Volume 3 Chapter 169: The Ouzame Danger Zone

The Endless Sand Valley stretched beneath the fading afternoon sun, its golden dunes rolling toward the horizon like waves across an ocean without water. The sand cruiser raced over the uneven terrain, its reinforced hull vibrating whenever it crossed a particularly rough patch. Behind it, the remaining Ganzame continued their pursuit, their enormous bodies carving deep furrows through the sand as they surged forward with relentless determination.

Although Akari and Memory had managed to eliminate the group attacking the left side of the vessel, the battle was far from over. Several Ganzame still followed the cruiser, and their movements had become increasingly difficult to predict. Some pursued the vessel directly, while others circled through the dunes, occasionally disappearing beneath the sand before emerging at unexpected angles. Their earlier aggression had given way to something more unsettling: patience.

The creatures were watching the passengers.

They were learning how the cruiser moved, how quickly its pilot could react, and which of its occupants posed the greatest threat. Whenever the Terracotta Archer turned its reinforced bow toward one of them, the Ganzame nearest its line of fire retreated. Whenever Ryota adjusted the vessel's course to avoid an attack, another shark shifted toward the newly exposed side.

They were no longer charging blindly.

They were looking for an opening.

Meanwhile, Rio remained balanced atop the back of a Ganzame she had been riding since the beginning of the pursuit. One hand held the Imperial Saber she had drawn earlier, while the other reached into her inventory to retrieve her Silvermoon Musket.

The creature beneath her twisted violently, attempting to throw her off. Its thick, armored hide shifted beneath her boots, and every movement threatened to send her tumbling into the sand. Rio barely seemed bothered. She adjusted her stance with practiced ease, allowing the shark's momentum to pass beneath her rather than fighting against it directly.

Then she glanced toward the horizon.

Something about the landscape had changed.

The dunes surrounding them were gradually giving way to a vast depression in the valley. The terrain descended into a colossal basin, where towering ridges of sand formed a broken ring around a wide expanse of exposed sandstone. Jagged rock formations protruded from the ground like the remains of enormous buried structures, while the wreckage of several vessels lay scattered across the distant terrain.

Rio's blue eyes narrowed as she studied their surroundings.

They had traveled much farther into the valley than most adventurers would dare. The familiar hunting grounds were now far behind them, and even the occasional wreckage that had marked their route was becoming increasingly scarce. Instead, the landscape ahead was dominated by signs of something far larger than the creatures pursuing them.

Tracks.

Enormous tracks.

Some were wide enough to swallow the entire sand cruiser, while others disappeared beneath the dunes before emerging hundreds of meters away. The sand around them had been churned into deep trenches, and several sections of exposed sandstone bore long, jagged scars that looked as though something enormous had dragged its body across the surface.

One particularly deep groove extended across a rocky ridge. The stone along its edges had been scraped away, leaving a pale scar through the darker sandstone. Whatever had created it possessed enough mass and strength to tear through terrain that would have stopped an ordinary Ganzame in its tracks.

Rio studied the marks for another moment before releasing a quiet sigh.

So we've finally reached it.

The deepest section of the Endless Sand Valley.

She had expected to reach this area eventually, but the speed and persistence of the Ganzame suggested that the group had entered their territory without fully appreciating how far they had traveled. More importantly, the sharks behind them were behaving differently from the ordinary hunting monsters most players encountered closer to the valley's outskirts.

They were coordinating.

Some continued chasing the cruiser directly, while others spread across the dunes, maintaining their distance and watching for openings. A few slowed whenever Rio turned to face them, only to resume their pursuit as soon as her attention shifted elsewhere. They were using the terrain to conceal their approach, forcing the group to divide its attention between the creatures that could be seen and those that might already be preparing to attack from below.

Rio's expression remained composed, although a faint trace of annoyance appeared in her eyes.

"You're getting awfully persistent."

The Ganzame beneath her suddenly bucked upward.

Rio bent her knees and absorbed the movement, maintaining her balance as the shark's enormous body twisted beneath her. Without wasting another second, she retrieved her Silvermoon Musket from her inventory. The flintlock weapon materialized in her hand with a faint metallic sound, its polished silver fittings catching the sunlight.

She raised the musket toward the creature's head.

BANG!

The gunshot echoed across the valley.

