Ch.101101. Guardian of the Desert (1)

The moment I captured the ruins that Corin had discovered through shared vision in my eyes.

The first image that came to mind was how strangely these ruins resembled the ancient Egyptian ruins I had encountered in my previous life.

Since I wasn’t an Egypt expert in my previous life, I couldn’t definitively say exactly how they were similar.

It was just that the mysterious hieroglyphs carved on the walls and the distinctive decorations gave off a distinctly Egyptian atmosphere.

The ruins were made of sandstone with clearly visible signs of age on the surface, and they felt somehow different from what you’d expect from a structure inside the “Desert of Death” that was full of necromantic energy.

The magical energy emanating from the ruins felt different from necromantic energy, making the ruins seem like another dimension within a dimension.

And… personally, I was far from being a courageous person.

“Sophia, let’s retreat.”

“…From the ruins?”

“Yes. The atmosphere feels strange. You also had a premonition of danger, so there’s no need for us to take unnecessary risks when we’ve already accomplished our goal.”

The rookies could gain plenty of combat experience by facing the undead outside.

We didn’t urgently need a large sum of money either, so there was no reason to enter those dangerous ruins.

Besides, we had long since fulfilled our contract with Nightmare Mary, which was the original reason we came to this “Desert of Death.”

In other words, there seemed to be no reason to approach such ominous ruins.

The Tarask, which had approached to about several hundred meters from the ruins, began to gradually increase that distance under our control.

As time passed, the distance between us grew, and I, who had been watching the ruins with enough tension to break a cold sweat, finally started to relax and let my guard down…

-BOOM!!!

“…?!!”

That’s when the ground began to crack and the ruins started to collapse bit by bit.

I, Sophia, we couldn’t tear our eyes away from those collapsing ruins.

More precisely… from the overwhelming life energy seeping out of them.

Something, something deep within had awakened.

A vitality so intense I had rarely experienced it before.

The overwhelming power I first felt when encountering Behemoth in the Eastern Great Forest was now filling our senses.

I thought about it. I pondered deeply, imprinting this sensation in my body.

It was obvious that if we were to encounter the owner of that life energy, I would be utterly powerless against it.

“Sophia! Let’s retreat!”

“Yes!”

So both of us, thinking we needed to immediately leave to avoid the owner of this high-ranked life force, quickly assessed the situation and took action.

[Store!]

After instantly sucking the massive Tarask into Sophia’s essence storage.

We summoned our animal friends with top-tier running speed and mounted them.

The Tarask’s speed wasn’t terribly slow, but for a full-fledged escape, Robo or Astra… or even Mary would be better.

And so, just as we were finishing our escape preparations…

[──■■■■■■!!!]

-RUMBLE!!!

With a magical roar filled with heat, the owner of the life energy finally emerged from the ruins that had split in half and collapsed.

It was enormous.

Almost twice the size of the Tarask, it was simply put, a human-faced lion (sphinx), a lion with a human head.

A human woman’s head and chest with makeup resembling ancient Egyptian style. A massive pair of eagle wings.

Along with the body of a lioness with a distinctive bulky upper body, and a snake tail with a snake’s head at the end.

This creature, large enough to easily leap over a dump truck… had the same appearance as a being I knew all too well.

A Sphinx. In my previous life, it was known as a creature mixing human and lion features found in Greece, Egypt, and other regions.

This large and beautiful “divine beast” wore ancient Egyptian-style head and upper body decorations, with golden bracelets on its wrists, giving it a noble appearance.

And, as expected of a high-ranked “divine beast”… it was an opponent we couldn’t possibly face with our current abilities.

The Sphinx’s calm yet strange atmosphere seemed to possess a kind of divinity.

Just its breathing made the mysteries of the area fluctuate, shaking our souls as if the earth itself was trembling.

“…Ugh!”

“Ruuuun!!!”

Therefore, realizing we had absolutely no chance of winning, the moment we saw it turning its head toward us…

We attempted to flee with almost reflexive speed.

[Beast, unleash your inner instinct!]

[Heavenly wind, guide us!]

Somehow moving the mystical energy that turned like rusty gears, I wove magic power, and the completed spell accelerated Robo and Astra carrying Sophia and me.

The wild magic “Berserk Explosion” I cast temporarily amplified Robo and Astra’s physical abilities, while Sophia created air currents around us to increase our speed and form a kind of air barrier.

But… a high-ranked divine beast wasn’t an opponent we could escape from so easily.

[■■■■■■■■■─!!!]

From behind us, a roar filled with fear echoed. A roar containing enough power to make us faint if not for the fear immunity ability I had acquired, and this mysterious roar absorbed the surrounding magical energy and manifested as a spell.

-WHOOSH!!!

Fire Storm. This flame tornado that spun wildly while engulfing everything around it melted the desert sand into glass and began spewing scorching heat right behind us.

[Scales and hide of the water serpent! Block the heat!]

Fortunately, the Fire Storm launched by the Sphinx could barely be defended against thanks to the hydra skin shield I summoned…

The problem was that this Fire Storm was merely a warning shot from the Sphinx’s perspective.

It had performed the insane feat of using a spell with firepower similar to my full-power area attack magic, simply by using a roar to harness the surrounding magical energy.

Almost no consumption on its part—just gathering some power and roaring to activate a powerful area attack spell.

So… I had no choice but to make a decision.

‘…I’m sorry, Corin! Hydra!’

[No, it’s okay. I understand why.]

[Grrrr…]

After running for a while, I took out Corin and Hydra with mixed feelings and gave them orders. The two mid-ranked magical beasts understood my intention and prepared to face the Sphinx.

No matter how many mid-ranked beings joined forces, they couldn’t defeat an opponent of a different class, especially one powerful enough to be classified as a “divine beast” among high-ranked beings.

So my choice was… sacrifice.

Using animal friends specialized in buying time—ones I could retrieve even after death—to stall while we escaped as far as possible.

And then…

-SLASH!!!

The very next moment. The Sphinx, which had spread its wings and taken flight from the ruins at least 500 meters away, instantly swung its red-hot claws and split Hydra’s body.

The claws, heated by the intense heat latent within the Sphinx, were glowing almost white, making Hydra’s fragile body about as sturdy as tofu before them.

-KUUUUNG!!!

As Hydra was split in half with its heart also torn apart, its soul flew back to me, and I heard the sound of the Sphinx landing on the ground.

-THUD!

-CRUNCH!!!

Then, the Sphinx lightly leaped from the ground and bit to death Corin, who had just electrified its entire body.

With this, I could glimpse at least a fragment of the Sphinx’s combat power.

Speed that could cover hundreds of meters in just seconds by flight.

Monstrous strength that could overwhelm Hydra like an adult facing a 5-year-old child and cut it to pieces.

Some special ability that could withstand Corin’s electricity and grab and bite its electrified form.

A monster that made me wonder how such abilities could belong to a living being. That vicious and hideous monster flashed its eyes at me and—

-GWAAAANG!!

Attacked us by shooting golden heat beams from both eyes.