Chapter 209
Zeon’s group walked across the sand.
Zeon, of course, used Sand Step, gliding forward as if slipping across the surface, while Levin moved in a ghostly state.
The reason Levin stayed in that form was simple.
By continuously using his main skill, he was trying to extend its duration and raise its level.
Maintaining ghost form like this consumed an enormous amount of mana. But just as something must be emptied before it can be filled, repeatedly pushing his limits would increase his mana capacity and improve recovery.
Knowing this, Levin deliberately chose not to ride the Bactrian camel, moving instead in his ghost form.
Meanwhile, Brielle and Eloi rode the camels comfortably.
Brielle continued her alchemy research even atop the camel, while Eloi maintained her Mad Nine-Tailed Fox, preparing herself to fight at any moment.
Even though the Mad Nine-Tailed Fox was a dungeon-grade item, it would deteriorate if not properly maintained.
To Eloi, it was practically a part of her own body, so she constantly took care of it to keep it in peak condition.
“Whew! Damn, it’s hot. I just can’t get used to this heat.”
After finishing her maintenance, Eloi wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Sweat poured down her face like rain.
Riding the camel made travel easier, but there was no escaping the oppressive heat.
In contrast, Brielle didn’t look nearly as uncomfortable.
That was thanks to her robe made from Sand Maw hide.
It completely blocked the desert heat and kept her in a comfortable state, allowing her to focus on alchemy even under the blazing sun.
“Hm… I think I just need to combine a few more materials…”
“Hey, brat! What are you muttering about?”
“Shut up. If you’re bored, get off the camel and go swing your spear or something.”
“Come on, tell your big sister. Who knows? I might solve your problem.”
“Blegh!”
Brielle grabbed her throat and pretended to gag, but Eloi didn’t look offended.
A High Elf and a Half-Elf.
They had once seemed like oil and water—unable to mix—but traveling together had brought them surprisingly close.
They still bickered over small things, but compared to before, when they completely ignored each other, it was a huge improvement.
Eloi scooted closer to Brielle and said,
“You act like you hate it, but you like it.”
“It’s hot. Stay away.”
“It’s not hot at all, brat!”
“It’s your body that’s hot.”
“What do you mean hot?”
Eloi suddenly hugged Brielle tightly.
Brielle struggled to break free, but it was no use.
In the end, Brielle turned to Zeon with a pleading look, silently asking for help.
But at that moment, Zeon was staring into the distance.
Sensing something unusual, Eloi let go of Brielle.
“What is it?”
“Do you see that?”
“See what?”
Following the direction of Zeon’s finger, Eloi squinted into the distance.
He was pointing at the sky.
Something was circling far above.
Her expression immediately twisted.
“Damn it… don’t tell me that’s a wyvern?”
“It appears so.”
“What are wyverns doing here?”
A group of wyverns circled in the sky.
For some reason, they were lingering in one area.
Wyverns were tyrants of the skies.
As B-rank magical beasts, they were extremely dangerous—and their temperament was vicious. They tolerated nothing else in their domain.
Even other magical beasts.
Especially territorial, they were known to never spare any intruder.
Eloi scanned the surroundings.
“Are we in their territory?”
“They rarely leave their territory, so that’s likely.”
“Can’t we turn back?”
“I think it’s too late.”
The wyverns that had been circling began flying toward them.
They had clearly noticed Zeon’s group entering their domain.
“Damn it!”
“Ugh… wyverns?”
Eloi and Levin prepared for battle.
Tension was written all over their faces.
Zeon, however, remained expressionless, staring straight at the incoming wyverns.
They closed the distance rapidly.
With each flap of their wings, they covered hundreds of meters.
In an instant, the wyverns were upon them.
At the front of the pack was an especially massive wyvern.
At least twice the size of the others, with wings so large they seemed to cover the sky—
And most striking of all, a faint red aura rippled around its body.
Brielle shouted,
“That’s a force field—it’s at least A-rank!”
It was common knowledge that magical beasts above B-rank possessed force fields.
An A-rank beast’s force field was far stronger and more distinct than a B-rank’s—
Just like that enormous wyvern leading the pack.
Encountering a force-field-bearing beast in the desert was practically a death sentence.
Even an A-rank awakened would struggle to fight one alone.
And wyverns had the advantage of flight—
Three-dimensional mobility.
Most awakened couldn’t even react properly before being torn to pieces.
“Shit… why did it have to be wyverns?”
“Damn it!”
Eloi and Levin took battle stances.
But Zeon still didn’t move.
KRAAAAH!
The wyverns roared.
At the sound, Eloi felt her body freeze.
It was the wyverns’ fear-inducing roar.
Brielle was no exception.
“Ah—!”
Her entire body locked up, unable to move.
In that instant, the wyverns arrived.
