Daru and Aika's plane slowly sank into the scorching sand, its wheels crunching before finally coming to a stop in the heart of the Sahara Desert.
When the door opened, a wave of suffocating heat hit them full force.
Daru climbed out first, holding the hostage tightly by the arm. The moment his boots touched the ground, the oppressive atmosphere overwhelmed him: the air felt heavy, almost solid, as if he had to force himself through it to breathe. The merciless sun reigned high in the sky, casting a blinding light that distorted the horizon into shimmering mirages.
Aika followed, squinting.
The wind whipped up clouds of dust and sand, whipping their faces, seeping into their clothes, and grinding against their teeth. Each gust of wind seemed to try to push them back, as if the desert itself rejected their presence.
"What an atmosphere…" Aika murmured, her voice almost muffled by the wind.
Around them, there was nothing.
Nothing but the endless expanse of undulating dunes, the oppressive silence, and the unsettling feeling of being watched by an ancient, cruel place, utterly indifferent to their survival.
The hostage trembled, already drained of strength, his eyes fixed on the burning horizon.
Daru forced a smile as he scanned the horizon, his eyes narrowed in the blinding light.
"Well... what an atmosphere," he said, his tone half-ironic, half-annoyed. "Are we really supposed to find a perfectly hidden floating island in the middle of this hell?" Aika was already walking, her stride determined despite the oppressive heat. Her silhouette stood out against the undulating waves of sand.
"It would seem so," she replied simply, without slowing down. Her voice was calm, but her gaze betrayed constant vigilance. Here, nothing was insignificant. The wind suddenly picked up, stronger, drier. A scorching gust swept across the desert and showered their faces with incandescent sand. The grains seeped everywhere: in their hair, under their clothes, between their fingers. Daru grimaced. Every step became an effort. The sand gave way beneath their feet, forcing them to sink in before they could advance, again and again. The weight of the heat crushed their shoulders, slowed their breathing, while the sun seemed intent on consuming them to the bone.
The silence was almost absolute, broken only by the whistling of the wind and the dull thud of their footsteps.
Aika thought to herself: If the organization chose this place, it wasn't just to hide... it was also to exhaust those who dared to search for them.
Daru, for his part, gritted his teeth, his gaze hardening.
"Brilliant..." he muttered. "A desert, an invisible island, and lunatics ready to pounce on us at the slightest mistake. I love this plan." Despite everything, they continued to advance, step by step, sinking ever deeper into this hostile immensity, aware that beyond these burning dunes probably lay the very heart of the chaos they had to face.
After several hours of walking without a single rest, night fell abruptly on the desert, as if the world had shifted in an instant. The sky blazed with countless stars, so close and so bright they seemed almost tangible. The cold moonlight and the purity of the air gave the desert an almost unreal beauty, both peaceful and overwhelming.
The stifling heat of the day had finally dissipated, replaced by a dry cold that slowly seeped beneath clothing, biting at tired skin. Each breath became sharper, more acute.
Daru stopped and surveyed his surroundings before taking a long breath.
"...The Sahara at night," he murmured. "It's almost too beautiful to be true." Aika nodded slightly, her gaze still scanning the surroundings, even in the face of this soothing spectacle. "It's often when everything seems calm that danger is closest."
They eventually found an old, abandoned encampment: a few stones arranged in a circle, blackened by time, surrounding a long-extinguished hearth. Footprints erased by the wind bore witness to an ancient passage, perhaps of nomads… or something far less reassuring.
They settled down cautiously, taking advantage of the respite offered by the night. Daru sat heavily on a stone, his shoulders finally relaxed, while Aika remained crouched near the hearth, as if she expected it to relight itself.
The silence was absolute, almost oppressive, broken only by the whisper of the night wind gliding across the dunes.
Daru tightened his grip on the hostage's hand, his fingers closing like a vise around his wrist. His gaze was cold, without the slightest hesitation.
"Well... now, prove to me that I didn't make a mistake by letting you live." Aika approached slowly, her shadow stretching across the moonlit sand. Her voice was calm, almost too calm.
"Go on. Spill the beans. Because if you keep hesitating, we'll behead you right here, without a second thought." The hostage trembled all over. His breathing was ragged and irregular. Sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down his temples, despite the cold desert night. His lips trembled, his teeth chattered, and his heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst in his chest. He stammered several times, unable to string two words together, before finally giving in to the pressure.
"L-During our agreement with Oswald… we were supposed to either kill you… or hand you over alive… but badly injured enough for him to finish the job himself…" A heavy silence fell over the camp.
Daru narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Interesting," he breathed. "So he gave you a way to contact him, I imagine?" The hostage nodded frantically, as if he feared that refusing would cost him his life.
"Y-Yes… I was supposed to contact him via a specific frequency… with this device." With a trembling hand, he rummaged in his jacket and pulled out a device resembling a walkie-talkie, but far more advanced: a smooth metallic surface, discreet indicator lights, a retractable antenna, and an unknown symbol engraved on the side.
Daru flashed a slow, chilling, murderous smile.
"Good... now you're going to contact him and tell him you've captured us." He grabbed the hostage by the collar of his uniform, almost lifting him off the ground. Fear was clearly visible in the man's eyes.
But Aika suddenly raised her hand.
