The sword clashed, then shattered at once.
Ben's makeshift blade broke the moment it hit the worm's skin.
Hitting it felt like smashing a glass bottle against a rock.
The worm's four-part jaw pushed through the broken weapon and lunged straight for his head.
Ben dropped into a crouch and barely dodged the bite, but the worm did not stop.
Its huge body whipped sideways and slammed into him.
The strike sent him flying backward.
He could have tried to parry, but he chose to ride the impact and use the momentum to gain distance.
His new position left him open.
The worm coiled itself like a spring, then shot forward in a straight line.
"Stone Bulwark!" Elvira shouted.
Mana burst from her body.
It formed a solid rock shield in front of Ben and blocked the worm's charge.
The barrier lasted only a moment.
BAM.
CRACK.
CRACK.
"Stone Bulwark! Stone Bulwark! Stone Bulwark!" she yelled, throwing out shield after shield.
She forced new walls of stone into place, buying a few more seconds each time.
Ben watched the spell form and break again and again.
An idea came to him.
Old memories from a biology class surfaced in his mind.
"Elvira, can you make something like salt with your magic?" he called out.
His voice was tight with urgency.
It was a wild guess, but he felt they had nothing to lose.
"Salt?
What?
Why?" she asked.
She sounded confused.
"Do you have a way or not?
Just trust me and hand it over!" he said.
Elvira frowned.
In her head, salt was just a cooking ingredient.
She could not see how it would help here.
But she saw the serious look in his eyes and gave in.
Her fingers moved quickly through the air as she drew a glowing pattern.
A magic circle appeared and floated in front of her.
"Quick!
Throw me everything you've got!" Ben shouted.
His tone made it clear he was not joking.
Elvira nodded.
She reached into the circle and pulled out a whole sack of salt.
Ben's eyes widened. "No way, she actually has that much.
That has to be at least twenty kilos," he muttered.
He did not waste time.
He focused and formed a new weapon from his power.
This time, he did not create a sword.
He shaped a baseball bat, something he had not used since high school.
He watched the worm and counted the rhythm of its movements.
He set his feet and coiled his muscles.
He turned on his heel to face the worm again and drew in a slow breath.
His shoulders tightened.
BAM.
He swung with all his strength and hit the sack at full force.
The sack was clearly not an ordinary one.
A normal bag would have torn apart right away.
The heavy bundle shot forward.
It cut through the air and slammed into the worm's sharp teeth.
Swoosh.
The sack burst on impact.
A cloud of salt poured out and rained straight into the monster's open mouth.
Please work.
There is no way they made this thing without a countermeasure, Ben thought as he backed up toward Elvira.
From his point of view as a human, no living thing, especially one made to eat anything, should exist without a weakness.
The name Junkvore sounded like a joke, but its power was not.
It could devour almost anything and adapt to it.
A monster like that might evolve based on what it ate.
The idea made his skin crawl.
"My beloved, just what are you planning?
Why salt?" Elvira asked.
She did not look away from the worm.
The creature shuddered hard but did not attack.
It twisted and writhed like it was in shock.
Ben let out a slow breath and tightened his grip on the bat. "Back in my world, worms die when you pour salt on them," he said.
Elvira's eyes went wide.
An interested light flashed in them. "Really?
That is fascinating.
I have never heard of such knowledge before," she said.
Before she could ask more, Ben cut her off. "If you are going to ask me how it works, I do not know.
I forgot."
Elvira smiled, clearly excited. "That is fine.
I know a magic that can copy your old memories.
I only need your permission," she said.
Her eyes shone with the eagerness of a child who had found a new toy.
Ben blinked and felt uneasy. "Uhm, let us talk about that later," he said, waving a hand.
The thought of seeing his past again interested him, especially his last moments on Earth.
He wanted to know how he had ended up in this world.
But first, they had to survive this fight.
The worm's smooth white skin began to wrinkle.
Deep lines formed across its surface like cracks in dry ground.
At the same time, the inner walls around them shook.
The flesh trembled, then squeezed inward.
The space inside the worm shrank fast.
Cracks split open with a sick sound.
Through the gaps, Ben saw the liquid below.
It was the worm's digestive acid, thick and dark.
The acid churned and bubbled.
It looked like boiling lava and it rose quickly.
"Move!" Ben yelled as the burning liquid surged upward.
He and Elvira reacted at once.
They floated higher, using their magic to keep distance from the rising pool.
"My beloved, any ideas?" Elvira asked.
There was a faint tremor of panic in her voice.
Ben scanned the area.
His thoughts raced.
He could not tell if the worm was dying or just changing.
Either way, the acid would reach them soon.
"There is no running from this," he muttered as his jaw tightened.
He looked at the worm, then at Elvira, and made his choice.
Before she could cast another spell, Ben rushed forward.
"My beloved, wait!" she called and reached toward him, but he did not stop.
He pulled all his armor into his arms.
Thick carapace plates formed there and layered over his skin.
From his inventory, he took out the Blockify Pickaxe and gripped it with both hands.
As he neared the worm, the scene turned almost chaotic.
The huge body was already half under the rising acid.
The fluid lapped against its sides.
The creature stayed frozen in place and twitched in shock.
Looks like the acid does not hurt it at all.
Damn it, Ben thought, narrowing his eyes.
He clenched his teeth and swung the pickaxe with everything he had.
BANG.
The sharp head drove into the worm's jaw.