Valeria moved first.An explosion of speed shook the air as she leapt brutally, swinging her colossal sword in a clean arc. The blade grazed the creature's side just as it opened its mouth.The impact was solid.A deep cut tore into the hardened flesh, and greenish blood burst out as if the wound itself were alive.The roar that followed made the desert tremble.
Loki watched with his eyes wide open.
The beast reacted immediately.Its body twisted violently and slammed into the ground. Sand and rocks were launched in all directions like projectiles. The terrain shook, threatening to split apart.
Loki stepped back on instinct.He ran.
But it wasn't enough.
The stones fell too close. Fear tightened his chest, stealing his breath.
Then—
A shadow passed in front of him.
Frank appeared suddenly and delivered a precise strike. The rock that was about to crush him split in midair and exploded when it hit the ground.
Loki fell backward, sitting.He was breathing with difficulty.
He had almost died.
"Cielo, protect the boy," Frank ordered without looking at her.
The battle continued.
Valeria moved with brutal elegance, dodging and attacking without rest. Her strikes were perfect… but not decisive.The creature endured.
Frank advanced and drove his spear into its side, lifting it with force. The beast writhed, destroying the surroundings as it tried to burrow beneath the sand.
A blue bolt struck it.It didn't damage it.But it immobilized it.
Valeria took advantage of the moment.She lunged with everything she had.
She didn't make it in time.
The creature twisted its body and struck her violently. Valeria was sent flying, spinning through the air until she slammed into a stone wall.
She fell.Rolled.Spat saliva mixed with blood.
She rose slowly, clutching her ribs.
"Shit…" she growled. "That hurt."
"Are you okay?" Filiana shouted from afar.
Valeria raised her thumb, even though the pain was still there, lodged deep in her body.
Frank kept attacking, but the creature did not yield.
Filiana stepped forward.Let out a sigh.Drew her katana.
The light of the field changed.It wasn't the moon.
Blue lightning began to wrap around her weapon, spreading through the air like electric threads.
In a blink, Filiana disappeared.She appeared behind the beast.
"Please… don't scream," she whispered.
The sound was clean.Precise.
A third of the worm's body was cut away.The tail fell into the sand.
Loki was left breathless.
The lightning dissipated.
The creature, however, did not die.
It twisted violently and lunged at Filiana.
She tried to dodge.She failed.
A tooth caught her.
Blood splattered across the sand.
Two shadows crossed the field.
Valeria fell from the air like a meteor, unleashing a rain of slashes onto the beast's back. Frank attacked its side at the same time.
The creature shook them off and threw them aside with a single movement.
"It's tougher than I thought," Frank spat.
"It's mutating," Filiana said, her gaze cold. "Its rank is rising."
Valeria clenched her teeth.
"Great. A smart beast."
Frank watched carefully.
The creature's flesh was regenerating. Its size was shrinking.
"On guard," he ordered. "Three… two…"
The three adventurers released their aura.
Blue.Dark green.Red.
"Rank A," Frank said. "Be careful."
The creature was no longer a giant monster.
Now it was something smaller.Faster.More lethal.
A serpent.
Three shadows advanced.Three lights collided.
The beast dodged.Once.Twice.Three times.
It was too fast.
It burrowed into the sand and shot toward Frank. It bit at the air. Missed. Then struck him with its body and sent him flying.
Filiana tried to intercept it.
The creature emerged in front of her.
She barely managed to raise her sword.
The impact dragged her across the ground.
Frank was breathing heavily.
"That thing…" he murmured. "It moves too well."
Then—
He turned.
"Cielo!"
The beast changed targets.
Loki froze.
Cielo screamed.
"I'm not backing down!"
The blow landed.
The girl was thrown away and crashed violently into the sand.
Something broke inside Loki.
He saw the creature advancing.He saw Cielo trying to get up.
His body tensed.
The branch snapped in his hands.
"She's going to die…"
A voice echoed in his mind.
Save her.Save her.
He didn't think.
He ran.
Each step was faster than the last.
The world blurred.
The creature stopped.
It felt something.
It turned.
It saw a blur.
"I WON'T LET YOU KILL HER!"
The impact was absolute.
The fist struck its jaw.
The ground vanished beneath his feet.
Loki was in the air.
Time stopped.
He saw blood floating.He saw the beast's body shatter.He felt his arm.
Black.Broken.Destroyed.
The beast was launched away, blown apart.
Loki's body began to fall.
The earth waited for him.
Then—
Something caught him.
Red curls crossed his vision.Scarlet eyes, wide open.
Valeria.
They fell together.
She held him tightly.Looked at him.
Loki was smiling.
Covered in blood.Exhausted.At peace.
His eyes slowly closed.
Before everything turned black, a voice echoed inside him.
"Loki…"
And his last thought was clear.
I am Loki.