Eyes.
Not just any eyes, but eyes far greater than mine stared into me.
"..."
Esther, who might've warned me, wasn't by my side now.
Still, plenty of other things around me were screaming in her place.
[Kiiiiiaaaaa───]
[Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run....]
Along with the ether's screams, the massive eyeball that had been watching me vanished.
The Sand Devourer had begun to move in earnest.
'…Tsk.'
In some ways, it was the perfect chance to strike its weak point.
But I missed that chance.
I froze—just for a second—overwhelmed by its overwhelming presence.
KUGUGUGUGUGUGU───!!!
A massive wave of dirt and sand came surging toward me.
There was no dodging it.
No escaping.
This was underground.
A place far harder to move in than even underwater.
[Kikik!]
Janus's bone tendrils extended, wrapping around me protectively.
Even that wasn't enough.
To strengthen their durability and hardness, I activated both Hardening and Steelization.
['Hardening' has been activated.]
['Steelization' has been activated.]
Janus's bone tendrils surrounding me turned pitch black.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA───!!!
The moment they wrapped around me, the enormous wave of sand and dirt smashed violently into the bone shield.
The pressure was so immense, it pushed and pounded at me even through the barrier.
How heavy was all that dirt?
I couldn't say exactly how much per volume, but one thing was certain—it wasn't something to scoff at.
[Kiiiit!]
Janus shrieked in resistance against the mounting pressure.
But the wave of earth didn't stop at one strike—it kept pouring in endlessly.
KWAKAKAKAKAKA───!!!
KWA-AA-AA!!!
I was swept along by the flow, relying solely on Janus's protection as I tumbled from place to place.
With destruction on this level, I started to worry about where the Young Lady and Esther might be.
But this wasn't the time to worry about others.
[Kiiiiiiiiiit───!]
Janus let out continuous howls.
Already exhausted from the long excavation work, there was no way Janus could easily withstand an onslaught like this.
How long was I swept away like that?
At last, the wave of dirt subsided, and I managed to catch a breath.
"Cough! Cough!"
My mouth was full of grit.
Even though Janus's bone tendrils had wrapped tightly around me, the sheer pressure of the underground tide had been enough to seep through.
If I hadn't protected myself with Janus, I would've been crushed to death by the weight of the dirt.
'…As expected, this won't be easy.'
Even on the surface, the Sand Devourer was an incredibly tricky opponent.
Fighting one underground—in their home turf—was absolute hell.
'The only relief is that its attacks have stopped for now.'
Even for a Sand Devourer, unleashing such overwhelming attacks in rapid succession underground wasn't easy.
Given its massive size, it took an enormous amount of energy just to move.
'I'm moving now.'
The most powerful single-target weapon in my current arsenal was the Ark-34 Railgun.
But in this kind of underground environment, even the Ark-34's power would be severely diminished.
That meant I needed to get close to the Sand Devourer to attack it effectively.
'In that case…'
I began clawing through the soil before me, pushing forward.
Toward where the Sand Devourer waited.
['Burrowing' has been activated.]
Janus's bone tendrils moved busily, digging rapidly toward the Sand Devourer.
'Judging by how far I was swept… the Sand Devourer should be about—'
No time for thought.
Just action.
Janus, squeezing out even the strength it had reserved, relentlessly tunneled forward.
[Kikik!]
But soon, that wasn't enough.
Spikes protruded from within Janus and jabbed into me.
Thud! Thud!
Ssshhk, sshhhk—
Unable to endure its hunger any longer, Janus's monstrous instincts had awakened—it began feeding on my blood.
'…It can't be helped.'
The only fortunate thing was that Janus hadn't completely succumbed to its instincts yet.
If it had, it wouldn't just be drinking my blood—it would've tried to consume all of me.
'But time's short.'
Even now, Janus was sucking my blood to stave off its hunger.
But if I demanded more strength from it, it wouldn't stop at blood.
'Thanks to the enhanced serum in my body, I won't die easily, but still…'
There wasn't much time left.
[Kikik!]
The farther we moved, the more violently Janus sucked my blood, shrieking all the while.
Perhaps thanks to that sacrifice—
I finally reached the Sand Devourer.
[GROOOOOOOOOOO───!]
I could feel it.
The sheer presence of the Sand Devourer.
If it so much as twitched, I'd be crushed instantly—but I didn't hesitate.
I drew my weapons.
In my left hand, the Spear of Ankelenth.
In my right, the Ark-34 Railgun.
Gripping both tightly, I faced the beast.
Ziiiiiiing…
The Ark-34 sparked and began charging energy.
Zzt, zzzt—!
The loaded ammo: A-985 Explosive Round.
Among the Ark-series rounds I possessed, it was the most destructive.
