The cool breeze of the plane swept past their faces, bringing with it the ominous calm before chaos erupted. In an instant, a massive shape broke through the haze, moving faster than either of them expected.
The first beast had arrived.
Jack barely managed to throw himself out of the way, his weakened body straining to respond in ti. His movents were sluggish, the lingering effects of exhaustion dragging him down like weights shackled to his limbs. Even so, he dodged by the narrowest of margins, the sand beneath him trembling from the impact of the creature's arrival.
Alisha, on the other hand, moved with grace and speed, leaping clear of the danger as though she'd expected it. She landed smoothly, her expression calm but her narrowed eyes locked onto the monstrous entity before them.
Where they had stood monts before, a cavernous maw now yawned open, jagged and wide enough to swallow several people whole. The sand it had displaced cascaded down in thick, shimring waves, vanishing into the gaping void of the creature's mouth.
Jack scrambled to his feet, breathing heavily, and turned to face their new adversary. The beast that lood before them was unlike anything he'd ever seen in either life—his past one or the current.
Its crimson eyes burned with malevolent intelligence, twin orbs of ferocity set into a head that bore an uncanny resemblance to a centipede's, only magnified to grotesque proportions. The rest of its body was a lithe, coiled nightmare, black as obsidian and glistening under the sheen of the eerie blue crystal sun that hung low in the alien sky. Rows of legs lined its elongated form, each tipped with sharp, scythe-like claws. At its rear, two massive pincers jutted outward, their glossy black surfaces glinting nacingly.
The air itself seed to ripple with the beast's presence. A faint clicking sound emanated from its mouthparts, a steady, rhythmic noise that added to the mounting dread.
Jack's system chid softly in his mind:
**[Sand Traveler Demon]**
**[Level: 20]**
He clicked his tongue in frustration. 'Of course, the first beast to show up is five levels higher than ,' he thought grimly.
Alisha didn't wait for his comntary. Without hesitation, she raised her hands, and glowing runes flared into existence around her, forming intricate patterns in the air. Monts later, rods of brilliant light shot forward, streaking toward the demon like a storm of divine spears.
The demon reacted instantly. Its crimson eyes glowed brighter, and with a deafening roar, twin beams of red light burst forth, eting Alisha's attack head-on. The air crackled and hissed as the energies collided, so of the light rods vaporizing under the demon's counter. However, not all were stopped. A few struck true, slamming into the demon's armored body and eliciting a screech of pain that echoed across the desolate landscape.
Jack watched from the sidelines, his lips curling into a grin despite the danger. 'It hates light. Good to know,' he thought, filing the information away for later use.
"Don't just stand there like an idiot!" Alisha shouted, her voice sharp as she dodged a retaliatory strike from the demon's pincers. "Support , now!"
"I'm gathering energy!" Jack replied, his tone feigning innocence. 'Let her wear it down first,' he thought slyly, his grin widening. Despite his apparent laziness, he raised a hand and muttered under his breath.
[Dark Ball]
[Mana Points: -100]
[Mana Points Remaining: 600/1000]
A sphere of swirling dark energy materialized above his palm before he hurled it toward the beast. The orb struck its target, exploding against the demon's side with a satisfying burst of purple-black smoke. The demon screeched again, its movents slowing ever so slightly.
"Is that the best you can do?" Alisha sneered, her light attacks continuing to rain down in an unrelenting torrent. The demon's armor cracked and splintered under the assault, black ichor seeping from its wounds.
Jack shrugged. "Hey, I'm helping," he said, his voice laced with mock indignation. 'And conserving energy,' he added silently. Unlike the soul essence he desperately needed, his mana points would regenerate over ti—a small blessing in this otherwise cursed situation.
The demon's strength was waning, its once-fluid movents now sluggish. Each step it took sent tremors through the ground, but its weight was becoming a hindrance rather than an advantage. Alisha seized the opportunity, her hands glowing as she chanted softly. The light particles around her coalesced into a massive spear, its edges sharp and shimring with divine energy.
"Fade into light, and let your soul return to the real—"
Before she could complete the ritual, Jack moved. His body beca a blur as he activated his skills, dashing forward and leaping onto the demon's head in one fluid motion.
'Let your soul return to your lord,' he finished the thought in his mind, locking eyes with the creature. Its crimson gaze seed to plead for rcy, but Jack felt no hesitation. With both hands, he drove his blade—Shadowfang—straight into the creature's eye socket.
The demon thrashed violently, its screeches deafening, but Jack held firm. Purple blood erupted from the wound, splattering his clothes and face. He gritted his teeth and drove the blade deeper, twisting it to ensure the kill.
Finally, the demon's movents ceased, its massive body collapsing into the sand with a final, shuddering groan.
[Common Demon Killed!]
[Soul Essence: 100]
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Jack's eyes widened as the notification flashed across his vision. A small, triumphant smirk spread across his face, but it was short-lived. A sharp, stinging pain landed on the back of his head as Alisha delivered a well-placed chop.
"You idiot!" she yelled, her voice a mix of anger and exasperation. "You're not supposed to kill it like that! The light was ant to guide its soul to the realm of purity."
"Does it matter?" Jack retorted, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Dead is dead. The result's the sa."
"The thod matters!" she snapped, glaring at him. "You're insufferable."
"And you're welco," Jack shot back with a smirk. "Now, let's get to work."
Grumbling under her breath, Alisha relented, watching as Jack butchered the demon's corpse with thodical efficiency. He hacked away at its armor, prying loose the glossy carapaces and carving out chunks of at. Finally, he used one of the carapaces as a makeshift container, filling it with the demon's blood.
"This should do the trick," Jack said, holding up the improvised bowl with a grin. "It's all over already, so here you go." He handed the container to Alisha.
Her expression twisted in disgust. "You expect to sar this... filth on myself?"
"Unless you want every demon in the area to know you're the divine incarnate," Jack replied, shrugging. "Your call."
Alisha sighed heavily, muttering sothing about "barbaric savages" before reluctantly dipping her fingers into the blood and saring it onto her skin. Jack watched with amusent as she grimaced at the sticky texture.
"See? Not so bad," he teased. "Now we're ready for ga City."
"Let's just get this over with," Alisha muttered, glaring daggers at him.
With their disguises complete and supplies in hand, the two set off toward the horizon, the oppressive expanse of the plane stretching endlessly before them.
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