Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 276

Upon closer inspection, what seemed like a smooth body revealed countless seams. Each seam had a different texture of hide.

This was because the hide had been stitched together from various monsters.

The same was true for the tentacles fluttering above its head. The long tentacles, reminiscent of a woman’s hair, had been torn from different beasts.

Some tentacles were bumpy like octopus suckers, while others were transparent like those of a jellyfish. Mixed in were also tentacles sharp as blades.

Whoever had created such a grotesque chimera, it was clear that they had a terrible sense of aesthetics.

At Phantsy’s command, the Black Anemone Bessie immediately attacked Archelon.

Thwip!

The tentacle with octopus-like suckers instantly extended nearly a hundred meters, coiling tightly around Archelon.

Roar!

Archelon struggled, but the more he resisted, the tighter the suckers gripped him.

Bessie’s octopus tentacles were like a Venus flytrap—once caught, escape was impossible.

Thwip!

Another tentacle shot forward, this time dozens of razor-sharp tentacles aimed directly at him.

Pavilsa cried out in alarm.

“Archelon!”

He hoped Archelon could avoid the tentacles, but unfortunately, the great turtle was too slow to dodge.

Shlik-shlik-shlik!

The sharp tentacles wrapped tightly around Archelon.

Phantsy shouted triumphantly.

“Become Bessie’s nourishment!”

“Not on my watch.”

In that instant, Zeon coldly responded, raising his right arm.

Thwip!

Far more sand strands than Bessie’s tentacles erupted from the ground.

It was Zeon’s skill, Sand Viper.

The Vipers attacked the tentacles coiled around Archelon, biting and tearing them apart.

Shlik!

The blade-like tentacles were shredded by the Vipers.

Only the sucker-covered tentacle remained.

Despite the Viper’s assault, the octopus tentacle refused to let go of Archelon.

Unlike the other tentacles, the octopus sucker had incredible regenerative abilities, healing almost instantly from any wound.

Zeon knew exactly how to deal with a monster with strong regenerative powers.

“Fire Rain!”

As Zeon swung his hand, a downpour of fireballs rained down on the octopus sucker.

The Fire Rain scorched the wounds left by the Vipers.

Burns stopped the sucker from regenerating further.

Fire was the perfect counter to creatures with regenerative abilities.

Bessie’s massive body convulsed in pain, but it still stubbornly clung to Archelon, trying to siphon his life force.

“Persistent creature!”

Zeon muttered under his breath, manipulating the sand once more.

Dozens of Sand Vipers coiled around the octopus sucker.

“Claymore!”

Boom!

The Vipers exploded, directly hitting the octopus sucker.

Screeech!

Bessie shrieked in high-pitched agony, writhing in pain.

The octopus sucker tentacle had been torn to shreds.

Bessie withdrew its now half-destroyed tentacle and glared at Zeon.

Dozens of eyes under Bessie’s main body focused on him.

Phantsy shouted in panic.

“Wait! You’re supposed to absorb the turtle, not him!”

Normally, Bessie would have obeyed Phantsy’s orders. But this time, it refused.

A monster ruled more by instinct than reason, Bessie chose to prioritize its primal urge.

Logically, absorbing Archelon would stabilize its body, but instinct screamed for it to kill the one who had caused it pain—Zeon.

As a true beast, Bessie followed its instincts.

Thwip!

Countless tentacles whipped through the air, all aimed at Zeon.

Each tentacle was thicker than Zeon’s entire body.

Zeon used Sand Strides to retreat, but Bessie’s tentacles pursued him like guided missiles.

Boom! Boom!

The tentacles slammed into the ground where Zeon had been, sending up explosions of debris.

Dodging one tentacle after another, Zeon shouted.

“Go to Moby Dick with Archelon, now!”

“But…”

Pavilsa hesitated.

He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Zeon to face that massive beast alone.

Knowing what Pavilsa was thinking, Zeon shouted again.

“It’s harder to fight while protecting Archelon. Go!”

“…Alright.”

Pavilsa reluctantly realized that leaving would be the best way to help Zeon.

“Let’s go, Archelon!”

At Pavilsa’s urging, Archelon began his slow, heavy steps forward.

After taking another hit from Bessie, Archelon’s strength had drained rapidly. But the old turtle trudged on, refusing to collapse.

On Archelon’s back, Claire cautiously spoke to Lee Jung-ho.

“Shouldn’t we help him?”

“He wouldn’t want that.”

“But…”

“Claire!”

“Yes?”

“Remember our mission and why we came all this way.”

“I understand.”

“Then focus on the mission. He’ll handle the chimera on his own.”

Lee Jung-ho’s face was emotionless as he watched Zeon’s battle with Bessie.

His blank gaze made it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

But one thing was certain.

Lee Jung-ho didn’t care about Zeon’s safety.

To him, the mission Jin Geum-ho had assigned was the priority.

His task was to secure Moby Dick’s heart.

Nothing else mattered.

Zeon’s life was no exception.

Anyone could tell at a glance that the Black Anemone was extremely dangerous.

Just watching its countless tentacles slam into Zeon like missiles was chilling.

If he were in Zeon’s place, Lee Jung-ho wouldn’t have dodged—he would’ve sliced each tentacle apart.

