Sand Devourer.
Within the Ark, the phenomenon it causes is known as Sand Subsidence, and is regarded as a natural disaster—something beyond human intervention.
And with good reason.
The earth gives way. The world twists and buckles.
Sand Subsidence is the phenomenon that makes such devastation possible.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE───!
THOOM, THOOM-RUMBLE!
It was a disaster.
It was a calamity.
[KAAAAAAAH────!]
Ouroboros, sensing danger to its being, began thrashing even more violently.
In response, the already unstable ground grew even weaker, producing a phenomenon not unlike a giant sinkhole.
Of course, while Sand Collapse had its effects on Ouroboros, it was the followers of the Church of Morte who suffered the most.
"GRAAAAH!"
"N-No, please…"
Caught in the crumbling earth, the Church's followers could not hide their confusion.
Shock. Reverence. Terror. Fear.
All of those emotions twisted and surged across their faces.
"R-Run away!"
"O Great Will! Why would you…?!"
"Hyaaaah!"
In truth, the Church of Morte—being a group that revered monsters and beasts—found it heretical to attack Ouroboros.
Even if ordered by the bishop, many followers were bound to hesitate when faced with the act of attacking such a being.
Now, with this phenomenon unfolding, their resistance collapsed into panic.
"D-Divine punishment…"
"O Great Will!"
The followers, gripped by despair, were consumed by the chaos of Sand Collapse and Ouroboros's rampage.
BOOOM—BOOOOM!
Strictly speaking, the Sand Collapse employed by Janus was weaker than that of a mature Sand Devourer.
Even if Janus had attained strength beyond that of a standard monster, there remained a fundamental difference in physical structure and mass compared to an actual Sand Devourer.
In essence, the Sand Devourer had a body fully optimized to wield Sand Collapse.
Janus did not.
What Janus performed was, technically, no more than an imitation.
'Doesn't matter much, though.'
Even a weaker version of Sand Collapse was still Sand Subsidence.
What mattered was that, though inferior to a mature Sand Devourer's, Janus's version had reached the level of a sub-adult.
[SKIIIIEEEEEEEE!]
Ouroboros, now enraged, began to rampage, tearing apart the ground already weakened by Sand Collapse.
The followers of the Church of Morte, who had surrounded Ouroboros, were caught in the chaos and dragged into the earth.
Aaaaaaah…
Their screams were brief.
No, even if they had screamed longer, the ground had already swallowed them whole, muffling their cries.
'Hmm…'
Before me lay a vast sinkhole—a gaping abyss that had opened in an instant.
As I gazed silently at it, one truth became clear.
'So, the bishop isn't here after all.'
If the Bishop of Earth had been among those fallen, there would have been some kind of reaction by now.
The bishop's Earth's Blessing was powerful enough to bind even Ouroboros, and if used properly, could deal devastating damage to the Ark.
Yet nothing was happening.
No resistance, no movement.
That alone confirmed the bishop's absence.
'Just like a burrowing roach…'
Like the rest of the Church, the Bishop of Earth was famed for an extraordinary instinct for survival.
Particularly, the Earth's Blessing granted him even greater survivability.
It allowed him to burrow underground and move freely in times of crisis.
'Still, that's not going to save him.'
If my target was the Church branch, then the bishop fleeing was no solution.
In fact, it worked out better for me.
"Janus."
[Gigit!]
"Call Horus."
[Gigigit!]
Climbing back to the surface, I summoned Horus and mounted him without delay.
From this point on, it was a race against time.
[Gigit!]
Perched atop Horus, I reached out to Esther.
'Esther.'
["Yes."]
'Do your part.'
["Ugh… fine."]
Ether pulses, which had briefly gone still, began to surge wildly once more.
It was to show the trapped Ouroboros which way to go.
[Where are you going…?]
[This way. This way. This way. This way. This way. This way. This way. This way. This way. This way. This way. This way. This way. This way.]
[Come-here. Here-come. Come-here. Here-come. Come-here. Here-come. Come-here. Here-come. Come-here. Here-come. Come-here. Here-come…]
Once again, lured by Esther's call, Ouroboros began digging upward from underground.
Of course, no matter how deep the abyss, keeping a creature like Ouroboros buried forever was impossible.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE────!
THUD! THUD-THUMP!
