Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 485

Chapter 485

“Wow…”

A quiet gasp escaped Lemura’s lips again and again.

She had never once in her life left Neo Seoul.

It hadn’t even been long since she’d first come up to the surface.

For a child who had lived believing the underground sewers were the whole world, the sight of the world from Gaia’s back was nothing short of a shock.

The city she had thought was the largest thing in existence—Neo Seoul—now looked no bigger than a palm. Beyond it stretched a vast, endless world.

The blue sky spread out like a boundless sea, and her mouth fell open in awe, unable to close.

When seen from Neo Seoul, the sky had always been a dirty yellow, but up here, so high above, it was pure—without a single speck of dust.

The deep blue of the heavens, contrasted perfectly against the dazzling white clouds, was breathtakingly beautiful.

“To think the world was this vast and beautiful… I really was a frog in a well.”

“There’s no need to be so hard on yourself, little one.”

“Lady Tesserina?”

“Neo Seoul is indeed an extraordinary place, but it isn’t the entirety of the world. Still, it’s difficult to realize that if you never leave it. Tell me, how many people in the world do you think can ride on the back of a flying whale and gaze down at the world like this? Aside from Zeon and Levin, probably none. So don’t think of yourself as a frog in a well. Your journey is only just beginning.”

“Thank you, Lady Tesserina! That’s such a wonderful thing to say. I’ll never forget your words today.”

At Lemura’s earnest response, Tesserina looked slightly embarrassed.

No one had ever taken her advice so sincerely before. Because of that, her affection for Lemura rose considerably.

Tesserina turned her eyes elsewhere, pretending to be casual.

The scenery around them was sweeping past at incredible speed.

Gaia was flying fast—very fast.

This was the first time Tesserina had ever flown atop another living creature.

Her true body was still resting back in the Lair, which made this vast open sky feel even more foreign.

It was astounding—this massive whale, nearly forty meters long, gliding through the heavens without the slightest tremor.

‘Is this what it feels like when another being rides on my true body?’

She shook her head quickly, chasing away the foolish thought.

She knew very well—her real body could never fly this gracefully.

Just thinking about her body brought a sudden heaviness to her chest.

‘My real body… how long can it even last?’

She sighed quietly to herself.

That was when Zeon’s voice cut through the wind.

“Bladed Frigatebirds.”

Swaaak!

No sooner had he spoken than a piercing sonic boom split the air.

It was the sound that came when the Bladed Frigatebirds flew faster than sound itself.

Boom!

Suddenly, Gaia’s force field shuddered violently from a tremendous impact.

A Bladed Frigatebird had crashed straight into the invisible barrier without realizing it was there.

The price for its recklessness was merciless.

The creature’s body burst apart instantly, scattering feathers and flesh into the air.

“What was that?”

Lemura blinked in confusion.

Her eyes weren’t fast enough to follow what had just happened.

That was how fast the Bladed Frigatebirds were.

Most awakeneds, by the time they even noticed one, would already have their heads severed.

No one had expected one of the rulers of the sky to die so easily.

Levin let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Gaia, you’ve really become a monster. I can’t believe a Bladed Frigatebird just blew itself up on you.”

―Pii!

“I have no idea what you said, but you’re awesome.”

He raised his thumb up in approval.

Even after that, several more Bladed Frigatebirds attacked.

Boom!

Boom!

But the result was always the same.

Each one slammed into Gaia’s barrier and exploded on contact.

The only traces left in the bright blue sky were drifting feathers, flesh, and droplets of blood—the remains of what once were Bladed Frigatebirds.

Once they passed through the Frigatebirds’ territory, an enormous flock of ravens appeared next.

Each raven was the size of a car.

What stood out most were their feathers—far denser and more numerous than any normal bird’s, giving them a grotesquely bloated appearance.

But Tesserina didn’t laugh. Her face hardened.

“Blast Ravens, one of the tyrants of the sky. I never thought I’d see them here.”

“Blast Ravens?”

“As you can see, they move in flocks. One alone isn’t much, but together they’re deadly. They’re clever—smart enough to find their enemy’s weak points. Their weapon is—”

Shh-shh-shh!

Before she could finish, the ravens fired a storm of feathers toward Gaia.

Kaboom!

The feathers struck the barrier at supersonic speed—and exploded.

Watching the shield ripple, Tesserina continued calmly,

“As you can see, their feathers explode. That’s how they hunt.”

Each raven carried tens of times more feathers than an ordinary bird, and every single one was a weapon.

It was like firing grenades from a machine gun.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The barrier shook violently as though it might break at any moment.

But no matter how fierce the Blast Ravens’ attack became, they couldn’t pierce Gaia’s shield.

After several failed attempts, even the flock realized that.

Still, they didn’t give up.

Since Gaia wasn’t attacking them, they must have thought it had no means to strike back.

They trailed behind, cawing furiously.

―Kraa!

―Kak!

Their cries sounded almost like they were communicating.