Even though the tentacles moved too fast for the human eye to track, Lee Jung-ho had his Mind’s Eye.

The Mind’s Eye allowed him to sense and react to attacks beyond human perception.

To Lee Jung-ho, the Black Anemone’s attack posed no threat. He could easily slay the chimera with Zeon’s help, but he chose not to.

There was no reason to leave Zeon at full strength.

‘Taking down that chimera will drain a lot of his power.’

Zeon was not someone who aligned with Lee Jung-ho’s beliefs.

Though they hadn’t clashed directly, his speech, actions, and gaze made it clear their values differed.

Lee Jung-ho couldn’t leave someone like that in peak condition.

Boom!

A tentacle struck Zeon.

Thankfully, Zeon had raised a sand wall just in time to block the blow, but it was clear he was struggling.

“That should be enough.”

Lee Jung-ho shifted his gaze toward Moby Dick’s Territory.

Archelon had taken another step into the pitch-black zone, a realm as cold and foreboding as the deep sea.

A chill unlike any he had felt before washed over them as they entered.

Zeon glanced to the side, watching as Archelon disappeared into Moby Dick’s Territory.

“Where do you think you’re looking?”

Phantsy’s shout was followed by an oppressive weight bearing down on Zeon.

‘A curse?’

His muscles weakened, his breathing became labored, and his vision blurred. Heat flared in his brain as if it were melting.

While Zeon had been distracted by Bessie, Phantsy had secretly cast a wide-range curse.

Though not particularly powerful, it was enough to momentarily incapacitate Zeon.

Whip!

In that brief moment of delay, a transparent tentacle coiled around Zeon.

“Ugh!”

“Got you, you rat!”

Phantsy shouted triumphantly.

The transparent tentacle squeezed Zeon with terrifying pressure.

Escape was impossible through normal means, so Phantsy bared his yellowed teeth in a grin.

Zeon struggled, but the transparent tentacle held firm.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Bessie tried to siphon Zeon’s life force, but Phantsy intervened.

“Wait! Bring him here, Bessie. I want to see his face.”

Having satisfied its earlier rage, Bessie now obeyed Phantsy’s command, bringing Zeon closer.

Phantsy stared into Zeon’s face.

“Who are you? Why did you show up out of nowhere to interfere?”

“And why are you targeting Archelon?”

“Archelon? Ah! The turtle. It’s nourishment. It will help Bessie grow.”

“So, it’s an incomplete chimera after all.”

“Shut up! Bessie is perfect. More beautiful and complete than any other creature!”

“That thing… beautiful?”

“Yes! Is there any more perfect creature on Earth than this?”

“To me, it looks like a patchwork monstrosity.”

“You dare insult Bessie?!”

Fury flashed across Phantsy’s face.

He could tolerate insults against himself, but mocking Bessie was unforgivable.

Phantsy screamed.

“Absorb him, Bessie!”

The transparent tentacle squeezed Zeon tighter.

A creature as small as Zeon would normally be drained of life in less than a second.

Phantsy thought it would be the same this time. However, to his surprise, the tentacle couldn’t absorb any life force from Zeon.

Zeon’s robe, made from the skin of a Leviathan, completely protected him from the tentacle’s effects.

In addition, Zeon’s powerful regeneration ability was at work.

No matter how mighty Bessie’s power was, it couldn’t siphon Zeon’s life force. And Zeon wasn’t going to allow it.

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, flames erupted from Zeon’s body.

The intense heat forced the tentacle to release him.

Freed, Zeon opened his subspace.

From the subspace, he pulled out a massive scythe.

It was the Grim Reaper’s scythe, obtained after defeating Grim Reaper.

Without hesitation, Zeon swung the scythe toward Phantsy.

The blade sliced through the air, headed straight for Phantsy’s neck, but Bessie blocked the attack with its tentacles.

Slice!

The tentacles were severed, and a long gash appeared on Phantsy’s chest.

“Aargh!”

Phantsy screamed, retreating hastily.

“Too shallow.”

Zeon clicked his tongue.

Because of the tentacles, he had missed the chance to kill Phantsy. But it didn’t matter.

The curse that had been weighing him down had disappeared as well.

Zeon returned the scythe to the subspace.

The Grim Reaper’s scythe wasn’t a weapon meant to be held for long. Unless one was a curse user, the backlash was too great.

Panting, Phantsy hid behind Bessie and screamed.

“Kill him, Bessie!”

Thwip!

At Phantsy’s command, Bessie attacked again.

Hundreds of tentacles shot toward Zeon.

But this time, Zeon didn’t dodge.

Dozens of Sand Soldiers materialized around him.

The sand warriors threw themselves at the incoming tentacles, acting as a barrier.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With each explosion, the Sand Soldiers were destroyed, but Zeon didn’t flinch.

He hadn’t expected them to stop the tentacles entirely.

The Sand Soldiers were only meant to buy him time.

“The real fight starts now.”

Zeon’s gaze shifted toward the ground beneath Bessie.

Rumble.

Unnoticed by Bessie, the sand around it had begun to spin in a vortex. But Bessie, too focused on attacking with its tentacles, hadn’t realized what was happening.

It lacked the composure to make rational judgments.

Zeon pronounced its death sentence.

“Sand Mixer!”

Grrraaaagh!

The sand spun violently.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]