A silver projectile struck the Ganzame near its armored skull. The creature recoiled, its head jerking sideways as the bullet penetrated a vulnerable section of its hide. Its dorsal fin dipped beneath the sand before rising again, and the shark responded with a furious twist that nearly threw Rio off balance.

She adjusted her aim.

BANG!

The second shot struck close to the first, deepening the damage around the wounded area. The Ganzame roared, its massive body rolling violently enough to scatter sand in every direction. Its health bar dropped noticeably, but the creature remained alive, and its movements became even more erratic.

Rio fired a third time.

BANG!

The bullet struck near the previous wounds.

This time, the Ganzame's head dipped sharply, and its forward momentum faltered for a fraction of a second. Its armored back rose unevenly beneath Rio's feet as the creature struggled to maintain its course.

That was all she needed.

Rio lowered the musket, pushed off the shark's back, and leaped into the air.

The wind rushed past her as she rose above the thrashing creature. For a brief moment, the desert spread beneath her like a vast golden ocean. The sand cruiser raced through the center of the battlefield, leaving a broad trail behind it, while the pursuing Ganzame scattered across the dunes like moving shadows.

Rio rotated her body in midair and drew her Imperial Saber.

The weapon flashed beneath the sunlight.

A faint crimson glow spread along its blade, gathering into a thin, concentrated line of energy. The air around the saber trembled as Rio channeled mana through the weapon, directing the skill toward the wounded monster below.

"[Sword Skill: Moonlight Melody]."

Rio swung.

A crimson energy slash tore through the air.

Unlike the broad, explosive attacks favored by many players, the projectile traveled along a remarkably precise trajectory. It cut through the space between Rio and the Ganzame before striking the creature directly across its neck.

For an instant, the crimson line appeared almost too thin to have any meaningful effect against such a massive opponent.

Then it passed completely through the shark's armored flesh.

SHRAAAK!

The Ganzame's head separated from its body.

Its enormous frame continued moving forward through sheer momentum before collapsing into the sand. A tremendous wave of golden dust erupted around the corpse, briefly obscuring the terrain behind it.

A system notification flashed at the edge of Rio's vision.

[Ganzame Defeated.]

Rio barely glanced at it. She was already turning toward her next target.

Another Ganzame had approached from the right, positioning itself beneath her landing trajectory. Its enormous body surged through the sand, and its armored back rose like a moving hill beneath the airborne player.

Rio adjusted her posture and landed on the creature's back.

THUD!

Her boots struck its hide, and the impact sent a brief vibration through her legs. She immediately bent her knees to stabilize herself, keeping her weight low as the creature reacted.

The Ganzame twisted violently to the left, then snapped back toward the right in an attempt to dislodge her. Its massive tail struck the sand, launching a spray of grit into the air. The creature continued rolling and bucking, trying to turn its armored back into an impossible surface on which to stand.

Rio shifted her weight with every movement.

Rather than resisting the shark's momentum directly, she moved with it, keeping her center of gravity low and her boots firmly planted against the uneven armor. Whenever the Ganzame rolled too far in one direction, she adjusted her stance before the movement could carry her over its side. Her expression remained calm, almost bored, as though balancing on the back of a furious monster were an inconvenient but manageable task.

The struggle lasted several seconds.

Then Rio found the opening she wanted.

She dismissed the musket into her inventory and drew another Imperial Saber. The replacement weapon appeared in her hand with a soft flash of light, its blade catching the sunlight as she stepped forward and avoided a protruding ridge of armor.

The Ganzame attempted one final violent twist.

Rio waited until its head dipped.

Then she struck.

THUNK!

The Imperial Saber plunged through a vulnerable gap in the creature's armored skull. Rio drove the blade deep enough to reach the monster's core, then twisted the hilt to disrupt the energy sustaining its body.

The Ganzame shuddered.

Its enormous frame spasmed once, throwing sand into the air.

Then its movements stopped.

[Ganzame Defeated.]

Rio pulled the saber free and straightened, barely needing to brush the sand from her boots.

"Two."

She glanced toward the cruiser.

The vessel was still moving at a steady speed, its propulsion units throwing up a broad trail of sand behind it. Akari and Memory remained near the sides of the vessel, keeping watch over the approaching sharks, while Ryota stayed close to the controls. The Terracotta Archer was still active, its reinforced bow trained toward the right side whenever a Ganzame ventured too close.

