In This Bone-Dry Land

Finn's ears and Azu's eyes were useless in the sandstorm.

So they switched to a strategy relying on Alexia's detection magic, which worked well.

As long as they weren't caught off guard, the monsters weren't much of a threat.

The problem was this torturous, bone-dry, desert-like environment.

"Ow."

My lips had dried out completely, cracking and splitting.

Having Elza heal them helped for a while, but then they dried out again and the cycle repeated.

I wanted to do something about it, but drinking water constantly had its own problems.

"I'm going to shrivel up. If it were hot on top of this, even I wouldn't have the stamina to last."

"This is the first time just opening my mouth made my throat dry and hurt… Is this what everyone in Aquarius had to endure?"

Finn and Alexia, who never gave in no matter how much they grumbled, were voicing rare complaints.

The thirst was that unbearable.

Just as I was thinking we needed to do something, I spotted a splendid cactus growing nearby.

Perhaps because it was adapted to the desert, cactus moisture supposedly contained many nutrients a dried-out body needed.

If we could quench our thirst with this cactus, it should help a little.

With that thought, I approached with a knife in hand.

Just as I was about to reach it, the cactus swiveled around.

It had no eyes, but I could sense it.

The cactus was looking at me.

"Watch out!"

The moment I heard Orleans's voice, my body tilted and I tumbled into the sand.

The next instant, the cactus's spines sliced through the air.

If Orleans hadn't pulled me away, those spines would have struck and pierced me.

The cactus that had launched its spines bolted from its spot, nimbly moving its legs as it tried to flee.

But before it could, Azu swung her sword and cleaved it clean in two.

Split perfectly in half, the cactus crumbled to dust and vanished.

It appeared to have been a monster in disguise.

"Sir, that was too careless. You need to be more careful in a place like this."

"She's right, Master. We can't take our eyes off you for a second."

I'd been scolded by two girls younger than me.

I had no defense. I should have been more careful.

"Sorry… Thank you both. You saved me."

Azu pulled me up by the hand.

I brushed the sand off my clothes.

The sand was so fine it got inside my clothes too, and it took real effort to get it all out.

Azu eagerly helped, which left me with mixed feelings.

I felt like I understood a little better why people who lived in dry climates wore clothes that covered their entire bodies.

They probably wanted to minimize water loss.

Pressing on while battling the dryness, we came upon a large mound of sand.

I wondered if it was another giant golem, but then the sand mound rocked back and forth.

What emerged from it was… a massive Giant Centipede.

"My my."

That was Elza's impressed voice.

It was huge. Absurdly huge.

Wasn't it even bigger than the Giant Centipede Azu had fought before?

The Giant Centipede, its entire body covered in exoskeleton, gave us a glance before burrowing into the sand.

I could feel its massive body crawling beneath our feet through the vibrations.

"It's the type that hides in sand and ambushes. But at that size, there's no way it can mask its sound or vibrations."

"What do we do? At that size, even Azu's sword would take forever to cut it apart."

"When I killed a similar one the first time… I blew it up with a magic tool Master gave me. I did slice up a smaller one later with my sword, though."

Alexia and the others racked their brains over how to deal with that enormous body.

"You gave Azu a stone enchanted with magic, right? What spell was in it?"

"My mother had someone enchant it for her. I believe it was…"

I felt like I'd heard the spell's name.

It should have been fire-type magic.

"Wow, they sealed that kind of spell in a gemstone? It's a wonder it worked. Must have been quite a renowned mage."

"I heard he was the greatest on the continent, but is it really that impressive a spell?"

"It summons a pseudo-sun. The effect varies with the caster's ability, but any large monster hit by that spell wouldn't stand a chance."

"The moment it went off, everything in front of me went pure white. It was truly incredible."

Azu gestured dramatically, trying to convey what had happened.

It was endearing, but not very informative.

"So, Alexia, can you use it?"

"I've never actually cast it. It's hard to aim, and the mana consumption is outrageous. But I think I could manage it now."

"Do it. Honestly, in this environment, there's no way I can keep moving around long enough to carve up something that huge."

Saying that, Finn kicked the sand at her feet.

Yellow sand drifted into the air.

"Right. The aiming problem seems to be solving itself, since it's coming to us."

The ground vibrations grew steadily stronger.

Proof that it was heading our way.

Then Alexia grabbed the collar of my jacket for some reason.

Elza had grabbed Orleans.

"H-hey. What are you doing?"

"What? If you get eaten before I kill it, you'll die. So I'm doing this."

The moment she finished speaking, Alexia's hand yanked down, pulling my jacket with it.

The next instant, she swung upward with even more force and hurled me away.

My body soared high into the air.

I frantically twisted around to see Orleans wide-eyed and airborne.

She'd been thrown too, it seemed.

The Giant Centipede's head burst from the ground where we'd been standing just moments before.

Apparently we'd been launched to avoid that.

Finn, Azu, and Elza had scattered in all directions.

Alexia was using her battle-axe to keep the Giant Centipede's jaws from closing.

Its massive body continued upward without stopping.

The sheer pressure of it bearing down on us was overwhelming. I swallowed hard.

Alexia chanted while standing on her battle-axe, her right hand aimed into the Giant Centipede's maw.

A direct hit should be easy from there.

The massive body stopped moving, towering like a pillar.

In that instant, Alexia unleashed her spell.

Immediately after, she retrieved her battle-axe and kicked the centipede's head with all her might as she dropped.

The Giant Centipede's massive body lurched.

As it toppled toward the ground, its midsection visibly swelled.

The next instant, an enormous explosion rang out, and the Giant Centipede erupted in flames.

That was close.

If Alexia hadn't kicked it over, I would have been caught in that blast.

My upward momentum spent, I began to fall.

How was I supposed to land? The moment I thought that, a chill ran down my spine.

But Elza was waiting below, ready to catch me, so I let myself drop.

She caught me perfectly.

"Don't worry, I won't drop you."

She said it with a smile.

Even onto soft sand, falling from that height probably would have meant instant death.

I was grateful to Elza.

I could see Alexia catching Orleans.