I Awakened A Divine Curse

Auren found himself in an absurdly awkward situation. First of all, who would've guessed that this mountain-sized Cursed Creature was a coward?

After just one pounce, it was running away?

It wasn't his fault he hadn't predicted that! How could he have? He'd only been riding it to the top, chipping away at its strength with steady damage.

His plan had been simple—cling close enough to keep [Wane] passively active. Over time, the Behemoth would weaken, its speed dwindling, its vision dulling. Or in this case, whatever passed for its vision.

Auren still believed it would work. But right now, the damned thing was fleeing.

He gripped the crevice with force, squeezing his eyes shut as sand battered him from all sides. The creature surged forward with terrifying speed, its massive spikes churning like drills, propelling it through the dunes.

Auren held on, teeth gritted, enduring the relentless storm.

Finally, the creature shifted direction, bursting from the dunes in an explosion of black sand.

Auren pried his eyes open, ready to leap away—until he saw what lay ahead. His grip tightened instinctively.

Dozens of black monsters littered the plain, marking a different region of the black desert. The air hung heavy with moisture, and the sand here was darker, slick, as if soaked in something thicker than water.

At the center of it all sat a lake, its surface still as glass. And rising from its depths—a jagged spire, sharp as a blade, stabbing toward the sky.

Surrounding it was a vast, endless swarm of black creatures.

The worm writhed midair for a heartbeat before slamming down with earth-shaking force. Its rows of jagged, grinding teeth sank into the ground, raking in the abominations with their glossy black hides.

The creatures scattered, fleeing in a chaotic frenzy—but the worm was desperate. It tunneled after them, a relentless force of hunger and fury.

Against its towering might, they were powerless. All they could do was run.

Their four spindly legs looked mangled, barely fit for running, making their escape more of a frantic scramble. Where their heads should have been was a writhing nest of tentacles, and at the center—a gaping maw lined with needle-like fangs, just wide enough to swallow a human hand. Anything larger would've split their jaws apart. Not that their razor-sharp teeth made them any less pitiful.

None of it mattered to the sandworm. It carved through the dunes like a blade, devouring everything in its path. No amount of these ugly abominations satisfied it.

The bastard just. Kept. Eating.

Auren had no problem with that—except he hated bullies. But he'd hang on regardless. Unless he fancied becoming the worm's next meal.

And wasn't it a miracle the beast hadn't sensed him yet?

Auren frowned as the worm continued its rampage, shoveling abominations into its grinding jaws.

'Actually… it's not.'

Preschool lessons had drilled it into them: Cursed Creatures could sniff out a Blessed's soul from miles away. Especially a Nascent's—that young, fresh soul was like honey to them.

They were also drawn to blood.

The reason this thing hadn't detected him was obvious. He had a cursed soul.

'But there should still be a speck of divinity in me, right?'

Maybe it wasn't enough to register. Either way, Auren's twisted existence was the only reason he wasn't a snack yet.

As the worm gorged itself, a monstrous black tentacle exploded from the lake's still surface. It coiled into the air, thick as a tree trunk, muscles rippling with unnatural strength.

Then—it struck.

The cowardly worm had already noticed, twisting its bulk around just in time. The tentacle lashed forward like a whip—only to meet a cavernous maw of grinding teeth. They sheared through the limb, devouring it in wicked chunks as the worm lurched toward the lake.

With a final snap of its jaws, the worm clamped onto the last piece of tentacle, pausing its relentless feast for just a heartbeat. Then, with the raw force of its massive body, it yanked.

The creature hidden in the lake's depths was hauled out, its upper half swinging violently as the worm shook it like a ragdoll.

The massive creature resembled a sphere of polished black metal, its single enormous eye gleaming with malice steeped in hellfire. Dozens of twisting tentacles erupted from its circular body, lashing forward like elastic whips as they coiled around the worm with terrifying strength.

But the worm reared skyward, bucking violently. Auren clung desperately to its back, fingers digging into crevices as his body threatened to fling free. At that moment, he realized—of all the deaths he'd imagined, being torn apart by a swarm of Cursed Creatures hadn't even made the list.

The sandworm, leveraging its sheer bulk, hauled the lake dweller away from the water. Tentacles constricted around its body, straining to crush the life from it—but the worm's obsidian-armored hide might as well have been a mountain. Impossible to break. Impossible to grip.

The lake creature was at a fatal disadvantage. Its slick, waterlogged tentacles slithered uselessly against the worm's dry, stone-like skin, gaining no purchase.

Undeterred, the worm surged forward with monstrous speed. Though the tentacles writhed around its frame, it rolled onward with thunderous force—

—and drove its jagged maw toward the lake creature's core.

Almost.

Two more tentacles snapped forward in a blur, wrapping around the sandworm's gaping maws just as they were about to clamp down. With brutal force, they squeezed the jagged jaws shut.

The worm faltered, its colossal body swaying unsteadily.

Then—its entire mass convulsed. The whip-like tail that had been coiled tight suddenly lashed forward like a deranged serpent, crashing into the lake creature's head with earth-shaking force.

The impact forced the abomination's maw wide, revealing rows of spike-like teeth—each one a spear of polished nightmare. A bone-rattling shriek tore through the air.

Auren couldn't help but chuckle where he clung.

'That had to hurt.'

He was still stubbornly plastered to the worm's back as it delivered the punishing blow. The scene reminded him of a father disciplining an unruly child—if the father was a fifty-ton monstrosity with anger issues.

The sandworm was a tyrant through and through. A shameless, cowardly tyrant.