Levin grimaced and muttered,

“Just how many monsters live in the sky anyway? It’s a damn miracle they never come down to the ground.”

If a flock like this ever descended, it would mean catastrophe for those below.

Thankfully, for whatever reason, they remained in the upper air.

Then Zeon said to Levin,

“If we leave them, they’ll follow us all the way to our destination. Levin, take care of it.”

“Got it, Hyung!”

Levin immediately became spectral and slipped out of the barrier.

As if waiting for that moment, the flock of Blast Ravens attacked him all at once.

But their strikes passed straight through him.

―Kra?

―Kraaak!

The birds cried out in confusion.

Levin shouted back at them,

“Here, have some of this!”

Bzzzzt!

A massive surge of Purple Lightning burst from Levin’s body.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Blast Ravens caught in it exploded in a chain reaction. The lightning spread like a web, engulfing the entire flock chasing Gaia.

Boom! Boom!

The Blast Ravens struck by the lightning disintegrated midair, burned away to nothing.

“That was… spectacular.”

Tesserina said with genuine admiration.

Levin slipped back into Gaia’s barrier like a ghost—something only possible because Gaia allowed it.

Any other creature attempting that would have exploded like the Frigatebirds before.

Zeon nodded toward him.

“Well done.”

“Wasn’t even a snack, really.”

“You say that, but if they’d focused all their attacks on you instead of Gaia, it wouldn’t have been so easy.”

“Yeah, I know. The ones in the sky are especially cunning.”

“Indeed.”

Zeon nodded, his eyes scanning the heavens.

This was still a realm untouched by humankind.

Unlike Neo Seoul or other colonies, there were no human footholds here.

The sky was undeniably the dominion of monsters.

Even Zeon could only remain aloft temporarily using sandstorms or pillars of energy—never indefinitely.

And even now, flying beasts swarmed toward them like moths to a flame.

―Kyeeek!

―Kraa!

The air was filled with the shrieks of those too stupid to realize they were rushing to their deaths.

Most of them slammed into Gaia’s barrier and perished instantly.

But the high-tier beasts didn’t attack—they observed.

They measured Gaia’s power, judging whether they stood any chance if they clashed.

The clever ones recognized the difference in rank and backed off. Those were the truly dangerous kind.

For if Gaia ever weakened, they would surely return to strike.

Seeing one powerful monster after another appear, Lemura trembled.

Living underground, she had never seen a beast before.

There were no monsters beneath Neo Seoul—only humans.

And humans were the greatest danger down there.

Only humans killed and stole from one another.

She had lived believing that humanity itself was the most frightening thing in the world.

Even after her Awakening, that belief hadn’t changed—until now.

Watching countless monsters soar through the sky on this journey, she realized how naive she had been.

Now she understood—truly—why Awakened feared the beasts.

If she had left Neo Seoul alone, she wouldn’t have lasted a minute before being torn apart.

“Levin!”

“Hm? What is it?”

“There are lots of beasts in the desert too, right?”

“Loads. In sheer numbers, there are even more on the ground than in the sky.”

“Then… a lot of Awakened must get hurt fighting them?”

“If they only got hurt, they’d be lucky. Most die.”

“And dungeons?”

“Even worse. Depending on the rank, those places are never kind to humans.”

“And still the Awakened from our underground city go into them?”

“It’s the only choice they have. To survive, you have to take risks.”

“So they fight with their lives on the line—for all of us.”

“Exactly.”

“I didn’t know. No… I did, but it never really hit me until now.”

Lemura lowered her gaze, ashamed.

She had lived safely, always under the protection of adults.

She never needed to raid dungeons or risk her life to grow stronger.

She had awakened as an A-rank from the very beginning—

a level no healer had ever reached before.

Even now, most wounds healed with a single skill cast, as long as the person still breathed.

That was why the underground city called her the Saint.

No one forced the title upon her—it was given out of respect.

Awakened there even volunteered to guard her.

Thanks to them, she lived without danger or hardship.

Until recently, she had thought that was only natural.

Not out of arrogance, but because she had grown accustomed to it.

But now, seeing these monstrous beings with her own eyes, she finally understood how sheltered she had been.

“When we go back, I want to join a dungeon raid.”

“What?”

“I want to protect the people who risk their lives fighting inside. Can’t I?” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“There’s no reason you can’t. But you should talk to Jetoya first.”

“I’ll tell Jetoya myself.”

“Alright. Do that.”

Levin was worried, but he didn’t try to stop her.

-

To him, growth through danger was a natural path for any Awakened.

In fact, he felt proud of her resolve.

Then…

“Everyone, stay alert.”

Zeon’s tense voice warned, snapping them back to reality.

The two of them looked at him in surprise.

Zeon’s eyes were locked straight ahead.

“Hyung?”

“Zeon hyung?”

Before they could ask further, they felt it too—an overwhelming surge of energy.

Something immense, overflowing with mana, was closing in on their position.