Chapter 32: 30 – One Punch Woman

I have Loraine and Kawa stay behind despite much of their protests. They would probably follow me to the gates of hell if I didn't chain them down. A gargantuan sandworm doesn't sound like something anyone short of fucking strong can take.

It's not that I don't trust Loraine and Kawa, or the others for that matter, to not be able to take this thing. With the entourage we came with, we'd probably splatter the worm across the desert. I settled for waking up Yui and changing back into my clothes to come out with Anya alone.

"Uweehh… I'm never drinking again…" Yui complains, her face pale as a ghost.

"Drinking less— actually, quit drinking. I told you last time. You're bothering Frey," I say, chopping her on the head.

She sticks her tongue out. "Frey doesn't mind. She likes having me around, drunk or not!"

Without Loraine's cold magic or being under the shelter of shade, the scorching Amarinth heat is getting to my head. I'm drenched from head to toe in sweat just riding on a camel. My clothes have magic resistance to magical fire, but not natural heat.

"Not much further!" Anya points to a farm in the distance.

A family of beastlings are harvesting in a field of spineless cactus. There are blue warts growing out of the top of each cluster which they collect and throw into a basket. 

An older beastling woman with long, pointy ears and thick arms wipes the sweat from her forehead before approaching us.

"Thank goodness. I thought the Emir had forsaken us," she says, her shoulders slackening, a testament to how on edge they have been under the threat of the worm.

"We're here to take care of the problem, and I brought help to put it down." Anya gestures to us, but the beastling doesn't seem to care much for our presence.

"Well? Where the hell is it?" I ask, glancing around at all the valleys and tumbleweeds rolling about. "I wanna kill this thing and get back to the city." 

The beastling points south where the ground depresses into two jagged valleys.

"Last I saw it dragged my bullmor down that way," she answers, spitting at the ground.

The three of us head towards the valley on foot, not wanting to risk the worm catching us off-guard on the camels. The valley the beastling woman described is just two large cliff faces jutting out of the ground. 

Dead silence in the air except for the blistering winds that offer no relief from the heat. It doesn't take long to find a trail. There are indentations into the earth where it was traveling along the surface. At the end of the path, we find a hole the size of an elephant that leads into the darkness.

"Before you ask, I'm not jumping in there," Yui says, backing away from the abyss.

A loud rumbling like a stampede grows louder behind us.

An earthquake?

The tremors stop. Dirt and debris are sent flying in front of us. The gargantuan sandworm breaches the surface like a whale out of water, blotting out the sun as it soars over head. It's much larger than I expected, about the size of a semi truck.

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Three beak-like fangs snap open, revealing rows of hundreds of smaller fangs inside. THe dark brown monstrosity lands head-first, digging back under the surface.

Yui is keeled over laughing with tears in her eyes. "Ahahaha! It's like a giant flying dildo!"

I roll my eyes at her immature joke.

"How the fuck do we kill the fishbait dives underground?" I ask, keeping my eyes low for any shift in the dirt.

The ground beneath me shudders again. I smash down with Sacchan and hear a sharp screech before it takes off in another direction.

Anya, who has been quiet this entire time, finally opens her eyes as an idea comes to mind. "You two got any magic in your weapons that can freeze the ground?"

"You're in luck. Whatcha need?" At my will, a coat of ice covers Sacchan.

"On my call, I need you to freeze the ground around us." Anya taps her foot a few times. At first, nothing is happening. Then the trembling becomes more intense. It begins to charge at Anya just below the surface. Just as it gets underneath her, she drives her fist into the ground and yanks the sandworm right out. "Now!"

As Anya chucks the worm into the air, I strike down with Sacchan. The desert floor in the valley freezes over in a sleet of ice. As the worm plummets, it opens its beak to dig down but smashes into the ice instead, skidding across the surface in Yui's direction.

"Hoohaa. Fried worm, coming right up!" Yui sucks in a breath. The nunchuck tucked under her arm fires out as the worm gets too close, electrifying it and sending it squirming in a rampage towards Anya.

"Hey! Anya, watch out!" I shout, seeing her preoccupied looking at her own fists.

The sandworm lunges, jaws open, ready to consume her whole. Anya kisses her fist, causing a chill to run up my spine despite the sweltering temperatures. She steps out of the way and grabs the lip of the monster's mouth, stopping it in place without so much as moving an inch herself..

"I'm expecting you guys to give a good fight," Anya says, clenching her free hand. The dragon tattoo on her arm comes to life, the jaws open and gushes inky fire onto her fist. Her entire arm swells, seething with fire and arcane energies. "Because I won't be holding back."

Anya smashes her fist into the worm with an explosive punch, sending shockwaves that knock me and Yui off our feet. The blast kicks up a sandstorm blowing through the valley. When the dust settles, the entire face of the valley is smeared in blood and guts. Anya tosses the remains of its head over her shoulders.

A very big, shit-eating grin flashes across her face.

I get it now.

Owyn didn't send us out here to take care of a sandworm problem. He sent Anya out here to show us how strong she was.

"Anego…" Yui clutches her trembling body, barely unable to contain her bubbling excitement. "I can't wait to fight her even more now!"

Even as I hold Sacchan which never fails to calm me down, I can't shake away the jitters. "You and me both. Bring it on."