"Wait, Daru. Not yet." Daru turned to her, visibly surprised.
"What? Why wait?" Aika answered directly, her expression serious.
"Because I told Maki I'd send her our coordinates. They must be on their way or already nearby." Daru gritted his teeth.
"I just hope they're still alive so I can receive them." Aika nodded slowly.
"Exactly. I'll send our location via Maki's phone. That way, we'll know if they're still alive." And if they are, we'll be waiting for them here. Going two against a fortified floating island is suicide. With more of us, we'll have a much better chance.
Daru finally nodded and went to sit on a rock, never taking his eyes off the hostage.
Aika then pulled out a communication device concealed in the inside pocket of her hood. She turned it on, the screen casting a faint bluish glow in the night, then approached Daru.
But suddenly…
A shiver ran down Daru's spine.
Something was approaching.
He sat bolt upright and stared at the horizon, his eyes narrowed.
"We're surrounded… on all sides."
Yet, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing.
Nothing but the sand rippling in the moonlight, the sky riddled with stars, and the crushing silence of the desert.
Then, without the slightest warning…
The sand exploded.
Shadows leaped from the ground with a sharp, repulsive thud. Massive creatures emerged, their carapaces glimmering faintly in the moonlight.
Scorpions.
But not ordinary scorpions.
Each one was nearly two meters long. Their pincers snapped slowly, their curved stingers dripped with dark venom, and their multiple eyes shone with an unhealthy gleam.
Aika clutched her communication device.
"Great…" she breathed. As if the night wasn't long enough already.
Daru smirked, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Looks like the desert has decided to welcome us."
The hostage was seized by uncontrollable panic. Sweat dripped down his face as he screamed for help, his voice trembling, almost hysterical.
Daru gave him a cold look.
"For a soldier, you're frankly pathetic. Crying over these kinds of creatures... it's despicable."
The hostage replied with a scream, on the verge of a nervous breakdown:
"These kinds of creatures?! They're two meters long! And damn it, I already hate scorpions... AAAAH!"
Aika, visibly disgusted, turned to him and snapped:
"Tché... you're hurting our ears. Shut up." Daru sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder before quickly removing it.
"Fine. I'll take care of the scorpions. You stay back and protect this idiot." Aika nodded, already in a defensive stance.
Without losing a second, Daru lunged forward.
His body vanished in the blink of an eye.
He reappeared instantly behind one of the giant scorpions, snatched it brutally by a chitinous leg, and hurled it with monstrous force against one of its kin. The two masses crashed further away in a cloud of sand and debris.
The remaining scorpions reacted immediately. They encircled Daru, their stingers rising in his direction, quivering and charged with venom. In a synchronized movement, they ejected a shower of blackish liquid, hissing through the night air.
But before the venom could reach him, an invisible barrier formed around Daru.
The force field absorbed the attack without the slightest crack. The venom splattered against the invisible surface and slid to the ground with an ominous sizzle.
Daru made a circular motion with his right hand, then followed with his left. Invisible slashes instantly spread in all directions, slicing each scorpion into perfect rounds. In seconds, all that remained was a pile of severed corpses, emitting a pestilential stench as a blackish liquid seeped onto the scorching sand.
Daru rejoined Aika and the hostage, casting a final glance at the scattered remains.
"This isn't normal… These scorpions have been modified. They should never have grown this large."
Aika replied gravely,
"It's surely the effect of the relic, the Dark Heart, possessed by the extremist organization."
Daru nodded slowly.
"It's possible. The blast of dark energy emitted by this relic has likely corrupted all the desert wildlife." To alter their size, their structure… and even to give them new properties.
Suddenly, Aika's communication device vibrated, breaking the heavy silence of the desert.
It was Yamero and Maki.
"Yamero, Maki, are you alright?" Aika asked, relieved.
"Better than ever," Yamero replied mockingly. "But you two, you bunch of vultures, ran off without waiting for us."
Daru immediately exclaimed,
"That bastard Yamero... you still refuse to come to the other side."
"Death will only claim me after she earned it," Yamero replied calmly. A collective laugh erupted for a few seconds, briefly dispelling the tension. Then Aika continued, more serious:
"Good. Here are our coordinates. Meet us here, and we'll all head to the floating island together to launch the final assault."
"Have you found the island?" Maki asked. "We have a way to get there without too much effort," Daru replied. "You'll get the details later. Come quickly."
"So, where are you now?" Aika asked.
"We borrowed a plane from the extremist organization's special forces. They tried to shoot us down in Tokyo," Yamero replied. "We're almost at the Sahara Desert. It'll take about two hours."
"Perfect," Aika concluded. "We'll wait for you. Good luck." The connection was lost.
But no sooner had the silence returned than the atmosphere suddenly became oppressive. The ground began to tremble violently, as if in an earthquake. The sand slid downward, forming a massive sinkhole.
Then something emerged.
A colossal figure burst from the ground: a giant scorpion, four times larger than the ones Daru had killed earlier. Its massive carapace seemed almost indestructible, covering its entire body. Three gigantic darts protruded from its back, while four additional limbs, armed with sharp spikes at the front, dug deep into the sand with every movement.
The air vibrated around the creature.
Daru gritted his teeth.
"…Well. Looks like the welcoming committee has decided to step things up a notch."