Tech Hero in Another World
Chapter 92: [91] Explanation for Sandman there

Chapter 92: [91] Explanation for Sandman there

The Sandman—its towering body made of living grains—let out another guttural roar, the sound vibrating like a small earthquake that shook the fortress walls.

"I’ve been waiting for this moment, FARID!" it bellowed, voice thick with both triumph and vengeance.

Its face, once shifting, had reformed into a crude humanoid expression. Harsh lines carved a near-human scowl across its surface, its eyes glowing like half-buried embers. Every word it spoke grated like sand dragging across a desert floor.

One of Khan’s squadmates turned, clearly unsettled. "Captain, do you... have some kind of personal history with this thing?" he asked cautiously, as all eyes shifted to the looming confrontation between two figures from the past.

Khan let out a long sigh—less from fatigue, more like weariness at the return of an unwelcome story.

"Somewhat... yeah. His name’s Malik. Back then, he was just a lonely kid always pushed around by the noble families. I used to hang out with him, back when everyone else ignored him."

"Then why does he sound like... he hates you?" another asked, now realizing this was more than just another threat.

Khan shook his head slowly, eyes fixed on the Sandman. "I don’t know. Maybe because I left. Maybe because he really believes I betrayed him. But all of it... it was just childish promises."

"FARID!!" Malik screamed again, louder this time, his massive form leaning forward as if preparing to charge. Desert winds swirled violently around him, causing the group to instinctively step back.

Khan tilted his head and threw both hands into the air, exasperated."Oh come on, stop screaming like you’re in a damn opera!"

The sand churned again, reshaping into words. "I kept my promise!" Malik thundered, voice shaking with emotion.

"The Sultanate! We said we’d build it together! You... YOU LEFT IT ALL BEHIND!"

"What? The Sultanate?" Khan raised an eyebrow, then laughed bitterly. "Seriously, Malik? We were eight. I also promised I’d ride a dragon someday—remember that?"

"I built power! I formed factions! I led a revolution to make our dream real!" Malik roared. His massive sand-fist slammed the earth, cracking the ground and hurling dust into the air.

Khan’s eyes darkened. "And I saved people. I survived. I lived on my own terms. There’s no part of me that wants to go back to that childhood fantasy, Malik."

"Then you broke your vow. Just like everyone else. Just like the family that threw me away!" Malik’s voice cracked—both emotionally and literally. Part of his sandy face trembled, crumbled, then reformed again.

Derek gripped his weapon tighter, eyes fixed on the sand giant now brimming with raw power. "Captain... he’s not stable. And he’s strong. Too strong to be human."

Khan nodded slightly, eyes never leaving Malik. "I know... That strength comes from our bloodline. I just never thought it would surface like this—so massive. So destructive."

"You knew this?!" Derek turned sharply toward him.

With calm, but under immense pressure, Khan raised his hand. "I kept it from you. Watch this."

He gestured subtly—and the sand at his feet began to stir, flowing toward him as if drawn by a magnetic pull.

The grains swirled around his palm, forming a delicate ring, then slowly twisted into faint sigils hanging in the air. Derek and the others stared in stunned silence.

"Whoa..." one of the squad members muttered, somewhere between awe and fear.

"Yeah... I can do this," Khan said grimly. "But this is my limit. I don’t have control like he does."

At that moment, the sandstorm around Malik erupted. The desert winds howled in fury, forming a massive spiral vortex—an impenetrable wall of dust and stone.

From deep within it, Malik screamed again. "Farid! I am more than royal blood! I’ve become the legacy of the desert itself!"

The cry was followed by a violent burst of sand, launching huge rocks skyward. Derek immediately grabbed Khan and pulled him back.

"Captain, we can’t stay here!"

"Agreed. His focus is locked on me. We use that," Khan replied quickly. "Before palace reinforcements—or something worse—shows up."

They moved fast, retreating along the fortress wall’s outer edge. The storm behind them intensified, battering buildings and rumbling the ground beneath their feet.

"Khan," Derek said as they ran, "If you have the same blood... you can fight him, right?"

Khan shook his head, even as he kept moving. "I can move the sand, Derek. He can become it. I’m no match for him—not yet."

"Then our only option..." Derek said sharply, "...is survival."

They finally reached a narrow tunnel—an escape route pre-prepared for emergencies. Khan glanced back once more at the storm behind them.

"I’m sorry, Malik... For now, I have to fall back."

The sand roared behind them, and Malik’s voice still echoed faintly through the desert wind—like a ghost screaming from the past.

"FARID!!"

---

That morning, the desert sun hadn’t risen too high yet, but its heat was already creeping in, seeping into every corner of the Band of Massiah’s camp. Reddish sand blanketed the land around the northwestern hills, creating a near-silent landscape—if not for the clink of chains, the grind of weapon sharpening, and the soft clang of metal pots boiling water.

