"Buzz...!"

  "Stop making so muoise!"

  In an instant, the screaming bee was crushed underfoot, its red blood spttering across the yellow sand and turning it a deep crimson.

  Sihe appearance of the first bee, Yverantheia had been fighting for what felt like ay. The ground was littered with the corpses of fallen bees.

  "Is it over now...?"

  The bee Yverantheia had just sin was the st one she could see. For some time now, the swarms of bees had started to diminish in number, indig that their overall t was running low.

  However, Yverantheia still hadn’t entered any higher-level beings. The bees she faced were all of the same level—worker bees, with no specialized bat types or queen-like figures.

  In the worst case, these bees might have merely been probing her defenses, not revealing their true strength.

  ‘It’s still too dangerous here. I’ll e back when I’m stronger…’

  Without hesitation, Yverantheia began running back the way she came.

  "Buzz!!"

  ‘Are they panig?’

  As if sensing their prey’s escape, a swarm of bees surged up from the ground around Yverantheia.

  Yet, they were no match for her.

  Surrounded by swirling magical energies, Yverantheia’s speed increased dramatically in an instant, leaving the pursuing bees far behind.

  At her current pace, Yverantheia estimated she would reach the seaside ihan a day.

  But oddly enough, after nearly two days, she still saw nothing but endless yellow sand.

  "What’s going on? Did I get lost?"

  It was easy to get lost in such a desote desert—mirages, ck of ndmarks, and psychological misjudgments were on reasons for losing one's way.

  But this didn't apply to Yverantheia. She had set coordi the seaside through magic, allowio sehe dire at any time.

  Yet now it felt as though she were running on a treadmill, no matter how fast she moved, she couldn’t reach the coast.

  "Is this all the food I have left...?"

  Yverantheia stopped to check her supply bag. Ihere was only a piece of jerky remaining. The fish she had caught in the o and the food given by the merfolk had been ed during this time.

  As for the little tentacle, it was still in its dormant state.

  "Better ration it... hmm?"

  Suddenly, the desert began to tremble. The once calm yellow sand was lifted into the air, f a cloud of dust.

  With increasing iy, a massive figure erupted from the sand, t before Yverantheia.

  It was a tipede covered in purple armor-like pting, with each segment ending in razor-sharp bdes. Its enormous and menag mandibles seemed capable of tearing through a house in a sie. Its two pairs of eyes glowed with a blue light. Even just the part emerging from the ground was already rger than the 'pnt Cthulhu' Yverantheia had entered before.

  "Jerky... damn it!"

  The enormous tipede’s emergence created a powerful gust of wind that sent Yverantheia's jerky flying.

  She inteo retrieve it immediately, but a few smaller tipedes that appeared in the distance quickly snatched it up.

  "… This is troublesome..."

  A massive tipede blocked her path, while a swarm of smaller tipedes obstructed her retreat.

  "Roar!"

  At the giaipede’s roar, the smaller tipedes swarmed toward Yverantheia.

  Though they were termed 'small,' they were still signifitly rger thaheia pared to the giaipede.

  Yverantheia enhanced her physical abilities to dodge their attacks and tered with magic.

  However, when her magic hit the tipede’s body, it was deflected by their hard shells.

  The tipedes' shells were not only incredibly tough but also designed with fluid dynami mind, causing many spells to slide off, redirect or bounce away due to their smooth, snted surfaces.

  Realizing this, Yverantheia switched to different magic. She pced various magical orbs along her path and triggered them as the tipedes approached.

  This magic was inspired by the magidmines Yverantheia had entered duriime as a saint. If direct attacks were iive, she would use magic that dealt damage without needing direct hits.

  Sure enough, this approach successfully inflicted signifit damage on the tipedes.

  But the tipedes seemed to have gained some intelligence, as they began actively avoiding the magical mines Yverantheia had id.

  This made the battle much more difficult. Uhe bees, which had little intelligehe tipedes were not only well-defended and fast but also showed a strong capacity to learn. Their offensive capabilities, judging by their fierce mandibles, were likely very high as well.

  "Roar!!"

  As if to make matters worse, the giaipede began to move.

  Despite its slower speed pared to the smaller tipedes, its immense size allowed it to ignore Yverantheia’s magical mines and charge directly at her.

  "… There’s no choice."

  With the situation being critical, escape was impossible and her magical energy was insuffit for a prolonged fight. She decided to take a gamble.

  Yverantheia stopped and, with a swift turn, charged straight at the giaipede.

  The tidly closed the distance, and before the giaipede could react, Yverantheia plunged into its maw.

  "Roar…?"

  The giaipede emitted a fused sound, having never entered prey that willingly es mouth.

  But in the moment, it uood Yverantheia's iion.

  Heat, cold, numbness, and pain exploded within its body.

  "Roar! Roar!!"

  The giaipede let out a pierg, anguished cry, attempting to expel Yverantheia. However, with her momentum bined with its own, she drove deep into its insides, leaving it powerless.

  Its segments began to swell, glowing with a molten e light, aually, it exploded.

  "Roar…!"

  The giaipede’s body was bloart from the inside, and from one of the severed segments, a girl emerged.

  Her body was coated in corrosive slime, exposing bohrough her skin, and even the skin on her face was mostly eaten away.

  "Buzz!?"

  Perhaps due to the learning ability backfiring, the remaining smaller tipedes, upon seeing Yverantheia in a state resembling a zombie, were overe with fear and fled, disregarding their leader’s fate.

  "Well… did it work..."

  Yverantheia looked at the now-dead giaipede and colpsed to the ground.

  To kill the giaipede, she had expended much of her magical energy, but she still had enough tee her body.

  "… I’ll... rest a bit..."

  Using the giaipede’s corpse as cover, she used her remaining magic to heal and regee her damaged corroded body.

  ShoujoDirector