Chapter 20

Tracking Deioden wasn't difficult.

There were traces of him everywhere.

Corpses of demonic beasts that ruled the desert lay scattered all around.

Every single one was either horribly mutilated or completely shattered into pieces.

Deioden had slaughtered every beast that crossed his path.

It was power that defied all common sense.

Because of that, Zeon was safe from the threat of demonic beasts.

"Just how strong is he? S-rank?"

Zeon soon shook his head.

He had never seen one in person, but even an S-rank didn't seem capable of this level of destruction.

In fact, even the S-rank awakened of Neo Seoul hesitated to act alone in the desert.

Near Neo Seoul was one thing—but wandering deep into the desert alone was something even they feared.

And yet Deioden had been doing exactly that for a very long time.

Roaming the desert alone, facing countless demonic beasts.

He didn't fear them.

If anything, they feared him.

This was the first time Zeon had ever seen an awakened like this.

"An awakened above S-rank…? Does the leadership of Neo Seoul even know about this?"

He genuinely wondered.

Whether the rulers of Neo Seoul knew about Deioden—and if they did, how they were reacting.

Deioden was a being that transcended common sense in every way.

Just then—

Zeon spotted smoke rising in the distance.

From the horizon where sky met earth, a column of smoke stretched upward.

He didn't need to see it clearly to know.

Deioden was there.

Zeon infused mana into his body and increased his speed.

Sss—

His body slid across the desert.

After about thirty minutes of running, Zeon arrived at an oasis.

Unlike the moving oasis where he had once encountered a sand maw, this one was fixed in place.

Such locations didn't harbor sand maws, making them ideal for settlements or bases.

That was why a village of Desert Elves had been established here.

The small village, carefully cultivated by the Desert Elves, had been utterly destroyed.

Chunks of flesh—presumably belonging to elves—were scattered everywhere.

At the horrifying sight before him, Zeon's mouth fell open.

"…This is insane."

Severed limbs lay strewn about like broken toys smashed apart in a fit of rage.

All of this… had been done by Deioden alone.

Zeon hurriedly searched for him.

It didn't take long.

Deioden was standing not far away.

In front of him, a middle-aged elf knelt while holding a young girl in his arms.

Tears streamed down the elf's face as he begged.

Though Zeon couldn't hear the words, it was obvious—he was pleading for the girl's life.

The girl looked very young.

Her actual age was unknown, but in human terms, she looked about twelve.

Zeon didn't think Deioden would harm a child.

No matter how deep the hatred, killing someone who hadn't yet reached adulthood was a taboo.

Slash!

But as if mocking Zeon's thoughts, Deioden cut down both the middle-aged elf and the girl in a single strike.

Blood sprayed from their bodies, staining him red.

At that moment, something inside Zeon snapped.

"Hey! You damn old bastard!"

Losing all restraint, Zeon shouted.

The sand surged like a tidal wave and crashed toward Deioden.

An enormous mass of sand pressed down as if to crush him.

At that moment, a blood-red aura erupted from Deioden's body.

BOOM!

The crimson force blasted away both the sand and Zeon in an instant.

When Zeon regained his senses after being thrown to the ground, the first thing he saw was Deioden's leg.

Looking up, he saw Deioden staring down at him.

His eyes still burned with ferocity.

Zeon met his gaze without backing down.

"You're not even ashamed? Killing a child who hasn't even grown up yet?"

"A child?"

"She was just a young girl."

"She was still older than you."

"Th—"

Crunch!

Deioden suddenly stomped down on Zeon's back.

The pressure was like being crushed by a massive boulder.

Zeon's face turned red as he struggled to breathe, his spine and ribs feeling like they were about to shatter.

Creeeak—

The breastplate made from the queen wolf-ant's shell groaned as if it might break at any moment.

"Ghk!"

Zeon struggled to escape from under Deioden's foot, but no matter how hard he tried, it didn't budge.

"Haah!"

In desperation, Zeon unleashed Sand Blaster.

Boom! Boom!

The attack struck Deioden head-on.

But even though Sand Blaster could shatter a wolf-ant's head, Deioden didn't even flinch.

Instead, he pressed down harder on Zeon's chest.

"Cough—!"

Zeon spat blood.

Deioden stared down at him silently.

But his gaze was no longer filled with madness like before.

It had sunk into something unfathomably deep.

It was hard to believe that these were the eyes of the same man who had just massacred the elves in a frenzy.

Deioden slightly eased the pressure of the foot pressing down on Zeon's chest and asked,

"Do you think I went too far?"

"…Did you really have to kill even a child?"