Ren stood leaning against the door of his van, parked slightly away from the main tent. Arms crossed, he watched Khan step out of the command tent, greeted by a few of his squadmates: Denon, Mika, and Ragg, all still busy cleaning their weapons.

"Seriously, what the hell was that!?" Ren broke the silence with a sharp tone, though his voice was wrapped in a kind of curiosity laced with exhaustion.

Khan paused, looking at him for a second before letting out a long sigh and brushing the dust off his shoulder. "Haaah... I guess I really do need to talk about it," he said, stretching his tense neck.

"Yeah, you do," Ren shot back. "I just fought off mutant bats, then got my ass handed to me by a giant sandman who turns out to be your cousin. Now tell me—what the hell is going on? And don’t tell me this is normal around here."

"Uh-oh, he’s starting," Mika whispered, laying her bow across her lap.

"Don’t forget the tea," Denon added with a small laugh.

Khan sat down on the old wooden crate they often used as a briefing table. He looked around at all of them. "Alright. Listen closely. What Malik used yesterday wasn’t ordinary magic. It’s... what we call Miracel. A miracle."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a knockoff MLM product."

Khan shot him a sharp look. "I’m serious. Just listen. There are two miracles said to be blessed upon the land of Samsara. First, the impregnable fortress—once used to protect the city from demon hordes thousands of years ago. Now—it’s crumbled, forgotten, lost."

"And the second?" Ren sat down on a flat rock, joining the circle.

"The power to command sand. It’s not magic, not technique. It’s a force embedded in the blood. Our ancestors were given the ability to bond with the land—turning it into weapon, shield... even body." Khan looked down at the sand beneath his feet, then slowly reached for it.

Mika squinted. "You... have it too?"

Khan nodded. He opened his palm and a small mound of sand began to tremble, shaping briefly into a thin blade before falling apart again. "This is all I can do. Malik... is different. He’s like a full vessel of that power."

"So... a Chosen One, but broken version?" Ren muttered, squinting at the horizon.

Denon chimed in, "We always heard Malik had a temper, even as a kid. But... he was always in Khan’s shadow. Who knew he’d end up like this..."

"He even claimed he was fulfilling some childhood promise you two made," Mika added. "That’s... kinda tragic, honestly."

Khan was quiet for a few moments, his gaze drifting toward the far edge of camp as it slowly faded into morning light. "When we were kids, he was always picked on. I... tried to be the one person who made him feel like he mattered. But... when I left the palace, he stayed. And he... got exposed to everything rotten in there."

Ren, still seated atop a gear crate, looked at him from beneath his open visor, arms folded. "Call it good or evil, leaving the sultanate was your decision. What matters is—it was yours to make."

"Yeah..." Khan gave a bitter smile. "And I don’t regret it. I sleep just fine at night without bowing to palace hypocrisy."

"Good," Ren stood, stretching his shoulders. "Because now it’s time to wake up. What’s next? Taking down Malik?"

Khan exhaled, then looked around at them—one by one. Faces he had once saved, recruited, shared dreams with about a free and just life. "I didn’t want to drag you into this... But as you saw yourself, I can’t do this alone. So, will you help me?"

Denon, leaning against the flagpole, tightened the cloth in his hands and answered first."Heh, what’re you saying, Captain? Of course we’re following you—wherever you go. Even if it’s straight into hell."

"Unless hell has high taxes," Ragg quipped, drawing a few quiet laughs from the others.

Khan raised a hand, calming their reactions. "But this time, the risk is real. We’re talking about going up against a nation—Samsara—with an army, fleets, and resources we can’t match. We’re only twenty-one. That’s why I’m asking... are you sure?"

Silence fell like a heavy blanket. The campfire in the center crackled softly, the sound of burning wood the only thing between them.

Finally, Mika spoke. "You know, I used to be just a market thief. No place, no name. But now I can call this place home. And home isn’t about how many people are in it... it’s about who’s in it."

Ragg nodded. "Besides, Malik isn’t just your problem. If he can control sand and turn into a monster, do you really think he’ll stop at Samsara’s throne? Sooner or later, he’ll drag this entire desert into his madness."

Ren, standing with hands on his hips, glanced up at the sky. "I only came along out of curiosity... and because this armor needed a field test. But honestly, I can’t stand watching ordinary people get crushed just because someone thinks they’ve got a ’holy destiny.’ That’s crap."

Khan looked at Ren, his smile softening just a little. "You’re weird... but you’re the kind of weird I can count on."

"And full of surprises," Ren smirked. "You haven’t even seen my new weapon yet."

Khan fell silent for a moment, his eyes drifting once more to the horizon where the camp met the light of dawn.