From this distance, Rio could tell that her companions were managing the situation. Memory's earlier combination of water manipulation and Leonas Roar had given them a way to restrain the sharks, while Akari's Retsugeki allowed her to destroy the immobilized creatures without drawing Narukami Tenrai.

Their coordination had improved considerably during the fight.

Nevertheless, Rio had no intention of letting the Ganzame exploit their limited attention.

She turned toward the dunes and immediately noticed something unusual.

Two Ganzame were moving behind the cruiser.

Unlike the others, they had stopped charging directly toward the vessel. Instead, they had slowed their approach and spread apart, using the shifting dunes to conceal their movements. Their dark armored backs occasionally disappeared beneath the sand before emerging several meters farther ahead, each time in a position slightly closer to the cruiser.

They were approaching from behind and to the sides, apparently waiting for the moment when everyone aboard became distracted by the more aggressive attackers.

Rio's eyes narrowed.

So that's what you're doing.

The two creatures weren't simply following the group. They were attempting to flank it.

If the cruiser slowed down or changed direction to avoid another attack, the hidden pair could rush forward and strike the exposed hull. Even if the vessel survived the impact, the resulting disruption could throw its passengers off balance and leave them vulnerable to the remaining pack.

It was a surprisingly coordinated maneuver for monsters that many players considered little more than aggressive desert sharks.

Rio exhaled through her nose.

"You're really making this troublesome."

She crouched slightly, watching the two Ganzame adjust their positions.

Then she launched herself toward the nearer creature.

The shark immediately sensed her approach and surged upward from beneath the sand, exposing its armored back. Rio passed over its head, twisted in midair, and threw the Imperial Saber in her right hand.

The weapon spun end over end.

Its blade flashed beneath the sunlight before striking the Ganzame directly through the upper skull.

SHNK!

The shark's forward movement faltered. Its head dipped, and its body began to veer away from the cruiser's path.

Rio landed on the second Ganzame, using the creature's armored back to absorb the impact of her descent. At the same moment, the thrown saber penetrated the first monster's skull deeply enough to interrupt its movement.

The wounded Ganzame convulsed, then collapsed into the sand.

[Ganzame Defeated.]

Rio remained balanced on the second creature while it continued forward beneath her. She briefly glanced back at the dead shark, confirming that it was no longer moving, before returning her attention to the cruiser.

The vessel was still moving safely.

For now.

Rio's expression gradually became more serious as she surveyed the valley.

There were more of them.

Quite a few more.

At first, the monsters had appeared to form a relatively straightforward pursuing pack. But now that she had begun paying closer attention to their positions, she could distinguish several groups moving through the dunes behind the cruiser. Some followed directly, while others spread out to either side. Several maintained a suspicious distance, keeping themselves far enough away that the passengers aboard the vessel would have difficulty tracking their movements.

Rio counted the visible creatures and mentally accounted for those that had disappeared beneath the sand.

One.

Two.

Three.

She continued scanning the terrain, separating the shadows she had already identified from the ones that had emerged farther behind them. The pack was larger than she had initially assumed, and the uneven terrain made it difficult to establish the exact positions of every creature at once.

By the time she finished her assessment, her expression had become distinctly unimpressed.

Twenty-two.

Approximately twenty-two Ganzame remained in pursuit after her first three kills.

And they weren't attacking recklessly anymore.

They were waiting for Akari and Memory to become occupied. They were waiting for Ryota to focus on steering. They were waiting for Rio to move far enough away from the cruiser that she couldn't interfere with an attack on the vessel.

They were looking for the perfect opportunity to strike when Crowned Era least expected it.

Rio sighed.

"Of course there are twenty-two."

The Ganzame beneath her suddenly jerked upward, attempting to throw her off its back. At the same moment, two other sharks accelerated from the surrounding dunes, their enormous bodies surging through the sand as they rushed toward her from opposite directions.

One approached from the left.

The other charged from the right.

Their timing was deliberate. The shark beneath Rio was trying to disrupt her balance while the other two attempted to catch her between their attacks. If she lost her footing, she would be forced to defend herself in midair while both creatures closed in.

Rio looked at the incoming monsters, then glanced down at the shark she was standing on.

"...You too?"

The creature bucked violently.

Rio's boots slid several centimeters across its armored hide.

She released another quiet sigh.

"Fine. Let's finish this."