Normally, railguns don't use powder-based bullets—but the Ark-34 amplified destruction by using both magnetic force and explosive propellant.
Exactly like now.
SHREEEEEEEEEEEKK──────!!!
With the trigger pulled, a blinding beam burst from the Ark-34, piercing the Sand Devourer's side in a straight line.
[GROOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!]
I switched the Ark-34 into automatic mode and fired relentlessly into the wound.
TUKWA-KWA──!
PWA-KAKAKAKAKAK!
Explosions erupted underground, scattering chunks of the Sand Devourer everywhere.
It twisted in pain, swinging its tail toward me, and I raised the Spear of Ankelenth.
'You're not going anywhere.'
SHHHRAAAAAK─!
Its massive tail swung toward me, but I caught the timing.
With a precise slash, the spear sliced it cleanly apart.
Had I been even a moment off, I would've been buried alive—but I wasn't.
[GROOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!]
The injured Sand Devourer grew even more violent.
But I had no intention of being swept away by another tide of dirt.
"Janus."
At my quiet call, countless bone tendrils erupted from Janus's body.
[Kiiik, kiiiiiit······!]
Janus revealed its monstrous nature.
But I wasn't afraid.
Now was the time to use that monstrosity.
"Devour it."
* * *
The Young Lady slowly opened her eyes.
Swept up by the massive wave of sand that had surged out of nowhere, she had briefly lost consciousness.
The reason she was still alive, despite such a catastrophic event, was simple.
["You awake? Commander."]
A voice, lacking in strength.
Yet at the sound of that familiar and dearly missed voice, the Young Lady hurriedly lifted her head.
"…Huh?"
And the moment she saw Esther standing before her, the Young Lady was rendered speechless.
Somehow, Esther's body had shrunk to a surprising degree compared to before.
"…Esther?"
["What took you so long to wake up? I thought I was going to die from the strain."]
Fragments of ether drifted from the corners of Esther's smiling mouth.
The wave had been so immense that even Esther, a first-class spirit type, had lost part of her form.
"Esther, your body…"
["Ah, this? Don't worry about it. Happens all the time. Last time, my damn master shot me a few times and I ended up like this. Haha."]
Esther chuckled as if it were nothing, but the Young Lady knew exactly what it meant.
"Are you… okay?"
No, she wasn't.
The Young Lady knew that better than anyone—and yet, she asked anyway.
["I'm fine, I'm fine."]
Esther smiled, trying to reassure her.
Such a painfully weary smile.
"Ah… Ahh…"
The Young Lady wondered how many times in her life she'd ever felt so powerless.
There had been times.
And back then, too, it had been the same person who had reached out to her.
"Esther, I've always…"
["Commander."]
Esther smiled.
She forced a smile to calm the Young Lady—her Commander.
["I'm a little… sleepy."]
Esther's eyes gently closed.
She wasn't dead.
Though she had once been easily taken down by Carl Marcus, a being classified as a Grade-1 Specter had a degree of immortality.
She wouldn't die from something like this.
But still…
Even knowing that, the Young Lady felt as though her heart had dropped into a pit.
"Es… ther?"
["Commander, I'm sorry. I'm just… gonna rest a bit."]
Esther scattered into the air.
Having used too much ether, she had entered a temporary state of dormancy.
If there was any consolation to be found, it was that just before falling asleep, Esther had used the last of her strength to maintain the integrity of the space.
Thanks to that, the Young Lady wouldn't be buried alive under the earth just because Esther had vanished.
She was simply left alone.
"…"
The Young Lady was alone in the darkness.
The one who had always protected her had been hurt while protecting her.
Now, she was alone.
She slowly reached out into the darkness.
The touch of earth was dry and crumbling beneath her fingertips.
At that moment, she realized she was in a space completely different from the darkness that had trapped her before.
And yet, it felt exactly the same.
"Ah… Agh…"
The Young Lady began to frantically claw at the dirt walls.
It wasn't because she thought she could escape.
It was because if she stayed here any longer, she felt like she would either go insane or die.
"Haa… Hahh…"
Her chest tightened with panic.
She wanted to get out—right now.
Rustle──!
How long had she been scratching at the wall?
The balance of the space, barely maintained by Esther's remaining power, finally broke down, and a mound of earth collapsed from above.
"Haa… Hahh…!"
Only then did the Young Lady stop her actions.
Any more scratching at the walls would collapse the entire space.
She was in despair.
There was no escape from here.
She couldn't run, couldn't get out.
"Es… ther…"
「"My name's Esther. What's yours, little miss?"」
In her despair, she called the name of the one who had once reached out to her so long ago.
But no reply came.
No hand reached out to help her.
She was alone, left behind in this place.
"Someone… someone, please…"
Help me…