I can't believe my eyes...

"Impossible..."

I've never seen a creature this size, and have most definitely never faced one this powerful either. If my estimate is correct, the monster before me has the raw stats of a level 900.

It's a ranked-up version of whatever the tiny insects were that I just fought... This creature is on a whole different level.

The entire village of two dozen homes is swallowed into the open maw of this beast without a hint of restraint.

With four glowing eyes, tough spiked scales around its body, and waves of Demonic Energy pulsing from its very being; one thing is very clear.

I'm no match, no match at all.

I continue to run.

The rippling rubber-like consistency of the sand floor sends me flying through the air with every few steps I take. It's like attempting to stay upright in a raging storm on the open sea.

This Demonic Worm has control of the entire desert around it. The power feels similar to an Earth Manipulation ability, but without my mana senses, it's impossible to tell.

Still, using my remaining energy stores, I push myself to run with everything I've got.

Turning my head back one last time, its open mouth stares at me. It leaks a dark purple aura with hints of crimson light mixed within. Behind that, hundreds of meters of body come slithering out from the crater it's made on the desert floor. The creature's movements are that of an enormous serpent.

From here, it looks as if a skyscraper just erupted from the earth.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, its entire body ignites into purple flames and dives forward into the ground. The luminescent beast begins swimming through the sand like it's water. I can instantly feel the immense heat its body produces even from here.

I turn back to focus on the glistening white wall to the outside world and burn through Demonic Energy at a rate faster than I even knew was possible. Gritting my teeth and making massive holes in the sand beneath every one of my steps as I propel myself forward with refined energy, I reach for the light.

Even so, with every powerful stride I take, the worm creature gets closer and closer.

Waves of sand start to distort the desert floor even more violently. They form in front of me now, and not just under my feet.

With wide-angled swings of my dagger, small holes in the mounds are blown away for me to lunge through. My vision attempts to tunnel on the approaching white wall to freedom ahead.

The worm behind me is getting so close that I can feel the vibrations of its teeth scratching against each other, and the presence of its glowing eyes burn into the back of my neck. Just being near it feels like there's an intimidation skill active on full blast.

At the same time, the edge of the Abyss is getting even closer. It's less than 30 strides away.

All of a sudden, the smaller mounds of sand that previously formed barriers in my path start to drift away. They all head toward the white border, and now the sand lays dormant around me on the desert floor...

"This is my chance."

Not questioning it for a second, I continue to run forward with even more speed. Without having to swing my blade or watch my footing for sinkholes, this makes things a lot easier.

The desert is flat and silent; the path before me is clear.

My remaining energy stores are under a third. At this pace, I'll be swallowed and ripped to shreds the moment I break through to the outside world. Still, if I can activate my mana-powered skills, I may have a chance. Every small advantage counts.

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For a full 5 seconds, I manage to match the pace of the worm, but my luck doesn't last. Of course, my hunter wouldn't let me go free that easily.

Just a few dozen meters from the border, the sand dunes that moved away earlier begin to swell up together. Instead of dozens of smaller intricate distractions, the desert floor is starting to rise into a massive wall before my eyes. The flaming worm has led me to a dead end.

However, there's still hope.

I run up the swell of sand as it begins to consolidate.

The upward incline slows my forward momentum, allowing the worm to gain even more distance on me while I climb the ever-rising incline of desert sand.

I burn through every last drop of energy in my body, leaving a trail of denser black and purple refined Demonic Energy in my wake. With every lightning-fast stride, I jump an additional 5 to 10 meters higher into the air. The enormous worm dives directly below me and disappears into the steadily forming wall of mass that I climb.

Each step feels like an eternity, but I persevere and manage to reach the top of the moving sandy mound before it fully forms into an enormous sandstone wall.

As I jump over it, the flaming worm from the Abyss crashes through the base of its own creation, leaving nothing below me but its rows of sharp teeth and the void of swirling energy within its open maw.

I pass through the barrier of darkness to light. The purple tint from within the Abyss begins to fade.

The only thing on my mind is activating my mana sense again to fly away from this creature as fast as I possibly can.

The only problem is the Demonic Energy coursing through my veins and the blade that is completely saturated in my right hand. If I were to try and use mana now, I'd light up in a sea of sparks. My teammates would never know the full story.

Most importantly, I wouldn't get the information I'm looking for on the Inner Circle and its possible ties to the Association. If I die right now, I'll actually be in a lot more trouble when I wake up...

The view below me is almost entirely a mouth full of teeth, actively swallowing thousands of metric tons of sand in its path.

I let out a yell with no better idea than to throw my blade downward, fully charged with energy, as the rows of teeth come up to chomp down on me like an insect in the wind.

It glides through the air with wisps of black energy trailing behind it, then hits one of the monstrosity's teeth, letting out a light clink. It manages to leave a small chip in its tooth and bounce off to the side into the desert sand like nothing but a pebble.

Meanwhile, I expel every last drop of Demonic Energy from my veins while the mouth of teeth and violently swirling energy start to close around me.

Jets of black energy spill from my right hand out of every finger as I try to expel all of the remaining residue from using my power-ups moments ago.

"Finally..."

The world around me shifts from black and white to gold and blue as I reactivate my mana sense and step off the open air using a desperate full-powered wind summoning spell.

I thrust myself high into the sky, away from the Abyss, expecting to hear the loud chomp of the monster's closing maw echo through my ears and down my spine. It never comes... I don't make it a point to look back and continue using my wind summoning along with every active buff in my arsenal to fly away.

The enormous worm fades from my vision. Without switching to Demonic Energy as a power source, I'm unable to perceive it at all... Only the outline of sand around its body is left in its place. It looks like the desert has a mind of its own, trying to swallow me up into its depths.

Using all the air magic I have access to, I shoot straight up for the sky, not thinking about anything other than survival.

The churning, grinding, and crashing sounds of sand in the back of my mind start to fade, but I continue upward for a full minute straight.

Adrenaline is coursing through my veins, and only when I make it to the cloud line do I think to slow down.

I turn to take a look behind me, but there's nothing but open desert and the endless void almost a kilometer away far below.

A deep trail of sand follows me but stops about halfway between where I float now and the abyss.

I stop air-stepping and only slowly glide backward now to assess the situation further.

"I made it..."

A chuckle comes out.

"I really made it out of there alive..."

Blood still leaks from the wound on my missing left arm, so I use Self Regeneration to heal my injury. My blade, on the other hand, seems to be a lost cause...

"I really liked that dagger..."

I bite my bottom lip and come to a halt in the air to stare down at the unmoving desert below.

"Something isn't right, though. Why would it stop chasing me?"

I remember back to the Demonic Wolves that wouldn't take a step out from the abyss unless threatened or it was deemed necessary. They fought their monstrous instincts to stay within the Abyss at all costs.

Maybe the worm turned back when it lost its prey to the sky.

I curiously look closer but see no other sign of the creature in sight.

It's like it vanished.

My eyebrows scrunch, and my lips tighten while trying to figure out what happened during my run to the sky...

Staying on high alert with my heart still beating out of my chest, I slowly drift down to the desert floor a safe distance away.

After a slow descent, I land myself atop one of the highest sand dunes far from the Abyss. It overlooks the stadium-sized crater left behind by the monster.

My feet touch the desert sand, and I activate my Demonic Vision to get a picture of what's really going on.

The sight before my eyes is not what I expected to see at all...