She pushed off the Ganzame's back just as the two approaching monsters lunged. Both sharks surged upward, their enormous jaws opening as they attempted to intercept her in midair. The creature beneath her twisted at the same time, its tail sweeping through the space where she had stood a moment earlier.

Rio rose above all three attacks.

The two Ganzame passed beneath her, their armored bodies narrowly missing one another as they crossed paths. The third continued thrashing through the sand below, its movements too violent to allow it to turn and pursue her immediately.

Rio reached into her inventory and drew another Imperial Saber.

The weapon appeared in her hand, and she tightened her grip as the three creatures began recovering from their failed attacks.

Then she activated the skill she had been waiting to use.

[Skill Synchronization]

A faint crimson glow spread across the blade.

For a moment, the energy surrounding Rio seemed to divide into two distinct patterns. One was smooth and concentrated, gathering along the saber's edge like a thin crescent of moonlight. The other was lighter and more dispersed, forming countless delicate motes of crimson energy that fluttered around her body like tiny wings.

Two familiar skills.

Two different principles.

[Sword Skill: Moonlight Melody]

[Sword Skill: Butterfly Dance]

Rio was about to combine them.

However, unlike her previous synchronization, this time she would not allow Moonlight Melody to dominate the result.

Skill Synchronization was not simply a way to activate two skills simultaneously. It allowed a player to merge their underlying effects into an entirely new technique. The resulting ability depended heavily on which skill received the greater emphasis during the combination.

When Rio had combined Moonlight Melody with Butterfly Dance to create Moonlight Dance, she had focused primarily on Moonlight Melody. The result was a powerful, concentrated attack that retained the crimson energy slash of the original technique while incorporating the movement and supplementary effects of Butterfly Dance.

The resulting skill was ideal for striking a target with overwhelming precision and force.

This time, Rio reversed that relationship.

Moonlight Melody would provide the crimson energy, while Butterfly Dance would determine how that energy behaved.

Instead of compressing the power into a single concentrated slash, she would allow it to separate, multiply, and disperse across a wide area. The result would sacrifice some of Moonlight Dance's concentrated destructive power in exchange for a much broader attack pattern.

A technique designed to strike multiple targets.

Exactly what she needed against a pack of Ganzame.

Rio's blue eyes gleamed.

[Sword Skill: Butterfly Melody]

The crimson energy surrounding her saber suddenly blossomed.

A brilliant slash swept outward from the blade, expanding into a crescent of red light. Before it could reach the ground, the energy split apart into countless smaller fragments. Those fragments transformed into butterflies, each one formed from a delicate outline of crimson light with razor-sharp energy concentrated along its wings.

Hundreds of crimson butterflies emerged from the slash, spreading across the air in a wide, flowing formation. They scattered in every direction as though a crimson flower had burst open above the desert, their luminous wings reflecting against the golden dunes.

For a brief moment, the battlefield looked almost beautiful.

Then the butterflies attacked.

The two Ganzame that had tried to intercept Rio were already turning back toward her when the first wave descended. They opened their jaws and surged upward again, attempting to catch the airborne player before she could escape.

Instead, the crimson butterflies swept across their armored bodies.

SHRAK! SHRAK! SHRAK!

Each butterfly left a razor-thin crimson trail as it passed through the monsters' hide. The individual cuts were small, but the sheer number of attacks overwhelmed the Ganzame almost immediately. Their health bars plunged as countless slashes tore across their bodies, striking their heads, flanks, and fins from multiple directions.

One of the sharks convulsed violently.

The other attempted to dive beneath the sand.

It was too late.

The butterflies followed.

They swept across the creatures' heads, torsos, and fins, carving through vulnerable sections of their armor with terrifying precision. Crimson light flickered across their bodies as the attacks accumulated, and the monsters' forward momentum gradually broke apart. Neither creature could escape the swarm, and their attempts to evade only brought them into the paths of more crimson wings.

Then both Ganzame collapsed.

Their enormous bodies struck the sand almost simultaneously, sending two clouds of dust billowing into the air.

[Ganzame Defeated.]

[Ganzame Defeated.]

But Butterfly Melody did not stop there.

The remaining crimson butterflies continued spreading across the battlefield, sweeping over several of the other Ganzame following the cruiser. The creatures that had been waiting at a distance suddenly found themselves caught within the attack's broad range.

