"Giving up on the channel? What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"Too difficult to explain." Milaine said as she started to tap something in the air with her free hand, just as I did when I wrote a message in the system.
She lit a spark from her finger, which she stretched out as if it were a thread. With that, she tied that thread to the handle of the fang-blade and then wound it around her left hand at a speed that defied human perception.
Then she took another thread from her finger and, with the same speed, tied it around Livia's waist as if it were a belt.
Before I could react, she was already in front of me, grabbing my waist and pulling on another thread.
"H-hey, what is---"
She gave me a little tug, which felt just like when I wore clothes that were too small for me.
Finally, she took another thread and tied it around herself, then connected it to the 'belt' that Livia and I had.
[The Goddess Who Doesn't Believe in Friendships is pleased with this development]
[The Goddess Who Enjoys Battles is wondering where your weapon is]
[The God Who Would Do Anything for Money has started unofficially broadcasting this channel in a private chat group]
[The God Who Would Do Anything for Money would like to send you a private message. Do you accept it? [Y/N]
'Yes'
[GRIT is the name of the room. Tell your deity to send me a private message and I'll add her. Don't delay, or I won't make her a founder]
'Deity? I don't have any—'
Without fully understanding what was happening, I felt a tug from my waist. It was the thread Milaine had placed; it had tightened when she started walking away toward the storm.
'Fuck it. Survive first, think later.'
***
We started running.
The destination was the gigantic wave of black sand approaching in the distance that looked like a tsunami.
We improvised a closed formation between the three of us, with Milaine in the front, Livia in the center, and me in the rear. We had to stay together, almost touching, not only for the healing or the new thread that was forcing us to keep closer but also because Milaine's flame also seemed to work as a form of additional protection.
The fragments of sand, ash, and other impurities in the air vaporized upon contact with us—or rather, upon contact with the white flame. It functioned as a mobile shield that followed Milaine, much like Livia and her golden dome.
Livia, meanwhile, ran clutching my books—she offered herself—her breathing even, her eyes completely golden.
She summoned the golden dome that surrounded us and worked as a second layer of protection, making us invisible to anything with eyes.
To the creatures of the sky—which I could discern as something very much like a human-sized bat made of obsidian-like ore with red-orange cracks that resembled the magma of the ground—we were just dots.
I was sure they could see us with echolocation or something like that, but maybe because of the noise that made it impossible to hear anything, or maybe because they were more focused on defending themselves against the winged serpents of pitch-black bone that were swooping down to tear them apart from the clouds.
My job was to protect Livia from anything that had slipped through Milaine's attack range, such as pieces of tephra or beetles that were shot out when they were broken or burst by the chaos generated by the sandworms when they jumped from the ground trying to devour whatever was in their path.
Thankfully the formation worked pretty well for the first hour. That was until we arrived at our destination.
***
We stopped when, looking up, we could see the immense black wave of sand completely covering the sky. There was no one around us, only the wind moving my hair and the sand, the dust that burned before it touched us.
Most of the creatures had taken other paths and branched off before getting as close to the storm as we were. Some—like the spiders that ambushed the beetles from the sand—realizing how close they were, simply decided to plunge into the Earth's core, directly into the magma, through the ravines formed by the vibrations and the passage of the sandworms.
I wasn't sure if they committed suicide or what. But I knew they preferred the magma core and its Ruler before entering the sandstorm. The only creatures that crossed the sandwall and entered the sandstorm were the ones who also arrived before us.
The sandworms.
[The Goddess Who Doesn't Believe in Friendships is anxious]
[The Goddess Who Enjoys Battles is excited]
[The God Who Would Do Anything for Money is intrigued]
Milaine turned around and looked at us—or rather at Livia, who had her head raised looking at the immense storm while swallowing and trembling, covered in sweat.
"Once we go in, we won't see anything. From this point on, we'll trust Livia completely."
Just before the storm completely engulfed us, she looked directly at me with a dead serious expression, and spoke with a ferocity that sent chills through my entire body.
[The Goddess who Dislikes Gods is warning you]
"No matter what—we will do what she says."
"Sure," I said as the black storm engulfed us.
Everything around us went completely dark, covered in dust. The only things visible were the golden dome that had shrunk and Milaine's flame that illuminated us and scorched the sand.
Milaine gave Livia, who was still looking up with her mouth slightly open, a little squeeze on the arm making her flinch for a second.
Livia seemed to react. She looked at me with her eyes shifting between blue and gold, a frightened expression on her face.
"Okay," She said, then handed me my books and patted her cheeks quickly.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, the golden dome flickered for a few seconds before becoming steady again as Livia exhaled slowly.
She opened her eyes. They were fully golden, only this time her gaze seemed unfocused. Then she began to whisper—very quickly.
I felt a terrible chill run through my body. I couldn't understand what she was saying; it seemed like she was speaking another language. It reminded me of a horror movie where a demon possesses a girl and she starts speaking in ancient, long-dead tongues.
