A vast, hot desert stretched as far as the eye could see. The sun blazed mercilessly, too bright to look at directly. The land burned like a frying pan under its heat. Across the endless dunes, four figures trudged forward without rest—Arjun and his team.
Arjun kept his eyes on the map of the area while his team struggled behind him. Their condition was bad—exhausted, dehydrated, and drained. Reyansh tilted a bottle toward his mouth, only to find it empty.
He cried in despair.
"My body is drained! I want to drink water!" he screamed.
Rohan, completely exhausted, groaned.
"What are we even doing in a desert? Treasure hunting?"
Kavya, though sweating and tired, still managed to keep her composure.
Arjun folded the map with an annoyed sigh.
"The Sahara Desert… You sent us to the Sahara Desert?" He suddenly shouted,
"Riyaan!!!"
His face fell.
Kavya's voice came in a mocking tone.
"Didn't you say you'd do any mission because you're strong? So now… where's your power?"
Arjun gave a stunned chuckle, then quickly regained his composure, trying to play it cool.
Reyansh asked, "So, what kind of mission are we doing here?"
Arjun explained, "A team of researchers from the IRO (Indian Research Organisation) was sent into this desert for some kind of research. But something unexpected happened, and they lost contact. Other countries like the USA, Russia, Japan, China, and Australia also sent their own teams… and they all lost contact too. So every country involved in the research launched a rescue operation. From India, Riyaan and his squad were chosen—but instead, he sent us here."
Rohan muttered with irritation, "No wonder he was so happy… Who would want to come to the world's hottest desert?"
Kavya said, "Many people come here to explore."
Reyansh shook his head. "I'm not one of those people and what did they explore here.Hot Sand?."
Reyansh and Rohan hugged each other, crying.
"We want to go home!"
Arjun sighed, then turned to them.
"We don't have any other option. Instead of crying, we should pick up the pace."
Kavya nodded. "Exactly. Stop crying like kids. Get up and hurry up."
Reyansh and Rohan quickly stood up. "Yes…" they said in a lifeless tone.
Then Rohan blinked turned to reyansh and said. "Wait… isn't I a kid?"
Kavya gave him a death glare. Reyansh quickly covered Rohan's mouth.
The group moved on.
After some time, they reached a tall sand dune. All of them were exhausted and drained.
Arjun checked his map. "This location should be nearby…"
He reached the top of the dune—and froze in shock.
"Hey! You guys, come here and see this!"
The team climbed up to join him. When they saw what Arjun was pointing at, their eyes widened in disbelief.
Down below was a massive crater. Inside it stood the remains of a destroyed technological city like thing, built entirely of black platinum metal and machines—the research camp.
"This must be the research camp we were looking for," Arjun said.
Reyansh sighed. "Finally, we've arrived at the location."
Kavya shook her head. "It's not time to relax yet."
Arjun nodded. "Yeah… Judging by the state of this camp, something big happened here."
Rohan's eyes wandered upward—and he gasped.
"Look above!"
Everyone looked up.
Five jets streaked across the sky, flying right over their heads before landing on the camp's runway.
Rohan frowned. "Where did those jets come from?"
Reyansh pointed. "Look! Isn't that the Russian flag? And China, Japan, Australia, and the USA!"
Each jet carried a different country's flag.
Arjun muttered, "These must be the rescue teams sent by other countries."
Kavya's eyes narrowed. "Then why don't we have a jet?"
Arjun gave an awkward smile. "Uh… They didn't give us one because… we stole a jet from their headquarters earlier."
The team yelled at him.
Reyansh glared. "What do you mean by we?"
Rohan scowled. "So we're being punished because of you?"
Kavya cracked her knuckles. "Because of you, we're all suffering."
Arjun started stepping back. "Guys… aren't we a good team? Calm down…"
The three of them lunged forward and began beating him.
Some time later, they were all sliding down the dune toward the camp. Arjun's face was swollen, making him look ridiculous.
From the jets, several people emerged.
From the USA jet stepped a familiar face—the Thunder Lord, Alex.
From Japan's jet came a beautiful woman—none other than Shizuko Matsuka, [introduced back in Chapter 4].
Then, from Russia's jet, a powerful aura burst forth as Valam Drotin appeared, smiling brightly while scanning the area.
From China's jet emerged a young man, about twenty, with red hair and crimson eyes, wearing a mix of black armor and casual clothing. He walked toward Alex.
