As they drove forward, the team began to notice something unsettling—the road ahead was far too quiet. On a normal day, they would have already been ambushed by wolves.
Outside the settlement was no man's land. No one dared step out there unless they had a death wish. The outer lands were crawling with wirens—monsters of varying levels, any one of which could wipe out the entire city of Roar in moments.
"Something doesn't feel right," Micah said, eyes sharp and voice serious.
"You feel it too?" Bonnds replied over the radio. "It's quiet… way too quiet. Just like the last time we came back."
They hadn't encountered any monsters. No threats. No obstacles. But instead of relief, an eerie tension filled the air. It was the silence before a storm—and they all felt it.
Trying to ease the rising anxiety, Naran explained, "The wirens closest to the gate were probably wiped out by the gate guards. If we keep moving forward, we'll encounter more. Everyone, be ready."
He glanced at the map he'd sketched by hand—detailing the most common monster paths. He was guiding the convoy to avoid running into a colony. But still… by now, they should have seen at least one. Something was off.
More time passed. The convoy kept pushing further north—and still, not a single threat. The silence grew more alarming.
Ji Ung finally broke the stillness. "How long until we get to the wolves' den?"
"It's still a bit far," Naran replied, "but if we keep moving at this pace—"
RUMBLE.
A low tremor pulsed beneath them.
The red-colored sand they were driving across began to ripple.
"What the fuck is going on?!" Bonnds shouted, struggling to control the metabus.
"The ground's shaking!" Ji Ung said, panicked. "Naran—what the hell is this?"
Naran looked around frantically, eyes widening in horror as he saw the sand rising like a wave.
"SEVERWORM!!" he screamed.
A massive, pale-white worm burst out of the ground, its jagged teeth stretching all the way down to its abdomen. Severworms—giant, low-level monsters that normally stayed hidden underground, only surfacing when they sensed enough prey to feed on for days.
The beast rose, roaring, and in an instant, swallowed two of the nine metabuses whole.
"Shit!" Micah yelled, swerving hard left, then right, in a frantic zigzag to confuse the creature.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the worm's face. Everyone turned to see Mister Coroules, standing on top of his metabus, unleashing mana-infused arrows at the beast.
The attacks staggered it for a moment.
Bonnds seized the opportunity, slamming his metabus into the worm's side to disrupt its balance. Coroules fired again—this time, a barrage of arrows targeting a wound opening up on the worm's neck.
But it wasn't enough.
The Severworm roared, still fighting.
"Ji Ung—NOW!" Coroules shouted.
Without hesitation, Ji Ung dashed across the beast's massive body. With his dual blades drawn, he slashed straight into the injured neck—slicing deep.
The Severworm screeched, then collapsed to the ground, dead.
"Everyone! Back in the metabuses!" Bonnds yelled.
"Why?" someone shouted back. "We already took it down—"
Bonnds climbed out of his now-smoking vehicle. "You all don't get it… Severworms move in packs."
RUMBLE.
Two more massive Severworms erupted from the earth, each swallowing a pair of metabuses.
"In groups!" Naran commanded instantly.
The scavengers scrambled to regroup. Under Micah's orders, half of them focused their fire on one of the new worms. The other worm went wild, smashing vehicles and tearing through the sand unopposed.
Bonnds, Ji Ung, and a few others tried to hold it off while Coroules prepared another barrage.
The targeted worm twisted, trying to escape the concentrated fire. Naran, calm and precise, shouted above the chaos: "Aim for the neck—same spot—focus everything there!"
The scavengers listened. Shot after shot landed in the same place, and a small dent formed. Micah saw the opening and took a deep breath. He infused every drop of mana he had into a single, desperate shot—then fired.
The blast hit the dent dead-on.
The worm collapsed.
But over on Ji Ung's side, things were going badly.
The second worm lunged, swinging its neck like a massive whip. It struck several scavengers, crushing them instantly. Enraged, Bonnds rushed the worm with his giant axe—but it caught him mid-swing and launched him across the field. He slammed into a metabus, and the impact caused it to explode.
Ji Ung attempted to flank it, but he was stunned to see the worm using its neck as a weapon, whipping violently in every direction. He was struck, sent flying, but still managed to land on his feet—barely.