Some attempted to dive beneath the sand.

Others accelerated to escape.

A few turned toward Rio, hoping to overwhelm her before the butterflies could finish their assault.

None of those reactions was enough.

The crimson butterflies moved quickly, changing direction as they pursued their targets. Their glowing wings flashed across the dunes, and every pass produced another series of precise cuts. Unlike an ordinary projectile, which could be evaded by moving out of its path, the butterflies spread across the battlefield and continued attacking from different angles.

One Ganzame's dorsal armor split apart.

Another suffered a deep slash across its head.

A third was struck repeatedly along its flank until its health bar emptied.

The valley erupted with notifications.

[Ganzame Defeated.]

[Ganzame Defeated.]

[Ganzame Defeated.]

The monsters' enormous bodies collapsed into the sand, one after another, while the surviving creatures scattered away from the center of the attack. The carefully coordinated pursuit began to unravel as the pack lost several of its members in rapid succession. The Ganzame that had been maintaining their distance abruptly changed course, retreating beyond the reach of the remaining butterflies rather than attempting to close in.

In a matter of seconds, the organized hunt had become a disorganized retreat.

The crimson butterflies gradually lost their glow and dissolved into particles of light. Their final sparks drifted across the dunes before disappearing into the afternoon air.

Rio descended through the fading particles.

She rotated her body once, allowing her momentum to carry her toward the cruiser, then landed lightly on the vessel's rear deck.

THUD.

Her boots touched the metal surface without disturbing her balance. The cruiser continued forward, its engine humming steadily beneath her feet. Behind them, the surviving Ganzame remained visible across the dunes, but the immediate pressure had eased considerably.

Rio sheathed her Imperial Saber and brushed the sand from her sleeves.

Then she patted the front of her cloak, followed by her shoulders, checking whether any stubborn grains had found their way into the folds of her clothing.

"Ugh. Sand gets everywhere."

She gave her sleeve another quick brush, then another, as though the previous few seconds had involved nothing more than an inconvenient walk through a dusty street.

A short distance away, Akari and Memory stood completely motionless.

Both girls had witnessed the entire sequence.

They had seen Rio shoot a Ganzame several times before decapitating it with Moonlight Melody. They had watched her move from one shark to another, eliminate the creature beneath her feet, and throw a saber into the skull of a second target without breaking her momentum.

Then there had been Butterfly Melody.

The countless crimson butterflies had spread across the valley, cutting through multiple Ganzame almost simultaneously. The attack had covered such a wide area that the creatures' numbers had become almost irrelevant. Those that attempted to flee were pursued, while those that tried to counterattack were struck from angles they couldn't anticipate.

The entire sequence had taken only a few seconds.

Memory's mouth hung open.

"...Rio?"

Rio glanced over while continuing to brush sand from her clothing.

"Hm?"

Memory slowly raised one hand and pointed toward the dunes. Her finger trembled as she tried to find the words to describe what she had just seen.

"...Did you just kill a whole bunch of Ganzame by yourself?"

Rio looked back toward the battlefield. Several defeated monsters were already disappearing into particles of light, leaving only disturbed sand behind.

"Yeah."

She returned her attention to her sleeve.

"Why?"

Memory's expression became even more bewildered.

"WHY?!"

Rio blinked at her, genuinely uncertain what she was expected to say.

Akari slowly lowered her gaze toward the Imperial Saber at Rio's side, then looked toward the distant dunes and back at her sister. She had known Rio was strong, but watching her fight at close range was an entirely different experience from hearing about her abilities or watching her train.

"...That skill," Akari finally said.

Rio tilted her head.

"Butterfly Melody?"

Akari nodded slowly.

Rio considered the question for a moment before answering. "It's a combination of Butterfly Dance and Moonlight Melody."

Memory stared at her.

"...You can combine skills?"

"With Skill Synchronization, yes."

Rio sheathed the saber completely and adjusted the strap of her musket. She spoke with the same casual tone she might have used to explain how to equip a new weapon, seemingly unaware that her recent display had left both girls struggling to comprehend what they had witnessed.

"The outcome depends on which skill you emphasize. Moonlight Dance focuses more on Moonlight Melody, so the result is a concentrated crimson slash with additional effects from Butterfly Dance."

She gestured toward the dunes.

