When the towers fell, just as much earth was thrown into the air as the amount that was squashed underneath. However, after the flying mud finally settled, it wasn’t towers that Veronika saw. Upon hitting the ground, the seemingly solid structures started winding around each other. Some of them even revealed tooth filled circular maws at one of their ends.

“The guardians,” said Nym while clasping his palms and whispering a prayer.

Veronika was at a loss for words. Instead of arguing with her nutty partner, she started looking for Timofey. The clearing was fully covered by those giant bodies, but she still hoped he was alive.

“Time?” Rachel whispered within the darkness.

“Until squash?" Alric shrugged. "Two minutes at most.”

Thanks to Timofey’s help, they had made it through the initial crash. Now, if only the creatures would move before the barrier crashed, there was a chance they might actually survive.

“We can poke it,” offered the youth. The situation had degenerated so beyond his imagination he couldn't help but find it funny.

“We'll piss it off,” said Rachel in a serious tone.

“Poke it… lightly?”

It was worth a shot. The two teens pulled out their daggers and started scratching the monster through the barrier. When that didn’t work, they poked it. With each consecutive strike they grew bolder until the full length of their blades entered the guardian.

“How thick is its skin?”

There was still no response from the creature.

“Screw it.” Rachel took out her gun and shot one of the wounds. Finally, the monster moved ever so slightly. “Waste of bullets,” the girl muttered before sticking the barrel into the hole.

Three shots were fired in rapid succession, and finally, the mass of flesh moved up. With surprising agility, the worm twisted its body and bellowed.

“Get moving!” shouted Timofey. The only problem was how.

Although they were free of the creature's pressure, their group was still surrounded from every direction. Even when on ground, the guardians were twice as wide as Alric was tall.

“Give me your knife,” said Rachel before taking it herself. After a full night of fighting for her life, the girl was at her wits' end.

Coupled with her own, she used the knives to pull her body up. Then, she took off her jacket and helped out Finn. Alric’s much larger frame was a pain to lift up, but with everyone’s help, he somehow made it.

‘500 feet remaining,’ the boy estimated immediately. They had to cover this distance, climb the World Tree and hope none of the worms would mind their presence.

Fortunately, having just woken up, the guardians were basking in the sun and paying little attention. However, there was one worm whose insides stung and who was looking for a culprit. Since the humans were the only creatures around aside from its peers, it wasn’t long before its jaws locked onto them.

“It’s coming,” said Timofey from on top of Alric's shoulder. Their group was already running at full speed, and there wasn't much else they could do.

“Mana,” said the teen.

“There’s none left.” The pixie couldn’t even fly anymore, let alone fuel his shield. “Just run faster.”

But, how could a human outrun a giant? Even if the 11 year old wasn’t with them, they still wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Like an oversized rhinoceros with a grudge, the worm wriggled towards the group at maximum speed. They hadn’t even covered 50 meters before its giant maw was upon them. Finn closed his eyes shut, Alric ducked into a ball while summoning a barrier, and Rachel couldn’t help but look back.

A second later, the creature’s abnormal teeth grabbed hold of the barrier. Even so, fleshy bullet train kept going. The creature’s momentum was so great that it couldn’t stop until it slammed into the World Tree.

Reverberations reached all the way to the top. Inside the worm's maw, there was silence. Along with the smash, the bubble had popped, and Nym was now praying for their souls.

“Wake up…” At some point, someone started talking to Alric as if through a dream. “Wake up.” The voice was getting stronger and stronger. At the same time, his ears started ringing. Pain followed suit. It was like needles and hammers had taken turns on his body.

“Nightmare…” he muttered while opening his eyes. Only flesh and teeth surrounded him. The barrier was gone, yet he was still alive.

“God damn it, Alric. Snap out of it!” A few feet away, Rachel was picking up an unconscious Finn.

“We’re ok?” Though it hurt like crazy, the youth managed to lift himself up. ‘Nothing broken all the way yet.’

“We’re not ok. Nothing is ok.” Rachel was getting pissed off at his clueless smile. “Just, look at Tim.”

The pixie was unconscious and sprawled on the ground. One of his wings was broken and his state was questionable at best.

The sight of his partner woke Alric up from his stupor. He carefully picked up the pixie and put him in one of his jacket’s inside pockets. “What’s the situation?” he asked while checking their surroundings.

On one side, there was a large hole which probably led to their doom. The floor, sides, and ceiling were made out of wet flesh plus juices, and in the other direction there was something hard. Noticing the ashy bark of the world tree and the two rows of teeth biting into it, Alric raised an eyebrow.

“We made it,” Rachel said with an ironic smile. “Now what?”