

The Sand Kraken thought Behemoth would panic greatly. In that gap, it intended to sacrifice one leg and hide within the quicksand. But contrary to its intention, Behemoth, covered in ink, did not even flinch.

Crunch! Crunch!

Behemoth greedily chewed and swallowed the Kraken’s leg.

—Kiiiii!

When even the ink attack proved ineffective, the Kraken swung its remaining seven legs like whips and attacked Behemoth.

Swaaaak! Bang!

The massive legs struck Behemoth without pause. But they failed to inflict any damage.

Overcome with fear, the Sand Kraken tried to sever its own leg.

It intended to abandon the leg Behemoth was eating and flee into the quicksand. But Behemoth had no intention of letting the Sand Kraken go.

—Become my nourishment, squirming thing!

As Behemoth threw its head back, the Sand Kraken’s enormous body was dragged out entirely.

—Kii!

In the end, the Sand Kraken gave up on fleeing and chose to resist.

Chwahahk!

The seven legs not being eaten wrapped around Behemoth and tightened.

On the suckers of the Sand Kraken were venomous stingers.

Once caught in its legs, one would be pierced by thousands—tens of thousands—of venomous spikes, and the entire body would become paralyzed.

But unfortunately for the Sand Kraken, the stingers did not penetrate Behemoth’s skin.

After devouring one leg, Behemoth began tearing apart the others.

—Kieeeeee!

The Sand Kraken writhed in agony.

The pain and terror of having its legs torn off and eaten alive nearly drove it mad.

Gathering its remaining strength, the Sand Kraken tried to strangle Behemoth’s neck.

Kwaaaah!

The remaining six legs crushed down with terrifying pressure, but Behemoth did not care.

Crunch! Crunch!

Right now, there was only one thought in Behemoth’s mind—devour the Kraken.

In its battle with Zeon, Behemoth had suffered massive wounds and damage. To recover, it needed an enormous amount of nourishment. And the Sand Kraken would sufficiently supply the energy and nutrients Behemoth required.

Even consuming this much would at least allow its wounds to heal.

Behemoth greedily devoured the Kraken.

All eight legs disappeared into Behemoth’s belly, leaving only the head.

Behemoth stuffed the massive head into its mouth whole and chewed.

Having devoured an S-grade monster entirely, Behemoth entered the quicksand—the Kraken’s domain.

Completely hiding its body within the quicksand, Behemoth fell into a deep sleep.

—I will become stronger.

As Behemoth slept, its skin began to take on a camouflage coloration like the Sand Kraken.

It had absorbed the Kraken’s traits.

That was one of Behemoth’s authorities.

By devouring other monsters, it absorbed their traits and grew stronger.

The more S-grade monsters it consumed, the stronger Behemoth became.

That was one of the reasons Behemoth was called a beast of destruction.

＊＊＊

“Huu!”

Zeon rose from the bed with a tired expression.

He had clearly slept deeply, yet his whole body felt unbearably heavy.

It was the aftereffect of playing with the kids yesterday.

Somehow, playing with children felt more exhausting than fighting Behemoth, and the aftereffects seemed to last longer.

When he stepped outside, Levin, who was equally worn out, greeted him.

Just like Zeon, Levin had been tormented by the children all day yesterday. As a result, dark circles had settled deeply beneath his eyes.

“You okay?”

“No. You look tired too, hyung.”

“I am.”

“Kids are scarier than monsters. Still… it’s not bad.”

Levin smiled.

In the short time they had been away, the number of children had increased significantly.

Many had been born among the existing residents, and many had flowed in from outside.

Because of that, the laughter of children could be heard everywhere in the Steel Fortress.

Even in the early morning, the sound of children running and playing could already be heard.

“It’s nice.”

“Yeah. It is.”

“When those kids grow up, they’ll protect this place too, right?”

“They won’t have much time to run around that brightly. Once they’re over ten, they’ll have to follow their parents and learn how to survive in the desert.”

“That can’t be helped. Learning survival and combat methods young increases the chance of living longer.”

It would be nice if everyone awakened, but unfortunately, the world was not so fair.

Only one in hundreds or thousands awakened.

And not all awakened ones were strong, nor could anyone know what lineage they would awaken into.

Fortunately, if one awakened into the martial or magic lineage, the survival rate increased. But if one awakened into a lineage unrelated to combat, surviving alone was not easy.

Regardless of awakening, building various survival skills and experience from childhood increased the chance of living later.

Because of that, in the Steel Fortress, once children turned ten, they were taken on small monster hunts to gain experience.

From then on, they were raised as warriors.

Zeon did not think such a culture was bad.

Rather, it was a necessary measure for survival.

As they headed toward Urtian’s house, Tesserina appeared before them.

She was smiling brightly, as if something had put her in an excellent mood.

“Good morning!”

“You seem in a good mood from early on, noona!”

“Yeah! I am.”

“What, something good happen?”

“I got a house.”

“Here?”

“Yeah! Debora gave it to me for free and said I could use it anytime. It’s right over there!”

Tesserina pointed to a house visible in the distance.

Levin asked with a puzzled expression,

“There was an empty house here?”

The Steel Fortress was always short on houses.

“It was the house of someone who died yesterday. They had no family, so they told me to just use it. I feel sorry for the deceased, but thanks to that, I got one easily.”

“I see.”

Levin nodded.

Inside, he thought it was fortunate.

If a strong person like Tesserina stayed and helped, the Steel Fortress would become that much safer.

While talking about this and that, they soon arrived at Urtian’s house.

But there were guests who had come before them.

Liala and Uslan.

They were sitting facing Urtian.

Even when Zeon and Levin entered, the three did not spare them a glance.

Zeon asked,

“Don’t tell me you talked all night here?”

“Oh, you’re here?”

Urtian noticed Zeon and Levin and reacted.

Only then did Liala and Uslan loosen their tension.

“Huu!”

“Hah!”

As if by prior agreement, the two let out deep sighs.

Fatigue was evident on their faces.

“Is everything alright?”

“It’s tiring, but it’s fine.”

Liala answered with an effortful smile.

Fortunately, the atmosphere between Urtian and Liala was not bad.

“It seems negotiations went well.”

“It’s not a matter of going well or not. We just decided to keep to principles.”

Urtian said as he stood up.

After sitting all night talking with Liala and the others, his whole body ached.

Stretching his stiff body, he continued,

“We have two principles. First, we do not abandon those who come seeking the Steel Fortress. Second, those who stay in the Steel Fortress must follow the rules. Even if someone from El Harun comes, as long as they follow these principles, they can remain here.”

“When did such principles come about?”

“Yesterday!”

“Pardon?”

“I made them last night.”

“Ah.”

“What’s with that reaction?”

“What reaction?”

When Zeon asked with widened eyes, Urtian frowned, then relaxed his face.

“According to our principles, those who come seeking refuge with the Steel Fortress will not be turned away. No matter where they come from, no matter how many….”

“What about food?”

“I don’t know!”

“Pardon?”

“Well, something will work out. Or you’ll come up with some kind of solution.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

Urtian answered playfully, but strong trust toward Zeon was evident on his face.