With an explosive burst, Ouroboros shattered the surface and reemerged onto solid ground.
Freed once more, it bellowed furiously.
[KIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEK!]
A monster beyond classification.
A regional lord.
A roar from such a being was enough to frighten away all nearby beasts and monsters.
Soon, not even a trace remained of them in the surroundings.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE───!
Guided by Esther's lure, Ouroboros began moving again.
'Things are going better than expected.'
The bishop's defense had failed, costing him valuable forces.
Now, the Church's branch would have to contend with Ouroboros alone and weakened.
Ouroboros charged forward, unstoppable.
In fact, there was no one left capable of stopping him.
["Come here…"]
Esther's ether surged again, continuing to draw him forward.
His advance knew no pause.
And then, just over the horizon, the branch of the Church of Morte came into view.
["Master, we're almost there…"]
'I see it.'
["I swear I'm going to vomit…"]
'Hang in there a little longer.'
Esther groaned, exhausted.
It was understandable.
Luring a creature like Ouroboros was no simple feat.
Even Esther had to burn through almost all of her ether to do it.
'My own ether's running dry too. Must've been tough on her.'
I didn't rely on ether like Esther did, so it didn't matter much for me.
Still, the downside was that I could hear the whispers more clearly now.
[Heehee…]
[Carl, Marcus… heir of the great spirit.]
[Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me.]
If it got much worse, I might need to use Experimental Round GHOST-157.
But for now, I just ignored the hallucinations.
Thanks to Esther's tireless efforts, Ouroboros marched on unimpeded.
Given his immense size, his pace across the ground was staggering.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE───!
His movements carved deep trenches into the earth.
A trail like a road.
The Defense Players once called it the Path of the Serpent.
'And that road? It can be used as an actual trade route.'
Yes, a road for the Silk Road episode I was planning to develop.
In many ways, Ouroboros was furthering my goals for me.
'Though I did orchestrate it that way.'
Before long, we closed in visibly on the Church's branch.
["Almost there!"]
'Now it begins for real.'
["Huh?"]
Right on cue, countless missiles rose from the distance, streaking toward the sky.
FWOOSH────
Fwhoom, Fwoooosh!
["What the…!"]
Esther cried out in shock as the sky filled with missiles.
But this was no surprise.
'Hmm.'
The Church of Morte wasn't a band of primitives.
They used weapons and technology from Ark—including powerful armaments.
They just didn't show it, as their doctrine discouraged direct conflict with beasts and monsters.
KRAKABOOM!
BOOM! THUD, THUD!
The missiles rained down on Ouroboros, detonating with thunderous explosions.
But this was Ouroboros.
A regional lord-class beast, impervious even to Ark-level firepower.
No mere missile barrage could hope to stop him.
[KIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!]
Ouroboros roared in fury, charging even harder.
The Church's preemptive strike had only made him angrier.
'That should be enough.'
Now, there was no need to lure him further.
His rage would drive him straight into the Church's stronghold.
The lure had succeeded.
'Esther, return.'
["Really? I think I'm going to die…"]
'Get some rest.'
["…I'll nap for a bit."]
Esther's voice faded.
She had finally exhausted all her strength.
[KIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!]
The Church branch and Ouroboros collided.
It was war.
A war between Ouroboros, the regional master, and the Church's formidable branch known as the Earth's Seat.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE───!
CRASH! KABOOM!
The fortress built from the bishop's Earth's Blessing, the Church's cornerstone, was reduced to rubble in a single tail swing.
A living disaster.
A moving calamity.
An unstoppable phenomenon.
Ouroboros was every bit the monster his title implied.
KRAKABOOOOOM!
The followers of Morte hurled blessings and munitions at Ouroboros in resistance.
But they were hopelessly outmatched.
[KIIIIIEEEEEK!]
My role now was clear.
Prevent either side from dominating—ensuring mutual annihilation.
That was my task here.
'Right now, Ouroboros holds the advantage… but I don't see the bishop.'
In this world, the Bishop of Earth was one of the most dangerous individuals.
Despite appearances, the battle was still evenly matched.
'Well, no matter.'
If the bishop refused to appear—then I would force him out.
Click—
From the [Rift Space], I retrieved a CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher and aimed it straight at the Church of Morte.
FWOOSH────!
Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger again and again.
Rockets launched in a storm, raining down toward the earth below.