The storm rippled violently, beginning to condense into the form of something… or someone.

The massive creature soon formed, a rippling mass of sand and jagged rocks.

Towering nearly four meters tall, it gazed down at them, pure disdain burning in its eyes.

The towering monster had golden eyes that seemed to peer into everyone's soul.

Arthur and the others felt a chill settle in their hearts immediately.

And even Nephis, who had just finished killing a few spirits, raised her gaze to meet the giant.

'The three hundredth one.' Her eyes glowed with killing intent.

The only thing stopping her from getting that kiss from Arthur was this giant.

Nephis gripped the dagger in her hand tightly as her body trembled in anticipation.

Although they were dangerous, all she needed to do was deal with them.

Arthur raised his gaze to glance in her direction and, seeing her excitement, he chuckled slightly.

Aella and Jason also stared at the giant figure in apprehension.

Could Nephis deal with it?

The figure, like a moving sandstorm, punched explosively, causing the air around them to detonate outward in a massive sonic boom.

Then, the air rippled once more as the punch headed straight in Aella's direction.

Without hesitation, a shield made of ice condensed around Aella's body.

Bang!

The gigantic fist collided with Aella without hesitation and shattered the ice shield on impact.

As the scene cleared, Aella was nowhere to be seen, but her horse had been smashed into a pulp in a single blow.

"Go… go… go…" Jason screamed at his horse, urging it forward the moment the giant fixed its gaze on him.

Suddenly, there was a ripple as the giant felt a stinging pain clash against it.

The spirit controlling the sandstorm swatted its hand as though trying to kill a fly when it noticed Nephis attempting to slice off its neck.

Only, it didn't have a neck. If one wanted to kill it, they would have to destroy it from within!

Nephis stared at the giant and gritted her teeth, feeling the air ripple slightly.

The moment the hand collided with her, she dissolved into shadows and splashed onto the ground like ink.

Then, her form materialised once more.

And then, the dagger in her hand seemed to turn illusory as she thrust it forward.

Arthur immediately recognised the skill she had obtained from awakening her physique.

If he recalled correctly…

The attack could annihilate the soul. If the creature in front of him was a soul being…

It would be directly annihilated.

Arthur also understood that it was the same attack Nephis had been using to deal with all the spirits all this while.

Grinning, Arthur focused on the battle.

Nephis brandished her dagger, gleaming with an immaterial energy, as she thrust it forward.

Her body blinked in rapid succession as she appeared in front of the creature.

Her dagger slashed toward its neck without hesitation.

The giant brought down its hand to block the strike instantly.

Only for Nephis to vanish and appear at a different location, her dagger still heading straight for the giant's neck.

Swish!

The moment her dagger collided with the giant's neck, there didn't seem to be any difference.

She pulled her dagger out, slightly puzzled, but internally she could feel that a part of the sandstorm had been drained.

The life within the giant seemed to have been sapped.

Thinking for a bit, she executed her attack once more, swiftly dashing toward the neck again.

Then, without hesitation, she pierced the neck of the figure before it could react.

Her dagger once again siphoned the 'lifeforce' of the giant.

But seeing that nothing visible was happening, the others thought Nephis was attacking aimlessly, including Arthur.

He hesitated briefly and decided to give Nephis some time to battle before deciding whether to summon Titan or not.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The battle between the two lasted for several minutes before the group finally realised that something was wrong.

The massive desert storm shaped like a giant was gradually slowing in its movements.

Its speed, once explosive, had been reduced to a crawl.

Then, its strength also waned, no longer erupting with the same violent force.

Instantly, everyone's eyes lit up.

Jason, who was far away, was muttering prayers in his heart, desperately hoping for Nephis' victory.

Nephis didn't disappoint.

As time passed, her attacks only grew fiercer and faster with each passing second.

She became more agile, increasing the effectiveness of every strike.

No longer only targeting the neck, she shifted to other body parts of the towering creature.

Her blade struck its arm, causing it to burst apart and scatter.

A portion of the sandstorm dissipated instantly, allowing sunlight to stream back onto the trio.

Arthur's eyes lit up in realisation.

'Is this creature responsible for the sandstorm?' Curious, Arthur continued watching the battle to see how things would play out.

Once Nephis finished dealing with the creature, he would confirm his guess.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Terrifying collisions erupted violently, and before long, Nephis had nearly finished the creature off.

After another relentless assault, the massive figure of sand and rock collapsed, dissolving into loose grains.

As it did, the sandstorm faded with it.

Sunlight caressed Arthur and the others, warmth surging through their bodies.

The moment she finished, Nephis didn't spare the creature a glance and instantly vanished, reappearing in Arthur's direction.

She didn't even give him time to react as her lips crashed against his.

Arthur was stupefied, but ignoring the looks from the other two, he savoured the moment.

Her lips tasted slightly salty, likely from the sweat of battle, mixed with the familiar flavour of bubble-flavoured gum.

The kiss deepened into a French kiss as the two lost themselves in each other's embrace.

For a moment, Arthur and Nephis completely forgot the others existed.

Cough cough!

Clearing his throat, Jason finally rode back over.

Aella stared at Arthur and Nephis in a daze.

'Is kissing really that good?' Questions bubbled in her mind as she ruminated.

Parting, Nephis shot a sharp glare in Jason's direction.

Instantly, a chill crawled up Jason's spine under her stare.

'Shit! I'm fucked!' He broke out in a cold sweat, feeling like he had been targeted by a goddess of death.

His life felt like it was hanging by a thread.

"I… I'm sorry for the interruption," he apologised to Arthur with a forced smile.

Arthur glanced at him quizzically, then shrugged and waved it off.

Then, he noticed glowing lines of words appear in his field of vision.

[Congratulations on killing the Spirit Warrior! Please complete the remaining missions to receive the corresponding rewards!]

"What?" A startled expression appeared on Arthur's face as the seductive voice echoed in his head.

Reading the information again, he was astounded.

The creature from before was the Spirit Warrior?

Thinking back, it seemed plausible.

It had been able to possess the entire sandstorm, stirring and shaping it as its own body.

That wasn't something a normal spirit could do.

Arthur pondered briefly over his next course of action…

First of all he had to find the spirit fruits.

Passing through this desert he hadn't encountered anything like that.

With no information on what a spirit fruit looked like, he didn't know how to fid it.

"Wait… what's that?" Suddenly, Jason's voice drew the attention of everyone to what he was pointing at.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.