WITCH OF THE END

Luna's eyes widened as she realized the immediate danger. She turned to the diviner, her voice sharp and urgent.

"Get back! Now!"

The diviner didn’t hesitate to move, retreating quickly as the ground beneath them quaked more violently.

Mira must have noticed it too because she started shooting at the sand as she led the diviner away from the initial point. Her energized bullets caused the sand to implode on impact each time she fired at the enemy coming in their direction.

With swift motion, Luna activated a sequence in her nanoskin armor, sending a surge of energy into her legs. The suit responded instantly, enhancing her body through the neuro link.

With that, Luna leaped high into the air, avoiding the initial burst of sand as the sandworm broke through the surface where they had just been standing.

Landing gracefully a short distance away, Luna took a moment to recalibrate. Her heart pounded, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She glanced around, assessing the situation before she did anything else.

Gail was sweating as he continuously fired golden arrows at the thing, Darkness was already on its back delivering powerful strikes that made the monster cry as it fought to wiggle her off. She was covered in red sand which probably meant she was on it when it burrowed into the sand.

Monic had dismissed her summon and was doing her best to deliver lightning strikes at the small wounds she had created earlier. At the same time, Adam called on red walls to trap their enemy.

The worm was partially above ground now, its massive body writhing as it tried to shake off the attacks from the others. It was injured, but its vicious presence remained as its roar continued to cause rumbles across the desert.

‘The only thing keeping you alive is your tough skin…so don’t look down on me like that.’

Tsk. She wasn’t even sure if this thing had eyes.

Steeling her resolve, Luna dashed forward, her enhanced speed leaving a blur across the sand. As she approached the sandworm, she searched within to draw out a technique she had mastered long ago.

Her helmet disappeared to let more air into her lungs. And soon, everything in her body was functioning at a balanced rate as she drew out the sword technique.

‘The blade is like an extension of a swordsman. It’s not just a tool, but an extra limb that can cut through anything.’

As Luna recalled her father’s words, the rest of the world seemed to go silent as she got closer and closer to the sandworm. Once the silence finally overtook her mind, Luna finally got to sense the sandworm’s core. It was pulsing out energy, like a large heartbeat.

This unique energy was qi or its life force. As a martial artist, this is how she perceived the world of the supernatural and how she was able to catch up with so many ascenders. She had harnessed her ability to sense life essence to a great degree in case she ever went against invisible enemies.

However, the case would have been different if the worm was undead or infected. It would've made it very hard to detect with qi since the dead had no life energy and black ether was known for consuming life essence.

“Sacred art, Wind Blade.” She whispered, her voice barely audible in the chaos of battle.

With a single, fluid motion, Luna leaped into the air and her katana sliced with a resonant hum. The forged weapon’s blade seemed to extend into an invisible wind slash that cut deep into the creature's armored body. However, that’s not where the invisible attack stopped. Because of the enchantment, the invisible technique easily found its way to the core and sliced right through it.

“RAAAAAAAGGGGRRR!!!!”

The worm let out a deafening roar, its body convulsing in pain.

Luna landed on its side and held on tightly, using her suit's suction grips to maintain her position.

She had destroyed its core of course, but the bastard refused to die instantly. Having a core destroyed was equivalent to having a Soul Gate destroyed. In that situation, most people preferred death because of how painful the experience was. The Cursed Creature seemed to be more than desperate to survive.

“Shit.” She continued to cut through the creature’s scales with ease and then its flesh. Her sword seemed to know no weakness as more and more blood spluttered out of the wounds she created. Being so high up was a frightening experience but the sandworm was nothing compared to greater cursed creatures which were about the size of actual mountains.

Finally, one of Gail’s powerful arrows flew into its mouth and killed it instantly the moment it exploded and destroyed its insides with zenshi.

Everyone knew what was coming next, so they either cleared the way. Or for someone like Luna who was latched onto its body, held on, and prepared for the descent.

With a final, guttural roar, the worm collapsed. Its massive body fell still on the blood-red sands that imploded outward to create a giant sand-dust cloud.

Luna coughed after inhaling some of the dust. She blinked, her vision blurring momentarily as a vague, shadowy form appeared atop the worm’s carcass. She froze, her heart pounding. Was it a trick of the dust?

“Huh?” she squinted her eyes and forced them to blink once again. When she looked, the vague shadow was gone and Darkness was the one standing on the creature with a glorified smile.

' Argh...The dust is playing tricks with my eyes.'

“This is glory! The god of war must be pleased by us indeed. This is enough to make him turn from his grave…haha.”

Gail landed on the beast, his handsome face was now pale after using so much zenshi in one fight. “It’s always about glory when it comes to you. But the reason why we won was because of Lady Luna. Isn’t that right?”

He turned to the raven-haired girl who was now staring at where the dark blade had cut. It was clean and perfect. Wind Blade was a secret technique meant to be used against colossal enemies. The Sword Technique's creator was from the Feng Clan. After creating the technique, the great nobleman noticed its dangers and decided to take its secrets to the grave.

When Luna inherited it, she decided to respect him by keeping the technique to herself as well. No one could be trusted with this level of power. Both of its forms would be too powerful in the hands of an ascender.

She turned to the rest of her unit. After observing how they fought as a team, Luna was now confident in their strength as a cohort.

“Not really. You guys helped me learn more about the enemy.” She finally replied to Gail’s question with a weak but genuine smile.

“But that technique…how?” Adam was generally awe-struck by Luna's display of power. He was from the Green Rose Sect which was one of House Feng’s so of course seeing Luna use a technique that was only briefly written about in scrolls must’ve surprised him.

‘That’s only if he noticed it's the same technique. The other person I believe must’ve noticed I used Wind Blade is Darkness…’

Before she could answer with a lie, Monic cut in just in time to save her.

“You Legacies really are powerful. To think I would ever see a mundane take down a Cursed General.”

“The suit and the enchanted sword did most of the work.” Luna forced a laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck. Yes, the suit played a big role; it kept her from spending too much stamina in one go.

She then turned to the vast red desert. Its red red sun was already setting and a red moon was already taking shape in the twilight sky. She may have not been tired, but the rest of her cohort was after using so much zenshi against the cursed creature.

Sigh. Even the arachnid pilot needed to reload its guns and charge the fields.

The machine had survived a rain of spikes so it was still more than capable of moving.

“We’ll rest here tonight. Let’s make camp and prepare for the cold night.”