"Why should a child be spared? Just because it's young? Because people say so? That brat grows up to become an enemy."

"But…"

"Those elf bastards are a race that can't be trusted. They destroyed another world just to survive. And you think they deserve mercy just because they're young? Don't make me laugh. They have no value in living. From now on, I'll kill every one of those vermin I see."

"..."

"You think I'm wrong? You want to stop me? Then do it with strength, not your mouth. Got it? You useless loudmouth."

Deioden lifted his foot off Zeon's chest.

"Cough! Cough—!"

Zeon coughed violently.

His eyes were bloodshot.

If Deioden had pressed down just a little more, not only the blood vessels in his eyes but even his heart and organs would have burst.

He had always known he was no match for Deioden.

He had never even considered them comparable.

To Zeon, Deioden had been like a star far up in the sky—something utterly out of reach.

But now, that thought changed.

I'll become as strong as Deioden… no, stronger.

He wanted to become strong enough to speak his mind.

Not grovel like some pathetic dog like this.

For the first time in his life, Zeon had a clear goal.

That goal was Deioden.

He made it his mission to surpass him.

＊＊＊

Zeon searched through the elf village.

He wondered if there might be any survivors.

But not a single elf had survived Deioden's hands.

Deioden had left no living thing in the village.

Seeing over a hundred elves reduced to chunks of flesh made bile rise in Zeon's throat.

At the same time, a question formed in his mind.

He recalled Deioden's words:

They destroyed another world just to survive.

"Then… does that mean the elves share responsibility for what happened to the world?"

If that were true, then Deioden's rage was understandable.

Zeon had been born after the world had already fallen.

He didn't know what it had been like before.

Most people in Neo Seoul were the same.

There were records, but having never seen it themselves, they couldn't truly grasp how prosperous and radiant that world had been.

But Deioden was different.

He had been born in that world.

He had witnessed that era—and the process of its destruction.

The loss and rage he must have felt… might have been inevitable.

"Ha…"

Zeon let out a sigh.

Deioden stood alone far outside the village.

Even staying near the elf settlement for a moment seemed unbearable to him.

To Deioden, even breathing the same air the elves once had was like torture.

Zeon continued to look around the village.

The elves' homes were simple clay huts made from hardened sand.

In a desert where building materials were scarce, it was an inevitable choice.

The nearby oasis was the only reason they had survived this long—without it, they would have perished long ago.

Zeon entered one of the few intact houses.

Inside, it was extremely plain.

Only the bare essentials for living were present.

But the style of the items was unlike anything from Neo Seoul.

They carried a sense of age—a distinctly antique feel.

They were likely belongings the elves had brought from their original world.

Bows and arrows, beautiful ornaments, robes…

Zeon examined each item one by one.

"These definitely aren't recently made."

What caught his attention most was an old book.

It was filled with characters he couldn't recognize.

It was clearly something the elves had brought from their original world.

Zeon stored the book and other items into his subspace.

They weren't useful to him, but they would surely fetch a good price.

He gathered anything of value and stored it away.

While searching the house, he discovered a small hidden storage room behind a wall.

When he looked inside, his face twisted.

Everything inside belonged to humans.

Unlike the elves' antique style, these items had the efficient design and materials typical of Neo Seoul.

There were traces of blood on them.

"These bastards… they robbed passing humans."

Elves hostile to humans would never have acquired these goods fairly.

They must have ambushed travelers passing nearby.

Just moments ago, Zeon had felt a faint sense of guilt toward the elves who had been killed.

Now, that feeling vanished completely.

They were no different from scavengers.

There was no way they had spared the people they robbed.

To keep their secret, they must have killed them all.

Judging by the amount of goods, the number of victims must have been considerable.

"They killed a lot…"

Shaking his head, Zeon searched the storage.

Maybe there was something useful.

But it seemed the elves had already taken anything valuable—only miscellaneous junk remained.

There was no point taking it.

He gave up and stepped outside.

He checked a few more houses, but found nothing of use.

Zeon then raised his sand control.

The sand around him began to ripple and move.

Ssshhh—

The sand surged and swallowed the entire village.

The ruined houses and the elves' corpses were all buried beneath it.

In an instant, a fairly large village became a single grave.

And yet, no trace remained.

Unlike ordinary soil, desert sand left no marks when shifted or piled.

Even if someone stumbled upon this oasis, they would never know a village had once existed here.

After filling his water pouch with water from the oasis, Zeon approached Deioden.

The long night had passed, and sunlight now illuminated the desert.

Without a word, Deioden began walking.

Silently, Zeon followed behind him.