Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 488

Chapter 488

She looked somewhere between eighteen and twenty.

No one could say for sure how High Elf age changed to human years, but her appearance was that of a girl standing on the border between youth and womanhood.

She was breathtakingly beautiful, her golden hair fluttered in the wind, her blue eyes sparkled like polished jewels, and below her fine, straight nose, her red lips curved against smooth, delicate features.

It was a beauty that could entrance any man.

But her face was pale, her expression weary and drawn.

The High Elf glanced around for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

“Haa…”

With a sigh heavy enough to sink the ground, she began walking away, each step slow and burdened.

Zeon watched her and turned to Levin.

“Levin. Follow that High Elf. See where she goes, what she’s doing, quietly.”

“Got it, bro.”

“Be careful. She might have special powers, like Brielle.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep to the skies, she won’t even sense me.”

“Good.”

Zeon nodded.

For Levin, who could shift into a ghostly form, tailing her unseen was effortless.

Levin vanished in an instant, turning incorporeal and gliding after her.

Zeon, Tesserina, and Lemura approached the section of the barrier where the High Elf had emerged.

Zeon studied it.

“This seems to be the entrance, right?”

“It looks that way. But it probably only opens under specific conditions.”

“Can you open it?”

“If I force it, it’ll trigger an alarm spell. And even then, it won’t be easy.”

She shook her head.

To break through a barrier of this level, her main body would have to come.

A chimera had its limits.

Zeon nodded.

“Then we’ll wait for Levin to come back with information.”

He hadn’t expected much anyway, so there was no disappointment.

Just knowing an entrance existed at all was a big gain.

He didn’t know how much time Brielle had left, but for now, patience was the only choice.

“Let’s stay hidden and keep watch. We don’t know when someone might come out again.”

He moved the sand, shaping it into a pit large enough to conceal them.

The sand’s harder to move here… must be from the contamination.

Where it would normally take one unit of effort to control sand, here it took twice that.

It meant more than double the mana cost.

It wasn’t a problem yet, but Zeon made a mental note.

If his control failed at a critical moment, it could be disastrous.

Once the three of them were inside, Zeon drew more sand over the top.

A perfect dome-shaped hideout, sealed from above.

Tesserina examined the interior and smiled with satisfaction.

“At this level, even they won’t find us easily.”

Zeon left a small hole at the top to observe the entrance through.

“Let’s take turns keeping watch until Levin returns,” he said.

“I’ll take first watch. I didn’t help much getting here, so please let me do this.”

Zeon chuckled and patted her head.

“Alright. You first, then I’ll take the next turn.”

“Leave it to me.”

Lemura sat down before the small opening and began keeping watch on the entrance through it.

Thanks to her, Zeon and Tesserina could finally rest.

After a while, Tesserina spoke.

“Something strange is happening here, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

Zeon nodded slowly.

He recalled what Brielle had once told him about her village.

She hadn’t gone into much detail, only that there was a barrier keeping outsiders from entering without permission.

But the one she described was nowhere near this powerful, hers merely blurred perception and dulled awareness, enough to fool humans or monsters.

If such a murderous barrier had existed, Brielle would have mentioned it.

Come to think of it… Riri.

Brielle’s spirit companion, Riri, was a Sylph, and through her, she could commune with Gaia’s mind.

That meant Riri would already know Gaia had arrived, and Brielle, in turn, would know Zeon was here.

Riri would have told her.

‘Brielle will find a way to reach us.’

If there was no way from the outside, she’d make one from within.

Brielle had lived with Zeon long enough to know how he thought.

With that, Zeon leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.

“What, are you sleeping?”

“Resting. You have to rest properly when you can, so you’ll have strength when you need it.”

“I see.”

Understanding now, Tesserina nodded.

She herself didn’t need rest.

Her body was made of dragon bone, flesh, and skin, a chimera in name, but in truth, almost a dragon’s avatar.

She never tired or grew weary. Her magic was limited compared to her true form,

but physically, she was nearly identical.

Naturally, she had no need for sleep.

Even after staying awake for days, she’d remain in perfect condition.

Still, she sat beside Zeon, leaned against the wall, and closed her eyes.

Not because she needed sleep, but to match his rhythm.

She could feel his breathing beside her.

In mere seconds, Zeon had fallen into deep rest.

But Tesserina knew, even the faintest disturbance would bring him fully awake,

ready to fight in an instant.

Haa…

She synchronized her breathing with his, and soon drifted into her own light slumber.

When she opened her eyes again, Levin was there.

“Levin!”

Zeon, already awake, looked up as Levin’s form solidified.

“Hyung. I found something.”

