Building a Safe Zone with My Harem In The Post-Apocalyptic World-Chapter 43: Verdant Devourer

Many people were injured, lying scattered across the ground. No one dared step onto the sand. Some stayed close to the buildings, others hid inside, as if they were sheltering from a disaster they didn’t dare name.

A few of the wounded tried to move. They crawled forward with trembling arms, hands raised, mouths open as they cried for help.

Each time someone tried to reach them, they were stopped. The others held them back with desperation, restraining their own people so firmly they allowed the wounded to die where they lay.

The moment Gideon stepped out of the vehicle, he knew something was wrong. Freya and the others followed behind him.

"That’s horrible," Freya said, already moving forward. "How can they just stand there and watch?"

She tried to rush ahead, but Gideon caught her arm before she could take another step.

"Wait," he said. "They have a reason."

"What reason could justify letting people die?" she snapped, struggling against his grip. "There’s even a child out there!"

"Just watch," Gideon replied, his gaze fixed on the sand.

Something shifted.

The surface rippled, barely noticeable at first. Gideon felt it before he truly saw it, a subtle movement beneath the sand that made his skin crawl.

Then the ground burst open.

Something massive surged upward and swallowed several of the wounded in a single motion before vanishing back beneath the sand.

The creature moved like it was swimming, the desert itself parting around its body.

It was a colossal serpent, big enough to devour an entire small building. Its scales blended with the color of sun-bleached wood, making it almost invisible under the light.

Along its head and spine, living plants clung to it, moss, grass, thick veins, all growing as if they were part of the creature itself, small symbiotic lifeforms rooted into its body.

The beast launched itself into the air before crashing back into the sand and disappearing again, the ground swallowing it like water.

Gideon held his breath.

It was massive. Fast. Terrifyingly precise. The way it moved through the sand made it feel unstoppable, as if the desert itself belonged to it.

And the people were trapped.

"What the fuck," Gideon muttered.

It was the longest aberrant he had ever seen. Worse than that, it was the most horrifying. He could still picture its mouth, packed with jagged fangs as it closed around its prey.

"That’s the Verdant Devourer," Elaine said calmly. "An S-rank aberrant."

No one else spoke.

"We can’t save them," Killian said quietly. "It’s blind, but its thermal sense is far stronger than most."

"And it shouldn’t even be awake," Freya whispered, covering her mouth. "It’s almost winter. They should already be hibernating."

Gideon stepped closer to Killian, refusing to look away from the sand. "Why can’t we move them in small groups? Three at a time, maybe?"

Kilian pointed at the ground.

"Look at the sand."

Gideon saw it then. The color was a bit darker, threaded with thin roots spreading across the surface, almost like veins. It wasn’t normal sand anymore.

"That entire area is just like part of its body," Killian explained. "The Devourer senses everything that moves within that range. That’s how it sees."

Elaine continued, "Even the smallest movement is tracked. A child, an adult, it doesn’t matter. The moment they step onto that sand, it knows."

Gideon clenched his jaw. "So if the ones in the middle are eaten, it’ll leave?"

"No," Freya said weakly. "That whole area is its nest. It can roam the desert, but its senses weaken when it moves too far. That’s why younger Devourers stay rooted to one place."

Gideon dragged a hand through his hair. "Then how did they even pass through here?"

"They probably traveled at night or near dusk," Elaine replied. "It’s harder to notice the signs then."

She turned back toward the vehicles. "We need to report this to Jade. There’s nothing we can do right now."

Gideon stared at the sand, at the people frozen in fear, and knew she was right.

"Alright, but help me first," Gideon said, a sudden clarity settling in his mind.

"As long as they don’t step onto the sand, they’ll be fine, right? What if we build a zipline between those two buildings and anchor it to the high ground over there?"

He pointed toward a raised mound of hardened sand beyond the nest’s reach.

The group went quiet. Everyone was thinking, measuring the risks. Elaine was the first to speak.

"It’s a good idea," she said carefully, "but the Devourer still has thermal sensing. If it detects movement, it might leave its nest."

She was right, and Gideon felt his thoughts stall.

Then Elaine smiled slightly. "That’s why we’ll need a bait team. You’re serious about doing this properly, aren’t you, Gideon?"

His eyes widened before a grin spread across his face. "Of course. With Freebound’s help, I’ll do it."

Killian let out a relieved breath and gave Gideon a light smack on the shoulder. "Good. I’ll call Jade. She and the others will handle the equipment. We’ll send our plan ahead with a dove to the travelers."

Gideon nodded. "I’ll stay here and observe. How are you setting up the zipline?"

"We’ve got drones on standby," Killian replied.

"They’re for emergencies... our men have the possibility of being trapped with them since we usually send them to guard the traveler."

His gaze lingered on the wounded, relief passing over his face when he didn’t recognize Freebound’s member lying wounded in the middle of the nest.

"I understand," Gideon said, squeezing his shoulder. "They are fine, Kilian."

Kilian just answers with a nod and a thin smile.

They split up soon after. Freya was glued to the binoculars, unable to hide the fear tightening her expression.

It got so bad that Gideon eventually took it from her, the Devourer swallowing more wounded each time she looked.

"I’m going into that building myself," he said firmly. "You stay here and don’t move."

She turned to him immediately. "Are you sure? Let me come with you. I won’t slow you down."

He shook his head. "No. You’ll stay and inform Killian where I am. I’ll calm the people inside and explain the plan. That’s enough."

Freya hesitated. She wasn’t someone who backed down easily, but this time she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

"Don’t get hurt," she said quietly. "Don’t be reckless. You promised we’d build a family, remember?"

Gideon laughed softly and hugged her back. "Of course. I’m not stupid. I won’t die and leave you alone with a baby."

She held him tighter. "Then let me hug you a bit longer."

Gideon rubbed her hair and not long after that, they separated.

He activated the teleportation scroll, disappearing in a rush of wind. Moments later, he reappeared inside the upper floor of the targeted building, the same one he’d spotted earlier from a distance.

The sounds of panic and desperation filled the space.

Gideon steadied himself and nodded.

"I can do this."

And with that, he moved.