From Australia's jet came the AMKF (Australian Monster Killing Force), led by a big man in his late thirties with greyish hair, grey eyes, and a long scar running down the right side of his face.
The rescue teams gathered together.
Arjun's team approached, drawing confused stares.
The Australian leader, David Smith, frowned and released his pressure.
"Who are you?"
Alex quickly recognized them.
Arjun stepped forward, waving his hand to disperse David's pressure. With confidence, he said,
"I am Arjun, and behind me is my team. We're the rescue team from India."
Alex walked up with a grin.
"Oh, Arjun. The world is small—we meet sooner than I expected."
Arjun was surprised to meet him here. "Nice to meet you again, and thank you for helping me back then."
Alex smiled proudly. "It's nothing. I was just doing my duty."
The young man from China stepped between them. "Hey, Alex… looks like you know them."
"Yeah," Alex replied. "He and his team are the one who protected New York from that celestial general Balokeru."
The man, whose name was Wie Lao, looked shocked. "Aren't you from India? Then why were you fighting for New York?"
Arjun said firmly, "Me and my team were there on vacation. And as a hero, it's my duty to protect everyone. I don't care where they're from."
Wie Lao was moved by his words and hugged Arjun.
"Wow! You're a true protector of justice!"
Alex grabbed Wie Lao and tossed him backward. "Sorry about him—he's a bit childish."
Arjun caught his breath. "Don't worry. I'm fine."
Alex led Arjun and his team to the tents. Reyansh, Arjun, and Rohan devoured food like starving animals, while Kavya sighed in embarrassment.
After eating and resting, Arjun asked Alex, "So, what's the situation? Any idea what's going on?"
Alex's face turned serious.
"I'm not certain, but it seems to be a Celestial attack. The data we gathered points to something abnormal in this area—it could be a Celestial, a monster, or a weapon. Its readings match Celestial tech. The researchers were sent to gather information, but they suddenly lost contact. Before that, they sent an SOS and a warning about a Celestial attack."
Arjun's eyes widened. "That means Celestials attacked here… but we haven't seen any?"
"Something is blocking our signals," Alex explained. "We've lost all connection to the outside world. The Celestials attacked for that thing hidden in this desert."
Kavya said, "If they're after it, it must be very important."
Arjun nodded. "Then we can't let them succeed."
He asked, "Any survivors?"
Alex replied, "We scanned the area with advanced tech. All forty researchers are alive, but they're hidden or trapped somewhere nearby. We can't pinpoint their exact location."
Arjun clenched his fist. "That's enough. We'll save the researchers and stop the Celestials."
His team nodded in agreement.
Alex smiled at their confidence. "We'll split into two teams—one will rescue the researchers, and the other will face the Celestials and find that hidden thing."
Rohan asked, "So… which team are we in?"
Alex smirked. "You'll find out outside. Let's go."
Everyone gathered. Alex stood with Valam Drotin, David Smith, and Shizuko Matsuka.
Wie Lao stood relaxed, hands behind his head. Arjun had both hands in his pockets, eyes closed. Kavya checked her phone.
"We really did lose the signal."
Reyansh said, "Don't worry. We'll just beat the Celestial or anything else in our way."
Alex's voice rang out. "Everyone, please listen!"
All eyes turned toward him.
Valam Drotin announced, "The team that will face the Celestial and find the hidden thing will be: Alex, Shizuko, Wie Lao, myself, Arjun and his team, and Boris from the Russian team as navigator. The rest will join the rescue operation. Understood?"
Everyone replied in unison.
A system notification popped up in front of Arjun.
[New Mission: Defeat the Celestial General and his monster army present in this desert.
Reward: 5× Divine Wheel Spin]
Arjun's eyes lit up with excitement.
He cracked his knuckles. "Okay, team—let's show them our power. It's time to shine."
They all fist-bumped and walked forward.
Alex smiled at them, while Wie Lao looked impressed by their team spirit.
Valam Drotin named their group Team Battlers.
"We don't know how powerful our opponent is. Be ready and stay alert."
They all nodded.
"Boris," Valam ordered, "lead the way."
Boris nodded, pulled out his advanced tablet, and began guiding them.
Arjun, the most excited of all, thought to himself: A Celestial General and his army… Sounds tough. But I don't care. Bring it on. In the end, I'll win.
To be Continued.