"Butterfly Melody does the opposite. It focuses on Butterfly Dance, allowing the energy to split into numerous smaller attacks. The individual strikes are less concentrated, but they can cover a much larger area."

Memory looked toward the battlefield again.

"...And you just used that against a pack of twenty-two sharks?"

"Not all twenty-two."

Rio paused for a moment, then glanced toward the distant dunes.

"Some of them are still alive."

Memory's face went blank.

Akari slowly turned toward her.

"...Memory."

Memory looked back.

"...Yeah?"

"I think we're playing a different game from her."

Memory nodded immediately.

"I THINK SO TOO."

Rio ignored them.

Again.

Instead, she walked toward the front of the cruiser, where Ryota remained near the steering controls. He had been watching the fight from the vessel, and his expression suggested that he had witnessed enough of Rio's absurd combat efficiency to know better than to ask how she had done it.

Rio stopped beside him and looked toward the valley ahead.

The terrain was changing again.

The surrounding dunes were becoming taller and more irregular, while the broad depression ahead stretched toward a vast basin surrounded by exposed sandstone ridges. The sand beneath the cruiser looked darker in several places, and the enormous tracks crisscrossing the terrain were far more numerous than those they had encountered earlier.

Rio studied the landscape for several seconds.

At first glance, the basin might have looked like an ordinary geological formation. But the longer she observed it, the more details stood out. The ridges surrounding it were broken in several places, and the exposed sandstone bore long scars that followed no natural pattern. Some of the dunes had collapsed inward, leaving enormous hollows that stretched deep into the valley. Others had been displaced so thoroughly that the original terrain was almost impossible to recognize.

The wreckage was more concerning still.

Far ahead, the remains of a sand cruiser lay overturned beside a rocky outcrop. Its hull had been crushed inward, and one of its propulsion units had been torn away completely. Another wreck lay partially buried near the edge of the basin, its broken mast protruding from the sand like a warning marker.

There were no visible survivors.

There was no sign that anyone had managed to recover the cargo.

And the tracks around the wreckage were enormous.

Rio's expression grew more serious.

The Ouzame were not merely larger versions of the Ganzame. According to the information she had gathered, they were powerful creatures that inhabited the deepest parts of the Endless Sand Valley. Their armored bodies could reach the size of a three-story building, and the rocky formations between their scales were the source of the rare ore Crowned Era had come to collect.

Ouzamite.

The expedition had never been about hunting ordinary sand sharks. The Ganzame had been an obstacle along the way, but the Ouzame were the true objective—and the real danger.

Rio turned toward Ryota.

"Leave the cruiser on autopilot."

Ryota glanced at her.

"...Why?"

Rio pointed toward the terrain ahead.

"We're here."

Ryota followed her gesture.

At first, he saw nothing particularly unusual beyond the immense basin and the surrounding dunes. Then his eyes moved toward the enormous tracks embedded in the sand. He noticed the crushed ridges, the wreckage scattered across the terrain, and the long trenches that vanished beneath the dunes before reappearing farther ahead.

His expression gradually changed.

Rio rested one hand against the railing.

"The deepest part of the Endless Sand Valley," she explained. "And the Ouzame danger zone."

Silence settled over the deck.

Behind them, Akari and Memory exchanged uneasy glances. Even the surviving Ganzame seemed reluctant to approach the basin directly. Their formation had become less aggressive, and several had begun maintaining a much greater distance from the cruiser.

Rio noticed their behavior immediately.

Of course she did.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied the monsters. The Ganzame had been willing to attack the vessel repeatedly only moments earlier. They had rammed the hull, coordinated their approaches, and pursued the cruiser even after losing a considerable portion of their pack.

Now they were hesitating.

They still followed at a distance, but none seemed eager to cross the basin's outer ridges. Some had even changed course, swimming parallel to the boundary rather than entering the deeper territory ahead.

The change was too pronounced to be a coincidence.

The Ganzame weren't simply tired of chasing them.

They were afraid of something.

Rio looked toward the immense tracks that stretched into the basin. A particularly deep trail crossed the exposed sandstone, leaving a jagged scar that continued beyond the crest of a distant dune. The mark was so broad that even the cruiser would have struggled to cross it without slowing down.

She remembered the wreckage they had passed earlier, the ships overturned and crushed as though they had been toys in the hands of something enormous. At the time, the damage had suggested that the creatures attacking the vessels possessed considerable strength. Now, standing at the edge of the deepest section of the valley, Rio suspected that the destruction was evidence of something far more dangerous than the Ganzame.

