Chapter 5 - Magus

“Ugh, my head hurts,” Zero woke up with a pounding headache.

“Dude, that was wicked!” Sven yelled out, completely elated from last night’s experience.

Zero shook his head in response, wondering where does Sven even get all that energy from. He looked up and felt the scorching heat from the sun on his face as he shaded his eyes from the intense sunlight.

‘We’ve been out for the whole night?’

He then scanned his surroundings and found that the grey sand no longer produced a fire but now a line of grey smoke in its stead.

“Sven, the fire’s out.”

“Yeah, by the looks of it not too long ago.”

The boys just woke up after coming down from a whole new high, they failed to grasp just how dire their current situation was.

Zero’s instincts immediately kicked in and he shoved Sven out of the way. In that moment everything slowed down as Zero watched a white worm fly right past his eyes and dived right back into the sand.

“Shit! We let our guard down!”

The many creatures that waited patiently beneath the sand finally found the opportunity to strike at their prey. One after the other shot out of the sand like bullets out of a gun albeit slightly slower but their great numbers make them all the more deadly.

Zero and Sven frantically dodged the vicious attacks from these sandworms but they were too many and ended up getting grazed by the jaws of these creatures.

“Damn it! For some puny worms they sure have sharp fangs! These things sting like a bitch!” Sven vented his frustration as they were forced completely into the defensive.

Zero leapt backwards in an arc, dodging several worms from all directions, landing on his hands and pushed off into a reverse aerial cartwheel dodging several more. Zero started to tense up as the realization dawned on him that the both of them can only keep this up for so long.

Zero looked over to Sven to see how his friend was holding up, this split second distraction proved a near fatal mistake as a worm shot out and used it’s jaws to latch onto his shoulder. Zero let out a scream as it tried to bury itself into his flesh. He yanked it out, tearing off a part of his flesh along with it and he ripped the squirming worm in half.

Several more worms shot out and dug into his flesh as Zero tried to shake them off but to no avail.

“Ahh!” A female voice echoed out from beside him as a figure slammed her fist into the ground. The shockwave sent all the worms flying as well as Zero and Sven. The sandworms wriggled back into the sands and disappeared, swimming off in a panic.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Zero stood up, dusting the dust off his clothes while inspecting the many injuries he was covered in.

“You okay Zero?” Sven asked worriedly as he noticed Zero seemed to be in quite a bad shape. Sven was also bleeding from several places as well but he was more concerned about Zero rather than his own wounds.

“I’m fine, thanks Sven. Whoever you are, we were in a tight situation back there, so uhh thanks.” Zero replied and thanked the blonde female crouching where they were a moment ago, with her fist planted in the sand.

‘Wait a cotton picking second, I know that hair!’

The figure looked up towards Zero with an angry face.

‘SHIT! It’s the crazy girl!’

Zero ducked as a fist swung over his head sending out a shockwave behind him.

“Are you crazy?!”

‘It’s just one shit after another ain’t it’

“What the hell’s your problem?!”

She doesn’t reply and just grunted in anger as she swung another fist at him.

Zero being as nimble as always doesn’t allow a single punch to land, but seeing how each punch hollowed out the ground behind him, one punch is all it would take.

“Just stand still and take it like a man!” She yelled out in frustration.

“Like hell I would!”

‘There’s no way normal punches could produce such a force… Could it be?! She’s a magus?! But by the way she’s just manifesting her mana out of her fists, she’s an amateur? An experienced magus could make explosions out of thin air but the way she is now is dangerous enough, can’t spot an opening in between her punches, not without endangering myself.’

“Hey Sven! Little help here!”

“Sorry Zero, but I make it a habit not to interfere in the love affairs between a couple, just man up and take a punch!” Sven said with a thumbs up and a wide smile.

‘Love affair?! In what rotten part of your brain does this resemble a love affair?! And who in their right mind would be a couple with this crazy bitch?!’

Tired of the current stalemate, she forced out her remaining mana in a short burst hoping to knock him off his feet once and for all.

The sudden burst of mana blew out the surrounding sand and threw Zero into the air. Zero struggles to regain his balance mid-air but was caught by blondy and thrown down into the sand. The impact knocked the wind out of him and before he knew it, something struck the side of his ribs with great force, snapping a few of them with a loud crack.

Zero coughed out a mouthful of blood and tried to recover. The girl mounted him and lifted his torso by the collar, bringing him face to face with her. The look in her eyes no longer contained any anger and was replaced with a look of satisfaction. He was close enough to feel her breath and can’t help but notice that up close, she looked amazing. Her beautiful azure eyes that captivated anyone who gazes into it, her pink ample lips and a tinge of red on her cheeks.

‘Wait, she’s blushing?’

“Now we’re even,” She said coldly as she released his collar and stood up.

‘What the fuck just happened?’ Zero thought to himself as he sat himself up. He looked towards Sven who just smiled back mischievously.

“I was wondering where you ran off to.”

Zero turned around to face the familiar voice and saw Six slowly walking into view.

“Oh! I bet she must have run with all her might the moment she heard lover boy over there scream out in pain!” Sven said in a mischievous tone, teasing the blonde girl, to which she responds with a punch to the face.

“Gubuu!” A comical sound escaped Sven’s lips as he was sent flying across the sand.

Zero caught a glimpse of her face which was now as red as a tomato.

She turned around with an angry face with her long hair waving behind her and he immediately denied seeing or hearing anything while waving his hands in front of him.

She turned back around with a hmph and stomped away. Six merely smiled wryly and followed slowly behind her, ignoring Sven whose leg is sticking out of the sand, twitching.