Just as they opened their jaws to attack—
Zeon’s body rose into the air.
The sand surged upward, lifting him.
In an instant, Zeon rose to the same height as the wyverns.
At that very moment, their attack stopped completely.
As if they had seen something terrifying, the wyverns’ eyes trembled violently.
Even the leader with the force field was no exception.
It froze midair, eyes wide, like it had witnessed something it should never have seen.
Floating in the air, Zeon spoke.
“Long time no see. You’ve grown quite a bit.”
Instead of answering, the wyvern hovered in place, glancing around nervously.
It looked like it was searching for a way to escape.
But soon, it gave up and looked at Zeon.
With a small gesture from Zeon, the creature approached weakly—
Like a frightened dog.
Zeon stroked the leader’s head and said,
“This isn’t your nest, is it?”
Kraaa!
The wyvern let out a cry, as if trying to explain.
Zeon couldn’t actually understand its words—
But he could roughly guess from its intent.
“Did you run away from something stronger?”
Kraaa!
“I see.”
Zeon nodded.
He had first met this massive wyvern four years ago.
Back then, it hadn’t yet become a leader and was only a B-rank.
It had been gravely injured—
Attacked by another wyvern and on the verge of death.
For reasons he didn’t fully understand, Zeon had felt pity and healed it.
Thanks to him, it survived and later left his side.
They met again a year later.
The wyvern had completely forgotten him—and attacked.
That was when Zeon realized something:
There was no point in showing kindness to magical beasts.
Creatures ruled by instinct had no concept of repaying favors.
So he fought it with the intent to kill.
A mere B-rank stood no chance against him.
The wyvern was beaten to the brink of death.
And in its desperate struggle to survive—
It evolved into an A-rank.
Even then, it couldn’t escape Zeon.
It was beaten again until it was nearly dead.
Only when it was on the verge of death did it finally submit.
Seeing it beg pitifully for its life softened Zeon’s heart.
He had saved it once before, after all.
Killing it after that felt wrong—
So he spared it again.
The wyvern fled immediately, afraid Zeon might change his mind.
He thought that was the end of their connection.
But fate had other plans.
They met once more when Mandy—Eloi’s other personality—had been captured by a cyclops.
By then, the wyvern had become the leader of a pack—
A true ruler of the skies.
Yet even as a ruler, its deep-rooted fear of Zeon remained.
That was why it recognized him—and avoided him.
He hadn’t expected to see it again.
And yet, here they were.
The leader couldn’t even think of fleeing now. It turned its head, avoiding Zeon’s gaze.
That was how deep its fear ran.
Zeon asked,
“What drove you out of your territory?”
Wyverns rarely left their domains.
For one to abandon its nest and travel this far meant something serious had happened.
Kraaa…
The leader let out a mournful cry.
But it was still impossible to understand.
In the end, Zeon sighed.
“Well… it doesn’t really matter. You must have your reasons. But since you’ve settled here, refrain from attacking humans.”
The wyvern nodded, as if it understood.
Zeon patted its neck.
“Go on.”
With that, the wyvern immediately flapped its wings and retreated.
The rest of the pack followed their leader and disappeared into the distance.
Watching this, Levin and Eloi were left speechless.
“Whoa…”
“What the hell just happened? Wyverns… ran away?”
It was something completely beyond their understanding.
Brielle muttered, as if it were obvious,
“It’s Zeon.”
“Even so…”
“He’s the only sand mage on this land.”
There wasn’t even a hint of doubt in Brielle’s eyes as she looked at Zeon.
Her trust in him was absolute—almost like that of a fanatic.
Eloi made a dumbfounded expression for a moment.
But having witnessed it firsthand, she had no way to argue.
The so-called tyrants of the sky had fled in terror.
Just how frightening was Zeon?
“…Forget it. I won’t even question it.”
Eloi raised both hands in surrender.
Zeon, however, did not descend immediately.
Instead, he flew toward the place where the wyverns had been circling.
Wrapped in a sandstorm, he looked like a bird in flight.
The three stared blankly for a moment before rushing after him.
After running for quite some time, they reached the destination.
Zeon was already there.
“This is…?”
“My god…”
“Damn it…”
The three froze, eyes wide.
Before them lay a horrific scene.
Broken wagon debris.
Countless corpses of Bactrian camels and humans.
And large horned hyenas tearing into the bodies.
The wyverns had likely been drawn by the scent of carcasses.
Grrrr…
The hyenas bared their teeth at the newcomers.
Then—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Dozens of sand snakes burst forth and attacked them.
Zeon had unleashed Viper.
Yelp!
Pierced by the sand snakes, the horned hyenas collapsed with pitiful cries.
The survivors fled in panic.
Zeon looked over the corpses with a heavy gaze.
“These are desert nomads… Looks like they were all killed by orcs.”