The Ouzame territory was not simply a place where stronger monsters happened to live.

It was a region where the landscape itself had been shaped by their movements.

Ryota slowly looked toward Rio.

"...So what's waiting for us out there?"

Rio didn't answer immediately.

Her gaze remained fixed on the distant basin. Beyond the outer ridges, the sand rose and fell in broad, irregular waves. There were no obvious movements, no visible fins, and no enormous bodies breaking through the dunes. The terrain appeared almost completely still.

That was what made it unsettling.

The Ganzame had been easy to notice once they began attacking. Their fins cut through the sand, their bodies struck the hull, and their movements left clear trails across the dunes. Whatever lived farther ahead had left signs of its presence without revealing itself.

Rio finally smiled faintly.

"Something much bigger than these sharks."

Ryota stared at her.

"...You say that like it's supposed to make me feel better."

"It wasn't meant to."

"Could you try being reassuring for once?"

"No."

Memory hugged Bubbles closer to her chest. "I don't like this place anymore."

Akari glanced toward the distant wreckage, then down at the white scarf wrapped around Narukami Tenrai. She had managed to fight the Ganzame without relying on the weapon's divine lightning, but she had no illusions about what might happen if they encountered something significantly stronger. Her confidence had grown, yet the enormous tracks ahead reminded her that they had only defeated the creatures hunting them along the way.

The true challenge was still waiting.

Memory followed her gaze toward the basin. "Do you think the Ouzame are already watching us?"

Rio looked back at the terrain.

"Probably."

Memory went pale.

"YOU COULD HAVE SAID THAT LESS CASUALLY!"

"If they're watching us, panicking won't help."

"NEITHER DOES TELLING ME THEY'RE WATCHING US!"

Ryota let out a weary sigh as he checked the cruiser's controls. "I'm beginning to miss the sharks that were trying to kill us a few minutes ago."

"You shouldn't," Rio replied. "These ones were only the warm-up."

"That is somehow the worst thing you've said all day."

Rio ignored him and continued studying the basin. She had no intention of charging blindly into the territory ahead. The Ouzame were the reason they had come so far into the valley, and the rare ore between their scales was worth the risk—but that didn't mean she intended to underestimate them.

They would need to observe the creatures before approaching. They would need to understand how they moved, how they reacted to threats, and how best to reach the Ouzamite without provoking a fight they couldn't control. If the Ganzame had taught them anything, it was that the monsters of this region could be far more coordinated than their appearances suggested.

Rio rested her hand on the railing and looked toward the immense tracks disappearing beneath the distant dunes.

The cruiser continued forward on autopilot, carrying Crowned Era toward the deepest section of the Endless Sand Valley. Behind them, the surviving Ganzame remained at a distance, unwilling to approach the territory ahead. In front of them, the vast basin stretched beneath the fading sun, its broken ridges and buried wreckage marking the boundary between familiar hunting grounds and a region few adventurers had any reason to enter.

Somewhere beneath that shifting ocean of sand, an Ouzame was moving.

Perhaps it was resting beneath the dunes.

Perhaps it had already noticed the approaching cruiser.

Or perhaps it had been watching them long before Rio realized they had entered its territory.

The sand ahead shifted.

It was a subtle movement, barely distinguishable from the ordinary ripples stirred by the wind. A distant ridge rose by a fraction, then settled again, leaving the surrounding dunes strangely undisturbed.

Rio's smile faded.

She stared at the place where the sand had moved, waiting for a second sign.

Nothing happened.

No dorsal fin appeared. No roar echoed across the valley. No enormous body emerged to announce its presence.

Yet the Ganzame behind them had begun to fall farther back, and the tracks ahead grew larger with every passing moment.

Rio slowly tightened her grip on the railing.

"Everyone, stay alert."

Her voice was calm, but the others immediately noticed the change in her expression.

Ryota eased his hands back onto the controls. Akari moved closer to Memory, keeping Narukami Tenrai sealed but ready. Memory steadied Bubbles against her chest, while the Terracotta Archer turned its reinforced bow toward the dunes and waited for a target.

The cruiser pressed deeper into the Ouzame danger zone.

And somewhere beneath the golden surface, something enormous was waiting.