He knew he had only seconds to stop the worm long enough for Coroules to line up his shot.
Ignoring the pain, Ji Ung sprinted toward the rampaging beast. Dodging the deadly lashes of its neck, he leapt up and stabbed his swords deep into its flesh, holding on as it thrashed.
The worm suddenly recoiled and dove underground, vanishing in a flash.
Now, they waited.
Everyone froze.
The Severworm rose behind them, its grotesque form towering over them, but Ji Ung struck before it could act. His blade carved a wide gash across its neck, thick black blood spraying into the air. Gasping for breath, his hands trembling, Ji Ung backed away.
He knew the wound wasn't fatal—yet. But if Coroules fired now, right at that opening, the worm wouldn't survive.
The Severworm shrieked in agony. Realizing their strategy, it began frantically burrowing into the ground, trying to escape the incoming strike.
But Ji Ung wasn't afraid.
He had seen what Coroules could do when he charged up his shots.
Coroules watched the quaking ground calmly. Then, without a flicker of doubt, he raised his bow and muttered,
"Die, you vermin."
He let the arrow fly—right into the center of the battlefield.
BOOM!
The explosion rocked the earth. A massive crater split the ground open, dust and flesh flying. For a brief moment, the exploded remains of the Severworm's head could be seen—then they were gone, swallowed by fire and smoke.
Silence followed.
Everyone stood frozen, stunned by the sheer destructive power of the shot.
"Is anyone hurt?" Coroules asked as he stepped forward, surveying the scene.
When no injuries were reported, he started counting what was left of their group. Naran approached him slowly, face hard.
"We've lost more than half of our forces," he said grimly.
Micah joined them, eyes narrowing. "Why were the Severworms even here? Shouldn't they be after the Wolves' Den?"
Naran's expression shifted. "He's right. You only see Severworms once you've passed the Den. So why are they showing up now?"
Coroules exhaled, frustration simmering under his calm. "It doesn't matter. What's done is done. We move forward—and hope we don't cross their path again."
But deep down, they all knew they had wasted strength.
They hadn't even encountered a single wolf yet—corrupted or otherwise.
From the back, Bonnds stumbled to his feet.
"What about the transport?" he asked. "We've only got two Metabuses left. And barely enough men."
He was right. Continuing on would be suicide.
But they couldn't stop.
They had already sacrificed too much. They had to make their fallen comrades' deaths mean something.
So they loaded into the remaining Metabuses and resumed the journey north, deeper into danger.
Unseen behind them, the Severworm Micah had thought he killed stirred.
Half-dead, it tried to burrow back into the ground.
But it was too late.
From the darkness came a monstrous pack of corrupted wolves, fangs bared, eyes glowing crimson. They swarmed the dying worm, ripping it apart, consuming it and its remains until nothing was left.
As the feeding frenzy ended, the clouds above began to churn.
The red sky darkened.
And then—it rained.
Rain under a red sky.
In this cursed land, rain didn't fall to nourish.
It marked the end of the day—a day with no sun.
To the people of this world, the rain was their only measure of time.
"We're nearing the Wolves' Den," someone said.
"Then we stop here," Coroules commanded.
"What? Why?" Naran asked.
Coroules turned to him. "We've just dealt with something we weren't ready for. We're low on numbers, exhausted. Going up against the wolves right now would be foolish. We'll wait out the rain—rest—then move."
No one argued.
They stopped the vehicles, and fires were lit for warmth and food.
Later, as the team rested beneath the downpour, Naran sat beside Ji Ung.
"How are we supposed to get the Lansing Steel?" he asked quietly. "We're not even sure it exists. What if we just lost all those people for a dream that doesn't exist?"
Ji Ung didn't answer immediately. He stared at the flames.
"I'm not sure it's real either," he finally said. "But I believe in it. Maybe that's stupid... putting all your trust in something uncertain. But what else can we do? Wait here until Roar kills us all?"
He stood. "Get some sleep. You're not much in a fight—but I know you'll be the one to find the Lansing."
Farther off, Coroules was shown deep in meditation, recovering the mana he had drained during the fight. He understood the weight on his shoulders. If he couldn't carry it, the entire team would fall.