“A way into the barrier?”

“No. Her destination. The High Elf, she’s still there.”

“So she didn’t go back inside the barrier?”

“Right. Come with me. You need to see this yourselves.”

“Alright. Lead the way.”

Zeon nodded and followed him out, Tesserina and Lemura close behind.

“This way.”

He led them to a massive sand mound about ten kilometers from the barrier.

Like the rest of the desert, the sand here was pitch black and tainted, and the air reeked with a stench so foul it made their heads pound.

Tesserina and Lemura grimaced, covering their noses.

Levin pointed downward.

“There’s a hidden passage underground. The High Elf went down through here.”

Zeon gathered his power, probing beneath the sand.

Luckily, no barrier was in place here, so it was easy to sense what lay below.

“There’s a large underground space.”

“Yes. Follow me.”

Levin pressed a hidden mechanism at the passage’s entrance, he’d seen the High Elf do it earlier and memorized the motion.

Thunnng!

With a dull echo, the entrance opened.

Below the sand, the ground was solid rock. A tunnel had been carved straight through it.

“Hard to believe something like this was down here.”

“I thought the same. It startled me too. You’ll understand once we go inside.”

He descended first into the tunnel.

Zeon followed, running a hand along the wall.

A sticky substance coated the natural stone.

‘Liquid?’

He rubbed some between his fingers and brought it to his nose, the stench was so strong it nearly numbed his sense of smell.

The source of the reek leaking from above was this fluid, oozing down the rock walls.

Tesserina murmured,

“There’s an evil aura here.”

“You’ll be even more surprised inside,” Levin replied grimly.

His face was hard, tighter and colder than they’d ever seen.

For Levin to show emotion like that was rare.

Whatever he had seen down there had filled him with fury.

After descending several hundred meters, they stopped.

“This is it.”

Before them opened a vast underground chamber.

At its center spread a large lake, its water the same inky black as the liquid seeping from the rock.

Around the lake, dozens of High Elves worked with bowed backs.

No one knew how long they’d been trapped underground,but their faces were pale and haggard, ready to collapse.

They were harvesting something that grew around the lake, black flowers, dark as the void itself.

Even without a breath of wind, the flowers swayed eerily, their motion unnatural.

The High Elves carefully picked the blossoms, avoiding the long, thorned stems.

They were so cautious it made Zeon’s group impatient to watch.

The reason became clear moments later.

“Ahhh!”

A scream, one of the High Elves had collapsed.

Despite her care, she’d pricked her finger on a thorn.

She fell to the ground, convulsing violently.

The others nearby ran to her side.

“Serina!”

“What do we do? She’s been pricked by a Dark Bloom!”

“We have to take her back to the village, fast!”

“But if we don’t fill our quota, they won’t let us in!”

The High Elves stomped their feet in despair, watching helplessly as the afflicted one foamed at the mouth, her face turning black as her breath grew shallow.

They dared not touch her.

Anyone who did would suffer the same fate.

The “Dark Bloom” was a flower born from the malice of the earth itself, something that could never grow in a normal land.

Even the High Elves hadn’t known that these flowers grew in the underground soil near their village.

Those pierced by its thorns died within minutes, five at most.

There was no cure.

Only strong holy power could save them.

“Ghk… khh!”

Serina’s mouth opened in a silent gasp, the last traces of life fading from her face.

Tears welled in the eyes of the surrounding Elves.

And then,

“It seems we arrived just in time.”

A strange voice echoed through the cavern.

Zeon stepped into view.

Levin, Tesserina, and Lemura appeared behind him.

The High Elves gasped in alarm.

“Humans? How did you get in here?”

“Don’t tell me Lady Tamulana brought even humans into this?”

Their eyes burned with hostility as they glared at the intruders.

Zeon raised his hands slightly, signaling peace.

“She’s in danger. Let’s heal her first, then we can talk.”

“Silence, human! Once touched by the Dark Bloom, none can be saved!

Only a priest with holy power could.”

“Then let’s find out. Lemura.”

“Yes, Zeon Hyung.”

At his call, Lemura stepped forward without hesitation.

“Don’t touch her, human!”

Several High Elves moved to stop her, but Tesserina raised a magic shield, blocking their path.

Unable to interfere, they could only watch.

Lemura knelt beside Serina, took her hands in both of hers, and unleashed her skill.

Pure light flooded out, carrying her will with it, seeping into Serina’s dying body.

The dark energy consuming her was swept away, cleansed in moments.

Color returned to Serina’s face; her breathing steadied.

The High Elves beyond the shield stared in disbelief.

“My gods…”

“The human… saved Serina!”