Soon after, his wrist was crushed in my grip. No—he had transformed back into white sand, blending into the sandstorm.
“Fall to your demise, misfit—to the hell of the Withered Desert.”
The sand I was standing on suddenly sunk. With no footing, my body fell downwards. White sand grains crumbled around me, creating a wide and deep hole that expanded with every passing moment.
It was like a plunge pool of sand had opened up around me. My legs were already buried up to the knee, and I couldn’t lift my feet. When I tried to fly with Fless, it was like something had grabbed me around the ankles, preventing me from rising.
“The sandy hell of the Withered Desert is a path to demise. Once you’re swallowed, you will sink for seven minutes, upon which you will become completely withered. All that will remain is the original form of all living beings—a single grain of sand.”
The God of Demise appeared behind me. The magic in my feet was being drained away—absorbed by the sand.
“Oh? You think you can run from me for seven whole minutes?” I taunted.
“Cease your prattle. Observe your final destination.”
In front of me were skeletons buried in the sand. White flames engulfed them, and before my eyes they disintegrated into nothing.
“That is your end. Your corpse and you will meet your demise. There is nothing you can do to escape—you cannot even turn around. All you can do is stare at the corpses you share your fate with as moment by moment you are drawn to the same end.”
Anahem slowly raised the Withered Blade.
“In your current state, you have no means of evading the Withered Blade.”
The flaming blade in his hand glowed reddish-white.
“Such big talk over the direction I’m facing,” I commented. “It makes me want to turn around just to prove you wrong.”
I held my palm out at my feet, drew ten magic circles, and fired Jio Graze from them wildly. White sand exploded with each impact, gouging the sandy hell away.
“You won’t have time to blow all the sand away,” Anahem said. “Struggle all you want—you will never be more than a speck of sand before me. An insignificant life that can never reach the gods. You will burn and fall before Guzelami’s blade.”
Guzelami glowed as though it was responding to his words. The God of Demise started running faster than the eye could follow. Sand blew in a fierce storm, and the scorching blade of Guzelami approached me from behind.
“It’s time for your demise, misfit. Sink for eternity.”
His arm extended forward, and the deadly reddish-white scimitar glowed in response. With my feet still buried, I twisted my body to evade the blade and reached out to grab his arm. Anahem saw through the movement though and spun around, slashing at my back.
“There.”
I knocked Anahem’s hand away by reaching behind me. I felt an impact, but it wasn’t enough to make him drop the Withered Blade. He moved into my blind spot, making it hard to twist my body and reach for him. Anahem thrust the blade forward from there.
“Nwah!” Anahem shouted.
The reddish-white blade burned, thrusting straight towards my source. Even if I evaded it, the second and third strikes would throw me off-balance, leaving me defenseless against the Withered Blade. In which case...
“Gah?!”
I bent all the way back into a bridge position to avoid the scimitar and grabbed his right arm with my hand. If he turned to sand again, I’d take the Withered Blade from him.
“Vebzud.”
Anahem evaded my black-stained fingertips at the last moment. His turban came loose, blood dripping from his temple. He grasped the Withered Blade without flinching and mustered all of his strength.
“Gavdea.”
Anahem’s source flickered towards extinction for a brief moment, and his power swelled to an incredible size. He had shaved away his life and converted it to power. The tip of the Withered Blade brushed against my forehead.
I was in a bent position with only one arm free, with the sandy hell constantly absorbing my magic. I wouldn’t be able to push Anahem back when he had the advantage in both power and posture.
“This is the end...!”
The moment Anahem released all his strength, I bent backwards even further, placing my hand against the ground and evading the blade once more.
Guzelami passed by my nose and stabbed into the sand.
“You cannot move anymore.”
Anahem drew Guzelami out of the ground and aimed for my face that was right beside it. If I straightened up and evaded it, he’d just slash at my unguarded back instead. The scorching blade glowed as bright as lightning, sharp enough to slash apart a sandstorm as it moved—through empty air.
Anahem’s eyes widened. I had vanished from before his eyes.
“Bwa ha ha. Too bad, you missed. I turned around,” I said from above him.
He looked up to see me floating in the air. Before the God of Demise could react, I grabbed him by the back of the head.
“You should feel what it’s like to be buried in sand.”
I pushed Anahem down with all my might and used Zola e Dypt to bind his divine body. He fell forward into the sand, face first, and I landed on the ground beside him. When Anahem saw me sitting, his Divine Eyes widened in shock.
“You... When did your feet...”
“Did you think I fired the Jio Graze to blow away your sand?”
Alas, I had burned my ankles with the black suns and prepared to detach my feet from them at any moment.
“Now, I’ve heard you’re immortal, but I’d like to test that for myself.”
I sent magic into my fingers currently grabbing his head and drew a magic circle.
“Gigginuvenuenz.”
A jet-black guillotine appeared. When he tried to transform into sand to escape, I layered Beno Ievun on the hellfire chains and used the Magic Eyes of Mauve to stop him.
“Nguuh!”
“How does it feel to have your life in the palm of an insignificant mortal’s hand?”
With his face pressed in the sand, he glared at me furiously.
“Fool. Struggle as you might, you can never escape me—”
I pointed my fingers downwards.
“Execute.”
The blade of the guillotine fell, slicing off Anahem’s head.