The moment I felt my body begin to tremble again from the unknown anger, I immediately burned away the emotion and the tremors.
[The Sigil is actively counteracting the effects of your Innate Ability; Sense of Danger]
[Warning: Your Innate Ability [Sense of Danger] is being neutralized by the Spell: [Sigil]]
[Your Adversity is resonating]
[Auto Taunt has activated]
'Goddammit, shut the fu—'
Before I could finish cursing in my mind, the sound of a gigantic explosion in the distance made my ears ring.
I swallowed hard.
There was no doubt. It was the volcano, or something much worse.
I followed the noise with my gaze and saw only the darkness of the sand and a terrible feeling of vertigo throughout my body.
Milaine walked past me and stood in front of me. Her gaze was fixed on the darkness, where the sound had originated. I couldn't read her expression as she kept a neutral face, but from the way she was holding the fang-blade I could get an idea that she was at least upset.
"He's awake," she muttered.
She kept her gaze fixed on the darkness for a minute or more, as if waiting for something. But nothing really happened.
"Over here"
It was Livia who broke the silence.
I turned around when I felt a tug on my waist. There I saw the little redhead start to move away from the range of the white flame and disappear into the darkness, oblivious to what had just happened.
The small golden dome that covered us began to grow larger and moved along with it, but it still remained within our range.
'Is she—?'
Milaine tapped me on the shoulder.
"No matter what," she warned me one last time before I followed Livia.
"Shit."
I adjusted my books as best I could on my left arm and waist to at least free up my right hand. I hadn't had time to read Tootie's summoning method, and something told me I wouldn't have a break for a long time.
***
We walked through the storm. Most of the sand and dust was burned entirely by Milaine's flame, but the noise and the wind were still there.
Without my Instinct, and with my other senses altered by the environment, it was impossible for me to sense anything.
For the first time in my entire life, I felt completely unprotected. It was as if I were walking blind.
Livia was now at the front of the group, changing direction while repeating that rapid babble; mixed with the strong winds, it sounded more like a satanic invocation, or like a spell from a witch.
The Irony.
Milaine was in the middle, occasionally glancing in different directions from where Livia was leading us. Any noise in the darkness was completely drowned out by the sound of the wind, rocks splitting, and burning sand.
But that's all she gave the darkness—a glance. And maybe because it was her my brain and heart felt more secure.
[You are being affected by your Flaw: Minor Kink — Mommy Kink]
'Tch'
At first I wanted to deny it, perhaps out of my pride as a man, the fact that a girl could make me feel safe. Agatha was one thing, Violet was… confusing. But that blonde had something else.
She was reliable and capable. Much more so than me. And that bothered me—and I kinda liked it.
"Stop."
Livia suddenly raised both arms and stopped. The golden barrier began to flicker a little.
She quickly turned around and approached us, bringing us closer in what seemed like a hug.
"Milly, don't burn it." Livia whispered.
Milaine didn't hesitate and returned the 'hug' before nodding. I felt the lack of space due to the sudden pull, and I tried to put my books under my chest and get a little closer too.
Immediately afterward, the golden dome shrank considerably, covering us with only a few extra millimeters.
Milaine's white flame also seemed to diminish in intensity, to the point that her silver hair turned blonde again with white strands. The only thing that truly seemed to emit a glimmer of light was the white 'belts' that we all shared.
At the same time the wind that seemed to be just a bit strong became a hurricane that almost knocked me over. I squinted and lowered my head slightly; the dust and black sand were now hitting us directly, and of course a smell that burned my nose returned with it.
In just a couple of seconds we faced the full intensity of the sandstorm, and simply remaining upright was a feat. And it was also in that moment I really realized how much the white flame really did for us.
Then I saw something like a small mound of sand pass right behind Livia—though it wasn't actually one. I could tell from the vibrations that something or several things were also passing behind me.
As the sandstorm drifted past us, I couldn't help but think of sandworms. There was a resemblance, but the mounds of sand were much smaller.
I did my best not to cough and endured the cuts the pieces of sand inflicted on me. I didn't move much; with or without my instinct, I knew those things were dangerous.
"AHHHHHHH!"
We heard a scream. A person.
It was a man's scream, not far from where we were. A cacophony of screams followed.
"Cut it! I'm telling you to cut it!"
"I can't! It will k—"
GWEGK
"HECTOR!!!"
"RUN, YOU IDIOTS, LEAVE HIM, AND RUN!"
[The God Who Would Do Anything for Money has opened the official transmission in a second tab]
[The Goddess Who Enjoys Battles is warning you to prepare to fight]
[The Goddess Who Doesn't Believe in Friendships is advising not to make a sound]
A few seconds after the notifications arrived, Livia, with her eyes half-closed, gave me a little tap with her forehead before looking at me.
"Leo, put down your books."
"What?" I said, confused.
Milaine, who had been keeping her eyes closed, opened them suddenly and looked at me too.
"Do it."
***